Nuoding Academy, Sea Soul Beast Trio's Fierce Assault!

Those bandits, having confirmed Ye Wen and his two companions' route, set up an ambush ahead on the deserted mountain path.

Soon, the carriage carrying Ye Wen arrived at that mountain road.

The bandits lying in wait had no idea they were already staring death in the face, still chattering excitedly: "Boss, we're gonna be rich this time! I've been watching them for two days—those three brats are loaded!"

"Hahaha! Once we rob those little brats' money, we'll eat and drink well, and get ourselves some pretty girls!"

"You got it~!"

There were ten bandits in total. Their leader was a Soul Elder-level soul master, while the rest were all Soul Grand Masters.

Seeing the carriage enter their ambush range, they charged out without hesitation.

"Hey hey hey! You little brats in that carriage, get out here right now!" one shouted arrogantly.

"What's going on?"

In their Humanoid Forms, Ye Wen and the other two were only at the Soul Master level, so they hadn't sensed they were being watched. But not a trace of panic showed on their faces as they slowly stepped down from the carriage.

"Hehehe, you little brats, blame your bad luck for catching our eye. In your next life, pick a better family to be born into. Your money's ours to spend now," the bandits snarled with vicious expressions.

"Looks like we've run into some robbers," Ye Wen said.

"Boss, can I kill them?"

Evil Tiger was already raring to go. He'd wanted to kill for a long time, but Ye Wen had said no random slaughter, so he'd held back.

Seeing these bandits, Evil Tiger was thrilled.

"Kill them," Ye Wen said lazily.

He wasn't some saint. These people clearly intended to murder them for their money. Against those who wanted him dead, he'd respond in kind.

"Brothers, move out!"

The bandits charged forward excitedly, only to see Evil Tiger looking even more thrilled than they were. That threw them off.

What's going on?

Why's this kid more excited than us?

No idea?

Until they saw Evil Tiger's form begin to shift, gradually turning into a bizarre man radiating a terrifying aura. Then the bandits finally panicked, frozen in fear.

"Hahaha! Humans, let me taste the flavor of your blood!"

Squelch~!

"Aaaahhh!"

In an instant, Evil Tiger severed the bandit leader's head, blood spraying everywhere.

Now the bandits were utterly terrified. The dread of death loomed over them, sending them scattering in panic.

"Die!"

"Run?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

Squelch!

"Aaah..."

Evil Tiger launched into a frenzied slaughter. Screams rang out one after another. Before long, he'd killed them all—not a single survivor.

"Now that's satisfying!"

The Evil Spirit Orca was, by nature, an extremely bloodthirsty Sea Soul Beast. Killing these people eased his mind considerably.

Suppressing his murderous nature all the time wasn't good either, Ye Wen thought. From now on, when Evil Tiger wanted to kill, he'd just let him target the wicked.

"Evil Tiger, come back."

"Yes, Boss."

Evil Tiger shifted back to human form, and the three continued on their way.

From here to Nuoding City would take at least half a month. With nothing else to do on the road, Ye Wen and his companions used the travel time to absorb Soul Power and meditate in cultivation.

Though their soul beast bodies were already powerful enough, their human forms still needed training. In fact, if their human forms cultivated to the pinnacle of Douluo, they might not be weaker than their soul beast forms.

Moreover, the time and cycles required for humans to reach the peak were far shorter and faster than for soul beasts. There was a chance—just a chance, of course.

That was why Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts like Ah Yin, Xiao Wu's mother, and Xiao Wu herself chose to transform.

Aside from eating, drinking, sleeping, and answering nature's call, Ye Wen and the others spent almost all their time cultivating. For soul beasts with their long lifespans, what was a little time like this? That's why soul beasts had more patience in training.

Before they knew it, half a month had passed.

Ye Wen was finally nearing Nuoding City. Along the way, a few more people had tried to rob them, but Evil Tiger killed them all.

Around eleven in the morning, the carriage carrying Ye Wen finally entered Nuoding City.

"So this is Nuoding City. It looks a bit like what I imagined," Ye Wen said, gazing at the city's buildings and layout. It was very close to what he'd seen in the anime back then.

They didn't waste any time and headed straight for Nuoding Academy.

Aside from wanting to beat up Tang San, his destined rival in the Fated Duel, Ye Wen actually had another consideration—whether or not to recruit Xiao Wu.

To be honest, he didn't really like this rabbit, but if Xiao Wu kept staying by Tang San's side, she'd sooner or later become his tool, and might even end up sacrificing herself, giving Tang San a Hundred Thousand Year Level Soul Ring.

He'd have to think it over regarding Xiao Wu.

A moment later, the carriage arrived at the gates of Nuoding Academy. Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai got off and swaggered toward the entrance.

"Hey! Stop right there, kids. You're not students of Nuoding—"

The gatekeeper tried to block them, but before he could finish, Chu Ye tossed him a Silver Soul Coin and said, "Open the gate. We're here to enroll."

The gatekeeper caught the coin with a delighted expression, unable to hide his joy, and hurried to open the door. "Come in, come in, young masters. The office building is to the left, then straight ahead, and you're there!"

"Thanks." Ye Wen waved a hand and strode inside.

Evil Tiger glanced sideways. "Tch, humans—always blinded by money."

Soon, the three reached the office building and found the principal of Nuoding Academy.

Even a dump of a primary academy like Nuoding barely accepted commoners, giving out only a few work-study slots each year.

The vast majority of Soul Masters from commoner backgrounds had to go to Martial Soul Hall's academies to learn Soul Master knowledge, where they were taken in and trained for free.

The empire's academies were for nobles, or for children from wealthy, powerful families who could afford tuition.

So when Ye Wen found the principal, he didn't waste words—he just pulled out a bag of Soul Coins and tossed it onto the principal's desk.

With a smile, he said, "Principal, is this enough for the three of us to study here?"

The principal took one look and immediately had someone process their enrollment. Just like that, they became transfer students in Nuoding Academy's First Grade.

Following the administrative teacher, they picked up two sets of uniforms, blankets, pillows, and the like, then began arranging their dormitory. Ye Wen specifically requested Dormitory Seven, where Xiao Wu and Tang San stayed.

The administrative teacher looked puzzled. "Are you sure? Dormitory Seven is for work-study students."

"Doesn't matter," Ye Wen said.

"Fine, then go to Dormitory Seven. There are plenty of empty beds there anyway."

Ye Wen nodded and led Evil Tiger and Xiao Bai toward Dormitory Seven.

It was noon now, right during the students' lunch break. Xiao Wu, Tang San, and the other work-study students were probably resting in the dorm.

Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai arrived with force, kicking open the door to Dormitory Seven in one go.

Bang!

"Whoa, who's that?!"

The door flew open, and everyone in the dorm jumped in surprise.