He acted as soon as he decided.
Nezha unleashed his flame spear intent to its fullest. Coils of crimson flame seemed to wind around the Fire-Tipped Spear, its shaft humming and trembling as the violet flame at its tip compressed into a dazzling point of white light.
Holding the spear in one hand with its butt dragging along the ground, he shot toward Xu Sanshi like a cannonball leaving the barrel.
"Xu Sanshi, take my spear!"
The terrifying aura pouring from the spear tip broke Xu Sanshi out in a cold sweat. The strike had yet to reach him, but its spear intent had already pressed right up to him, like a colossal beast of flame lunging at him with its bloody maw wide open.
He had no time to think and unleashed all three of his Soul Skills at once.
The Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield in his hand swiftly broke apart into smaller shield plates, each roughly the size of a palm. A layer of deep blue water-element power clung to each plate, wrapped in a black halo. They overlapped in front of him, forming a three-dimensional shield wall pieced together from turtle shells.
Yet-
Crack, crack, crack...
The instant the Fire-Tipped Spear pierced the shield wall, the first shell plate shattered, followed by the second, the third, and the fourth. The cracks ran together like beans bursting in a pot of boiling oil.
Under the searing heat of Ultimate Fire, the Xuanming turtle shell plates fractured one after another. Deep blue vapor seeped from their cracks, only to evaporate completely the instant it touched the flames.
The shield wall disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye. Fragments flew in every direction, burned into grayish-white powder by the intense heat before they could fall.
Xu Sanshi was so terrified his soul nearly fled his body. After piercing the shield wall, the spear lost none of its momentum. The violet flame at its tip was only a few feet from his chest, and the scorching blast of air had already singed the front of his clothes.
Ignoring the agonizing backlash from his Soul Skills, he gritted his teeth and forcibly fused all the shell fragments back together, reforming a complete Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield and holding it across his body.
Deep blue light blazed across the shield. Water-element power surged wildly, condensing into a barrier of ice over its surface.
But against that terrifying thrust, could this hastily reassembled shield really hold?
The instant the Fire-Tipped Spear struck its surface, the entire turtle shell shield gave an immense, muffled boom. Ultimate Fire instantly evaporated the ice barrier, and the deep blue vapor burst into a cloud of white mist.
The cracks across the shield rapidly deepened, spreading in every direction like a spiderweb. Under the pressure of the spear tip, the turtle shell shield let out a groan that set teeth on edge, its entire surface bending backward into a dangerous arc.
Xu Sanshi braced both hands desperately against the shield. His feet plowed two deep furrows into the ground as the force of the thrust drove him backward, his soles scraping against the bluestone pavement with a piercing screech.
His arms shook violently, veins bulged on his forehead, and his face was as pale as paper. A thin trickle of blood had already seeped from the corner of his mouth.
I can't stop it.
He knew with absolute clarity that he could not stop this thrust.
"Stop!"
At that hairbreadth moment, a figure in white suddenly appeared between them.
The newcomer moved with incredible speed, his figure appearing seemingly out of thin air just as the spear tip was about to touch the turtle shell shield.
He raised one hand, gathering a gentle curtain of Soul Power in his palm and placing it precisely before the Fire-Tipped Spear's tip.
Boom-
The instant the spear tip pierced the light curtain, a scorching, overbearing impact spread outward across it, whipping the man's robes into a furious flutter.
Yet the light curtain did not budge. Like a fathomless lake, it swallowed every bit of Ultimate Fire carried by the Fire-Tipped Spear. Behind it, the newcomer remained perfectly still, without stirring even a speck of dust beneath his feet.
Nezha felt an exceptionally pliant force rebound through the spear tip. It was neither hard nor fierce, yet so dense and unbroken that he could find no purchase, as though he had thrust into a bottomless mass of cotton.
He frowned slightly. Before he could change his move, the newcomer gently swept his other hand outward. A mild yet irresistible current of Soul Power spread along the spear shaft, pushing Nezha and his spear three steps back.
