Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkey? No, Kill the Monkey Too!

Tang Hao hurriedly bowed.

"Senior Ironblood, what brings you here?"

Senior? A senior of the Clear Sky Douluo?

Gulp!

Zhao Wuji swallowed and exchanged looks with Flander.

Shrek had really committed some terrible sins—two Your Excellencies had paid them a visit in one night!

"Nothing," Tie Xiong said darkly. "Someone else merely tried to make a deadly move against my lord, so I came to teach him a lesson."

Someone else?

Tang Hao's eyes widened. "Senior! I've been wronged! It wasn't me!"

"I know it wasn't you." Tie Xiong waved a hand impatiently. "Step aside!"

As if granted a pardon, Tang Hao hurriedly retreated to the side, pressing his back against a tree trunk.

Tie Xiong looked at Zhao Wuji with a half-smile. "Teacher Zhao, what an imposing presence you have!"

Zhao Wuji's heart pounded wildly, and every hair on his body stood on end. No matter how stupid he was, he could tell something was wrong.

Ye Hua's smiling face flashed through his mind, and Zhao Wuji's heart suddenly clenched.

I'm screwed!

What happened during the day had been exposed!

"Senior," Zhao Wuji said with difficulty, "I... I was only angry for a moment..."

Before he could finish, Tie Xiong suddenly erupted with a terrifying aura!

The soul power of a level ninety-eight Super Douluo burst forth without restraint!

Soul Rings floated around him: two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red!

Every Soul Ring radiated a suffocating pressure!

Tang Hao stood nearby, his pupils shrinking sharply.

Level ninety-eight!

He remembered clearly that six years ago, in that little courtyard in Notting City, Tie Xiong's soul power had clearly been level ninety-six!

Two levels in six years? How was that possible?!

The further a Soul Master progressed, the more years—even decades—of arduous cultivation each level required. This was especially true for a Super Douluo.

For people like them, let alone gaining two levels in six years, gaining one level in ten years would already be impressive!

Thud!

Zhao Wuji's knees gave out, and he crashed heavily to the ground before falling facedown.

His large face was pressed ruthlessly into the dirt by invisible pressure. He did not even have the strength to lift his head.

"Senior, spare my life! Please spare my life!"

Zhao Wuji no longer cared about his dignity, his voice trembling. "I, Zhao Wuji, failed to recognize greatness! I shouldn't have harbored killing intent toward Teacher Ye! I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

Tie Xiong looked down at him, narrowing his eyes. "You do deserve to die."

Those five icy words made Zhao Wuji feel as if he had fallen into an ice pit.

He had no doubt that if Tie Xiong so much as moved a finger, his life would end here tonight.

I need to save myself! What do I do? What do I do...

Right!

Zhao Wuji's mind raced, and he finally found his own value!

"Senior! I will definitely take excellent care of Miss Xiao Wu and Miss Zhu Zhuqing!"

"Forget losing even a single hair—if any nobody dares harass them, you and Teacher Ye can hold me accountable!"

Zhao Wuji rattled the words off nonstop, terrified that if he spoke too slowly, his head would be removed from his shoulders!

Fortunately, Tie Xiong merely stared at him meaningfully for a moment before slowly withdrawing the pressure.

Zhao Wuji felt his body lighten. Soaked from head to toe like a drowned rat, he collapsed limply onto the ground.

With a sweep of his hand, Tie Xiong wrapped Zhao Wuji and Flander in soul power and sent them flying back toward the academy.

When he turned around, Tang Hao was quietly backing away and had already retreated seven or eight steps.

"Clear Sky Douluo, where do you think you're going?"

Tang Hao froze, then turned around awkwardly.

"Senior, I only came to teach Zhao Wuji a lesson. I had no other intentions. Since Senior has already taught him a lesson, this junior will not disturb you further."

He moved with astonishing speed, darting dozens of meters away in just a few breaths.

However, before he could leave the forest, a dark golden staff shadow thrust out from the side and pointed directly before him.

Though that person's soul power was clearly far inferior to his own, Tang Hao scraped his feet against the ground and frantically slowed down, forcibly bringing his charge to a halt.

At the end of the Coiling Dragon Staff, Ye Hua held the weapon in one hand, a sunny smile on his face. "Uncle Tang, long time no see."

Tang Hao's pupils trembled as he instinctively looked behind him.

Tie Xiong had silently blocked his retreat long ago. The blade of the Ironblood Heavy Sword glimmered with cold light, sealing off every angle from which he could evade.

Damn it!

Tang Hao's heart went cold!

He had just been relieved that Tie Xiong had not made trouble for him. So this was where their backup had been waiting!

He knew this old bastard's methods all too well. Six years ago, his Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique had been scattered by a single strike, and even the Clear Sky Hammer had failed to withstand the Ironblood Heavy Sword.

Now that the man's soul power had increased by another two levels, if they truly fought, Tang Hao would not last three moves.

"Ye Hua," Tang Hao forced out a smile, "you're still awake at such a late hour?"

