Niu Niu is the most reliable when it comes to getting things done!

"Thump."

"Thump."

The sound had a steady rhythm. Each time it rang out, Zhu Dazhi could feel the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly.

Zhu Dazhi immediately grew alert. He pushed off with his feet and hid behind a huge bluestone like an agile cat, poking half his head out to look ahead.

Before long, the thicket up ahead was violently smashed apart.

A blue ox the size of a small hill slowly walked out of the woods.

The blue ox was simply enormous. Its coat shone with an oily gloss, and its four thick legs stepped onto the ground, leaving one deep hoofprint after another.

And on the blue ox's broad back, there was actually someone sitting.

It was an extremely burly man.

The man had a face full of thick beard, and his upper body was bare, revealing bulging muscles that seemed cast from steel. His body was also covered in scars of all sizes.

Most eye-catching of all was the exaggerated broad-backed great saber he carried on his back. Just looking at it, it was clearly no light weapon.

At this moment, the rough man was holding a large wine gourd, tipping his head back to pour wine into his mouth, looking completely carefree.

This person was none other than the Bashan Libationer of the Imperial College of Yankang Kingdom outside the Great Ruins, and the one beneath him was naturally that unfathomably powerful blue ox.

But in Zhu Dazhi's eyes, he was nothing more than a country brute riding a large wild beast.

"No soul power fluctuations, and no trace of soul rings either."

Hiding behind the stone, Zhu Dazhi sensed carefully for a while, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help curling into a smug sneer.

On the Douluo Continent, soul masters were superior beings.

As long as there was no soul power on the other party, then no matter how strong he looked or how great his strength was, before a soul master with a miraculous martial soul and soul skills, he was nothing but an ant to be toyed with.

"That blue ox seems like a decent mount. With a body that big, it's probably a few thousand years old."

Zhu Dazhi secretly pondered this.

"Since he's a brute with no cultivation, I'll just capture him and ask for directions. While I'm at it, I'll seize this ox for transport."

Thinking this, Zhu Dazhi stopped hiding and strode straight out from behind the bluestone.

To intimidate them, he circulated the soul power inside his body before even opening his mouth.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple.

Four dazzling soul rings instantly rose from beneath his feet, pulsing up and down around his body.

The pressure of a rank forty-two Battle Soul Ancestor was released without the slightest restraint.

Zhu Dazhi crossed his arms in front of his chest, lifted his chin, and blocked the blue ox's path.

"Hey! You brute riding the ox, stop right there!"

Zhu Dazhi shouted, his tone full of lofty arrogance.

Hearing the shout, the blue ox stopped.

The Bashan Libationer, sitting on the ox's back, put down the wine gourd in his hand and lowered his head to glance at Zhu Dazhi blocking the road.

But it was only a glance.

Bashan let out a wine-scented burp. He was even too lazy to speak, merely reaching out to pat the blue ox's neck.

"Niu Niu, let's go. Don't bother with this idiot."

The blue ox rolled its eyes dramatically.

That was right. Outside the light screen, everyone from Douluo could see it clearly: that ox had actually rolled its eyes in a very human way!

It clearly also felt that the person in front of it, with several rings wrapped around his feet, had something wrong with his brain. It slowly lifted its hooves, intending to go around Zhu Dazhi and continue forward.

Being ignored by a brute, and even despised by a beast.

Zhu Dazhi instantly flew into a rage.

He was a noble of the mighty Star Luo Empire. Since when had he ever suffered this kind of insult?

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

"First soul skill! Netherworld Thrust!"

Zhu Dazhi roared angrily, and the first yellow soul ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

Sharp claws instantly grew from his ten fingers, and his whole body turned into a black shadow, moving at extreme speed as he clawed toward the blue ox's thick front leg.

He planned to cripple the mount first, giving that ignorant brute a painful lesson.

At the same time, outside the light screen, Davis of the Star Luo Empire watched this scene and nodded slightly.

"Dazhi timed this strike well. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit."

"Although that brute looks strong, there's no way he can withstand a soul master's soul skill."

However, faced with Zhu Dazhi and his cat claws rushing over, the Bashan Libationer on the ox's back did not even look his way. He simply continued drinking by himself.

As for the blue ox, it did not even make a move to dodge. It only stopped, lowered its massive head, looked at Zhu Dazhi as he charged before it, and snorted loudly.

"Moo—"

As the low bellow of an ox sounded, a stream of white air sprayed from the green ox's nostrils.

The stream of air looked ordinary, but the instant it burst out, it compressed the air into a transparent ripple visible to the naked eye.

Bang!

