"Are you their teacher? Just now, some of your academy's students insulted our Blue Sunshine Academy. Shouldn't you give us an explanation?"
"An explanation?" Zhao Wuji sneered. "What's there to explain? Blue Sunshine Academy is just a trashy school, they didn't say anything wrong."
Who was Zhao Wuji, the "Immovable King"?
A mighty Soul Saint, he'd even had conflicts with the Spirit Hall before, managing to escape successfully from an encirclement of sixteen bishops.
He had only slightly lowered his head before the Clear Sky Douluo a few days ago. Now, how dare a mere Soul King-level old turtle dare to point fingers at him?
"You!" Ye Zhiqiu's face flushed with rage at Zhao Wuji's words. He stormed back into the hotel, too angry to care about the remaining diners.
The onlookers, seeing this, quickly got up and moved even further away, leaving only the sweating hotel owner nearby, who wanted to step forward and mediate.
But under such intense pressure, as an ordinary person, he didn't dare to make a move.
"Old turtle, always putting on airs," Zhao Wuji snorted coldly.
He was never one to be reasonable, especially not when the soul master in front of him was so weak.
"Step back," he waved to Dai Mubai and the others before arrogantly looking at Ye Zhiqiu.
Without even activating his Spirit Possession, he raised his right hand, preparing to slap Ye Zhiqiu.
However, before he could move, his bear-like body suddenly froze in place. His eyes widened, pupils contracted, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
It wasn't just him—Ye Zhiqiu also paused, his eyes showing extreme shock and confusion.
But unlike Zhao Wuji, Ye Zhiqiu's aura suddenly surged, skyrocketing dozens of times over, quickly reaching the level of a Soul Douluo.
Dai Mubai and the others exchanged confused glances. Though they didn't understand what was happening, they sensed that something was off.
What happened next was even more incomprehensible.
Everyone in the hotel—except for the Shrek Academy students, Zhao Wuji, and Ye Zhiqiu—left the restaurant with blank expressions, including the seven Blue Sunshine Academy students.
Su Cheng's mental hypnosis.
After all, the scene that might unfold, along with Ye Zhiqiu's inexplicable surge in power, wasn't something that should be witnessed by too many. If this were to reach certain ears, it could create unnecessary complications.
With his current strength and spiritual level, it was incredibly easy for Su Cheng to temporarily hypnotize these weak ordinary people—it was done in a mere thought.
"Huh?"
Su Yue, who had been watching with interest, suddenly glanced at Su Cheng in surprise.
The special field around him had just expanded significantly.
What was this guy up to?
Then, as if realizing something, she looked over at the fiery girl from Shrek Academy who had been scolded by Zhao Wuji earlier.
Was it because of her?
"Tsk, humans," Su Yue muttered to herself.
But she had misunderstood.
Su Cheng didn't care about those minor issues, nor would he step in for Zhu Zhuqing over something like this.
Zhao Wuji wouldn't harm Zhu Zhuqing, and she wasn't that fragile.
In truth, Su Cheng was doing this for Su Yue.
He wanted to show her the complexities of human nature through Shrek's performance.
Human nature is extremely complicated: good and evil, joy and sorrow, courage and cowardice, responsibility and dignity...
Whenever unexpected events occur, different people always make different choices.
It is precisely these complexities that Su Yue, as a dragon, found most difficult to understand—deep emotions rooted in human thought, capable of overcoming instincts and nature.
They constantly expose the ugliness of humanity but also showcase its greatness—an emotional depth that allowed humans to continually evolve, eventually standing at the pinnacle of all races.
The more outstanding or unique a person is, the more distinct their traits become.
Thus, having Su Yue observe more ordinary people wouldn't be meaningful—those bystanders were too stereotypical.
But the people from Shrek Academy were different.
Both their teachers and students were quite unique.
They were talented, with personalities as distinct as their abilities, their inner characteristics much richer and more vivid than the average person.
It must be said, this academy seemed to have some sort of destiny on its side.
Sweat slid down Zhao Wuji's temples, his pupils trembling slightly with faint traces of fear.
So powerful!
Why was this person so strong…
He stared at Ye Zhiqiu, his mind momentarily frozen.
This old turtle, who had just been at the Soul King level, now had an aura that was climbing higher and higher.
Even his spirit rings had changed.
