The next morning,
the sun rose over the horizon beyond the Star Dou Great Forest,
and morning light spilled across the Golden Ancient Tree,
making it shimmer brilliantly.
Summer was almost here,
yet the morning still held a hint of chill.
Breathing in the fresh, damp air, Lu Ran left the Sea God Pavilion and headed to the Outer Academy's assembly point,
where more than ten young figures had already gathered, dressed in matching uniforms
and wearing excited expressions.
They were about to obtain their Soul Rings.
Yan Shaozhe stood at the front of the crowd in a white robe,
impossible to miss.
Lu Ran walked over.
"Dean Yan."
Yan Shaozhe smiled and nodded,
though inside, he was fretting over how to persuade Lu Ran.
Standing beside Yan Shaozhe, Lu Ran turned to look at the group. The students all looked young, barely into their teens, and excitedly chatted among themselves.
Suddenly, a familiar figure entered his field of vision.
Her long golden hair shimmered softly in the morning light. Even in the standard uniform, it couldn't hide her well-proportioned figure.
She stood out so much—
Jiang Nannan.
Jiang Nannan happened to turn around in the crowd, too.
Their eyes met.
In an instant, everything fell silent,
as though time itself had stopped.
A thin sheen of tears welled in her gentle eyes as scenes from the past surfaced in her mind: the despair and the stirrings of her heart, her mother's tears... All of it came together as longing. She could no longer hold back her excitement. Rising onto her toes, she rushed toward Lu Ran.
When Lu Ran saw her coming, he waved and smiled warmly, preparing to walk over.
But he hadn't expected—
Jiang Nannan cut through the crowd, spread her arms, and, carrying a faint fragrance, threw herself straight into his embrace.
"..."
"..."
"..."
In that instant,
the once-noisy assembly point fell as silent as the grave.
Every student turned to look at them. The pair barely made a sound, yet a soundless boom went off in some of their minds,
as though a flash of white had streaked before their eyes,
leaving them dazed.
Disbelief showed on every student's face.
Some of the boys even heard a cracking sound.
It was the sound of their hearts breaking.
Jiang Nannan hadn't yet advanced to the upper grades, but she was already the Outer Academy's publicly acknowledged goddess. She was beautiful, exceptionally talented, hardworking, and strong-willed.
Most of all, she had always kept a proper distance from the opposite sex...
All of that
had made her an untouchable dream to countless boys in the Outer Academy...
Some had been looking forward to leaving for the Star Dou Great Forest together, hoping to make a good impression on Jiang Nannan,
but...
But...
Why...
Why had someone suddenly appeared in her life?!
What was going on?!
Since when?!
Lu Ran was dazed for only a moment before a warm fragrance drifted into his nostrils and a soft, delicate body tumbled into his arms.
He went rigid at once, his hands hovering in midair as he had no idea what to do.
Her soft body pressed close against his chest.
Feeling the warmth of the girl in his arms, he waited a few seconds
before lowering his head slightly and speaking in a low voice,
"So many people are watching."
But everything around them was silent, and they were all Soul Masters. What good would a quiet voice do?
Everyone could hear him.
Lu Ran glanced instinctively at the students.
Their reactions varied—
envy, jealousy, confusion...
Among the jealous ones were several girls,
clearly jealous of Jiang Nannan.
Lu Ran was young, and he knew Yan Shaozhe. In the students' eyes, the dean of Shrek Academy was the most exalted and mysterious person in the world, more important than even the emperor.
They could meet someone like him only because they were students.
Outside the academy, they would never have had the chance.
That meant
Lu Ran's status had to be anything but ordinary.
The girls had hoped to use this opportunity to get to know Lu Ran. If things developed between them, perhaps their fates would change.
Even at Shrek Academy, they could feel the gulf between themselves and the students from noble families.
It was as deep as a ravine.
They hadn't expected Jiang Nannan to snatch him away right under their noses.
They had always resented Jiang Nannan, but could only put up with it. Now, just as they had taken an interest in Lu Ran, Jiang Nannan had hugged him in front of everyone?!
They were all seething with indignation, as if Jiang Nannan had snatched up every good thing for herself.
Since that was the case,
the girls could only... keep putting up with it.
What else could they do?
How could they possibly compare with Jiang Nannan?
Talent?
Looks?
Or strength?
Lu Ran's gaze swept over the students and continued left until he saw Yan Shaozhe wearing a half-smile. He had no idea what the man was thinking.
He shot him a pleading look.
But Yan Shaozhe pretended not to notice and turned away.
Well... the weather's lovely.
The soft body in Lu Ran's arms gradually stiffened. A flush climbed from Jiang Nannan's snowy-white neck to the tips of her ears,
hot enough to scald.
Lu Ran could feel her heart pounding.
Jiang Nannan slowly released her embrace, too embarrassed to raise her head.
Her long lashes hid her flustered eyes. Her pretty face had turned completely red, as if it might drip blood.
She slowly stepped back a few paces.
She didn't know what had come over her. The moment she saw Lu Ran, her mind had gone blank.
By the time she came to her senses, the two of them were already hugging.
Now she wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Yan Shaozhe acted as if he hadn't seen a thing. After counting everyone,
he said, "Move out."
The students had no choice but to form up and set off.
Jiang Nannan and Lu Ran followed at the very back.
Shrek City lay right beside the Star Dou Great Forest. Before long,
the group reached the forest on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The students' attention shifted elsewhere,
and they paid a little less attention to Lu Ran and Jiang Nannan.
The mood in the group returned to normal.
At the back, Lu Ran observed the group.
There were about twelve students in all. Judging by their ages, more than half were from the Outer Academy, and they were probably all commoners.
Though they all wore matching uniforms, some of the students were clearly different.
Their bodies bore the marks of grueling training.
Of course, every Shrek student trained hard.
But those with resources could afford medicinal baths after training or could take pills, so their bodies bore almost no signs of it.
Commoner students couldn't afford those things.
As a result, Soul Masters of the same age could look very different. Some had dark, rough skin, while others looked as though they couldn't lift a finger, with skin so soft it seemed they'd never felt the sun or wind.
But when they actually fought,
the pampered ones could easily thrash those with darker skin.
The gap in resources was simply too great.
Even with equal talent, a difference of two or three Soul Rings wouldn't be surprising.
That was an exaggeration, of course. Besides their environment, a person's Martial Soul also affected their body. For example, if someone had the Black Bear Martial Soul, the Soul Master might well have rough skin, no matter how carefully they looked after themselves.
It wasn't an absolute rule,
but some of the students in the group were like that, their skin somewhat darker.
Thinking of Jiang Nannan beside him,
Lu Ran understood.
Shrek had always valued commoner students. And with a prodigy like Jiang Nannan among them, Yan Shaozhe had decided to lead the group himself.
Otherwise, he could have left it to a teacher.
Lu Ran turned his head to look at Jiang Nannan.
She had been following beside him the whole time, but kept her distance.
When she noticed him looking at her,
she turned her head stiffly.
Above the golden hair that hid her face,
a flush spread across her cheeks once more.
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