I must kill him with my own hands!

Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

A Soul Bone floated down from midair.

Before the Soul Bone landed, three figures abruptly appeared in the courtyard where Ye Lingling and the others were.

Ye Lingling looked up and saw the academy's three administrators: Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin.

"Are you here to steal the Soul Bone?"

Hearing this, the three immediately stopped. They had not expected this old poisoner to be here already. "Not at all. Senior Dugu, may we ask what brings you here?"

The three looked quite tense at the sight of Dugu Bo. "If you intend to seize Ye Lingling's Soul Bone, forgive us, but we cannot agree. You are a senior, after all. You must not bully a young girl."

Ye Lingling was about to speak, but Dugu Bo stopped her with a wave.

A sinister smile appeared on Dugu Bo's face. "Rest assured, gentlemen. Ye Lingling is now my disciple. As her master, how could I possibly steal my disciple's Soul Bone?"

The three were astonished and looked at Ye Lingling in unison.

Ye Lingling gave them a reassuring look in return.

They had come ahead this time precisely because they had anticipated that someone might try to seize Ye Lingling's Soul Bone.

In the Nine Heart Begonia lineage, one died as another was born. The previous bearer of the Nine Heart Begonia had been a Soul Master of their generation and had shared decades of friendship with all three. They had saved one another's lives countless times, and before dying, that bearer had entrusted Ye Lingling to them.

Seeing that the three still refused to leave, Dugu Bo naturally knew what worried them. "Lingling, to put these three elders of yours at ease, absorb this Soul Bone now."

Ye Lingling, however, looked deeply troubled. Although this Soul Bone was a relatively rare skull bone, its attached skill was Flame Jet, which was utterly incompatible with her Martial Soul. She did not even have any flames, so what could she possibly shoot?

Even if she forcibly absorbed this Soul Bone, the power of the Soul Skill would be reduced by at least fifty percent when she used it.

Dugu Bo examined the Soul Bone and felt as though his teeth ached. "Then put it away for now. After a while, we'll see whether we can trade it for a better one."

Ye Lingling nodded. Just as she was about to put the Soul Bone away, a thought struck her. "Master, carrying this Soul Bone around is far too dangerous for me. Why don't you keep it for me?"

"You would feel at ease leaving it with me?"

Ye Lingling nodded firmly. "Of course."

"Very well. I'll keep it for the time being." Dugu Bo then looked at the three Education Committee members. "You three, help me spread the word. Say that the Soul Bone awarded to my disciple Ye Lingling is unsuitable. Anyone with a Soul Bone suited to healing or preserving one's life can bring it to exchange with me."

The three Education Committee members exchanged glances before saying, "Then thank you, Senior."

They then took their leave.

Only then did Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others catch their breath. The situation had been tense just now, with the three Education Committee elders on one side and Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, on the other. They had truly feared the two sides would come to blows over a disagreement.

Fortunately, the outcome had been good.

Meanwhile, things were looking rather grim for Zhu Zhuqing of Shrek Academy.

She had thought that leaving early would let her flee far away, but she had underestimated a Titled Douluo's strength far too much.

A point of light flickered on the ground in front of her, yet she dared not move at all. Tang Hao had appeared before her as abruptly as a ghost, then bent down and picked the point of light up from the ground.

Unlike with Oscar, however, Tang Hao had no intention of sparing the girl before him. Her talent was simply a little too frightening.

"If you act at all, finish the job."

With a sweep of his hand, the Clear Sky Hammer was already raised. Zhu Zhuqing trembled. Although the hammer Tang Hao held was very small, her body's instincts screamed warnings at her.

Run!

Run now!

No matter the cost!

Otherwise, you'll die right away!!!!

Every hair on Zhu Zhuqing's body stood on end. She desperately wanted to flee, but under Tang Hao's oppressive aura, her entire body felt weak. She could not move at all and could only watch helplessly as the hammer descended toward her.

