Encountering Wu Sidao Again, Ye Xinglan's Stunned Reaction, It Was Clearly Me

I got here first!

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

Bright yellow sword light flowed like stars, casting a hazy glow through the dim forest.

With a high ponytail and tight-fitting clothes, the pretty yet heroic girl danced amid the wolf pack. With each sword strike, it was as though she carved a star-dusted chasm somewhere beyond the reach of the eye, preventing the frenzied green wolves from attacking her together. Time and again, she borrowed their attacks to defend herself, then stabbed out from tricky angles with every strike, always making a green wolf Soul Beast howl in pain.

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

A moment later, the leader of this pack of over twenty hundred-year green wolves had gained a sword mark across its buttocks. Howling miserably, it gave the order to retreat.

The wolf pack scampered away with their tails between their legs.

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"Hey, don't run!"

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

"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 one side.

Ye Xinglan said sulkily, "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. I really don't know what to find for you now."

"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 was pretty strong. Let's go with that. I'll show you what it means to be swift as a shooting star later."

Nan Liujing did not take her words seriously.

After killing Black Mist Xu Sheng, the two of them had wandered through the forest for over an hour. They had encountered several people during that time, but unfortunately, none were worth adding to their list of targets.

In the end, they had all passed one another without incident. Then they encountered 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 roar came from the forest to their right. Countless birds took flight, streaking across the firmament like specks.

"A tiger 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 tiger roar.

Beneath the interwoven trees, a white figure darted constantly between broken trunks and shattered rocks. Behind her, through the faint glow, faint dark yellow silk threads could be seen suspended in the air, like a huge net gradually shrinking the area available for movement.

Whoosh.

Just as the white figure leaped over a boulder and landed, a shadow fell behind her. A sharp whistle tore through the air, aimed directly at her head.

White Tiger Body Protection Barrier!

Amid her brown-red long hair were faint strands of black and white. Its owner had a cold, beautiful face. The first purple Soul Ring on her body shone with deep violet light. In an instant, her body swelled slightly, and white fur covered most of her.

She swung out her right hand, and five Golden Claws like blades collided viciously with the sharp spider legs striking at the back of her head.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

An ear-piercing grinding sound rang out, accompanied by sparks from metal striking metal. Waves of Soul Power continuously surged outward.

Whoosh.

A foul stench drifted over. Two more gleaming spider legs came stabbing in. Wu Sidao swept them with a cold glance and activated her Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Blazing Light Wave, spitting out a blazing white ball of light.

When the spider legs collided with it, they clearly slowed.

Hiss.

An angry, startled cry came from the spider-type Soul Beast lurking in the shadows, which was as large as a millstone. Foul-smelling venomous gas poured from its hideous mouthparts, followed by a beam of dark green poisonous liquid shooting toward her.

But Wu Sidao had already anticipated it. Her Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul instantly replaced her White Tiger Martial Soul, turning her originally robust delicate body slender and agile. With a tap of her toes, she flashed several meters away.

Screech, screech, screech.

The deadly poison corroded the grass, and the surrounding plants swiftly withered and decayed.

Having successfully stalled for time, the Thousand-Year Man Faced Demon Spider immediately changed its strategy. With astonishing speed, it began circling around Wu Sidao.

Though the scene looked almost absurd, Wu Sidao's expression turned grim after consecutively activating two Thousand-Year Soul Skills and switching Martial Souls.

The Man Faced Demon Spider continuously drew out long, thin poisonous threads from its tail. As they intertwined, they blocked every route she could use to retreat.

The Man Faced Demon Spider's fierce reputation came from the fact that, aside from strength, which was not its specialty, nearly all its other abilities were exceptional—especially its corrosive and neurotoxic venom.

Even with the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul, she could not gain the upper hand in speed. Now that she was trapped, her hope of escape grew even slimmer.

Hell Hundred Claws!

Wu Sidao did not wait helplessly for death. She chose a section of the web that was barely considered weak, and over a hundred dark purple claw shadows flew out. The tough silk threads began to snap, but the corrosive poison on them was also rapidly offsetting the Soul Power within her Soul Skill.

She failed to open an effective path, but at that moment, the Man Faced Demon Spider completed its crude web prison, restricting the human before it to an area only twenty-five meters in diameter.

The next instant, its eight armored spider legs sprang like springs, launching its massive body into the air. The eight beast pupils on its abdomen, shaped like a ghostly face, burst with murderous desire.

Three-meter-long, slightly curved sharp spider legs descended from above. Wu Sidao had no time to keep breaking through. Her delicate body flashed aside to evade, but this time, the Man Faced Demon Spider's assault was unending. Its eight spider legs slashed down madly.

