Chapter 51 – The Shamelessness of the 'Monsters'
The red and blue mists of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well swirled lazily as the Shrek group reached the inner sanctuary. Tang San stood at the front, his eyes darting toward the Yearning Heartbroken Red and other immortal herbs with a hunger that bordered on madness.
Dugu Bo sat on a rock, idly cleaning his fingernails. "You've entered a private residence without an invitation. Give me one reason why I shouldn't turn you into fertilizer."
Yu Scumgang stepped forward, his face molded into a mask of false righteousness. "Senior Dugu, we come here not for ourselves, but for the world! This land is a miracle of nature. To keep it for yourself is a crime against the entire Spirit Master community. As the 'Grandmaster,' I have a duty to ensure these resources are shared with the worthy."
Dugu Bo let out a sharp, barking laugh. "The worthy? You mean your six students and your own Rank 29 bottleneck? Your 'duty' smells remarkably like greed, Scumgang."
Tang San stepped up, adopting a classic, arrogant stance. "Senior, don't be so quick to dismiss us. I can see it in your eyes... the green tint in your hair. You are being poisoned by your own Jade Phosphor Serpent. Your very power is your death sentence. And your granddaughter, Dugu Yan... she is next."
He paused, waiting for the look of horror that never came. "I am the only one in this world who knows the formula to detoxify you. I will save you and your family—but in exchange, this Well and its herbs must be turned over to Shrek Academy for 'research.'"
Dugu Bo didn't move. He just looked at Tang San like he was a particularly loud insect. "Is that so? You're the only one?"
Tang San, thinking he had the upper hand, turned his back with a practiced, dramatic flourish. "If you do not value your life or your granddaughter's, then we have nothing more to say. Come, Teacher. Let us leave this stubborn man to his fate. He will realize his mistake when he is coughing up green blood."
He took three slow steps, counting on Dugu Bo to beg him to stop.
One. Two. Three.
Dugu Bo didn't say a word. He actually started whistling a tune—one of the Seven Songs of the Adarna Lakan had taught him.
Tang San froze, his face turning a bright, humiliated red. The "Cliche Walk-away" had failed miserably. He turned around, his eyes cold. "It seems you've chosen death, Senior."
"Force it is, then!" Flander yelled, unable to stomach the humiliation any longer.
"Brother! Erlong! Together!" Scumgang bellowed, his greed for the herbs finally overriding his caution.
The three of them stood in a triangle. Their soul power surged, connecting in the air to form their legendary Martial Soul Fusion. From the golden light, a dragon emerged—the Golden Holy Saint Dragon.
However, as it manifested, something was clearly off. Instead of a majestic roar, the dragon let out a low, wet, rumbling sound.
"Behold the Holy Breath!" Scumgang commanded.
The dragon opened its mouth, but instead of golden fire, it unleashed a massive, swirling cloud of yellow, pungent gas. The "Dragon's Breath" was nothing more than the concentrated farts of Luo Sanpao, amplified by the fusion's power. The entire valley began to reek of rotten eggs and desperation.
"Is this a joke?" Dugu Bo sneered, not even standing up. He simply released a wave of his Rank 93 soul power—now pure, refined, and no longer inhibited by internal rot.
"Jade Serpent's Tail: Heavenly Sweep!"
Dugu Bo didn't even use a soul skill. He just swung his arm. The sheer pressure of his soul power acted like a giant fan, blowing the "Fart Breath" back onto the Shrek Trinity.
"Gah! My eyes!" Flander choked as he was engulfed in his own team's stench.
Dugu Bo appeared in front of the "Golden Dragon" in a blur of green light. He delivered a single kick to the dragon's chin, shattering the fusion instantly. Flander, Erlong, and Scumgang were sent flying backward, crashing into the rock wall with enough force to crack their ribs.
"Get out," Dugu Bo said, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating with the authority of a Titled Douluo who had seen the true Sun. "Before I decide that your farts are a biohazard to my herbs."
The Shrek team scrambled to their feet, humiliated and gasping for fresh air. Tang San looked back at the well, his heart burning with an obsessive, dark envy.
As they reached the forest's edge, Scumgang pulled Flander and Erlong aside. "Go back with Tang San," he whispered, his eyes gleaming with a frantic, desperate hope. "I have one final card to play. The well will be ours. I promise you, by tonight, the Rank 29 wall will be a memory."
Once Tang San was out of earshot, Scumgang turned to the shadows. "Your Majesty! The weakest Titled Douluo is bullying your son's future! He is hoarding the treasures that should belong to Tang San!"
From the darkness of the trees, a massive, oppressive presence descended. Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, stepped out. His clothes were tattered, but his aura was as heavy as a mountain.
"The weakest, you say?" Tang Hao grunted, his voice full of a pride that bordered on delusion. "Dugu Bo has always been a snake without fangs. To think he would dare deny my son."
He looked toward the valley, a greedy glint in his own eyes. "Flander, Erlong, stay here. I shall return with the well. Remember... I killed the previous Pope when I had just reached Rank 90. A mere poison-user like Dugu Bo is nothing more than a worm beneath my hammer."
With a thunderous leap, Tang Hao soared toward the Yin Yang Well, his Clear Sky Hammer already manifesting in his hand, radiating the arrogance of a fallen god.
Inside the well, hidden in a pocket of distorted space, Yue Guan set down his tea.
"The big hammer has arrived," Yue Guan whispered, his silver eyes flashing with the first sparks of the Eight-Gate Overdrive. "I hope he likes the taste of his own pride... because I'm going to feed it to him."