Zhao Wuji stood aside, watching coldly, without joining their ranks. He walked out of the academy with the nine students. As expected of Shrek Academy's miserly ways, there were no carriages. As soon as they left the academy, they began running.
As they kept running, even Dai Mubai and Tang San found their stamina depleting.
It was only the Dragon Clan members, Gu Chen and Gu Yue Na, whose physical strength was so immense that they were barely sweating after running for a long time, unlike Tang San and the others, who were drenched in sweat.
This was also why Gu Chen and Gu Yue Na had thousand-year soul rings, while Tang San and the others could only have hundred-year rings.
It must be said that because of Gu Chen's words, Tang San became more focused on physical training in his later cultivation. His second soul ring was already a thousand and eighty years old.
With Oscar's sausages providing sustenance, they were surprised to find that the energy consumed by running was negligible.
Every hour, when they ate one of Oscar's sausages, everyone's energy would remain abundant. Even Ning Rongrong could barely keep up with the others' pace.
If one has never actually used a support-type Martial Soul, one could never truly understand its importance. Oscar's sausages had their miraculous effects, causing everyone to look at him in a new light, receiving the best treatment. Since they hadn't entered the forest yet, Dai Mubai and Tang San took turns supporting Oscar's arm, helping him reduce some of the weight so that he could more easily recover his soul power and continue assisting them.
Naturally, Ning Rongrong didn't receive such treatment. She remained silent the whole time and did not use her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile to assist everyone. She seemed to isolate herself from the group.
The Star Dou Forest was located in the southeastern part of the Barak Kingdom, with a small part of it bordering the Barak Kingdom, and Soto City itself was also in the southeastern part of the Barak Kingdom, not far from the Star Dou Forest—only about five hundred kilometers away.
Therefore, the Star Dou Forest was naturally the best place for the Shrek Academy students to obtain their soul rings.
With the help of Oscar's sausages, they had traveled over four hundred kilometers by the time night fell, and they were now very close to the Star Dou Forest.
Realizing they wouldn't make it to their destination tonight, Zhao Wuji gave the order to rest, as they had reached a small town. Continuing forward without supplies might be risky.
Upon entering the town, it turned out to be much more lively than expected. The town was about three times the size of the village where Shrek Academy was located. There were no city walls, but it looked like a small city. The streets were lined with shops, and there were all kinds of stores.
Tang San and the others observed that the shops here were primarily related to soul masters—such as stores selling weapons, armor, antidotes, and recovery potions. Even clothing stores were selling special outfits with many pockets designed for soul masters' adventures.
Oscar remarked, "This is the meaning of 'rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the water to eat the water.' This town clearly survives by relying on the Star Dou Forest, and there must be many such towns around the forest."
"Relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the water to eat the water? The weak must adapt to survive in their environment, but the strong can change the environment for themselves," Gu Chen said lightly.
"Hey, aren't you a bit too arrogant? You think the environment should change for you?" Ning Rongrong couldn't help but speak up.
Gu Chen scoffed, "When did I say that the strong refers to me? Speaking of arrogance, you, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, really make me feel ashamed."
"You!" Ning Rongrong was furious.
At this moment, Zhao Wuji pointed to an ordinary-looking inn ahead and said, "Let's stay here for the night. We'll set off early tomorrow morning. You'll each need to pay for your own lodging and meals."
The inn was a two-story building. The first floor had a simple dining area, and the second floor was for lodging. Zhao Wuji went upstairs directly after booking a single room for himself. After a brief discussion, Dai Mubai and the others booked a four-person room for the five boys and a four-person room for the four girls.
"Let's eat first. After a day of sausages, I'm about to gag," Ma Hongjun voiced the group's thoughts. Even Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement. The nine of them found a corner table to sit at.
Tang San asked Dai Mubai, "Should we invite Teacher Zhao to eat with us?"
Dai Mubai shook his head and said, "No need. Although the teacher won't pay for our expenses, he also won't accept anything from us. This is the rule set by Dean Flender."
The fat boy laughed, "Isn't this good? Everything is clear, and I like the academy's straightforwardness."
Straightforward? This is already a given in my previous life, Gu Chen thought.
Dai Mubai sighed helplessly. "You glutton, stop talking nonsense. Just order. You eat the most."
Ma Hongjun cooperated and asked, "So, does that mean you're treating today? You have the highest subsidy, so you're the rich one."
Dai Mubai smiled slightly and said, "Treating is no problem. We're all together in Shrek, so I'll treat as a welcome for Gu Chen and the others."
The fat boy laughed loudly, his chubby round face trembling with the movement. "Great, that's awesome! Don't worry, Dai, I won't make you spend less."
Soon, the fat boy showcased his reputation for "being able to eat" as Dai Mubai had said. He quickly called over the waiter and ordered ten or so dishes. Many of the dishes' names Tang San had never even heard of, but Ma Hongjun was in high spirits.
"Not bad, not bad. Although this place is small, it has a good selection of food. I hope the taste lives up to it."
Dai Mubai helplessly remarked, "This fat man spends his subsidies on women, and the rest goes to eating. I really suspect that if you weren't a soul master, you'd have become a chef by now."
