Another Encounter with Wu Sidu, Ye Xinglan's Stupor—Obviously, I Was Here First!

Graceful as a startled swan, elegant as a swimming dragon.

Bright yellow sword light flowed like starlight, casting hazy halos through the dim forest.

A pretty, valiant girl with a high ponytail and fitted combat clothes danced amid the wolf pack. With each slash of her sword, its edge seemed to carve an impassable chasm of stardust beyond the reach of the eye, preventing the frenzied green wolves from attacking her together. Repeating this pattern, she used her defensive momentum to thrust each sword at tricky angles, always drawing a howl from one of the green wolf soul beasts.

She wasted no unnecessary stamina, yet even when surrounded, she remained completely at ease.

A moment later, the leader of this pack of over twenty century-old green wolves had gained a sword mark on its backside. Howling miserably, it ordered a retreat.

The wolves scampered away with their tails between their legs.

"Hey, don't run!"

Seeing them flee just as she was getting into the rhythm, Ye Xinglan could not help shouting.

"Who told you to stab the green wolf leader in the butt? Now there's nothing left to play with." Nan Liujing walked out from the side.

Ye Xinglan said glumly, "Can't we find another beast pack?"

Nan Liujing rubbed his chin. "If they're too strong, you'll be begging me to protect you after a few exchanges. If they're too weak, there's no fun in fighting them. That makes it hard for me to find one."

"What do you mean, begging you to protect me?" Hearing that, Ye Xinglan planted her hands on her hips and huffed. "I remember the Flame Demon Lion being quite strong. That one, then. Later, I'll show you what swift meteors look like."

Nan Liujing did not take her words seriously.

After killing Black Mist Xu Sheng, the two had spent over an hour walking through the forest. They had encountered several people along the way, but unfortunately, none were worth targeting.

In the end, they had passed each other peacefully. Then they ran into the green wolf pack, and Ye Xinglan's hands had started itching for a fight, so she went up to provoke them.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a deep tiger's roar sounded from the forest to their right. Countless birds took flight, streaking across the sky like scattered specks.

"A tiger's roar." Ye Xinglan's beautiful eyes lit up as she said impatiently, "Nan Liujing, you get me, right?"

Nan Liujing chuckled. "Then let's go see what this tiger-type soul beast is made of."

The two immediately set off, running toward the source of the roar.

Beneath the interwoven trees, a white figure darted continuously between broken trunks and rubble. Behind her, faintly visible through a dim sheen, strands of dark yellow thread floated in the air like a great web, gradually tightening the space in which she could move.

Whoosh.

Just as the white figure leaped over a boulder and landed, a shadow descended behind her. A sharp whistle of wind tore through the air, aiming straight for her head.

White Tiger Body Protection!

Strands of black and white hair could faintly be seen amid her reddish-brown hair. Their owner had a cold, pretty face. The purple soul ring in the first position around her body shone with deep violet light. In an instant, her body swelled slightly, and white fur covered most of it.

She swung out her right hand, and five golden claws like blades crashed violently against the sharp spider leg lunging at the back of her head.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

A piercing grinding sound rang out, accompanied by sparks from metal striking metal. Gusts of Soul Power continuously swept outward.

Whoosh.

A stench drifted over. Two more gleaming spider legs struck. Wu Sidu swept them with a cold glance and activated her second soul skill, White Tiger Blazing Light Wave, spitting out a blazing white orb of light.

The spider legs collided with it and visibly slowed.

Hiss!

An enraged cry came from the spider soul beast that had cast the shadow, its body as large as a millstone. Foul poisonous fumes wafted from its vicious mouthparts, followed by a dark green jet of venom.

But Wu Sidu had anticipated it. The Hell Spirit Cat martial soul instantly replaced the White Tiger martial soul. Her originally robust body became slender and nimble, and with a tap of her toes, she flashed several meters away.

Sizzle. Sizzle. Sizzle.

The poison corroded the grassland, and the surrounding plants rapidly withered and decayed.

Having successfully bought time, the thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider immediately changed tactics. Relying on its astonishing speed, it began circling around Wu Sidu.

Though the sight seemed absurd, Wu Sidu's face darkened. She had repeatedly activated two thousand-year soul skills and switched martial souls.

