The next morning, the fog was thick and milky, layer upon layer clinging to the endless forest.
The damp forest wind swirled with decaying leaves, the smell of grass, and a fishy stench, creating an oppressive atmosphere that sent shivers down one's spine.
Looking up, all that could be seen were towering trees that blotted out the sky. The entire Star Dou Great Forest was like a lurking ancient beast, exuding a wild and violent aura.
The eight members of Shrek stood in a row, firmly positioned on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Because of what happened last night, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai both seemed very listless.
Seemingly influenced by the surrounding environment, Su Zui felt inexplicably down and stretched out her arms to hug Ning Rongrong tightly.
Only when he felt Ning Rongrong's warm body temperature did the loneliness in his heart ease considerably.
It's not that Su Zui is afraid of the dangers ahead, but rather that Su Zui was used to being alone in her previous life and liked to compose poems, so her personality inevitably had a touch of melancholy.
At this moment, Zhao Wuji's face was also full of seriousness. After all, ahead of them was the Star Dou Great Forest, which was recognized as the most dangerous place in the Douluo Continent!
The terror of the Star Dou Great Forest is deeply ingrained in people's minds.
Although they were only heading to an area where Thousand-Year Soul Beasts gathered, it was inevitable that powerful Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would come out.
Zhao Wuji himself was naturally not afraid of ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, but he was currently accompanied by eight children.
Venturing into the Star Dou Great Forest alone is a completely different experience from leading eight children.
Thinking of this, Zhao Wuji slowly swept his gaze over the seven young men and women in front of him, his eyes sharp as an eagle.
"Listen up, all of you! Once we enter the Star Dou Great Forest, no one is allowed to leave the group without permission. Advance in the formation I arranged earlier."
"Anyone who dares to stray more than twenty meters from the group will be skinned alive, even before the Soul Beasts need to lift a finger."
Zhao Wuji's stern warning made the atmosphere around them tense once again.
Zhao Wuji's gaze was focused on Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
His tone softened slightly at this point, but it still carried an undeniable air of authority.
"Especially you two, you are both support-type Soul Masters, without any means of attack or defense. If there is any disturbance, immediately hide behind Su Zui, understand?"
Ning Rongrong nodded obediently, reaching out to gently stroke Su Zui's hair while cautiously observing the surrounding forest, feeling somewhat nervous.
To be honest, this was Ning Rongrong's first time visiting the Star Dou Great Forest.
He grew up in luxury in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Forest and had never set foot in such a dangerous primeval forest.
Oscar quickly composed himself and stopped grinning.
He knew perfectly well that in this ruthless Star Dou Great Forest, fragile support characters like them were doomed if they were separated from their units.
Ning Rongrong was alright, since she had Su Zui as her bodyguard. It was estimated that Su Zui would protect Ning Rongrong immediately should there be any trouble.
He could only follow Zhao Wuji's arrangements throughout the entire process, which was the only way he could hope to survive and leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
After giving instructions to Oscar and Ning Rongrong, Zhao Wuji turned his gaze to Xiao Wu.
For some reason, Xiao Wu seemed unusually excited, as if she were back home.
She squatted down under a big tree, touching the mushroom-shaped base of the tree while picking the pink stamens of a nearby flower, seemingly ignoring Zhao Wuji's words completely.
Su Zui followed Zhao Wuji's gaze and saw Xiao Wu looking excited.
Just last night, the Great Luo Sword Embryo had already told Su Zui about Xiao Wu's true origins, so Su Zui didn't find Xiao Wu's behavior strange at all.
After all, for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, isn't the Star Dou Great Forest practically its own backyard?
Thinking of this, Su Zui turned his gaze to Tang San and gave him a deep look.
Since Tang Hao has already visited Shrek Academy, it means that Tang Hao definitely knows Xiao Wu's identity, and it's very likely that Tang San also knows Xiao Wu's identity.
Tang Hao, that old fox, is really something else!
Meanwhile, Zhao Wuji, seeing that Xiao Wu still acted nonchalantly, also spoke with a stern face.
"Xiao Wu, did you hear what I just said? Remember, never stray more than twenty meters from the group."
Perhaps it was the unusual tone of Zhao Wuji's voice in the early Qing Dynasty, but Tang San suddenly stepped in front of Xiao Wu.
"Teacher Zhao, I will protect Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu and I will be obedient and won't stray more than twenty meters from the group."
Watching Tang San's actions, Zhao Wuji couldn't help but think of the scene where he was beaten up by Tang Hao. He felt annoyed with this student, but also somewhat helpless.
What kind of trouble have I gotten myself into? I was doing so well as a teacher, how did I end up with such a troublesome person?
For a moment, Zhao Wuji couldn't help but turn his gaze to Su Zui.
He sighed inwardly.
