The Back Mountain of Shrek
Rustling leaves. The quiet ripple of insects. The back mountain of Shrek Academy was unnaturally still.
Three figures stepped lightly through the forest.
At the front walked a young man of about twenty, black hair short yet sharp like a blade. His eyes gleamed with calm confidence—Xie Yue, one of Spirit Hall's famed Golden Generation.
Beside him swaggered a fiery-haired youth, Yan, his scarlet locks and even darker red eyes blazing like embers.
Behind them trailed a graceful woman in pale pink robes, a fox-tail swaying lightly at her back—Hu Liena. Her charm alone changed the air wherever she walked, beauty mingled with danger.
"Brother, why are we here?" Yan muttered irritably. "Everyone else is combing the academy, walls to walls. And we're sent wandering out here in a birdless forest? What 'credit' is there to find among weeds and rocks? Feels like we're being played."
Xie Yue didn't even glance back. His moon-sickle blade shimmered faintly at his side. "Stop talking. Keep your eyes open."
Hu Liena suddenly pointed. "There—look. A hut!"
Indeed, tucked on a slope was a small thatched cottage, weathered but intact. Its lonely presence felt… off.
"All right," Xie Yue said coldly. "Let's check it." The moonblade shimmered fully into his palm, spinning with deadly intent.
The Sudden Ambush
They had barely taken three steps when snapping blue vines erupted.
Thwip-thwip! Three shining cages of Blue Silver Grass burst into being, entangling the trio in an instant.
"Chichichichi—!"
A storm of hidden weapons whistled from the bushes, steel glints flashing like rain.
"Second soul skill—Granite Rock!" Yan snarled, magma-colored aura flaring as his body hardened into stone armor. The weapons pinged and shattered against his defenses.
"Second soul skill—Moon Shield!" Xie Yue's crescent-blade spun furiously, forming a whirling barrier of silver light that cut a swathe through incoming projectiles.
Hu Liena's eyes flashed pink. Her body shimmered with seductive light, a long foxtail whipping outward with hypnotic grace, batting aside the last storm of darts.
Clang-clang-clang! Sparks lit the undergrowth.
The ambusher revealed himself at last.
A youth wielding a massive hammer—the Clear Sky Hammer—its shadow looming immense before Yan.
Yan growled. "Bastard dares try a sneak attack? You're dead!"
He planted his fists into the earth. "First soul skill—Magma Strike!"
The ground erupted, flaming magma blasting upward like a volcano.
Hammer met flame in a blinding clash. Sparks rained, the forest canopy itself singed as heat waves blasted outward.
Tang San Revealed
Xie Yue's eyes narrowed as he glimpsed the attacker's face. Blond highlights of memory struck him.
"That's… Tang San," he muttered.
He had read the reports. Since Tang Hao's chaos at Spirit Hall, dossiers of the boy had spread among Spirit Hall's upper ranks. Seen face to face, it was unmistakable.
"Kill him!" Yan roared, fury rising.
Boom! His fourth soul ring glowed. "Fourth soul ability—Magma Churning!"
The ground around Tang San flushed crimson, boiling waves of fire gushing upward, threatening to engulf him whole.
Tang San's footwork blurred. Blue Silver Grass shot out like lifelines. With a sharp flick, he pulled himself upward, swinging toward higher ground, clear of the roasting sea.
His hammer gleamed in the twilight.
His heart tightened. He hadn't come here to play games.
When Martial Soul Hall encircled Shrek, he and Uncle Tang Xiao had already entered Heaven Dou—and Tang San had slipped away during the chaos. He learned the target that Spirit Hall wanted was… Xiao Wu.
His eyes shook with disbelief even now. Xiao Wu, a soul beast? A hundred-thousand years?
But after the first shock came conviction. If she was targeted, he had only one choice: protect her or die trying.
The hut. He had felt her spiritual warmth there. If she truly hid inside, he needed to lure Spirit Hall's fighters away.
So he revealed the hammer—his intent loud as thunder.
Golden Generation Clashes
Xie Yue's blade whirled with a harsh cry. "First soul skill—Moon Slash!"
The glowing sickle flew like a full moon across the air.
"Haah!" Tang San swung the hammer up with his waist strength. Clang! Sparks showered as hammer deflected moon blade.
But Yan was already charging. "Third soul skill—Underworld Flame!"
Fiery fists blazed scarlet, smashing forward. They detonated on the Clear Sky Hammer with a shocking wave, forcing Tang San somersaulting backward across the clearing.
Above, Hu Liena struck like a shadow. "Second soul skill—Charm!"
Her eyes glowed pink. Tang San's flight wavered, his focus blurring.
But he had prepared. "Purple Demon Eye—break!" Violet light surged from his iris, cleaving through the charm.
Too late.
Her foxtail snapped tight around his throat, jerking him violently in midair. Tang San gagged, thrown like cloth before his landing even came.
And Yan's burning fist awaited him mid-flight.
"Boom!"
The strike crashed into his chest. Tang San flew like a meteor, slammed hard into the earth, a crater bursting beneath him.
Blood spilled from his lip.
But through the dirt, his eyes curved in faint relief.
Good. Fight me here. Keep them away from the hut. If Xiao Wu escapes, this pain is worth it.
The Pope Senses
Back in the courtyard, Bibi Dong's sweeping spiritual power trembled suddenly. Her eyes narrowed.
"There's movement—in the back mountain."
Without hesitation, Yueguan and dozens of his people broke into flight.
From above, Chrysanthemum Douluo caught sight of the scene: Hu Liena, Yan, and Xie Yue pounding on a hammer-wielding youth. Recognition flashed. Tang San.
And sprinting through the forest—was a petite girl in pink dress, rabbit-ears tied, for all the world looking panicked.
"One hundred-thousand-year soul beast… Got you!" Yueguan sneered hungrily.
But then his instincts screamed, icy cold.
A titanic aura surged closer, fiercer than his own, breaking through the treeline like rolling thunder.
"Not good!" he barked. "Hu Liena, Yan, Xie Yue—fall back! Now!"
He appeared behind them in a blink, pushing them back with layered soul power shields.
Mist churned—then exploded.
A colossal shadow swept forth.
The Clear Sky Hammer, ten meters wide.
Its wielder stood tall, black hair whipping like a tide.
Tang Xiao.
Yueguan's teeth ground. "So it's you again…!"
Tang Xiao's voice rumbled like mountains collapsing. "Yueguan. Chrysanthemum Douluo. You want my nephew? Step over my corpse first!"
He dragged Tang San by the shoulder protectively to his side. Furiously he growled at the youth: "You brat. Picking fights alone? Do you want your uncle's heart to give out? You're as reckless as your father!"
Tang San coughed blood, smiling faintly.
But the ambush was broken.
Around them, Spirit Hall's banners swayed.
Yueguan's chrysanthemum bloomed, golden petals already swirling. "You think you can escape?"
The hammer swung wide, cleaving air like falling mountains.
Dust stormed, thunder roared. Shrek's back mountain shook.
And in the chaos, voices screamed.
"Retreat! Don't let them run!"
The battle for Xiao Wu had truly begun.
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