With the sudden appearance of the Three-Eyed Demon Ape, Ma Hongjun was instantly dumbfounded. He stared blankly up at the shadow soldier towering over him, far larger than he had anticipated. Instinctively, he swallowed hard, his previous lecherous glint in his eyes completely replaced by sheer terror.
"W-what... what is this thing?" Having never encountered a shadow soldier before, Ma Hongjun collapsed onto the ground, overwhelmed by fear. He recognized the creature before him as a type of ape spirit beast, but what puzzled him was the black armor it wore. He hadn't noticed when it appeared, and he hadn't even had time to react.
The Three-Eyed Demon Ape silently stared at Ma Hongjun, its hollow, abyss-like eyes giving him the eerie sensation that his very soul was being sucked away. Whether due to fear or not, Ma Hongjun felt his body gradually cooling—a sensation that felt disturbingly like death creeping over him.
This terrifying scene also left Dai Mubai, who had been egging Ma Hongjun on, in a panic. Initially, Dai Mubai had been attracted to Ye Lingling's beauty. Her cold and elegant demeanor reminded him of Zhu Zhuqing. He knew that Zhu Zhuqing had been ignoring him lately, and if he pursued another woman, he would likely never be forgiven. But seeing a woman with a similar aura stirred a deep lust within him.
Dai Mubai had planned for Ma Hongjun to flirt with her first, but now he realized something was very wrong. No matter what this black-armored spirit beast was, he had to wake Ma Hongjun up. Since the academy was on break, there were no Shrek Academy teachers around to help them out!
"Fatty! Wake up!" Dai Mubai shouted angrily as he flashed forward to stand in front of Ma Hongjun. "White Tiger, Possession!"
A brilliant white light erupted from Dai Mubai's body. His arms stretched wide, chest pushed forward, and his bones cracked and snapped as his muscles swelled, his clothes stretching to their limit. Four faint marks appeared on his forehead—three horizontal, one vertical—forming the character for "king." His fingers flexed, and sharp claws extended from his hands.
With his martial spirit fully activated, three glowing rings appeared at his feet. As the three spirit rings rose, Dai Mubai's confidence surged. His powerful spirit energy created an invisible pressure that he directed toward the shadowy spirit beast in front of him. Perhaps due to his overconfidence, he didn't consider the creature much of a threat.
To be fair, the Three-Eyed Demon Ape had been a ten-thousand-year spirit beast in its previous life. Although its power had been halved after being absorbed by Cheng Xiao, its current strength was still far beyond that of an ordinary Spirit Elder like Dai Mubai.
"You dare harm my brother? Today, I'll show you the strength of Shrek Academy!" Dai Mubai roared, charging at the shadow soldier with a fierce punch.
However, the Three-Eyed Demon Ape didn't even acknowledge him. With a casual swipe of its massive paw, it generated a tremendous gust of wind.
In the next instant, Dai Mubai was sent flying by a single slap. His body soared like a kite with a broken string, crashing through several tables before landing, where he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His aura weakened considerably.
"Impossible! What kind of spirit beast is this shadow creature?" Dai Mubai stared in shock at the shadow soldier, his handsome face twisted in disbelief. "No... I need to get back to the academy and ask the teachers for help. I can't defeat this thing..."
Meanwhile, the Three-Eyed Demon Ape glanced at the convulsing, white-eyed Ma Hongjun lying on the ground. Scratching its head, it asked, "My lord, I forgot to ask—should I kill him, or just punish him?"
Cheng Xiao chuckled softly at the question, his gaze falling on Ma Hongjun, who was still twitching under mental control. In front of the crowd of onlookers, Cheng Xiao coldly uttered four chilling words: "Make him impotent."
"As you command." The Three-Eyed Demon Ape nodded. Understanding its master's intent, it raised its massive foot and stomped down hard on Ma Hongjun's groin.
Spirit beasts are far stronger than humans in both weight and power. The reason the ape didn't stomp on his abdomen was to avoid killing him outright. But with the force of this stomp, even bones would shatter, let alone soft tissue.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" The moment the foot came down, Ma Hongjun's bloodshot eyes flew open. An excruciating pain surged from his lower abdomen, a kind of pain no human could possibly endure. In that instant, Ma Hongjun's mind had only one thought: It's over. Everything is over...
"Fatty!" Dai Mubai, having struggled to his feet after some time, called out in terror at the sight of his comrade's suffering. But he didn't take a single step forward. The gruesome scene made him instinctively squeeze his legs together, terrified that he might be next.
"No, I need to hold back. As Fatty's brother, I can't just watch him be destroyed." Dai Mubai forced his trembling body forward, trying to summon the courage to save Ma Hongjun. Yet his legs kept shaking uncontrollably, unable to take even a single step. The thought of carrying Ma Hongjun away seemed impossible.
Noticing Dai Mubai's shaking legs, Cheng Xiao smirked. "What are you waiting for? If you don't take him to get treated soon, he might not survive."
Hearing this, the surrounding crowd burst into mocking laughter. These soul masters, who often bullied civilians with their superior abilities, always carried themselves with arrogance. Now, they had kicked the wrong iron plate and were revealing their true nature.
The sneering and taunting around him made Dai Mubai's mind drift. In his daze, he was reminded of the days in the Star Luo Empire when he and his brother, Dai Weisi, fought daily. Back then, people's words were always filled with scorn.
It was precisely because of this that Dai Mubai had fled the Star Luo Empire and come to Suotuo City, where he could live a life of idleness. Yet now, a strikingly similar scene was playing out again, and all he could think about was running away.
"I... I..." Dai Mubai looked down at his trembling hands, his whole body feeling like it was about to collapse.
"Alright, enough playing around. If we keep this up, he might have a mental breakdown," Cheng Xiao said, glancing at the Three-Eyed Demon Ape. The ape immediately stopped its mental interference and respectfully turned into a cloud of black smoke, retreating back into Cheng Xiao's shadow.
"What about him?" Ye Lingling asked, covering her mouth and nose with her delicate hand as she pointed at the convulsing Ma Hongjun.
"Don't worry about him. I had the ape lift its mental control. His good brother will take him away soon enough," Cheng Xiao said, glancing at Dai Mubai before standing up. "Let's go. We should find another restaurant. Let's not let them ruin our appetites."
After saying that, Cheng Xiao took Ye Lingling's hand and headed for the stairs. The Shi brothers, who had been sitting silently, glanced at Dai Mubai before wordlessly following Cheng Xiao.
Before leaving, the Shi brothers slipped a few coins to the restaurant owner. The owner initially wanted to refuse, as he had also been fed up with Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's behavior. Now that someone had finally put them in their place, he didn't feel right asking for money to cover the damage.
However, since the Shi brothers rarely spoke, the owner hesitated when he saw them offering the gold coins without a word and carefully accepted them, not wanting to risk offending them.
After leaving the restaurant, Cheng Xiao waited outside for the Shi brothers, then smiled and suggested they find another place to eat.
A few minutes later, Dai Mubai, carrying an unconscious Ma Hongjun, emerged from the restaurant, his expression dark and grim. It was the first time he had ever been so humiliated. Watching the four figures disappear into the crowd, he gritted his teeth and muttered, "Just wait. Daring to humiliate a Shrek Academy student—I'll make you pay with your life!"
"Brother, hold on. I'll find a healing spirit master for you soon. Please, just hang in there!"