With every dodge, Soul Power light surfaced around Wu Sidao's body, making her form appear blurred. Yet under such circumstances, her speed was visibly decreasing, and her Soul Power reserves were plummeting.

I can't drag this out any longer.

Resolute intent rose in Wu Sidao's gorgeous heterochromatic eyes.

Hiss. The Man Faced Demon Spider would not give its prey a chance to catch her breath. After Wu Sidao dodged once more, it cautiously chose to spit out a web rather than keep suppressing her with its spider legs.

The yellow-green web blanketed the sky. Her already compressed space to maneuver instantly became even more restricted.

Black-and-white radiance suddenly flared from Wu Sidao's body. She was just about to unleash her Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

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

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

Wu Sidao's pupils shrank. She saw a Dragon Subduing Staff wrapped in dark blue electric arcs and covered entirely in dragon scales forcefully brace the web open from the middle, then slam fiercely into the Man Faced Demon Spider. The astonishing force made the Man Faced Demon Spider let out a roar of pain, and its shell even dented slightly.

The Dragon Subduing Staff dropped to the ground, and a golden candy marked with dragon patterns detached from it.

"It's him!"

Memories buried for years surfaced. Wu Sidao's beautiful eyes brightened. She reached out with her jade-like hand, took the candy without hesitation, and popped it into her mouth.

A rich orange flavor!

Vast energy flowed into her limbs and bones. Her blood, already heated by battle, began boiling even more fiercely, and faint Golden Light surfaced across her fair skin.

Feeling the astonishing strength erupt within her, Wu Sidao's eyes flashed with surprise, but her thoughts moved swiftly. She switched Martial Souls once more. With a tiger roar, the White Tiger possessed her body.

Her First Soul Skill, White Tiger Body Protection Barrier, activated again. Violent Soul Power Fluctuations spread outward, as powerful as a tsunami crashing against land. She sprang forward, and her right tiger claw smashed fiercely toward the Man Faced Demon Spider pinned against the web.

Paralyzed by the electrical current from the Dragon Subduing Staff, the Man Faced Demon Spider had not escaped immediately. By the time Wu Sidao charged at it, it had only just regained its ability to move. Trying to flee now was completely impossible.

It rapidly thrust out its spider legs, blocking the tiger claw aimed at its head.

With a boom, the tiger claw, enhanced by Golden Dragon Body, erupted with dazzling Golden Radiance. Its crushing force poured forth like water breaking through a dam.

Crack!

The spider leg that even many three-ring Soul Elders specialized in strength could do nothing against snapped on the spot. Wu Sidao 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 massive body crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. Its broken spider legs could no longer support it, leaving it only able to crawl across the ground.

Its mournful hissing echoed through the forest. Its cold, bloodthirsty beast pupils revealed the dread of a hunter turned prey.

"Die!"

A chilling feminine shout rang out. A dark purple phantom swept past, its sharp force seeming to pierce space itself and leave behind fine traces.

A layer of sharp blades covered Wu Sidao's right arm as she drove it viciously into the Man Faced Demon Spider's head, its weakest point of defense. Terrifying force instantly shredded its brain.

The dignified Soul Beast killer, a Thousand Year Level Man Faced Demon Spider, died on the spot just like that.

Everything had changed in the span of a flash.

Huff, huff, huff!

After the successful kill, Wu Sidao panted heavily. Her Soul Power had been completely exhausted, but a satisfied smile appeared on her pretty face as she turned to look to the side.

Two figures tore through the remaining web and walked directly up to her.

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

"It's been years. You've become even stronger." Nan Liujing greeted her with a smile.

Wu Sidao had just opened her mouth when she suddenly felt dizzy. Her delicate body could not stop itself from falling forward.

Caught off guard, Nan Liujing hurried forward and pulled her into his arms.

Her soft, fragrant body pressed against him, and his chest unexpectedly brushed against a slightly raised softness.

A flash of shock crossed 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 even?

Quickly casting aside his strange thoughts, Nan Liujing heard Wu Sidao speak in his arms, her voice pleasant. "I just used up too much Soul Power. I'm fine."

Nan Liujing glanced at the Man Faced Demon Spider dissolving into spiritual light particles and said in a deep voice, "You were lucky to encounter a Thousand Year Level Man Faced Demon Spider."

Wu Sidao said helplessly, "Man Faced Demon Spiders are always cautious. It only ambushed me after I killed several hundred-year Soul Beasts and used up some of my strength."

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

Her azure blue eyes stared blankly at Nan Liujing holding another girl whose looks did not lose to hers. Though she knew their relationship was perfectly normal.

But... why do I feel so uncomfortable?

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

"Okay."