A dull, massive boom exploded by the river. Zhu Dazhi's cat claws had not even touched the green ox's hide before that stream of air struck him head-on.

Immediately after, a crisp series of cracking sounds rang out. The four soul rings beneath Zhu Dazhi's feet, which he had been so proud of, were actually blasted into specks of light on the spot by the impact of that airflow!

"Wah!"

With his soul rings shattered, Zhu Dazhi spat out a huge mouthful of blood as seven or eight of his ribs snapped in an instant.

His whole body was like it had been struck head-on by a mountain hurtling through the air, and he flew backward at ten times the speed he had come in.

In the end, he smashed heavily into the river in the distance, sending up a huge splash.

Seeing this, everyone on Douluo Continent was dumbfounded.

Everyone's eyes went wide, their mouths hanging open, their minds completely blank.

A level forty-two Battle Soul Ancestor had activated his martial soul and released a soul skill.

And in the end, he had been instant-killed by a cow's sneeze...?

Even his soul rings had been shattered by that sneeze!

How was that possible?!

On Shrek Academy's sports field, Yu Xiaogang's legs began trembling uncontrollably.

The words he had just said about daytime being safe were still echoing in everyone's ears, and now a cow's sneeze had slapped his face to pieces.

Soul masters? Martial souls?

In front of a mount from this world, they simply weren't even worth a fart!

At this moment, within the scene...

Zhu Dazhi, who had been sent flying into the river, barely flailed a few times before finally managing to grab a rock by the bank and arduously crawl ashore.

He was soaked through, his face covered in blood, his chest deeply caved in. He was in so much pain that he did not even have the strength to scream.

Just then, Bashan Libationer, who was sitting on the ox's back, finally lowered his wine gourd.

He wiped the wine from his beard and looked down with great interest at Zhu Dazhi, who was sprawled on the rock.

"Huh?"

Bashan raised his thick, rugged brows, his voice rumbling along the riverbank like muffled thunder.

"Where did this little bug crawl out from? The cultivation method he practices is quite strange."

"He even had a few glowing rings around his feet just now? They shattered after Niu Niu sneezed at him. Truly pitifully weak."

Bashan stroked his chin, a trace of curiosity flashing through his eyes.

"When did such a bizarre cultivation path appear in the Great Ruins?"

"Niu Niu, go. Bring him over in your mouth and let me take a closer look at what the hell he is."

Hearing its master's order, the huge, mountain-like green ox flicked its tail, set its sturdy hooves in motion, and walked step by step toward Zhu Dazhi, who lay limp on the ground.

Watching that green ox approach like a small mountain, Zhu Dazhi, sprawled on the rock, sank into utter despair.

He wanted to retreat, but his broken ribs and shattered soul rings made it so that even moving a finger took every bit of his strength.

The green ox slowly walked up to Zhu Dazhi and looked down at him.

In those enormous ox eyes, there was actually thirty percent disdain and seventy percent mocking amusement, as if it were watching a show.

Immediately after, a scene that made everyone on Douluo Continent's jaws drop occurred.

This enormous green ox actually opened its mouth and spoke human words.

And its voice even carried a hint of slick, shameless mischief.

"Master, you can't blame Niu Niu for this."

"Niu Niu's nose was just a little itchy, so I sneezed casually. Who knew this kid's bones were so brittle they'd break at a touch?"

"If those imperial physicians from Yankang ask about it later, Master, you have to testify for me. I really wasn't bullying the weak with my strength."

As the green ox spoke, it even very humanly nudged Zhu Dazhi's body lightly with its front hoof, looking completely innocent, as if afraid of being framed for causing trouble.

Hearing that an ox had actually opened its mouth to speak, the people of Douluo outside the light screen could not help but draw in a sharp breath.

"Is... is it a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?!"

Over at Shrek Academy, Ma Hongjun pointed at the sky screen, even his tongue a little tied.

According to common knowledge on Douluo Continent, only terrifying soul beasts that had reached the hundred-thousand-year cultivation level possessed the ability to speak human words.

But the ox in the scene was clearly the mount of a bare-chested, muscular man!

Using a hundred-thousand-year soul beast as a mount?

Inside Spirit City, when Pope Bibi Dong saw this, she couldn't help tightening her grip on the scepter in her hand.

Even for a peerless expert like her, only one step away from godhood, the carriage she usually rode in was merely pulled by a few hundred-year soul beasts.

This Great Ruins—what kind of absurd higher-dimensional world was it?

They had just run into some brute by a river, and the mount beneath him was a hundred-thousand-year-level existence?

And in the image, when Bashan Libationer heard the blue ox's practiced buck-passing, he rolled his eyes from where he sat on the ox's back.

