When the Shrek students saw the red Soul Ring on Ye Qiong,
they all froze.
Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply:
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...?"
"How is that possible... How could he...?"
Tang San's pupils also shrank.
This man's Soul Ring Configuration was even more outrageous than Phainon's.
Hadn't his teacher said that Soul Rings all had limits?
But now, Phainon, whom he had fought, had shattered that theory, and the man before him had shattered it too.
Could his teacher have been wrong?
Though he thought this, Tang San still forced the doubt down and said nothing.
Ye Qiong didn't speak. He merely gave his baseball bat a slight swing,
and the next instant, a wave of air swept over them, sending the Shrek students stumbling backward.
Zhao Wuji's face turned deathly pale.
This man's strength far exceeded his expectations.
Seeing Ye Qiong step forward, Phainon followed, and three Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
One yellow, two purple.
When Dai Mubai saw the two purple Soul Rings, especially the age of the second one, he sucked in a sharp breath.
"A five-thousand-year third Soul Ring? And it's light-attribute?"
Tang San's heart sank further at those words.
Last time at the Soul Fighting Arena, Phainon's second Soul Ring had been a thousand-year one, which had already made him doubt his teacher's words.
Now Phainon's third Soul Ring was five thousand years old, while this Ye Qiong before them was even more outrageous.
So were those age limits his teacher had talked about still correct or not?
Ye Qiong put away his Martial Soul and looked at them calmly:
"So, do you still want me to explain myself?"
Zhao Wuji fell silent for a long time. At last, he gritted his teeth and spat out one word:
"Go."
Ning Rongrong wasn't willing to give up and wanted to say more, but Oscar held her back.
"Don't be impulsive."
Tang San gave Ye Qiong a long look, then turned and followed Zhao Wuji away.
Ye Qiong watched them leave, the corner of his mouth lifting.
The protagonist? I'm the one who puts the protagonist in his place.
He turned to Phainon:
"Did you get your Soul Ring?"
Phainon nodded.
"Yeah. A five-thousand-year light-attribute Soul Beast for my third Soul Ring."
Ye Qiong patted him on the shoulder.
"Nicely done."
Phainon smiled and scratched his head.
"Um, Teacher Tribbie helped us. We couldn't have handled that many on our own."
Ye Qiong smiled and shook his head, then opened the system. Sure enough, all three missions had been completed.
[Three missions completed. Rewards: 4,000 Star Jade, one special card. Please claim them.]
Ye Qiong didn't inspect the rewards right away. Instead, he looked at Tribbie.
"Teacher Tribbie, let's head back."
Tribbie nodded and gently raised her hand.
The next instant, a golden triangular gate appeared out of nowhere.
Just as Ye Qiong was about to step through the portal, the system suddenly displayed a new mission:
[Improve the cultivation aptitude of five disciples who are not Chrysos Heirs. Reward: 2,000 Star Jade per disciple. Complete all to receive one special card.]
Meanwhile, the Shrek students found an open patch of ground to rest.
Tang San sat beneath a tree, saying nothing.
Just then, Xiao Wu emerged from the woods.
Her face was pale and her eyes were swollen, clearly showing she had been crying.
The moment Tang San saw her, he rushed over in excitement and hugged her.
"Xiao Wu! Are you all right?"
In his arms, Xiao Wu shook her head.
"I'm fine. That Titan Giant Ape let me go."
Tang San breathed a sigh of relief and released her.
"That's good."
Xiao Wu noticed that Tang San looked a little pale. She lowered her gaze to his body, and her brows immediately drew together.
"Brother, how did you get hurt? What happened?"
Tang San gritted his teeth.
"We ran into a Man Faced Demon Spider earlier and fought it."
"And then?"
Tang San told her what had happened, his voice full of resentment.
"That gray-haired man suddenly showed up and killed the Man Faced Demon Spider with one swing of his bat. He even took its Soul Ring."
At the words "gray-haired," Xiao Wu's heart inexplicably tightened.
"Gray-haired? What did he look like?"
Tang San thought back.
"Gray hair, amber eyes, looked pretty young. But the Soul Ring on him..."
Zhao Wuji chimed in from beside them:
"That man's name is Ye Qiong. He's the dean of Omphalos Academy, and he has a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring."
At those words, Xiao Wu's face instantly turned deathly pale.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...
His Seventh Soul Ring was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...
That Soul Ring absolutely had to belong to Da Ming.
Her hands began to tremble.
Tang San noticed something was wrong and hurried over to her.
"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"
Xiao Wu managed to force a smile.
"Nothing. I'm just a little tired. That man... is he strong?"
Zhao Wuji nodded.
"Very strong. And that Phainon under him has a five-thousand-year light-attribute third Soul Ring. Damn it, he's even more of a monster than our Monster Academy."
Xiao Wu bit her lip and asked no more.
She was already certain.
That Ye Qiong was the enemy who had killed Da Ming.
But she didn't dare tell Tang San.
At least, not yet.
Zhao Wuji stood up.
"All right, if you've rested enough, let's move. Oscar still needs a Soul Ring, and Tang San just broke through to level thirty, so he needs one too."
The group packed up and continued deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
However, they hadn't gone far when they came upon three people in an open clearing.
A man and a woman, both elderly, were accompanied by a girl of about fourteen or fifteen.
Zhao Wuji saw the two elders and cupped his fists.
"I'm Zhao Wuji of Shrek Academy. May I ask who you two seniors are?"
Meng Shu glanced at him.
"Never heard of you. But looking at you, could you be the Immovable Wisdom King, Zhao Wuji?"
Chao Tianxiang also sized up the Shrek students.
Zhao Wuji looked a little awkward, but maintained his courtesy.
"That's me. May I ask which direction you two seniors came from?"
Meng Shu pointed behind him.
Zhao Wuji followed the direction of his finger, and his heart stirred.
That was the direction Omphalos Academy had gone.
"May I ask if you've encountered a group of people? They were led by a gray-haired young man."
Chao Tianxiang's expression changed instantly.
"You know that bastard?"
Zhao Wuji furrowed his brows.
"What? You've had a run-in with them too, senior?"
Meng Shu gave a cold snort.
"Just a moment ago, we wanted to follow them and see if we could find a Soul Ring for our granddaughter. But the red-haired woman among them spotted us."
Chao Tianxiang continued, her face somewhat pale.
"That red-haired woman was unfathomably powerful. She picked us up as if we were little chicks, and then the dean extorted us before letting us go. They're relying on powerful backing to throw their weight around—utterly outrageous."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji inexplicably felt a lot more balanced.
So it wasn't just Shrek that had taken a loss.
Meng Shu looked at Zhao Wuji.
"What about you? Have you also got a grudge against them?"
Zhao Wuji told them what had happened with the Man Faced Demon Spider.
After hearing him out, Meng Shu gave a cold laugh.
"That dean doesn't look like a good person at all."
Chao Tianxiang nodded too, then looked at Zhao Wuji.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Zhao Wuji, how about we join forces?"
"This..."
Zhao Wuji hesitated for a moment, then slowly replied:
"Then..."
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