Wang Dong'er's Fated Destiny?

The next morning.

The tent flap was lifted, and the chilly morning wind rushed in.

Xiao Xiao rubbed her sleepy eyes, wrapped in a thin blanket as she crawled out of the tent, muttering, "So cold, so cold..."

Behind her, Cui Yajie stretched lazily. Her long pink hair was a complete mess, and she lacked all her usual seductive charm.

Wang Dong'er emerged last. There were still pillow marks on her fair face, and her pink-blue hair was slightly disheveled.

After being relieved in the latter half of the night, she had slept like the dead. She was in fairly good spirits now.

The three girls looked toward the campfire outside the tent almost at the same time.

The charcoal in the fire still glowed a dark red, occasionally crackling as one or two sparks burst free.

Dai Huabin sat leaning against a large boulder, with Zhu Lu curled up in his arms, her head resting against his chest as she slept deeply.

One of Dai Huabin's arms was around Zhu Lu's shoulders, while his other hand unconsciously played with the black hair scattered over her shoulder, occasionally brushing her cheek gently with his fingers.

In her sleep, Zhu Lu nuzzled lightly against his palm, a faint smile at the corners of her lips.

Xiao Xiao stood there for several seconds, cupping her cheeks in both hands as she let out a soft, "Ooh."

Cui Yajie shot her a sideways glance. "What are you oohing about?"

"So sweet..." Xiao Xiao kept her voice extremely low, afraid of waking Zhu Lu. "Look at the class monitor. He's so fierce in battle, but now he's like a completely different person."

Cui Yajie swept back her messy hair and snorted. "He's just holding his own fiancée. Is that really worth such a huge reaction?"

Though she said that, her eyes still drifted over there several times.

Wang Dong'er folded her arms and curled her lips. She stared for a while at Dai Huabin's hand gently stroking Zhu Lu's cheek, feeling inexplicably stifled inside.

It wasn't jealousy.

Absolutely not!

She just thought that this freshman, who was about the same age as her, had no right to have so much higher Soul Power than her and be so good at taking care of people.

Xiao Xiao edged closer to Wang Dong'er and murmured, "Dong'er, do you think I'll be able to find someone like the class monitor someday too...?"

"Give it a rest." Wang Dong'er flicked Xiao Xiao on the forehead irritably. "How many Dai Huabins do you think there are in the world?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

Wasn't that praising him?

Cui Yajie narrowed her eyes at her, the curve of her lips turning rather meaningful. "Oh? So Dong'er admits that the class monitor is pretty great?"

"I meant his strength!"

Wang Dong'er's ears instantly turned red, and her voice rose unconsciously.

"Thirty-third rank Soul Power and a Martial Soul Fusion Skill—of course not many people can compare! That's what I meant!"

"Shh—!"

Dai Huabin's voice came from beside the campfire, neither loud nor soft.

The three girls fell silent at once.

Dai Huabin raised his head, glanced at them, and spoke softly.

"You should go wash up by the stream first. Lulu is too tired, so let her sleep a little longer. We'll leave once we've packed up."

There was nothing special in his expression as he spoke, but the arm around Zhu Lu never loosened.

Xiao Xiao nodded obediently and pulled Cui Yajie toward the small stream beside the tent.

Wang Dong'er followed as well, but after taking a few steps, she could not resist glancing back.

Dai Huabin had lowered his head and was gently wiping away a bit of lingering sweat from Zhu Lu's temple with his sleeve.

His movements were light, as though he were afraid of hurting her.

Wang Dong'er hurriedly turned away and quickened her pace.

There was nothing worth looking at.

Really, nothing worth looking at.

The stream water was icy cold, and the three girls kept sucking in sharp breaths as they crouched by the stream to wash their faces.

As Cui Yajie scooped water up and splashed it onto her face, she muttered, "Next time we come out to hunt soul beasts, I'm definitely bringing a thermos. What kind of awful place is this? Washing your face feels like torture."

Xiao Xiao crouched beside her, wiping the crumbs of dry rations from her fingers with a wet cloth. "Yajie, did you hear anything while you were on watch last night? Half-asleep, I think I heard a howl in the middle of the night. It scared me to death."

"That?"

Cui Yajie shook the droplets off her hands dismissively.

"It was probably a hundred-year wolf-type soul beast, pretty far from us. The class monitor was outside at the time, so he probably sensed it long ago."

Wang Dong'er wiped her face and suddenly added, "Have you noticed that Dai Huabin's spiritual power seems much stronger than that of an ordinary three-ring Soul Elder? Yesterday, when he spread out his spiritual power to keep watch, the range it covered was absurdly large."

Cui Yajie raised a brow. "You observed that pretty closely."

"I was analyzing a teammate's strength!" Wang Dong'er glared at her, stuffed the wet cloth into her Soul Tool, and got up to leave.

