Thinking of that, Wu Ling stretched lazily.
"Although its combat strength cannot compare to an ordinary Titled Sage, it is enough to make me take this a little seriously."
"Roar! Saint of Spirit Hall, pay the price for your arrogance!" Ethan's voice came from within the Golden Sacred Dragon. Along with a dragon roar, a vast dragon pressure bore down on Wu Ling.
Facing that dragon pressure, Wu Ling tilted his head without changing expression.
"Heh. Needing a dragon roar as the medium just to release dragon pressure. How laughable."
The dragon roar carried the dragon pressure forward. The force flattened the trees around Wu Ling. Just as Ethan was about to smile, a streak of red appeared above Wu Ling's head.
At once, the dragon pressure that struck that red light vanished into the air without raising even the slightest ripple, like a mouse meeting a cat.
When the storm and dust stirred up by the dragon pressure gradually dispersed, Ethan finally saw what that red light was.
His eyes widened. No, to be precise, everyone's eyes widened.
Because that red light was a red one-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring.
After that, six more Spirit Rings appeared around Wu Ling one after another. Two purple, two black, and two red. With every ring that appeared, everyone felt their worldview being crushed and forcibly reassembled.
The ones hit hardest were Ethan and Tang San.
One firmly believed in the data he had researched. The other firmly believed in him.
The Spirit Rings Wu Ling now displayed meant that half of Ethan's life of research had been rendered useless. At the same time, they revealed just how laughable his past confidence and pride in his theories had been.
"No... impossible. My theory cannot be wrong!"
"Disguise. Yes, you must have a Spirit Skill that disguises your rings. These are all fake!" Ethan screamed himself hoarse. He had lost control. But few people present laughed at him inwardly, because they were in turmoil too.
"Disguise? Hahaha. Ethan Drake, did all your years of research go to the dogs? Can you not tell whether this is disguise?" Wu Ling sneered.
Everyone present understood. The fact that merely revealing those Spirit Rings had blocked dragon pressure of that level proved the rings could not be fake.
But Ethan still snarled, "You... you monster! Freak! My theory was verified over decades through hundreds of people. I even searched records from a century ago. My theory is correct. I am the number one Martial Soul theorist on Soul Land. The mistake is you. You should not exist in this world!"
If Wu Ling had only surpassed the limit by a little, like Tang San in the original story, Ethan might not have lost control so badly. After all, geniuses could break records.
The problem was that Wu Ling had surpassed the limit by too much.
A thousand-year first Spirit Ring. A ten-thousand-year third Spirit Ring. A one-hundred-thousand-year fifth Spirit Ring. Compared with other geniuses, Wu Ling was like someone from a higher era, a higher dimension. This was already beyond Ethan's ability to understand. And for things one could not understand, fear became the final destination.
"Die! So what if you have three one-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Rings? In the end, you are still only a Spirit King. Even if I have to face Spirit Hall's pursuit afterward, I will drag you to hell and return bright skies to this continent!"
With Ethan's roar, the Golden Sacred Dragon opened its mouth. This time, it was not a dragon roar, but a blazing ray of fire.
The ray carved across the ground and the forest, leaving a huge trench several meters deep and setting the forest ablaze. In the end, it shot straight at Wu Ling.
A violent explosion burst into the sky, raising a thick cloud of dust.
"He got him!" Tang San stared excitedly at the explosion's aftermath. He opened his Purple Demon Eye as wide as possible, as if desperate to see Wu Ling's miserable state.
Wu Ling's talent had driven him to despair. Even though Wu Ling already had a path to death, Tang San did not yet have enough strength to eliminate him for the people. Now that his teacher could kill him, it counted as making up for one of Tang San's regrets.
Unfortunately, no one in this world knew a certain rule.
No damage when there is smoke.
Within the smoke, a metallic clang suddenly rang out. Wu Ling slowly walked out. Compared with before, he was now wearing golden armor and holding a golden spear.
"Ethan Drake, my arrogance comes from my strength. Your arrogance comes from your ignorance."
As he spoke, Wu Ling stepped out of the dust and lightly patted the ash from his chest. That attack had left no visible injury on him at all.
"Shut up!" Ethan's voice rang out again. The Golden Sacred Dragon's claw bloomed with light, blue lightning wrapping around it as it descended toward Wu Ling.
Facing the attack of a Golden Sacred Dragon over a dozen times his size, perhaps even dozens, Wu Ling still did not dodge. He spun the spear in a handsome flourish, then charged straight in.
A violent collision rang out.
The scene before them was enough to haunt everyone present for a lifetime. Wu Ling, holding that golden spear, had forcefully blocked the Golden Sacred Dragon's attack.
"Also, a scholar's true goal should be to open new paths after mastering what already exists, leaving future generations a wider road forward. But you shut yourself inside old conclusions. After gaining one small achievement, you hid behind your reputation and called yourself extraordinary. Master? Heh. You insult the title."
As he spoke, Wu Ling's right arm flashed red.
It was the right arm Spirit Bone from the one-hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape. The red light gradually covered Wu Ling's body, doubling his strength at once. With one burst of force, he directly knocked the Golden Sacred Dragon into the air. But because of the protective barrier around the fusion, this attack did not do much to Ethan and the others inside.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! What do you understand? You think blocking my attack makes you impressive? It is not over yet!" Ethan said, spitting a mouthful of blood inside the Golden Sacred Dragon.
"Golden Sacred Dragon, ultimate secret art! Die!"
Then the entire Golden Sacred Dragon transformed from a physical body into a dragon-shaped energy form. The massive dragon-shaped energy, carrying flame and thunder, charged toward Wu Ling once more.
"Heh. The momentum is decent. But how can the light of a firefly dare compete with the blazing sun?"
Wu Ling raised the golden spear over his head with a reverse grip.
"O Brahma, Curse Me!"
Light covered the earth. A violent explosion sounded again.
The Shrek teachers, students, and three board members did not dare to remain nearby. They sensed the terrifying strength of the two attacks from a distance and fled before the attacks collided.
As the light faded, they saw from a distance that on the bare, scorched land stood a golden figure resembling a god who had descended to the mortal world.
In front of him, Ethan, Flender, and Scarlet had already fallen.