Tang Wulin stood in the middle of the stage atop the Sea God's Lake, fury blazing in his eyes as he stared at Sheng Feilong. The latter was facing Tang Wulin with an indifferent gaze, his eyes cold and seemingly not putting the leader of the current generation's Shrek Seven Monsters in his eyes.
Sheng Feilong's question still echoed in the ears of the surrounding crowd, many of them gnashing their teeth or clenching their fists, angered that Sheng Feilong dared to insult Shrek's honour – their own honour – so brazenly.
Without even replying to the questions, Tang Wulin's Soul Power slowly rose and his gaze was becoming colder. The blazing anger was reigned in; Clearly showing how much control Tang Wulin had over his own emotions. He wouldn't let them affect him in a battle where he was put in a situation as dire as when facing Sheng Feilong.
Although he didn't fear the latter, he also couldn't gauge his strength. Still, the explosive force of Sheng Feilong's Soul Power when he attacked Xie Xie at the end was enough to make him cautious.Tang Wulin's Soul Power continued to rise, finally exploding out of him as thick vines of the Bluesilver Emperor started sprouting around him.
Sheng Feilong looked at Tang Wulin and let him prepare himself without making any move. Clearly, Tang Wulin wouldn't back down now and was completely serious in his want to fight, yet Sheng Feilong couldn't help but shake his head with a sneer when he saw his 'opponents' preparations, then turned around again.
Before he could take a step forward, Tang Wulin's angry shout echoed through the area again. "You think you can just leave after injuring Xie Xie and insulting Shrek?!" Sheng Feilong sighed in annoyance, then faced Tang Wulin again with a displeased frown, yet mocking expression at the same time on his face. "You think you can stop me?"
Tang Wulin's Soul Power as a low ranked Soul Ancestor wasn't enough to make Sheng Feilong break even the slightest sweat, yet he couldn't help but want to fight Tang Wulin as well; The latter's self-righteous attitude and utter fearlessness were what captured Sheng Feilong's interest.
Without even thinking much, Sheng Feilong's sneer turned into a low chuckle and he began moving towards Tang Wulin. "I'm really curious now, Tang Wulin. You, a measly Soul Ancestor, want to fight me after seeing how effortlessly I defeated Xie Xie? Fight me, to defend Shrek's honour? Didn't you listen to me before? They abandoned you at the Star Luo Continent. If it wasn't for Yehui and the others pleading to continue their stay, they would have returned without even looking for you at all."
His frown deepened, only now realizing how displeased he was with Tang Wulin as a person rather than just by the situation. "Heck, if it wasn't for me confronting Cai Yue'er before, she wouldn't have even let the others take revenge for you after Long Yue nearly killed you. From start to finish, they lost every ounce of interest in you and anyone else as soon as they showed even the slightest weakness or lost the slightest worth, yet you wag your tail for them as if they were some grand and holy beacon."
Again, Tang Wulin didn't answer, but the anger suppressed in his heart slowly surfaced in his eyes again. Sheng Feilong didn't miss that, his expression turning into an even more mocking smirk while his eyes remained cold. "Struck a nerve now, did I? Very well, it seems you won't talk it out. But at least tell me this: Are you truly that delusional, or do you simply hate me for whatever Gu Yue told you 'really' happened after the tournament?"
Under the constant provocation, Tang Wulin lost his cool after all, refuting Sheng Feilong with another angry shout. "Shut your damned mouth!" His fists were clenched tightly and the killing intent radiating off of him was growing by the second, to which Sheng Feilong only sneered again. "I see. Then, there's nothing more to talk about. I really wonder how long you'll be able to last..."
He took a step forward, his Soul Power exploding out of his body and continuously rising with each consecutive step. Tang Wulin, who took the brunt of the pressure felt his heart tighten, but he didn't back down, much to the surprise of Sheng Feilong, who once again sneered. "Still so courageous? Then, how about we take this a bit more serious?"
The Soul Power around Sheng Feilong once again rose and with the next step and black Soul Ring started swirling around his body, nearly doubling the pressure on Tang Wulin and the surroundings. With each new step, another pitch black Soul Ring appeared around his body, increasing the pressure further and further.
