As a Soul King, Ye Zhiqiu naturally had no trouble handling a few Shrek students.
The moment he made his move, Dai Mubai and the other two were completely suppressed.
Oscar could only fret on the sidelines.
Tang San even used some hidden weapons, but they still had no effect.
Ordinary hidden weapons thrown by hand could hardly pierce a Soul King's defenses.
That was especially true of the Black Tortoise martial soul, renowned for its defense. Tang San's hidden weapons had no hope of penetrating it.
In the blink of an eye, the three had been beaten back step by step, driven out of the hotel lobby.
Once outside, Ye Zhiqiu fought with even less restraint.
The Canghui Academy students cheered him on from the sidelines.
Lin Xiao and his group came out too, but they did not join the fight. They simply watched from the doorway.
Without his word, Xiao Wu and the other two would never make a move.
Xiao Wu was even hoping Ye Zhiqiu would kill Tang San.
That would count as avenging her grudge.
Although Tang San could not defeat Ye Zhiqiu, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track made him as slippery as a loach.
Ye Zhiqiu's Black Tortoise martial soul was inherently slow, leaving him completely unable to catch Tang San.
He could only rely on his defenses to wear down the three's soul power.
Once they could no longer hold out, it would be time for him to reap their lives.
Seeing the others watching from the doorway, Dai Mubai's face twisted with fury.
They were already being forced back step by step under Ye Zhiqiu's pressure.
Yet those people were actually standing there enjoying the show.
Xiao Wu was even holding a skewer of candied hawthorn, happily munching away.
"Lin Xiao! Are you really going to watch us die without helping?"
Dai Mubai could no longer hold back and shouted at once.
Tang San's eyes shifted as he shouted, "Lin Xiao, didn't you say a mere Canghui Academy wasn't worth mentioning? Why are you just watching now?"
At those words, a cold gleam flashed through Ye Zhiqiu's eyes.
"Another brat with a death wish? Good, good, good!"
He waved his hand, and several students charged toward Lin Xiao's group.
Lin Xiao smiled. Trying to divert the flood of trouble my way?
Xiao Wu and the other two stared, dumbfounded.
How could anyone be so shameless?
Live long enough, and you really do see everything.
"Lin Xiao, I'll hold them off for a bit..."
As she spoke, Xiao Wu was about to step forward.
She belonged to the Power Attack System and excelled at hand-to-hand combat, so delaying their opponents would be no problem.
Zhu Zhuqing wanted to act as well.
As an Agility Attack System soul master, she could give these people plenty to choke on.
But before either of them could act, Lin Xiao had already summoned the Immortal Execution Sword.
The instant the Immortal Execution Sword appeared, the slaughtering aura radiating from the blue-silver blade stopped the students in their tracks, leaving them trembling all over.
"Wh-what martial soul is that?"
"What terrifying killing intent. Just... just looking at it makes my soul feel like it's freezing."
"I've never heard of a martial soul like that. What the hell is it?"
The Canghui Academy students were gripped by panic. Not one dared take another step forward.
Ye Zhiqiu also sensed the terrifying killing intent emanating from the Immortal Execution Sword, and his pupils contracted repeatedly.
"What are you panicking for? He's just a wet-behind-the-ears brat..."
With that, he charged straight at Lin Xiao.
Martial souls could also counter one another.
Lin Xiao's martial soul might be of a very high grade.
But a high grade did not mean everything.
Soul power level was what mattered!
I'm a Soul King above level fifty. Won't dealing with some brat be as easy as reaching out and grabbing him?
Seeing this, Tang San and Dai Mubai secretly rejoiced.
With a Soul King attacking, Lin Xiao was bound to suffer.
If Ye Zhiqiu was fast enough, he might even kill Lin Xiao right here.
Then they could call Zhao Wuji out, safely survive this crisis, and eliminate their most troublesome rival in the process.
"Diverting the flood of trouble was a nice move. A pity, though."
Lin Xiao smiled faintly, and a red gleam flashed through his eyes.
"Second Soul Skill: Soul-Slaying Fiendflame!"
