A True Clash of Dragons and Tigers

His voice was not loud, yet every word struck Shrek's faces like a vicious slap.

Bei Bei took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the killing intent surging within him. He knew that acting on impulse would solve nothing. The other party's strength was unfathomable; none of them could possibly face him alone.

He stepped forward, shielding the emotionally unstable Xiao Xiao behind him. His gaze was as solemn as a mountain as he said in a low voice, "Your strength is formidable, sir. We admire it. But Huo Yuhao is merely an ordinary student of Shrek, with weak soul power. Why must you resort to such methods and humiliate him in public? Isn't that... beneath the bearing of a true powerhouse?"

His words were neither servile nor overbearing. He acknowledged the other party's strength while seizing the moral high ground.

Worthy of being Shrek's leading figure—even in a fury, he could still retain his final shred of reason.

However, the person standing before him was Yu Chen.

Someone who never played by convention and regarded so-called "rules" and "bearing" as nothing.

After hearing him out, Yu Chen seemed to have heard some tremendous joke and actually let out a soft laugh.

He did not say another word. He merely started walking, passing directly by Bei Bei and the others.

Just as everyone thought he was about to leave and that this conflict would end with a whimper—

The instant Yu Chen brushed past Bei Bei, an extremely soft voice, like a lover's whisper, clearly slipped into the ears of every member of the Shrek Preparatory Team.

"What?"

"The old ones came out to get beaten. Do the little ones want to try too?"

His voice carried utter contempt and impatience.

"Come at me together. I'm in a hurry."

Boom!

If their rage had been suppressed before, then at this moment, that one sentence completely snapped the strings of everyone's reason!

"The old ones"... referred to Teacher Wang Yan!

"The little ones"... meant every last one of them!

What arrogance! What utter disregard for others!

He actually treated all of them like trash he could dispose of whenever he pleased!

Bei Bei's body suddenly stiffened. His fists clenched at once, veins bulging across the backs of his hands. A violent aura of lightning uncontrollably spilled from his body, crackling softly around him.

Xu Sanshi's eyes turned bloodshot, and he nearly summoned his Xuanming Turtle martial soul on the spot.

"Courting death!"

Yet Yu Chen's steps did not pause in the slightest.

He did not even turn his head. He merely lifted a hand and impatiently pointed toward the figure still unconscious on the arena floor, surrounded by a complete mess.

The gesture was like shooing away a fly.

"Drag him away."

"Don't dirty my place."

Dead silence.

It was as though the entire world had been put on pause.

"Don't... dirty... his place?"

Bei Bei repeated the words one by one. His voice was low and heavy, as if squeezed from between clenched teeth. Every word carried bone-piercing coldness and an uncontrollable tremor.

That sentence was more lethal than any vicious curse!

It was like a red-hot branding iron, ruthlessly searing itself into the souls of everyone from Shrek!

Their dignity, their glory, their companions... everything they treasured had, at this moment, been casually trampled into the mud!

They could endure it no longer!

"Fine!!!"

A heaven-shaking roar exploded from Bei Bei's chest!

He could no longer maintain the calm restraint expected of a leader. Blue-violet lightning flashed wildly in his eyes, while his soul power erupted like a volcano!

"Since you are so confident!"

"Our Shrek Preparatory Team... all members!"

"Challenge! You!"

The final four words were nearly roared out, carrying the resolve to fight to the death and towering battle intent!

As his voice fell, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, He Caitou, and everyone else stepped forward at the same time, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bei Bei. Powerful auras of soul power surged into the sky, intertwining into a soul power storm that made hearts tremble!

They used their actions to make their stance clear!

Fight!

Even if they were shattered to pieces, they would use Shrek's iron fists to smash this madman's arrogance to dust!

The atmosphere in the entire Great Soul Arena was completely ignited!

"Oh my god! A team battle! The entire Shrek Preparatory Team is challenging that 'Thunder Dragon'!"

"Now this is going to be a show! This is a true clash of dragons and tigers!"

"They've gone mad! They've all gone mad! That's the reserve team of the Shrek Seven Monsters! Every one of them is a monster among monsters!"

Countless spectators rose from their seats and craned their necks, terrified of missing this historic moment.

Everyone's gaze converged upon that proud, solitary figure in white.

Faced with a challenge from the entire Shrek Preparatory Team, faced with pressure powerful enough to make any Soul King pale, how would he respond?

Solemnly? Excitedly? Or... would he retreat?

Yet what they saw was a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Yu Chen did not even turn around. With his back to those Shrek geniuses brimming with battle intent, he casually waved a hand without looking back.

The gesture was light and casual, as though he were merely dusting off his shoulder.

"Granted."

Those two faint words drifted through the air, yet they pressed down on Bei Bei and the others like two immense mountains.

That was not agreement. That was... permission.

The natural approval of a superior toward those beneath him.

Before they could recover from this deeper layer of humiliation, Yu Chen's voice rang out again, still carrying that lazy, impatient tone.

"Tomorrow, same time."

"Don't make me wait too long."

With that, he no longer lingered and strode toward the exit.

Behind him, a graceful figure silently emerged from the crowd and closely followed in his footsteps.

It was Wang Dong'er.

From beginning to end, she had not said a single word.

Now, she passed Bei Bei, Xiao Xiao, and the former teammates she had once spent every day with, her expression utterly blank, as though they were nothing more than strangers.

There was no hesitation in her eyes, no struggle, not even the slightest trace of reluctance.

She did not so much as glance at her former companions, whose expressions had turned shocked, bewildered, even pained because of her actions. She merely followed the man with firm, measured steps, one step after another, toward the side opposing Shrek.

From the Great Soul Arena, where all eyes had been on them, through the bustling streets, and finally into the corridor of Soto City's most luxurious hotel, she had always kept three steps behind him.

Neither too far nor too close.

Like both an attendant and a shadow drawn along by invisible chains.

Her mind was blank. Bei Bei's disbelieving gaze, Xiao Xiao's pained and furious questioning, Xu Sanshi's twisted expression as he struggled to restrain his urge to kill... scene after scene flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.