The Man Faced Demon Spider's tail continuously drew out thin strands of venomous silk. As they intertwined, they blocked every route by which she could retreat.

The Man Faced Demon Spider was notoriously vicious because, aside from strength, in which it was not particularly skilled, nearly all its other abilities were among the best—especially its corrosive poison and neurotoxin.

Even with the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul, Wu Sidu could not gain an advantage in speed. Now that she was pinned down, her hope of escaping grew even slimmer.

Nether Hundred Claws!

Wu Sidu did not wait helplessly for death. She chose a section of intertwined webbing that barely counted as weak. Over a hundred dark purple claw shadows flew out, and the tough silk began to snap. Yet the corrosive poison carried on it was also rapidly neutralizing the Soul Power contained in her soul skill.

Her attempt to open a path did not achieve any meaningful results. Meanwhile, the Man Faced Demon Spider completed its crude web prison, limiting the human before it to an area only twenty-five meters in diameter.

The next moment, its eight armored spider legs sprang like springs, launching its enormous body into the air. The eight beast eyes on its abdomen, resembling a ghostly face, burst with murderous desire.

Three-meter-long, slightly curved spider legs descended from the air. Wu Sidu had no time to continue clearing a path. Her delicate body flashed aside, evading the attack. However, this time, the Man Faced Demon Spider's assault was relentless, its eight legs slashing down madly.

With every dodge, Soul Power light rose from Wu Sidu's body, making her figure seem illusory. Yet under such circumstances, her speed was clearly beginning to decline, while her reserves of Soul Power plummeted.

I can't drag this out any longer.

Resolute intent surged in Wu Sidu's gorgeous heterochromatic eyes.

Hiss. The Man Faced Demon Spider would not give its prey a chance to catch her breath. After Wu Sidu dodged once again, it cautiously chose to spray out webbing rather than continue suppressing her with its legs.

The yellow-green web spread across the sky, making her already compressed range of movement even more restricted.

Black-and-white radiance suddenly lit up around Wu Sidu's body. She was just about to unleash her Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

But at that moment, a piercing electric crackle whistled toward her, accompanied by a voice infused with Soul Power.

"I'm paying back the candy I owed you."

Wu Sidu's pupils contracted. She saw a Coiled Dragon Staff wreathed in dark blue lightning arcs and covered in dragon scales forcefully prop up the web from the middle before slamming fiercely into the Man Faced Demon Spider. The astonishing force made the spider howl in pain, its carapace even denting inward.

The Coiled Dragon Staff dropped to the ground, and a golden candy bearing dragon patterns detached from it.

It's him!

A memory buried for years surfaced. Wu Sidu's beautiful eyes brightened, and she reached out with her jade-like hand. Without the slightest hesitation, she grabbed the candy and stuffed it into her mouth.

A rich orange flavor!

Vast energy poured through her limbs and bones. Her blood, already hot from battle, began to boil even more fiercely, and faint golden light emerged from her fair skin.

Feeling the astonishing power erupting within her, Wu Sidu's eyes widened slightly. Yet her thoughts moved swiftly, and she switched martial souls again. With a tiger's roar, the White Tiger possessed her.

Her first soul skill, White Tiger Body Protection, activated once more. Violent Soul Power fluctuations surged outward, as intense as a tsunami crashing against land. She leaped forward, her right tiger claw striking fiercely at the Man Faced Demon Spider that had crashed into the web.

Numbed by the electricity from the Coiled Dragon Staff, the Man Faced Demon Spider had not escaped immediately. By the time Wu Sidu attacked, it had only just regained the ability to move. At this point, escaping was entirely impossible.

It thrust out its spider legs at high speed, blocking before the head targeted by the tiger claw.

With a boom, the tiger claw, enhanced by Golden Dragon Body, bloomed with dazzling golden radiance. Its heavy force poured down like water bursting through a dam.

Crack!

The spider leg that even many strength-type three-ring Soul Elders could do nothing against snapped on the spot. Wu Sidu was like a boulder pressing down on the Man Faced Demon Spider, and the web supporting its body quickly collapsed as well.

Bang!

The Man Faced Demon Spider's huge body crashed to the ground with a dull thud. Its broken legs could no longer support it, leaving it sprawled on the earth.