"Enough, Niu Niu. Stop acting wronged."

"Hurry up and bring that kid over. I want to see what kind of cultivation method he's practicing."

As Bashan spoke, he leaped down from the ox's back and landed steadily on the riverside shoal.

Hearing its master's order, the blue ox curled its lip in dissatisfaction.

It lowered its head, opened its huge mouth, and bit down on the clothes on Zhu Dazhi's back. Like it was carrying a little chick, it flung him straight to Bashan Libationer's feet.

"Ow..."

Zhu Dazhi, who had been slammed heavily onto the ground, couldn't help letting out a pained cry.

He truly regretted it now. Why had he gone and provoked this terrifying big man who looked like some barbarian for no reason?

Bashan Libationer crouched down and stretched out his large, callused hands, feeling around Zhu Dazhi's body for a while.

At first, he had hoped he might make out some novel cultivation technique, but after feeling him up for half a day, his brows only furrowed tighter and tighter.

"How strange."

Bashan smacked his lips, his eyes full of confusion.

"This kid hasn't even opened the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury in his body, and as for the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury, he doesn't understand a damn thing. He's completely and utterly mortal."

"But that glowing circle that appeared under his feet just now clearly carried a bit of power fluctuation. Damn strange."

Hearing Bashan's words, the blue ox at the side also stuck its big head over.

It nudged Bashan's shoulder with its horn and said with a cheap grin, "Master, I reckon this kid's just a natural-born piece of trash. He probably practiced some backfired jianghu juggling trick."

"He even dared shout at me just now. How about I stomp him to death with one hoof and save us from dragging along dead weight?"

Hearing this black-hearted ox talk about stomping him to death at the drop of a hat, Zhu Dazhi was instantly scared out of his wits.

He didn't care about the severe pain in his chest anymore. He hurriedly struggled to turn over, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed again and again.

"Great lord, spare me! Grandpa Ox, spare me!"

"I'm not a bad person! I came from the Douluo Continent! My name is Zhu Dazhi..."

To survive, Zhu Dazhi could only spill everything like beans from a bamboo tube, stammering out the whole story of the sky screen opening and him being teleported here.

After hearing Zhu Dazhi's account, Bashan Libationer stroked the beard on his chin and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"Douluo Continent? Sky screen?"

Bashan lifted his head and glanced at the sky. Though he saw nothing, suspicion churned in his heart.

And after hearing the words "visitor from another world," the blue ox, which had still been wearing a look of disdain, rolled its eyes in thought.

The blue ox leaned over to Bashan's ear and muttered in a lowered voice.

"Master, isn't Yankang Imperial Preceptor recruiting all sorts of weird talents everywhere right now?"

"This kid might be a useless weakling, but since he came from some Douluo Continent, maybe we can sell him to the Imperial Preceptor for some good wine money."

Hearing the blue ox's suggestion, Bashan Libationer's eyes suddenly lit up.

He reached out his big hand, patted the blue ox on the head, and burst into hearty laughter.

"Well done, Niu Niu. Your brain still turns the fastest!"

"Come on. Let's bring this rare goods along and go join the fun in the capital!"

Hearing Bashan Libationer's order, the blue ox immediately split its big mouth into an extremely fawning smile.

"Don't you worry, Master. Niu Niu's the most reliable there is. I'll drag this useless weakling over right now."

As it spoke, the blue ox flicked its tail, lowered its huge head, and bit onto Zhu Dazhi's waistband. Like picking up a bundle of straw, it easily tossed him onto its broad back.

Zhu Dazhi was thrown until his head spun. His broken ribs hurt so badly that he kept sucking in cold breaths, but he didn't dare make a single complaint. He could only huddle in a corner of the ox's back like a quail.

Just then, from the muddy river beside them came the sudden sound of churning water.

Splash!

Then, a slender female River Carp Demon covered in water-blue scales surfaced from the river.

The carp demon's upper body had already transformed into human form. Her skin was fair as snow, and her looks were quite pretty. She seemed to have only just made some progress in cultivation and had surfaced to take a breath.

The blue ox, which had been all fawning a moment ago, instantly had both of its huge ox eyes go straight.

It even ignored Bashan Libationer on its back. A bright string of drool ran from the corner of its mouth as it shouted toward the river in its broken-gong voice.

"Yo! Little sister in the river, you're looking mighty fine!"

"I've been wandering around these wild mountains of the Great Ruins for days, and I've finally found someone who catches my eye."

"Little sister, want to come ashore and have a couple drinks with me? My back's plenty broad. I'll carry you for a ride!"