Someone from the first grade actually dared to challenge Xia Yi?It wasn't just the first-year students who were shocked—Even the second- and third-year students found it unbelievable.
The title of Shrek Academy's number one genius was not just for show.
Though Xia Yi hadn't fought many times, every time he did, he won with absolute dominance.At Shrek Academy, he had no rivals among his peers.
He had even defeated Xiao Yicai, a two-word battle armor master and six-ring Soul Emperor from the Tang Sect.
So who in the first grade had the courage to challenge Xia Yi?
Could it be Na'er?
That was the first possibility that came to everyone's mind.
After all, Na'er was Yun Ming's disciple, the disciple of the strongest man on the Douluo Continent—the Skycrosser Douluo. Perhaps only she could stand a chance against Xia Yi.
As soon as the Shrek Academy students heard about this, they rushed to the battle arena, eager to witness a showdown between Xia Yi and Na'er.
Even some inner court disciples came.
But when they arrived at the battle arena, they were completely dumbfounded.
The ones standing on the battle stage were Xia Yi and… Tang Wulin?!
Everyone recognized Xia Yi.
But Tang Wulin?
They had heard of him before—something about him being a good blacksmith?
Apparently, the spirit alloy he sold had a higher fusion rate than Xia Yi's?
But what use was blacksmithing in a battle arena?
Who gave such a nobody the courage to challenge Xia Yi?
Was it Liang Jingru?
On the battle stage, Tang Wulin's face was a little grim. The murmurs around him, no matter how quietly spoken, still reached his ears, making him uncomfortable.
"Wulin, how about I take over? If you hand control of your body to me, I promise I'll help you defeat Xia Yi," Lao Tang's deep voice echoed in Tang Wulin's spiritual sea.
He was worried that if Tang Wulin lost to Xia Yi again, he might suffer a serious blow to his confidence and become depressed.
"I can defeat him," Tang Wulin said firmly. If he handed his body over to Old Tang, wouldn't that mean he didn't even have the courage to face Xia Yi himself?
Tang Wulin refused to accept that.
"Alright then." Old Tang sighed. He had studied Xia Yi's martial soul extensively but had learned nothing.
He had also analyzed Xia Yi's soul skills for a long time but had come up empty-handed.
"Even if I lose, I want to lose with dignity." Tang Wulin lifted his head to look at Xia Yi, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Damn it, who leaked this news? So many people came to watch—Shrek Academy must be trying to make money off ticket sales." Xia Yi's face darkened.
Shrek Academy had probably known that Tang Wulin was going to challenge him, so the moment Xia Yi returned, they immediately started spreading the word.
By the time Xia Yi and Tang Wulin arrived, the spectator stands were already packed.
Xia Yi did some digging and found out that tickets cost 500 contribution points each for everyone except first-year students, who could watch for free with their student ID.
"Fine, let them watch. I guarantee they'll all regret buying those tickets." Xia Yi smirked to himself.
At Shrek Academy, every duel required a referee.
The referee for this match between Xia Yi and Tang Wulin was Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue'er, the outer court's dean.
Ya Li and Yun Ming were also present, watching from the stands.
Ya Li held Na'er in her arms.
"You pestered me and your teacher to come watch this battle between Xia Yi and your brother. Do you have that much confidence in him?" Ya Li asked with a smile.
"My brother is the strongest! Xia Yi only surpassed him temporarily because of the resources given to him by the Sky Phoenix Douluo. My brother is not weaker than him," Na'er declared confidently.
"I hope so." Ya Li nodded. Truthfully, she also wanted to see someone in Shrek Academy put Xia Yi in his place.
Otherwise, this student of Leng Yaozhu's would keep strutting around Shrek Academy, showing off.
No—he wasn't just Leng Yaozhu's student anymore.
He was Leng Yaozhu's man.
Looking at Xia Yi standing proudly on the battle stage, Ya Li couldn't help but think:
They say women in their thirties are like wolves, forties like tigers, and fifties can "suck the earth dry"… But how did Leng Yaozhu, an old woman who has been lonely for 80 years, not suck him dry already?
Looks like Leng Yaozhu held back. She couldn't bear to harm him.
As a woman herself, Ya Li knew how terrifying someone like Leng Yaozhu could be.
She even assessed Yun Ming's strength in her mind.
If Yun Ming had really married Leng Yaozhu a year ago, their wedding night would probably have ended with him saying: "I'm too tired these days!"
On the battle stage, Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue'er glanced at Yun Ming, then turned back to glare at Xia Yi with gritted teeth.
She wished she could tear him apart.
Because in her mind, Xia Yi had put a green hat on Yun Ming.
Even now, when she looked at Yun Ming, she felt like he was wearing an invisible green glow on his head.
"Both sides, take your positions!" Though she wanted to kill Xia Yi, with Yun Ming and Ya Li present, she had to restrain herself.
