The moment Sword Douluo uttered "scram," a streak of silvery-white Sword Qi slashed out.
The Sword Qi was absurdly fast, with no fancy flourishes-just one simple slash.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's pupils contracted sharply. He thrust the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in front of him, its petals bursting open layer upon layer to form a defense.
Boom-
Yue Guan's defense finally burst apart, and Sword Douluo's Sword Qi was extinguished along with it.
Though he was unhurt, Sword Douluo's casual strike had shown Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo just how sharp his sword was.
"Yue Guan!" Gui Mei's black mist dispersed, and he instantly shifted to his side.
Chrysanthemum Douluo glanced at the Seven Kill Sword in Chen Xin's hand, then at Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the others standing behind him.
"Let's go," Chrysanthemum Douluo said in a low voice.
Neither of them made any threats. They instantly turned into two streaks of light and shot into the sky, vanishing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
The training ground fell silent for a moment.
Flender's legs gave out. At last unable to hold on, he dropped onto his backside, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Zhao Wuji braced his hands on his knees and panted, the clothes on his back soaked through.
"They're gone... They're really gone..." Ma Hongjun dropped onto his backside, his face deathly pale.
No one could bring themselves to laugh.
Oscar steadied Ma Hongjun by the shoulder, his voice dry. "Yeah, they're gone. But what about tomorrow?"
His words were like a bucket of cold water, washing away every trace of relief the survivors felt.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had come, nearly killed them, and then been driven off by Sword Douluo. But Sword Douluo couldn't stay here forever.
What about tomorrow? The day after?
Since Spirit Hall had sent two Titled Douluo, Bibi Dong had clearly made up her mind. Not one of the Shrek Seven Devils would be spared.
Tang San stood in front of Xiao Wu, his fists clenched, sweat coating the spaces between his fingers.
He looked down at his hands. His level 32 Soul Power flowed slowly through his body. How many realms separated him from Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo?
"Teacher." He turned to Yu Xiaogang. "What... what do we do?"
Yu Xiaogang was silent for a long time.
His expression was uglier than anyone else's there.
He was the one who had told everyone to cultivate according to the original plan.
Sword Douluo had just slapped him in the face over that.
He had even wanted to say that Bibi Dong might spare him some face and not come after them, only for her to send two Titled Douluo straight to their door.
It was another resounding slap across his face.
Fortunately, he hadn't said it aloud, or he would have been even more embarrassed now.
"Go to Suotuo City." Sword Douluo Chen Xin sheathed his sword, his tone calm. "No matter how brazen Spirit Hall is, it wouldn't dare attack openly in the city. Find a place to stay in Suotuo City first. We'll talk about what comes after when the time comes."
"Rongrong, we're leaving." Chen Xin glanced at Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong stood among the people of Shrek, clutching her bundle, her eyes red-rimmed.
"I..." Ning Rongrong's voice was barely audible. "I'll be back."
She turned and walked over to Chen Xin, her head lowered as tears fell one by one onto her bundle.
Chen Xin said nothing more. He grabbed Ning Rongrong by the arm, and with a flash of sword light, the two became a silver rainbow that tore through the air.
With one person gone from the training ground, the whole of Shrek Academy seemed half empty.
What Dean Flender said next astonished everyone even more.
"Spirit Hall sent two Titled Douluo this time, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. Sword Douluo could stop them once, but he can't stop them a second time."
"Without a Titled Douluo here to protect us, not one of us will survive if Spirit Hall sends people again."
Flender's expression was grim. He had realized that Shrek Academy couldn't be saved.
He had to disband it immediately, or send all the students away.
But that was no different from disbanding Shrek.
Flender took off his glasses, wiped them with his sleeve, and put them back on.
His hands were trembling.
"Then let's disband."
Flender's voice was unusually calm as he said the words, but everyone could hear that he was holding it in.
Shrek Academy was something he had founded with his own hands. Through all those years of wind and rain, it had recruited so many geniuses, and he had never imagined that one day he would speak of disbanding Shrek.
"Dean!"
"Flender!"
"..."
Everyone's expression changed when they heard Flender say he was going to disband Shrek.
No one could bear to leave.
That was especially true of the Shrek Seven Devils. Having seen through the sky screen how badass they would become, they naturally wanted to become just like their future selves.
If they left Shrek, could they really still reach the future shown on the sky screen?
"Flender's decision is right. I was blindly optimistic before!"
Yu Xiaogang stepped forward as well and admitted his mistake, his expression grim.
"It's impossible for everyone to stay together now."
"My earlier analysis may have been wrong too."
"Perhaps your future achievements really were the result of your own hard cultivation, rather than some fortuitous opportunity that doesn't exist."
"You've already become geniuses sought after by all sides. You're destined to have no peace."
"Staying together would make us too big a target, so disbanding is the best choice."
"Shrek Academy can't protect you all."
"Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, you can return to the Star Luo Empire. I believe that after seeing your future achievements, the Star Luo Empire will certainly value you."
"I'll take Tang San and Xiao Wu somewhere suitable."
"Ma Hongjun, you're the dean's disciple..."
"Oscar..."
Yu Xiaogang laid out his arrangements for everyone, though they were only suggestions.
Faced with Dean Flender's and Yu Xiaogang's words, everyone fell silent, unable to accept them.
Only moments ago, they had been imagining the seven of them cultivating together until they were like the people on the sky screen, achieving fame and success together.
Now they had to part.
What frightened them most was that they had no confidence in themselves.
After separating, could they still reach the heights shown in the sky screen's future?
If they couldn't, they really weren't sure they could accept it.
But no matter how unwilling they were, they couldn't change the fact that Shrek was ultimately falling apart.
Not long after Ning Rongrong left, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing departed together.
Yu Xiaogang then left with Tang San and Xiao Wu, escorted by Zhao Wuji.
What happened at Shrek had no effect on the sky screen.
The sky screen was still broadcasting live.
After the camera moved away from Wu Wei, it returned to the rear of the Heaven Dou army.
Tang San was still lying there, motionless.
Xiao Wu looked at Tang San as though she had nothing left to live for, waiting for him to wake up.
The others from Shrek kept watch around them, and everyone except Xiao Wu was cultivating.
But on each of their attribute cards, the cultivation line showed level 0.
A day had passed since the divine punishment descended, and not one of the Shrek group had cultivated back to level 1.
The sky screen seemed to have shown them merely so everyone could see the others' progress in recultivating, for the picture quickly moved away from the Shrek group.
It switched to other people.