In the hall, the onlookers exclaimed in amazement.
Even the teacher leading the Canghui Academy team was unsettled; this lineup couldn't possibly win even in a five-on-three situation.
"Stop!"
The teacher from Canghui Academy finally stepped forward, waving to his students.
"You all step back."
Unlike the students' jealousy, this teacher was deeply shocked. He clearly recognized that the three youths before him were geniuses among geniuses.
Especially the red-haired boy in the center; he looked no more than fifteen years old, yet he already possessed three spirit rings, reaching the Soul Master realm. His spirit rings were a yellow-purple configuration he had never seen or even heard of before.
Those two thousand-year spirit rings were dazzling to his eyes.
"I am Ye Zhi Qiu, Director of the Foreign Affairs Department of Canghui Academy. May I ask which sect you belong to?"
This teacher politely approached, blocking the five students and easily withstanding the pressure released by Ma Hongjun and his two companions.
It seemed this person was quite powerful! These kinds of people are always bullies who prey on the weak.
They barged in arrogantly, but now that Ma Hongjun and the others have shown their strength, they've become polite and courteous. They came out to train, not to uphold justice or deliberately bully anyone, but as long as it's not too excessive, a little fighting is something the academy encourages. They've already released their martial spirits, so they should warm up their bodies. It's not a life-or-death struggle, but if possible, they should teach these people a lesson, letting them know that arrogance comes at a price. "You don't deserve that name, you're too ugly!" Ma Hongjun replied, completely ignoring the question, and very rudely. This middle-aged guy really was ugly; with glasses, he was even uglier than Flander. Ye Zhi Qiu, Yi Ye Zhi Qiu (meaning "One Leaf Knows Autumn"), as a transmigrator, in his previous life he was a novel enthusiast, and there was a novel he particularly loved, whose protagonist had this name. "Boy, you're too arrogant. Is this how your sect teaches you to be so rude?" Ye Zhi Qiu said coldly. He was, after all, a Soul King. Normally, the students in the academy treated him with utmost respect. These three juniors' rudeness had already angered him. Even if you're a genius, your current strength is still very weak. He wanted to teach these little guys to respect the strong. Unfortunately, Ye Zhi Qiu wasn't a genius, nor did he understand geniuses. How could one be a genius without arrogance? "Politeness depends on who you're dealing with. Someone like you should beat us first." Ye Zhi Qiu no longer hesitated. A glint flashed in his eyes, and he released his Martial Soul. "Mystic Turtle, Possession." A ring of black ripples emanated from Ye Zhi Qiu's body, forcefully suppressing the auras of Ma Hong Jun, Tang San, and Dai Mu Bai. His limbs simultaneously shrank by a third, while his back bulged, revealing a huge carapace. His entire body shimmered with black light, and five Soul Rings rose from his feet, swirling around his body. Five spirit rings—one white, two yellow, and two purple—this director of the Foreign Affairs Department of Canghui Academy was actually a Soul King expert above level 50. Although Ye Zhi Qiu's spirit rings weren't particularly strong among those of the same level, his level 50+ spirit power was enough to suppress Shrek Academy's side. A gasp rippled through the restaurant; after all, Soul Kings were rare Soul Masters on the continent, possessing considerable strength. In some kingdoms, they could even hold titles like Viscount or Earl. Seeing their opponent display Soul King strength, Ma Hongjun and his companions were somewhat surprised. However, their surprise wasn't out of fear. "The teacher leading the team from an advanced Soul Master academy is so weak, not even a Soul Emperor," Ma Hongjun sighed. Compared to them, their academy not only had monstrous students but also monstrous teachers; even the weakest among them was a Soul Emperor. Hearing Ma Hongjun's words, Ye Zhi Qiu was even more agitated. However, this further proved that Ma Hongjun and his group were no ordinary individuals, making him somewhat hesitant. But after all, he was a Soul King, and he still had to maintain his composure. He suppressed his anger and said politely again, "You kids are ignorant, don't talk nonsense in the future. Call your academy teachers out." Dai Mubai had lost his patience and said rudely, "You old bastard, you think you can see our teachers? We're enough to deal with you." "Gentlemen, esteemed Soul Masters, please, please don't fight in this small shop, it's a small business, a small business..." The shopkeeper had no choice but to run out. A battle involving Martial Souls, and with a Soul King among them, if they weren't stopped, the entire shop would be engulfed in flames. Ye Zhi Qiu possessed the Xuan Turtle Martial Soul, and the word "turtle" was the most taboo word in his life. At this moment, he could no longer hold back. He was a Soul King, after all, how could he tolerate being insulted by a group of juniors? He laughed angrily and said, "Fine, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your teachers. Let's go outside." He turned and walked out, the black tortoise shell on his back swaying somewhat comically, but the Soul Power he released was quite powerful. "His martial soul is a Xuan Turtle, so it's certain that he's a defensive-type battle soul master. Most of his active and passive skills are likely used for defense. Therefore, although his soul power is much stronger than ours, he doesn't have suitable offensive methods, so he doesn't pose much of a threat to us."
Ma Hongjun quickly analyzed for the two men that this Xuan Turtle Martial Soul was somewhat similar to the Mountain Turtle Martial Soul of the Su brothers when he was at the Mu Su Soul Master Academy—both carried a large turtle shell.
"If we're careful, we should be fine dealing with him, but defeating him will be difficult. The difference in soul power is too great; it'll be hard for us to break
through his defenses. I'm afraid he'll hide inside his shell and not come out, in which case he'll be practically invincible. Right now, with the three of us, I think there's only one way we can break through his defenses."
