A Fight by Agreement

"Didn't you ask me just now what kind of apology I wanted?"

Xiao Wu flashed a mischievous, smug smile. "Fight me. That's the apology I want!"

Le Bai had said it himself, and Xiao Wu's request was something he could fulfill.

"I understand."

Le Bai nodded. "But can we discuss the specifics a little more?"

Xiao Wu tilted her head cutely. "What do you mean?"

"Where do we fight? When do we fight? How far do we go before there's a winner? If you win, will you accept my apology, or will you only accept it if I win?"

Le Bai listed them with a serious expression. "As for the time, I have something to do today, so I can't accompany you. Please choose a day after tomorrow. And the location—you can't possibly want to start fighting right here in this lobby, can you? That would cause trouble for the hotel staff, so you'll need to think about the location too."

Xiao Wu's head was spinning from listening. Sister Xiao Wu had always been direct and decisive—when had she ever had to consider so much? "Hey! You're so annoying! If you don't want to fight, just say so! Why are you babbling on and on?"

"Since that's the case, I'll decide the time and place."

Le Bai was remarkably understanding. "Shrek Academy will begin its entrance examinations the day after tomorrow. The final round will definitely test actual combat ability. When the time comes, I'll fight you as an examiner. What do you think?"

Xiao Wu might have been innocent, but she was not stupid. With a hint of wariness, she asked, "How do you know I'm going to apply to Shrek Academy?"

Tang San, standing beside her, quietly took a tiny Hidden Weapon from the spatial Soul Tool at his waist and held it in his hand.

"The Soul Power fluctuations around you aren't obvious, but my perception is fairly good, and I can tell that you're a Soul Master. Your shoes are covered in mud, so you probably came in from outside the city. You came to this hotel to stay temporarily, which means you must have come from out of town."

Le Bai continued explaining. "At this time every year, Soul Masters around your age who make a special trip to Suotuo City must be here to enroll in an advanced Soul Master Academy. There's more than one advanced Soul Master Academy near Suotuo City, but the closest one to this hotel is Shrek Academy. So I boldly guessed that Shrek was the academy you planned to apply to. Your reaction proved that I was right."

Clap clap clap clap clap!

Tang San could not help applauding. "Your perception is astonishing, and your analysis was excellent, but it still wasn't enough."

Le Bai looked at Tang San and asked, "What wasn't enough?"

"Your tone. You were absolutely certain from the very beginning."

Tang San stared at Le Bai. "But the conclusions from your analysis just now weren't enough to make you so certain. So there must be another reason why you were so sure we were applying to Shrek—one you didn't mention."

Clap clap clap clap!

Le Bai began applauding as well, cheerfully exchanging compliments with Tang San. "Impressive! I thought I'd concealed it well, but you still noticed! What terrifying insight!"

Tang San smiled without speaking, waiting for Le Bai to continue.

"As you said, I relied on more than what I just mentioned to determine that the two of you were applying to Shrek."

Le Bai pointed at himself. "I said my perception of Soul Power was very good. When I spoke with the hotel staff earlier, I mentioned Shrek. At that moment, the Soul Power fluctuations coming from the two of you—especially you." He pointed at Tang San. "—changed significantly for an instant. That usually happens when someone is emotionally agitated. That was why I became certain that Shrek was your destination."

Tang San silently put the Hidden Weapon away. "So that was it."

Xiao Wu also gave up on fighting immediately. "Fine, then we'll fight when we get to Shrek."

Just as they reached an agreement, a hotel worker emerged from behind the counter, pushing a huge cloth bundle taller than a person.

"Oh, right, I still don't know your names."

Le Bai pretended to have just remembered. "My name is Le Bai. Le as in music, Bai as in white."

Tang San said, "My name is Tang San. San as in one, two, three."

Xiao Wu said, "My name is Xiao Wu. Wu as in dancing!"

"I'll remember that."

Le Bai nodded solemnly. He picked up the enormous bundle from the hotel worker's cart and lightly slung it over his back. "Then I'll see you at Shrek in two days."

Tang San said gently, "Goodbye."

Xiao Wu was still snapping at him to the very end. "You'd better not turn out not to be an examiner!"

Le Bai waved at them with his back turned and walked out of the hotel.

Dai Mubai was still trying to figure out how to explain things to Zhu Zhuqing, so he did not notice Le Bai coming out at all.

"Boss Dai, let's go."

"Oh... oh..."

Dai Mubai answered absentmindedly twice.

Le Bai shook his head helplessly. "Hopeless."

Back at Shrek.

Le Bai first handed the bedsheets and quilt he had brought back from the hotel to Li Yusong, who had been waiting there. Then he sent Dai Mubai back to the dormitory, took a look at Oscar, who was still tidying himself up, and finally found Ma Hongjun, who was quietly training, to begin their daily workout.

Two days later.

Early in the morning, Zhao Wuji came to press someone into service. "Le Bai!"

"I'm over here!"

Le Bai was warming up in the homemade training ground beside the house. "Teacher Zhao, what is it?"

"For the final round of today's entrance examination, I originally planned to have Mu Bai handle it. But I don't know what's wrong with that brat—he's been absentminded since early this morning."

Zhao Wuji patted Dai Mubai beside him. "Look at him. In his current state, any random Battle Soul Master could beat him up."

"Understood, Teacher Zhao."

Le Bai agreed first, then asked, "But why not ask Ma Hongjun or Oscar? My combat ability is fine, but my Martial Soul, Soul Power, and Soul Rings don't look very impressive. Wouldn't that give the new students a bad impression of the academy?"

"Hongjun's Martial Soul attribute is too overbearing. It's suited for combat, but not for examinations. As for Oscar, he isn't as stable as you are. If something goes wrong during the examination, wouldn't the Dean skin me alive?"

Zhao Wuji patted Le Bai on the shoulder. "You and Mu Bai are the most suitable. It's a shame that brat dropped the ball at a critical moment, so now I'm counting on you. If you have anything else to do, tell me early. At worst, I'll personally test the caliber of this year's new students!"

"That won't be necessary!"

Le Bai said with a smile, "No matter how strong the new students are, they'll only be level thirty. There's no need for a Soul Saint like you to step in unless every one of them is better at fighting than I am!"

"Hahahaha! You really don't hold back when you talk!"

Zhao Wuji patted Le Bai on the back. "But you're right. If all the new students were like you, it would be hard to say whether anyone below a Soul Emperor could win for certain. If they're all better fighters than you, then I really would have to step in!"

"All right, enough joking around."

Zhao Wuji led the nearly dazed Dai Mubai and Le Bai to a fork in the road. "Le Bai, go wait by the Playground first. The final examination area is beside it. I'll be there soon."

"Understood, Teacher Zhao."

Le Bai agreed and watched Zhao Wuji lead Dai Mubai toward the main gate. "Are you taking Mu Bai to the gate?"

"There are the most people at the gate. Old Li... your Teacher Li probably can't handle it alone either."

Zhao Wuji waved a hand. "I'm taking Mu Bai over to help him."