Before, Gu Yue, Yue Zhengyu and the others were still confident in Tang Wulin's strength, yet now, their confidence wavered; All of Sheng Feilong's were black. Only one at first, then two, three, four, leading up to a total of six pitch black, 10.000-years-old Soul Rings, shocking them to their cores.
Sheng Feilong continued walking forwards, the pressure around him ever increasing, yet no more Soul Rings appeared, causing the surrounding crowd to have a slither of hope left. Sheng Feilong looked at Tang Wulin's stone cold, hardened expression and sneered. "Still not scared? Admirably, really, but..."
He took another step forward, stomping onto the ground and causing the ever increasing pressure surrounding him suddenly chaotically exploding as the arena was bathed in a blood-red light. Above Sheng Feilong's other Soul Rings, another one appeared, illuminating the whole area while the pressure suddenly multiplied many-fold. "We're still only getting started!"
It was as if time stopped at that moment. The crowd of people surrounding the Sea God's Lake and even Lan Muzi and Tang Tingmeng, two powerful Soul Douluo's suddenly froze when Sheng Feilong's red Soul Ring appeared. Many people knew he was a Soul saint before as he went into a stand-off with Long Yue, yet how could they expect something like this?
Long Yue was already considered a monster; He displayed his Soul Rings during the first round of the Fated Date Festival – A total of three purple, 1.000-years-old Soul Rings and four 10.000-years-old ones. Yet, Sheng Feilong, who was many years younger, didn't have a single purple Soul Ring, but instead six black, 10.000-years-old ones and even a blood-red, 100.000-years-old one; Was this even humanly possible any more?!
Tang Wulin's face was similarly ashed. The suppressive force of Sheng Feilong's Soul Rings was enough to make him unable to control his own Bluesilver Emperor well enough to fight. He gnashed his teeth, staring into Sheng Feilong's cold eyes as bright golden dragon scales started appearing on his arms, chest and neck.
The four Soul Rings behind Tang Wulin's back vanished and a golden light exploded out of him as another pair of four Soul Rings appeared; All of them of a bright golden colour and much bigger than his previous ones. The pressure Sheng Feilong radiated was forced back a bit, giving Tang Wulin enough room to breath and once again take control of his own strength.
Sheng Feilong could feel Tang Wulin's bloodline power rising to resist the pressure of his Soul Power; Compared to three years ago, it had become much more powerful – So much so, that Sheng Feilong guessed that Tang Wulin would be able to beat the current Long Yue, despite his vastly inferior cultivation level. Moreover, there are now four of the strange, golden Soul Rings as opposed to the two from when he fought Long Yue.
Still, Sheng Feilong didn't bother with these thought for long. He stared Tang Wulin down, who was now stoically staring back at him, his confidence in his strength renewed. Sheng Feilong's expression didn't change, yet the pressure radiating off of him multiplied again, causing Tang Wulin's body to shake. "I told you, didn't I? That things are just getting started."
With these words, his eyes' pale golden colour turned to a much darker shade of gold and a red runic symbol appeared on his forehead. A golden haze seems to surround his eyes, while a massive figure emerged behind him; Clad in loose golden robes, with long, similarly golden hair flowing behind its back.
The same runic symbols that appeared on Sheng Feilong's forehead appeared on its arms and chest; It's eyes being of the same golden colour as Sheng Feilong's as well. Both, Sheng Feilong and the golden giant, coldly stared down at Tang Wulin, their gazes alone causing the latter's mind to shake.
Golden light radiating from the floating giant bathed the whole area, including the skies above the Sea God's Lake; The crowd was in awe and shock alike, all of them staring at the stage with wide eyes. Lan Muzi and Tang Tingmeng, who still floated in the air, were shocked even more; They were unable to draw in any origin energy from the surroundings, causing them to suddenly fall a few metres out of the sky before they stabilized themselves using their own Soul Power.
Even further up, Yun Ming and the Sea God's Pavilion's Elders stared at the scene below in shock, before turning their gazes to the ever smiling She Meixiao, who refused to say a single word. Before Yun Ming could question her, though, Sheng Feilong's voice rumbled through Shrek Academy's Inner Court.
Staring at Tang Wulin, Sheng Feilong didn't even bother to sneer anymore; He spoke, though his voice sounding utterly apathetic, the biting cold within bare for anyone to feel. "I've had enough of your silly games, Tang Wulin." The latter snapped out of his daze, staring up in shock, before being hit with in insane pressure after Sheng Feilong mumbled another, single word. "Kneel."
