Flender, the Dog Blocking the Road

What was that sound?

Could it be the black egg in my Spiritual Sea?

Lu Mingzi's heart jolted. He looked at Dai Mubai struggling in the crater in the wall, and the black markings on his arm glimmered faintly.

Demonic Qi seeped from his pores and burned like flames, but it did not corrode his body. It seemed to have become controllable.

With a thought, he drew the burning Demonic Qi inward. In an instant, the black markings absorbed every last trace.

The Demonic Qi isn't corroding my body anymore, and I don't feel that pain.

Just a slight sting and a little heat.

Is it because of the Black Egg?

Lu Mingzi thought for a moment. He could not enter his Spiritual Sea here to check on the Black Egg.

He had just stood in the arena, transformed into a figure wreathed in black fire, and sent the Evil-Eyed White Tiger flying with a single punch.

Everyone was stunned. Their pupils contracted sharply. Defeating a higher-ranked opponent with one punch was simply unbelievable.

"Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon!"

The crowd's excitement ignited. Cheers surged like a tidal wave, loud enough to burst eardrums.

Even Qian Renxue, Ci Xue, and She Long could not help being startled by the sight.

They had seen Lu Mingzi's methods and strength before and had prepared themselves.

But none of them had expected that strike to be so decisive, so swift, so brutally violent.

It was as though fighting above his rank came effortlessly to Lu Mingzi.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could I lose?"

Dai Mubai crawled out of the dust like a stray dog by the roadside, looking utterly wretched.

His face was bruised, blood poured from his nose, and several front teeth were gone. He glared at Lu Mingzi, unwilling to accept it.

In the stands, Flender's expression darkened. After years of his training, Dai Mubai should have had no trouble defeating a Soul Elder.

This man was even lower-ranked than Mubai and dressed like a beggar. How could he have won?

"You little bastard! I'll make you pay!"

In a rage, Flender left the spectator seats and vanished into the dark passage.

You hurt my student, boy. I'm going to stand up for him.

I have my own way of caring for my students.

From Heavenly Demon's clothes, Flender could tell he came from a poor background—perhaps he had no one behind him at all. He might even be an unaffiliated cultivator.

"In that case, this will be easy."

Flender had already left the Great Soul Arena. He laughed wildly, a rasping "heh, heh, heh" spilling from his throat.

Shrek Academy accepted only monsters. That was an unchanging fact, and Heavenly Demon's strength marked him as one too.

Flender would wait along Lu Mingzi's route, beat him up, and force him to join Shrek Academy.

If Lu Mingzi agreed, Shrek Academy's strength would soar. They had already recruited several monstrous students this year.

Tang San and Xiao Wu, in particular.

If he trained these students well, they would surely achieve good results in the Soul Fighting Arena's team battles.

And the profits... they would be tremendous!

"I declare Heavenly Demon the winner of this match!"

The referee roared into the microphone. His ear-splitting voice echoed throughout the arena.

Lu Mingzi had no interest in basking in the cheers. He walked straight into the passage behind him and left the arena.

The matter of the Black Egg was too strange. He had to find somewhere to enter his Spiritual Sea.

He entered a private box in the Soul Fighting Arena, where Qian Renxue and the others had been waiting.

"Haha, Lu, that was a fine fight!"

Ci Xue stood by the door, welcoming Lu Mingzi back.

She Long stood to one side, watching in silence.

"Well done."

A faint smile touched Qian Renxue's face. She nodded to Lu Mingzi, acknowledging his performance.

"We should go. We can't keep Grandfather waiting too long."

"Let's go."

The spectacular match had drawn plenty of attention, and Lu Mingzi had earned a handsome prize.

Of course, he was already wealthy. The money was merely flowers added to brocade, but he accepted it all the same.

In his previous life on Earth, he had lived poorly, working overtime every day until exhaustion killed him. No wonder he was a little sensitive about money.

After all, no one complained about having too much money.

After collecting the Gold Soul Coins from the Soul Fighting Arena, the four left and boarded a carriage bound for Spirit Hall.

"By the way, how did your experiment go? I saw your Demonic Qi pouring out again from the box."

Qian Renxue had watched closely. At the time, Lu Mingzi had looked like a man engulfed in black flames.

She knew Demonic Qi was responsible. Ordinary fire was not such an absolute black.

Only the spectators had no idea. They thought it was one of Heavenly Demon's powerful moves.

"It went well. The Demonic Qi didn't corrode my body, and its effect on me was much weaker."

Lu Mingzi recalled what had happened. The Demonic Qi seemed far more responsive than before.

That strange change appeared to have begun only after the Black Egg spoke.

In other words, the Black Egg was the main reason the Demonic Qi had changed.

Once we reach Spirit Hall, I'll find somewhere quiet and enter my Spiritual Sea.

Lu Mingzi felt helpless. He still had not had a moment alone.

"I hope you're not lying to me. We know too little about the Demonic Angel. If you're hiding anything, there's no telling what might happen."

Qian Renxue added this out of worry for her only disciple and gently took Lu Mingzi's hand.

Lu Mingzi had not lied. The Demonic Qi truly had become controllable, and it had caused no serious harm to his body.

He simply had not mentioned the Black Egg in his Spiritual Sea.

Meanwhile, the little figure in his Spiritual Sea heard his thoughts and chuckled to himself.

The Black Egg was gone from the Spiritual Sea. Only fragments of its dark shell remained, floating on the water.

And there was a little figure who looked exactly like Lu Mingzi.

"That's not all. My Soul Power rose a level during the fight."

Lu Mingzi's eyes lit up as he looked at Qian Renxue. That had come as a surprise.

"Really?"

Qian Renxue and the others looked at him in delight. His Soul Power fluctuations were indeed at level thirty-three. He had gone up one level.

At this rate, he was not far from becoming a Soul Ancestor.

Boom!

A deafening blast erupted ahead, mingled with the cry of an eagle-like creature. Thick smoke billowed up, and a powerful shock wave swept toward them.

The force brought the entire carriage convoy to a halt. Those inside the carriage were bewildered, with no idea what had happened.

"What's going on?"

She Long was the first to lose patience. He left the other three in the carriage, stepped outside, and demanded an answer from the convoy leader.

"R-reporting, sir... A Soul Beast seems to have appeared ahead."

The leader stammered from atop his horse, trembling with fear.

"Are you out of your mind? This is an ordinary forest. How could there be a Soul Beast?"

She Long snapped, glaring at the man like a tiger eyeing its prey.

Behind him, Lu Mingzi and the others climbed out of the carriage, curious about what had happened.

"Senior She Long, what happened up ahead?"

Lu Mingzi walked over and asked.

"Someone seems to have attacked. Judging by that aura, they're probably at the Soul Saint level."

She Long was about to release his own aura when Lu Mingzi interrupted him.

"Senior, if this were an attack, they wouldn't have done that. They'd have struck directly at us."

Lu Mingzi considered it. "Don't rush. Let's see what they want."

A moment later, Flender emerged from the smoke, a massive Four-Eyed Cat Owl looming behind him.

"You're Heavenly Demon, aren't you?"

"What business do you have with me?"

Flender did not answer right away. Instead, he studied the people accompanying Lu Mingzi.

Just a few ordinary people with no Soul Power fluctuations. Looks like the boy really has no one backing him.

"I'll give you a choice. Join Shrek Academy, or I'll cripple you today."