"Who killed my serpent? Who was it?!"
Meng Yiran had also come to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring. When she saw the exceptionally rare thousand-year Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, she had been thrilled. Yet who could have imagined that the beast would be so fast that her grandmother, whose cultivation had reached the Soul Emperor level, would actually suffer a rare failure! Still, that did not matter. The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent already bore the presence Snake Granny had left on it. They tracked it all the way here, only to discover that someone else had plucked the peach that was their wounded Soul Beast.
In the Soul Master World, stealing someone else's Soul Beast created an immense grudge, almost one that would not end until one side was dead.
Meng Yiran instinctively moved to attack, but Snake Granny, standing beside her, wore a grave expression and raised a hand to stop her.
The exceedingly dangerous look in Zhao Wuji's eyes was no joke, and Snake Granny sensed a terrifying presence from him as well. Sure enough, Zhao Wuji revealed his Soul Rings. They were the optimal configuration, and he even had as many Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings as her husband, whose cultivation had reached Soul Douluo.
"Greetings, esteemed Soul Saint!"
Snake Granny smiled and tried to step forward to negotiate, but Zhao Wuji had yet to recognize her. He gave an utterly unceremonious snort, and his Soul Saint-level presence swept toward her, blotting out the sky and earth!
"Greetings? I'm not feeling very great right now!"
Not a trace of worry appeared on the faces of the Shrek group. After the incident with Blue Sunshine Academy, they already knew that Zhao Wuji was fiercely protective of his own! All would be well if this Soul Emperor knew what was good for her. If she did not, she would probably end up buried in the Star Dou Great Forest, just like Ye Zhiqiu.
Snake Granny choked on her words. She had not expected to encounter such an utterly unreasonable Soul Saint. Anger rose in her heart, but she had no choice but to speak to him even more humbly.
"Esteemed Soul Beast, I discovered this Soul Beast first. Its belly still bears the wounds left by my Martial Soul!"
At that, Zhao Wuji shot Tang San a look. The latter understood and stepped forward to inspect it, discovering that it was indeed as this Soul Emperor had said.
But so what?
There was no reason to spit out meat already in one's mouth, and Oscar had already begun absorbing the Soul Ring. Still, with a little less right on his side, Zhao Wuji's attitude softened considerably.
"I, Zhao Wuji, have been discourteous. Might I ask whether you are Senior Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang of the Peerless Dragon Snake?"
Only after calming down a little did Zhao Wuji notice the Serpent Cane in Chao Tianxiang's hand. He seemed to have become a courteous gentleman, but in truth, he was merely worried that Dragon Duke Meng Shu might be nearby.
"Ah, hahaha! So it's Brother Zhao!"
The outward courtesies between people had to be observed in full, even though Snake Granny was already inwardly cursing her luck at running into that old rogue Zhao Wuji.
It seems this Soul Beast is lost, and that is that...
What could Snake Granny do? She could only hold her nose and swallow this indignity, but her granddaughter Meng Yiran could not. The proud girl would never willingly hand over the Soul Beast she had set her heart on!
"What are you smiling at? Yes, I'm talking to you! Are you all so pleased with yourselves for stealing my Soul Beast?"
Meng Yiran found an outlet for her anger. She pointed at Shangguan Hong, who wore a faint smile, looking for all the world like an enraged lioness. Beside her, Snake Granny opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her words. It would be good to let her granddaughter vent a little. With Dragon Duke Meng Shu's name behind them, Zhao Wuji would not dare go too far.
Yet, to Snake Granny's surprise, the Shrek group standing opposite Meng Yiran wore strange expressions.
"This girl is pretty good-looking. San, do you think Brother Shangguan will chop her hand off too?"
"He... probably won't?"
"But this girl really has rotten luck. Of all the people she could have picked on, she just had to choose Shangguan Hong!"
The three male members of Shrek Academy huddled together and whispered. The remaining three girls seemed to see what was about to happen too, because Meng Yiran was currently holding up her proud index finger and pointing furiously at Shangguan Hong! The last person who had done that was already buried. Shangguan Hong had said it himself: he hated people pointing their fingers at him most of all.
Noticing Meng Yiran's furious gaze, the faint smile on Shangguan Hong's face gradually disappeared. Did he hate people pointing at him? The answer was yes. But would everyone who pointed at him die? Not necessarily.
To accomplish extraordinary things, there were some matters one could not take too seriously! Take the present situation: if Shangguan Hong killed Meng Yiran, Zhao Wuji would absolutely take his side and choose to deal with Chao Tianxiang! But what then? Shangguan Hong knew that the Soul Douluo Meng Shu was here in the Star Dou Great Forest. If they slaughtered his granddaughter and wife, they probably would not leave alive... would they?
This was the Star Dou Great Forest!
Humans were not its rulers. Soul Beasts were!
Thus, when Meng Yiran pointed at Shangguan Hong, killing intent flashed through his eyes. That icy presence lasted only an instant, but Chao Tianxiang and Zhao Wuji definitely sensed it! The former frowned slightly, while the latter's pupils contracted. Neither had expected Shangguan Hong to be so undisguised about it. What was he going to do? Could he really intend to vent his anger at the cost of offending a Soul Douluo?
"I just like smiling. You got a problem with that?"
Shangguan Hong did not attack just yet. He stepped forward, and three Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet! Yellow, purple, purple. His level 36 Soul Power erupted, and his Soul Elder-level cultivation made Meng Yiran's breath catch. Never in her dreams would she have imagined that Shangguan Hong, who looked several years younger than her, had already reached the Soul Elder realm and possessed two Thousand-Year Soul Rings. He was a Soul Elder who defied common sense!
Beside her, Chao Tianxiang's eyes lit up. Any normal person would understand Shangguan Hong's current worth! Naturally, the thought of recruiting him arose in her mind.
But who could have expected Shangguan Hong to be rather overbearing?
"Who do you think you are, daring to yap at me?! Never mind that my teacher's cultivation is higher than your elder's. The gap between you and me alone is a chasm, an impassable gulf!"
Wu Qiankun displayed his arrogance to the fullest, but his talent truly did give him the right to be arrogant! No one thought there was anything wrong with it. On this continent, the strong reigned supreme to begin with, and Meng Yiran had been the one to provoke him first.
"You! How dare you!"
"How dare you!"
With the argument having reached this point, Shangguan Hong summoned his Golden Spatula. He swung his arm in a full arc, bringing the spatula down toward Meng Yiran like a battle-axe! However, he did not use his full strength in this strike, and Meng Yiran duly dodged it. The instant the enormous spatula struck the ground, a barely perceptible crack appeared in the earth.
Had that spatula struck Meng Yiran, it would definitely have cleaved her in two!
Clearly, Meng Yiran realized this as well, but what followed was neither fear nor retreat, but even more uncontrollable fury!
"Bastard, I'll kill you!"
"First Soul Skill, Snake Blade!"