Chapter 7 – Insta-KO
The Spirit Ancestor bodyguard ran for it.
"Young Master Liuyun?" The other Spirit King took Ye Lingsi's hand.
Zhao Liuyun merely said calmly,
"You keep Lingsi safe; I'll handle someone of my own level. Only then can Senior Meng talk freely with the people behind him."
The Ye family naturally feared no one.
The problem was that Shrek people never cared about reason.
Against a likely Spirit Saint, even Meng Yan would be outmatched.
Therefore, having Zhao Liuyun—someone of equal rank—strike first was the safest choice.
Besides… it was time he made a move!
This was the perfect chance to show both gratitude and combat strength.
Zhao Liuyun weighed it carefully.
The plump grass-chicken had revealed two rings, yet looked like a country bumpkin seeing the world for the first time.
He clearly couldn't yet tell who could be provoked and who couldn't.
Flender must have brought him back to the academy only recently.
Appearing in Soul Hunting Town, he was definitely here for Spirit Hunting.
At this point in time… Dai Mubai was thirteen and should be coming for his third spirit ring!
So… Zhao Liuyun quickly lifted his head.
"Who dares hurt my brother!" Before the thought even ended, a figure shoved through the crowd, roared, and leapt in.
The newcomer stood tall, broad-shouldered, with dazzling blond hair and a handsome, roguish face.
Most striking were his double pupils—eyes split in two, brimming with wild ferocity.
Double pupils, capped at thirtieth rank—sure enough, Dai Mubai.
Zhao Liuyun understood inwardly, yet his face stayed frosty: "This fat chicken offended my young lady; which Sect are you from?"
I knew it!
Demanding accountability at once—he had to be from a major power.
One glance at the trio's clothes, especially the cute little girl, told Dai Mubai that the damned Fatty Ma Hongjun had caused trouble again.
Because of factors everyone knew, the two had forged a deep friendship.
And as a prince, Dai Mubai's pride refused an apology; he only countered, "What did he do?"
Dean Flender had brought him for Spirit Hunting; Ma Hongjun insisted on tagging along to see the world.
The dean told him to keep an eye on the boy.
Nothing bad could be allowed to happen.
"He's merely sleeping," Zhao Liuyun said, eyes sharpening. "A Spirit Grandmaster so young is rare; which power are you from?"
He stepped half a pace forward and added grimly, "If you don't apologize properly, no one leaves today!"
Representing the Ye family, he couldn't rant like a fishwife; driving them into a corner with words would be unwise.
Watching the two yellow spirit rings around Zhao Liuyun and the glowing Moon Secluded Epiphyllum in his hand, Dai Mubai showed a wicked grin:
"Then I really must experience it properly…"
His competitive Spirit flaring, Dai Mubai declared, "We're from Shrek Academy. Our dean lives by one line—'He who dares not cause trouble is but mediocrity!'"
"You're a Spirit Grandmaster too—fight me first! Beat me and anything goes!"
"White Tiger, possess."
A fierce pale light erupted from him.
He flung his arms wide, puffed his chest, joints crackling; muscles bulged until even the air seemed to churn.
His golden hair turned black-and-white, a domineering "king" pattern surfacing on his forehead.
His hands became tiger claws, doubling in size, thick white fur covering them; fingers like blades, claws extending with cold glints akin to drawn daggers.
Eyes turned ghost-blue, giving the impression of a killing machine… "Dai Mubai, Spirit: White Tiger, rank-30 attack system Spirit Grandmaster—your instruction, please."
It was a formal duel invitation.
"Hah, quite the etiquette," Zhao Liuyun sneered.
"Zhao Liuyun, Spirit: Moon Secluded Epiphyllum, rank-22 control system Spirit Grandmaster."
"Since you insist on a beating, I'll oblige!"
"Go, Brother Liuyun! Knock down these baddies!" Ye Lingsi waved her little fists, cheering happily under the guards' watch.
