No Shame Left

The phantom was breathtakingly beautiful, about five feet long, its emerald green and icy white hues woven together. Every plate of its shell looked carved from flawless ice diamonds. Its six jointed limbs gleamed, and its thick scorpion tail arched high, the stinger at its tip glinting with bone-chilling cold.

Its crystal-yellow compound eyes were lifeless and indifferent. They held no emotion, only the innate pride and coldness of a four-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast as they locked onto everyone from Earth Ze Academy.

Terrifying pressure erupted from the phantom and swept across the entire arena.

The cold wind circulating through the arena abruptly stilled. Moisture suspended in the air froze on the spot, turning into fine ice crystals that drifted down.

The seven Earth Ze Academy members went rigid, their bodies trembling beyond their control.

Their nerves were already stretched taut, their composure on the verge of collapse. Under this crushing, savage pressure, their minds nearly gave out altogether.

At that moment, a pair of enormous blue-and-gold butterfly wings silently unfurled behind Huo Yuhao.

Streams of blue and gold light merged in an instant. The illusory Light Goddess Butterfly circled once, tiny flames of light flaring across its body before it dissolved into streams of light that poured into the Spirit Eyes on Huo Yuhao's forehead.

In the blink of an eye, the Spirit Eyes blazed brighter. Halos of blue, purple, and gold intertwined, dazzling to behold.

The seven from Earth Ze Academy stood frozen in shock. Not one of them remembered to dodge.

When the three-colored radiance slowly faded, a long, glittering Golden Road stretched across the center of the stage.

On the raised platform, Xu Jiawei, emperor of the Star Luo Empire, sprang to his feet and cried out in disbelief.

"Who in the world is that boy...?"

"Since when did Just Sky Academy of the Heaven Dou Empire have a genius like him?"

Over in the Shrek camp, Dai Huabin gritted his teeth, his face dark as he stared at Huo Yuhao in the arena.

His fists were clenched so tightly that veins bulged on the backs of his hands.

"It's fake! It has to be fake!"

"I remember that brat using something similar during the beast arena assessment!"

Ma Xiaotao, who had risen in shock and nearly rushed into the arena, gave a cold snort.

"No. It's real."

"There's no mistaking that bitter cold."

"His ice power far surpasses Ling Luochеn's. It's even stronger than my phoenix flames."

"Ultimate Ice?! That's definitely Ultimate Ice!"

In a corner of the arena, the scruffy old man who had been lounging around drinking spat out a mouthful of wine the instant Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul phantom appeared.

He sat bolt upright and stared at the center of the stage in shock.

"The aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? How is that possible?!"

"Wasn't this kid's Martial Soul the Spirit Eyes?"

Xuan Zi stared blankly at Huo Yuhao for a long while. Only when the uproar in the arena began to settle did he snap back to himself.

His eyes flickered. In a flash, he flew onto the stage and seized Huo Yuhao by the shoulder.

"A Ferocious Beast in human form? Are you a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone. Song Que immediately rose, watching Xuan Zi warily.

Xuan Zi ignored them all and sent a surge of pure Soul Power straight into Huo Yuhao's body to investigate.

It really is Ultimate Ice! Excellent!

The referee roared, "Xuan Zi! What are you doing? Let go of him at once! Do not interfere with the match!"

Song Que spoke coldly as well. "A Ferocious Beast in human form? That's absurd."

"If Yuhao were a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he would have been discovered during all that time he spent at Shrek Academy. Why would it take you until now to question him?"

The spectators erupted into discussion, their expressions varied.

Xuan Zi gave a faint smile, his tone forceful.

"Whether he's a transformed Ferocious Beast or not, we'll know once we take him back to Shrek and investigate!"

"And even if he isn't, the boy possesses Ultimate Ice. His talent is unmatched across the continent. Only Shrek can train him."

"He'll lose nothing by coming back with me!"

"Outrageous!" Song Que snapped, his gaze icy.

"When Yuhao won the freshman tournament, he should have been named a core disciple. You looked down on him and kept refusing to give him the position!"

"When outside forces attacked him, he was wronged. You had the power to set things right, yet you did nothing!"

"Now that Yuhao has left Shrek and shown his extraordinary talent, you're jealous, so you try to seize him by force?"

"You even make up a claim that he's a transformed Ferocious Beast to smear his name!"

"After living all these years, do you have no shame left?!"

As Song Que's words rang out, the arena erupted. Discontent with Shrek and Xuan Zi spread through the crowd.

"How dare you!"

Xuan Zi's face darkened, and he barked a furious rebuke.

"A mere junior dares to lecture me?!"

"You have no right to judge what I do!"

"Xuan Zi, he may not understand, but do you think I don't?!"

A deep, steady voice suddenly thundered from above.

Du Busi descended through the air and drove a fist straight at Xuan Zi. The force sent Xuan Zi stumbling back, and he instinctively released Huo Yuhao's shoulder.

"Is this really how shamelessly Shrek conducts itself?"

"Huo Yuhao is my personal disciple! He joined the Body Sect long ago!"

"What gives you the right to seize my disciple in public?"

"And you spread a baseless rumor that he's a transformed Ferocious Beast? Can't you tell whether that's true?!"

Xuan Zi frowned deeply at Du Busi's sudden appearance.

"Du Busi, stop spouting nonsense!"

"Huo Yuhao was clearly a student at Shrek. Since when did he become a disciple of your Body Sect?"

Du Busi laughed aloud. "A Shrek student? Then why isn't he on your team? Why is he competing for Just Sky Academy instead?"

The question left Xuan Zi speechless.

Du Busi continued coldly:

"In the end, Shrek failed to recognize his talent and didn't know how to train a rare Body Martial Soul!"

"You took him for an ordinary Spirit Eyes Soul Master, paid him no attention, and drove him to leave the academy!"

"Now that you've seen he has Twin Martial Souls and possesses Ultimate Ice, you regret it and want to take him by force?"

The arena erupted again. Every eye turned to Xuan Zi.

Right and wrong were plain to see.

No one had expected Shrek Academy, hailed as the continent's greatest sanctuary for Soul Masters, to act so small-mindedly.

Disappointment in Shrek swept through the crowd.

Xuan Zi's face turned livid, his embarrassment boiling over into rage.

"Shut up! That's nothing but lies!"

"Du Busi, you dare maliciously slander Shrek's reputation? I'll never let this go!"

"If you have the nerve, fight me!"

Soul Power burst from Xuan Zi. Nine Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red. Their layered might shook the arena.

"Shameless old fool. You think I'm afraid of you?"

Du Busi gave a cold laugh and soared into the air to face Xuan Zi.