These are all disciples from the Upper Three Sects, so why is there such a big difference between them?
No wonder the Clear Sky Sect was almost wiped out by the Spirit Hall back then. They were all so arrogant and reckless. It would be strange if something happened to them.
And then there's Tang San, that kid, so young yet so ruthless, always trying to kill me in our battles.
Compared to someone like Tang San, Su Zui is a moral exemplar!
Zhao Wuji was straightforward and didn't understand any of the subtleties. In his mind, Tang San was the troublemaker at school, while Su Zui was practically the face of the school.
At this moment, Su Zui was standing quietly at the very front of the group. Due to the thick fog, Zhao Wuji could not see the boy's face clearly, but could see his straight back.
Zhao Wuji thought to himself, "At this moment, Su Zui is probably just like me, watching the surrounding movements with wary eyes, right?"
This Su Zui is very likely the strongest student I've ever taught in my life.
Moreover, Su Zui is the future pillar of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the successor cultivated by Sword Douluo. His future prospects are simply limitless.
With this in mind, Zhao Wuji secretly decided that in the event of any unexpected incident, Su Zui and Ning Rongrong would be his first priority for protection.
Well, even with Tang San's instructions from Tang Hao, he still had to postpone it a bit.
Zhao Wuji stood behind Su Zui and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Xiao Zui, this Star Dou Great Forest is extremely dangerous. Never venture out alone!"
"Once we're in the woods, if anything happens, be sure to protect yourself. I'll protect you immediately, because only if you're safe can we protect the other trainees."
Upon hearing Zhao Wuji's words, Su Zui turned around, smiled, and nodded.
However, Zhao Wuji's words displeased Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai secretly glared at Su Zui and Zhao Wuji with his tiger-like eyes.
No, what makes Su Zui so special? He's only been at the school for less than two days, so why are all the teachers and the dean favoring him? Is it just because he's from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School?
Dai Mubai cried out in his heart in anguish: Capital, you've won! I've been tricked by capital!
However, Su Zui wasn't very nervous.
After all, when it comes to the Star Dou Great Forest, besides Xiao Wu, he is the most familiar with this place.
After all, he had lived alone in the Star Dou Great Forest for a full six months.
I feel right at home in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Seeing that the formation had been rehearsed, Zhao Wuji immediately gave a low shout.
"Everyone, set off immediately!"
As Zhao Wuji finished speaking, Su Zui took the lead and stepped into the forest path.
Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and Zhu Zhuqing followed closely behind, while Tang San and Xiao Wu kept an eye on the movements to their left and right. Ma Hongjun, sandwiched in the middle, was ready to take off at any moment.
Dai Mubai and Zhao Wuji, who were walking at the very back, were also on high alert, constantly watching their surroundings.
As we continued onward, the surrounding light grew increasingly dim, and a thick fog enveloped the area, cutting off all light and sound from the outside world.
Seeing that the thick fog showed no sign of dissipating, Zhao Wuji couldn't help but frown.
A foggy day in the Star Dou Great Forest, with so many students in tow—this is hardly a good omen.
The entire forest was eerily quiet, broken only occasionally by a distant roar.
The surrounding scene was terrifying, as if Soul Beast might rush out at any moment.
Ning Rongrong carefully tugged at Su Zui's sleeve, her voice trembling slightly.
"Have you heard? About twelve years ago, a golden light suddenly flashed in the Star Dou Great Forest, and within that golden light, a sword intent soared into the sky."
Upon hearing Ning Rongrong's words, Zhao Wuji's face also showed a hint of seriousness.
"I've heard about this too. Many people on the mainland witnessed it, but most only saw the golden light shooting into the sky; very few mentioned the sword intent as well."
Hearing Zhao Wuji's words, Ning Rongrong's tone involuntarily carried a hint of pride.
"That sword intent was sensed by Grandpa Sword. He told me that it was exceptionally powerful, and only Super Douluo of Level 95 or above could sense it."
"Although my grandfather's cultivation level was still a step away from Level 95 at the time, he was the number one swordsman on the Douluo Continent, so he could naturally feel that soaring sword intent."
Ning Rongrong continued, "Later I heard that the Upper Three Sects and the Spirit Hall sent many Titled Douluo teams to explore the area, but they were stopped by an extremely powerful being just as they reached the center of the Star Dou Great Forest and the Lake of Life."
"Later, I heard from Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone that it was an exceptionally powerful Soul Beast, whose cultivation had surpassed that of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! At that time, all the Titled Douluos sent by the Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects joined forces, but they were still no match for that Soul Beast!"
As she finished speaking, Ning Rongrong's face showed a hint of awe.
"My grandfather estimates that the cultivation level of that Soul Beast is equivalent to a Level 99 Limit Douluo!"
"That Soul Beast claimed to be... the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian!"