Public Enemy of the Entire Arena! The Remaining Trash Isn't Worth My Effort! (Part 2)

Heaven Dou Empire, palace secret chamber.

The tea in Prince Xue Beng's cup had long gone cold, yet he remained completely unaware of it.

"Withdraw from the tournament..." he murmured. Then his gaze sharpened as he looked at the black-clad man kneeling on one knee before him. "Have you uncovered Sky Abyss Academy's background?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, no." The man in black lowered his head. "That academy seemed to have appeared out of nowhere outside Nording City half a year ago. Its founder, source of funding, and backing are all blank. Of the seven core members, aside from Su Chen, the files on the other six are as clean as blank paper, as though they had emerged from cracks in the rocks."

Prince Xue Beng's fingers stopped tapping against the table.

No foundation, no background, no power capable of restraining them.

A group of young people of unknown origin had gained the terrifying strength to crush the Shrek Seven Monsters within half a year.

This was not a pleasant surprise.

It was a blade hanging over the Empire's head.

"Watch them closely." Prince Xue Beng's voice was lowered to a near whisper, carrying an icy chill. "Find their base and uncover everything about them."

"If necessary—"

He did not finish, but the killing intent in those unfinished words made the secret chamber seem several degrees colder.

The man in black silently accepted the order, his figure turning into a wisp of blue smoke before vanishing into the shadows.

Shrek Academy's temporary residence.

The lights in the master's room blazed brightly.

Papers covered with formation diagrams and data analyses littered the table and floor. His eyes were bloodshot; he had not slept for an entire night.

He had broken down, reviewed, and recorded every summoning, every command, and every tactical intention Su Chen had displayed during the tournament.

Zhao Wuji entered carrying breakfast. Seeing the frenzied scene, he frowned deeply.

"Xiaogang, are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Wuji, look at this." The master ignored his concern and grabbed a comparison chart.

On the left side were records of Su Chen's summons during the team matches.

On the right were the individual matches.

"In the team matches, he used three kinds of summons: the Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear, the Nether Shadow Leopard, and the Purple Lightning Thunder Eagle."

"In his individual match against Tang San, he used one more—the Black Tortoise. That was his fourth Spirit Ring."

Zhao Wuji nodded. "What does that prove?"

"It proves that from beginning to end, he only showed us four kinds of summons." The master's voice was hoarse and low. "But how many Spirit Rings does he have?"

Zhao Wuji froze.

"At least four. We saw that with our own eyes. But judging from the total amount of spirit power unleashed in that final punch..."

The master picked up a pen and heavily wrote a single character on the paper.

"His spirit power level has definitely entered the Soul King realm!"

Five rings!

"In other words, we know nothing about his fifth Spirit Ring, or the corresponding fifth Ten-Thousand-Year summon."

"A completely unknown army made up of ten Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts we have never seen before."

The breakfast tray in Zhao Wuji's hands hit the floor with a clang.

Another room.

Tang San sat cross-legged on the bed, his chest wrapped in thick bandages. Xiao Wu sat beside him, holding a half-peeled apple, her face full of worry.

"Third Brother, don't force yourself to circulate your spirit power anymore. The master said your injuries..."

"He withdrew from the tournament."

Tang San suddenly spoke, cutting her off.

Xiao Wu stared. "Who?"

"Su Chen." Tang San's eyes remained closed, but his breathing was steadier than ever. "This morning, he announced his withdrawal in front of everyone. His reason was that the remaining opponents were not worth wasting his time on."

Xiao Wu's mouth slowly fell open, and she could not close it for a long while.

"That guy... he's unbelievably arrogant."

Tang San did not respond.

What replayed over and over in his mind was not the world-destroying assault of forty soul beasts, not the apocalyptic scene of countless bolts of lightning crashing down, nor even that final, overwhelmingly domineering clash of fists.

What replayed was the instant Su Chen's left hand pressed against his chest.

The touch of that palm had been cold, calm, and steady—far too steady for someone who had just experienced a life-or-death battle.

That was not the state of someone who had exhausted every last ounce of strength.

"Beast-Soul Unity." Tang San quietly spoke the name of that combat technique. "He directly infused the power of his summons into his own body."

"That means he is not merely a commander standing at the rear."

"He himself can become a walking, intelligent, and even more terrifying Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast at any moment."

Tang San opened his eyes.

There was no longer any dejection from defeat in them, nor even the slightest trace of fear.

Only a nearly obsessive desire, tempered in blazing fire, remained.

"Xiao Wu."

"Mm?"

"Help me find the master. I need the most detailed map of the Star Dou Great Forest Core Area. The more dangerous the locations, the more clearly they need to be marked."

"Third Brother, what are you going to do? Your injuries haven't healed yet. Going there now is suicide!"

"Train."

Tang San's voice was calm as iron.

"The next time we meet, I will not lose again."

West of Heaven Dou City, on the official road.

Su Chen's group of seven had already traveled thirty li.

Dusk gathered around them. Jiang Tieyi led the way at the front, while Ye Linglong's figure flickered in and out of the shadows at the back of the group.

Chu Yao walked to Su Chen's left, her gaze falling several times upon his suspended right arm.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Just a fractured bone. It'll heal in three days."

Chu Yao fell silent for a moment before changing the subject.

"That final punch—Beast-Soul Unity—was that your new ability?"

Su Chen nodded. "It compresses and refines all the power of a summon, then instantly adds it to my body. Attack, defense, speed—everything is enhanced."

"What's the cost?"

"The chosen summon will completely disappear and cannot be summoned again for three days." Su Chen flexed the fingers of his right hand, the sharp pain of bone grinding clearly reaching him. "And with my current physical strength, the limit is only five seconds."

"Five seconds with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's power fused into your body is already absurd enough." Jiang Tieyi, at the front of the group, added without turning around.

"Not enough."

Su Chen's gaze passed over the others and turned toward the southwest.

On the horizon there, a dense mass of ink-black clouds had gathered, so heavy they seemed impossible to disperse.

Following his gaze, Chu Yao's pupils suddenly contracted.

Beneath those ominous clouds lay the filthiest, darkest corner of the entire Douluo Continent.

There were no rules, no order, no mercy.

Su Chen withdrew his gaze and spoke one final sentence to the six behind him.

"From now on, forget everything about the tournament."

"Those opponents were too gentle."

He paused, his voice particularly cold amid the deepening night.

"The place we're going—Slaughter City."

Night completely swallowed the figures of the seven.