"It's a deal!"
Everyone shouted in unison.
Their voices were deep and resolute, startling flocks of birds from the forest and shaking the accumulated dew from the treetops. The sound shot into the sky and echoed through the ancient forest for a long time.
The sun was setting.
Golden-red afterglow poured down from the western horizon, passing through layers of overlapping canopies and casting long, crisscrossing shadows across the valley.
The dappled light and shadows looked like fragments of time.
Everyone had left.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing headed south.
The Star Luo Empire lay in the south, where a brutal struggle for the throne awaited them.
Tang Hao took Tang San west.
The special training ground he had mentioned was near the City of Slaughter at the western border.
Oscar headed north.
Snow drifted for thousands of miles across the Great Northern Ice Plains. His hope and future lay there.
Ma Hongjun picked a direction at random.
He said the continent was so vast that he would go wherever his feet took him. Besides, Fatty had good luck—he would definitely find something good.
Flender, Master, and Liu Erlong had also left. They were returning to Shrek Academy first to settle the remaining matters. Then... Master said he would enter seclusion to study cultivation methods for Twin Martial Souls, Flender said he would expand the academy, and Liu Erlong said she would gather evidence of Spirit Hall's covert activities over the years.
Only Han Yuchen and Leng Yuebai remained in the valley.
Oh, and the Star Fox that had been sleeping nearby and had only now woken up groggily.
The little fellow stretched, shook out its silver-blue fur, then lightly leaped onto Han Yuchen's shoulder and affectionately rubbed against his cheek.
The wind rustled through the leaves.
It carried the