"I had planned to rest," Ye Hua said leisurely, withdrawing the Coiling Dragon Staff and stretching lazily. "But I suddenly felt uneasy and couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk."

"And guess what? I really did run into something."

Ye Hua tilted his head and looked at Tang Hao's pale face. "Perhaps it's because a rat was hiding in the dark, plotting how to bite me?"

Boom!

Tang Hao felt as though five bolts of lightning had struck him at once!

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead!

How did this guy know I wanted to deal with him?

I only had that thought because I saw Xiao San getting bullied by Zhao Wuji during the day, then saw him enjoying himself under the shade of a tree and felt unbalanced!

"You must be joking. I only came to find Zhao Wuji. It has nothing to do with you." Tang Hao tried his best to steady himself.

"Is that so?" Ye Hua said casually. "Then can Uncle Tang explain why Old Tie sensed killing intent toward me from you?"

Tang Hao was dumbfounded. He had come out of Slaughter City—could he possibly not know whether he could control his killing intent?

So this brat was here to extort him!!!

The key was that he did not even dare curse. Otherwise, having lost an arm and Spirit Bones before, with only level ninety-two soul power left, he was no match for Tie Xiong at all!

Tang Hao tried to argue, "That was killing intent left over from when I fought Zhao Wuji after he angered me."

But Ye Hua had no intention of letting him off. "Angered by Teacher Zhao? Do you believe that yourself?"

"Ye Hua, I—"

"Two Thousand-Year Spirit Bones!"

Ye Hua held up two fingers. "Just two Thousand-Year Spirit Bones. That isn't excessive, is it?"

Tang Hao's face instantly turned livid.

Not excessive? Even across the continent, Thousand-Year Spirit Bones were rare treasures!

At the height of his glory as the Clear Sky Douluo, he had only possessed a few!

Over the years, aside from the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Spirit Bone, he had sold the rest for healing medicine!

Now, the only things of value he could produce were two Thousand-Year Spirit Bones, yet Ye Hua had demanded both the moment he opened his mouth!

"You don't have to give them to me," Ye Hua said with a shrug. "The Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Bones in your arms and legs aren't bad either."

Tie Xiong's Ironblood Heavy Sword rang as it left its sheath, and the soul power of a level ninety-eight Super Douluo came crashing down like a collapsing mountain.

"I'll give them to you!"

Tang Hao gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

With his trembling right hand, he took two Spirit Bones glowing with a gentle luster from his chest.

The first was entirely jade green and carried the fragrance of vegetation—the Evergreen Vine Right Arm Bone.

The other was blue-green, surging with wind elements—the Windchaser Azure Bird Left Leg Spirit Bone.

The former was two thousand years old, while the latter was three thousand years old. To ordinary Soul Masters, both were treasures one could only dream of finding!

Ye Hua accepted the two Spirit Bones, weighed them in his hand, and casually stored them in the Azure Jade Bracelet.

"Thank you for your consideration, Uncle Tang. The night is deep and the dew is heavy. You should head back early and be careful not to catch a chill."

Tang Hao turned and left without a word, his back indescribably desolate.

He feared that if he stayed even one second longer, he would not be able to stop himself from fighting Ye Hua to the death.

His good son had wanted to regain some face from Ye Hua, yet Ye Hua was perfectly fine. Tang San, on the other hand, had been beaten black and blue, mocked and ridiculed by others!

He, Tang Hao, had never lowered his head even before the Pope of Spirit Hall, yet now a mere brat had repeatedly shattered his teeth, forcing him to swallow them down with his blood!

[Ding—]

[Mission "Intimidate Tang Hao" completed]

[Distributing rewards...]

[Obtained three Title Douluo guardians]

[All three guardians are level ninety-five Title Douluo. Their martial souls are: Rattlesnake, Ironclad Dragon, Nether Dark Tiger]

[Guardian loyalty is locked at maximum. They will never betray you. Host may use them without concern]

Ye Hua nodded in satisfaction.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey? No such thing!

The chicken had to die! The monkey had to be played with too!

If you could act, there was no need to waste breath!

Three level ninety-five Title Douluo, plus Tie Xiong, the level ninety-eight Ironblood Douluo—he now had four Title Douluo-level fighters gathered at his side!

With such a lineup, no force on the continent would dare underestimate him!

Even if the Hall of Worship of Spirit Hall mobilized in full force, they would have to consider whether they could withstand the desperate counterattack of four Title Douluo!

"My lord." Tie Xiong bowed.

"You've worked hard," Ye Hua said, waving a hand. "Have those three protect Xiao Wu and Zhu Qing in secret."

"As for Tang San, there's no need to watch him. He can't stir up any trouble now."

Tie Xiong and the three men behind him clasped their fists. "Yes!"

Ye Hua rubbed his chin. "Right, tomorrow, Yu Xiaogang..."

"There's a fire! There's a fire!"

"Soul Masters fight, and we suffer for it!"

"Help!"

Interrupted, Ye Hua abruptly looked up and discovered raging flames rising from the girls' dormitory area, along with several villagers' homes!