Its mournful shrieks echoed through the forest. Fear appeared in its cold, bloodthirsty beast eyes as it changed from hunter to prey.

"Die!"

A cold shout rang out. A dark purple phantom flashed past, its sharpness seeming to pierce space itself and leave behind fine traces.

A layer of sharp blade-like edges covered Wu Sidu's right arm as she drove it viciously into the Man Faced Demon Spider's head, its weakest defensive point. Terrifying power instantly shredded its brain.

The dreaded soul beast killer, a thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider, perished just like that.

Everything had changed in the span of a few flashes of lightning.

"Huff... huff... huff!"

Having successfully slain it, Wu Sidu panted heavily. Her Soul Power had been completely depleted, but a delighted smile appeared on her pretty face as she turned to look to the side.

Two figures tore apart the remaining webbing and walked directly before her.

She completely ignored the girl with the golden high ponytail, whose beauty did not lose to her own. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the smiling boy.

"Long time no see. You've gotten even stronger." Nan Liujing greeted her with a smile.

Wu Sidu was just about to speak when the world suddenly spun around her. Her delicate body involuntarily tipped forward.

Caught off guard, Nan Liujing hurriedly stepped forward and caught her in his arms.

Her warm, soft body pressed against him, and his chest inexplicably brushed against a faintly raised softness.

A flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes, and the words he wanted to say were swallowed back down.

As expected of someone who inherited the Zhu Family bloodline. How old was she, exactly?

Quickly casting aside the strange thoughts in his mind, Nan Liujing heard Wu Sidu speak from within his embrace, her voice pleasant. "I just used too much Soul Power. I'm fine."

Nan Liujing glanced at the Man Faced Demon Spider dissolving into points of spiritual energy and said in a low voice, "Your luck is good enough to encounter a thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider."

Wu Sidu said helplessly, "Man Faced Demon Spiders have always been cautious. It only ambushed me after I killed several century-old soul beasts and had used up some energy."

The two chatted back and forth, neither noticing that Ye Xinglan stood alone behind them as though the world had abandoned her.

Her azure eyes stared blankly at Nan Liujing holding another girl as beautiful as herself. She knew their relationship was perfectly normal.

But... why do I feel so uncomfortable?

After a while, sensing that Wu Sidu's aura had stabilized, Nan Liujing said, "Meditate and recover. I'll stand guard for you."

"Alright."

Feeling the contact against her chest, Wu Sidu's pretty face flushed. She withdrew from his arms, immediately closed her eyes, sat cross-legged on the ground, and entered meditation.

"You know each other?"

Only then did Ye Xinglan speak, her tone inexplicable.

Nan Liujing did not notice anything and explained with a smile, "Sido and I met when we were six. We awakened our martial souls together back then. Oh, right, she's also Uncle Wu's daughter."

After the older generation had started their own families, each had their own matters to deal with and rarely gathered, much less brought their children together. Thus, Ye Xinglan did not know Wu Sidu.

"She's strong. She's an opponent worth taking seriously." Ye Xinglan stared at Wu Sidu, her voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

Nan Liujing assumed her hands were itching for a fight again and hurriedly said, "Let's skip the sparring. I still need to complete the task our teacher assigned."

Ye Xinglan shook her head. "There's no rush to spar. I'll wait for the right day."

Nan Liujing had just breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of several moving figures approaching from the corner of his eye.

Soon, a group slowly entered Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan's field of vision.

"They're from Shrek." Ye Xinglan noticed that quite a few people in the group wore dark green clothing.

Nan Liujing's eyes brightened. He spotted Yu Jiutian among them, along with Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and Xu Cang. This team of over twenty included Shrek students as well as soul masters from other factions. Being able to assemble such a large team was impressive in itself.

Within the beginner Spirit Ascension Platform, unless they encountered a pack of Flame Mad Lions or the Spirit Ascension Platform's guardian, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, they could practically go wherever they pleased.

At the same time, the team led by Yu Jiutian, Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and Xu Cang also noticed Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan standing within the damaged web.

The two sides stood dozens of meters apart, watching each other from afar.

Unlike Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan's calmness, Yu Jiutian and the others could not help showing subtle reactions.

The nearby spiderwebs had not yet lost their toxicity. Anyone who had paid attention in class could recognize them.

