Douluo: No one but me can become a god.

A short while later, Flander, having calmed down, coughed (showing the airs of a dean):

"But don't be careless. Hongjun is my personal disciple. Don't underestimate him just because he's only a level 21 Great Soul Master. You should know about his Martial Soul; it's a top-tier beast Martial Soul, extremely powerful. Moreover, the three of them are working together. Are you really that confident you can defeat them?"

"And you actually want to challenge Zhao Wuji? Hahaha, you're pretty arrogant, kid. But I like it. I'm getting more and more excited for your duel. Let's go back to Shrek."

Flander waved his hand eagerly, wanting to witness this battle.

Oscar, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun stared at Sikong Zheng in disbelief, feeling deeply hurt. They were left far behind by someone their own age, and even by someone younger than them, who had left them in the dust and disappeared from sight.

If they say they're not jealous, they're just fooling themselves; they don't even believe it themselves.

However, upon hearing that Sikong Zhengyao was going to take on three people at once, they felt even more resentful. How dare he look down on them like that? They would teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget.

Although they can't compare to you, at least they are monsters in other people's eyes, and they're not as pathetic as you think.

The three of them exchanged a glance and nodded in unison; this was their last act of defiance.

When they returned to Shrek Academy from the Star Dou Great Forest, it was nearly noon the next day.

On the way back, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun were often seen gathered together in the taverns where they rested.

Whenever Sikong Zheng approached, they would immediately fall silent, looking at him with smiles, appearing mysterious.

A bunch of idiots, how could Sikong Zheng not understand that they were studying tactics to deal with him?

He didn't care about this at all, letting them study it as they pleased. The outcome of this battle was already decided before it even began.

The fight with those three was just a warm-up; the one I really needed to deal with was Zhao Wuji.

...............

"Zhao Wuji, Zhao Wuji, hurry to the academy square to assemble!" Flander shouted impatiently as soon as he entered Shrek Academy.

Zhao Wuji was leisurely sunbathing on his shabby chair when he heard Flander's shout. Although puzzled, he immediately set off.

A short while later, Zhao Wuji leaped over from a distance and landed on the square. "What's up, Flander?"

Zhao Wuji strode over with his arms crossed and head held high, speaking in a muffled voice.

"Hehehe, it's not that I have something to do, it's that this kid wants to cause you trouble," Flander said, winking and looking at Zhao Wuji with a mocking expression.

"Oh? You're causing me trouble? What's going on?" Zhao Wuji glanced at the person involved, then looked at Flander with a puzzled expression, waiting for his explanation.

Flander immediately relayed to Zhao Wuji what Sikong Zheng had said in the Starry Sky Forest.

"Hahahaha," Zhao Wuji laughed heartily, his muscles trembling, staring intently at Sikong Zheng.

"You're pretty arrogant, kid. Looks like you didn't get enough of a beating last time. Fine, I'll accept your challenge, but first you have to defeat those three and see if you're qualified."

As he spoke, Zhao Wuji took a few steps back, giving them space to fight.

The stubborn trio formed a battle formation, with Oscar standing at the back, holding a large sausage in each hand, while Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai stood at the front, facing Sikong Zheng directly.

Despite their resentment, the three of them remained vigilant, staring intently at Sikong Zheng.

Whew, warm-up exercises are here. Sikong Zheng put his hand on his neck and twisted his head from side to side, his bones making a cracking sound. He revealed a sinister and terrifying smile (thinking he was terrifying).

With a smug smile on his face, Sikong Zheng clenched his fists and slowly took a few steps forward. With each step, a spirit ring rose up. After taking three steps, three spirit rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—were revealed, and Sikong Zheng stood at the center of the spirit rings.

"Sikong Zheng, Martial Soul: Divine Tree, Level 35 Control-type Soul Master, please enlighten me."

Sikong Zheng extended his left hand forward and placed his right hand behind his back, gesturing for him to enter.

Dai Mubai's blond hair fluttered in the wind, and his eyes had four pupils. In terms of looks alone, Sikong Zheng was inferior to him. Dai Mubai gave a light shout:

"Brothers, activate your martial spirits, White Tiger, possess them!"