By the time the three of them finished washing up and returned to the campfire, Zhu Lu had awakened.

She was sitting beside Dai Huabin, her face still carrying the dazed look of someone who had just woken up.

When she saw the three girls approaching, Zhu Lu instinctively leaned a little closer to Dai Huabin. A trace of embarrassment flashed through her gray-black eyes.

"You're awake?" Xiao Xiao crouched down and leaned close to Zhu Lu with a grin. "Lulu, you looked so cute while you were asleep just now. The class monitor kept touching your face."

Zhu Lu's face instantly flushed crimson.

She shot Dai Huabin a quick glance and saw that he was calmly packing things up, looking as though nothing had happened.

Zhu Lu pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and lightly kissed Dai Huabin on the cheek.

The motion was so quick that it was almost impossible to see.

But Xiao Xiao saw it.

"Ahhh!" Xiao Xiao covered her mouth and let out a startled cry.

Cui Yajie rolled her eyes. "First thing in the morning, and I already can't take you people."

Wang Dong'er simply turned her back to them, pulled out some rations, and began chewing, making it clear that she had seen nothing at all.

Dai Huabin touched the cheek that had been kissed, smiled, then stood and brushed the grass from his clothes. "All right, eat something. Then we'll pack up and get ready to leave."

Zhu Lu stood as well, lowering her head to rummage through the dry rations in her backpack. The tips of her ears were still red.

The five of them gathered around the dying campfire and finished the last of their rations and dried meat.

Dai Huabin swiftly dismantled the tent, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his storage soul device, then used dirt to thoroughly smother the campfire.

"Let's go. We'll return by the same route we took here. Xiao Xiao, stay in the middle. Dong'er and Yajie, take the left and right sides. Lulu and I will bring up the rear.

Stay alert. Daytime is safer than nighttime, but that doesn't mean the outer area has no highly aggressive soul beasts."

"Got it, Class Monitor!"

Xiao Xiao tightened the cloth belt around her waist and skipped along in the middle of the group.

The return journey went much more smoothly than their trip there.

They encountered no worthwhile soul beast harassment, only two lost hundred-year Grass Rabbits, which Cui Yajie frightened into fleeing in terror with a single Charm.

By noon, Shrek Academy's iconic clock tower came into view.

The five of them quickened their pace through the school gates and headed straight for the teachers' building.

Mu Jin was preparing materials in his office. Hearing the knock, he looked up and saw the five of them standing dust-covered in the doorway. He quickly set down his pen and ushered them inside.

"You're back so quickly? None of you got hurt, did you?"

Mu Jin rose to his feet and swept his gaze over the five of them. Only after confirming that none had any obvious external injuries did he relax.

Dai Huabin nodded. "Everything went smoothly. Xiao Xiao got her Soul Ring."

Mu Jin's attention immediately shifted to Xiao Xiao.

A little nervous, Xiao Xiao stepped forward, took a deep breath, and released her Martial Soul.

The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron appeared out of thin air. Two Soul Rings were clearly visible—one yellow and one deep yellow.

Mu Jin narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully sensed the fluctuations of Soul Power within Xiao Xiao's body. Then he let out a soft sound of surprise.

"The age of this Soul Ring... isn't low, is it?"

Xiao Xiao puffed out her chest. "A nine-hundred-and-ninety-year Thousand Jun Ant!"

Mu Jin froze for two seconds.

"Nine hundred and ninety years?" he repeated, clear surprise in his voice. "A Soul Master who has just broken through Rank Twenty absorbed a Soul Ring close to the thousand-year threshold?"

Xiao Xiao nodded quickly. "The class monitor helped me condition my body in advance with Whale Rubber and medicinal baths. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have been able to endure it."

Mu Jin turned to look at Dai Huabin.

Dai Huabin leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. "Xiao Xiao, tell Teacher Mu Jin about your second soul skill."

Xiao Xiao nodded and explained the effects of Cauldron Defense in detail. A sixty percent boost in the three-cauldron form, a ninety percent boost in the combined-cauldron form, lasting one hour.

After hearing her out, Mu Jin remained silent for quite a while.

He picked up the teacup on the desk and took a sip of water. When he set it down, his hand was trembling slightly.

A ninety percent boost to defense and strength, combined with the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron's own weight and hardness—this was no longer the defensive capability an ordinary two-ring Soul Master should possess.

"The three of you took it down together?" Mu Jin looked at Wang Dong'er and Cui Yajie.

Cui Yajie brushed back her long pink hair and stepped forward half a pace with a seductive sway.

"Teacher Mu Jin, we came through the entire battle without a scratch. I used Charm to immobilize the Thousand Jun Ant first, then Xiao Xiao used Cauldron Shock to control it. Dong'er went in and cut off its legs and pincers. Finally, Xiao Xiao combined her three cauldrons and ended it with one strike."

