The instant he opened his eyes, the temperature throughout the entire Education Committee hall seemed to plummet several degrees. They were dark green eyes — eyes devoid of any trace of life — radiating not merely cold, but a cruel, sinister chill.
Dai Mubai let out a muffled groan, his entire body shuddering violently before he collapsed silently to the ground, motionless.
A long azure vine shot out like lightning, wrapping around Dai Mubai's waist and forcibly dragging him back. It was the Azure Sky Vine Soul Douluo, Third Seat Zhi Lin, who had acted.
"Your Highness, please don't go too far," said Meng Shenji, his voice thick with fury.
Prince Xuexing replied with cold indifference, "How have I gone too far? Chief Meng Shenji, don't forget — this academy belongs to the Imperial Household. As its direct administrator, I hold authority over personnel decisions. If you're dissatisfied, you may petition His Majesty. But until His Majesty strips me of my post, I am still the one in charge here."
"You—" Meng Shenji was so enraged his beard and hair bristled, leaving him speechless.
Azure light flickered as it flowed into Dai Mubai's body. Enveloped in the green glow, Dai Mubai finally regained consciousness, but his eyes were filled with dazed terror.
In that fleeting instant, he had felt a chill sweep through his entire body, and then he had known nothing more. Let alone fighting back — he hadn't even had the slightest chance to resist.
Prince Xuexing turned to his right side. The man who had been so imperious before the three committee members and the Shrek Academy group now addressed the green-haired elder beside him with genuine respect. "Mr. Dugu, I must trouble you."
The green-haired elder regarded the Shrek Academy group before him with a faint look. "Prove yourselves through strength. Come at me together." As he spoke, a powerful surge of green light erupted from his body, and one by one, Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet in succession. Yet his own body showed no change whatsoever.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black. A total of nine Soul Rings spiraled upward, their blinding radiance rendering the entire Education Committee hall resplendent.
The faces of the Shrek Academy members changed. The faces of the three committee members changed as well. No one had expected that this disheveled, unkempt green-haired elder was in fact one of the most powerful figures on the entire continent — a Titled Douluo with Soul Power exceeding level ninety.
Forget the Shrek Academy group — even the three Soul Douluo above level eighty had no confidence they could stand against him. Between a Soul Douluo and a Titled Douluo, though the gap in title was merely one rank, the difference in actual power was night and day.
The higher one's level, the greater the gulf between each successive rank. Though the last five Soul Rings on the green-haired elder's body were all black, everyone knew that the later the ring, the closer it was to a hundred-thousand-year beast. His final Soul Ring, by the most conservative estimate, had to have come from a Soul Beast of at least seventy thousand years.
From the aura radiating off the green-haired elder, one could sense that he possessed a Beast-type Martial Soul. The fact that his body had shown absolutely no change when releasing his Martial Soul only confirmed the terrifying level of his control. To have mastered his Martial Soul to such a degree was something only a top-tier Soul Master at the Titled Douluo level could achieve.
"Your surname is Dugu, and an oppressive stench clings to your person. If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Poison Douluo — Dugu Bo, whose Titled Douluo title is 'Poison,'" the Great Master said, stepping forward to block the fury-burning Shrek Academy teachers and addressing the green-haired elder.
"Ha ha ha ha ha." The green-haired elder let out an eerie laugh. "I didn't expect anyone would still remember me. That's right — I am Dugu Bo. Since you know my name, why haven't you scrammed yet?"
The Great Master's expression remained calm. He actually nodded earnestly. "Fine. We'll scram. Flandre, let's scram." With that, he grabbed Flandre by the arm and began pulling him toward the exit.
Flandre wrenched himself free from the Great Master's grip, his eyes blazing with cold fury. "Xiaogang. I cannot let Shrek suffer this humiliation."
The Great Master said sharply, "Are you not afraid of death? Do you want everyone to die with you? A Titled Douluo — how could you possibly contend with one? If you yourself were a Titled Douluo, you could tell anyone to scram to your heart's content, but you're not. Even if we old fools don't fear death, do you want the children to walk into destruction alongside us? The Poison Douluo's poison is unmatched under heaven. Do you think when he attacks, he'd target only you?"
Having said this, the Great Master turned to the three Soul Douluo committee members. "I apologize, three esteemed seniors. Today's matter ends here. But we will never forget the warm hospitality you have shown us. Until we meet again."
"Wait." Meng Shenji's eyes blazed with fierce light as he fixed his gaze upon the Poison Douluo with his nine gleaming rings. "Dugu Bo — let us three old men test ourselves against your poison."
The Celestial Furnace Soul Douluo Bai Baoshan and the Azure Sky Vine Soul Douluo Zhi Lin moved to positions behind Meng Shenji. A powerful aura erupted simultaneously from all three of them.
Meng Shenji's body instantly became ethereal, his entire form dissolving into a pitch-black phantom. Dense black mist rose from beneath his feet — two yellow, three purple, three black — as eight Soul Rings bloomed in unison.