After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong agreed, they were already itching to teach Gu An a lesson.
Both of them looked brimming with confidence.
Mu En wasn't in any hurry.
His cloudy old eyes narrowed slightly as he looked back and forth between Gu An and Leng Yaozhu twice.
He vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
The kid was only six years old, a One-Ring Soul Master, yet he dared to propose a fight against Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
The Limit Douluo behind him hadn't shown the slightest trace of concern from beginning to end.
But Mu En couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong.
No matter how strong he was, could he win against two opponents, one of whom was ten levels above him?
Besides, other people might not know Wang Dong's situation, but Mu En did.
He pushed down his doubts and raised a hand to stop Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were about to step forward.
"Wait."
Mu En's gaze fell on Gu An, and his aged voice remained unhurried.
"You want to stand up for Xiao Xiao. You're not planning to fight them when they've barely got any Soul Power left, are you?"
"Since you're so confident, let's wait until both of them have fully recovered their Soul Power before you fight."
"How about it?"
Gu An looked at Mu En and gave a slight upward twitch of his lips.
Of course he knew Mu En was trying to provoke him.
And he took the bait.
Not because he was impulsive, nor because he'd fallen for the provocation without realizing it.
He simply needed more World Origin.
Killing Huo Yuhao would be ideal. If he couldn't kill him...
To deal a crushing blow to this child of fortune, he had to defeat him head-on when he was at his strongest.
If Huo Yuhao lost this fight because his Soul Power hadn't recovered, afterward he could easily come up with an excuse for himself.
"I only lost because I hadn't recovered my Soul Power."
"If I'd been at full strength, I might not have lost."
Sometimes self-suggestion could be powerful. A single excuse could keep someone's heart of the Dao from collapsing completely.
What Gu An wanted was to leave Huo Yuhao without even an excuse.
Besides, he was just as confident in himself.
"No problem."
Gu An's voice rang clear, and his expression was open and straightforward.
"I'm an upright man. I never resort to dirty tricks."
He paused, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
"Unlike you people at Shrek."
Mu En's eyebrows twitched, and the muscles in his face gave a slight spasm.
He simply ignored Gu An's jab at Shrek Academy.
He had no idea why the kid had such a grudge against Shrek Academy. Every time he opened his mouth, he had to get in a dig.
Mu En gave Yan Shaozhe a look.
Yan Shaozhe froze for a moment, then understood.
He turned around and waved to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
"You two, come with me and recover your Soul Power."
"How long will it take you to recover here?"
"We can't waste our guests' time."
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged a glance.
Though they both wanted to rush over and beat Gu An up right then and there, the dean had spoken. All they could do was obediently walk over.
Gu An didn't stop them.
He watched Yan Shaozhe lead Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong away, then turned around and took out, one after another, the ten boxes he'd just received from Mu En, pulling them from his Storage Soul Guidance Device.
He opened the boxes one by one and neatly lined them up on the ground in front of Xiao Xiao.
Ten Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones shone with different-colored lights.
Each Soul Bone radiated the powerful aura of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Their lights shimmered, illuminating Xiao Xiao's face.
Xiao Xiao's eyes widened.
She looked at the Soul Bones on the ground, then at Gu An. Her mouth opened and closed, then opened and closed again.
"Th-this is..."
Gu An reached out and gently patted her head.
"Pick one."
Xiao Xiao's eyes instantly turned red.
Tears pattered down, falling toward the front of her chest... and under her clothes. She couldn't help it. She could look down and see her toes, but she couldn't catch her tears.
Maybe she'd grow into them.
Xiao Xiao was so moved. What kind of trash was Shrek, anyway? It couldn't hold a candle to her big brother Gu An.
Just as Gu An had expected, everyone from Shrek Academy clenched their teeth at the sight, eyes blazing as their chests heaved.
But they all stayed where they were. Not one of them dared move.
That was what happened when the other side was stronger.
Only then did Fan Yu remember that Zhou Yi was still sprawled on the ground.
He hurried over, bent down, and picked Zhou Yi up.
Her body hung limp, and a streak of blood that hadn't yet dried still clung to the corner of her mouth.
Carrying Zhou Yi over to Zhuang Yusen, he spoke anxiously.
"Elder Zhuang, please help Teacher Zhou."
Zhuang Yusen glanced down at Zhou Yi and furrowed his brow, but still raised his hand. The Tree of Life Martial Soul appeared once more, and emerald light fell over Zhou Yi.
Fan Yu had finally remembered Zhou Yi.
If they'd waited a little longer, she'd have been stone-cold dead.
Afterward.
Once Yan Shaozhe and the others had left, most of the senior figures followed Mu En, leaving behind only a few mid-level teachers, such as Wang Yan and Mu Jin.
Gu An didn't bother with them either.
He turned around and went over to Leng Yaozhu.
Leng Yaozhu took the largest box from her Storage Soul Guidance Device and opened it.
The Dragon Core lay quietly inside. It was about the size of a fist, its surface shimmering with golden-red light.
The light flowed slowly over the orb as though it were alive. Within it, the faint shadow of a small dragon could be seen swimming, its head and tail joined as it circled endlessly.
A warm energy radiated from the Dragon Core. Anyone who came close could feel a slight heat against their skin.
At the same time.
In a hastily chosen office.
Mu En sat in his wheelchair as he was pushed into the room..
Yan Shaozhe was the only one absent. Everyone else was there, and a few faces that hadn't been in the Soul Fighting Zone earlier had joined them.
Martial God Douluo Xian Lin'er and Dragon Soul Douluo Cai Mei'er, two beautiful women, both had their brows slightly furrowed.
The atmosphere in the room was oppressive. No one spoke.
Xuanzi was still the one who stood out.
He abruptly stood up and slammed his fist onto the table.
The instant his fist hit the tabletop, his expression changed.
The corner of his mouth twitched, his eyelid jumped, and the veins that had just receded from his forehead bulged again.
His hand was still pressed against the table, but it had already begun to tremble uncontrollably.
The injuries he'd suffered earlier hadn't healed completely at all.
And now, trying to put on a show, he'd slammed his fist into the table.
The table was completely unharmed, but his fist hurt so much it felt like it was about to fall apart.
He'd nearly been killed by a table despite being a Titled Douluo.
Xuanzi's face flushed bright red, but he gritted his teeth and forced the cry of pain rising in his throat back down.
He pulled his hand away from the table and hid it behind his back, his expression so dark it looked like water might drip from it.
"Elder Mu, are we really going to stand by and watch them leave later?!"
"I won't accept this!"
At Xuanzi's words, everyone else in the room fell silent.
Who could accept it?
They'd been attacked at their own doorstep. A teacher had been gravely injured in front of the entire faculty and student body. The Sea God Pavilion had been forced to bow its head and hand over ten Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones and a Dragon Core.
Now they even had to send their students to fight the other side, supposedly to "stand up for" them.
When had Shrek Academy ever suffered such humiliation?
Mu En looked somewhat helpless. He was just as unwilling to accept it.
"We can't deal with that Limit Douluo. We can only look for a way through the fight that's coming."
He paused, a cold glint flashing through his cloudy old eyes.
"We'll find a way to make that kid pay."
On the surface, Mu En seemed amiable, always wearing a kindly smile.
But he'd once been a Limit Douluo himself.
He'd fought his way from an ordinary Soul Master to the rank of Limit Douluo, with more blood on his hands than anyone could count.
Now someone had come right to his doorstep and trampled his face into the dirt.
How could he possibly stay amiable forever?