First encounter with Tang San

By then, the spectators inside the hotel had fallen utterly silent.

They had been stunned by Zhao Su's domineering punch.

Among those watching were not only ordinary people, but also many Soul Masters.

Ordinary people might not understand how powerful Soul Masters were, but these Soul Masters, who possessed martial souls themselves, knew all too well.

"He sent a rank-thirty-six Soul Elder flying with physical strength alone. Am I dreaming?"

"What kind of monstrous physique would that take?"

"With a physique that powerful, how freakishly strong must his martial soul be?"

For a moment, everyone watching began speculating.

Zhao Su ignored them and instead looked at Tang San, who stood to one side. "Aren't you going to step in for your friend?"

"We aren't friends. We only met by chance."

Sure enough, Tang San's behavior and words did not disappoint Zhao Su. He was the perfect egoist.

They also laid his hypocritical, selfish nature bare.

Only moments ago, he had been praising Dai Mubai to the skies and even entertaining the thought of befriending him. Now, they were merely chance acquaintances.

But that was precisely what Zhao Su wanted to see.

Driving a wedge between the Shrek Seven Devils was one of his objectives.

"Haha, you're smart enough to know which way the wind is blowing!"

Zhao Su did not want to crush Tang San outright. He wanted to take his time playing with him.

He had plenty of time, anyway.

The most important reason Zhao Su did not crush Tang San outright was that Tang San possessed a protagonist fate protected by the Heavenly Dao.

As he grew, he would encounter all sorts of fortuitous opportunities.

That was the privilege of possessing a protagonist fate and enjoying the Heavenly Dao's protection. After all, he was the protagonist.

A great villain like Zhao Su, who possessed a villain fate, enjoyed no such privilege.

But that did not matter.

Whatever I don't have, I can take from someone else. Perhaps that's a great villain's privilege.

Just as Zhao Su was thinking this to himself-

His vision suddenly blurred, and two long, slender, straight legs wrapped around his neck.

Their smooth, delicate, jade-like touch left Zhao Su a little dazed.

A faint trace of feminine fragrance drifted into his nose as well.

Clearly, Xiao Wu had made her move.

The instant Xiao Wu underwent martial soul fusion, her body became far more flexible, and her speed and strength increased as well.

With her legs wrapped around Zhao Su's neck, Xiao Wu suddenly exerted her strength, trying to fling him away.

But it would not be that easy.

Zhao Su had only let her wrap her legs around him because he had been distracted and caught off guard.

Now that he had reacted, Xiao Wu could only suffer a beating.

The moment Xiao Wu exerted her strength, Zhao Su moved too.

His feet seemed rooted to the ground. Xiao Wu's strength could not budge him in the slightest.

At the same time, Zhao Su reached out, seized Xiao Wu's calf, and hurled her away.

As she was thrown, Xiao Wu flipped through the air and charged at Zhao Su again.

By then, Dai Mubai had also climbed back to his feet and once again fused with his powerful white tiger martial soul.

"Roar..."

With a roar that shook heaven and earth, he charged at Zhao Su again.

"You've got spirit!"

Zhao Su remained utterly composed, though he now saw Dai Mubai in a somewhat different light. At least he had far more backbone than Tang San.

Tang San kept insisting that Xiao Wu was his own little sister and that he would never allow anyone to hurt her.

Yet, even as he watched Xiao Wu suffer, he dared not act because of the overwhelming soul power Zhao Su had displayed.

Zhao Su held back against Xiao Wu, but he would show Dai Mubai no such mercy.

With another single punch, he shattered Dai Mubai's martial soul again, even more thoroughly this time.

Dai Mubai spat out a mouthful of blood. He would be unable to undergo martial soul fusion for at least a week.

"Go back to your Shrek Academy and recover properly. Stop coming out here to make a spectacle of yourself."

Whoosh!

Tang San finally acted, but rather than attack head-on, he resorted to a dirty trick.

Silver needles coated in deadly poison shot toward Zhao Su.

"What else can you do besides pull these dirty tricks?"

Zhao Su caught the silver needles with a sweep of his hand and sent them straight back, forcing Tang San to fuse with his martial soul.

Strands of ghost vine coiled toward Zhao Su like creeping tendrils.

The ghost vines carried a numbing poison. Being caught in them would be troublesome indeed.

But to Zhao Su, that was no trouble at all.

Still barehanded, Zhao Su grabbed the ghost vines and yanked Tang San over.

"Blue silver grass is too weak."

Just as Zhao Su was about to cripple the blue silver grass martial soul within Tang San and drag out his clear sky hammer martial soul-

The system displayed a line of text.

[Ding, this person possesses a protagonist fate and will encounter endless fortuitous opportunities. The host is advised not to cripple him outright.]

[Ding! Chance Encounter with Tang San quest completed. Reward: mutated martial soul, Seven Kill Sword ×1. System Shop unlocked!]

At the system's notification, Zhao Su lowered his raised hand and tossed Tang San away.

"What do you mean by this?"

"Nothing. You're too weak right now. Beating you is no fun."

With that, Zhao Su turned and left, leaving everyone bewildered, unable to understand what he meant.

"Brother Dai, are you all right?"

After Zhao Su left, Tang San looked at the pale-faced Dai Mubai, blood staining the corner of his mouth, and feigned concern.

"I'm fine. Who was that man? How could he be so powerful?"

"Was he from Spirit Hall?"

"Probably!"

"Brother Tang San, I'll be going now. I believe we'll meet again very soon. I'm a student at Shrek Academy."

Dai Mubai needed to return and treat his injuries as soon as possible to prevent any lasting damage to his martial soul.

With that, Dai Mubai left the Rose Hotel, supported by the twins.

Once Zhao Su and Dai Mubai had both left, the spectators gradually dispersed.

"Sir, shall I arrange a room for you?"

Though Zhao Su had utterly thrashed Tang San, the hotel manager was shrewd enough to know that even Tang San was not someone he could afford to offend.

So he remained very polite to Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Tang San's expression was grim. Though his blue silver grass was a trash martial soul, his Mysterious Heaven Skill allowed him to hold his own against powerful martial souls.

On top of that, he possessed memories of his previous life.

The various hidden weapons he crafted were immensely powerful. He had been a genius since childhood.

Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had even recognized his potential and regarded him as the hope of achieving his own goals.

Though Tang San usually appeared courteous, he was proud at heart.

But Zhao Su's appearance had shattered that pride, leaving him deeply unsettled.

It had to be said that Tang San had one quality worthy of praise.

Though setbacks angered him, they did not rob him of his determination to keep growing stronger.

Perhaps that resilience, too, belonged to his protagonist fate.

In a courtyard at the northernmost edge of Suotuo City, Zhao Su was awakening the mutated martial soul he had just obtained-the Seven Kill Sword!

In the world of the Douluo Continent, everyone knew that only one Douluo possessed the Seven Kill Sword: Sword Douluo Chen Xin, one of the two Titled Douluos who protected the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

It was known as the strongest martial soul of the power attack system, and was no weaker even than the Clear Sky Sect's Clear Sky Hammer.

Yet the Seven Kill Sword Zhao Su awakened, while somewhat resembling Chen Xin's, was also different.

Leaving its appearance aside, its aura alone surpassed Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword by untold times.