The eyes of the Radiant Emperor True Avatar flashed in response to the command Sheng Feilong uttered. Although it was only aimed at Tang Wulin, everyone in the crowd felt their knees go weak; Their faces paled from just the residue power of the command.
Tang Wulin's eyes constricted; His fast ghastly white as he body shook. His powerful Dragon bloodline was reacting to the sudden increase of pressure and furiously trying to resist it, yet this only brought Tang Wulin more anguish.
He gnashed his teeth and his whole body started screaming and shaking from the pain. Sheng Feilong continued to stare at him, as did the Radiant Emperor True Avatar – True to its name; Staring down like an Emperor and suppressing any and all resistance. Without even having to lift an arm as he did when he tried against Song Weihan, the command that Sheng Feilong gave alone was already enough to deal with Tang Wulin.
The ground beneath the latter cracked from the sheer force before his knees finally gave in, forcing him to kneel on the ground. With a thunderous crash, Tang Wulin became embedded into the ground for a few centimetres, still bitterly trying to resist the crushing pressure.
Yet, it didn't end there; After his knees gave in, the pressure didn't lessen in the slightest, instead forcing him to bow at the waist, now kneeling on the ground on all fours. The muscles on his scaled arms bloated, the veins visible from the sheer force he brought up to resist Sheng Feilong, yet it still wasn't enough.
Tang Wulin released and incredibly angry, dragon-like roar filled with desperation and anguish alike before his forehead finally crashed onto the ground; He had been forced to kneel on all fours, doing a full kowtow towards Sheng Feilong with a single word!
His body was shaking in anger and unwillingness and he was still roaring like a maddened beast, yet Sheng Feilong didn't care; The pressure and command he gave through his Radiant Emperor True Avatar were absolute. Sheng Feilong once again started walking towards Tang Wulin with an indifferent expression.
Stopping in front of the Tang Wulin, he slowly lifted his right foot, lightly placing it on the back of Tang Wulin's head before speaking down to the latter in a casual voice. "Do you see now? This is where you belong; This is where your blind faith in Shrek Academy and your ridiculous self-righteousness lead you."
Before he could do anything else, four powerful auras exploded out from the sides of the stage and a massive fireball, fuelled by Soul Power, flew towards Sheng Feilong. Glancing to the side, he blocked it by using his own Soul Power as a shield. The exploding fireball slowly vanished, revealing Sheng Feilong fully unharmed, yet he jumped back the next second.
Not even a moment later, two powerful sword slashes cut through the air where he just stood. The rest of the exploding fireball's smoke vanished, revealing five more people; Yue Zhengyu and Ye Xinglan – with their Holy Angel Sword and Stargod Sword drawn and vicious expressions on their faces - at the front and Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan – One half kneeling next to Tang Wulin and the other standing with her Starwheel Staff on the other side – both with similarly angered expressions.
Sheng Feilong's expression didn't change. He saw Gu Yue helping Tang Wulin up, not bothering to keep the command for the Radiant Emperor True Avatar active, before being fed a steamed bun from Xu Lizhi by Gu Yue; With that, five of Shrek's Seven Monsters stood on the stage opposite of him, with the sixth, Xie Xie, still unconscious, that left only one more.
The same apathetic expression grazing his face, Sheng Feilong turned to the side from which the jumped towards him, looking and Jiang Wang, who, upon meeting his gaze, showed a conflicted expression before ascending the stage as well. Now, Sheng Feilong stood opposite of six of the Seven Monsters, all of which came together this time to defeat him.
After eating the steamed bun, Tang Wulin stood up again, staring at Sheng Feilong as well. His expression was ice cold, but all prior emotions are gone; Replaced by pure resentment against Sheng Feilong. All six of them radiated an intense battle lust and killing intent, while their Soul Powers surged, ready to jump into action at any moment.
Sheng Feilong's face remained expressionless, yet his aura calmed down. The Radiant Emperor True Avatar turned translucent before completely vanishing, allowing everyone control over the surrounding origin energy again. However, before they could become accustomed to the change, Sheng Feilong started speaking again. "Six versus one? Now that's a bit of a precarious situation. Should we wait for Xie Xie to wake up; I don't want anyone running their mouths about this being unfair, after all."