Escape

Tang San raised his head, struggle flashing in his eyes. He took a deep breath. "En Zuo is right. I'm leaving Shrek Academy and joining Monster Academy."

"Kid, how dare you?"

Zhao Wuji, who was even a little shorter than Tang San, glared furiously. The few wrinkles on his face tightened, and his burly frame radiated an immensely oppressive aura.

He grabbed Tang San by the collar and demanded, "What kind of nonsense did that brat feed you? Why are you betraying Shrek?"

Tang San offered no defense. "Teacher Zhao, if you had to choose between your family and the academy, which would you choose? Tell me—which side would you choose?!"

Zhao Wuji was momentarily speechless.

Did that even need asking? What the hell was an academy compared to family? But could he actually say that?

His teeth itched with anger. Thinking of the Clear Sky Douluo, he did not dare do anything to Tang San. He could only throw him to the ground with a dark expression.

Then he turned to En Zuo.

He did not know En Zuo.

And he was no kindhearted man.

Zhao Wuji let out a sinister laugh. "Good... very good."

"Never thought someone would dare poach from Shrek."

"Roar—"

A roar suddenly erupted. Zhao Wuji's large hands became exceptionally heavy, like oversized palm-leaf fans. Seven soul rings appeared around his body, and the first yellow soul ring instantly lit up.

He intended to test En Zuo.

But this was merely a warning. If En Zuo had truly reached the Soul Ancestor realm at his age, as Tang San claimed, then the Titled Douluo teacher he had mentioned to Ning Rongrong earlier must also be real.

Killing him recklessly might bring a great disaster upon Shrek. The shadow the Clear Sky Douluo had left on him was simply too deep.

"First Soul Skill, Immovable Bright King Body."

A surging impact burst forth amid golden light. The surrounding Shrek students turned pale and were forcibly driven back.

Oscar and Ning Rongrong, as support Soul Masters, fared even worse, forced back dozens of steps.

En Zuo, meanwhile, stood expressionlessly where he was. It was as though he had suffered no attack at all. The hem of his clothes snapped loudly in the wind.

Zhao Wuji could not conceal his surprise. Looking at En Zuo, whose feet seemed nailed firmly to the ground, he found himself admiring the courage to face a Soul Sage head-on.

He looked at En Zuo with an ambiguous smile. "Why not join Shrek? That old Flender would be thrilled to have a monster like you join us."

Flender? Was he worthy?

En Zuo had one and only one teacher.

En Ci.

En Zuo lowered his eyelids slightly. The Demon Ding beside him let out a shrill cry as four soul rings slowly rose. He gripped his staff, and his aura steadily climbed.

"Black... black... black... black..."

Zhao Wuji first narrowed his eyes. When he clearly saw En Zuo's soul ring configuration, he momentarily lost his composure. "This... You actually broke Master's soul ring age-limit theory?"

"That outdated nonsense was overturned ten thousand years ago."

En Zuo spread his arms slightly. Carried by the wind element, his entire body floated into the air. He gave a short laugh. "My teacher is a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo and the Imperial Tutor of the Empire. What qualifications does Shrek Academy of your era have to teach me?!"

"Your era?"

Tang San keenly caught that phrase. His instincts told him En Zuo might not belong to this era. En Zuo's wording about Master's theory—saying it had been overturned ten thousand years ago—seemed to confirm it.

En Zuo came from ten thousand years in the future.

But Zhao Wuji, whose head was apparently full of muscle, clearly did not understand the information hidden in En Zuo's words. As a native Soul Master, his ability to accept such things was far inferior to Tang San's, who had crossed over from another world.

"Looks like you're not convinced." Zhao Wuji rolled his neck and revealed a dangerous smile. "Then I'll have to beat you into submission. Don't blame me for bullying the young."

The muscles in his thick legs bulged as his entire body launched from the ground. This was Zhao Wuji's fourth soul skill, Targeted Tracking.

Within a hundred meters, once he locked onto a target, he could forcibly leap forward and close the distance.

En Zuo had long memorized this information. He did not attempt to dodge; that would have been pointless.

A cold glint flared in his eyes. He also wanted to see how the assault-type Battle Soul Masters of ten thousand years ago differed from those of the Dragon King Era.

En Zuo tightened his grip on his staff.

"Third Soul Skill, Earth Element Control."

The gathered earth element was first a flowing liquid, then solidified like cement, forming a jagged dome in midair.

Zhao Wuji plunged straight down from the sky.

A teeth-grinding crushing sound filled the air. His ultimate physical strength collided with the rock-forged dome, which let out cracking noises under the unbearable strain. Chunks of debris fell from its edges.

A crack spread outward from the center, and the entire stone dome was on the verge of collapse.

En Zuo rapidly retreated, signaling Tang San to take all the Shrek students away. Tang San understood. Blue Silver Grass wrapped around everyone's waists, and he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to flee a hundred paces away, watching the battle from afar.

The ground beneath the dome began to shake violently, as if something were rushing toward the surface at high speed.

"Crack..."

The earth began to split apart almost in sync with the dome. Plants rooted in the earth element rapidly withered. Their tender green leaves turned yellow, then became charcoal and sprawled across the ground.

Thick black smoke rose from the roots of the trees, while fiery patterns spread upward along their trunks.

When Zhao Wuji effortlessly shattered the dome and was about to laugh wildly, the sudden change in the ground beneath his feet startled him.

"What kind of soul skill is this?" Zhao Wuji's face turned livid. He wanted to run, but it was already too late.

Not just beneath his feet—within nearly a hundred meters, the once-moist ground dried and cracked. Tongues of flame licked at the surface before suddenly erupting the next moment.

Directly beneath Zhao Wuji, a crimson pillar of fire carrying molten rock suddenly exploded upward.

Then came a second, and a third!

Within a hundred-meter radius, the entire ground was gradually covered by soaring pillars of fire. There were countless of them, until they finally merged into one. Surging lava rampaged across the surface, spreading in every direction.

This was En Zuo's second soul skill, Fire Element Control. By injecting extreme flames to heat the underground rock layers, he caused them to rapidly expand and vaporize.

Once freed from the restraints of the overlying rock layers, the high-pressure gas within burst forth, carrying scorching pillars of fire and molten lava.

Zhao Wuji's figure was completely swallowed, leaving only a shadow twisting within. He let out a furious roar too unbearable to hear.

"Is this... really a soul skill that a person can possess?" Tang San lowered his head slightly. His fingers were as pale as jade as he reached out to touch the flowing lava. Such a near-natural-disaster method made it hard for him to believe that En Zuo was merely a Soul Ancestor.

Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder.

He looked up to see En Zuo standing behind him. The Crystal Staff lightly touched the air, and a golden door slowly opened from the void.

One of his feet had already stepped inside.

"Let's go."

En Zuo stared at Zhao Wuji's twisting figure within the pillars of fire, marveling at the strength of a Soul Sage's physique. He reminded Tang San, "If you stay here, you won't be able to leave soon."

"Can... can I come back?" Tang San stared at En Zuo as he entered the strange space and could not help asking, "My father and Xiao Wu are still here..."

"Ah... Monster Academy has always been quite lenient about visiting family." Half of En Zuo's face entered Narak Space. As his entire body was gradually swallowed, his voice softened and echoed beside Tang San's ear. "As long as you want to, you can come back to visit them anytime."