Three days later,
they walked out of the forest beyond the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest,
the moment they stepped out,
their view suddenly opened up,
As their feet touched the flat ground, a breeze from the Lima Plain swept over from afar, carrying the scent of grass. On the distant horizon stood prosperous Shrek City,
"Ah..."
"We finally made it out!"
"Shrek, I'm back!!"
The students could no longer contain their excitement. Their hearts surged as they cheered, relieved smiles spreading across their faces. At last, their taut nerves could relax,
and they all breathed a sigh of relief,
Every member of this group had gained so much.
Lu Ran walked out of the forest and stretched luxuriously, his joints giving off faint cracking sounds,
"Phew~"
This was the first time he had spent so long in the Star Dou Great Forest,
and as far as gains went, the trip had absolutely been worth it.
Looking back, Yan Shaozhe was nowhere to be seen, but Lu Ran knew he was probably watching over them from somewhere in the shadows.
Actually, he had a rough idea why they had brought him along this time,
They wanted him to experience a team's Soul Hunting,
to get a sense of the process of a team acquiring Soul Rings and experience what the students went through. It would benefit him in the future,
But Lu Ran's importance was plain to see; there was no way they would actually let him experience the dangers of the Star Dou Great Forest,
which was why they had added him to this group,
After all, throughout the whole process, he had really only been an observer. Aside from not being allowed to change clothes or bathe, Yan Shaozhe had not asked him to do anything,
It had been an immersive experience.
Most of the students were immersed in the joy of their return,
but Jiang Nannan seemed a little out of place. A faint smile hung on her face as she kept her head lowered,
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy to be back?"
Lu Ran moved closer and asked.
At that,
Jiang Nannan's face lit up with a smile again, and she shook her head. "No..."
"Let's hurry back."
With that, she strode ahead.
"..."
Lu Ran raised an eyebrow and quietly followed,
without asking anything more.
The group quickly arrived at the eastern side of Shrek City, where Shrek Academy was located,
After entering the Academy and completing the inspection,
five or six students hurriedly dashed off. There was no need to guess why: after gaining new Soul Skills, they naturally wanted to find someone to spar with,
After all,
if getting stronger wasn't for the sake of victory, then what was the point of getting stronger?
The rest of the students also gradually left,
and soon only Lu Ran and Jiang Nannan remained from the temporary group.
Jiang Nannan looked at Lu Ran, a hint of hesitation in her gaze. Her voice was very soft:
"Lu... Ran, will we still see each other?"
In the Star Dou Great Forest, she had spent nearly every moment with Lu Ran. They had traveled together and shared dry rations... but the instant they stepped out of the forest,
she suddenly realized the invisible distance between them,
Among the thousand-odd students at Shrek, she was no longer special or conspicuous, while Lu Ran was still the same Lu Ran, with his mysterious identity and close ties to Yan Shaozhe, the Lu Ran who could even have the Inner Academy's senior sister accompany him,
The gap between their positions was enormous,
She was afraid that, just like last time,
Lu Ran would disappear again, and she would never find him.
Looking at the cautious hope in Jiang Nannan's eyes,
Lu Ran suddenly felt something stir within him. His fingertips brushed against each other, and he instinctively wanted to raise a hand and ruffle her golden hair, but he held back the impulse,
and merely lifted a hand to scratch his own hair,
"Mm... I live in the Inner Academy. It's not far."
He thought for a moment,
"How about this? We're both pretty dirty right now, so let's go back and wash up first. We'll meet here in half an hour,"
"How does that sound?"
Jiang Nannan's eyes instantly brightened. Her earlier unease and hesitation vanished, and she nodded earnestly,
"Mm-hmm!"
A smile from the bottom of her heart spread across her face. She turned and hurried toward the girls' dormitory, her steps light,
"I'll be right back!"
With that, she quickly disappeared at the end of the road.
"..."
Lu Ran watched her retreating figure, and an inexplicable feeling suddenly welled up in his heart,
By the time he realized it, he was smiling without meaning to,
It seemed... things weren't going badly.
After lingering for a moment,
he turned and headed back to the Sea God Pavilion.
