Star Dou Great Forest

Everyone was shocked to see Zhang Lexuan and Zhou Yi.

Were Shrek's teachers all this hardworking?

Her teeth looked like they were about to fall out, and she still wanted to go to the Star Dou Great Forest. That was like bringing a lantern into a cesspit—asking for death.

Although Xiao Xiao knew Zhou Yi was her homeroom teacher, she didn't think it was a good idea for Zhou Yi to come along either.

Whenever this teacher lectured, it felt like her left and right brains were fighting each other. Half of what she said made sense, while the other half made her seem a few screws short.

What if she got confused in the Star Dou Great Forest?

Wouldn't that indirectly get them all killed?

"Teacher Zhou, although you're a Soul Emperor, you're already quite old. There's no need for you to take such a risk. If you want those medicinal herbs up ahead, we can bring them back for you."

She'd already put it very tactfully. If Zhou Yi hadn't been her homeroom teacher, and had dared to make such an unreasonable request,

Xiao Xiao would have punched her without hesitation.

She wasn't the sort of person who couldn't tell how serious a situation was. How could she let someone so dangerous follow them just because of her appearance?

Behind her, Ma Xiaotao couldn't help giving Xiao Xiao a thumbs-up.

She hadn't expected this little girl to have such a brave side.

Hadn't the people from the Outer Courtyard told her about that Perverted Old Auntie nickname?

Still, this little thing had some brains. She'd really underestimated her.

Zhou Yi, who had been asking Zhang Lexuan and the others for help, couldn't sit still any longer.

She had to go along and show off her talents. By slowly winning Xuanyuan Sheng over, she could raise his opinion of her and complete the task before its half-day time limit ran out.

If they did what Xiao Xiao suggested, she wouldn't stand a chance at all.

That Transformation Technique under the moonlight might turn her entire body old. If that happened, her whole world would truly come crashing down.

Zhou Yi hurriedly said in a fluster, "You don't need to worry that I'll be a burden. I can protect myself."

A few strange objects flashed across the ground. Other than Zhang Lexuan, no one knew what they were.

A look of astonishment flashed through Zhang Lexuan's eyes. She hadn't expected an old woman from the Outer Courtyard to possess such a powerful weapon as a Fixed-Stationary Soul Tool.

The Soul Engineer knowledge she'd acquired included information about Fixed-Stationary Soul Tools.

And it was Dean Fan Yu of the Soul Tool Department who had taken the wisdom of those who came before and used it to create such things.

What puzzled Zhang Lexuan, though, was that no information about Fixed-Stationary Soul Tools had ever circulated.

That meant

the technology was still immature, and Soul Masters couldn't use it easily.

Yet in her mind, the technology was already mature, and the tools could truly be used by low-level Soul Masters.

To make something like a Level 9 Fixed-Stationary Soul Tool, one only needed to reach the rank of Level 9 Soul Engineer.

Zhou Yi calmed down. "Those things just now are enough for us to move around freely outside the core area."

She thought smugly that she had Fan Yu to thank. Otherwise, she would have been punished again.

Then Xuanyuan Sheng, who had been standing nearby, spoke up. "Sister Lexuan, let's bring along that old woman from the neighboring class."

Zhang Lexuan naturally had no objections to her little brother's suggestion.

Since he had spoken, she could only agree.

As for why Xuanyuan Sheng wanted to bring the old woman along,

it was simply because, when Humanity's Luck had attached itself to his eyes just now, he'd noticed that Zhou Yi also had some Humanity's Luck.

At the moment, it was about equal to Xiao Xiao and Ma Xiaotao's, or perhaps a little lower.

The Humanity's Luck on all four of them, added together, was just enough to keep the Humanity's Luck within Xuanyuan Sheng cultivating automatically.

Cultivating with Humanity's Luck had much the same effect as entering the Golden Ancient Tree with Ma Xiaotao and the others. Both methods sped up cultivation.

As long as Xuanyuan Sheng mainly harvested the luck on Zhou Yi to cultivate, he might be able to condense a sixth Soul Ring with Humanity's Luck after helping Xiao Xiao obtain hers.

It all worked out perfectly.

The only consequence for Zhou Yi after her luck was absorbed would be bad luck, until her Humanity's Luck condensed again.

This method was only suitable for people like Sister Lexuan and Zhou Yi. He simply wouldn't use it on his own people.

Ordinary people's luck wasn't like theirs. It hadn't condensed into a spring that could gush outward; they only had that little bit of luck their bodies could hold.

Since he was in a bind either way, Xuanyuan Sheng could only choose someone who wouldn't make things difficult for him. The only candidate was Zhou Yi, whose reputation was as bad as it could get.

When Zhou Yi heard Xuanyuan Sheng invite her along, she was overjoyed.

She was so touched!!!

This was the first time in ages she'd gotten off to a decent start.

With her usual tasks, the moment she got close to Xuanyuan Sheng, the progress bar would plummet at an incredible speed until she failed.

Then she'd be forced to accept those punishments.

"Thank you, student. Teacher will protect everyone together with Lexuan."

Zhou Yi patted her hunched back and spoke with conviction.

Ma Xiaotao, who was also a Soul Emperor, pointed at herself from the side.

What about me?

Wasn't she a Soul Emperor too? Weren't the Inner Courtyard's volcano and the Flame Maniac nickname enough to make people remember Ma Xiaotao?

The group exchanged glances but said nothing.

They simply packed up, checked what supplies they were missing, and, once they'd replenished everything, headed for the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

After a long journey from Shrek City, they reached the Star Dou Great Forest nearby.

Many Soul Hunting teams, sects, and academies often wandered around the outskirts.

Since there was profit to be made here, merchants had gathered in droves, creating the unusual sight of a small supply town.

They traveled for a long time.

In the end, the group chose a nearby spot that was suitable for a meal and sat down. According to their plans, they intended to head to the outskirts that night.

After all, anyone who came from the academy needed to stay alert. Otherwise, if they ran into an Evil Soul Master attack without being prepared, they'd be done for.

Evil Soul Masters were human. They might not attack openly,

but anyone who'd faced a Soul Beast attack in the wild wouldn't panic so easily or have no idea how to handle an unexpected situation, right?

After entering the restaurant,

the group split into two tables to eat and replenish their supplies.

Xuanyuan Sheng and Zhang Lexuan's group of three made a table of their own.

Zhou Yi could only eat by herself at the side.

She didn't mind at all. Still, Zhou Yi felt somewhat uneasy about following along. After all, she hadn't chosen to check Xuanyuan Sheng's opinion of her yet.

But at least his opinion of her couldn't be bad if he let her stay by his side, right?

"Go on, Xiao Xiao. You kept saying you were hungry just now, but now that all the good food is on the table, you aren't eating. Could it be... you want to drink instead?"

Ma Xiaotao teased Xiao Xiao, who was trying to act ladylike in front of everyone.

She'd been keeping an eye on Xiao Xiao.

The girl wasn't particularly graceful when she ate, but she wasn't messy either. She'd simply gotten tired from walking and desperately needed to fill her stomach.

She was probably afraid she'd scare everyone with how she ate.