Why Didn't He Come?

Around noon that day, Ning Rongrong seemed to have come to her senses.

She took the initiative to find Wu Qi, admitted her mistakes, and resolved to correct them.

"Knowing one's mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue. But I don't recommend that you enter the Star Dou Great Forest."

Wu Qi had not expected Ning Fengzhi's headache-inducing problem to be "solved" by him. He would definitely demand a reward from Ning Fengzhi later.

However, the Star Dou Great Forest was indeed far too dangerous. Without Golden Eagle Douluo secretly protecting them, Wu Qi would not dare enter it lightly either.

Golden Eagle Douluo was considered a well-known Expert on the continent. If he showed himself before Ning Rongrong, would that not expose their true origins?

Besides, once Xiao Wu entered the forest and the Titan Giant Ape ran into them, the situation would inevitably become extremely urgent.

At that point, he might not be able to protect Ning Rongrong.

After all, since he had been in contact with Ning Rongrong, the Eyes in the city would surely have reported the news to Ning Fengzhi.

If Ning Rongrong traveled with him and then met with an accident, Ning Fengzhi would probably fight him to the death.

"Why? Does Brother Wu Qi want to abandon Rongrong?" Ning Rongrong put on a pitiful expression.

Qian Gu Changkong could not help saying, "Wu Ge, if Rongrong stays behind alone, uncontrollable accidents may occur."

Following up on his words, Ning Rongrong continued, "Yes, yes, yes. Brother Wu Qi, Rongrong offended some people when she entered the city. If they come looking to cause trouble for Rongrong, then..."

After careful consideration, Wu Qi nodded. "Fine. But we should not venture too deeply into the forest. As for Changkong's Soul Ring, we can spend money in Spirit Beast Town to ask around."

On the Douluo Continent, there was no shortage of "jianghu" types who knew everything. Some Spirit Master squads regularly ventured deep into Soul Beast Forests, memorized the locations where certain soul beasts lived, and sold that information for money.

Of course, the value of intelligence was unpredictable.

Before leaving, Thousand Jun Douluo had given Qian Gu Changkong quite a bit of pocket money, enough to buy intelligence.

And if that was not enough, there were still Wu Qi and Ning Rongrong. The combined assets of the three of them surpassed those of most small clans, so buying intelligence would be no problem.

With Ning Rongrong joining them, the supplies they had prepared might not be enough, and they needed to purchase more.

Meanwhile, Shrek Academy welcomed its annual enrollment season.

As usual, Dai Mubai accompanied Li Yusong in maintaining order at the registration site.

Compared to previous years, Dai Mubai kept his full attention fixed on the crowd this time.

He acknowledged Wu Qi's strength, and Flender had confidently declared that the other party would come.

As a senior, he had an obligation to point his juniors in the right direction. Yet after waiting for a long time, he saw no sign of Wu Qi and the other boy. Instead, Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived at the registration site first.

Because Dai Mubai had not bullied others by relying on his power previously, Tang San had a favorable impression of him. Their gazes met, and they promptly clasped their fists to each other in greeting.

Xiao Wu was extremely dissatisfied with Dai Mubai's conduct. With her hands on her hips, she could not help saying, "Third Brother, I won't allow you to have too much contact with that lecherous tiger, understand?"

Tang San shook his head slightly. "Xiao Wu, Mubai's private life may be improper. But he is an Expert in the Spirit Master world. In this world, strength commands respect. It is only natural for women to flock to him."

"Besides, he is our senior. There's no need for you to be so hostile toward him, is there?"

"And those two young men from yesterday may also be our seniors. Since we will all be studying at the same academy in the future, there is no need to make things too tense."

Speaking of Wu Qi and the other boy, Xiao Wu had no particularly strong impression of them.

Since neither side had gotten into a conflict, she said lazily, "That Pretty Boy is rather good-looking. I wonder how strong he is."

At the thought of being able to spar with each other in the future, Xiao Wu's eyes were filled with fighting spirit.

Tang San shook his head helplessly and looked into the distance.

After searching for a while, he still seemed unable to spot Wu Qi or Qian Gu Changkong. Moreover, he noticed that Dai Mubai was constantly looking for someone among the registration queue.

"Could it be that they aren't students of Shrek Academy yet?"

Tang San formed a guess, but did not pay it much mind.

With their exceptional talent and their arrival in Suotuo City at this time, Wu Qi and the other boy would presumably join Shrek Academy as well.

Just as things had unfolded in the original timeline, after Tang San and the others enrolled, they were brought to spar with Zhao Wuji.

Without Ning Rongrong's enhancement soul skills and without Crystal Gold Filament, Tang San had an extremely difficult time in this match.

His Hidden Weapons enraged Zhao Wuji, but failed to cause the latter any substantial harm. In the end, Zhao Wuji beat him until his head was bloody.

Had Dai Mubai not stepped in to break up the fight, Zhao Wuji might truly have accidentally killed them.

That night, Flender returned to the academy and eagerly sought out Zhao Wuji. "Old Zhao, some good seedlings came to the academy today, right?"

He had not told Zhao Wuji about accepting disciples.

After all, Dai Mubai and Li Yusong were at the entrance. As long as Wu Qi and Qian Gu Changkong came, they could enroll directly.

Zhao Wuji said with a chuckle, "Indeed. Three came all at once."

"Three?" Flender was startled at first, then understood. "How strong are they? I heard that one of them defeated Mubai at the Great Soul Arena."

Zhao Wuji was deeply puzzled. He had not felt that Tang San and the others were particularly strong.

The first to be ruled out as the one capable of defeating Dai Mubai were Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing. Both possessed beast spirits and were suppressed by the bloodline of the White Tiger Spirit.

That meant Tang San was the only one left.

Tang San was only level twenty-nine. Could he really defeat Dai Mubai, who was level thirty-seven? That seemed impossible, didn't it?

If he used Hidden Weapons, Dai Mubai might indeed be caught off guard, but wouldn't that be an unfair victory?

Seeing Flender's expression, he found it difficult to contradict him and went along with a word of praise.

Next, just as expected, Zhao Wuji was sought out by Tang Hao.

Flender's pleas seemed not to have changed Tang Hao's mind.

Because Tang San's injuries were more severe than in the original timeline, Zhao Wuji was beaten even more badly as well.

After Tang Hao left, Flender could not help sighing. "I never expected the Clear Sky Douluo's son to come to Shrek Academy as well. It seems my old friend has arrived too."

"Old Zhao, have you arranged the dorms for the three new male students?"

Zhao Wuji, his face bruised and swollen, replied in a muffled voice, "Headmaster, there's only one male student, Tang San. The other two are girls. Where did three male students come from?"

Flender's expression stiffened.

His first suspicion was whether Wu Qi had been disguised as a man earlier, but after thinking it over carefully, he found that guess unreasonable.

For a moment, he stood there in a daze.

Could it be that Wu Qi and Qian Gu Changkong had not come?

With no time to think further, he told Zhao Wuji to rest well before going to find Dai Mubai.

At that moment, Dai Mubai was still waiting at the academy entrance.

He believed Wu Qi and Qian Gu Changkong might not have known that Shrek Academy was located outside the city and had missed the registration deadline.

He had chosen to wait here so that once they arrived, he could help them complete their enrollment procedures immediately.

Yet the first person he encountered was not the two of them, but Flender.

"Mubai, what exactly is going on? Haven't the disciples personally chosen by this headmaster arrived?"

Dai Mubai was equally confused. "Headmaster, could they have thought the academy was located inside the city?"

When he had interacted with them earlier, he had never mentioned that Shrek Academy was outside the city.