Star Dou Great Forest lay south of the Barak Kingdom, with Suotuo City located in the kingdom's central region. The two were only a little over five hundred kilometers apart.
And as the largest gathering place for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent, Star Dou Great Forest was considered the most complete and diverse soul beast habitat.
The reason they had all come here was to head into Star Dou Great Forest and help O'Sullivan find a suitable soul ring.
Since they were all soul masters, their traveling speed was naturally much faster than an ordinary person's.
They had spent only a day on the road. After traveling a little over four hundred kilometers, they left the forest behind. As night fell, they happened upon a small town.
Seeing that there was no way to find the soul beast he wanted today, O'Sullivan ordered everyone to rest for the night in the little town and set out again early tomorrow morning.
After walking through the town for a while, they stopped in front of an ordinary-looking inn.
"Let's stay here! Get a good night's rest. Once we reach Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow, I'll be relying on you to look after yourselves. As for lodging and meals, you'll have to pay for those yourselves."
Since O'Sullivan had already explained the arrangements before setting out, everyone knew what to expect. Dai Mubai stepped forward and said,
"I'll pay for it tonight. We're all lucky to be studying together at Shrek Academy. Just let me treat you all to a meal."
Dai Mubai's words sounded generous, but everyone knew he was talking about Zhu Zhuqing.
Unfortunately, his words were wasted. Zhu Zhuqing didn't even look at him, much less acknowledge him; she simply turned and walked over to Luo Yao.
"Luo Yao, let's sit over there. I'm treating you tonight."
Luo Yao paid no attention to Dai Mubai. She smiled faintly, then walked over and sat with Zhu Zhuqing at another table.
Seeing this, Dai Mubai's face darkened. Beneath his calm expression, a trace of murderous intent surfaced; he wished he could tear Luo Yao apart.
What made things even worse was that Duoxu had Xiao Wu tucked under her arm, chatting and laughing with her.
"Sorry, my friend and I would rather sit with Zhuqing."
Xiao Wu shrugged, then gave Han San an apologetic look before letting Duoxu lead her over to sit with Luo Yao and Zhu Zhuqing.
Han San had assumed Xiao Wu was being forced into it. What he didn't know was that Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing had already planned this with Duoxu.
Whenever they got the chance, the three of them wanted to sit together. That way, they could gradually put distance between themselves and Han San. Once they'd spent enough time apart, it would only seem natural for Han San and Xiao Wu to drift apart as well.
Though he'd been caught off guard, Han San didn't take it personally. He patted Dai Mubai's shoulder, deliberately trying to comfort him in his own way.
"Come on, Dai. I'm sitting with everyone else, too."
Though Dai Mubai knew he and Han San weren't in the same situation, his spirits lifted a little. At least he had someone to talk to.
"You fatso, you're such a glutton. Get over here. I'm going to have a feast!"
Dai Mubai, furious, vented his anger on the food, wolfing down one bite after another.
Ma Hongjun, who was always happy to join him, swallowed ten plates of food in one sitting. Han San stared at him, dumbfounded.
Just as Han San was waiting for the food to arrive, another group of eight entered the restaurant.
They wore the uniforms of the Canghui Academy. Anyone with a keen eye could tell immediately that they were soul masters, and the innkeeper hurried over to greet them.
Ma Hongjun's gaze immediately fixed on the only girl among the eight Canghui Academy students. A lewd gleam flashed in his eyes.
"That girl's pretty good-looking, Dai. She's from Canghui Academy, isn't she?"
Dai Mubai was already annoyed with Zhu Zhuqing for not giving him the time of day. Now, seeing the Canghui Academy group swagger in as though they owned the place, without even greeting him, only made his temper flare.
He hadn't been able to find a chance to pick a fight with Luo Yao; otherwise, he'd have started one with her long ago.
But now that the Canghui Academy students had appeared, Dai Mubai had found a target on which to vent all his pent-up anger.
He deliberately raised his voice so the others could hear him.
"Just a bunch of Canghui Academy students. What a bunch of trash."
Ma Hongjun echoed Dai Mubai's contemptuous words, barking out his agreement.
"It's a good thing we're here," O'Sullivan said to Han San in a low voice.
Han San looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean, 'good thing'?"
O'Sullivan chuckled.
"Our dean calls himself a rational soul master. But a soul master who doesn't dare cause trouble isn't much of a soul master. As the saying goes, a man who doesn't dare cause trouble is a coward. Dai and the fatso are deliberately trying to rile them up."
"When they can't hold back and throw the first punch, they'll have an excuse to teach them a lesson."
Han San nearly burst out laughing when he heard that.
That Dean Chang Feng really knew what he was doing. He'd managed to get his old friend involved, too. He was definitely no ordinary man.
While he was helping Dai Mubai stir up trouble, Luo Yao, who'd been quietly watching the whole thing, was also writing in her diary.
[Just as expected, they're here.]
[The Canghui Academy students haven't done anything at all. They just came to eat, but Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun are deliberately provoking them. What a shame.]
[Though I can understand why. In the original story, Xiao Wu and Duoxu weren't only opposed to the two of them. They even teamed up with them, and helped them as well.]
[It really has been a long time since I've seen people as shameless as the Shrek Academy bunch.]
[I wonder, now that she's getting along so well with Zhu Zhuqing, if I show her how much I disagree with Shrek Academy's ideals, what will she choose to do?]
[Let's find out. If Xiao Wu doesn't end up like she did in her previous life, teaming up with Han San, Dai Mubai, and the others, then there's still hope for her.]
When they had all settled down, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Duoxu exchanged glances.
Luo Yao was right. This was a great opportunity.
They could make their position clear to Han San and Dai Mubai. Even Xiao Wu could be seen as having drawn a line between herself and Han San. After that, everything that happened would make sense.
At the thought, Xiao Wu felt a surge of excitement.
She was grateful to him for creating such a perfect opportunity. Neither Luo Yao nor Han San would suspect her.
At that moment, the four of them formally began their scheme against Canghui Academy.
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