Gu Yi's Overbearing Protection

"I... I'm already changing. Why are you still treating me like this?"

Ning Rongrong's entire body trembled. She couldn't understand where the Gu Yi from before had gone.

After hearing her words, Gu Yi ignored her. He turned his head, his eyes filled with nothing but disdain.

Changing? Could changing now erase the harm she had inflicted on the original owner?

The original owner was already dead! Your choice, idol!

For a moment, neither spoke. The morning plaza became exceptionally quiet, and neither of them wanted to say another word to the other.

Soon, the others gathered as well. They stood in a neat line, waiting for Flender's instructions.

"Hm? Where's Oscar? Is he still not up?" Flender swept his gaze over the group, but Oscar was the only one nowhere to be seen. He frowned and looked at Gu Yi. "What happened?"

"When I got up, I saw that he was still meditating, so I didn't disturb him," Gu Yi explained calmly.

According to the original plot, Oscar should have arrived by now.

Suddenly, Ma Hongjun cried out, "Oscar's here!"

Sure enough.

Gu Yi turned to look and saw Oscar running over with a broad grin, brimming with excitement. From the looks of it, he had successfully broken through.

"Oscar! Didn't I tell you? No being late for my classes. What were you doing?" Flender still frowned as he asked in a deep voice.

"Level thirty! Dean, I've broken through to level thirty!" Oscar replied excitedly.

"What! You've reached level thirty?"

"Good! Oscar, you truly haven't disappointed me! You're the third among this group to reach level thirty. On behalf of the academy, congratulations."

At that moment, Dai Mubai stepped forward as well. He patted Oscar on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Oscar. As a Food-Type Soul Master, you're the most talented one I've ever seen!"

Oscar scratched the back of his head and replied somewhat bashfully, "Ah, I'm not really as outstanding as you all say."

As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously flicked toward Ning Rongrong, only to discover that she barely seemed to be paying attention to this side. Instead, she had been staring at Gu Yi the entire time.

Suddenly, Flender coughed, drawing everyone's attention. He spoke in a deep voice, "Good! Since the timing is so perfect, Zhao Wuji will lead you to the Star Dou Great Forest today to obtain a soul ring for Oscar."

"Remember, this isn't Oscar's matter alone. It will also be training for all of you!"

"I'll give you half an hour to prepare. Gather at the academy gate in half an hour. Dismissed!"

Though they were given half an hour to prepare, aside from Tang San, everyone merely chatted for a while.

Time quickly passed. By the time everyone arrived at the academy gate, Zhao Wuji was already waiting for them there.

"I'll be leading this trip to the Soul Beast Forest, but you'll have to handle any trouble you encounter along the way yourselves. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't intervene."

"Alright, listen to my arrangements."

"Gu Yi, you'll take the lead. Oscar and Ning Rongrong, follow behind Gu Yi. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, take the left and right flanks. Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Tang San, you'll stay at the rear. Set out!"

No one had any objections to Zhao Wuji's arrangements. Everything had been properly organized, and once he had finished, Zhao Wuji strode ahead to lead the way.

There definitely weren't any carriages in the small village where Shrek Academy was located. If they wanted to reach the Star Dou Great Forest, they had to run there.

But the Star Dou Great Forest was nearly five hundred kilometers away from Shrek Academy. Covering that distance on foot would be an extremely difficult burden on everyone's stamina.

Fortunately, they had Oscar. Though the chant for his soul skill was somewhat disgusting, its effect was excellent.

Just one Recovery Sausage could sustain everyone's stamina expenditure for a hundred kilometers.

Even so, by nightfall, they had only covered four hundred kilometers. They were still some distance away from the Star Dou Great Forest.

With no other choice, they found an inn nearby and prepared to continue their journey the next day.

"Ah! I'm exhausted to death! I can't do it anymore, I can't! Boss, hurry up and bring over your menu!"

The moment he entered the inn, Ma Hongjun collapsed into a chair as though he could no longer hold on, complaining nonstop.

The others were not in much better shape. Since he had to clear the way at the front, Gu Yi had not used his Bone Wings and had run on the ground the entire way.

Right now, his entire body ached terribly, leaving him deeply uncomfortable.

"Coming! Here's our menu. What would you like to order? We'll bring it right out for you."

A waiter soon came over from the front desk. Smiling, he handed the menu to Ma Hongjun and stood to the side to take notes.

Only after Ma Hongjun had finished ordering every dish did he hurry away.

"Sigh, Oscar, we're practically dead tired because of your soul ring. You should at least treat us to this meal as compensation, right?"

Ma Hongjun patted Oscar on the shoulder and asked teasingly.

But Oscar had no strength left to speak. If the food didn't arrive soon, he might actually starve to death on the spot.

Bang!

Just then, the inn's doors were pushed open again. A group of young people wearing red academy uniforms filed inside. Behind them followed a middle-aged man wearing a monocle, who looked like a teacher.

"Canghui Academy? I'd completely forgotten about them. I just hope Ma Hongjun and the others know better than to cause trouble like they did in the original story. I really don't want to move."

Gu Yi prayed weakly in his heart. He was exhausted and hungry right now, and truly had no desire to fight again.

In the original story, it was Ma Hongjun's lecherous gaze that had sparked the conflict between the two academies.

They even prettied it up with the saying, "Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities."

But in Gu Yi's eyes, that was nothing more than bullying the weak with their strength, stirring up trouble for no reason, and finding an excuse to satisfy their own selfish desires.

If Canghui Academy had been a little stronger, and Shi Nian had been their team leader, Gu Yi really wanted to see how this would have ended.

"Hey, look at that chick. She's pretty cute. Boss Dai, those guys should be from Canghui Academy, right?"

Just as described in the original work, Ma Hongjun's tiny eyes were locked onto the girl from Canghui Academy. A lecherous grin hung on his face, making the fat on his cheeks tremble.

"Yeah, she's not bad. It is Canghui Academy."

At Ma Hongjun's mention, Dai Mubai looked over as well. He struck what he considered a handsome pose, then winked at the girl, clearly flirting with her.

Damn it, they're still going to pick a fight. Don't they get tired whenever they see a pretty girl?

Gu Yi sprawled across the table, helplessness written all over his face.

On the other side, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai's actions had also caught the attention of Canghui Academy's students. Seeing their classmate being flirted with like that, how could they possibly endure it? They immediately walked over.

"Hey! What do you mean by that? What are you trying to do? Keep staring, and I'll gouge your eyeballs out. Believe it or not?"

One of them stepped to the front and pointed at Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai as he cursed.

"Hmph! You're just a lousy Canghui Academy. What the hell are you acting so arrogant for?"

With that, Dai Mubai slammed his hand on the table and rose. He fiercely kicked the man in the lower abdomen, sending him flying.

"I'm looking at her today. So what?"