A New Day

Suo Tuo Great Soul Arena.

Zhao Xuan strode up from the stairwell, having already removed the mask from his face on the way up.

"Soul masters' soul skills really are all kinds of strange."

He silently recalled the battle just now. Though he had won easily, Zhao Xuan was not satisfied.

He felt that he had merely relied on his extraordinary physical abilities. Under equal conditions, he might not necessarily have emerged victorious.

The Crimson Lone Wolf had indeed been powerful. His First Soul Skill, Surprise Attack; Second Soul Skill, Calamity of Bloodlight; Third Soul Skill, Back-Hair Needles; and Fourth Soul Skill, Wolf Blood Boil—each of the four soul skills had its own distinct traits.

Against an opponent of the same rank, in a one-on-one fight, he would have been a nightmare. After activating his Fourth Soul Skill and Second Soul Skill, anyone trapped within the Blood Mist could be said to be the Crimson Lone Wolf's prey in a jar. Unfortunately, this time he had encountered a monster like Zhao Xuan.

Still, Zhao Xuan had not come away empty-handed from this clash. He had vaguely awakened an instinctive sense. If he encountered another enemy with this sort of deceptive skill, Zhao Xuan, armed with that intuition, would be their nightmare.

His other gains were twenty Gold Soul Coins and ten Points. The danger level of Indiscriminate Competition was second only to the deadly life-or-death matches, and its rewards were quite generous as well.

"I wonder how Xiao San and the others are doing."

Zhao Xuan looked around. The Soul Fighting Arena aboveground was clearly far livelier than the underground one; even the corridors were crowded with people.

Many people came to the Soul Fighting Arena simply to witness the thrilling clashes between soul masters. Compared with the bloodier and more dangerous underground arena, more people preferred watching strategic matches.

Zhao Xuan hurried back to Shrek Academy without stopping. Seeing the brightly lit dormitory, he relaxed. It seemed Xiao San and the others had already returned.

Yet faintly, Zhao Xuan felt that something about the atmosphere was off.

"Xiao San."

Zhao Xuan pushed open the door and saw Tang San sitting on his bed, polishing a Hidden Sleeve Dart. Under the candlelight, the dart gleamed with a cold sheen.

"Xiao Xuan, are you all right?!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Tang San shot to his feet and crossed the room in a few strides. Then he began checking Zhao Xuan over from head to toe.

"I'm fine. Hey?! Don't touch me all over like that. You're making it look like you're gay."

Tang San thoroughly inspected him, his hands occasionally patting Zhao Xuan here and there. Zhao Xuan felt goosebumps rise all over him and hurriedly shoved Tang San away.

"Gay? What does gay mean?!"

Seeing that Zhao Xuan was unharmed, Tang San could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then he asked curiously.

"Nothing... You don't need to know." Zhao Xuan avoided Tang San's gaze.

Tang San frowned slightly and eyed Zhao Xuan suspiciously. Judging by his reaction, it probably was not a good word.

Seeing Tang San's gaze gradually turn dangerous, Zhao Xuan had an idea and hurriedly asked,

"Xiao San, why do I feel like the academy's atmosphere is a little strange?"

Relying on the instinctive sense he had just developed, Zhao Xuan keenly detected the shift in the academy's mood.

Tang San's expression stiffened, and he said with some concern, "Something did happen."

Then Tang San told Zhao Xuan about what had happened at the academy earlier.

"Ning Rongrong again?!" Zhao Xuan looked at Tang San in surprise.

"That's right. Miss Ning Rongrong has quite the temper. After offending Boss Dai, she even wanted me to help her kill him. Isn't that ridiculous?" Tang San looked helpless.

"Heh, that really is interesting." Zhao Xuan's expression turned strange. Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins for Dai Mubai's life? That was no small sum! Unfortunately, many things in this world could not be settled with money.

"So... where's Oscar?" Zhao Xuan asked, glancing at the other empty bed in the dormitory.

"The dean called him away."

Not long after, Oscar returned to the dormitory. When Zhao Xuan asked him about it, Oscar looked as though he could not put his feelings into words. Perhaps Flender had talked him through it, though, because his emotions were quite stable. After returning and washing up, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating.

Seeing that Oscar was fine, Tang San and Zhao Xuan went to sleep with peace of mind.

The next day, when the two got up and saw that Oscar was still cultivating, they did not disturb him.

The two were having breakfast in the cafeteria when Dai Mubai arrived late. His face was somewhat gloomy, clearly indicating that he was in a poor mood. After giving them a slight nod of acknowledgment, he sat alone at another table and ate with his head down.

Soon afterward, Xiao Wu and Hermione arrived together and joined Zhao Xuan and Tang San at their table. The group chatted and laughed as they ate.

During that time, Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing also arrived one after another.

Ma Hongjun looked refreshed and invigorated. Who knew what good things he had been up to last night? Still, he knew how to read the room. Seeing that Dai Mubai was obviously in a bad mood, his smiling mouth snapped shut, and he quietly ate in a corner.

Zhu Zhuqing was as she had always been, cool and reserved, meticulously finishing the breakfast before her.

Zhao Xuan clicked his tongue. The atmosphere was a little stifling, and neither Ning Rongrong nor Oscar was anywhere to be seen.

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were talking about something in the corner. Ma Hongjun looked animated, while Dai Mubai occasionally sneaked glances at Zhu Zhuqing.

A melodious bell rang in the distance. Everyone hurriedly finished the food before them and ran to the training ground.

There was already someone on the training ground: Ning Rongrong, the source of the conflict. Oscar was still nowhere to be seen.

Her fair, pretty face looked somewhat haggard, her eyes red, and her spirits seemed low.

Once everyone arrived at the training ground, Zhao Xuan's group of four gathered together and continued chatting and laughing, while Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai whispered to each other off to the side.

Only Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong stood alone in solitude.

Flender was teaching this class as well, but even though the bell had been ringing for quite a while, he was nowhere in sight.

About fifteen minutes later, Flender finally strolled over. His hair and clothes both looked somewhat disheveled.

"Don't tell me he overslept?" Zhao Xuan stared at Flender suspiciously and muttered.

Flender's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. Then he swept his gaze over everyone, frowned slightly, and asked calmly, "Where's Oscar? Did he sleep in again?"

Zhao Xuan yawned and looked at Flender with interest. "He's probably still cultivating. Maybe he entered meditation and hasn't woken up yet."

Flender nodded with a composed expression, unaware that Zhao Xuan had already noticed his earlier odd reaction.

Sure enough, you were the one who overslept.