On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, in a place where Soul Beasts made their lairs.
A burly, rugged-looking man was directing three young men as they hunted a thousand-year Soul Beast.
Each of the three young men had two Yellow Soul Rings beneath their feet. Though they looked somewhat battered as they faced the thousand-year Soul Beast's counterattack, they were gradually taking control of the situation.
But the most striking thing wasn't the Martial Souls of the three young Soul Masters, or the Soul Skills they wielded.
It was the insignia embroidered on the chest of their uniforms... the emblem of Shrek Academy.
Clip-clop...
Just as the three young Soul Masters were about to kill the thousand-year Soul Beast, the dense sound of hooves suddenly rang out from the forest behind them.
In the blink of an eye, two hundred cavalrymen and dozens of Soul Masters escorted a carriage through the woods, appearing before the three young Soul Masters.
In the few seconds their attention was diverted, the nearly dying thousand-year Soul Beast seized its chance. It bolted a hundred meters away and vanished into the depths of the dense forest.
The newcomers were Su Changge and his party, heading into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for his Second Soul Ring.
The cavalry commander leading the group swept his gaze over the three young Soul Masters. His eyes paused briefly on the rugged-looking man before he flicked his reins and continued onward.
But before he had gone even a few meters, the rugged-looking man folded his arms and blocked the road.
"Heh... Gentlemen, you suddenly appeared and scared off the thousand-year Soul Beast my disciple had spent half a month waiting to find. Now you want to leave without even saying hello? That's a bit too arrogant, don't you think?"
Hearing the voice, Su Changge stepped down from the carriage.
But the moment he saw the rugged man's face, he froze briefly.
The current vice dean of Shrek Academy! A Spirit Saint... "Immovable Wisdom King" Zhao Wuji.
And he was calling someone else arrogant?
The truly arrogant one was Zhao Wuji himself!
Who in their right mind would dare block a group this large???
Only a reckless madman as notorious as Zhao Wuji would do something like this!
Beside Su Changge, dozens of Soul Masters he had recruited released their Soul Rings almost simultaneously. Whether they were trying to show off their strength to their employer or were angered by Zhao Wuji's disregard for them, the result was the same.
Yellow and purple Soul Rings flared one after another, and surging Soul Power swept in every direction!
At the sight of this, the three students from Shrek Academy turned pale.
Zhao Wuji merely glanced at them and let out a disdainful chuckle.
"I never expected to run into the vice dean of Shrek Academy in this godforsaken place—the 'Immovable Wisdom King,' who escaped years ago when sixteen Spirit Emperors from Spirit Hall joined forces against him!"
"He's the 'Immovable Wisdom King,' Zhao Wuji?!"
"I can't believe we'd run into someone that ruthless on this trip!"
Some of the Soul Hunters Su Changge had recruited had clearly heard of the "Immovable Wisdom King." Murmurs rose around them.
But though the name "Immovable Wisdom King" carried weight, it hadn't frightened the Soul Hunters.
The "Immovable Wisdom King" was powerful, sure—but their side had the numbers.
Seeing Su Changge identify him so easily, Zhao Wuji's expression changed.
He didn't recognize the well-dressed young master standing before him. He'd never seen him before.
"I wonder... what kind of explanation does the 'Immovable Wisdom King' want from us, blocking our path like this?"
Su Changge fixed his gaze on Zhao Wuji, rapidly estimating his current strength.
Several years had passed since Zhao Wuji's clash with Spirit Hall. By now... he should have reached the Spirit Saint realm.
Though Su Changge was wary of Zhao Wuji, he wasn't afraid of a fight.
Dozens of Soul Masters to pin him down!
Add two hundred Matchlock Muskets and ten Divine Fire Thunderbolt Cannons V2.0!
Even a war of attrition would be enough to suppress Zhao Wuji, or even severely injure him.
Besides, when dealing with a notorious madman like Zhao Wuji, showing weakness would only make him push his luck!
