The Clear Sky's Might Descends! Zhao Wuji Strikes Back!

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You just need to know what to do!"

Cao Kun smiled faintly and went on, "I'm in a good mood today. Come take a bath with me first."

"Yes, young master!"

Time passed slowly.

Eight o'clock that night.

In the courtyard behind Shrek Academy, Cao Kun suddenly sensed a powerful presence approaching from the direction of Suotuo City, its aura carefully concealed.

He focused on it for a moment. The corners of his mouth rose in a knowing smile, and he murmured,

"Hm? The big hammer. So he came after all."

Before the words had left his mouth, Cao Kun had vanished from the room.

Meanwhile,

in the faculty quarters of Shrek Academy,

Zhao Wuji dragged his tired but satisfied body back to his shabby wooden cabin.

That day's assessment had given him a new appreciation for this year's recruits.

Tang San in particular had impressed him. The boy's Martial Soul was ordinary, but his composure, quick thinking, and uncanny skill with hidden weapons showed enormous potential.

Of course, Zhao Wuji had gotten a little carried away during the assessment and struck just a touch too hard, making the boy cough up blood.

But to him, such a minor injury was nothing to a Soul Master. It might even toughen the boy up.

"A promising kid. Still a bit stubborn, though. I'll have to knock some sense into him." Zhao Wuji gulped down a mouthful of cool water, wiped his lips, and smiled.

He could almost see Shrek Academy springing back to life with this influx of fresh talent.

His smile lasted less than a heartbeat.

A voice suddenly sounded beside Zhao Wuji's ear.

"Zhao Wuji!..."

"Zhao! Wu! Ji!"

The sudden call stopped Zhao Wuji cold.

"Who's there?!"

Zhao Wuji frowned.

The next instant,

he flew out through the window and raced toward the voice!

Three minutes later,

in a dense forest outside Shrek Academy,

Zhao Wuji saw a figure.

A tall, powerfully built figure.

The newcomer wore a dust-caked black cloak with frayed edges. His hood hung low, hiding most of his face.

He stood there without moving, yet he seemed to have become the center of the world.

Light, sound, even the flow of air appeared to bend and collapse toward him.

More unsettling still was the pressure radiating from him in endless waves.

Cold, domineering, crushing—it carried the sense of absolute power that would smash through any obstacle and heed no rules!

Zhao Wuji had never felt pressure like it in his life!

It far surpassed that of any Soul Emperor or Soul Saint he had encountered. Even compared with the pressure Zhao Wuji could unleash at full strength as a Soul Douluo, it seemed stronger by far!

And he was already a level eighty-eight Soul Douluo.

How powerful was this man?

A Titled Douluo?!

The thought exploded in Zhao Wuji's mind!

And not one who had only recently reached that rank!

The baleful aura within that pressure, and its imperious dominance, instantly brought to mind the renowned Super Douluo of the continent!

"Who are you? What business brings you to Shrek Academy at this hour?" Zhao Wuji asked in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the man.

He did not release his Martial Soul yet, but every muscle in his body was taut. His level eighty-eight Soul Power surged through him, resisting the terrifying pressure that seemed to come from everywhere.

The eight Soul Rings of a Soul Douluo remained hidden beneath his feet, but the air around him had already grown thick.

The black-cloaked man, Tang Hao, slowly raised his head.

Beneath the shadow of his hood, a pair of eyes cold and devoid of feeling stabbed toward Zhao Wuji like tempered daggers.

There was no killing intent in that gaze. No anger. Only the indifference of a god looking down on an ant.

And a trace of... displeasure at having been offended, buried deep?

"Zhao Wuji."

The black-cloaked man spoke. His voice was hoarse and dry, as though he had not spoken in a long time.

Yet every word struck like a hammer against the heart.

"The Immovable King?"

"Well done. You injured my son today!"

It was not a question. It was a statement, cold and flat.

Zhao Wuji's heart jolted.

His son?

At Shrek Academy... Tang San?!

That child with Blue Silver Grass for a Martial Soul, yet such strange techniques and hidden weapons?

He's this man's son?

In a flash, Zhao Wuji understood.

During today's assessment, Tang San lasted an incense stick's worth of time against me, but the aftermath of my Soul Skill did injure him. He coughed up blood.

I didn't think much of it. Injuries were inevitable in an assessment, and I held back.

But now...

Over that little scratch, someone who might be a Titled Douluo has come looking for me in the middle of the night?!

Isn't he taking this overprotective father act too far?!

"You're referring to today's student assessment?"

Zhao Wuji suppressed his disbelief and anger, doing his best to keep his voice steady. "In a test of combat, injuries are hard to avoid. Your son is talented, but—"

"Shut up."

Tang Hao cut him off. His voice was as cold as ever, with a hint of impatience. "Then let's have a match ourselves."

Before Zhao Wuji could explain further, the terrifying pressure around Tang Hao abruptly intensified!

Like an invisible tsunami, it surged toward Zhao Wuji in wave after wave!

This time, the pressure of Tang Hao's will and presence locked onto him with greater precision!

It seemed the man intended to crush Zhao Wuji through sheer force of presence!

To make him fall to his knees and beg for mercy!

It was the most direct and humiliating punishment imaginable!

Boom...!

Zhao Wuji felt as though an invisible mountain had crashed down on him!

The immense weight bore down not just on his body. His soul seemed caught in cold iron pincers, and even his thoughts slowed!

The air around him seemed to vanish. Breathing became painfully difficult, and his blood felt ready to freeze!

An ordinary Soul Emperor, or even a typical Soul Saint, would likely have crumpled under such terrifying pressure, their will shattered and all thought of resistance gone.

But Zhao Wuji was no ordinary Soul Emperor!

He was a level eighty-eight Soul Douluo!

He was the Immovable King, who had fought his way through Spirit Hall's encirclement and crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

His will had been tempered at death's door time and again until it was as hard as forged steel!

"You've gone too far!!!"

A thunderous roar burst from Zhao Wuji's chest!

His eyes turned bloodred. Every muscle bulged, and veins rose beneath his skin like coiled dragons!

Beneath his feet, the eight Soul Rings he had kept hidden could no longer be contained. They erupted into view!

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black!

All eight rings appeared at once!

The vast Soul Power of a Soul Douluo shot skyward in an instant!

A heavy, steady, unbreakable force spread fiercely outward from Zhao Wuji.

It slammed straight into Tang Hao's cold, domineering pressure!