A Man Faced Demon Spider, a top-tier soul beast killer. Judging by the color of its silk, it seemed to have been released by a thousand-year one. An ordinary three-ring soul master could only kneel and surrender before it.

"Found you!"

While the others were still warily examining the webs to avoid accidentally touching them and being poisoned, a somewhat handsome boy suddenly stepped forward and shouted furiously at Ye Xinglan.

This scene immediately drew the attention of the others. In truth, they were not originally one team. Rather, they had all been attracted by the death scream the Man Faced Demon Spider had let out.

After seeing Ye Xinglan's face clearly, some people visibly realized something and suppressed smiles at the corners of their mouths. Others were utterly confused, such as Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and Xu Cang.

Ye Xinglan looked at the boy and suddenly understood. "So it's you. Has the hole in your butt healed?"

At those words, veins bulged on Yu Weinan's forehead. There had been so many people nearby that night. Before everyone's eyes, he, a dignified member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Direct Faction, had been ambushed and stabbed through the butt with a sword, leaving blood all over the ground.

He had sworn then that he would not rest until he had avenged this humiliation.

Yu Jiutian frowned slightly. He was clearly younger than the other Shrek students, with an ordinary face that nevertheless gave off a steady, composed impression.

Through the webbing, he said to Ye Xinglan, "Wounding a Shrek student within Shrek Academy warrants severe punishment. If you apologize, we can let this matter pass. What do you say?"

Ye Xinglan sneered. "Punishment according to the rules? That was clearly self-defense. Are you saying that if I buy something in Shrek Academy, you students can take it whenever you want without permission? What kind of logic is that?"

Yu Weinan had wanted to say that his status as a Shrek student was the logic, but with Mo Jue and Li Qiankun, the first-year Class Monitor and Vice Class Monitor, present, he could only change his wording and retort, "I gave you money."

"You gave me money?" Ye Xinglan snorted coldly. "You mean after snatching my grilled fish, you tossed a few coins at me and said something about rewarding me, telling me not to bother with change. You call that paying? That was clearly a challenge! I accepted, so I stabbed you in the butt."

"If you're unconvinced, then let's spar right here and see who wins and who loses!"

"But don't worry. Even if you get stabbed in the butt in the Spirit Ascension Platform, you won't really have an extra hole when you return to reality."

"Pfft." Someone in the group could not hold it in and laughed.

"You!"

Yu Weinan instantly turned red with rage, like someone who had just lost a game.

"Then it's settled. We'll have another spar."

Yu Jiutian interjected coldly. As one of the candidates for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's patriarch, he did not really want to involve himself in such trivial nonsense. His urgent priority was to spar with the other ranked contenders, defeat them, and add to his leverage in the future struggle for the patriarch's position. But Yu Weinan was his second uncle's son, so he had no choice but to intervene.

"Soul masters should settle their grudges using the methods of soul masters."

Though Yu Jiutian was young, his words carried an unquestionable tone.

A cold glint flickered in Yu Weinan's eyes. He immediately walked out from the crowd, and three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—lit up around him. A fourteen-year-old three-ring Soul Elder was already fairly good, but he did not possess a pure Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. His was an inferior martial soul, the Thunder Claw Dragon.

Nan Liujing said softly, "After you finish, I'll take my turn."

A smile curled across Ye Xinglan's lips. Holding the Stargod Sword, she calmly walked out of the web-covered area. Her cultivation was indeed somewhat lower than his, but in battles below the three-ring level, unless someone had a ten-thousand-year soul ring or an absurdly overpowered martial soul, skill could make up for the gap.

I've noticed that the cultivation levels of Shrek Academy students in Dou San are generally very low.

In Dou Two, setting Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng aside, the others were around rank fifty-five at nineteen. In Dou San, third-year students were roughly eighteen or nineteen, yet there were only two Soul Kings. This Mo Jue was merely rank fifty-one. The gap is far too large. It makes me wonder, when writing fanfiction, how Shrek Academy can possibly be so strong without relying on battle armor when its students' cultivation is this low.

It's really baffling.

Could it be that they all go directly into the inner court? Because during Sea God's Fate, the inner court clearly had over a hundred students, and the weakest were all Soul Kings.