Driving a Wedge into Shrek

"I have some other things to take care of, so I won't be going. You go ahead!"

Zhao Su looked at the scar-faced man's corpse lying on the ground, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes, and spoke to Oscar without raising his head.

"All right, then we'll go on our own."

Oscar did not press him and headed toward the bustling part of Suotuo City with Tang San and the others.

It was just the hour when the nightlife began.

On the Douluo Continent, where systems of civilization and laws were still far from complete, the nightlife was quite rich.

After Tang San and the others left.

Zhao Su walked over to the scar-faced man's corpse and crouched beside it.

When he had absorbed the scar-faced man's soul power earlier, Zhao Su had sensed a peculiar aura coming from him.

That was why he had asked Tang San to check whether the corpses had anything worthwhile on them.

But all they had carried were some soul coins.

That meant this peculiar aura was not coming from anything he carried, but from inside his body.

[Ding! The Nine-Winged Yinglong's aura has been detected. It appears to be a bone from the Nine-Winged Yinglong!]

Just then, the system interface popped up with a line of text.

This was also the first time the system had used an uncertain tone.

"A bone? A soul bone from the Nine-Winged Yinglong?"

Everyone knew that soul bones only appeared when a soul beast was killed or sacrificed itself. If this really was a soul bone from the Nine-Winged Yinglong...

Then that meant someone had already killed the Nine-Winged Yinglong.

That was hardly good news for Zhao Su.

He needed a living World-Guarding Divine Dragon, not some soul bone.

"It isn't a soul bone. It seems to be a part of the Nine-Winged Yinglong's actual body."

As it spoke, the system conjured a Boning Knife itself and cut the scar-faced man open.

"Holy shit! System, couldn't you find somewhere deserted? This is way too bloody!"

Zhao Su was left rather speechless at the sight.

People came out of the Great Soul Arena's entrance from time to time.

If they saw this, wouldn't they take Zhao Su for some kind of pervert?

"Someone's coming. Get moving!"

The system ignored Zhao Su and continued its work.

After roughly three minutes, the hand conjured by the system held a blood-soaked bone, and it gave Zhao Su that warning.

With no time to think, Zhao Su sprang into the air and swiftly left the scene.

He arrived at the courtyard he had purchased in a quiet spot on the outskirts of Suotuo City.

Then Zhao Su tossed the bloody bone into the water vat where he grew lotuses on the eastern side of the courtyard.

He washed the bone clean.

The bone was very light. Even after being tossed into the vat, it did not sink, but floated on the surface.

Once the blood had been washed away, it gave off flecks of golden light, along with powerful fluctuations of soul power.

The scar-faced man must have obtained this bone somewhere.

Mistaking it for a soul bone, he had absorbed it.

Zhao Su reached into the vat and retrieved the bone. The moment he touched it, he sensed a trace of vitality.

It was as though the bone itself were alive.

"Is this really a bone from the Yinglong?"

"Yes. If my thinking is correct, the Nine-Winged Yinglong must have suffered devastating injuries and split into individual bones to survive. Once these bones are gathered together and placed in fire, the Nine-Winged Yinglong will come back to life!"

"That's possible?"

Hearing the system's explanation, Zhao Su felt as though none of it was quite real.

"This is an innate gift of the Nine-Winged Yinglong race: Rebirth Through Fire!"

"Then can you tell how many bones the Nine-Winged Yinglong has in total, and where they are?"

"I don't know yet. I'll need to work it out carefully."

After saying that, the system fell silent.

Zhao Su sat down at the stone table in the courtyard and looked at the bone in his hand, which glimmered with flecks of golden light.

He was growing fonder and fonder of this Douluo World.

Compared with his original world, it was far more colorful and interesting.

Early the next morning, when Zhao Su returned to the Shrek Academy dining hall.

The others were there too, though the atmosphere between them was somewhat delicate.

The aloof Zhu Zhuqing had become even colder, deliberately taking a seat far away from the others.

Seeing this, Zhao Su naturally sat down beside Zhu Zhiqing.

"Didn't you come here for Dai Mubai?"

Zhao Su leaned close to Zhu Zhuqing's ear and spoke softly.

At his words, a trace of surprise appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's cold face.

Yesterday, she had already thought Zhao Su looked familiar.

Now, looking at him, she finally remembered. Zhao Su was the person she had met in Suotuo City a few days ago.

What Zhao Su did next confirmed Zhu Zhuqing's suspicions.

"I bought this especially for you. It's yours!"

Zhao Su held out the little cat he had bought at the handicrafts stall that day to Zhu Zhuqing.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Zhu Zhuqing looked at the little cat figurine before her, then raised her head to glance at the smiling Zhao Su.

She could not quite understand what he was after.

And judging by what Zhao Su had said, she understood that he knew everything about her.

"Nothing. You liked it, so I'm giving it to you!"

Zhu Zhuqing did not refuse again. She reached out and accepted the little cat figurine, then continued asking, "Who exactly are you? How do you know so much?"

"I know a great deal, far more than you imagine. Stop hanging around Tang San and the others, or it won't do you any good in the future!"

In the future, Zhao Su would inevitably kill Xiao Wu for her soul ring. The only reason he was not killing her now was that he wanted her to grow up.

An adult hundred-thousand-year soul beast in its human-transformation stage was far stronger than an immature one.

Once he killed Xiao Wu, Tang San would fight Spirit Hall to the death.

Whether he slapped them dead with a single blow or kept them around to find powerful resources for him.

Their eventual outcome could not possibly be good.

Besides that, Dai Mubai was a prince of the Star Luo Empire. He could not possibly stand by and watch Spirit Hall destroy it.

He, too, was destined to become Zhao Su's enemy.

The only reason Zhao Su was not killing Dai Mubai now, and was even secretly nurturing him, was that he wanted to use him against his older brother, Dai Weisi, in the future.

He wanted to gain true control over the Star Luo Empire. Otherwise, however powerful Zhao Su became, he could not possibly face the entire imperial army alone.

Using Dai Mubai was the most convenient approach.

As for Oscar and Ma Hongjun, they were nothing to fear. He could kill them whenever he wanted.

Lastly, there was Ning Rongrong. He still needed to find a way to use her to get close to Gu Rong, the Seven-Colored Glazed Sect's Sect-Guarding Douluo.

"Boss Dai, looks like you're in trouble now!"

Dai Mubai, who was eating nearby, had been watching Zhao Su and Zhu Zhuqing the whole time.

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing accept the little cat Zhao Su handed her.

Ma Hongjun wore the expression of someone enjoying a good show as he spoke to Dai Mubai beside him.

"Fatty, is your skin itching for a beating? If it is, I don't mind loosening your bones for you!"

Dai Mubai's double-pupiled eyes brimmed with fury as he snapped at Ma Hongjun.

Seeing that Dai Mubai was genuinely angry, Ma Hongjun immediately lost his nerve and fell silent.

Dai Mubai stared at Zhao Su and Zhu Zhuqing, who were sitting close together and talking about something he could not hear. His eyes burned with anger, but there was no telling what he was thinking.