When the Soul Rings appeared, everyone's expression changed drastically!
The furious Meng Yiran had no intention of showing mercy. Her first Soul Skill was simple but brutal, and her coldly gleaming blade slashed toward Shangguan Hong without hesitation. Yet this was exactly what Shangguan Hong had been waiting for! He swung the golden shovel in his hand and easily blocked her attack. Given the gap in their cultivation, Meng Yiran had absolutely no chance of hurting him. The price of impulsiveness was painful, and the weaker party's attack had given Shangguan Hong the perfect justification!
Killing intent had seeped out before anyone realized it, and by the time Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang tried to stop things, it was already too late! The second Soul Ring beneath Shangguan Hong's feet lit up, followed by a low chant:
"Windblown sand buried palace gates, locking away the fading sunset; after a thousand years of slumber, the emperor rose anew!"
"Second Soul Skill, Glory of Shurima!"
The instant Azir appeared in his golden eagle armor, Meng Yiran, who had been blazing with fury, froze. Snake Granny beside her froze as well. Shangguan Hong had clearly demonstrated powerful close-combat abilities just now. They had both assumed he was a Power Attack System Soul Master, but now, it seemed he belonged to the Summoning System?
And this summon was something they had never even heard of! Yet what made it impossible to look away was the powerful Soul Power radiating from this great emperor!
"Shurima, your emperor has returned!"
The emperor who had returned to the mortal world displayed his might to the world, and sensing his summoner's anger, the Sand Emperor became majestic and divine! He swung the scepter in his hand, yellow sand spread, and four desert soldiers clad in heavy armor appeared!
Snake Granny stared dumbfounded from the side. What was this? A summon called forth by a Summoning System Soul Master had summoned even more summons?
Was he stacking nesting dolls here?
But clearly, this was not what she should be focusing on right now. The presence emanating from these desert soldiers was far from weak, and they obeyed the emperor's will completely! They raised their spears, their eyes stern, and surrounded the fool who had challenged the emperor's majesty in the blink of an eye. Meng Yiran's expression changed drastically. She could sense the Soul Power emanating from these soldiers, and they seemed only a notch weaker than her.
And now it was four against one!
"Soldiers, advance!"
The emperor gave his command, and the four soldiers thrust their spears in unison, as though cast from the same mold! Meng Yiran dared not be careless in the slightest. Faced with an attack that theoretically covered every escape route, she used her second Soul Skill-Snake Body!
A human body could not possibly evade such an attack, but a snake could! Her extraordinarily supple body allowed Meng Yiran to twist into contorted positions. The spears struck her body, only to be forced aside by her slippery skin.
"Not a bad trick, but you dodged the first time. Can you dodge the second?"
The soldiers' attacks did not stop at a single wave. Their spears swung, gradually weaving a net so tight that not even the wind could pass through.
Meng Yiran struggled harder and harder to resist, while Shangguan Hong walked toward her step by step, the enormous golden shovel in his hands. It was not difficult to imagine that once Meng Yiran revealed even a momentary opening and was subdued by the four soldiers, what awaited her would be Shangguan Hong's merciless beheading strike!
Yes, Shangguan Hong intended to kill her.
Naturally, Snake Granny could not stand at a distance and watch this happen. She acted almost instantly, her powerful Soul Emperor-level Soul Power completely pulverizing the sand soldiers Shangguan Hong had created. She tried to give her granddaughter an opportunity to escape, but despairingly, in the mere blink of an eye, the soldiers that had turned into yellow sand returned to their original forms.
"Brother Zhao, what is the meaning of this? Are you bullying my granddaughter and me just because my old man isn't here?"
Seeing that Shangguan Hong would not let the matter rest despite having right on his side, Snake Granny had intended to act again. However, a burly figure blocked her path, wearing a faint, ambiguous smile. The powerful presence emanating from him made his stance clear.
"Senior Snake Granny, how can you say that? This boy Shangguan Hong is famous at our Shrek Academy for being a benevolent, righteous gentleman who respects the elderly and cherishes the young! Bullying someone? Impossible! After all, this is only a spar!"
"We old folks should just stay to the side and quietly watch the younger generation spar!"
Despite saying this, Zhao Wuji still secretly transmitted his voice through Soul Power, urging Shangguan Hong to leave some room to back down. But Shangguan Hong's purpose was not so simple. Room to back down? There was no need for such a thing to exist at all!
Every move he made was vicious and merciless. He was clearly going for Meng Yiran's life.
Zhao Wuji's gaze gradually grew serious. Although they had not known each other long, and Shangguan Hong usually seemed carefree and thoughtless, the incident with Blue Sunshine Academy had shown that this boy would not let anyone off once he had right on his side, and that he acted decisively.
From the looks of things, this probably would not end peacefully.
Given Dragon Duke's temper, if he learned that they had seized Meng Yiran's Soul Beast and dealt such heavy blows to his granddaughter, there was no question that he would kill them all!
Of course, all of that depended on Dragon Duke knowing who had done it!
A step back meant death, while a step forward might offer a sliver of hope. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Zhao Wuji knew that Shangguan Hong's actions were leading them down a road of no return. Yet as a teacher, he could not condemn what Shangguan Hong had done as wrong.
After all, everything had started because Meng Yiran attacked and provoked him first.
Snake Granny is right here, so Dragon Duke probably isn't far away! This stubborn mule of a brat... Fine. Either we don't do this at all, or we see it through to the bitter end!
Zhao Wuji was not an indecisive man. He silently gave the others behind him a meaningful look. Tang San was the first to react, and together with his companions, he quietly blocked Snake Granny's retreat. Snake Granny clearly noticed this. She tightened her grip on her scepter, panic filling her heart.
If this thug truly intended to attack, there was absolutely no way she could escape safely with her granddaughter given her strength.
Things did not look promising...
She could only choose to yield for now.
"Yiran, stop this! This young brother is clearly stronger than you. Let the spar end here!"
"Brother Zhao, it seems there has been some misunderstanding between us! This Soul Beast is yours. This old woman has no intention of fighting you for it!"
Perhaps those words might have helped if she had said them when they first met, but now...
Swish!
Shangguan Hong was truly ruthless. With the soldiers' assistance, the sharp shovel in his hands actually severed one of Meng Yiran's hands! When the severed hand hit the ground and blood sprayed out, some of the anger on Shangguan Hong's face finally faded. This was the very hand Meng Yiran had pointed at him earlier. The outcome was just as Oscar had predicted.
But after they had cut off her hand, how could Dragon Duke possibly let the matter rest? He would probably hunt them across the entire continent!
So...
"Senior Snake Granny, forgive me!"
Zhao Wuji's eyes were filled with ferocity. He activated Martial Soul Possession, and as the Great Strength Vajra Bear roared, he raised his hand and unleashed a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill!
Clearly, this was not something Snake Granny could withstand.
Yet at this critical moment, perhaps because the flapping wings of the butterfly that was Shangguan Hong had set off a chain reaction, an aged yet powerful roar of fury came from behind!
"You whelp, how dare you!"