The Immortal Execution Sword in his hand dissipated, and the crimson Immortal Slaying Sword manifested.
Blood-red flames coiled around the blade. With a single downward slash, Crimson Flame Sword Rain showered from the sky.
Blood-red fiendish qi entwined the enemy's body, fierce flames burned through protective energy, and fiendish qi shackled the soul.
His second soul skill was based on the Immortal Slaying Sword, unleashing a skyful of scarlet sword threads with each swing.
They seemed fine and fragmented, yet concealed an essence of annihilation, able to penetrate bodily defenses and directly corrode the enemy's sea of consciousness and soul power core.
It ignored physical armor and specifically countered body cultivators and defensive soul masters.
After striking, it left behind soul-burning fiendish qi that continuously burned away soul power.
Facing the sword rain descending from the sky, Ye Zhiqiu was so terrified that even his soul trembled.
He stopped where he stood and unleashed one defensive soul skill after another.
A thick tortoise shell completely encased his body.
Yet the instant the sword rain touched it, the shell shattered.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
The sword rain effortlessly pierced his defenses and struck Ye Zhiqiu himself.
In less than a second, smoke filled the area, obscuring Ye Zhiqiu's figure entirely.
When the smoke dispersed, Ye Zhiqiu lay collapsed on the ground, his fate unknown.
Lin Xiao abruptly withdrew the Immortal Slaying Sword.
The rule that smoke means no damage?
Sorry, but that rule doesn't exist in my hands.
He was only a Soul King. Even if a Soul Emperor had come instead, Lin Xiao was confident he could defeat him.
Once he absorbed the Third Soul Ring, defeating a Soul Emperor would be as easy as plucking something from his palm.
The Canghui Academy students had already fled in terror, not daring to stay.
Dai Mubai and the others stared, dumbstruck, unable to believe what they had seen.
They had worked themselves to exhaustion without shaking Ye Zhiqiu in the slightest, yet Lin Xiao had defeated him with a single soul skill.
Had the gap already become this absurd?
How terrifying would Lin Xiao be once he obtained a third heaven-bestowed soul ring?
Tang San swallowed with difficulty.
As a Transmigrator, he felt he possessed countless methods, yet now he looked like a fool before Lin Xiao.
He had been utterly and completely crushed!
The methods he took such pride in were laughable.
Since I already exist, why did another Lin Xiao have to appear?
"What? Do you want to test your mettle too?"
Lin Xiao turned to look at them.
The three stood there as though petrified.
Hearing his words, Ma Hongjun was the first to recover and hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, no, no! I don't! Absolutely not!"
Lin Xiao snorted coldly and said, "You'd better not. Remember, if you want to stir up trouble in the future, you'd better have the ability to settle it yourselves."
"And as for diverting that trouble my way, I'll settle that debt with you slowly later."
With that, he turned and walked into the hotel lobby.
They were already enemies. There was no need to maintain even a veneer of courtesy.
He would certainly retaliate, but not now.
First, he would complete the mission issued by the system.
Watching the group return to the hotel, Dai Mubai clenched his fists.
His attempt to trap Lin Xiao had failed, and Lin Xiao had thoroughly shown him up instead. That was what he found hardest to stomach.
If things continued this way, Zhu Zhuqing would never return to his side.
He would probably have to keep wearing that bright green cuckold's hat forever.
"Lin Xiao!!!"
Dai Mubai growled under his breath, his eyes bloodshot.
Tang San patted his shoulder and said, "Mubai, calm down. Now isn't the time to settle accounts with him."
"We're all at the academy. There'll be plenty of opportunities later."
As he spoke, he also looked at Ma Hongjun and Oscar.
The corners of Ma Hongjun's mouth twitched violently. He felt as though he had been dragged into a trap.
Although he also liked the beauties at the academy, there were plenty of other people he fancied.
It did not seem necessary to clash with Lin Xiao over Xiao Wu and the others.
Oscar looked thoughtful.
This Tang San doesn't seem simple.
Without a word, he's already joined up with Boss Dai, and now they want to team up against Lin Xiao.
He would have to think it through carefully and weigh the gains against the losses.