Battle Bei Bei, Yuhao Joins Up

"You're saying nothing but lies!" Huo Yuhao refused to believe En Zuo's words. Predicting the future was simply too far beyond comprehension.

Yet even Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, a million-year soul beast, had praised En Zuo endlessly. His soul ring configuration of three black ten-thousand-year rings was unprecedented on the Douluo Continent.

Huo Yuhao could not help questioning himself. Could he really one day change his surname to Dai?

No, absolutely not!

"Yuhao, don't get worked up. Everything he said is fake. I was joking before—there's something rotten inside that kid." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurriedly comforted Huo Yuhao within his spiritual sea, then glared viciously at En Zuo. How could someone be so awful?

All bad people should die.

En Zuo did not stop as Huo Yuhao wished. Instead, he continued, "At Shrek Academy, you will meet the love of your life, Wang Dong. You will have a child with a woman you do not love at all. And your choice will be just like Dai Hao's today—you will abandon that woman, abandon that child, and choose Wang Dong."

"To this day, most of your choices have betrayed our expectations."

Huo Yuhao did not dwell on what En Zuo meant by "our." He shut his eyes in pain, the agony of emotions pushed to their limit.

Why did something so false sound so unforgettable, so real... as though it were his future?

Huo Yuhao spoke painfully:

"No, don't say any more."

"Please, stop talking!"

"I'm not the Ice Spirit Douluo you speak of, nor am I the God of Emotions. I don't know any Wang Dong. My innate soul power is only rank one. I'm just an ordinary soul master."

At the end of the day, Huo Yuhao was only an eleven-year-old child. Having never weathered life's storms, his instinct when faced with trouble was to explain himself, unaware that—

The more he explained, the deeper he fell.

"Enough!" Ignoring Tang Ya's worried attempts to stop him, Bei Bei stepped forward. He could not bear to see Huo Yuhao being "humiliated" like this by En Zuo. He had already regarded Huo Yuhao as his junior brother, and this man had gone too far.

"So what if you have three ten-thousand-year soul rings?" Bei Bei's second and third soul rings lit up almost simultaneously. "You dare bully my junior brother in front of me? I will never allow it!"

Lightning's Myriad Strikes

Lightning's Wrath

Intense, crackling arcs of electricity surged over Bei Bei's body. Dragon scales covered his entire right arm and even the right side of his chest.

Thick bolts of lightning shot up from the ground, exploding outward in every direction with Bei Bei at their center.

At the heart of the storm, En Zuo found it difficult to describe what he felt. A seed of one of the Seven Monsters who would one day possess a top-tier martial soul like his teacher's, yet with such a miserable soul ring configuration.

The Shrek Seven Monsters from ten thousand years ago were far too disappointing at their current level of strength.

A smile appeared on En Zuo's sickly pale face as he said with half-hearted praise, "Your momentum is impressive, but unfortunately, as you are now, you're far inferior to Senior Brother..."

The first ten-thousand-year soul ring circling En Zuo flashed. The crystal staff in his hand emitted a dazzling radiance, followed by a violent tempest.

First Soul Skill, Wind Element Control.

"Tempest." Almost at the same instant, En Zuo raised his hand. Demon Ding, hidden behind his back, let out a shriek and charged at Bei Bei. "Demon Ding, use Demon Claw."

"Waa meow!"

The invisible tempest swept up the scattered fallen leaves and became a towering tidal wave. Bei Bei, who bore its brunt, could feel a rapidly moving "wall" slam violently toward him.

Bei Bei could barely keep his footing.

His entire torso suffered a fierce impact, and an overwhelming urge to vomit rose from his stomach. The wind and sand caught in the tempest stung his eyes so badly that he could not even open them.

He had completely lost his sense of direction.

"Bei Bei, be careful!" Tang Ya cried anxiously from behind him.

But it all happened in an instant. Bei Bei had no time to react—or rather, he had no way to react at all.

When Bei Bei raised his hand to block the tempest and planted his feet firmly into the earth, his whole body still slid uncontrollably backward. He cracked his eyes open.

All he could see was Demon Ding right before him, its tiny hands wrapped in a layer of terrifying dark energy.

"Waa meow!" (This kind of trash is more than enough for me alone.)

Three dark claw strikes tore through the air.

Blood splattered. Three claw marks appeared across Bei Bei's dragon-scale-covered right chest, radiating intense dark energy. The dark energy steadily eroded the possessed state of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

Three breaths later, Bei Bei could no longer sustain his martial soul possession and collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Tang Ya rushed over with reddened eyes and pulled Bei Bei into her arms. "Bei Bei, I'll take you back to the academy. You'll be fine. You have to hold on."

After En Zuo dispelled his first soul skill, Demon Ding also flew proudly back onto his shoulder and mocked Bei Bei with a teasing cry.

En Zuo stroked Demon Ding's round belly, his expression gentle. "Demon Ding, you should remain humble and courteous toward everyone. That is the proper etiquette of a powerful soul master."

"You ought to read the academy rules personally written by Teacher En Ci."

"Waa meow."

Demon Ding's face fell, its entire expression drooping. What academy rules? They were all words—how was it supposed to read them?

There was no justice for beasts.

After teasing Demon Ding for a few moments, En Zuo passed by Bei Bei and walked toward Huo Yuhao.

Abruptly, he stopped.

Though still conscious, Bei Bei gripped En Zuo's ankle tightly. "Don't... don't hurt Little Brother Huo... He isn't some Ice Spirit Douluo, nor is he the God of Emotions..."

"He's only someone pitiful..."

"I understand that better than any of you." En Zuo gently removed Bei Bei's hand and examined his injuries. They were nothing serious.

He then lifted his gaze to Tang Ya and said softly, "They are only minor injuries from a spar. Take him back to Shrek Academy. With the martial soul talent of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he will recover completely before long."

There was no major conflict of interest between them, and En Zuo was not some utterly vicious person. They were merely passersby in each other's lives, so he would let it drift away with the wind.

En Zuo looked up at the sky, deep in thought. Had they not noticed? Or were they unable to interfere openly in such matters?

He became more alert, ready at any moment to open Narak Space and flee.

En Zuo extended a hand toward Huo Yuhao, like a gentle senior welcoming a new student. "Will you come with me, Huo Yuhao?"

Come to think of it, this was the first time En Zuo had correctly called Huo Yuhao by his name.

"No..." Huo Yuhao was about to refuse. To him, everything En Zuo had said was too bizarre. He did not dare believe it, nor did he want to.

"Follow me, and I can let you see Huo Yun'er again."

Huo Yuhao had considered every possible condition En Zuo might offer and had prepared reasons to refuse every one of them. But this one...

This one alone!

Huo Yuhao could not bring himself to refuse.

"Yuhao, don't! He's lying to you! Yuhao, listen to me. Let's go to Shrek. As the first intelligent soul ring in history, how could I possibly be inferior to—"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice grew weaker and weaker. As an intelligent soul ring fused with Huo Yuhao, how could he not know how deeply Huo Yuhao's longing for Huo Yun'er was rooted in his spiritual sea?

There was no answer to this move.

"I accept." Huo Yuhao spoke decisively. He would rather gamble that what En Zuo said was true. Even if it cost him his life, he would be willing.

Even if there was only a one-in-a-hundred, one-in-ten-thousand, or one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance! He could never give up.