Should I take a risk? See if I can kill him outright?!
Killing Zhao Wuji now would also deprive Yu Xiaogang and the protagonist's group of one of their strongest allies ahead of time.
The thought set Su Changge's blood racing. His eyes narrowed, radiating menace.
Zhao Wuji had clearly failed to notice anything amiss with Su Changge. Or perhaps... even if he had, after standing up to Spirit Hall, he wouldn't have taken a nobody like Su Changge seriously.
In this world, who could surpass Spirit Hall in strength or influence?
"Judging by your entourage, you've got some kind of backing. A rich young master like you must have plenty of money at home, right?"
"Here's what you'll do: hand over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins as compensation, then personally kowtow three times to each of my three students. And we'll call it even."
"How's that? Your Grandpa Zhao Wuji is pretty generous, isn't he?"
Zhao Wuji took the wine flask from his waist, gulped down several mouthfuls, and laughed brazenly.
Whoosh.
Without needing a single order, more than a hundred Matchlock Muskets swung up and aimed at Zhao Wuji's head.
The remaining Musket Cavalry dismounted, pushing the ten Divine Fire Thunderbolt Cannons V2.0 at the rear forward and lowering them into firing position.
To improve their rate of fire, penetration, and armor-piercing capabilities at close range, the Foundry had suffered countless failures. Now, the upgraded Divine Fire Thunderbolt Cannons could fire with their barrels lowered...
As Zhao Wuji surveyed the dark muzzles—and especially the ten strange iron tubes he had never seen before—a sense of danger welled up in him without warning.
His nerves tautened, and he readied himself to fight at a moment's notice.
He was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid.
It was precisely this near-instinctive sense of danger that had let him escape Spirit Hall's attempts to surround and kill him time and again.
"So there's nothing to talk about?"
Su Changge raised his eyelids slightly, a mocking curve lifting the corner of his mouth.
Then he lowered his right hand and brought it down hard!
In an instant, dozens of Soul Masters unleashed their attack-type and control-type Soul Skills, all striking at Zhao Wuji.
Meanwhile, more than a hundred Matchlock Muskets turned in 0.1 seconds, shifting their aim to the three students from Shrek Academy... Clip-clop—the dense crack of gunfire rang out, instantly turning the three elite Shrek Academy students into sieves.
"You beasts!!! How dare you kill students from Shrek Academy... You're asking to die!"
Seeing his students dead, Zhao Wuji flew into a rage.
His Martial Soul Avatar appeared, and his terrifying Soul Power formed a massive hand that blocked the Soul Skills unleashed by dozens of Soul Masters.
But... before he could even catch his breath, the ten Divine Fire Thunderbolt Cannons V2.0, lowered into firing position, roared. Ten specially made Spiral Shells tore through Zhao Wuji's Soul Power defenses with a furious blast, shattering his Martial Soul Avatar to pieces.
"Keep firing! Don't stop! Shoot that bastard dead!"
Seeing Zhao Wuji's Martial Soul Avatar broken while he himself hadn't even spat up blood, Su Changge looked a little dissatisfied.
The Divine Fire Thunderbolt Cannon still needed more iterations and upgrades!
Boom! Boom!
The barrels of the Divine Fire Thunderbolt Cannons V2.0 roared again.
Faced with the devastating Spiral Shells, more than a hundred Matchlock Muskets, and dozens of Soul Skills hurled at him by low- and mid-ranking Soul Masters, Zhao Wuji took a deep breath, turned, and ran.
He had no choice!
His Martial Soul Avatar was powerful, but every time he used it, his attributes and combat strength dropped by 50% across the board for seven days.
If he kept dragging this out, he might actually get buried here.
"Damn brat... You fight dirty! I haven't even used my Martial Soul Avatar's ultimate move yet!!!"
"I, Zhao Wuji, will kill you! I'll kill you!!!"