Behind the Beast Tide

Tang Wulin had just sat down when Xie Xie strode in, his face darker than the sky outside.

He walked straight to the seat opposite Tang Wulin, placed a bag of steamed buns on the table, and his first words immediately dampened the atmosphere of the small living room.

"A beast tide broke out in Xu Hai City last night."

Yuanen Yehui's cup froze in mid-air as she looked up at Xie Xie: "What?"

"Massive beast tide"

Xie Xie lowered his voice, his brows furrowing deeply, "It's said that the attack was launched simultaneously from both land and sea, completely destroying the city's defensive soul-guided array and killing hundreds of Soul Master."

Wu Siduo put down the small mirror, her brows slowly furrowing. "Xu Hai City? That port in the southern part of the Star Luo Empire?"

"Yes, Skysea City was also attacked last night, on a similar scale. Two port cities, one in the south and one in the north, were attacked simultaneously."

"How come there wasn't a single word about it before?"

Xu Xiaoyan leaned over from the next table, her ears practically popping out, "Such a massive beast tide should have some warning signs, right?"

Xie Xie his head. "There was no warning. It's said that they suddenly emerged from the deep sea and wild forests. Even the local soul-guided reconnaissance network couldn't detect any unusual activity, as if those Soul Beast appeared out of thin air."

Ye Xinglan frowned and pondered for a moment, "Do you have any specific information? What about civilian casualties?"

"That's the strangest thing,"

Xie Xie said, "Both cities had their eastern and port districts razed to the ground, and their defensive forces suffered precise strikes, but the civilian evacuation areas were almost unaffected. The hundreds of Soul Master who died in battle were all from the defending troops and those Soul Master actively engaged in combat."

The small apartment fell silent for a moment, with only the faint sounds of other students chatting and laughing in the distance drifting over, making the silence all the more jarring.

Tang Wulin picked up the bowl of porridge, took a sip, and put it down, his gaze darkening. "Precision strike defense, no harm to civilians... This isn't an ordinary beast tide. Someone is controlling it from behind."

"Yes," Yuanen Yehui nodded, "If it were an out-of-control riot of Soul Beast, they wouldn't distinguish between the East District and the West District, and they certainly wouldn't selectively spare the evacuated crowds. This is a demonstration."

Xu Xiaoyan peeked out and added, "A demonstration... who are they showing it to?"

The group looked at each other, none of them having an answer.

"Should we tell Teacher Cai and Teacher Wu?" Xu Xiaoyan suggested.

Ye Xinglan decisively rejected the idea, "No, the teachers probably already know. The fact that they haven't come to tell us means they don't want us involved."

Xie Xie took a bite of the steamed bun. "Just... watch like this?"

Yuanen Yehui retorted without hesitation, "You should be thinking about how to deal with today's challenger."

The remaining members of the Shrek Academy reached an agreement with the Monster Academy.

Every day, Monster Academy selects six students to challenge six students from the Shrek Academy.

Furthermore, both sides must have the same number of Soul Ring.

If a student from the Shrek Academy loses, the winning student from the Monster Academy can go to Shrek for further study when the Shrek delegation returns.

If Shrek's students win, then Monster Academy will need to pay today's "tutoring fee".

So far, the six-man team has never lost, but Xie Xie yesterday was hard-fought.

The total match time reached an astonishing 59 minutes and 47 seconds!

He spent the entire time dodging, circling, and stealing! The key was that he couldn't steal anything, and he only won by exhausting the opponent's Soul Power.

Xie Xie's face instantly fell even more completely than a flattened steamed bun.

Xu Xiaoyan rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with a smile.

"Think about it," she said, counting on her fingers, "We all know how much Teacher Cai values winning and losing."

"Even more so with Teacher Wu, they won't say anything on the surface, but if you really lose, they can make you run twenty extra laps during morning practice for a whole month, under the guise of 'making up for your weaknesses'."

Xie Xie's lips twitched slightly.

Yuanen Yehui, unusually, didn't kick someone when they were down, but the smile on her lips said it all.

She took a sip of water slowly, her gaze sweeping over Xie Xie from head to toe.

Wu Siduo closed the mirror and added unhurriedly, "Yesterday, Teacher Cai watched the whole thing from the sidelines, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot. If they fight like this again today—"

"Today will definitely be different!"

Xie Xie interrupted her, his neck stiff, "Yesterday was a special case! What could I do with that kind of turtle-like fighting style? I couldn't exactly ram my head into his armor, could I?"

Ye Xinglan turned from the window, her tone calm. "Today's match schedule is out. Your opponent is Fang Xun, Four Rings Soul Ring Configuration two purple and two black rings."

Xie Xie was stunned for a moment. "Two black ones? Two ten- Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring in Four Rings?"

"Um."

Ye Xinglan displayed the information on the Soul Guidance Communicator, "Wind-type agility attacker, he watched your entire match yesterday from the spectator seats. Guess what he was watching?"

The last vestige of hope on Xie Xie's face vanished completely.

He was watching Xie Xie's escape route, observing his pace.

Observe the distance at which he will strike, and see which side will reveal an opening when he shifts his footwork.

I'm not feeling well today.

Xie Xie turned to Tang Wulin, his expression as serious as if he were announcing a matter of national importance, "I think my leg injury has flared up again."

Tang Wulin glanced at him. "Why don't you feel nauseous when you eat?"

Xu Xiaoyan laughed so hard she buried her face in her arms, her shoulders shaking.

Tang Wulin laughed and patted Xie Xie on the shoulder, "Alright, today is a three-on-three team battle, not just you going to fight alone."

Xie Xie looked at Ye Xinglan and found that the other party had a teasing expression on his face.

"Group?"

"Yes," Tang Wulin nodded, "Monster Academy said that playing individual matches for several days in a row is too monotonous, so they're switching to team matches today."

"The group assignments have been decided—me, you, and Xu Xiaoyan in one group."

"The Fang Xun Xing Lan mentioned earlier is from the opposing team."

Xie Xie let out a long breath, visibly relaxing as he leaned back in his chair. "You should have said so earlier. I'm not afraid now. With you in front to cover for me, I can just steal from behind."

"You still steal?"

Yuanen Yehui put down her cup. "Wasn't yesterday's lesson enough?"

"Today is different! Yesterday, no one helped me hold the line, but today Wulin is drawing aggro in front, and Xiao Yan is controlling the battlefield from behind. I can then weave in the damage output. How perfect!"

Xu Xiaoyan looked up, her eyes curving into crescents. "What if I can't control myself?"

Xie Xie's smile froze.

"No way?"

"My Lord."

Gu Yuena didn't turn around, but simply pointed at a piece of equipment, "Hmm, get up."

Zi JI stood up. "The preparations for Star Luo City are complete. When do we launch our surprise attack?"

"It's still early, let's wait and see if Xiong Jun makes a move to draw everyone's attention away from the situation."

Gu Yuena turned around, picked up her water glass, and took a sip.

"The layout of Star Luo City, the main direction of attack..."

She lightly stomped her foot on the floor. "Here."

"Understood, sir."

"Is the Soul Guidance Bomb ready?"

"Five tons of explosives have been hidden inside this building. Once ignited, this Spirit Pagoda will surely collapse."

"Very well, when the time comes, I don't want any of the staff members belonging to this tower to leave alive."

Gu Yuena walked to the side of the instrument and took down something that looked like a power bank.

"Have the Scarlet King and the Ten Thousand Monster King send this back to the Star Dou Great Forest as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"