Ambush

The carriage entered a valley with steep cliffs on both sides and a narrow road.

Ma Hongjun slumped limply in his seat, his short legs stretched out in front of him, his head leaning against the side wall as he watched Feng Xiaotian to the Blazing Fire Academy. "How boring—how much longer until we get there?"

Dai Mubai glanced at him. "They've only been gone for five days. It'll probably take quite a while longer."

"Sigh." Ma Hongjun didn't even bother to move a finger. "If only an enemy came right now, I could show off my prowess."

Wang Xingyu's eyelids twitched; he had a bad feeling. Could the attack be happening now?

Just as he raised his hand, the carriage came to a sudden stop. Outside, the sounds of horses neighing in alarm and guards drawing their swords came from the outside.

Oscar turned to Ma Hongjun: "Fatty, you've got a bad mouth, you really shouldn't say that anymore."

Ma Hongjun covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide open.

Everyone leaned out of the car windows, looking around. The valley walls were sheer cliffs, with rocks tumbling down the slopes, but not a soul was in sight. Dai Mubai frowned and asked, "Where are the enemies?"

"Watch out above." Tang San's voice was brief and urgent.

Before the words were even finished, a large number of rocks rolled down from both sides of the valley with a thunderous roar, crashing towards the convoy with the force to crush everything in their path.

The guard commander roared, "Enemy attack!" The shield bearers immediately set up a defensive formation, their metal shields stacked one on top of the other to form an arc-shaped iron wall. Stones struck the shield formation with dull thuds, sending debris flying everywhere.

The Shrek Seven Devils immediately jumped off the carriage. Liu Erlong clenched her fists, her Soul Power surging, her voice filled with suppressed anger. "Who dares to attack us?"

The Grandmaster pressed down on her shoulder, his voice low and calm. "Erlong, calm down. The most important thing now is to protect the students."

More and more stones were smashed, creating a breach in the defensive formation, and the shield bearers' arms began to tremble. A huge rock wrapped in yellow Soul Power roared in through the breach, flying straight toward Ma Hongjun's face.

Xiao Wu reacted quickly, and a golden-red figure blocked his way.

Her Fourth Soul Ring lit up, Invincible Golden Body. The stone struck her and shattered with a deafening crash, shards flying out from both sides of her, yet she remained completely unmoved.

Ma Hongjun's mouth gaped open, wide enough to fit a fist. "Xiao Wu, you're practically my own sister!"

Xiao Wu glanced back at him, brushed the pebbles off her shoulder, and said casually, "Don't worry, Fatty, with me here, you won't get hit."

Oscar reacted incredibly quickly, having already finished chanting the soul incantation, and handed over two Recovery Big Sausage: "I Have a Big Sausage! Xiao Wu, here you go!"

Flender spread his arms and pulled everyone behind him. "Gather together, stick together for defense, and conserve your Soul Power!" The Shrek team quickly tightened their formation.

A moment later, the stone stopped. The rock walls on both sides of the valley were densely packed with men in black, like rows of black crows, looking down at the convoy.

The guards withdrew from their defensive formation, raised their spears again, and roared as they charged towards both sides.

However, the men in black outnumbered them and were just as strong. After several rounds, the front-line guards began to retreat, and their shield formation was torn open in several places.

Ma Hongjun stared at the black-clad men who were agile but never activated their Martial Soul, and asked in confusion, "Why don't they activate their Martial Soul?"

Flender slapped away a man in black who rushed at him, saying without turning his head, "To conceal my identity."

Tang San stepped forward, his right hand wielding Blue Silver Grass, while his left hand held a neat array of Hidden Weapon between his fingers. "That's perfect. If you don't want to open it, then don't."

The moment the guards' defenses collapsed, the men in black surged towards the Shrek Devils like a tidal wave.

Flender grinned and said, "Well done!" He leaped into the air and intercepted a black-clad Soul Master who was also flying in mid-air. The two engaged in a fierce battle in the air.

Liu Erlong also chose the opponent with the strongest aura, and her dragon claw smashed down with a whooshing sound.

