Tang San and Xiao Wu fled

Shrek Academy.

In the square.

All the teachers and students looked in the same direction.

Powerful fluctuations of soul power came from that direction, making sleep impossible.

"Such powerful soul power fluctuations! Your Holiness the Thunder Emperor was actually this strong."

"With my cultivation, if Your Holiness the Thunder Emperor got serious, I probably couldn't withstand even one blow, could I?"

Feeling the soul power fluctuations coming from afar, Zhao Wuji could not help shrinking his neck.

He had known Qin Xiao was powerful, but he had never imagined he was this powerful.

"Who said you couldn't withstand it?"

"Didn't you last half an incense stick under Your Holiness the Thunder Emperor's soul skill?"

A gleam of mischief flashed in Flender's eyes.

"Ha, that's right."

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up as well. "With a record like that, even a Soul Douluo would have to admit he falls short."

Everyone present was speechless at his smug expression. This man really knew how to gild his own face.

"Careful! An extremely powerful presence is heading toward the academy!"

Suddenly, Flender's expression changed, and he spoke gravely.

Heading toward the academy?

Everyone's heart jolted.

What would a powerhouse like that want at the academy?

An ominous feeling instinctively rose in everyone's hearts.

Zhao Wuji and Flender stepped in front of the others without hesitation.

Li Yusong and Lu Qibin stood on either side, shielding Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the other students between them.

The food-type Soul Master, Shao Xin, stood in the middle of the group.

At that very moment, a figure appeared before them.

"Dean Flender, it's been a long time."

He was the first to speak.

"Your Holiness... Clear Sky!"

Flender's eyes filled with surprise.

He had never imagined that the person fighting Qin Xiao would actually be Tang Hao.

In the crowd, Tang San shouted in shock, "Dad?!"

His voice was filled with disbelief.

He was not the only one.

Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and all the teachers found it unbelievable as well.

What was going on?

Tang San's father was a Titled Douluo?

"San."

Tang Hao called to him with a complicated expression, then said to Flender, "Flender, thank you for looking after San these past few days, but I now have a reason that leaves me no choice but to take him away."

"Your Holiness, please go ahead."

Flender immediately stepped aside, allowing Tang Hao to approach Tang San.

Overcome with excitement, Tang San pushed through the crowd and rushed into Tang Hao's arms.

"I know you have many questions, but this isn't the time to explain. Come with me. When the time comes, I'll tell you the truth about everything."

Tang Hao spoke gravely.

"Okay." Though Tang San had countless questions, he could only swallow them for now.

"Dad, can we take Xiao Wu with us?" Though he phrased it as a question, his voice already carried a pleading note.

"Are you willing?" Tang Hao looked at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu instinctively shrank back. She was terrified.

Her heart could not settle for a long time.

Didn't San say his father was a down-and-out man who knew nothing but hammering iron?

Then what was this business about him being a Titled Douluo?

And had he already seen through my identity? Then San...

Instinctively, she looked at Tang San.

Suspicion, confusion, and other emotions surged into her heart.

"What, are you unwilling?"

Tang Hao frowned and asked again.

But Xiao Wu could feel a wave of pressure bearing down on her.

It was as though, if she dared utter a single no, her fate would be truly miserable.

And that was indeed the case.

After all, half the reason he had fought Qin Xiao was that Qin Xiao's presence would affect Tang San's growth. The other half was Xiao Wu: he could not afford to lose a hundred-thousand-year soul beast that had taken human form.

"I... I'm willing..."

She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Tang Hao again, and spoke in a fluster.

"Good. Then let's go."

As Tang Hao finished speaking, he grabbed Xiao Wu with one hand and took Tang San's hand with the other, vanishing from the spot at incredible speed.

"They just left?"

Everyone from Shrek was left stunned.

Their faces were utterly bewildered.

Whoosh...

Not long afterward, a streak of lightning cut across the sky, and Qin Xiao's figure emerged from it.

"Your Holiness..."

"Your Holiness the Thunder Emperor..."

"..."

Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the others dared not show any disrespect and greeted him quietly.

In fact, they were even more respectful than before.

None of them were blind. Young though His Majesty was, he was truly formidable.

Hadn't he beaten the Clear Sky Douluo into fleeing with his son?

Qin Xiao merely swept his gaze over the gathering and noticed that Tang San and Xiao Wu were missing. Suddenly, he smiled. "Tang Hao, oh, Tang Hao. The greatest mistake of your life was making an enemy of me."

Yet everyone involuntarily shuddered.

After a long while.

Qin Xiao withdrew his gaze from the distance.

He did not give chase.

His earlier barrage had consumed a considerable amount of energy, leaving little soul power in his body.

If he truly pushed Tang Hao into a corner and the man risked his life to detonate another soul ring or two, the outcome would be uncertain.

But he was still young. He had plenty of time.

It would not take long. Through his own efforts, he would be able to crush Tang Hao in three to five years at most.

If the system did not screw him over, that time would be shortened considerably.

Elsewhere.

Tang Hao carried Tang San and Xiao Wu over a hundred li in one stretch before stopping beside a stream.

"Cough, cough."

Unable to hold it back any longer, he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.

At that moment, the injuries he had forcibly suppressed erupted. Combined with the backlash from Ring Detonation and the damage Qin Xiao's attacks had inflicted, all three piled on top of one another. The fact that Tang Hao had not gone straight to the heavens was already a testament to his strength.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Tang San immediately grew anxious.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, hid off to the side in fright.

"I'm fine."

"I'll be all right after resting a little."

Tang Hao sat down where he stood.

How could he be fine when he was coughing up blood? Ignoring Tang Hao's objections, Tang San grabbed his arm and checked his pulse.

Within moments, his face turned the color of pig liver.

His blood and vital energy were sluggish, his meridians blocked, and his soul power was in turmoil, careening around like headless flies...

He called this fine?

Anyone else would probably have dropped dead!

Tang San could no longer concern himself with anything else and immediately produced a handful of golden needles.

He intended to use golden-needle acupuncture to help regulate Tang Hao's internal energy.

"What are you doing?" Tang Hao was taken aback.

"A method my teacher taught me. It should help you," Tang San answered without thinking.

"Yu Xiaogang knows how to do this too?" Tang Hao frowned, but now was no time to hesitate, so he nodded.

Seeing this, Tang San stepped forward and inserted the golden needles one by one into the acupuncture points on Tang Hao's body.

A short while later, Tang Hao's eyes brightened, and his complexion improved considerably. "Heh, that useless Yu Xiaogang..."

"Pah."

"To think Yu Xiaogang had an ability like this. After all those years of research, he finally managed to cobble together something worthwhile."

He could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

Tang San did not respond to that remark, however. "Dad, who injured you this badly?"

After a moment of silence, Tang Hao said, "You should know him. It was Qin Xiao."

It really was him!

Suspecting it was one thing; hearing Tang Hao confirm it was another.

At that moment, Tang San's eyes blazed with hatred. Veins bulged on his forehead, his clenched fists creaked, and he ground his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

He truly wanted to go back and take revenge.

Unfortunately.

He could not beat Qin Xiao. He could only seethe here in impotent rage.