Chapter 403. A Flower-Loving Titled Douluo (Part 2)

A similar stalemate had developed. Those two masked Soul Saints seemed to have been deployed specifically to handle Liu Erlong and Flandre. Their Martial Souls might not necessarily be able to counter Shrek Academy's two great powerhouses, but delaying them was never in question.

At the level of Soul Saints, both sides had access to a great many Soul Skills, and defeating an opponent of roughly equal rank was far from easy.

The black-clad masked Soul Douluo's gaze locked directly onto Tang San, and a sinister light immediately filled his eyes. He let out a piercing howl, launched himself skyward, and dove straight toward the eleven students of Shrek Academy.

Those two Soul Kings didn't move at all, ceding the attack entirely to him.

Golden light erupted from the black-clad masked Douluo's body. His arms rippled through the air and transformed into a pair of golden wings. An even more massive golden phantom materialized behind him, and his clothes were replaced by golden feathers, revealing the true form of his Martial Soul.

It was a great golden eagle.

The moment his wings took shape, his arms separated from them and became two razor-sharp eagle talons. At the same time, his body began to shrink and contort rapidly, growing more and more alike to the golden eagle phantom behind him.

The expressions of the Shrek Seven Devils all changed. The crushing pressure from the sky was not yet enough to break them, but the fact that this Soul Douluo had unleashed his seventh Soul Skill—Martial Soul Avatar—from the very start made his intent perfectly clear: he meant to end this quickly.

Run? Against a flying Soul Master, fleeing was easier said than done. Even with the assistance of Oscar's Flying Mushroom Sausage, escape was utterly impossible.

Eight Soul Rings blazed with brilliant light—three yellow, two purple, three black. An impressive combination.

Not the optimal configuration, but startling enough.

The seventh Soul Ring, black light writhing around his golden body, looked utterly terrifying and powerful. In that moment, any lingering hope the Shrek Seven Devils might have harbored evaporated. What they wanted to do, what they could do, was fight with everything they had.

No one was going to save them. The only ones who could save them were themselves.

The glow of Soul Rings lit up on all seven of the Shrek Seven Devils simultaneously.

Tang San waved to Tai Long and the other three, signaling them to leave at once. Those four were not part of the Shrek Seven Devils' bond—facing a Soul Douluo, their presence or absence made no difference. Better to flee than to throw their lives away for nothing.

Strangely, those two Soul Kings made no move to stop the four from withdrawing. Then again, the four didn't go far either. They stood their ground, gathering their own Soul Power.

"Bullying children—is that really something to be proud of? It's been a long time, Brother Eagle." An aged voice rang out, and a wave of gentle energy washed over the Shrek Seven Devils. The pressure from the Martial Soul Avatar immediately eased. All seven turned toward the source of the voice with visible relief.

A tall, gaunt old man had appeared at some point not far from them, holding a staff over four meters long with an effortless, relaxed grip. He was looking up at the golden eagle in its Martial Soul Avatar form high in the air, a grave expression on his face.

Eight Soul Rings shone upon his body as well.

The Shrek Seven Devils all recognized this old man. He was none other than Duke Dragon, Meng Shu—the very one they had encountered when they went to obtain their third Soul Rings.

Back then, Duke Dragon and Granny Snake had given them considerable trouble. Had they not responded precisely, things would have gone badly. Tang San had won over his opponents through sheer ability. He simply hadn't expected to run into him here.

Only now did Tang San recall that Meng Yiran was also among the participating teams this time—the Beast Academy squad. When Shrek Academy had faced Beast Academy, Tang San hadn't been able to compete due to his injuries. He'd long since forgotten about Meng Yiran. And now here was Duke Dragon once more.

High above, the golden eagle's pupils contracted sharply. "Meng Shu, you'd best not meddle in this."

Duke Dragon smiled calmly. "You're the ones who came looking for trouble, not I. My granddaughter is also among the students competing here. Did you really think I'd ignore her safety? I never imagined that Brother Eagle would stoop to becoming a bandit. How delightful!" His words dripped with sarcasm.

Anyone with eyes could see that these black-clad figures were no bandits. If bandits could have a Soul Douluo among their ranks, the world would be in utter chaos.

The golden eagle snorted coldly. "Meng Shu, do you really want to oppose us? Think about the consequences. This isn't something you should involve yourself in."

A sharp glint flashed through Duke Dragon's eyes. "Do you think I was raised on threats? Others may fear you, Lor'diara, but I don't. If you've got the skill, take care of this old man first. Otherwise, don't even think about leaving here today."

The golden eagle's gaze swept across the battlefield. An eagle's vision was extraordinarily sharp, and he immediately spotted another figure brandishing a staff—the Snake Granny, Chao Tianxiang.