At that critical instant, an angry shout rang out from afar. "Spare her!"

At the same time, an enormous Cat Owl swooped down from the distance and slammed hard into Tang Hao's side.

The Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Hao's hand had been about to fall, but the collision knocked it slightly off course. It grazed one side of Zhu Zhuqing's body and smashed into the ground, instantly leaving an enormous crater.

Struck by the shock wave from the Clear Sky Hammer's impact, Zhu Zhuqing was sent flying backward. Fortunately, the Great Strength Vajra Bear that arrived immediately afterward caught her gently in his hands.

Blood kept trickling from the corner of Zhu Zhuqing's mouth. She was clearly badly injured.

"Clear Sky Douluo, since you have taken the Soul Bone, please do not take this child's life as well. Otherwise, I will stop you even at the cost of my life." Flender spoke quietly, his voice calm yet steady, as though he had already foreseen his own end.

Tang Hao sneered. "You think the likes of you can stop me?"

Zhao Wuji set Zhu Zhuqing aside and stood shoulder to shoulder with Flender. "What if you add me?"

Tang Hao did not even spare him a proper glance. A piercing murderous aura poured out of him.

Flender and Zhao Wuji, whose presence had been so imposing moments earlier, felt themselves shrink a notch in an instant.

Flender even switched straight back to a fawning manner, bending at the waist with an ingratiating smile. "Clear Sky Douluo, why get angry over a child? Haven't you already obtained the Soul Bone? Besides, even if you do nothing now, I fear she won't live much longer."

That was true. Even without a direct hit, the vibrations transmitted through the ground and the wind pressure stirred up by a strike from a Titled Douluo's Clear Sky Hammer were enough to take Zhu Zhuqing's life.

Had Zhao Wuji not cushioned the impact beforehand with his Gravity Domain, she would certainly have had no chance of survival.

Even after the two worked together to mitigate it, however, Zhu Zhuqing could barely cling to life.

Tang Hao naturally knew this. He raised his chin slightly, looking somewhat indifferent. "But what about that collision earlier, when you threw yourself at me?"

Hearing this, Flender immediately realized there was still room to turn things around. He dropped to his knees with a thud and slapped his own face with alternating hands. "I apologize! I apologize! Please calm down. Will this do?"

Zhu Zhuqing had thought everyone at Shrek Academy was worthless trash like Yu Xiaogang. But as she watched that enormous Cat Owl flatter Tang Hao in a comical tone while slapping his own face with full force, two trails of clear tears slipped down her cheeks before she knew it.

She swore that, in this life, she and Tang Hao would not rest until one of them was dead.

Even if she was insignificant compared to him, even if a lifetime of effort might not let her so much as touch his toes.

Still, she had to kill Tang Hao!

"It's been a few years, Tang Hao. In such high spirits that you've taken to bullying children?" A sinister voice drifted lazily from behind Tang Hao.

Tang Hao was instantly startled. A ghostly figure slowly emerged from the shadows among the trees. Who could it be but Gui Mei? Spirit Hall was not far from Shrek Academy, and Tang Hao's attack just now had allowed the two of them to find this place.

A man in a moon-white robe stood up and shook his head at Gui Mei. Having examined her, he had confirmed that Zhu Zhuqing was now effectively crippled. Whether she could even survive was hard to say.

Once he saw who had come, Tang Hao's eyes instead reddened. "So it's you two. Since we've met, you can die here today."

Gui Mei immediately panicked, while Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan shouted, "Tang Hao, don't you want to know how your son is doing right now?"

At the word "son," Tang Hao immediately forgot everything else and shot straight toward Shrek Academy.

Gui Mei asked, "Old Chrysanthemum, did you really take his son hostage?"

"Bullshit. I was bluffing. No matter how much of a beast I might be, I would never do something like that."

"Then what do we do with this girl now?"

"Bury her. Saving her would only waste medicine."