Flender's Death, Shrek's Grief

Although he had slapped a Soul Saint to death, Meng Chen controlled his strength perfectly. Other than Flender, everything in the private room remained intact.

It was so intact that it was as if Meng Chen had done nothing at all, and Flender had merely died because his heart was weak and he went running.

"Master," Shui Bing'er called softly in her heart, "are you... all right?"

"A mere Soul Saint—what could possibly happen? Though only a wisp of my remnant soul remains, I am not someone any stray cat or dog can bully."

"You performed well this time, unyielding and unbowed. You must understand that although you are extraordinarily talented, there will always be higher peaks in this world. While you revere lofty mountains, you must also have the determination to keep climbing."

Hearing Meng Chen's praise, Shui Bing'er's earlier panic instantly vanished, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.

Xue Wu and the others watched Flender barge in, watched him swagger arrogantly, and watched him perish. At that moment, they were stunned—utterly stunned.

What kind of thing could slap a Soul Saint to death in one blow?

This sudden turn of events made even the usually composed Xue Wu unable to resist asking, "Bing'er... was that... your Soul Skill?"

A Soul Ancestor possessing a Soul Skill capable of defeating a Soul Saint? And judging by Bing'er's current state, she did not seem to have expended anything at all.

Could it be a Soul Skill that let a Soul Ancestor defeat a Soul Saint with zero cost?

That was far too unbelievable!

Xue Wu's question was also what Gu Qingbo, Shui Yue'er, Yu Hairou, Shen Liuyu, and Qiu Ruoshui wanted to ask.

Shui Yue'er especially suddenly realized that she did not truly know this older sister she had grown up playing with.

This...

Shui Bing'er was a little troubled. She truly did not want to keep secrets from her good friends, and besides, she could no longer hide it now.

She could only ask softly in her heart, "Master, may I tell them?"

"Tell them," Meng Chen's voice rang in her mind. "They are all your sisters. It is fine."

Shui Bing'er took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked into Xue Wu's eyes.

"That... was my Master."

"My Master... is the Lord of Heavenly Court. My Soul Power was restored with Master's help. The Frost Soul Palm Soul Skill... more accurately, it is a Combat Skill, and the cultivation method as well, were taught to me by Master. I'm sorry, Xue Wu. I hid this from all of you for so long."

Shui Bing'er spoke with deep apology.

Master?!

Xue Wu and the others collectively froze.

When had Bing'er acquired such a powerful Master? He could kill a Soul Saint with a casual wave of his hand. Even our academy head could not do that so easily, could he?

And the title Lord of Heavenly Court...

Could he be a legendary... god?

The more Xue Wu and the others thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, not even a Titled Douluo had been able to discover why Bing'er's Soul Power had vanished back then.

Above Titled Douluo, could there be anything but gods?

Moreover, that hand had been so perfect it did not seem human, both illusory and real.

Since it involved things like gods and ghosts, although Xue Wu and the others were shocked beyond measure, they did not dare ask too much. They merely expressed their gratitude for saving their lives.

After all this commotion, Shui Bing'er and the others had lost their appetites. They went downstairs to settle the bill and prepare to leave.

At the inn's counter, the attendants and servers all wore ingratiating smiles, but faint fear showed in their eyes.

Although the private rooms were well soundproofed, Shui Bing'er and the others had caused such a huge disturbance while resisting Flender earlier. There was no way the people at the inn could have failed to notice.

Yet everyone in the inn had ignored those intense Soul Power fluctuations. Not a single person dared approach the private room where Shui Bing'er and the others were. After all, why risk their lives for a few hundred Copper Soul Coins a month?

No one even dared accept the compensation Shui Bing'er offered. She had no choice but to leave it on the counter before departing.

Even after Shui Bing'er's group had left the inn, the clerk did not dare touch the bag of Gold Soul Coins they had left behind. Instead, he said to the server beside him, "How about... you go take a look at what happened over there?"

The server shook his head like a rattle drum. "I'm not going. If anyone's going, you go!"

For ordinary people, the more they knew, the faster they died!

"You're a man!"

The two kept pushing the matter onto each other.

"What happened here?"

Just as the clerk and the server were passing the buck, a short but exceptionally burly man suddenly arrived.

It was Zhao Wuji.

Like Flender, he had lost everything in his gamble. While he was in a foul mood, he sensed familiar Soul Power fluctuations here and came over specifically to investigate.

At this moment, Zhao Wuji did not know that he was a step too late. He had not even encountered Shui Bing'er and the others.

The inn where Shrek Academy was staying.

The room was brightly lit, but its atmosphere was as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

It was already late at night, yet Yu Xiao Gang and every member of the Shrek Seven Devils were gathered in the room, their faces filled with grief.

Flender's corpse lay in the center of the room.

Ma Hongjun was the most heartbroken. His fists were clenched tight, his chubby face full of sorrow and indignation as tears streamed down nonstop.

Flender was his master. He often took him to high-end places he could not afford on his own. Now that Flender was dead, it meant Ma Hongjun had lost most of the joy he would have had for the rest of his life.

In truth, Oscar, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun's swollen pig faces made their sorrowful expressions rather comical. Ma Hongjun in particular had eyes swollen into thin slits that kept opening and closing as tears flowed out.

But no one could laugh.

Yu Xiao Gang and Flender had been like brothers. The instant he saw Flender's corpse, tears had even fallen from his eyes, and he had cried aloud.

Even now, Yu Xiao Gang's eyes were bloodshot.

He kept glancing toward the door, as though waiting for something.

Everyone remained silent. At last, the door opened, and the creak broke the stillness.

"...Did you find out who did it?"

Yu Xiao Gang asked.

Zhao Wuji nodded, his voice low. "The inn initially did not dare speak. I questioned the customers there and investigated the places Flender had gone tonight. They said Flender had been looking for the seven girls from the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"And that private room had originally been reserved by those girls. Flender also got into a conflict there."

It was them!

Old and new grudges alike surged up, and everyone from Shrek was instantly consumed by fury.

"It was those bitches!"

Dai Mubai was the first to roar angrily. His pig face had not yet gone down, and his words were still slurred.

"Teacher Zhao, take us to kill them!" Ma Hongjun immediately stood up, gritting his teeth through the pain in his face. "I want to—fry them first, then kill them!"

"Let's go settle the score with them!"

The crowd was enraged. Most of the Seven Devils stood up, except Ning Rongrong.

Yu Xiao Gang frowned and stopped them. "Do not act rashly! I examined Flender's body. He was killed by a single palm strike. It is highly possible that they have an expert at the level of a Titled Douluo! How are you going to settle the score with them?"

"Then... then is my master's death just going to be left like this?! Just because they have a Titled Douluo, they can do whatever they want?!"

Ma Hongjun roared furiously, spittle spraying far away.

The other five members of the Shrek Seven Devils were also full of resentment. Was there no justice? No law?

Yu Xiao Gang gave a bitter smile. "I'm sorry, but Titled Douluo truly can do whatever they want. However..."

As he spoke, Yu Xiao Gang looked toward Ning Rongrong.

For people of the Titled Douluo level, Shrek was not entirely without someone to call upon.

Although Tang San's father, the Clear Sky Douluo, could not conveniently act, and was not easy to find.

There were still the Sword and Bone Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.