"Fatty, who are you saying has bad eyes?"
Seeing the pleading look in the fatty's eyes, Dai Mubai felt a twinge of confusion. He had been about to say: not bad taste, where'd you pick up this girl from some pleasure house? Ma Hongjun knew him all too well — how could he possibly let those words come out?
Ma Hongjun anxiously transmitted his voice in a thin thread to Dai Mubai: "Boss Dai, have mercy with that mouth of yours. This time, your brother's being dead serious. This girl is Third Brother's cousin. She and I are completely innocent — I'm courting her right now. Whatever you do, don't let slip anything about my past, or I'm done for."
Dai Mubai was as sharp as ever and caught on immediately, giving Ma Hongjun a knowing wink before laughing aloud. "I was wondering where such a pretty little lady came from — so she's Little San's cousin. Hello, I'm Dai Mubai."
Though Dai Mubai's features weren't exactly handsome, his innate Evil-Eyes and his bearing possessed a peculiar magnetism. Otherwise, he would never have gone undefeated among the pleasure houses in his younger days. The invisible pressure he exuded was easy to feel.
Faced with him, Bai Chenxiang was far less casual than she had been with the fatty. She replied with a measure of reserve, "Hello, Big Brother Dai. My name is Bai Chenxiang. You can call me Xiangxiang."
Ma Hongjun let out an exaggerated squawk. "Xiangxiang?! You've only just met him and you're already letting him call you Xiangxiang?"
Bai Chenxiang shot him a look. "Big Brother Dai is my cousin's elder brother. What's wrong with that?"
Ma Hongjun fumed. "What about me then? Why won't you let me call you that?"
Bai Chenxiang snorted. "Because you're sleazy! So fat and still with that pervy look on your face. Who wants anything to do with you? Big Brother Dai is clearly a gentleman — how can you even compare?"
"Him? A gentleman?" Ma Hongjun stared wide-eyed at Bai Chenxiang, then glanced at Dai Mubai beside him, feeling a surge of bitterness in his heart. But he couldn't say a single word. Who told him to have a track record? Right now, he couldn't afford to offend anyone.
Dai Mubai, in the complete opposite mood, burst out laughing. "As expected of Little San's cousin — quite the sharp tongue. Xiangxiang, you're absolutely right. Among our group, the most upstanding gentleman is certainly me."
"Cough, cough…" A short distance away, Oscar let out a bout of exaggerated coughing, his gaze fixed on Dai Mubai with a very, very odd expression…
Zhu Zhuqing stood beside Ning Rongrong, watching with a smile, but not the slightest intention of exposing her man. After all these years, Dai Mubai was no longer the reckless youth he once had been, and she was no longer the girl who had harbored resentment and discontent toward him.
Dai Mubai seemed completely unbothered by the looks the others were giving him. "Where's Little San? Didn't he say he was going to
Ma Hongjun replied, "Third Brother's been away for quite a few days now. Something about handling some family matters. He should be back soon."
At the mention of
Hearing Dai Mubai bring this up, a fierce killing intent immediately surfaced in Ma Hongjun's eyes, and his entire bearing underwent an earth-shaking transformation. Bai Chenxiang, standing beside him, felt this sensation from Ma Hongjun for the very first time. Suddenly, she realized the fatty beside her had become terrifying. The kingly pressure emanating from his Phoenix Martial Soul — the sovereign of all birds — sent a tremor through her heart and mind. Instinctively, she took half a step to the side. In her eyes, the fatty seemed to have grown much taller. He was no longer that laughing, crude, sleazy fellow.
"Those bastards from Spirit Hall, that's who," Ma Hongjun said viciously. There was no need for embellishment — the bare facts alone were enough to fill the clearing before the wooden cabin with a thick aura of bloodlust. Zhu Zhuqing's eyes brimmed with tears, and it took Ning Rongrong's gentle consoling before her emotions gradually steadied.
