"Heh... If Heaven Dou Royal Academy expels us over a piece of trash like him, then this place isn't worth staying at."
Meng Chen sneered without so much as glancing at Xue Beng.
In the original story, Xue Beng had also made trouble for the Shrek group when they came seeking refuge, only to get beaten up by Dai Mubai.
In the end, Prince Xue Xing had Dugu Bo intervene to avenge Xue Beng and drive the Shrek group away.
Later, the original story revealed that Xue Beng had deliberately played the spoiled brat to avoid being killed by Qian Renxue. He even took Tang San as his teacher, buried the hatchet with him, and became emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.
It was utter bullshit.
"You picked on my people while I was away. That's bold of you. So bold that I'd feel bad if I didn't give you something in return."
Meng Chen regarded Xue Beng's lackeys with a mocking smile.
A bad feeling seized them.
Then two purple Soul Rings and one black Soul Ring rose beneath Meng Chen's feet. The students around him stared in shock.
"Two Millennium Soul Rings and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? What kind of setup is that? Aren't Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings only absorbable by Soul Kings?"
"Wait, how old is this commoner? He's already a Soul Elder?"
"Why are you just standing there? Back up unless you want to get caught in it!"
"A Soul Elder with a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? Am I seeing things?"
Xue Beng's lackeys gaped at Meng Chen's Soul Rings.
Come on, how is that possible? What Soul Elder has two Millennium Soul Rings and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring?
Thunder Hell Vine coiled around Meng Chen, flashing with lightning. Thick as a giant serpent, it writhed slowly, making quite a few female students instinctively press their legs together.
"Wh-what are you trying to do? This is Heaven Dou Royal Academy! We're descendants of imperial nobles! If you attack us, you'll be challenging the empire and the imperial family!"
Realizing Meng Chen intended to attack, the lackeys panicked and hurried to warn him.
Meng Chen gave a derisive laugh. "Heh... Now you're scared? Descendants of nobles? Let's see how many bolts of heavenly lightning that title can take for you."
As soon as he spoke, Meng Chen's second Soul Ring lit up.
Thunder Hell Vine's second Soul Ring came from a mutated Silver Thunder Bamboo, whose original species was known as Sky Thunder Bamboo.
Sky Thunder Bamboo was a special plant capable of drawing lightning from the heavens and earth. It resembled Thunder Hell Vine, though it was nowhere near as extraordinary.
A Sky Thunder Bamboo's age and cultivation could be judged by its color: green at a hundred years, purple at a thousand, and jade-like at ten thousand.
The one Meng Chen had hunted was a Silver Sky Thunder Bamboo over four thousand years old. Its stalk was silver shot through with gold, an exceedingly rare mutation. Both its toughness and its power to draw lightning far surpassed ordinary Sky Thunder Bamboo.
Meng Chen's second soul skill was modeled on that power to draw lightning. Its name was Thunder Punishment Summoning.
Thunder Hell Vine swayed its massive body like an ancient priest beseeching the heavens to send down punishment.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble...
Rolling thunder sounded as a vast bank of dark clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the sun. A heavy shadow spread across a fifty-meter radius.
The students looked up instinctively, astonishment in their eyes.
Silver serpents of lightning danced within the dense clouds. Destructive power hung in the air, as if heavenly punishment had descended to lay waste to the world!
Xue Beng's lackeys' expressions changed completely. That's a damn soul skill?!
Hold on. Aren't soul skills supposed to be things like binding someone with vines or breathing fire?
And then you fight with everything you've got to scrape out a win?
Whose second soul skill changes the weather the moment it's used?!
Meng Chen raised his right hand and wagged the index finger bearing his Bone Dragon Ring between the lackeys. "Now, who should go first?"
"You've had plenty to say. Why don't we start with you?"
He settled on the lackey who had been shouting the whole time.
The young man went pale. He was about to beg for mercy when Meng Chen flicked his finger downward.
Rumble...
A bolt of silver lightning plunged from the sky and struck the young man squarely on the head before everyone's horrified eyes!
"Aaaah!"
The young man let out a bloodcurdling scream as lightning crackled over him.
By the time it stopped, smoke was rising from his body. He was black from head to toe, as if he had just been dragged out of a coal mine. The other lackeys were terrified.
"What are you staring at? Run!"
One lackey shouted and bolted, abandoning even Xue Beng. The rest scattered at once. None of them wanted to be shocked into charcoal!
"You think you can get away?"
Meng Chen smirked and moved his finger. Five more bolts of silver lightning struck the fleeing lackeys.
"Aaaaah!" ×5
The five lackeys' eyes rolled back and foam spilled from their mouths as they passed out from the shock. Even unconscious, their limbs kept twitching and jerking.
The sight terrified the other students too. None dared linger, and they fled faster than rabbits.
Among the crowd, a slender figure watched Meng Chen command the lightning with a flick of his finger. A strange light entered her beautiful eyes. She parted her lips, licked them, then turned and left.
Seeing Meng Chen fly into a rage and give the people who had cornered her a thorough lesson, Xiao Wu beamed. She leaned over and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.
"Hehe, A-Chen, you're amazing!"
The dark clouds gradually dispersed. Meng Chen looked at Xiao Wu, whose rabbit ears quivered with delight, and gently pinched her soft cheek. Affection glimmered in his eyes as he reminded her:
"Next time you run into people with filthy mouths, don't put up with it. That only makes them push further. Hit them hard."
"I was afraid I'd cause trouble for you. Weren't you the one who told me not to fight people whenever I felt like it?"
Xiao Wu swung Meng Chen's arm, reminding him of what he had told her before.
Meng Chen said, "Yes, but that's only if they haven't provoked us. If people leave us alone, we shouldn't attack them for no reason."
"But if they start trouble, we can't go easy on them. If you can settle it with your fists, don't waste words."
"Mm-hmm, I get it." Xiao Wu nodded earnestly and took his words to heart.
"Come on. Let's head back."
"Okay!"
Meng Chen took Xiao Wu's hand and left the cafeteria, leaving the unconscious Xue Beng and his still-twitching lackeys behind.
When the academy teachers received word and arrived, the sight gave them a headache.
One side was a Tiandou prince. The other was a peerless talent specially recruited by the academy.
If they handled this badly, it could become a serious incident!
A teacher immediately reported the matter to Meng Shenji. After hearing what had happened, Meng Shenji's expression shifted.
He was angry at Xue Beng's stupidity and worried Meng Chen might now harbor resentment toward the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
After thinking it over for a long time, Meng Shenji decided to seek an audience with Xue Ye at the palace.
Xue Beng was a prince, after all. An attack on him tarnished the imperial family's dignity, so the final decision rested with Xue Ye.
Less than half an hour later, at the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
In the imperial study, Xue Ye looked puzzled when he heard that Meng Shenji had requested an audience.
He waved a hand, telling Xue Qinghe to report on the empire's taxes later, and had an attendant bring Meng Shenji in first.
Meng Shenji entered and saw that Prince Xue Xing and Crown Prince Qinghe were there with Xue Ye. He immediately clasped his hands in greeting.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness Prince Xue Xing..."
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