From the previous one white, two yellow, and two purple—the most common, mediocre rings—to two yellow, two purple, and four black, a perfect configuration of eight spirit rings!
But even more terrifying was the mental pressure emanating from him, surpassing even that of the Clear Sky Douluo who had recently beaten him.
The two feelings were completely different.
If Tang Hao's strength was an absolute force of suppression, then this felt like facing the entire world as an enemy.
Although Ye Zhiqiu wasn't as strong as a Title Douluo, the loneliness of being abandoned by the heavens chilled Zhao Wuji to the core.
However, Ye Zhiqiu himself was even more shocked.
Up until now, he was still utterly confused.
A moment ago, a sudden external force had inexplicably strengthened him.
In that instant, he felt as though he had merged with the surrounding world, with unlimited power at his fingertips.
"Don't overthink it, it's just an illusion," a voice rang out in his soul.
"Your foundation is too weak. Unless I destroy your core, my domain can only boost you to the peak of Soul Douluo at best. Let me tell you, the guy in front of you is a Soul Saint."
Ye Zhiqiu quickly realized that a being far beyond his imagination was secretly helping him.
Even though the hotel was now empty except for a few of them, there was no one else present.
He opened his mouth to say something but found himself unable to.
"You don't need to speak. Just do as I say," the voice continued.
At this point, Zhao Wuji no longer dared to be careless.
Though he couldn't understand why Ye Zhiqiu's power had suddenly surged or how he had hidden his strength earlier, the aura and spirit rings didn't lie—this was a Soul Douluo!
Forcing himself to calm down, Zhao Wuji resisted the terrifying pressure around him and unleashed his own martial spirit, the Vigorous Vajra Bear.
As soon as his martial spirit appeared, he immediately entered his Spirit Possession state.
His clothes tore apart, his body covered in thick brown fur, and his height surged to over two and a half meters.
His bulging muscles radiated an overbearing aura, while his seven perfectly matched spirit rings rotated steadily around him.
"Roar—"
After releasing his martial spirit, Zhao Wuji wasted no time, letting out a deafening roar.
Simultaneously, the light of the seventh spirit ring beneath his feet flickered, and a strong ghostly glow instantly spread throughout his entire body.
In the next moment, his already massive frame swelled rapidly, like a balloon inflating. In the blink of an eye, his height surpassed five meters, and his muscles expanded in an exaggerated manner.
Brownish-yellow fur grew wildly, and he gradually transformed into a massive bear.
The seventh spirit skill—Martial Spirit Avatar!
However, typically when a Spirit Saint activates their Martial Spirit Avatar, it takes a certain amount of time to complete the transformation.
Zhao Wuji felt a bit tense.
If this process were interrupted, he wouldn't stand a chance.
But for some reason, his opponent, Ye Zhiqiu, just stood there, quietly watching without making any move to stop him.
Not only that, but it also seemed like Ye Zhiqiu had no intention of using his own Martial Spirit Avatar.
What Zhao Wuji didn't know was that Ye Zhiqiu didn't even have a Martial Spirit Avatar.
He was only a Spirit King, after all. How could he possibly use a Martial Spirit Avatar?
Although Su Cheng's true power was mysterious, and his domain was incredibly overbearing, at the end of the day, it could only enhance Ye Zhiqiu's energy, not change his essence.
As for the spirit rings he displayed, they were mere illusions—nothing more than a disguise. He hadn't actually jumped to the level of a Spirit Douluo, so his spirit abilities were still the same as before.
But right now, Ye Zhiqiu didn't need powerful spirit abilities, nor did he need a Martial Spirit Avatar.
Within Su Cheng's domain, the forces of heaven and earth were at his command, and everything was as insignificant as straw dogs.
This domain was not like the typical domain spirit abilities of other spirit masters, nor was it like the Five Elements Domain or Sword Domain he had used in the past.
This was a genuine small world—a unique space of "I am the world."
Within this force field, all the elements moved according to his will. The suppression on his opponent and the enhancement to himself were both pushed to exaggerated extremes.
Ye Zhiqiu's second spirit ring lit up beneath his feet.
A tidal wave of ghostly light, carrying a bone-chilling cold, instantly swept outward.
Originally, this was just an ordinary hundred-year spirit ability—Xuan Shui Freezing.
But now, enhanced by the domain, it surged toward Zhao Wuji like a raging tsunami.
Zhao Wuji's expression drastically changed, and his spirit rings flashed one after another.
