"Oh? Three Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings?"
"Where did you spring from, brat?"
As the saying went, one move from an expert was enough to show whether he had the goods.
When Er Ming saw the three extraordinary black Soul Rings beneath Luo Feng's feet,
his pupils instantly contracted.
Under normal circumstances,
an ordinary Soul Master's first four Soul Rings should have been two yellow and two purple.
Yet this brat of unknown origins had skipped that step entirely.
He had made his first three Soul Rings ten-thousand-year ones.
No ordinary kid!
"Senior, who are you?"
Although he had already roughly guessed who the other party was,
Luo Feng remained perfectly composed.
He put on a look of innocent confusion.
But the Soul Skill he unleashed was anything but half-hearted.
It might only have been the Mountain Dragon King's first Soul Skill, but it made excellent use of the terrain!
Crack, crack, crack!
Before the burly man opposite him could approach,
the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
They were close to the foot of the mountain here.
So this was also where the mountain was widest.
Without warning, the structure of the mountain throughout the entire area changed in an instant.
"Huh!"
"Quite something, brat! What kind of power is this?"
Because the mountain was covered in thick snow,
the effects were not immediately visible when the Soul Skill first activated.
By the time his opponent reacted,
the spikes rising from the ground had already formed a small enclosed space around Er Ming's feet!
Almost in the blink of an eye,
all those jagged, interlocking spikes thrust upward.
They completely sealed off every route Er Ming could take forward.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
"Brat, this move won't trap me!"
But this fellow's true form was the Titan Giant Ape.
He was precisely the sort who most enjoyed solving problems with his fists.
The burly man swung his fists back and forth a few times, smashing apart every spike that had grown out of the mountain!
"Senior, spare others when you can!"
"See you around!"
Of course, Luo Feng knew this move could not trap the big monkey.
But he only needed to hold out for a few seconds to put some distance between them.
"You think you can escape at the foot of the Clear Sky Sect?"
Although he had been obstructed,
the burly man did not care in the slightest.
He simply extended a palm toward the direction Luo Feng was fleeing and pressed down gently!
"Take my Gravity Mire!"
This was the Titan Giant Ape's signature move.
Although it did not inflict much damage, it could make every step a struggle.
Even a Titled Douluo would slow to a snail's crawl upon encountering this move...
Just as Niu Tian had promised Wang Dong earlier,
the two of them would only capture Luo Feng, avoiding injury to his muscles and bones as much as possible!
But these two had underestimated the Mountain Dragon King far too much.
He was the master of the earth, mountains, and rivers to begin with.
Playing with gravity before the Mountain Dragon King-did they think it would work?
Buzz!
And so, Luo Feng's body merely swayed slightly.
Then he charged forward, completely unaffected.
The sight left Er Ming dumbfounded!
"What's going on?"
"This move of mine never failed, even in the Divine Realm..."
After a brief moment of shock,
he immediately changed his approach.
He stopped using those flashy Soul Skills.
Instead, he reverted to his reckless, savage self!
"Brat, looks like I'll have to turn things up a notch!"
Restricted by the laws of the Douluo Continent,
neither Da Ming nor Er Ming could use power beyond rank one hundred.
But in their human forms, both were, at the very least, unquestionably Titled Douluo powerhouses.
If a young fellow barely over rank thirty slipped away right under the nose of a veteran powerhouse like him,
would the Clear Sky Sect have any face left if word got out?
Yet Luo Feng seemed to be precisely that exception.
He had never intended to clash head-on from the start.
Every word and Soul Skill he used was meant to help him escape smoothly!
"Mountain Dragon King's third Soul Skill: Swamp!"
This move was somewhat similar to the one the Titan Giant Ape had just unleashed.
It could create a vast stretch of suddenly sinking swamp within a designated area.
It did not inflict much damage.
But it could reduce an opponent's movement speed by more than ninety-five percent!
Er Ming had been sprinting at full tilt.
He was just about to grab the brat by the back of his collar.
But unexpectedly, his foot suddenly found nothing beneath it.
Then he rapidly sank!
"What?"
"A mire?"
"You brat, you're actually copying my moves!"
This infuriated Er Ming.
He had practically capsized in a gutter!
"Stop right there!"
"Stop, or I'll beat you to death!"
His embarrassment turning to fury,
Er Ming forcefully spread his arms.
He braced them against solid spots along the swamp's edge.
Like a gymnast,
he supported himself with both hands and hauled his sunken feet out with all his might!
Although he ultimately succeeded,
Luo Feng had likewise vanished without a trace.
"Damn brat, how did he run so fast?"
"He's like a rat!"
Just as Er Ming was fuming in frustration,
Wang Dong ran over, panting.
Her eyes still held a trace of nervousness.
However, when she saw that Er Ming had failed,
she let out a long sigh of relief.
But the little girl's expression soon returned to normal.
She even put on a very anxious look.
"Second Dad, where is he?"
"He ran!"
"That brat must have been born in the year of the rat. He darted out of sight in the blink of an eye!"
There was nothing he could do.
How was he supposed to describe something this embarrassing?
"If he ran, let him go. That little thief definitely won't dare come back!"
Having climbed out of the mud pit, Er Ming seemed to want to continue the pursuit.
Wang Dong hurried forward and grabbed his arm.
"Second Dad, forget about that brat!"
"Didn't you say you'd take me to Shrek yourself? We can leave right now!"
"All right. Anyway, I've already memorized that brat's face, and what his Martial Soul looks like!"
"The monk can run, but the temple can't!"
"He dared cause trouble at our Clear Sky Sect. Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, we'll drag him back!"
After leaving that threat behind,
the burly man went back to being a nanny.
"Has our young master finally decided to go to Shrek Academy?"
"Don't worry, we've already spoken to them!"
"We'll make sure you're satisfied!"
"Mhm! With you and First Dad handling things together, Second Dad, Dong'er couldn't feel more reassured!"
The next moment, Wang Dong was like a happy little butterfly.
She darted forward of her own accord and wrapped both hands around the burly man's arm.
After a round of wheedling and pestering, she dragged him away.
"Hmph!"
Before leaving, the tomboy even made a show of glancing at a large boulder not far away.
Luo Feng, who was hiding behind that very boulder, had truly broken into a cold sweat.
In fact, he had not run away just now.
Instead, he had found a concealed spot to hide.
The Mountain Dragon King's bloodline allowed Luo Feng's presence to blend into the surrounding mountains.
He had intended to wait for his opponent to recognize the difficulty and retreat.
But he had not expected Wang Dong, whose first kiss he had stolen earlier, to step forward of her own accord.
She had left him a path to survival!
Could it be?
Could this girl be planning to choose me instead of Huo Yuhao?
Watching the two retreating figures, one large and one small,
Luo Feng finally dared to step out from cover.
Yet Wang Dong's actions just now had suddenly made his heart flutter.
But soon, Luo Feng shook his head furiously.
He even slapped his own cheeks with both hands.
"Calm down. I have to stay calm!"
"Lust hangs a blade over your head!"
"Getting stronger is still what matters most!"
Just then, that familiar system notification sounded again.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully conquering Clear Sky Peak. Your next target is the Ming Dou Mountain Range.] [Once you successfully reach the summit, your cultivation will rise to new heights.]
Holy crap!
What was the deal with this Mountain Dragon King?
Climb mountains to get stronger?