Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, Guga!

Lin Yuan shouldered his hammer and walked toward Zhao Wuji.

"Teacher Zhao, your Martial Soul is the Great Strength Vajra Bear? Perfect. I've been working on a few hammer techniques."

Zhao Wuji steadied himself and watched him warily.

"What hammer techniques?"

Lin Yuan took a deep breath.

"Chaotic—Cloak—Hammer—Technique!"

The hammer came down. Zhao Wuji crossed his arms to block it. The ground sank half a foot, and his knees buckled.

"What kind of Chaotic Cloak—"

"Great Sumeru Hammer!"

Another blow. Zhao Wuji slid back three steps, his heels plowing two furrows through the ground.

"Wait—"

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes!"

Zhao Wuji dropped to one knee. Golden Soul Power surged around him as he endured the blow.

Little Moon tilted her head at Lin Yuan.

"When did you learn all these, Guga?"

Lin Yuan kept swinging and glanced back at Little Moon with a grin.

"Just made them up."

Zhao Wuji's face twitched.

"...You just made them up?!"

"Yeah. It's called Chaotic Cloak because I'm swinging it around chaotically."

Guga charged in with a little hammer raised, his stubby legs pumping.

"Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, Guga!"

The hammer struck Zhao Wuji's toe. Pain twisted his face.

Little Moon's eyes lit up. She used Teleportation to appear beside Guga and grabbed his shoulder.

"Again, Guga!"

The next instant, Little Moon took Guga above Zhao Wuji's head. Guga raised his little hammer and dropped from the sky.

"Great Sumeru Hammer, Guga!"

The little hammer hit Zhao Wuji's shoulder. It sagged under the blow, and before he could react, Little Moon teleported Guga to his other side.

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Guga!"

The hammer struck Zhao Wuji's lower back. He turned to grab them, but Little Moon and Guga had already vanished.

They appeared in front of him the next instant.

"Hammer Dominates the World, Guga!"

The little hammer hit Zhao Wuji's knee. His leg buckled, and he nearly dropped to the ground.

Dark Gold Guga rushed in from the side and punched Zhao Wuji's other ankle.

"Hmph."

Starry Guga's vines surged up from the ground and wrapped around Zhao Wuji's feet. He lifted a leg and snapped them, but more vines coiled around him.

Zhao Wuji felt surrounded by a pack of little things. Lin Yuan swung his enormous hammer from above while several Gugas mobbed him below. He dodged left and right, taking more hits to his toes, ankles, knees, and lower back than he could count.

Dai Mubai watched from afar, the color slowly draining from his face. He remembered how he had actually wanted to fight Lin Yuan at the hotel, and his fingers clenched without his noticing. If they had really fought then—

He did not dare finish the thought.

Little Moon teleported Guga into the air again. Guga raised his little hammer and shouted skill names he had picked up from who knew where.

"Heaven-Destroying Hammer, Guga!"

"Heaven-Breaking Hammer, Guga!"

"Super Invincible Spinning Hammer, Guga!"

Lin Yuan nearly lost his composure.

"Hammer—Dominates—the—World!"

Lin Yuan's hammer came crashing down with a rush of wind. Zhao Wuji crossed his arms and took the blow head-on, sinking half a foot into the ground. He looked up and glared at Lin Yuan, his lips trembling.

"Your hammer techniques aren't even Soul Skills—"

"They aren't Soul Skills, and you still can't block them." Lin Yuan looked down at him. "Then I'll try a real one."

He set his hammer on the ground.

He spread the fingers of his right hand.

Dark Gold Dreadclaw sprang from between his finger bones. Each of its five blades gleamed with a cold, dark-gold light. They cut through the air with a piercing shriek.

Zhao Wuji's expression changed at once.

"A Soul Bone—!"

He practically roared the words.

Dai Mubai's legs went weak, and he leaned against the wall.

The five blades traced five dark-gold arcs through the air. Before the force of the claws even arrived, five trenches had been torn through the ground. Stones flew, and dust filled the sky.

Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth and stood. His First Soul Ring lit up—Immovable Bright King Body enveloped him in a golden shield. His Seventh Soul Ring lit up, his body swelled, and every strand of his golden fur stood on end. He pushed his Third Soul Skill, Gravity Enhancement, to its limit, gathering golden Soul Power into a shield before him.

"Move!"

A green blur flashed past.

Flender appeared behind Zhao Wuji, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and yanked him away. They flew ten meters and crashed to the ground.

Dark Gold Dreadclaw slashed through the spot where Zhao Wuji had just stood.

