Back Mountain, Nightfall

A thousand mud horses galloped through Zhao Wuji's heart!

Who could have imagined that the unremarkable Tang San was actually the son of the Clear Sky Douluo?!

He nearly dropped to his knees on the spot!

Tears were practically spurting from his eyes as he frantically begged for mercy:

"Your Excellency Clear Sky! This is a misunderstanding!!"

"I truly didn't know he was your child!"

"Even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare provoke your child!!"

Tang Hao's gaze was icy, utterly unmoved:

"Enough nonsense."

"Zhao Wuji, come take a hammer blow from me."

Zhao Wuji looked like he was about to cry, his face filled with despair:

"Your Excellency Clear Sky! You're a Titled Douluo!"

"With a casual swing of your hammer, even the Pope would meet a bitter end. How could I possibly withstand it?!"

Tang Hao spoke calmly, his bearing overwhelmingly domineering:

"Don't worry."

"I heard you call yourself the Immovable Bright King. I won't use any soul skills today—I'll give you a proper lesson!"

"I'll give you the chance to resist and struggle."

"If you don't resist, you'll die even worse."

The moment his words fell!

Tang Hao gripped the Clear Sky Hammer and strode forward, smashing it down!

Buzz!

Zhao Wuji's scalp went numb. Forced to defend himself, the Soul Power throughout his body surged wildly!

"Seventh Soul Skill! Mighty Vajra Bear! Martial Soul Avatar!!"

Boom!

The Mighty Vajra Bear's true form instantly possessed him. His muscles swelled, and his fur bristled!

He used all his strength to withstand Tang Hao's blow head-on!

Crack, crack, crack—!

His bones exploded with sharp cracking sounds under the pressure!

The air trembled violently!

Pain racked Zhao Wuji's entire body. He could no longer hold on and desperately shot Flender a pleading look!

Flender's whole body stiffened, his scalp tingling.

The corners of his mouth twitched furiously as he forced himself to speak:

"Brother Wuji! To receive personal instruction from Your Excellency Clear Sky is an immense honor!"

"Enjoy it properly! I... I won't interfere!"

Flender swallowed hard. Although Tang Hao had not truly intended to kill him, Zhao Wuji would definitely suffer some physical pain. This was not something Flender could meddle in, so he immediately tried to slip away!

However, a cold snort suddenly rang out!

"What? Flender, are you trying to run away?!!"

Flender froze on the spot!

The smile vanished from his face instantly, and he looked as though he wanted to cry!

"Ah?! Your Excellency Clear Sky! I-I-I..."

He didn't dare run!

He absolutely didn't dare run!

He could only turn around with a stiff upper lip:

"Brother Wuji! Don't be afraid! I'm coming to help you!!"

Smack!!

Smack!!!

In the back mountain!

Loud smacking sounds erupted one after another!

The entire mountain shook continuously!

Even though Tang Hao had not unleashed any soul skills or Soul Power, using only the Clear Sky Hammer!

His physical strength alone still utterly crushed two powerful Soul Sages!

Flender and Zhao Wuji were pinned to the ground by Tang Hao as he vented his fury on them!

They had no ability to fight back, forced to endure everything from start to finish without the slightest chance to resist!

A Titled Douluo!

Terrifying indeed!!

"Ah~"

"Don't—!"

"Ah, I can't take it anymore!"

Under the cover of night, miserable screams rose and fell throughout Shrek's back mountain!

Zhao Wuji was in so much pain that his entire body convulsed. His buttocks burned with unbearable agony, and he was weak and limp all over, as if every bit of strength had been drained from him.

He lay sprawled on the ground in a miserable state, groaning and wailing without end, on the verge of completely passing out from exhaustion!

Yet Tang Hao remained cold-faced and utterly unmoved. The punishment in his hands did not pause in the slightest, brutal and direct!

At this moment, Zhao Wuji truly understood what it meant to wish he were dead!

Only after tormenting him for a full half hour did Tang Hao finally stop, having vented most of his anger.

Even after being brutally beaten like this, Zhao Wuji did not dare harbor the slightest resentment or disrespect. His heart held only terror.

