Why Didn't He Come?

Ning Rongrong seemed to have come to terms with it around noon that day.

She took the initiative to seek out Wu Qi, admitted her mistake, and resolved to correct it.

"Knowing your mistakes and changing is a great virtue. But I don't recommend that you enter the Star Dou Great Forest."

Wu Qi had not expected the problem giving Ning Fengzhi such a headache to be "solved" by him. He would definitely ask Ning Fengzhi for a reward later.

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

Golden Eagle Douluo was a renowned powerhouse on the continent. If he showed himself before Ning Rongrong, wouldn't that expose their true identities?

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

By then, he might not be able to protect Ning Rongrong.

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

If Ning Rongrong traveled with him and 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.

Qiangu Changkong could not help saying, "Brother Wu, if Rongrong stays behind alone, uncontrollable accidents may happen."

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

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

There was no shortage on Douluo Continent of people like know-it-alls from the martial world. Some Soul Master teams regularly ventured deep into Soul Beast Forests, memorizing the locations where certain soul beasts lived before selling that information for money.

Of course, the value of intelligence was unpredictable.

Before leaving, Qian Jun Douluo had given Qiangu Changkong quite a bit of spending 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 most small families, so buying intelligence would be no problem.

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

Meanwhile, Shrek Academy welcomed its annual enrollment season.

Following tradition, Dai Mubai maintained order at the registration site alongside Li Yusong.

Compared with previous years, Dai Mubai stared intently at 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 show his juniors the way. 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 status earlier, Tang San held a favorable impression of him. Their gazes met, and they immediately clasped their fists to each other.

Xiao Wu was extremely dissatisfied with Dai Mubai's behavior. 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, Mu Bai's private life may be improper. But he is a powerhouse among Soul Masters. In this world, the strong are respected, so it is only natural for women to approach him."

"Besides, he is our senior. There is no need for you to hate him so much, right?"

"And those two young men from yesterday may also be our seniors. We'll all be studying at the same academy in the future, so don't make things too tense."

Speaking of Wu Qi and the other boy, Xiao Wu did not feel much either way about them.

Since the two sides had not clashed, she said lazily, "That Pretty Boy is rather good-looking. I wonder how strong he is."

At the thought that they could spar with each other in the future, Xiao Wu's eyes brimmed with fighting spirit.

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

After searching for a while, he still did not spot Wu Qi or Qiangu Changkong. He also noticed that Dai Mubai was constantly looking for someone among the registration line.

"Could they not be students of Shrek Academy yet?"

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

With their outstanding talent and their arrival in Suotuo City at this time, Wu Qi and Qiangu Changkong would likely join Shrek Academy as well.

Just as in the original timeline, after Tang San and the others enrolled, they were dragged off to spar with Zhao Wuji.

Without Ning Rongrong's boosting soul skills and without Banjing Fajin, Tang San had an extremely difficult time in this match.

His Hidden Weapons enraged Zhao Wuji, but did not 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 excitedly sought out Zhao Wuji. "Old Zhao, the academy got some fine seedlings today, didn't it?"

He had not told Zhao Wuji about taking in disciples.

After all, Dai Mubai and Li Yusong were at the entrance. As long as Wu Qi and Qiangu 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 Mu Bai at the Great Soul Arena."

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

The one who could defeat Dai Mubai could not be Xiao Wu or Zhu Zhuqing. Both possessed beast martial souls and were suppressed by the bloodline of the White Tiger Martial Soul.

That left Tang San.

Could Tang San, at rank twenty-nine, defeat Dai Mubai, who was at rank thirty-seven? That was impossible, wasn't it?

If he used Hidden Weapons, Dai Mubai might indeed fall victim to them, but wouldn't that be an unfair victory?

Seeing Flender's expression, Zhao Wuji did not want to contradict him, so he went along with it and offered some praise.

Next, as expected, Tang Hao came looking for Zhao Wuji.

Flender's plea for mercy 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 too. It seems my friend has come as well."

"Old Zhao, have you arranged the dormitories for the three newly enrolled boys?"

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

Flender's expression stiffened.

His first suspicion was whether Wu Qi had been disguising himself as a woman, but after thinking it over carefully, he found the guess unreasonable.

For a moment, he stood there in a daze.

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

Without time to think further, he told Zhao Wuji to rest well before seeking out Dai Mubai.

At this moment, Dai Mubai was still standing guard at the academy entrance.

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

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

Yet the first person he waited for was not either of them, but Flender.

"Mu Bai, what exactly is going on? Did the disciple personally chosen by this headmaster not come?"

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.