Meeting Shrek Again!

After using the ill-gotten wealth of corrupt nobles to aid the refugees, Qin Chuan was grinning from ear to ear.

Without wasting any more time, he took a brief rest, then hurriedly called for the Scarlet King and set off toward Heaven Dou City.

The Scarlet King had no interest in helping humans, so he hadn't joined Qin Chuan before. He'd been on his own the whole time, doing who knew what in the towns.

But he was cold by nature and hadn't caused any trouble, so Qin Chuan hadn't paid him much mind.

The two continued on their way, moving a little faster. The relief efforts along the road had cost them seven days—an unforeseen complication.

After traveling for nearly two hours, they ran into a group of people.

They were heading to Heaven Dou as well. But when the two sides caught sight of each other, their feelings shifted in a subtle way.

"It's you!" Qin Chuan's expression darkened. He knew these people—they were the students of Shrek Academy.

The Shrek students were surprised to see Qin Chuan too. He managed to keep his emotions in check, but some of them weren't willing to do the same.

A fat fellow suddenly jumped out, a sneer spreading across his pudgy face. "Pretty boy, I never thought we'd meet again! Our dean's here today too. He's a Soul Douluo, so there's no escaping this time."

Qin Chuan paid the clown no mind. His gaze swept across the group, and sure enough, he spotted Tang San among them, looking utterly unbothered.

As if sensing Qin Chuan's gaze, Tang San looked over too. Then he smiled at him.

"Fatty, what is it? You know this man?" A middle-aged man stepped forward, taking the lead and shielding Ma Hongjun behind him.

He looked rather old and wore a pair of glasses. A glint of light flickered in his eyes now and then, giving him a shrewd, merchant-like air.

He was none other than Shrek's dean, Flender.

Hearing him, Zhao Wuji lowered his voice. "Dean, this is the fellow I told you about earlier. His talent is terrifying—practically defies heaven."

They'd made an enemy of such a fearsome prodigy, and he'd even escaped without them being able to stop him. They had to do everything they could to resolve the matter.

Otherwise, they could only wait for revenge to come later.

"Little fellow, harmony is the most important thing in all matters. Disputes between youngsters are perfectly normal. Why don't we turn this major issue into a minor one, and this minor issue into nothing at all?" Flender said with a genial smile as he glanced at the Scarlet King.

In his eyes, Qin Chuan and his own students were all just youngsters. Young people were full of energy; it was only natural for them to have disagreements.

They only needed to make peace.

And a monster this young...

It was best not to make an enemy of him.

"Dean, we can't just let him go! This brat stole Xiao San's Soul Ring!" Oscar said, clearly unhappy, glaring at Qin Chuan with hostility.

Even Qin Chuan was baffled. He didn't think he'd had much contact with this guy. Why did he act like they had a blood feud? Why did he hate him so much?

"Dean, actually, I agree with Xiao Ao. There's no way to settle things between us anymore," Tang San said slowly. A smile still hung on his face, but a chill flickered deep in his eyes. He wanted to persuade Flender to kill Qin Chuan.

Among the Shrek group, apart from Flender and Zhao Wuji, there wasn't even a single Soul Ancestor. So no one had sensed how terrifying the Scarlet King was.

Even Flender only assumed the other man had some special way to conceal his aura, or that he was at the same level as himself. The thought that he might be stronger had never crossed his mind.

That level was simply too far beyond them.

Besides, there were only a handful of Titled Douluo on the entire continent. How could they possibly run into one so easily?

"You do nothing but spout nonsense. No wonder you couldn't protect your own companion," Qin Chuan said coldly.

The other side had repeatedly insulted him, and he wasn't the sort to let people walk all over him. He immediately hit back.

There were two new faces among the Shrek students, and two people were missing. Xiao Wu wasn't there, of course.

The girl named Ning Rongrong was also gone. Judging by the Shrek students' reactions, a lot had clearly happened during this time.

"How do you know Xiao Wu was taken away?" A glint flashed in Tang San's eyes as he suddenly asked, "Could it have been you who lured the Titan Giant Ape over back then?"

"We were all acting on impulse at the time, but I never thought you'd be so vicious as to lure the forest's king over. You wanted to wipe us all out!"

The arrival of outsiders had changed many things, but Tang San's feelings for Xiao Wu hadn't changed. He had come to regard her as someone who belonged to him in a special way.

After Xiao Wu had been taken away, he'd realized he couldn't save her and couldn't beat the Titan Giant Ape. So he'd turned his hatred toward Qin Chuan.

"Even if what we did back then was a little out of line, we gave the Man Faced Demon Spider back to you in the end. Why did you have to be so vicious?"

Tang San continued, sounding sincere as he stirred up the crowd's emotions.

He wanted to make Flender angry enough to kill Qin Chuan.

Tang San's words immediately thrust Qin Chuan into the eye of the storm. Everyone's expression changed, and even their gazes toward him took on a hint of murderous intent.

Even Flender and Zhao Wuji felt cornered. They had no idea how to handle the situation and were at a loss.

But Qin Chuan simply ignored them. His gaze was cold as he silently watched Tang San put on his one-man show.

He was like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"Third Brother, since Dean Flender believes in turning swords into plowshares, let's leave it at that. Spare his life!"

Just then, a man suddenly spoke.

He had handsome features and stood tall and graceful. He seemed to hold great influence among the Shrek group, and his words immediately threatened to derail Tang San's plan.

Of course, he wasn't being kind. He had his own schemes.

"Since Liu An says so, let's settle things here. You, boy, be on your way," Flender said. Seeing that the others seemed to be relenting, he was truly afraid Tang San would stir up more trouble.

He hurried to smooth things over and started to leave.

"Fine. You're lucky today." The man whispered a few words in Tang San's ear. Tang San's brow relaxed, and he shot Qin Chuan a cold look before preparing to leave.

"Wait!"

Just as the Shrek group was about to leave, Qin Chuan finally spoke. His voice was indifferent, like a frozen lake so cold it chilled the world.

Even the Scarlet King was slightly surprised. He could feel a bone-piercing killing intent coming from Qin Chuan.

He'd known the boy for so long, but had never seen him like this.

"What? We've already spared your life. What else do you want?" Ma Hongjun turned around, his voice dripping with arrogance.

"You'd better leave now. If you don't, I won't need Dean Flender to step in. I alone am enough to kill you and your guard," Liu An said with a frown.

At the same time, he wondered: Hadn't this part been absent from the original story?

The situation on Douluo Continent had been straying further and further from the original plot, leaving him at a disadvantage. He could no longer plan his next move according to the story, so he'd been doing everything he could to keep it on track.

But now, it seemed another change beyond the plot was about to occur.