Xia Yi shrugged and stepped back, looking utterly calm.
Tang Wulin, however, was different. His eyes were locked onto Xia Yi as he carefully retreated, his expression more serious than ever.
"Begin!"
With Cai Yue'er's command, Tang Wulin moved instantly. Two golden bloodline soul rings lit up around him, and he shot toward Xia Yi like a cannonball.
He knew Xia Yi was a control-type battle soul master.
In a long-range battle, he had no chance against Xia Yi's control skills.
His only hope was to close the distance and fight in close combat.
He was ready to activate his Golden Dragon Body at any moment to absorb Xia Yi's attacks.
The more attacks he absorbed, the stronger his counterattack would be.
If he used Golden Dragon Body correctly, he could defeat Xia Yi in a single move.
"Heh, here's a surprise for you." Xia Yi chuckled.
Four soul rings rose around him—purple, purple, purple, black.
"Four rings? Didn't he just reach three rings a year ago?"
Tang Wulin's eyes widened in shock.
How was that possible?
What he didn't know was that Xia Yi had spent an unimaginable amount of contribution points training in Shrek Academy's exclusive cultivation rooms.
Thanks to those resources, he had reached rank 38 in a year.
Then, during his fight with Xiao Yicai in Mingdu, his spiritual power had broken through to the Spirit Abyss realm, and his soul power had surged to rank 39 peak.
He could break through to rank 40 at any time.
Originally, Xia Yi planned to stabilize his cultivation before breaking through.
But recently, after doing certain things with Gu Yue, Leng Yaozhu, and Leng Yulai, he found that while those activities didn't increase his soul power, they did strengthen his foundation.
So, without hesitation, he broke through to rank 40.
Before Tang Wulin could process all this, Xia Yi rushed forward as well.
He didn't use any control soul skills.
"You want to fight me head-on? Then bring it on!" Tang Wulin clenched his teeth.
He knew Xia Yi's strength was monstrous—even with his Golden Dragon King bloodline, Xia Yi could still match him in raw power.
But this time, he wasn't afraid!
He wanted Xia Yi to attack.
And Xia Yi did—activating his fourth soul skill and punching straight at Tang Wulin's chest…
Xia Yi and Tang Wulin almost instantly closed the distance to just five meters between them.
Xia Yi's fourth soul ring lit up, and he threw a punch directly at Tang Wulin's chest.
Looking at Xia Yi's seemingly unchanged fist, Tang Wulin was curious but still activated his Golden Dragon Body in time, preparing to absorb Xia Yi's attack.
After all, this was Xia Yi's fourth soul skill, so he had to be cautious.
Tang Wulin's entire body was immediately covered in golden dragon scales, and the scales on his chest became as dazzling as a mirror.
The terrifying bloodline energy surged within him, making him look incomparably domineering.
However, Xia Yi's fist, despite being enhanced by his fourth soul skill, looked completely ordinary—nothing special about it at all.
His fair and delicate fist even appeared somewhat soft and weak.
"Bang..."
Xia Yi's punch landed squarely on Tang Wulin's chest.
"Brother won!" Na'er immediately jumped up in excitement.
At such a close distance, as long as Tang Wulin absorbed the attack power of Xia Yi's fourth soul skill, his Golden Dragon Claw would be able to instantly defeat Xia Yi.
However, in the next moment—
Tang Wulin was sent flying.
He crashed directly into the Soul Battle Arena's protective barrier, then was violently bounced back down.
He lay motionless on the ground.
"Brother!" Na'er let out a sharp scream. In the next instant, Ya Li took her and appeared on the battle stage.
As the holy power of the Angel of Prayers descended upon Tang Wulin's body, Ya Li's expression instantly darkened.
She turned to look at Xia Yi, her beautiful eyes filled with anger, and said in a deep voice,
"It was just a sparring match. Don't you think you went too far?"
Xia Yi shook his head and said, "Now that's an unfair accusation."
He continued, "I believe you saw the mirror-like golden dragon scales on his body just now. That thing can absorb attack power. But once it absorbs beyond its limit, it shatters and causes severe damage to its owner.
So, his injuries have nothing to do with me. On the contrary, I actually held back."
Ya Li frowned slightly. That did seem to be the case.
"You call this 'holding back'?" Cai Yue'er also checked Tang Wulin's injuries. Seeing how badly Tang Wulin was hurt, right in front of her, she gritted her teeth and asked Xia Yi,
"Do you even know how many bones you broke with that one punch?"
More importantly, Tang Wulin's spiritual world had also suffered some damage.
If it weren't for his Golden Dragon Scales protecting his body, Xia Yi's punch might have killed him outright.
Xia Yi couldn't be bothered to explain anymore, so he simply said, "Why don't you find a Soul King and see if I can cripple them with a single punch? Then you'll know whether or not I held back."
