"Still want to fight?"
Tang San didn't answer. Blue Silver Grass sprang up from the ground again. At the same time, eight purple-black Spider Lances extended from his back, stabbing toward Luo Chen from eight directions.
Luo Chen didn't dodge. An invisible pressure radiated from him—the combination of the Laws of Time and the mental power of the Spirit Abyss Realm. It bore down on Tang San like a mountain crashing from the sky. Luo Chen's move startled everyone. It seemed he had already touched the embryonic form of a domain!
The Eight Spider Lances could go no farther once they were three feet from Luo Chen. Their joints creaked. Tang San gritted his teeth, his knees beginning to buckle. The Spider Lances braced against the ground as he struggled to hold on. The pressure kept increasing, and the lances snapped one after another.
With a thud, Tang San fell to his knees. He braced himself on the ground and gasped for breath, but still refused to admit defeat.
Just then, a black hammer appeared in his left hand. The moment the Clear Sky Hammer emerged, the pressure abruptly eased—the domineering fortune carried by the Clear Sky Hammer helped bear some of it for him.
The reception hall fell deathly silent. Bai Baoshan shot to his feet, not even noticing that his chair had toppled over. Flender's face turned ashen, and Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes.
"The Clear Sky Hammer!" Meng Shenji set down his teacup. "You're from the Clear Sky Sect? What is Tang Hao to you?"
Meng Shenji gave Luo Chen a meaningful glance, and Luo Chen eased off.
Tang San put away the Clear Sky Hammer and pushed himself to his feet. "He's my father."
Meng Shenji leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "No one is to speak of what happened today." Bai Baoshan, Zhilin, and Flender nodded in turn.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Prince Xue Xing walked in, followed by Xue Beng, his arm in a sling, and finally Dugu Bo.
"I hear the academy has guests?" Prince Xue Xing's gaze swept over everyone before settling on Tang San. "I felt a powerful fluctuation of Soul Power outside just now."
Meng Shenji's expression didn't change. "The youngsters were sparring. Things got a little rowdy."
Prince Xue Xing didn't press the matter. Xue Beng jumped forward and pointed at Dai Mubai. "He's the one who beat me!" Flender hurried to explain, but Prince Xue Xing cut him off and looked at Dugu Bo. "What do you think, Mr. Dugu?"
Dugu Bo stood at the doorway with his arms crossed, not moving. He saw Luo Chen and gave him a faint smile, then said lazily, "This old man came for tea today. His Highness asked me to lend my presence, so I came. But I won't get involved in how this is handled."
Prince Xue Xing's smile stiffened. He had brought Dugu Bo along for the authority of a Titled Douluo, only for this Old Poison to announce in front of everyone that he wouldn't get involved? He glanced at Dugu Bo, who merely lowered his eyelids, looking utterly unconcerned. Prince Xue Xing cleared his throat and found himself a way out. "Since Mr. Dugu doesn't want to interfere, I'll handle this myself."
He turned to Flender. "I have no objection to Shrek Academy merging with Heaven Dou Royal Academy. But we'll have to follow the rules: the students will be tested, and the teachers interviewed. If they pass the tests, I won't say another word. However, I'll be setting the test questions."
This was far more lenient than the rumored requirement to "hold out for five minutes against Dugu Bo," but it left plenty of room for manipulation.
Flender hurried to thank him. Prince Xue Xing left with Xue Beng. At the door, he asked Dugu Bo if he was coming. Dugu Bo waved him off. "I haven't finished my tea."
The reception hall quieted down. Dugu Bo went to sit in a corner, poured himself some tea, and took a sip. "Still as bitter as ever."
Luo Chen walked over and sat beside him. "Why didn't you help him drive them out today?" Dugu Bo glanced at him. "This old man owes him a favor, not his life. He can handle the eviction himself. Besides, with you standing here, how could I bully anyone right in front of you?"
Luo Chen teased him. "You felt the Clear Sky Hammer's presence outside ages ago, didn't you? Are you afraid of Tang Hao?"
Dugu Bo snorted. "Afraid of him? He may be the Clear Sky Douluo, but my poison isn't without its bite!"
"Want to improve your strength?" Luo Chen coaxed.
The two spoke as casually as if they were chatting at home, paying no mind to the people from Shrek Academy beside them. Watching them, Flender felt a storm of conflicting emotions. This young man named Luo Chen was not only unfathomably powerful; he was also remarkably close to Dugu Bo.
Zhao Wuji said nothing, his face dark, but there was more wariness in his gaze toward Luo Chen. Yu Xiaogang had recovered from his shock. He pushed up his glasses and murmured to Flender, "Luo Chen's Soul Ring Configuration surpasses everything I've learned about the limits of Soul Ring age."
Tang San stood behind them, watching Luo Chen and Dugu Bo sit together, drinking tea and chatting. An indefinable feeling welled up in his heart. Two years ago, in the Star Dou Great Forest, this man had casually taken the Ghost Vine Tang San had spent days lying in wait for;
Two years later, they met again. Luo Chen was already a Five-Ring Soul King, while Tang San couldn't even withstand his pressure. What bothered him even more was that Luo Chen hadn't once looked him in the eye. It wasn't that he looked down on Tang San. He simply didn't care.
Luo Chen set down his teacup and stood. After saying goodbye to Dugu Bo, he bowed to Meng Shenji. "Teacher, I'll take my leave now. An'an is waiting for me to pick her up."
Meng Shenji nodded. "Go ahead."
Luo Chen turned and headed out. He didn't look at Tang San or anyone from Shrek. He didn't slow as he passed them, but walked straight out of the reception hall.
He took out his Pocket Watch and checked the time, then put it away and quickened his pace toward the junior division.
An'an would be getting out of school soon.
The people from Shrek Academy watched the silver-white figure disappear through the doorway. For a long while, no one spoke.
Dugu Bo left as well, though he took his time walking out of the Education Committee building.
The hallway was empty. The setting sun slanted through the window lattice, slicing the flagstone floor into patches of gold. He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder toward the reception hall.
That little girl was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit in human form.
With his sharp eyes, he had recognized her at first glance. The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit had taken human form fairly well, but she hadn't concealed the aura of a Soul Beast cleanly enough. In front of a Titled Douluo of his caliber, she might as well have been naked.
Why hadn't he exposed her?
Dugu Bo looked away and kept walking. That rabbit was inseparable from the Blue Silver Grass boy, and they were clearly close. Who was the Blue Silver Grass boy? Tang Hao's son. And who was Tang Hao? The Clear Sky Douluo, a Titled Douluo above level ninety-five. If the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand came crashing down, Dugu Bo wasn't sure he could withstand it.
If he made a move, that boy would surely interfere, and that would be a lot of trouble.
Worse still, that madman Tang Hao might be lurking nearby, keeping an eye on his son. Dugu Bo had lived long enough to know whom he could afford to provoke and whom he couldn't.
Though he could be certain of obtaining a Soul Bone, offending Tang Hao wasn't worth it by any measure. Forget it. He'd find another way to get a Soul Bone.
Old Poison snorted and quickened his pace as he left the academy gates.
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