"I'll win," Zhao Liuyun answered with a radiant smile.
"Eight levels lower and still this arrogant?"
That disregard enraged Dai Mubai into a laugh.
He shot forward like white lightning, tearing claws whistling straight for Zhao Liuyun's face.
Not using spirit rings?
This cocky?
Zhao Liuyun indulged him not; if he wouldn't use Spirit Abilities, then neither would he.
He tapped his toes and drifted back, his first ring flaring again.
"First Spirit Ability: Stop Conflict!"
A hazy violet ripple unfurled like a wave, not condensing into a line but spreading into a sheet.
Zhao Liuyun's new twist: skills with flight paths were easy to dodge.
So why not turn it into an area burst like a wave?
Let the Dream Creation mental force blanket the whole plane!
Achieving the same effect cost more mental force than the focused version.
But Zhao Liuyun's mental force was vast; he cared nothing for the loss.
Bang!
Dai Mubai's pupils shrank; with no way to evade, drowsiness flooded him, strength left his body, and he crashed flat on his face.
The White Tiger Spirit retracted on its own; momentum sent him landing nose-first.
Blood mixed with dirt gushed from his nostrils.
Ma Hongjun, a ranged Spirit Master, had ample fat for cushioning and had fallen back-first, looking far less wretched.
A second Dream Creation violet wave followed the first, preventing Dai Mubai from waking due to pain.
One must always follow up.
"One-shot—boring!"
"No fun at all!"
The spectators jeered and booed Dai Mubai.
Hidden in the crowd, a Spirit Saint who had also brought students for Spirit Hunting watched with sparkling eyes.
Such mental strength… "Yay—Brother Liuyun's amazing!" Ye Lingsiclapped hard, her clear cheers full of joy.
Zhao Liuyun's gaze was apathetic as he swept the two on the ground: "Shrek Academy? This is what it trains?"
"Uncle Lin, ever heard of this academy?" he asked the Spirit King guard.
The guard surnamed Lin racked his brains: "No such name among the Advanced Spirit Master Academies—probably some no-name backwater place."
"What's going on?" A cold voice sounded as Meng Yan arrived in a flash, her spirit power pressure silently scattering the onlookers.
"Senior Meng," Zhao Liuyun said, relaxing slightly, "I was taking Lingsi for a stroll."
"The Fatty on the ground had lecherous eyes and crude words that frightened her."
After I put him down, this White Tiger fellow rushed in."
"All I wanted was a proper apology, but he spouted 'He who dares not cause trouble is but mediocrity' and forced a fight."
"And… well, here we are."
Zhao Liuyun recounted everything, pointing at the two still sprawled on the ground.
"White Tiger Spirit… Shrek?"
That Spirit carried weight, and the name Shrek… Meng Yan's eyes flickered.
She remembered that the Ye family once sponsored a genius named "Wei Xiu," who, against advice, had insisted on entering that academy.
They claimed to enroll only geniuses among geniuses, no ordinary Spirit Masters—a truly hidden and mighty institute.
Its dean was called… "Senior Flender, since you're here, why not show yourself and chat?" Meng Yan locked onto a direction.
"Won't you come out and tell us how young Wei Xiu is doing lately?"
Hidden in the shadows, Flender looked awkward—
because the Wei Xiu Meng Yan mentioned had perished during a Spirit Hunting expedition.
Still, he released his Spirit and flew down.
"So you're friends of the Ye family; my disciple was indeed rude," Flender said, adjusting his glasses with a wry smile. "His Spirit is mutated; the defect makes him act that way—no offense intended."
"On his behalf, I apologize to your daughter."
As he spoke, two gentle breezes woke the pair still napping on the ground.
Ma Hongjun rolled to his feet and slapped his bottom, acting as if nothing had happened.
Dai Mubai, however, had blood caked over his face—blood mixed with dirt, a complete mess.