To give him the purest possible Soul Hunting experience, Yan Shaozhe had specifically forbidden him from using a Storage Soul Tool,
In other words, just like the other students, he had gone more than ten days without a bath, at most washing his face when they came across a water source,
Though he had Soul Power and would not end up as bedraggled as an ordinary person,
his body still felt sticky, which was unpleasant for someone who liked to keep clean.
He stepped into the bathroom,
The sound of rushing water filled the room, washing away his fatigue and discomfort,
Lu Ran scrubbed himself thoroughly and enjoyed a good bath,
then changed into clean clothes,
The young man in the mirror had handsome, refined features and wore clean, well-fitting clothes. He looked refreshed and full of energy,
When he checked the time, it had not even been half an hour.
Thinking that something might have happened to Jiang Nannan, he decided to head over early,
Before he had even reached their meeting place,
he saw a small crowd gathered there.
Lu Ran immediately furrowed his brow and hurried over,
There were two people in the crowd: Jiang Nannan and a... black-haired boy in a school uniform.
The black-haired boy was red with excitement:
"Nannan! Who is he!? Why are you hugging him? How am I any worse than him?!"
"Xu Sanshi, get out of my way!"
"Nannan, I'm worried you're being deceived!!"
As Lu Ran approached,
Jiang Nannan noticed him from the corner of her eye. Her icy expression instantly melted, warmth appearing in her eyes as the faintest smile tugged at her lips,
Xu Sanshi stared, dumbfounded,
His face was full of incredulous shock, as if he had just seen someone ascend to godhood on the spot—something utterly unbelievable,
Following that tender gaze, he stiffly turned his head,
Xu Sanshi saw an unfamiliar face holding Jiang Nannan's hand... and Jiang Nannan suddenly blushing?!!
He was stunned,
In the more than half a year he had known Jiang Nannan, he had never seen her make that expression...
More than half a year ago, one of his underlings had excitedly told him he'd spotted an unbelievably beautiful girl. After Xu Sanshi went to take a look...
he had fallen for her at first sight!!
Jiang Nannan's cool exterior and warm heart, her loveliness, every move she made—all of it left him hopelessly captivated,
From then on, he had begun pursuing her relentlessly,
Full of confidence,
After all, he was the young master of the Mysterious Underworld Sect. He had talent, good looks, strength, and Gold Soul Coins...
But... but...
Whether it was giving her precious Soul Beast cores, waiting outside her dormitory, going out of his way to engineer chance encounters, or showing off his great strength and talent...
None of it had worked.
Jiang Nannan's rejection had gone from polite but distant at first to cold and resistant in the end. She had never wavered, not even a little.
Why!
Why couldn't she accept me!
"Nannan! Who is he?!"
Xu Sanshi clenched his fists and demanded, worked up.
Jiang Nannan's expression turned icy. She had never imagined Xu Sanshi would be so shameless as to pester her like this, even right in front of Lu Ran,
Would Lu Ran misunderstand?
Anxious, she was about to take Lu Ran's hand and leave at once,
Seeing this only made Xu Sanshi more agitated,
He had pursued her for a full six months!
Where had this guy come from?!
Seeing Lu Ran about to leave, Xu Sanshi immediately shouted:
"Stop! I challenge you to a duel!"
"Xu Sanshi, shut up!"
Jiang Nannan stepped between them and glared coldly at Xu Sanshi.
Looking at Xu Sanshi, Lu Ran had initially thought of him only as a simp; he didn't know much else about him,
but no matter what, he had to step forward,
He took Jiang Nannan's hand,
"It's okay, Nannan. I'm here,"
The words nearly made Xu Sanshi stop breathing; he almost fainted on the spot.
Lu Ran looked at Xu Sanshi and said calmly, "Sure, I accept..."
Xu Sanshi froze,
He hadn't expected Lu Ran to actually accept,
He immediately grinned, baring his white teeth, and laughed smugly. "All right!"
"How about right now?"
His heart leaped with joy,
As the young master of the Mysterious Underworld Sect, he had a lofty status, yet he had never even heard of anyone called Lu Ran,
That meant Lu Ran must have less talent and fewer resources than him,
And he was younger, too,
He was bound to win!
Xu Sanshi gazed devotedly at Jiang Nannan, passion flaring in his eyes once more,
Nannan! This time, I'll make you see who truly deserves your affection!
I'll let you see with your own eyes how I beat him!
"Come with me right now!"
Before you continue