Wang Dong'er added,

"Our coordination was indeed much smoother than during previous practice. Dai Huabin arranged our formation beforehand, so nothing much went wrong in the actual fight."

Mu Jin took a deep breath.

One Soul Master, two Soul Grandmasters, and a three-person team had killed a Thousand Jun Ant nearing a thousand years without suffering a single injury.

For freshmen with no experience hunting soul beasts on their own, that was already extremely impressive.

His gaze fell on Dai Huabin once more.

This legitimate son of the White Tiger Duke Mansion not only possessed the strongest Soul Power among the freshmen, but his ability to lead a team was also astonishing.

"All right."

Mu Jin suppressed his excitement and tried to keep his tone steady.

"You've all worked hard on this trip. There are no classes this afternoon. Take the half-day off and get some proper rest."

"Thank you, Teacher Mu Jin!" Xiao Xiao was the first to cheer.

The five of them left the teachers' building. The noon sunlight warmed their bodies, feeling incomparably more comfortable than the Star Dou Great Forest.

Cui Yajie gave a huge stretch. "Finally, no more dry rations. Right now, I just want a bowl of hot noodle soup in the cafeteria, then a hot bath."

Dai Huabin thought for a moment.

"It's rare to get a half-day off. Let's take a walk by Sea God Lake first and get some fresh air."

"I have no objections."

Zhu Lu answered softly and naturally moved to Dai Huabin's side. At some point, their fingers had intertwined again.

Xiao Xiao and Cui Yajie exchanged a glance and tacitly chose to ignore it.

Wang Dong'er snorted and walked at the front to lead the way.

Sea God Lake shimmered under the noon sun. Small groups of Outer Academy students sat scattered across the grass by the shore, some chatting and some napping.

A breeze drifted over from the lake, carrying a faint fishy scent.

The five of them strolled slowly along the pebble path beside the lake. Xiao Xiao crouched down to pick up several flat Mu Jins and skip them across the water, while Cui Yajie found a large tree to lean against and closed her eyes.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu walked behind them. Their conversation was quiet, and Zhu Lu's soft laughter could occasionally be heard.

Wang Dong'er walked alone at the very front, her hands clasped behind her back.

Her steps suddenly slowed.

Beneath a willow tree by the lake ahead, two familiar figures were sitting on the grass.

Tang Ya sat cross-legged, holding a stack of paper slips covered in writing as she gestured at something to Bei Bei beside her.

Bei Bei listened with a helpless expression, interjecting every now and then.

"Hey, aren't those Senior Tang Ya and Senior Bei Bei?" Xiao Xiao spotted them too, tossed aside the Mu Jin in her hand, and ran over.

Wang Dong'er stopped.

She stared at the two of them for several seconds.

A voice rose inside her again.

That voice had been there ever since she first saw Tang Ya at the grilled fish stall. It surfaced intermittently, sometimes clear and sometimes vague. But this time, it was especially distinct.

Join the Tang Sect.

Wang Dong'er could not explain where this feeling came from.

She had read the leaflet Tang Ya gave her at the grilled fish stall. The things written on it—secret weapon arts, unique cultivation methods—had seemed rather exaggerated to her.

But that voice was not weighing the pros and cons. It was an instinct. An overwhelmingly powerful, baseless instinct.

Wang Dong'er stood there thinking for a while, then lifted her foot and walked over.

"Tang Ya."

Tang Ya had been discussing the leaflet's layout with Bei Bei. Hearing someone call her, she looked up, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"Wang Dong'er! You're back!"

Tang Ya sprang to her feet and hurried over, her enthusiasm a little excessive.

"Did the Soul Ring hunt go well? Did anyone get hurt? Did anything fun happen?"

Bei Bei sighed behind her. Every time Tang Ya saw a talented freshman, she looked like this—like a hunter who had spotted prey.

Wang Dong'er did not beat around the bush.

"You told me before that the Tang Sect was recruiting."

Tang Ya blanked for a moment, then quickly understood and nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! The Tang Sect is in desperate need of capable new blood while it rebuilds! Have you made up your mind?"

Wang Dong'er frowned slightly. She could not explain why herself, but that voice urged her to speak.

"I want to join the Tang Sect."

Tang Ya froze completely.

Her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and she looked at Wang Dong'er before turning to Bei Bei.

Bei Bei was surprised as well and rose from the grass.

"You're serious?" Tang Ya's voice cracked.

"When have I ever joked about something like this?" Wang Dong'er folded her arms.

With a howl, Tang Ya pounced forward and grabbed Wang Dong'er's arm.

"That's wonderful, wonderful! Bei Bei, did you hear that? Someone is joining the Tang Sect! A Light Goddess Butterfly! A Rank Twenty-One Light Goddess Butterfly!"

Bei Bei walked over and smiled politely at Wang Dong'er. "Welcome to the Tang Sect. From now on, we are fellow disciples."