The little village outside Suotuo City was currently immersed in an eerie atmosphere.
Su Yun's fine silk clothes stood out among the villagers and impoverished Soul Masters in their patched garments like a piece of top-grade white jade dropped into a coal pile—so glaring that no one could look directly at it.
Ning Rongrong stood among the crowd, her slender hands clutching the hem of her clothes.
She was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Wasn't she usually the center of attention wherever she went?
But ever since that inexplicable copy of Su Yun's Diary had appeared in her arms, her worldview had begun to crumble.
That bastard named Su Yun in the diary had belittled her as if she were worthless, calling her a spoiled Little Demoness. He had even predicted that she would fall for a lecherous middle-aged man named Oscar.
Ning Rongrong had been holding back her anger, wanting to see whether Shrek Academy was really as miraculous as the diary claimed. While she was at it, she'd hoped to lie in wait for that Su Yun fellow and smash the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into his forehead.
But now, Su Yun had really appeared.
And not only had he appeared, he also had two young women by his side who were every bit as striking as she was.
The one called Xiao Wu had charming rabbit ears and a gaze full of natural wildness and liveliness;
The one called Zhu Zhuqing was still young, but her frosty, snowlike air and nearly outrageous figure made even Ning Rongrong feel a pang of inadequacy.
"So these are the Rogue Rabbit and the top-grade cat mentioned in that bastard's diary?"
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth. Her usual air of "this young lady has arrived, so why aren't you all on your knees?" weakened for some reason when she saw Su Yun affectionately ruffling Xiao Wu's hair.
A sour thought rose in her heart:
Why?
How am I any worse than them?
That bastard wrote about me like that in his diary, yet he's the one living so comfortably?
Su Yun had already walked straight toward the battered wooden table at the village entrance.
Behind the table sat Li Yusong, a teacher at Shrek Academy.
Li Yusong was squinting as he clutched several Gold Soul Coins he'd just collected. With that miserly look, he hardly seemed like a powerful Soul Emperor.
"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. Once you've registered, there are no refunds."
Without even looking up, Li Yusong rested the Dragon Pattern Staff across his knees. His voice carried an air of arrogant superiority.
"Shrek only accepts monsters, not trash. If you don't have the talent, don't waste your money coming here."
Su Yun stopped at the table. He didn't pull out any money. Instead, he looked at Li Yusong as if he were an illegal investment scammer.
"Old man, did I hear that right?"
A mocking curve tugged at Su Yun's lips.
"Ten Gold Soul Coins for registration, and no refund if you're rejected? Your business is even shadier than the Great Soul Arena, the biggest one in Suotuo City. I'm pretty sure a year's tuition at the Spirit Hall Junior Academy costs only a few Gold Soul Coins, and they even provide food and lodging. What kind of divine teaching do you offer here?"
Li Yusong furrowed his brow and slammed the Dragon Pattern Staff onto the ground. With a thud, cracks spread across the earth.
"Kid, those are Shrek's rules. Register if you want. If you don't, then get lost!"
"Rules?"
Su Yun burst out laughing, his laughter full of disdain.
"A fly-by-night operation without so much as an education department permit, unable to even provide a Mimicry Cultivation Environment, and you have the nerve to talk about rules?"
Li Yusong's face darkened. The power of a Soul Emperor began to stir around him.
"What did you say?"
"I said..."
Su Yun's expression turned cold as he suddenly drove his toe forward.
"Bang—!"
With a deafening crash, the weather-beaten wooden table shattered under Su Yun's kick, turning into splinters scattered across the ground!
The Gold Soul Coins that had been resting on it flew into the air, raining down like gold.
"This place is teaching without a license and fleecing people for money. I don't think there's any need for the Shrek sign to stay up after today."
Su Yun's voice was icy.
"You're courting death!"
Li Yusong flew into a rage. Six Soul Rings—white, yellow, purple, purple, purple, and black—rose from beneath his feet. His Dragon Pattern Staff shot toward Su Yun in a streak of light.
His Soul Ring Configuration was abysmal—his first Soul Ring was white, of all things—but a Soul Emperor was still a Soul Emperor.
Yet Su Yun merely gave his folding fan a casual wave. A sacred golden Soul Power rose like a shield and easily blocked Li Yusong's attack.
The enormous counterforce sent Li Yusong stumbling back three steps. His face was filled with shock.
"Who's causing trouble here? Do you really think Shrek has no one to defend it?"
A roar like muffled thunder came from the depths of the village. A wild, domineering, and ferocious aura surged forth like a landslide.
The gathered commoners and parents were driven back by the pressure. Those with weaker cultivation even felt their legs go soft.
A burly man strode forward with the bearing of a dragon, not tall but built like an iron tower.
The ground seemed to tremble with every step he took. His knotted muscles looked as if they had been cast from solid iron, and beneath his broad, fleshy face gleamed a pair of ferocious tiger eyes.
The Immovable Wisdom King, Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji stopped beside Li Yusong. He looked at the table reduced to splinters, then at Su Yun, whose whole being radiated a sacred aura. His anger turned to laughter.