Ma Hongjun finished speaking, looking left and right at the two men, then all three of them laughed together—a rather lewd laugh.
They were the "Needle" brothers.
"Let's go together!"
Xiang Chengxian and the other four women walked over, somewhat worried about the Soul King.
"It's alright, the three of us brothers are enough to deal with a turtle."
Ma Hongjun said, taking the two men's arms and leading them out. All three seemed very excited; it was a rare opportunity to use their needles.
As the saying goes, it hurts when you're pricked by a needle, but it feels great when you prick someone else.
Outside, it was one against three. The seven students from Canghui Academy stood on one side, while Xiang Chengxian and the four women stood on the other.
Flander and the other five old men continued eating, peering out the window.
"I'll ask you one more time, which sect are you from?"
Ye Zhi Qiu asked again, still worried about being retaliated against for attacking disciples from a major sect.
Ma Hongjun really wanted to roll his eyes at him; he was really experienced at bullying people, and wouldn't dare to attack without knowing their background.
"Stop talking nonsense, we're from Shrek Academy!"
Ma Hongjun said to Tang San and Dai Mubai on either side,
"Let's go, this bastard talks too much!"
Dai Mubai had already taken the lead, his second halo shining brightly, a strong white light condensing into a sphere, a round light bullet spitting out from his mouth, the second soul ring skill of the Evil Eye White Tiger:
White Tiger Blazing Light Wave.
This could barely be considered a ranged attack skill.
Ye Zhi Qiu was still pondering Shrek Academy. He seemed to have never heard of it, and it wasn't among the major powers he knew of, proving these people's backgrounds were probably minor. Just as he was thinking he could go all out and crush them, their attack came.
However, he was a Soul King and had long led students into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings, so his practical experience was very strong. His reaction was extremely fast.
Ye Zhi Qiu's entire body shone with black light, and he let out a low roar. His first and second Soul Rings lit up simultaneously, and his body quickly spun half a circle, revealing the tortoise shell on his back. At the same time, a stream of black light, like flowing water, was released, carrying a chilling aura.
Ye Zhi Qiu used two of his Soul Ring skills: Xuan Turtle Protection and Xuan Water Ice Seal.
The White Tiger Blazing Light Wave exploded on Ye Zhi Qiu's back. Just as Ma Hong Jun had said, the Xuan Turtle's defensive power was among the top of beast martial souls, and his soul power was much higher than Dai Mubai's. This attack had no effect whatsoever; Ye Zhi Qiu's body didn't even move.
A chill spread out, and as Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai advanced, the closer they got to Ye Zhi Qiu, the stronger the chill became, as if their blood vessels were about to freeze. Their
speed slowed down.
Ye Zhi Qiu sneered. Although these three students from Shrek Academy were quite strong, they were still young, and their soul power was far inferior to his. Ye Zhi Qiu believed that with his level 53 soul power, his Xuan Shui Ice Seal could freeze them all.
"Xiao San, provide control from a distance. Mubai, continue using White Tiger Blazing Light Wave from the outside, looking for opportunities to attack his turtle head,"
Ma Hongjun commanded. Under Ye Zhi Qiu's Xuan Shui Ice Seal, the difference in soul power was too great; if Dai Mubai and Tang San got any closer, they would be frozen.
But he didn't have this worry. As the chill entered his body, purple flames appeared on Ma Hongjun's body.
Ice versus fire, mutually restraining each other; it all depended on which attribute was stronger.
Ma Hongjun didn't fully summon the Fire Phoenix, but instead gathered all the flames surging from his body onto the Dragon Soul Spear.
At this moment, the silver spear had transformed into a flame spear.
Those unaware of his twin martial souls would never guess this power came from his other martial soul; they would simply think it was a soul skill.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun's first soul ring was also glowing, and he used his first soul skill to amplify his speed.
After the purple flames appeared, the chill had lost its effect on Ma Hongjun.
To Ye Zhi Qiu's astonishment, Ma Hongjun's spear, enveloped in purple flames, was already upon him.
Whoosh!
Ye Zhi Qiu had no time to think and quickly dodged, retracting his head into the tortoise shell.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had already wrapped around him, but due to the vast difference in soul power, it was useless; the hard tortoise shell prevented the Blue Silver Grass's spikes from piercing through.
As for the wrapping and control, it seemed somewhat superfluous; after the tortoise retracted, it stood motionless.
Ma Hongjun sheathed his spear and thrust it out again.
"Sizzle!"
The spear tip pierced the tortoise shell, but it didn't break through its defenses; only a small portion penetrated, and that was only because of the flames.
The flames from the gun were concentrated at the tip, while his tortoise shell seemed to be formed from condensed ice. If Ma Hongjun's flame gun was allowed to penetrate like this, it wouldn't be long before a hole was pierced through his tortoise shell.
Ye Zhi Qiu was utterly shocked. He never imagined that this boy, whose soul power was so much lower than his own, could break through his defenses.
This made him anxious.
Most importantly, his Profound Water Ice Seal seemed to have no effect on this boy.
In fact, others seeing his martial soul would assume he was a defensive soul master, but in reality, he was a control-oriented soul master, with both attack and defense being equally strong.
Now that his control was ineffective, his defense was forced into a passive state. He
could only use offensive soul skills. Huddled in his tortoise shell, he coldly laughed
.
At the same time, his fourth soul ring lit up. (End of Chapter)