A strong, pale white light suddenly burst forth from his body. Dai Mubai stretched his arms out to the sides at the same time, his chest puffed out, his bones cracked and popped, and his muscles suddenly expanded, straining his clothes.

Every muscle was clearly visible beneath his clothes, and even the air around him seemed to have become frenzied.

Two yellow, century-old spirit rings then rose up.

"Phoenix, possess me!" Ma Hongjun's purplish-red feathers appeared on his arms, and his hands became extremely sharp. Combined with his small eyes, short hair, and round body, he did not have the magnificence of a phoenix at this moment, but instead looked extremely comical.

As soon as Ma Hongjunyou activated his martial soul, he went all out. It was unclear whether this was part of their planned tactics. "Second Soul Skill - Phoenix Reborn in Flames".

Suddenly, Ma Hongjun's body burst into purple-red flames, and with his entire body engulfed in purple-red flames, Ma Hongjun's power increased greatly as he charged towards Sikong Zheng's left.

At the same time, Dai Mubai, like a tiger, suddenly burst forth and rushed towards Sikong Zheng's right side, wanting to form a pincer attack with Ma Hongjun, meet up in front of Sikong Zheng, and defeat Sikong Zheng with thunderous force.

Ah, I see. Having discerned their intentions, Sikong Zheng didn't presume to be arrogant. He clapped his hands and shouted:

"Third Soul Skill - Descent from the Tree Realm"

A giant tree rose from the ground, instantly lifting Sikong Zheng into the air. More and more giant trees sprouted from the ground, abruptly halting the momentum of Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai's charge.

Thick tree roots from all directions lashed out at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun like agile, winding pythons.

Unable to escape the giant tree's obstruction, the two had no choice but to abandon their tactics. The thick tree roots lashed at them like a storm, forcing them to passively defend themselves and dodge the blows.

Dai Mubai shouted loudly, feeling extremely frustrated, "Fatty, let's regroup first, then we'll think of another way."

From the other side of the giant tree barrier, a reply came: "Okay."

The two, who had been retreating while defending against attacks from the trees, finally managed to reunite. By this time, they were completely surrounded by trees. Once trapped in this tree-lined territory, the enemy would be at their mercy.

"Phew, Boss Dai, you didn't..."

Ma Hongjun's arms were slightly red, and he had two conspicuous red marks on his back. He looked at Dai Mubai with heavy breathing, but stopped midway through his sentence.

He wanted to say, "Boss Dai, are you alright?"

When he saw Dai Mubai's tattered clothes, he knew the outcome.

The square had now become a dense forest. In the center of the treetops, on the branch of a tall tree, one could have a panoramic view of the entire area.

Sikong Zheng stood on a thick tree branch, his legs crossed and leaning at an angle. One hand was casually propped up on the trunk, while the other hand held a sausage and took small bites. Beside him was a slender figure.

That's right, the person next to him at this moment was none other than Oscar, the sausage shop owner.

Halfway through the battle, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were already restrained by the tree manipulated by Sikong Zheng, and the two were too busy to care about Oscar.

While they were locked in a fierce battle with the trees, Sikong Zheng manipulated the tree roots to tie Oscar up. As a food-type character, Oscar was captured without any power to resist.

Thus, the current bondage play scene came about. Oscar's legs were pressed back, his heels pressed tightly against his buttocks, and he was firmly tied with tree branches, hanging down next to Sikong Zheng, watching the battle in the distance with Sikong Zheng.

Oscar saw the disheveled state of the two men in the distance and knew that the outcome was already decided.

Oscar smiled wryly and said, "Xiao Zheng, put me down! I surrender," looking helplessly at Sikong Zheng.

Sikong Zheng turned his head and teased, "Oh, you've figured it out? You should have said so earlier."

After saying that, he snapped his fingers, and the branch slowly loosened, placing Oscar steadily on the thick branch that Sikong Zheng had stepped on, so that he could stand side by side with Sikong Zheng.

He chuckled and looked at Oscar. "Here, have a sausage," he said, handing the sausage to Oscar.

Oscar looked at Sikong Zheng with resentment, like a wronged little wife, and took the sausage from him.

Sikong Zheng laughed heartily and put his hands on Oscar's shoulders. "Come on, let's go and admire it up close."

After he finished speaking, the tree beneath his feet grew again, winding its way through the forest like a serpent.