Damn, Even an Old Guard Returns

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—"

Qi Ji stretched out his right hand, tapping his index finger across them one by one as if counting something utterly insignificant. In a languid tone, he said, "Come at me together. I'm in a hurry."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly through the amplifying Soul Tools around the arena and spread throughout the entire stadium. Eighty thousand spectators fell silent for a moment before erupting into even more fervent cheers and discussion.

"Arrogant!"

The black-haired youth at the head of Shrek's team darkened, the veins at his temples twitching as he could not help but let out a low shout.

As an elite student of Shrek Academy's inner court, he had always been admired wherever he went. When had he ever been treated with such contempt? And by someone several years younger than him, no less.

"Arrogant? I call that confidence." Qi Ji brushed aside the stray hair over his forehead. The sincerity in his golden dragon eyes only made people angrier.

"Whether it's arrogance or confidence, we'll find out soon enough."

The black-haired youth gave a cold shout and stepped forward. With Martial Soul Possession, four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, and black—slowly rose beneath his feet and circled his body.

His arms rapidly transformed as Soul Power surged through them—blue-purple scales covered both arms, his fingers became sharp dragon claws, and a cold metallic gleam flickered at their tips.

"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon..." Qi Ji recognized at a glance this veteran Martial Soul that had fought its way from the first installment of Douluo Continent all the way to the fourth.

Compared to the White Tiger, that pitiful Martial Soul which had been ignored by every version and barely strengthened over tens of thousands of years, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon had truly enjoyed all the benefits of the changing times.

In Douluo I, it was somewhat stronger than the White Tiger, though the White Tiger had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill and ultimately held it down; in Douluo II, it had the chance to undergo Light Awakening and evolve into a Light Holy Dragon, while the Heavenly Dragon Gate was elevated from a Sub-Dragon to a True Dragon; in Douluo III, the Dragon Clan as a whole was strengthened, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon directly entered the ranks of super Martial Souls; by Douluo IV, it had gone from an ordinary True Dragon to a race no weaker than Di Tian, the son of the Light Dragon King and Dark Dragon King.

All that could be said was that compared to the White Tiger, which had been stuck in the same rut for tens of thousands of years, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon had been treated like the favored son.

Still... dragons were exactly what Qi Ji feared least.

When dragons encountered Qi Ji, kneeling early would at least spare them one beating.

"Yu Xiaogang is my clan uncle," the youth suddenly said, pride in his voice as he stared straight at Qi Ji.

"Who?" Qi Ji tilted his head, his expression sincere and confused.

Of course, he was not forgetful enough to fail to remember Yu Xiaogang, who had challenged him. That battle had not happened long ago, after all.

He simply found it amusing to ask that question—watching the other party's expression shift from angry to even angrier was an enjoyment in itself.

"That day, you insulted our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. You insulted Shrek!"

The youth's face darkened further, fury suppressed in his voice. "Today, I'll take back every last thing we lost!"

"Shouldn't you be saying that I already have a death wish?" Qi Ji could not help laughing.

"You already have a death wish!" Having been toyed with by Qi Ji like this, the youth finally could not endure it any longer. His eyes turned bloodshot, he panted like a bull, and his voice carried nearly hysterical fury.

Qi Ji silently sighed to himself. Well, damn. The classic line had finally arrived.

Shrek's rhetoric truly had not changed in ten thousand years. From Tang San to Huo Yuhao to Tang Wulin, it had been passed down generation after generation. They had practically carved the words "death wish" into their DNA.

"Brothers, release your Martial Souls!"

At the black-haired youth's command, the six teammates behind him released their Martial Souls at the same time.

For a moment, Soul Rings of every color lit up across the arena. From hundred-year to thousand-year to ten-thousand-year rings, layers of Soul Power fluctuations intertwined, forming a heavy, oppressive pressure.

"Seven Treasures Turn Out, Glazed: first, strength; second, speed; third, soul; fourth, defense—"

A crisp female voice rang out from the rear of the team. Immediately afterward, four streaks of colored light accurately descended upon the three teammates in the front row.

Qi Ji followed the voice with his eyes—at the very back of the team stood a girl with a single ponytail, holding a seven-story glazed pagoda in her hands. Four Soul Rings circled above it as she focused completely on enhancing her teammates.

Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. Qi Ji raised his eyebrows slightly.

However, while the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's stat boosts were still powerful at lower levels, they had already begun to fall behind the times in this version of Douluo Continent III.

A one-hundred-percent boost to all attributes might have been a god-tier ability in Douluo I, but now it was not even comparable to Qi Ji's first Soul Ring.

One of his Soul Skills provided a three-hundred-percent boost to all attributes. No matter how much the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda enhanced them, it could not close that gap.

"First Soul Skill—Clear Sky Power!"

A muffled sound of wind splitting came from the side. Qi Ji glanced over—one burly youth gripped an enormous black hammer in both hands and smashed it down toward his head.

A Clear Sky Hammer. A Soul Elder-level Soul Master. The hammer carried heavy Soul Power fluctuations as it came crashing down at him, and its momentum was certainly impressive.

"Why are they all primitives from Douluo I?"

Qi Ji could not help complaining as he raised his right hand and casually caught the Clear Sky Hammer with one hand.

The hammer's face struck his palm with a dull impact, yet his hand clamped down on it firmly, completely unmoving.

Then, with a twist of his wrist, he seized the hammer's handle and flung it hard. The Clear Sky Hammer Soul Master was thrown off the arena together with his hammer, tracing an arc through the air before landing steadily outside the field.

"Third Soul Skill—Xuanming Replacement."

Qi Ji suddenly felt his vision blur. An invisible force tugged at his body, and in an instant, the place beneath his feet was swapped with where the Clear Sky Hammer Soul Master had just stood.

Meanwhile, Qi Ji himself had been switched to the edge of the arena—only one step away from falling off.

"There really is one!" Qi Ji's eyes lit up.

Wasn't this Xu Sanshi's fourth Martial Soul from the era of Douluo II? These Shrek students actually had a mechanic freak from the Douluo II system hidden among them.

"Second Soul Skill—Binding Law."

With a thought from Qi Ji, the space beneath his feet was fixed by an invisible force.

He raised his foot and stepped onto an invisible stairway in the air, walking back toward the center of the arena one step at a time as easily as if climbing stairs.

"All right, I take back what I said—" Qi Ji returned to where he had stood and patted nonexistent dust from his hands, his gaze sweeping over the seven people opposite him.

"You aren't all primitives. At least one of you brought a bit of brains."

If Martial Souls from the Douluo I system emphasized raw attributes, crushing opponents through sheer strength and speed, then those from the Douluo II system emphasized mechanics.

"What Martial Soul does the other one have?" Qi Ji's gaze passed over the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the Clear Sky Hammer in the front row, landing on the person at the back of the team who had yet to make a move.

Aside from Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan in the back row—Qi Ji knew both of them from the original story, one with the Stargod Sword and the other with Bun—there was still a third unfamiliar face whose Martial Soul he had not seen.

Unfortunately, the Martial Soul released by that final nobody was not a type Qi Ji recognized.

"All right." Qi Ji withdrew his gaze, a trace of seriousness flashing through his golden dragon eyes. "The time for individual talent showcases is over. You can leave the stage now!"