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Zhao Wuji remained silent. With him around, a Soul King couldn't stir up much trouble.
Lately, Dai Mubai and the others had been causing too much mischief. Letting them suffer a bit might not be such a bad thing.
If they ever provoked someone they shouldn't have, the entire Shrek Academy would have to pay the price for their actions.
With that thought, Zhao Wuji glanced subtly at Lan Minghua.
Lan Minghua noticed his look and rolled his eyes.
"If you want to look, do it openly. Why sneak glances like some petty little lady?"
But Old Zhao has realized how serious the situation is. If they really mess with the wrong person, the whole of Shrek will be dragged down with them.
At that moment, the hotel owner forced himself to step forward. "Dear honored soul masters, I beg you, please don't fight in my little establishment. It's just a small business, a humble livelihood…"
Although Ye Zhiqiu was seething with anger, he hadn't lost his reason.
If he tarnished Canghui Academy's reputation, the consequences would fall squarely on him.
By then, Headmaster Shi Nian of Canghui wouldn't let him off easily.
"If you've got the guts, come outside. The boss's small business can't handle this kind of chaos. But if you don't dare, just admit you're cowards and act like the worthless trash you are."
With that, Ye Zhiqiu laughed heartily and walked toward the door.
Ma Hongjun and the others—self-proclaimed geniuses and monsters—were infuriated at being called trash.
"You old bastard, don't think being a Soul King makes you all that! Just wait, this young master will crush you!"
Ma Hongjun was all talk, but his body didn't move an inch.
Clearly, he was scared.
Those words weren't aimed at Ye Zhiqiu or anyone else in the restaurant—they were for Zhao Wuji to hear.
He was hoping Zhao Wuji would take action against Ye Zhiqiu, the Soul King.
Lan Minghua watched Ma Hongjun with a smirk. There was no way he couldn't see through such a cheap trick.
Zhao Wuji, too, looked helpless. He'd already intended to step in when Dai Mubai was sent flying.
But a single glare from Lan Minghua had stopped him in his tracks.
Outside the hotel, Ye Zhiqiu fixed his gaze mockingly on Dai Mubai.
His look said it all: Looks like your people are all cowards, huh?
He sneered openly, "Admit it. You're nothing but spineless cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong. Tuck your tails and live like good-for-nothings."
Faced with Ye Zhiqiu's taunts, Ma Hongjun ignored him, calmly eating his hot food.
In truth, he was panicking inside, wondering why Zhao Wuji hadn't come down yet.
Lan Minghua couldn't hide the amusement on his face. "Keep waiting. Go on. Old Zhao's not coming. I really want to see how you clean up this mess."
Other patrons in the restaurant began pointing fingers at Ma Hongjun and Tang San.
Ma Hongjun had a thick skin and could tolerate it, but Tang San couldn't.
In a flash, Tang San's eyes turned cold as he slowly scanned the room.
"To mock me as trash… You have already chosen your path to death."
Though he had lived two lifetimes, he was only in his twenties in total—still young and hot-blooded.
He had some maturity, but not much.
Tang San deeply cared about how others saw him.
Lan Minghua saw the killing intent flicker in Tang San's eyes and scoffed.
"Typical double standard. When someone offends him, it's a death sentence. But when he offends others, it's righteous and justified."
He was still too green—not like a certain celestial lord who had long since abandoned the gaze of the mundane.
Tang San then stood up confidently and walked out, with Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun following behind.
After all, they were the ones who had caused the trouble—none of them could escape responsibility.
Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing, however, didn't budge. They just kept eating their meals.
Ning Rongrong was indecisive, swaying like a blade of grass in the wind.
The onlookers didn't understand why Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong weren't joining the fight.
But no one mocked them.
After all, they hadn't been involved in the incident at all.
Oscar had already been publicly ridiculed—the fact that he didn't start an internal argument was already a sign of great restraint.
Up on the second floor, Lan Minghua stroked his stubble and squinted at Tang San.
"So confident? Could it be that he's created something even stronger than the Zhuge Divine Crossbow?"