Although there were many remaining men in black, their strength varied greatly. Dai Mubai transformed into his White Tiger Vajra form and punched down, knocking two men in black to the ground simultaneously. Another one pounced from the side, but Xiao Wu kicked it away without even turning her head.

Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up, Second: Speed, "Swift," landed on Zhu Zhuqing. Zhu Zhuqing's figure flickered, Netherworld Shadow Clone split into three clones, weaving through the crowd like Gui Mei.

Even more deadly was that each clone held a Godly Zhuge Crossbow. The mechanism clicked repeatedly, and steel needles shot out from three directions simultaneously, instantly knocking down the men in black who were hit by the needles.

The Grandmaster, observing the situation, said, "Rongrong, give Sanpao a speed boost too."

Although Ning Rongrong didn't understand, the light of the Second: Speed had already shone on Luo Sanpao. Luo Sanpao's four short legs moved incredibly fast, like a purple lightning bolt, and he bit the calf of a man in black.

The man in black staggered in pain, and in the instant he lost his balance, Dai Mubai punched him to the ground. Luo Sanpao quickly grabbed another person, and Xiao Wu followed up with a kick.

"Great, Sanpao!" Ning Rongrong shouted from behind.

Wang Xingyu, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar have successfully connected to the Blue Silver Grass. Wireless Fire Line is now activated.

"Phoenix Fire Line! Phoenix Fire Line! Phoenix Fire Line!"

Crimson fire shot out alternately from three directions with extremely short intervals, leaving no blind spots.

The man in black had barely dodged one when a second one was already in front of him. Just as he sidestepped the second one, a third one blocked his escape route.

Tang San onto the roof of the carriage, taking up the high ground, and used his Purple Demon Eye to calculate the trajectory of every Hidden Weapon with absolute precision.

As Mysterious Jade Hand flew, Bone-Piercing Nail, willow-leaf daggers, flying needles, and iron caltrops— Hidden Weapon —shot at the man in black from all directions as if they had eyes.

A man in black attempted to ambush Xiao Wu from behind, but before he could get within ten steps, three Bone-Piercing Nail pinned his clothes to the ground, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily into the rock wall. For a moment, dozens of men in black were pinned down and unable to lift their heads.

Suddenly, an eagle made of energy swooped down from mid-air, heading straight for Tang San on the roof of the carriage.

"White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!" A golden beam of light shot out from Dai Mubai's mouth, striking the small eagle precisely. The two forces exploded in mid-air, and the shockwave scattered the surrounding rocks.

Everyone looked up. A person was floating in mid-air, not dressed in black, with hair covering half of his face, and an eagle formed from Soul Power perched on his shoulder.

He crossed his arms and looked down at Tang San, his voice calm and measured. "You are Tang Hao's son?"

Tang San didn't answer, but stared intently at him, his fingers already full of Hidden Weapon.

Xiao Wu took a step forward, looked up at the man, and shouted, "Dare to touch Third Brother? I'll beat you until your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"

"First: Strength! Third: Soul." Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up, and the amplifying light fell on Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing at the same time.

Dai Mubai unleashed another burst of White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, followed closely by Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Cry Fire Line, Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Slash slashed upwards from the side, and Luo Sanpao also spat out a golden beam of light. The four attacks slammed into the man in the air side by side.

The man raised one hand, and his Soul Power condensed into a semi-transparent shield.

The four energy entities collided with the shield simultaneously, and he was actually pushed back half a body length, with ripples spreading through the air beneath his feet from the shockwave.

Tang San had been waiting for this moment. With a flick of his finger, several Hidden Weapon shot out from tricky angles, passing through the gaps in the shockwave. One of them, a willow-leaf knife, struck the man's shoulder, the blade penetrating half an inch.

The man glanced down at the hilt of the knife on his shoulder, reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it out in one swift motion. His voice was filled with suppressed anger. "You bunch of insects, you're such a nuisance." He casually crushed the willow-leaf knife into a lump of scrap metal, and his Soul Power surged violently.

"Martial Soul Avatar!"