"Spi — rit — Hall —." Dai Mubai growled through gritted teeth, and his colossal aura erupted without restraint. The Shrek Seven Devils were long accustomed to this release of his, and since their strength was roughly comparable, the others weren't overly affected. But Bai Chenxiang could not withstand the
Just as she was about to fall, a firm, thick hand seized her shoulder. A pulse of Soul Power carrying a faintly scorching aura flowed into her body, and Bai Chenxiang's breathing immediately steadied. It was as if an invisible wall of raging flame had coalesced before her, shielding her from the tidal wave of Dai Mubai's imposing presence.
"Anger alone is useless. If you wish to stand against Spirit Hall, you must constantly elevate your strength. Only when all seven of you have become Titled Douluo will you have any hope of matching Spirit Hall's powerhouses."
A calm voice drifted over from the distance, and everyone turned to see two figures walking toward them. The speaker was none other than the Great Master. Beside him walked Sword Douluo
"Great Master." Upon seeing him, all five of the Shrek Devils plus Bai Chenxiang bowed in unison.
The Great Master gave a slight nod to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, his stern face betraying no particular emotion. "You all know about what happened with Little San and Xiao Wu. Spirit Hall can be considered our common enemy. Over these years, each of you has made varying degrees of progress, and each of you has acquired stronger Soul Skills. Before setting out for the Sea God Temple, I want you all to complete a process of coordination. After all, you've been apart for so many years. Even if your old rapport still exists, none of you are familiar with your partners' new abilities, and your teamwork will be far from optimal."
Everyone nodded in agreement. When it came to the Great Master's instruction, they had always been wholly receptive.
The Great Master's gaze swept over each of them, then he spoke. "The coordination training begins now. Little San and Xiao Wu aren't here, but the five of you are all present. If you want to achieve full synergy as quickly as possible, you're going to need pressure."
Ma Hongjun stammered, "Great Master, you — you wouldn't happen to be asking Senior Chen Xin to serve as our pressure, would you?" He knew all too well that Sword Douluo Chen Xin was a peak-level powerhouse at rank ninety-seven! That was absolutely not something an ordinary Titled Douluo could compare to. On top of that, Sword Douluo Chen Xin held the title of the continent's number one attacking Douluo.
They had all witnessed
Bai Chenxiang cast a disdainful glance at the fatty, thinking: Already scared? They're only here to train you, not actual enemies. The faint spark of goodwill she had felt earlier, when the fatty had stepped in to shield her from the pressure, she now forcibly extinguished. Deep down, she refused to believe she could ever have feelings for a sleazy, corpulent man.
The Great Master's expression turned cold. "You should consider yourselves fortunate. Having Senior Sword Douluo serve as the pressure for your coordination training will not only drastically accelerate the process, it may well stimulate your growth further. It will also help you identify the weaknesses in your strength."
Ning Rongrong giggled. "Grandpa Sword, go easy on us, won't you?"
Sword Douluo's face set into a stern mask. "Right now, I am your opponent, Rongrong. I will not go easy. And Oscar, you'd better remember — if you cannot protect Rongrong properly, then I will not allow her to accompany you to Sea God Island. When you left years ago, didn't you say that when you returned, you'd definitely have the strength to protect her? Today, I'm going to test that. I hope your words weren't just empty boasts."
At these words from Sword Douluo, the expressions of the five Shrek Devils turned grave. They could sense with absolute clarity that Sword Douluo was not joking. Especially Oscar — every trace of his usual playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a rare and solemn composure. He said nothing, only giving Sword Douluo a silent nod.
The Great Master turned to Bai Chenxiang. "Chenxiang, you will not participate in the coordination training. Come stand beside me."
"Oh." Bai Chenxiang answered, somewhat dismissively, and walked over to take her place beside the Great Master. A flicker of dissatisfaction passed through her mind: Didn't they say I was supposed to go on the adventure with them? So why am I excluded from the coordination training? Even if my strength is below theirs, it can't be that far behind. I'm a four-ringed Soul Ancestor, after all. Do they really look down on me that much? With my speed, I can certainly look after myself.
As these thoughts ran through her mind, Sword Douluo Chen Xin had already begun to walk forward, and the five Shrek Devils instinctively retreated. As if by tacit understanding, Ning Rongrong and Oscar fell to the rear, Dai Mubai took the central position at the front, and Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing flanked him left and right. The faces of all five were utterly solemn.