Although the nine of them sat at the same table, the atmosphere wasn't particularly harmonious. Zhu Zhuqing was cold-faced, Ning Rongrong was lost in thought, and Gu Chen and Gu Yue Na sat quietly, waiting for their food. Fortunately, with the fat boy around, the atmosphere didn't get too awkward.
At that moment, the restaurant was about 60-70% full when a group of people suddenly entered.
Leading the group was a man in his forties, who appeared quite handsome. His hair was neatly combed and shining, and he wore a moon-white soul master robe that was meticulously crafted, embroidered with silver thread patterns that shimmered as he moved.
Behind the middle-aged man were six young men and one young woman, all around twenty years old, dressed in the same moon-white soul master robes, though without the silver thread embroidery. However, both the middle-aged man and the seven young people had a green circular emblem on their left shoulders, with two matching characters embroidered inside the circle: "Cang Hui."
From their attire, it was obvious that these people were soul masters. The Shrek students, on the other hand, wore casual clothes, looking no different from ordinary people, while these people were much more flamboyant.
When the restaurant owner saw them, he hurriedly went up to greet them, bowing and flattering them as he spoke respectfully. As Oscar had said, the town relied on the Star Dou Forest to survive, and in simpler terms, it lived off soul masters. Soul masters were not only noble but also wealthy, so the owner naturally didn't dare to be negligent.
As in the original story, Ma Hongjun couldn't resist and began to stir up trouble.
Hearing Ma Hongjun's words, Dai Mubai sneered, "It's just some small Cang Hui Academy. What's the big deal?"
Neither Ma Hongjun nor Dai Mubai intentionally lowered their voices. Soul masters have better hearing than ordinary people, so even though the restaurant was somewhat noisy, the middle-aged man in the group noticed them and immediately shot them a cold glance. When he saw that the Shrek group consisted only of children, his expression darkened.
"This is nonsense," Gu Chen said lightly. "Let's not get involved," he added as he started eating.
Oscar whispered to Gu Chen, "This is part of our cultivation. Dean Flender once said that a soul master who doesn't dare to provoke others isn't a good soul master. As the saying goes, those who don't dare to make trouble are mediocre. And provoking people from soul master academies is the safest; at most, we just end up in a fight."
"So it's bullying the weak and fearing the strong, huh? If the Spirit Hall's soul masters came here, would you still dare to stir up trouble?" Gu Chen said lightly, mocking him.
Oscar was momentarily speechless and tried to argue, "This... how can we say it's bullying the weak and fearing the strong?"
Gu Chen just smiled and whispered to Gu Yue Na and Xiao Wu nearby, "We won't participate in this."
At that moment, the eight people from Cang Hui Academy had already sat down at a table two tables away from the Shrek group. Tang San caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye that the middle-aged man, who was obviously the teacher, whispered something into the ear of a young man. The young man quickly stood up and walked toward the Shrek group, heading straight for Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai's eyes flickered with disdain. Tang San noticed this and, of course, understood, but he didn't even glance at the other person.
At this moment, the waiter happened to bring the second round of dishes to their table.
The young man from Cang Hui Academy quickened his pace, and with a shout from the waiter, he collided with the waiter, and the plate of food was about to land on Dai Mubai's head.
"Don't waste food," Tang San said calmly, extending his left hand like lightning to stabilize the waiter's body. With his right hand, he caught the plate, using his control over the air to prevent a single morsel from falling. He gently placed the plate back on the table, then pulled the waiter aside.
The young man from Cang Hui Academy paused for a moment. Because of the waiter's body blocking his view, he didn't see Tang San's actions clearly. However, a sly smile soon appeared on his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean it."
He said this but kept walking forward, clearly intending to pass by Dai Mubai, but one of his legs subtly kicked at the wooden chair leg under Dai Mubai's seat.
It was just an ordinary wooden chair. Once the chair leg was broken, Dai Mubai would naturally not be able to sit steadily. Moreover, the young man's movement was very hidden. If one didn't pay attention, they wouldn't be able to spot it.
However, this movement was as slow as a turtle to Gu Chen, Gu Yue Na, and Tang San, who had superior mental abilities.
At the moment the young man kicked, Dai Mubai moved.
With a loud thud, the young man from Cang Hui Academy felt as if he had kicked an iron board. His whole leg went numb, and before he could react, Dai Mubai's slap landed on his chest.
The young man's face turned pale, and he raised both hands to block the slap, but the soul power attached to Dai Mubai's palm sent his hands flying away. The slap landed squarely on his chest.
The young man, though tall, was sent flying as if he had no weight, crashing through two tables before falling into his group.
The middle-aged man from Cang Hui Academy hurriedly stood up, his hands raised to catch the young man's shoulders and prevent him from falling further. The young man, pale-faced, vomited a mouthful of blood and slumped, visibly weakened.
Dai Mubai stood upright and stretched lazily. "Sorry, I got carried away."
His evil gaze and arrogance showed, making even those close to him feel like he deserved a good beating.
(End of Chapter)