Oscar and Dai Mubai joined in the heckling, not taking Ye Zhiqiu seriously at all.
Fu Qin paused mid-bite, a flicker of disdain crossing his eyes.
Those three idiots really had forgotten the pain as soon as their wounds healed.
Tang San most of all. His life had already strayed far from the path he'd followed in the original story.
All because of Fu Qin's interference.
The two useless Soul Rings Tang San had absorbed, each less than a hundred years old, had not only failed to give him a powerful physique, but had actually lowered the quality of his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul.
What was more, Tang San was now lost in the pleasures of the brothels, taking pride in having once been a God King. Now he'd grown unbearably conceited.
And on top of that, he'd just spent last night indulging himself at a brothel. The power in his body was weak and unsteady.
Yet now he dared provoke a Soul King. In Fu Qin's eyes, he was practically courting death.
But Fu Qin had no intention of stepping in. With three divine-level buffs protecting him, he wouldn't fear a mere Soul King—not even if he dug up Tang Hao's wife's grave.
In her previous life, Flender's mistaken theories had led Xiao Wu astray. Back then, she hadn't thought much of it, but seeing a similar scene now, she couldn't help frowning.
"Those who don't dare cause trouble are worthless... This scene is so much like the one in my previous life. But why does something feel off?"
Xiao Wu felt uneasy, too. Perhaps it was because she'd experienced Tang San's betrayal in the Divine Realm, and now she thought things through more carefully.
But to maintain her "shining image" in Fu Qin's eyes, she still couldn't help speaking up.
"They're going way too far..."
Seeing this, Fu Qin gave her a helpless look and comfortingly patted her head. "Sister Xiao Wu, let's just eat. Third Brother and the others are so strong, nothing will happen to them."
Xiao Wu nodded in agreement. After all, in her previous life, Tang San had been able to suppress that old tortoise, Ye Zhiqiu, all by himself.
Having lived two lives, he could only be stronger now.
However—
As soon as the words left his mouth, a loud crash rang out.
Ye Zhiqiu had reached the end of his patience. He swung a punch at Tang San. The Mystic Tortoise Martial Soul had astonishing defensive power, and its offensive strength was not to be underestimated either.
Tang San, weakened by his excessive indulgence, was already in poor shape and had no time to react. The punch landed squarely on his chest. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
"Xiao San!" Dai Mubai cried out and tried to rush forward, but Ye Zhiqiu kicked him away. He slammed into the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.
At that moment, the gap between a Soul King and a Soul Elder yawned wide open.
In the original story, Tang San and the others had needed all seven of them working together to subdue Ye Zhiqiu, that old bastard of a Soul King.
Now, Tang San only had four people to rely on. They couldn't withstand Ye Zhiqiu's punches at all.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar didn't escape either.
With the two strongest fighters down, Ye Zhiqiu charged through them like a tiger among sheep. His hands flew in every direction, and within minutes, the two were beaten black and blue, sinking into deep unconsciousness, their breaths faint.
The other diners in the waystation scattered in terror. Only Fu Qin and the three girls remained seated, calm as a mountain.
Ning Rongrong edged closer to Fu Qin in fright, her small hand clutching his sleeve as her voice trembled.
"Brother Fu Qin, that old tortoise won't come after us, will he?"
Fu Qin patted the back of her hand reassuringly. "Don't be afraid. Third Brother and the others are very strong. Look, Third Brother's fingers are still twitching. If nothing unexpected happens, he's already getting ready to ambush that old tortoise."
His voice was steady and firm, giving Ning Rongrong a tremendous sense of security.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu edged closer to Fu Qin as well.
Fu Qin felt Xiao Wu move and the corner of his eye twitched slightly.
He thought that if Tang San were still conscious, he'd probably have spat blood on the spot at the sight.
Of course.
It was only because Tang San had passed out that Xiao Wu dared to be so close to Fu Qin in public.
Just then, Zhao Wuji arrived late.
Seeing Tang San and the others lying unconscious on the ground, he was instantly furious. The Immovable Wisdom King Martial Soul awakened in a flash, and the full power of a Soul Saint erupted from him as he roared at Ye Zhiqiu.
"You dare hit a student of Shrek? You're asking for death!"
Ye Zhiqiu's expression changed. He hadn't expected Shrek Academy to have such a powerful teacher, but he refused to back down. His Mystic Tortoise Martial Soul surged to its full strength, and he clashed with Zhao Wuji.
"Bang!" Zhao Wuji's punch struck Ye Zhiqiu in the chest, sending him stumbling backward and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Get lost! If I ever see you again, I'll cripple you!" Zhao Wuji roared. He picked Ye Zhiqiu up like a little chick and tossed him straight out of the waystation.
After dealing with Ye Zhiqiu, Zhao Wuji strode over to Fu Qin and the others, his face dark.
"What happened?"
Fu Qin understood perfectly. If Zhao Wuji was this angry, then he'd most likely already met Tang Hao.
Fu Qin briefly explained what had happened, his tone calm, as though he were describing something utterly inconsequential.
Zhao Wuji's face turned livid with rage.
"Damn it. They can't get anything right!" Then he had someone carry Tang San and the other three back to recover.
Fu Qin's gaze fell on Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he instinctively opened their personal panels.
The next second, his pupils contracted. A rare look of astonishment appeared on his face.
On the three personal panels, their ages had originally been listed as being in their teens. Now they had suddenly soared to over fifty thousand years old.
And after each of their names was a striking new tag: (Reincarnated)—exactly the same as the tags on Tang San and Xiao Wu's panels!
Holy crap! Ye Zhiqiu's few punches had just knocked the reincarnated forms of several gods into the open! Fu Qin was rocked by a storm of emotion.
He had originally thought that only Tang San and Xiao Wu had returned from the future. He hadn't expected Dai Mubai and the other two to have been reincarnated as well.
Combining this with the irregularities in Ning Rongrong and Zhuqing's personal information, he understood at once. A massive upheaval must have occurred in the Divine Realm, causing all these once-powerful figures from the Divine Realm to be reborn in their younger selves.
So what exactly had caused this upheaval?
A war in the Divine Realm, or some other unpredictable crisis?
With all these reincarnated figures gathered at Shrek Academy, what sort of chain reaction would they set off?
Fu Qin's gaze grew profound. He knew that the days ahead would hardly be peaceful.
Xiao Wu seemed to notice that something was off and asked softly, "Fu Qin, what's wrong?"
Fu Qin came back to himself and shook his head, a smile appearing on his face. "It's nothing. I'm just a little surprised."
Ning Rongrong leaned against him, feeling his warmth. Her heart was full of a sense of security.
To her, Fu Qin was practically the perfect boyfriend: strong, handsome, and especially good at understanding girls.
But one thing puzzled her. Xiao Wu already had Tang San as her boyfriend, so why had she grown so close to Fu Qin?
Could the two of them be siblings?
But that didn't seem right either!