Once they decided to take it outside, Ye Zhiqiu turned and strode toward the door. The black tortoise shell on his back bobbed with each step — almost comical in appearance — but the soul power radiating from him was anything but laughable, thick and oppressive.
The Canghui Academy students filed out after him.
Dai Mubai leaned toward Tang San and muttered, "That old guy's over level fifty, and his Xuan Turtle is a pretty solid beast spirit. Be careful. I'll hold him in front — you move fast. I'm not sure how long I can last against him."
Tang San shook his head. "It's not certain we'll lose. His soul power is strong, but his martial spirit has a weak point."
The others, who had gathered around by now, all turned their ears to listen.
Tang San explained, "His martial spirit is the Xuan Turtle. I'm certain he's a defense-oriented battle soul master. Nearly all his active and passive skills will be defensive in nature. That means even if his soul power's much higher than ours, his threat to us in terms of direct attack is limited. High power without strong offensive skills — what can he really do to us? So I propose two ways to handle him.
"First, use our speed to wear him down. He's a teacher, with much higher soul power, so he won't limit our numbers. I suggest Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and I take the lead — we're fastest. Keep moving at top speed, don't let him land a hit, and look for openings to strike. The problem is, with the shell's protection, my Blue Silver Grass's thorns and toxins likely won't penetrate. That's why I recommend the second approach."
"The second way is similar — the three of us will still handle the kiting. But the Xuan Turtle is a water attribute, which is countered by Fatty's phoenix flames. Water can suppress fire, but fire can burn through water too — and Fatty's fire is… special. He can attack from range, and with Oscar's sausages to sustain him, he won't run out of steam. Our goal is to wear him down. Xiao Wu, you'll rotate in for whoever's up front, making sure everyone can cycle back to Oscar for support.
"We might be weaker in soul power, but we have Xiao Ao — and a numbers advantage. As long as he can't land decisive blows, we'll be fine. Rongrong, you just watch for the right moments to buff us."
Ning Rongrong nodded in understanding.
With the tactics set, everyone moved out together. Seven against one — their confidence was high. Fighting someone stronger was a valuable chance to improve.
The group walked out of town, and the five soul rings glowing on Ye Zhiqiu's body drew quite a crowd of curious onlookers who followed them to see the match.
During that walk, the air seemed to cool Ye Zhiqiu's temper slightly. Looking over the seven youngsters, he said, "I'll give you one last chance — admit you were wrong, and this can end here."
Dai Mubai gave him a crooked, mocking smile. "Wrong? Right? The biggest fist decides which is which. Beat us first, then we'll talk."
At this point, there was no holding back. Ye Zhiqiu snorted. "Fine. Come at me all at once — I'll give you a lesson on how to conduct yourselves."
(Watching from his hidden spot, Yun Chuan thought: 'Go on, fight! Just leave the girls alone — you can beat the hell out of the guys and I'll patch them up later anyway.')
Ma Hongjun grinned. "Remember — we're not people, we're monsters."
Dai Mubai moved first. His second ring lit, white light condensing into a sphere before blasting from his mouth — the White Tiger's second skill, White Tiger Light Wave.
At the same moment, Zhu Zhuqing darted forward at an angle, speeding toward Ye Zhiqiu's flank, while Tang San charged in from the other side.
Fatty's mohawk-like crest shook as his first ring flared — a ribbon of violet-red phoenix flame shot from his mouth.
The four acted almost simultaneously, showing not a trace of fear even against a Soul King.
Ye Zhiqiu's black aura flared as he gave a low roar. His first and second rings shone together, his body spinning half-around to present his massive turtle shell. A wave of black water-like energy, cold and biting, burst outward.
Right from the start, he used his two opening skills — Xuan Turtle Shield and Mysterious Water Ice Seal — intending to finish the fight quickly and leave these 'little monsters' frozen as a lesson to both vent his ire and flaunt Canghui's strength.
The White Tiger Light Wave hit his back with a dull explosion — and just as Tang San had predicted, the Xuan Turtle's defense was among the best of beast spirits. Dai's blow didn't even move him.
Tang San was already closing in when the icy chill hit him like a wall, as though his blood itself would freeze. He spun up the Mysterious Heaven Skill to block the cold and halted his charge, instead spreading his Blue Silver Grass in a wide net to bind Ye Zhiqiu.
But plant spirits were vulnerable to both extreme heat and cold — the grass slowed noticeably under the ice seal's aura.
At that moment, Ma Hongjun's phoenix flame struck the turtle shell. Even weakened, the fiery aura dulled the ice's bite — and likewise, the cold sapped some of the fire's heat. But the sticky blaze clung stubbornly to the dark shell.
Startled at the unfamiliar heat, Ye Zhiqiu felt a jolt of unease. In that instant, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass wound tight around him, and Zhu Zhuqing's phantom-like form appeared at his blind spot, first ring flashing as she stabbed for his neck with Hell Rush Stab.
Ye Zhiqiu suddenly hunched his neck, tucking his head entirely into his torso to avoid the strike. His third ring lit, and a spray of dark mist burst from his mouth, smothering the phoenix flames on his back.
Even Fatty's mutated fire yielded before the high-level water skill backed by a ten-plus rank advantage.
The icy aura surged again — Tang San yanked his vines back before they could freeze solid. Zhu Zhuqing used the bounce from her strike to spring away, but her right hand was already numbed by frost.
Then Dai Mubai was there. His first ring blazed as he activated White Tiger Shield Barrier, tiger claws flashing as they slammed into the shell. The triple-ringed blow actually drove Ye Zhiqiu stumbling forward a couple of steps, but with a twist, his head shot back out — and a blast of inky cold water roared from his jaws straight at Dai.
The Mysterious Water Surge, his third skill.
The wave of cold made Dai's whole body tighten. His shield blunted some of it, but the chill still cut through; the gap in soul power was too wide.
Then another flare of violet-red burst between them, Fatty's second flame intercepting the water blast. Steam flashed into the air; though the fire lost to the tide, it bought Dai the moment he needed to retreat.
The brief exchange left Tang San unsettled. Was my judgment wrong? Is the Xuan Turtle not purely defensive? No… impossible. Teacher's research can't be wrong, and this martial soul shows no sign of mutation. But those cold-based skills are a headache.
What he didn't know was that Ye Zhiqiu was even more surprised. The four teens' opening salvo hadn't hurt him, but it had been far more trouble than he'd expected.
That little fat man's phoenix fire in particular felt like his nemesis — if its wielder's soul power were higher, his water skill might not have been able to suppress it. And Dai Mubai's twin claw strike, backed by solid, explosive force, had churned his qi and blood despite the shell's protection.
After all, the Xuan Turtle Shield was only a first-ring skill; even for a defensive beast spirit, a first-ring guard had its limits.
Most impressive of all was their teamwork. Rough and unpolished, yes, but their abilities complemented each other frighteningly well — close-range power, swift harassment, control, and ranged pressure all woven together to maximize their combined threat.
Where in the world did this Shrek Academy come from?
He couldn't know that these seven youths before him weren't just Shrek's top talents — they were Shrek's only students.
(End of Chapter)