You couldn't blame him for thinking that. Tang San was an opportunist.
He wouldn't take action unless he was confident of the outcome.
This was evident from his two returns to the Clear Sky Sect in the original story:
At level 59: "My father's fault—I'll take responsibility."
At level 93: "My father was never wrong. You were."
So clearly, Tang San wouldn't act without being sure of victory.
Lan Minghua was also curious to see what hidden trump card Tang San had.
If his strongest weapon was still just the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, then he could still be used as a whetstone for Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing.
A good whetstone is hard to find.
Lan Minghua watched the situation outside the hotel, content to be a bystander.
Outside, Dai Mubai and the others couldn't gain the upper hand against Ye Zhiqiu.
Tang San's weaker hidden weapons couldn't break through Ye Zhiqiu's defenses.
In fact, due to Yu Xiaogang's flawed theory that the Black Tortoise Spirit had no offensive capability, they suffered heavy losses.
Dai Mubai was blasted away again—this time coughing up blood.
Ma Hongjun didn't fare much better—he took a punch to the stomach and vomited everything he had just eaten.
Xiao Wu repeatedly found herself in danger. If not for Tang San secretly covering her, she likely would've been injured as well.
There were too many people watching. Tang San couldn't find a good moment to reveal the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.
After all, he understood the principle: a treasured jade invites theft.
If others discovered that a mere Soul Grandmaster could defeat a Soul King with a weapon, it would definitely attract dangerous attention.
Without the support of his hidden weapons, he had no choice but to keep dodging.
Lan Minghua was a little disappointed. Without pressure, there was no way to force Tang San to use his stronger hidden weapons.
"Old Zhao, send a voice transmission to Oscar and Zhuqing. Tell them to step in. Say it's for the sake of Shrek's reputation."
Zhao Wuji didn't ask why and directly used his soul power to relay the message.
Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing were reluctant, but they still chose to act.
Their motivation was purely to protect Shrek Academy's reputation.
Lan Minghua's goal, however, wasn't to defend Shrek's reputation—it was to use this opportunity to force Tang San's hand.
How?
Simple.
If Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing performed better than him against Ye Zhiqiu, Tang San would definitely feel the urge to outperform them.
At that point, he would either use the Clear Sky Hammer—or reveal an even more powerful hidden weapon.
Because with just his two Blue Silver Grass skills, he couldn't possibly shine in this fight.
Outside the hotel, the battle was drawing to a close. Ye Zhiqiu still had the upper hand over the four, but he felt completely humiliated.
"You forced me into this. Careful now—try not to die!"
Before his voice even faded, Ye Zhiqiu's fourth soul ring lit up.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Blackwater Whirlpool!"
He slammed both palms into the ground. A massive whirlpool spread out from his feet, instantly engulfing Dai Mubai and the others.
A powerful suction dragged the four in. Tang San felt like his feet were trapped in a quagmire—he couldn't move.
Before they could react, Ye Zhiqiu's fifth soul ring flared.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Black Tortoise Fissure!"
Ye Zhiqiu stomped hard on the ground. A crack split open before Dai Mubai and the others, and black water shot out.
In an instant, the water froze into sharp ice spikes that fired straight at them.
Due to the suction from the Blackwater Whirlpool, the four had no chance to dodge.
At that critical moment, a golden glow appeared, shielding them from the ice spikes with a series of metallic clangs.
Dai Mubai saw Oscar standing in front of him and grunted, "Hmph! I didn't ask you to save me!"
Oscar didn't even look back. "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't act to save you."
"Then why did you act?!" Dai Mubai roared, feeling humiliated.
Oscar didn't respond to him. Calmly, he said, "Just to let everyone know—not all of Shrek consists of troublemakers like you. That's all."
Hearing this, the faces of Dai Mubai and the others turned livid. They wished they could crawl into a hole.
They were the ones who caused the trouble, and now others had to clean up their mess.
They really were… weak and loved to cause trouble.
(End of Chapter)