Panting heavily, he cautiously spoke in a tearful voice:

"Your Excellency Clear Sky... are you satisfied now?"

"You are a great and magnanimous man. Please spare me. I really... can't endure this anymore!"

Tang Hao put away his hammer and straightened his clothes.

He snorted coldly. "Hmph! Now you know you can't take it? Weren't you quite spirited during the day? Still... I can spare you, but Flender has to agree to one thing for me."

Zhao Wuji practically wanted to cry!

He had truly suffered eight lifetimes' worth of bad luck today!

During the daytime assessment, that little monster Ao Yin had pinned him down and beaten him senseless!

Then at night, the Clear Sky Douluo had come to personally teach him a lesson!

The key was that Tang Hao had not used a single soul skill from beginning to end. With pure physical strength alone, he had beaten this level seventy-six Soul Sage until his backside was in tatters!

Flender perched in a tree nearby, watching the spectacle with his body stiffened and his backside clenched tight. He did not dare step forward at all.

Help?

No, no, no!

There were some things even brothers could not help each other with!

Flender hurriedly answered with utmost respect:

"Please, speak! Your Excellency Clear Sky! As long as you don't treat me the way you treated Zhao Wuji, whatever conditions you raise, Shrek will comply with all of them!"

He obediently spread his wings and landed, then hurried over to the collapsed Zhao Wuji.

Looking at Zhao Wuji, drenched in sweat and utterly bedraggled, then at the still energetic Tang Hao.

Flender inwardly marveled wildly: Titled Douluos were far too monstrous!

He had gone head-to-head with a Soul Sage for real, and after finishing, his expression had not even changed!

Tang Hao looked at the two of them and spoke in a low, steady voice:

"Flender, you should have guessed it already. Tang San is the son of me, Tang Hao."

"I should have protected him as he grew up, but there are still some matters I must handle personally... I cannot stay by his side."

"Since Little San chose to enter Shrek, from now on..."

As he spoke, Tang Hao's figure flashed, instantly appearing beside Flender's ear.

Lowering his voice, he muttered a long string of private instructions.

Flender's eyes widened more and more as he listened!

"Don't worry. I, Tang Hao, will never mistreat Shrek!"

After explaining everything, Tang Hao pulled up the hood of his black robe once more.

Whoosh!

His figure blurred instantly, vanishing into thin air deep within the back mountain, coming and going without a trace!

Only after Tang Hao had completely disappeared did Zhao Wuji finally let out a huge sigh of relief, collapsing on the ground as he gasped for air.

"My heavens! That great Buddha has finally been sent away!"

"That was terrifying... Is that the strength of the Clear Sky Douluo? I nearly got beaten to death by him!"

He turned and glared at Flender, who had watched from the side, resentment overflowing:

"Flender! That was too unbrotherly of you! You just watched me suffer all that physical pain?"

"Hurry up and help me up!"

Flender wore an awkward smile as he hurried forward to support him, draping Zhao Wuji's arm over his shoulder.

"Brother Wuji, this was a blessing in disguise for you!"

"To receive personal instruction from Your Excellency Clear Sky—there's only one such opportunity on the entire continent. Others couldn't get it even if they begged. You've struck it rich!"

"Get lost! Who wants that cursed bargain!"

Zhao Wuji exploded with anger. The moment he moved, it tugged at his wounds and sent pain shooting through him. He could only clutch his buttocks and cry out miserably as he limped toward the academy in an absurd posture.

Flender shook his head helplessly and spread his eagle wings:

"Stop forcing yourself! If you keep dawdling and don't apply medicine, your butt is really going to rot away!"

He directly scooped Zhao Wuji up and spread his wings, flying away from the back mountain.

The instant the two departed, Tang Hao's figure silently emerged once more from the shadows among the treetops.

He gazed toward the Shrek dormitories, gentle hope hidden in his eyes as he murmured softly:

"Little San... wait a little longer."

"Once I finish handling that matter, we'll be able to meet again very soon."

The night wind was bleak. The black-robed figure flickered, completely melting into the darkness and vanishing without a trace.