Tang Wulin's serious injuries weren't really Xia Yi's problem.
His Golden Dragon Body was powerful, but if it absorbed too much attack power, he would inevitably suffer severe backlash.
Xia Yi couldn't just stop his attack on purpose and prevent Tang Wulin from reaching his limit—letting him absorb the power and then turn it back against him.
"You—"
Cai Yue'er was about to speak, but Ya Li stopped her.
Ya Li then turned to Na'er, whose beautiful eyes were filled with resentment toward Xia Yi, and asked,
"Na'er, tell me honestly—does your brother's second golden soul ring have the effect Xia Yi described?"
"Yes!" Na'er gritted her teeth and said.
"If it can absorb attack power, then it must also be able to release the absorbed power, right? That's indeed a very strong soul skill—it makes sense that he dared to challenge Xia Yi." Ya Li nodded.
Now, she understood why Na'er was so confident in Tang Wulin earlier.
Unfortunately, both Na'er and Tang Wulin severely underestimated Xia Yi.
Even with such a powerful soul skill, Tang Wulin was still KO'd by Xia Yi in a single punch.
Ya Li then turned back to Xia Yi and asked curiously, "What is the name of your fourth soul skill?"
Xia Yi smiled proudly and said, "Exorcism First Form!"
"Exorcism First Form! That's a great name."
Just then, Long Yeyue suddenly appeared and smiled at Xia Yi, saying,
"The Sky Phoenix Douluo has truly taken in an excellent student."
The moment she said this, many people's faces changed dramatically.
This included Yun Ming and Ya Li.
"Sister Yue..." Ya Li was about to speak, but Long Yeyue cut her off.
"Ya Li, did I say something wrong?"
Xia Yi's expression darkened slightly.
Just earlier, Leng Yaozhu had publicly called him 'husband'.
And now, Long Yeyue had suddenly brought up the fact that Xia Yi was Leng Yaozhu's student.
This was an extremely sinister move.
She was clearly trying to use public opinion to suppress both Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu.
It was a strategic attack—after all, Leng Yaozhu herself had publicly acknowledged Xia Yi as her student.
And Xia Yi had indeed referred to himself as Leng Yaozhu's student in public before.
These were undeniable facts.
Previously, they were master and disciple, and now, they were husband and wife.
On top of that, there was a huge age gap between them.
If the narrative was manipulated correctly, people would start believing that Leng Yaozhu had seduced a younger man.
This could completely destroy Leng Yaozhu's reputation.
Xia Yi sneered and looked at Long Yeyue.
"And who might this wrinkled old senior be?" he asked flatly.
Long Yeyue gritted her teeth and replied,
"I am the Light-Dark Douluo, an Ultimate Douluo."
Although Xia Yi's words made her want to tear him apart, she didn't lose her temper.
She was in the right, and getting angry would only make her seem guilty.
"Oh, so it's the Light-Dark Douluo?" Xia Yi nodded and suddenly turned to Ya Li, giving her a sharp glare.
Then, he said, "Sister Ya Li, this is your fault."
"The Light-Dark Douluo is the wife of the Heaven Blessed Douluo, which means she is also your teacher's wife.
Yet, you called her 'Sister'—are you saying she isn't worthy of being your teacher's wife? Shouldn't you apologize to her?"
Both Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu knew that because of their identity and age gap, even if there had been no prior master-disciple relationship, being together would still cause a lot of trouble.
And the place most likely to cause trouble was Shrek Academy.
After all, Leng Yaozhu had seriously damaged Shrek Academy in the past.
There was no doubt that someone in Shrek would eventually stand up to attack them.
Xia Yi's return to Shrek was specifically to resolve these problems.
The night before, Leng Yaozhu had told him about several key figures in Shrek Academy who held grudges against the Spirit Pagoda.
The first name on the list was Long Yeyue.
Xia Yi had already expected her to be the first one to stir up trouble.
But of all people, she was the worst one to try and pick a fight with him.
For Xia Yi, she was nothing more than free experience points.
"I..." Yali's lips twitched slightly. She knew that when it came to verbal sparring, Xia Yi was an expert.
But she never expected that the matter would involve her.
For a moment, she was caught in a dilemma.
Calling Long Yeyue "Shiniang" (Martial Aunt/Master's Wife)? Not a chance.
Even Yun Ming had never called her that.
She knew better than anyone about the relationship between Long Yeyue and the Celestial Gaze Douluo.
But if she didn't call her that, wouldn't she be walking right into Xia Yi's trap?
And given that Xia Yi dared to bring this up, it meant he was already aware of the relationships between Long Yeyue, Celestial Gaze Douluo, and Chen Xinjie.
Even if she did call Long Yeyue "Shiniang," Xia Yi would still find a way to continue verbally attacking Long Yeyue.