"A draw?"
Zhao Wuji was stunned. He knew that person's strength all too well.
He had never expected Ye Xuan to fight him to a draw.
"I'm going to rest."
Ye Xuan rose and turned to leave.
The next day.
They left the area and continued deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Along the way, they encountered all sorts of Soul Beasts. Tang San acted as the team's walking Baidu Baike, explaining the creatures to everyone.
Ye Xuan couldn't help but reflect, Yu Xiaogang spent his whole life studying Martial Souls and Soul Beasts. His knowledge in this area really is beyond anything in Flender's books.
After Xiao Wu encountered these Soul Beasts, she was clearly no longer herself.
Watching them, she seemed to feel the sorrow of a rabbit mourning the death of its kind.
Ye Xuan didn't pay it much mind. Most of his attention remained fixed on the Soul Beasts around them.
In his view, Soul Beasts and Soul Masters simply reached the same destination by different roads.
He could see how they used Soul Power, too, and naturally could learn from their strengths.
And so, as they continued deeper into the forest,
they encountered the Thousand-Year Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent that had been driven their way, just as expected.
Tang San and the others joined forces, and then Zhao Wuji stepped in. Together, they easily captured the Thousand-Year Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.
Seeing the pitiful state of the captured serpent, Xiao Wu's sadness was plain on her face.
Tang San quietly comforted her.
Zhao Wuji handed Oscar a knife, preparing to let him finish it off.
Just as Oscar was about to act, a hoarse shout suddenly rang out.
"Stop!"
At the sound, everyone looked over.
An old woman and a young girl emerged.
The old woman was in her sixties or seventies, with a head of white hair, yet she looked vigorous and spry.
She gripped a snake-headed staff, and six rings of light shimmered around her.
The girl had a short, ear-length haircut and wore a neat, fitted outfit that hugged her curvaceous figure. Her dark brown eyes were fixed on the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent in Zhao Wuji's grasp.
She held a smaller snake-headed staff, and two hundred-year rings glowed around her.
When the two drew closer and saw the Soul Rings around Zhao Wuji, they were visibly startled.
"A Soul Saint? Damn it, he's a Soul Saint!"
When Dragon Granny Chao Tianxiang saw Zhao Wuji's Soul Rings, her heart sank, though she kept her expression composed.
"What is it?" Zhao Wuji asked, looking at her with displeasure.
After all, someone had interrupted just as one of his students was about to absorb a Soul Ring. He naturally wasn't going to greet them warmly.
"Esteemed Soul Saint, we chased this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent here. You must have noticed it was injured. Its Soul Ring is a good match for my granddaughter. I hope you'll allow her to have it," Chao Tianxiang explained.
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji sneered. "May I ask your honored name, senior?"
He had called her "senior" out of courtesy because of her age.
"I hardly deserve the title. I'm Chao Tianxiang. My friends in the Soul Master World have kindly given me the title Snake Granny. My husband is Meng Shu, known as Dragon Duke. I hunted this Soul Beast as my granddaughter's third Soul Ring. The young people with you haven't reached level 30 yet, have they? They can't absorb this thousand-year Soul Ring anyway," Chao Tianxiang said.
In her view, the students of Shrek Academy were so young that even if their talent matched her granddaughter's, there was no way they could have reached level 30.
Oscar was about to say that he was level 30, but Zhao Wuji raised a hand to stop him.
Zhao Wuji cupped his hands toward Chao Tianxiang. "So you're Snake Granny, senior."
He had only called her "senior" as a courtesy. He hadn't expected her to truly be one.
Though Chao Tianxiang wasn't as strong as he was, Dragon Duke was a Soul Douluo. Zhao Wuji couldn't afford to provoke him.
Ye Xuan was with the group, and a Soul Douluo certainly wouldn't be a match for him.
But Zhao Wuji didn't know whether Ye Xuan would be willing to step in.
If Zhao Wuji caused trouble and Ye Xuan refused to help, things would be difficult.
Everyone knew that the Dragon and Snake couple never strayed far from each other. Zhao Wuji didn't dare gamble that Meng Shu wasn't nearby.
Seeing Zhao Wuji's attitude soften, Chao Tianxiang grew a little proud.
She knew her husband's reputation still carried weight.
She asked him politely, "May I ask your esteemed name, Soul Saint?"
"I'm Zhao Wuji." His tone softened a little.
"So you're the Immovable Wisdom King. I wondered how I'd come across such a young Soul Saint," Chao Tianxiang said with a flattering smile.
"I hardly deserve the praise. My reputation is infamous, nothing compared to the Peerless Dragon and Snake. I've retired from the world and now teach a few students. I brought them here to find Soul Rings today, and never expected to meet you, senior."
Zhao Wuji deliberately called his reputation infamous. He was warning Chao Tianxiang not to think she could throw her husband's name around to bully others. He had once been a hotheaded brute.
"I'm older than you, so allow me to presume and call you Brother Zhao. This Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is especially important to my granddaughter. If you're willing to give it up, I'll remember your kindness and repay you someday," Chao Tianxiang said.
"That won't do. My student needs this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, too," Zhao Wuji refused outright.
At the same time, Zhao Wuji was sensing the area around them, but he couldn't detect any powerful presence.
Dragon Duke probably wasn't nearby. In that case, he certainly couldn't give up the serpent.
While the two were still trading polite words, Meng Yiran had run out of patience.
She said arrogantly, "We found this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent first, and we were the ones who injured it. You wouldn't have captured it so easily otherwise. Give it back to us right now, or we'll make you regret it."
Watching them argue, Ye Xuan shook his head to himself. They were wasting too much time.
He spoke directly to Zhao Wuji. "Old Zhao, you caught the serpent. What's there to discuss? If they want it, they can prove they're strong enough to take it."
"Ye Gongzi is right. Understood." The moment Zhao Wuji heard Ye Xuan, he knew Ye Xuan would back him up.
So he said directly to Chao Tianxiang, "If you want it, defeat me, and I'll gladly hand it over."
"Hmm?" Chao Tianxiang's expression darkened, and she couldn't help glancing toward Ye Xuan.
She had been struck by the way Ye Xuan had addressed Zhao Wuji just now.
Old Zhao.
Not teacher.
Seeing how young Ye Xuan was, she had assumed he was another of Zhao Wuji's students.
But now it seemed he wasn't a student at all. Zhao Wuji was exceedingly courteous to him, even addressing him as "Gongzi."
And after Ye Xuan urged him on, Zhao Wuji's attitude had changed immediately.
She asked Ye Xuan, "May I ask your name, young sir? Which sect do you belong to?"
In her mind, only the young masters of the Upper Three Sects could make Zhao Wuji, the Immovable Wisdom King, show them such respect.
"Ye Xuan. I'm nobody from nowhere. There's no need to test me. Take your people and leave at once. Don't waste each other's time," Ye Xuan said.
"Nobody from nowhere, and you still dare act so arrogant?" Meng Yiran shouted.
Before you continue