"Good, very good! Old Li, is this the kid you said was causing trouble? Young people these days really are more ignorant of heaven and earth than the last."
Seven Soul Rings rose around him: two yellow, two purple, and three black.
His configuration wasn't the very best, but the crushing pressure of a genuine seventy-sixth-level Soul Saint was enough to suffocate an ordinary Soul Master.
Su Yun looked at Zhao Wuji. Rather than showing fear, he seemed excited—as if he'd finally been waiting for the big boss to appear.
He reached into thin air with his right hand, and the black diary, invisible to outsiders, materialized.
Keeping his eyes on Zhao Wuji, he began writing at lightning speed, as leisurely as if he were sketching in his own backyard.
[Zhao Wuji that stupid bear really is just as brainless as he was in the original story.]
[He's probably been hiding in Shrek's quagmire for so long that he's forgotten what the outside world looks like. Back then, sixteen bishops from Spirit Hall hunted him like a stray dog. In the end, he could only change his name and hide in this poor village, barely clinging to life.]
[For a guy who only knows how to "make others submit through force," nothing short of a lesson that scars him for life will teach him the dignity of a god-level Martial Soul.]
[Rongrong and Zhuqing are watching from behind. As a qualified teacher—no, as a qualified "life mentor"—today I'll show them what a true dimensional beatdown looks like.]
[Three moves. If I can't demolish Shrek within three moves against this big dumb bear, I lose.]
At that moment, the copies of the diary in Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's arms lit up at the same time.
Both young women lowered their heads and quickly read the latest entry. Their hearts were in turmoil!
Zhu Zhuqing stared at Zhao Wuji with her cool eyes. She had never imagined that this seemingly invincible teacher had such a wretched past—hunted by sixteen bishops from Spirit Hall?
Ning Rongrong's heart jolted.
She had thought Su Yun was simply throwing his weight around because of his status. But when she saw the line in the diary about demolishing Shrek within three moves, her proud heart couldn't help beating faster.
Can he really do it?
That's a Soul Saint!
Su Yun closed the diary and looked at Zhao Wuji, his tone as casual as if he were asking what they were having for lunch.
"Zhao Wuji, cut the nonsense. I know your reputation in the Spirit Master World back in the day. 'Immovable Wisdom King' sounds impressive, but you're really just a punching bag with decent defense."
Su Yun stepped forward, and two Soul Rings rose beneath his feet.
Purple.
Black.
The moment the black Soul Ring representing ten thousand years appeared, the entire village entrance fell silent.
Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted. His dismissive expression vanished, replaced by utter solemnity.
"A ten-thousand-year Soul Ring from the start? Who exactly are you?"
"I'm the one who's come to teach you how to behave."
Behind Su Yun, a colossal golden phantom slowly emerged. Its sacred, judgmental, and awe-inspiring aura instantly swept away Zhao Wuji's wild pressure.
"Zhao Wuji, if you can withstand three of my moves, I'll spare your lousy academy. Otherwise, I'll flatten this place myself today!"
"Arrogant!"
Zhao Wuji roared as the Vajra Bear possessed him in an instant.
"First Soul Skill, Immovable Wisdom King Body!"
At that moment, behind a crooked tree not far away,
Tang San stood with a battered bundle on his back, his face dark as water.
He had originally wanted to make a name for himself at Shrek Academy. But before he'd even entered the gates, he'd seen Su Yun dominating the field.
Especially when he saw Xiao Wu and that cold-looking young woman standing behind Su Yun, watching his fight with expectant looks, Tang San felt as if a rusty saw were scraping across his heart.
"Xiao San, stay calm."
Yu Xiaogang's voice came from behind him, a twisted trace of jealousy on his corpse-like face.
"Su Yun is only relying on his talent. Zhao Wuji is a Soul Saint, one of the top figures in the Spirit Master World! Su Yun thinks he can deal with Zhao Wuji in three moves? That's a fool's dream. We'll just watch and see how he gets beaten into a dead dog."
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang hated Su Yun more than anyone.
Su Yun had not only stolen his reputation, he had also humiliated him in Notting City.
He would have given anything to see Zhao Wuji smash Su Yun's bones with a single palm.
"Teacher, why does he keep haunting me..."
Tang San's voice was hoarse. A faint black tinge had begun to creep into the purple in his eyes.
"One day, I'll kill him with my own hands. I'll use my Tang Sect Hidden Weapons to break his god-level Martial Soul!"
And at the center of the battlefield,
Su Yun sensed two venomous glares from afar, but he didn't even turn his head.
Trash belonged in the trash can.
"First move."
Su Yun pressed his fingers together like a sword. The Judgment Angel behind him suddenly opened its eyes.
"Sword of Judgment, descend!"
A golden greatsword crashed down from the clouds. In that instant, even the already-rickety rooftops throughout Shrek Academy began to crumble beneath the sacred pressure.
Zhao Wuji's eyes bulged. With a beastlike roar, he braced himself and met the blow with all his strength!
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