The brownish-yellow fur on his body changed color, glowing with a brilliant golden light, and his massive bear paws struck forward with great force.
Unmovable King Body, Great Vajra Palm!
However, after using his spirit ability, Zhao Wuji immediately realized that the soul power inside him was flowing sluggishly, and the power of his spirit ability had been reduced to barely ten percent of its usual strength.
The essence of a spirit ability lies in using one's soul power to activate the law within the spirit ring, which in turn draws upon the energy of the world, producing a far stronger attack than an ordinary strike.
If one compares the user's level and external energy as the base factors, the strength of the spirit ring acts as a multiplier. User level × spirit ring strength × external energy determines the final power of the spirit ability. In states like Martial Spirit Avatar, other enhancements can be added.
But now, within this domain, there was no external energy left for him to draw on. This naturally placed him at a severe disadvantage.
On the other hand, even though Ye Zhiqiu was using only an ordinary millennium-level spirit ability, the tremendous amount of elemental energy added by the domain had drastically increased its power.
Sure enough, before Zhao Wuji's giant bear paws could fully strike, they were frozen solid, unable to move.
Not only that, but the entire first floor of the hotel was enveloped in a frigid cold. Even Dai Mubai and the other students, who had only been touched by the residual effects, were shivering violently and trembling all over.
As time passed, Zhao Wuji's breath and vitality grew weaker.
Even Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing could see that if this continued, Zhao Wuji would likely be frozen to death.
Tang San's eyelids lowered, and his nearly numb fingers quietly reached toward his belt.
Stored within it were some hidden weapons.
However, against a Spirit Douluo-level opponent, he had no confidence that these tools would be effective.
On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing's delicate face had turned pale, her soft red lips had lost all color, and behind her, a massive phantom of a purple-eyed white tiger appeared.
At this point, they had no choice but to join forces and try to seize any chance of survival.
"Don't... move... recklessly..."
At that moment, Zhao Wuji, struggling to resist the encroaching cold, noticed the small movements of his students and spoke with difficulty, stopping their actions.
The reason was simple.
If he could perceive the surrounding situation in his current state, how could the Spirit Douluo-level Ye Zhiqiu not notice?
Indeed, Ye Zhiqiu had already noticed Tang San's movements, but he didn't care.
At this moment, his perception was even more powerful than the strength he had displayed.
Everything in the surrounding area was completely under his control, and no sneak attack could possibly succeed.
After a while longer, Zhao Wuji finally spoke again.
"I... concede."
He had no choice.
In less than ten minutes, Zhao Wuji had exhausted all his soul power to resist the bone-piercing cold that continuously attacked his flesh and organs.
The power of Ye Zhiqiu's Xuan Shui Freezing was simply too overwhelming. If he didn't actively resist, even with his Vajra Bear's sturdy body, he would have been severely injured by the freezing cold. He had no choice but to continuously use his soul power to defend.
But the Martial Spirit Avatar already consumed a lot of soul power, and with no external energy to replenish it, he couldn't sustain it for long.
Upon hearing Zhao Wuji's words, Ye Zhiqiu's eyes flickered, and he waited a little longer. Only when Zhao Wuji's soul power was nearly depleted, causing him to revert from his Martial Spirit Avatar, did Ye Zhiqiu stop his soul power output.
As the cold withdrew, Zhao Wuji finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The glow around his body quickly faded, and he reverted from his massive bear form to his human form.
He staggered back a few steps, barely staying on his feet with the support of Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun.
His clothes were in tatters, just barely covering his body.
But that had nothing to do with Ye Zhiqiu.
Zhao Wuji had torn his own clothes when he transformed.
The fact that his underpants remained intact was only because they had been specially made for use during his Martial Spirit Avatar state.
"Phew... phew..."
Zhao Wuji, his face pale, panted heavily, his body trembling slightly.
"Just now, you said you were from some... Shrek Academy, right?"
After the brief clash, Ye Zhiqiu had no intention of striking again. He calmly asked.
"Well then, teacher of Shrek Academy, I heard your students say earlier that your academy's motto is 'Those who don't dare to cause trouble are mediocre.' Congratulations, you've caused trouble, and successfully angered me. So, what are you planning to do next?"
In his eyes, there remained a trace of lingering excitement and a subtle, almost imperceptible hint of nervousness and fear.