Bai Chenxiang, too, realized something was off. She noticed that the very moment Sword Douluo took his first step, his entire bearing had undergone a complete transformation. Moments ago, he had looked like nothing more than an ordinary old man, but now everything around him seemed to turn razor-sharp. Even the air itself appeared to distort slightly. The mere fraction of that piercing aura that she could feel was enough to make her blanch.
Only now did she understand just how profoundly wrong she had been — why the Great Master had not let her participate in the training. Standing behind Sword Douluo, she already felt as if those razor-sharp energies might tear her body apart. She could only imagine how terrifying it must be to stand before him directly. No matter how fast she was, she would surely be sliced to ribbons by those lethal waves of sharpness.
At her core, Bai Chenxiang had always carried a certain pride. She believed that with the
And yet the five people standing directly before Sword Douluo did not yield a single inch, facing him head-on. In her eyes, that sleazy fatty was even standing in the front rank. Faint light was beginning to emanate from each of them.
The Great Master pulled Bai Chenxiang back quickly, retreating to a safe distance well outside the range of Sword Douluo's aura, and fixed his gaze on the battlefield.
A blinding white light erupted as Dai Mubai, instead of retreating, surged forward a full step and bellowed. Intense white radiance enveloped his body, which underwent a violent transformation in an instant. A massive, ferocious phantom of a white tiger materialized behind him.
His body swelled dramatically, powerful muscles tearing through his shirt. White fur marked with black stripes appeared alongside bulging sinew. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black — six Soul Rings shimmering into view around him all at once. In an instant, his momentum skyrocketed. The domineering aura of the Evil-Eyed White Tiger drastically reduced the pressure his companions were feeling.
The Great Master murmured in surprise. "Good — I didn't expect his Soul Power to have advanced again. He must be at rank sixty-five now."
Bai Chenxiang felt as though her heart had skipped a beat. Although she was only slightly younger than the Shrek Seven Devils, the gap was not large. Compared to Zhu Zhuqing, the youngest of the seven, she was barely a year or so behind. The Dai Mubai before her was three or four years her senior, yet rank sixty-five was a level she could not possibly reach in three or four more years.
As Dai Mubai released his Martial Soul, the other four simultaneously burst forth with dazzling brilliance. A faint phantom appeared behind each of them. Behind Zhu Zhuqing hovered a black cat, its aura cold and condensed — far more controlled than Dai Mubai's, yet the Soul Rings she released were identical in pattern to his. She gave off an air of mystery and danger.
Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul was considerably more flamboyant. A crimson phoenix phantom rose behind him. He had one fewer Soul Ring than the others, but his momentum was in no way inferior. Blazing phoenix flame soared into the air and swirled around his body, radiating brilliant light.
Behind Ning Rongrong, the phantom of light that appeared matched the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her right hand perfectly. Six Soul Rings gleamed in harmonious splendor, the resplendent radiance of the treasure pagoda lending her an ethereal, almost divine elegance.
Oscar's phantom was the most peculiar of all — two blurred silver figures that appeared tightly fused together, like a single creature with two heads, four arms, and four legs. Wisps of silver luminescence trailed around them. He, too, bore six Soul Rings: two yellow, two purple, two black.
Five people. Four Soul Emperors and one Soul King. And all of them so impossibly young. Bai Chenxiang realized she had unconsciously been holding her breath, her full attention riveted on the battle about to unfold.
At that moment, a sudden, clear voice rang out. "Wait."
A flash of movement, and two additional figures appeared on the field. Both clad in white, the man holding the woman's hand, a faint smile on his face.
"How could I be absent for Senior Sword Douluo's guidance?"
The newcomers were none other than Tang San and Xiao Wu. A soft blue glow suffused the air around them. Tang San gently drew Xiao Wu into his embrace, a trace of reluctance in his eyes, and placed her inside his Myriad Treasure Purse.
The moment Tang San appeared, the strained expressions on the faces of the five Shrek Devils all relaxed, and a smile nearly simultaneously appeared on every face. If before they had been five young powerhouses, then with Tang San's arrival, they had become a formidable whole.
Dai Mubai laughed. "Little San, perfect timing. Let's seek Senior Sword Douluo's instruction together."