"Enough."
The newcomer withdrew his hands and clasped them behind his back. His calm gaze swept over Nezha, then over Xu Sanshi behind him, who was still bracing the turtle shell shield with both hands, his face deathly pale and blood seeping from his mouth.
He appeared to be in his forties, with a lean build and refined features. His white robe was spotless, and the emblem of Shrek Academy was embroidered on its cuffs.
It was none other than Shrek Academy's dean of studies, Du Weilun.
"Shrek Academy prohibits private fights."
Du Weilun's voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority. "For any fight outside the Soul Fighting Zone, both parties receive a major disciplinary mark. If there is a next time, you will be expelled immediately. Do either of you object?"
As he spoke, his gaze rested on each of their faces for a moment.
Gritting his teeth, Xu Sanshi steadied himself against the turtle shell shield and wiped the blood from his mouth. With his head lowered, he answered in a muffled voice, "No objections."
Nezha put away the Fire-Tipped Spear. The flames around him dissipated, and the three Soul Rings beneath his feet vanished into his body.
He tilted his head to glance at Xu Sanshi, then cupped his hands toward Du Weilun and answered crisply, "No objections, Director Du."
Du Weilun nodded, his gaze lingering on Nezha a moment longer.
He's a new student, yet he's already a three-ring Soul Elder-and his second ring is a thousand-year one.
He drove Xu Sanshi to that point in a head-on clash. If I hadn't intervened just now and stopped their Soul Skills from colliding, Xu Sanshi would probably have lost!
This boy... is no fish destined to remain in a small pond. Another monster!
"Disperse. Go back to whatever you should be doing."
Only then did the onlookers slowly disperse, whispering among themselves as they walked, their discussions forming a low buzz. Some marveled at the power of Nezha's thrust, some remarked that Xu Sanshi had kicked an iron plate this time, and others discussed the enhancement light from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
The snack street soon regained some of its bustle, but everyone still cast occasional glances at the black-haired boy with his hair tied in buns.
Xu Sanshi put away his turtle shell shield and turned to leave without a word, his head hanging low. His retreating figure looked somewhat bedraggled, and his steps were much heavier than when he had arrived.
As he passed Jiang Nannan, his steps faltered and his lips moved. But when he met those icy golden eyes, he ultimately said nothing and hurried out of sight around the street corner.
Jiang Nannan watched him leave and remained still for a long while. Her long, wavy golden hair fell over her shoulders, and it was hard to tell whether the expression on her face was satisfaction or a deeper worry.
Nezha returned to Ning Tian and Wu Feng. Ning Tian put away the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and looked up at him, a lingering trace of amusement in her azure eyes. "Nice fight," she said softly.
Wu Feng lunged straight at him and wrapped her arms around his arm, her fiery red ponytail swishing back and forth as she cried, "I could've done that too!"
Zhou Hu and Nanmen Yun'er also gazed at Nezha with open admiration.
"All right, it's over. Let's go." Nezha glanced at the people still looking their way and tugged at the uniform jacket draped over his shoulders, his tone utterly casual.
"Okay!"
The group turned and headed toward the academy.
On the snack street, Tang Ya stood beside the grill, following their retreating figures with her eyes. Only after they disappeared around the corner did she look away and mutter under her breath, "That guy really is a freak."
Standing beside her, Huo Yuhao nodded with a grave expression.
He was a new student too. Even though he had Tian Meng, a Million-Year Soul Ring, and even though his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds in these few short days, he still felt uneasy deep down.
He had seen that thrust clearly. Xu Sanshi's Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield was a renowned defensive ability even in the Shrek Outer Court, yet before Nezha's spear, it had been as flimsy as something pasted together from paper.
Had Director Du not arrived in time, Xu Sanshi would probably have had to leave the snack street flat on his back today.
Before you continue