Feeling the contact against her chest, Wu Sidao's pretty face reddened as she left his embrace. She immediately closed her eyes, sat cross-legged on the ground, and entered a meditative state.

"You know each other?"

Only then did Ye Xinglan speak, her tone unreadable.

Nan Liujing failed to notice it and explained with a smile, "Si Duo and I met when we were six. We even awakened our Martial Souls together back then. Oh, right. She's also Uncle Wu's daughter."

Since the elders had all gotten married, each had their own matters to attend to and rarely gathered, much less brought their children together. That was why Ye Xinglan did not know Wu Sidao.

"She's strong. She's an opponent worth taking seriously." Ye Xinglan stared at Wu Sidao, with no emotion audible in her voice.

Thinking this girl was itching for a fight, Nan Liujing quickly said, "Let's skip the sparring. I still have to finish the task my 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 lit up. He saw Yu Jiutian among the crowd. Besides him, Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and Xu Cang were also there. This team of over twenty contained Shrek Academy Students as well as Soul Masters from other factions. Being able to form such a large group was quite impressive.

On the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform, unless they encountered a pack of Flame 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 group led by Yu Jiutian, Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and Xu Cang also noticed Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan standing within the ruined web.

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

Unlike Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan's calmness, Yu Jiutian and the others could not help but look slightly moved.

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 from the color of its silk, it seemed to have been released by one at the Thousand Year Level. An ordinary three-ring Soul Master facing it could only kneel and sing a song of surrender.

"I found you!"

While everyone else was cautiously observing the webs to avoid accidentally touching them and getting poisoned, a fairly handsome young man suddenly stepped forward and shouted furiously at Ye Xinglan.

This immediately drew the attention of everyone else in the group. In truth, they were not originally one team. Rather, they had all been drawn here by the Man Faced Demon Spider's dying scream.

After recognizing Ye Xinglan's face, some people clearly remembered something and suppressed smiles. Others looked utterly confused, such as Mo Jue, Li Qiankun, and Xu Cang.

Ye Xinglan stared at the young man and said in realization, "So it was you. Has the hole in your butt healed yet?"

At those words, veins instantly bulged on Yu Weinan's forehead. There had been so many people nearby that night. Before everyone's eyes, he, a direct line member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, had been ambushed and had his butt pierced by a sword, leaving blood all over the ground.

He had sworn then that he would not be a man until he avenged this grudge.

Yu Jiutian frowned slightly. He was clearly younger than the other Shrek Academy Students. His face was ordinary, yet he gave off a steady, mature sense of déjà vu.

Through the spider silk, he said to Ye Xinglan, "Stabbing and injuring a Shrek Academy Student within Shrek Academy is a serious offense deserving severe punishment. If you apologize, we can let the matter go. What do you say?"

Ye Xinglan sneered. "Deserving punishment? That was clearly self-defense. Are you saying that if I buy something in Shrek Academy, you students can just take it without permission? What kind of logic is that?"

Yu Weinan had wanted to say that his status as a Shrek Academy 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 words 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 giving change. You call that paying? That was clearly a challenge! I agreed, so I stabbed you in the butt."

"If you're not convinced, then let's spar right here and see who wins and who loses!"

"But don't worry. Even if your butt gets stabbed on the Spirit Ascension Platform, you won't really have another hole when you return to reality."

"Pfft." Someone in the group could not hold back 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 cut in coldly. As one of the candidates for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's clan head, he did not really want to deal with such nonsense. His priority was to spar with the other ranked participants, defeat them, and add to his leverage in the future fight for the clan head position. But Yu Weinan was his second uncle's son, so he could not ignore it.

"Soul Masters should use a Soul Master's methods to settle grudges."

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

A cold glint flickered in Yu Weinan's eyes. He immediately stepped 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 not bad, but his Martial Soul was not the pure Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. It was the inferior Thunder Claw Dragon.

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

A faint smile curved Ye Xinglan's lips. Holding the Stargod Sword, she calmly walked out of the area covered by spider silk. 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 powerful Martial Soul, skill could make up for the difference.

I've noticed that Shrek Academy Students in Dou San generally have very low cultivation.

In Dou Er, leaving Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng aside, the others were around rank fifty-five at nineteen. But in Dou San, third-year students were roughly eighteen to nineteen, yet there were only two Soul Kings, and this Mo Jue was only rank fifty-one. The gap was far too large. This made me wonder while writing fanfiction: with students' cultivation so low, how exactly was Shrek Academy so powerful without relying on Battle Armor?

It was really baffling.

Could it be that they all went directly into the Inner Court? Because during Sea God's Fate, the Inner Court clearly had over a hundred students, and the weakest among them were all Soul Kings.