Five deep trenches split the ground. Each was too deep to see the bottom, stretching from the center of the clearing to the earthen wall. The wall collapsed with a crash, scattering rubble everywhere.

Zhao Wuji sat on the ground, staring at the five trenches. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

Flender got up and straightened his crooked glasses.

"Are you insane?" He turned to Zhao Wuji. "If I hadn't saved you, you'd be in six pieces right now."

Zhao Wuji swallowed.

"I—"

Flender brushed the dirt off his green robe. "Testing new students, and you nearly tested yourself to death."

The golden bear shrank back into human form. Zhao Wuji stood, his chest still heaving. He looked down at the five deep trenches, then up at Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan had already retracted Dark Gold Dreadclaw between his bones and was bending to pick up several Gugas.

Guga raised his little hammer, still excited.

"That hammer technique is amazing, Guga!"

Starry Guga walked over, and pale green light flared around Zhao Wuji. The bruises left by the hammers and the red marks from the vines slowly faded in its glow.

Zhao Wuji looked down at Starry Guga.

"...Thank you."

Flender watched from the side, his expression complicated.

"Sixteen Spirit Hall bishops surrounded you back then and couldn't kill you." He pushed up his glasses. "Today, a pack of little fellows nearly beat you to a pulp."

"All right, enough." Flender waved a hand.

"You four passed."

He looked at Lin Yuan, something hard to read in his gaze.

"A real monster showed up this year."

Ning Rongrong put away the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. She watched Lin Yuan's back and bit her lip.

"...What kind of monster is he?"

Xiao Wu stood beside her, the shock still plain on her face.

Dai Mubai was still leaning against the wall, his lips pale. He could not say a word.

At the entrance to Shrek Academy.

A young man pushed a small cart and called out at the top of his lungs.

"Sausages for sale! Oscar-brand sausages! Come take a look—"

He had a handsome face. But not one passerby stopped. A few even quickened their pace.

"Here he goes again with those sausages..."

"Don't buy any. His incantation is disgusting."

Oscar's face twitched.

Then he spotted Lin Yuan and the little fellows beside him.

"New here?" Oscar perked up. "Want a sausage? One bite, and you'll want another."

Guga tilted his head.

"A sausage? Guga?"

"That's right. A sausage."

Oscar took a deep breath and recited his incantation.

"I Have a Big Sausage—"

A sausage appeared in his palm.

Guga blinked, reached out with a stubby hand, took it, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Chew. Chew. Chew.

He perked up.

"Tasty, Guga."

Oscar froze.

"Really?"

Hearing "tasty," Dark Gold Guga ran over and stuffed several sausages into his mouth. Starry Guga came over and grabbed a handful too, sharing half with Xuanwu Guga. Little Moon teleported over, scooped up several with both arms, and teleported away.

Five little fellows crowded around the cart. Its stock dwindled before Oscar's eyes.

Oscar stared at the empty cart, his lips trembling.

"You... You don't think the incantation is disgusting?"

Guga tilted his head.

"They taste good. That's what matters, Guga."

A strange sound came from Oscar's throat, half laugh, half sob. Then he crouched down, tears slipping between his fingers.

"...Someone finally wants to eat my sausages. Everyone else thinks my incantation is disgusting. None of them dare eat one—"

Lin Yuan handed him a sheet of paper.

"Wipe your face."

Oscar took the paper, blew his nose, and looked up. His eyes were red, but he was smiling.

"You don't understand. I've been selling them here for so long, and no one has ever—"

"How much for all those sausages? I'll pay you."

Oscar paused, then hurriedly waved his hands.

"No need. They're on me today."

Guga poked his head out from the side, stood on tiptoe, and patted Oscar's knee with a stubby hand.

"Don't cry, Guga."

Oscar looked down at the little fellow in the penguin costume, and his nose stung again.

"...Okay. I won't."

He rubbed his eyes hard with his sleeve and stood.

"I'm Oscar. A level-thirty food-type tool Soul Master. My Martial Soul is a sausage." He brushed the dust off himself. "If you ever need anything, just come find me."

Lin Yuan turned and left. The little fellows followed him, their stubby legs pattering along. After they had gone a few steps, Oscar called out behind them.

"Oh, right—what are your names?"

Lin Yuan kept walking.

"Lin Yuan."

Xiao Wu looked back with a smile. "Xiao Wu."

"Zhu Zhuqing."

"Ning Rongrong."

Oscar froze. Before he could respond, they had already walked away.

He looked at the empty cart, then at the crumpled sheet of paper in his hand.

He folded the paper, tucked it into his clothes, and pushed the empty cart after them, humming a tune he did not know the name of.