Chapter 125 Xiao Wu's identity is revealed, Tang Hao appears
Inside the rest area, the atmosphere remained as stagnant and oppressive as a still pond.
Flander saw it all and felt deeply pained.
He took a deep breath, deliberately forced a relaxed and mercenary smile, and clapped his hands loudly:
"Alright, alright! Stop looking so gloomy! Losing the game isn't like losing your lives. When have we Shrek Academy ever been afraid of losing?"
He grabbed Tang San and Oscar by the shoulders, forcefully changing the subject:
"Let's go to the plaza and take a look. Even though the championship isn't ours, we should at least see what treasures the Spirit Hall has brought out as prizes. After the awards ceremony, we'll head back to Heaven Dou City. I'll treat you all to a good meal—we'll drink until we drop!"
With Flander dragging them along, the Shrek group had no choice but to muster their strength and return to the square in front of the Papal Palace.
At this moment, the light of glory was gathering on the seven members of the Spirit Hall team in the square.
Pope Bibi Dong stood solemnly on the high platform, holding her scepter.
Before her, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, Yan, and Zhu Zhuqing knelt on one knee.
Four soul bones, shimmering with a captivating glow, lay quietly in a red brocade platter.
"You are the pride of the Spirit Hall."
Bibi Dong's voice was majestic and sacred as she personally bestowed the soul bones, representing glory, upon the group.
When her gaze swept over Zhu Zhuqing, she even revealed a rare hint of appreciative smile.
Watching this scene from below the stage, Dai Mubai's fingernails dug deeply into his palms.
His former fiancée was now basking in the glory of the enemy, while they could only look up at her from below as the defeated.
"Alright, let's go."
As soon as the awards ceremony ended, Flander, not wanting to further upset the children, turned around and told everyone to leave.
However, just as the Shrek group turned around and took a few steps,
"Wait a moment."
A clear, calm, yet irresistibly authoritative voice drifted down from the high platform, instantly freezing the air in the entire square.
Bibi Dong lightly tapped the ground with her scepter, her gaze sweeping over the crowd and locking onto the pink-clad figure in the Shrek team who was trying to hide at the very back of the group.
"The others can leave."
Bibi Dong raised her hand, her slender fingers pointing distantly, her voice suddenly turning cold:
"But she must stay."
The Shrek team paused in their tracks.
Flander and Liu Erlong almost instinctively flashed forward and stood in front of Xiao Wu.
"Your Holiness, what is the meaning of this?" Flander frowned, but did not back down despite facing the Pope. "Our students have already lost the competition. It doesn't seem to violate the rules of the competition if they leave now, does it?"
"rule?"
Bibi Dong's lips curled into a mocking smile:
"If it's a human Soul Master, then of course they can come and go as they please. But what if... it's a transformed Soul Beast?"
These words caused an uproar among the tens of thousands of Soul Masters present.
"What? A soul beast?"
"A transformed soul beast has infiltrated the finals?!"
Flander and Zhao Wuji's expressions changed drastically, and they instinctively wanted to refute.
But when they turned around and saw Xiao Wu's pale, trembling face, all the words stuck in their throats.
Bibi Dong's phoenix eyes gleamed with greed and coldness as she slowly and deliberately tore away the last veil of pretense:
"It's really strange that a 100,000-year-old soul beast dares to come here."
"boom--!"
This message was like a depth charge, instantly detonating the entire scene.
A 100,000-year-old soul beast! That's a legendary treasure that's incredibly rare and hard to come by!
All eyes instantly shifted from doubt to naked greed and shock, focusing entirely on the trembling girl.
The other members of the Shrek Seven Devils were also completely stunned.
They looked at their partners, with whom they had spent every day, in disbelief.
"Xiao Wu... is a soul beast?" Dai Mubai's eyes widened.
"How is this possible…" Oscar muttered to himself.
But in the face of the Pope's accusations, any defense seemed weak and powerless.
In this desperate situation, where everyone is watching and condemning them, they are the ones who are most concerned.
A slightly thin but exceptionally determined figure silently pushed aside Flander, who was blocking her way, and walked step by step to Xiao Wu's side.
He spread his arms and, with his not-yet-fully-recovered body, shielded the trembling girl behind him.
Tang San looked up and, upon hearing that Xiao Wu was a 100,000-year-old soul beast, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted; he also wanted a 100,000-year-old soul ring and soul bone.
But when he thought about how Xiao Wu liked him, and since they were all his anyway, of course he had to protect them.
Those pair of purple demonic eyes stared directly at Bibi Dong without fear, their voices resounding and powerful:
"What does it matter if she's human or beast?"
Why should you get to decide everything?
Bibi Dong looked at the stubborn young man in front of her, and laughed in anger.
"Okay. Very good."
Normally, she might just treat Tang San as a joke.
But just now on the arena, she saw the Clear Sky Hammer with her own eyes, and she saw the terrifying twin martial soul talent on this young man.
A remnant of the Clear Sky Sect. A genius with twin martial souls. A disciple with intricate connections to Yu Xiaogang, the one who annoys her.
If he is allowed to leave alive, he will surely become a major threat to the Spirit Hall in the future.
Bibi Dong was originally thinking of finding a reason to get rid of this potential threat, but unexpectedly, Tang San handed her the hilt of his sword.
"Tang San, you're courting death."
Bibi Dong's killing intent surged instantly, pressing down on Tang San like the collapse of the heavens and the earth:
"As a human Soul Master, he colluded with Soul Beasts and even openly protected a transformed monster!"
Her scepter slammed down heavily, and a golden halo instantly spread out, enveloping all the Shrek members. Her voice was as cold as if it came from the deepest hell:
"To harbor a soul beast is a grave crime of betraying humanity!"
"Since you wish to be buried with me, then I will grant your wish!"
"Guards! Kill this beast and this human traitor on the spot!"
With Bibi Dong's command, countless Spirit Hall knights in armor surged forward like a tide. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, who had been holding back for a long time, transformed into two streaks of light and headed straight for Tang San and Xiao Wu.
A shadow of despair loomed over the Shrek Academy members.
However, just as that fatal soul skill was about to land...
"Boom—!"
A thunderclap, seemingly from the horizon, suddenly resounded above the Papal Palace.
Immediately afterwards, a powerful, domineering voice, filled with boundless rage and desolation, rolled in like a divine judgment, shattering the drifting clouds:
"A chrysanthemum and a little devil, how dare they hurt my son?!"
A massive, jet-black hammer, seemingly capable of blotting out the sun, descended from the sky with a terrifying force capable of shattering the void, and crashed heavily onto the plaza in front of the Papal Palace!
"roll!!!"
The air surged, and Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression changed drastically. He was forced back dozens of meters by this brute force.
A figure as majestic as a mountain slowly landed in front of Tang San.
His tattered black robe and messy stubble couldn't conceal his domineering and arrogant aura.
Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao!
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[end of the chapter]