Flender exposed Lu Ning's little scheme with a single remark.
But Lu Ning was not annoyed.
He had lived with Flender since childhood.
It would have been truly strange if Flender could not see through this little idea of his.
Lu Ning summoned the Azure Lotus Sword.
Three purple and one black Soul Rings circled around him.
The black Soul Ring radiated a chilling aura.
Even Flender felt a little uneasy.
His Cat Owl Martial Soul emerged.
His gaze stayed fixed on Lu Ning before him.
A dark gleam flashed from Lu Ning's fourth Soul Ring.
The temperature around them plummeted. Even the morning dew on the plants froze solid. The Azure Lotus Sword in Lu Ning's hand slowly rose, his eyes turning utterly cold at that moment as the sword drained the Soul Power and Mental Power from his body.
In an instant.
Lu Ning's face turned ashen.
He, too, had never expected his fourth Soul Skill to be this terrifyingly powerful.
When it said it would drain all his Soul Power, it truly drained every last bit.
It did not leave him even half a drop.
Flender's reaction was even more honest.
Though he had just boasted that he was no ordinary Soul Saint, his actions were utterly candid. His sixth Soul Ring shone with the same light, and a murky yellow barrier completely enveloped his body.
Even after shielding himself, he felt something was still amiss.
He also chose to use the seventh Soul Skill he had promised not to use.
Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!
He transformed into a gigantic Cat Owl, his wings completely shielding his front. Anyone watching without knowing the circumstances might have thought he was facing an eighty-thousand-year Soul Beast!
He had actually gone to such lengths!
"The Dean actually..."
"He's even using his Martial Soul Avatar?"
Watching the battle from afar, Ning Rongrong covered her mouth, unable to believe the scene before her.
For Soul Masters, every single ring of difference was like an impassable heavenly chasm.
But now...
Lu Ning had actually forced Flender to unleash his Martial Soul Avatar?
Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fists, her eyes brimming with excitement.
Strength like Lu Ning's was exactly what she wanted!
She had traveled countless miles to get here.
The one goal she pursued was to become as strong as Lu Ning, strong enough that even a Soul Saint would have no choice but to take her seriously!
At that moment, Lu Ning's hand shook incessantly around the Azure Lotus Sword.
Yet his aim was utterly precise.
The words he uttered were equally clear.
"Fourth Soul Skill!"
"One Sword Freezes Fourteen Provinces!"
The Azure Lotus Sword descended!
The plants before Flender could not withstand such terrifying power and shattered completely.
Everywhere the sword Qi passed was utterly enveloped in frost.
Bang!
An enormous sound rang out.
Flender's Martial Soul Avatar collided with the streak of sword Qi.
The light barrier hastily formed by his sixth Soul Skill shattered outright, its fragments scattering into the surrounding soil.
Had Flender not used his Martial Soul Avatar, he would certainly have been injured by this sword Qi!
Even so.
His Martial Soul Avatar was left wounded as well.
Feathers fell as the sword Qi dissipated.
The wounds froze solid as the cold bored into the Cat Owl's body.
With an ashen face, Flender dismissed his Martial Soul Avatar.
He looked at the sword scar several meters long left in the ground by the sword Qi.
How was this a sparring match?!
This brat was trying to slay his teacher and wipe out his lineage!
If he truly had not been an ordinary Soul Saint, and had not understood this brat so well, he would inevitably have spent several days recuperating in bed!
"You brat!"
"You didn't hold back at all!"
"Were you trying to kill me so you could inherit Shrek Academy?"
Flender glared at Lu Ning, his beard bristling, but after speaking, he too noticed something amiss. Studying Lu Ning's pale face, he arrived at an answer.
"So that's it."
"This Soul Skill should be one of those mutually destructive offensive Soul Skills, right?"
"You use all your Soul Power to unleash this one move."
"What if your Soul Power isn't full? Can you still use it?"
Lu Ning shook his head.
"I can!"
"But there's one thing you got wrong, Teacher."
"It's not all my Soul Power, but all my remaining Soul Power and Mental Power."
"The less Soul Power and Mental Power I have left, the weaker this Soul Skill becomes. I wouldn't call it burning jade and stone together. It only counts as a Trump Card Killing Move."
Seeing the smug expression on Lu Ning's face, Flender wanted to take him down a peg, lest he truly regard this Soul Skill as a killing move capable of dealing with Soul Saints and bring death upon himself.
"It's certainly powerful."
"Unfortunately, it takes too long to build up."
"In a real fight to the death, how could your opponent possibly give you a chance to unleash a Soul Skill like this?"
"Besides."
"If you concentrate all your Soul Power and Mental Power and still fail to kill the enemy, you'll be the one who dies."
"Use this sort of thing sparingly from now on."
Lu Ning nodded.
In truth, he had not told the truth.
He had not even used the "Qi" option for this move yet.
If all his attributes were tripled again, then stacked with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's support...
Then today, even if Flender pushed his Martial Soul Avatar to its limit, he would still have died here!
Killing a Soul Saint was not necessarily impossible!
"All right."
"This Soul Skill is pretty good."
"Let's head back to the academy and show that bunch what you can do!"
Flender brushed the dust off himself. His serious expression vanished, replaced by his usual unscrupulous merchant's look, as though he had spotted a chance to turn a profit.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong also walked over from nearby at that moment, taking the Wine Gourd from Lu Ning's hand out of habit.
"Show them what he can do?" Ning Rongrong looked at Flender with laughter in her eyes. "Dean, even you nearly failed to withstand Lu Ning's move. Is there anyone at our academy stronger than you?"
Flender coughed heavily twice.
"What kind of talk is that?"
"When did I fail to withstand it?"
"If this had really been a fight to the death, this brat would have died at least ten times!"
"But you're right about that, Rongrong. There really isn't anyone stronger than me at Shrek Academy."
Ning Rongrong's eyes curved into smiling crescents as she looked at Lu Ning and said, "Lu Ning, would you like to visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has a Titled Douluo whose Martial Soul is also a sword. You could exchange some experience~"
Lu Ning shrugged.
"Not interested."
"Let's talk about it when there's a chance."
Watching their exchange, Flender's old face filled with cunning.
"Lu Ning, since you've only just absorbed your fourth Soul Ring, the residual energy in your Martial Soul hasn't been fully absorbed yet."
"So the three of you can take your time walking back!"
Flender's words carried a deeper meaning.
That simple-minded fellow Lao Zhao probably would never have thought of it.
Have Lu Ning latch onto one of them so they could renege even if they lost in the future?
Bullshit!
The way I see it, this disciple of mine isn't that simple!
There's something odd about the way Zhu Zhuqing looks at him. Who knows, the two of them might even have held hands in the middle of the night!
Now even the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is extending an olive branch to this disciple of mine.
She's even brought up the name of that Sword Douluo from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!
How is this latching onto just one?
He's on course to marry two great beauties!!
Before you continue