Yu Sanjin beamed with joy, patting Gu Tian's shoulder forcefully, his attitude becoming more enthusiastic than ever before.
"Sect Master Gu, Your Excellencies, you have truly been a great help to this old man! Not only did you defend the gates of Dragon City, but you also orchestrated such a miracle. I was fortunate enough to witness the descent of a true dragon. Come, come, now that the war has subsided, I have prepared a grand welcome banquet at the City Lord's Mansion. Let's invite those Shrek Academy brothers guarding Ximen as well. Tonight, we'll drink until we drop in Dragon City!"
Gu Tian smiled and nodded. Now that the trouble was resolved, a celebratory drink wouldn't hurt.
The group followed Yu Sanjin, striding briskly through the main urban area. Victory flags were already hung on the streets of Dragon City, and the people came out of their homes to give the team that had saved the city a warm round of applause.
However, when Yu Sanjin excitedly led Gu Tian and the others to the west gate of Dragon City, the scene before him left him stunned.
The defenses at the West Gate remained tight, with heavy crossbows still emitting faint smoke as soldiers cleaned up the bloodstains. However, the Shrek Team that should have been stationed here— Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Tang San and the other teenagers—were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey? Where are they?" Yu Sanjin grabbed a city guard lieutenant by the collar, looking bewildered, and shouted, "Where are the Shrek Academy experts who were guarding there just now? Where did they go?"
The lieutenant wiped the sweat from his face and reported truthfully, "Lord City, just as the beast tide receded, the bespectacled dean led his men away. They said they had finished hunting for the Soul Ring and didn't want to delay their official duties here. Before leaving, they asked me to convey their gratitude to you for your consideration, Lord City."
Yu Sanjin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes filled with deep admiration, and exclaimed loudly:
"My goodness! These guys from the Shrek Academy are truly a group of heroes! They did the hardest work, but in the end, they didn't even have a celebratory drink. That's a classic case of doing good deeds anonymously! Noble character, truly noble character! This is the real Monster Academy, that's their style!"
Yu Sanjin gave a thumbs-up to the empty West Gate, his hearty laughter echoing through the Xue Ye of Dragon City.
Gu Tian's lips twitched slightly as he looked at Yu Sanjin's self-satisfied expression. He knew all too well why Flender and Tang San had left so quickly—it wasn't about doing good deeds anonymously; they were clearly afraid that if they stayed too long, he would discover the strange, darkened Soul Power within Tang San.
"Now that they're gone, we'll have to drink a few more jars of wine." Gu Tian turned around, winked at the women, and walked towards the City Lord's Mansion in a relaxed atmosphere.
Meanwhile, in a secluded ice valley dozens of miles away from Dragon City.
The last trace of icy blue Soul Power finally subsided within the valley. Tang San slowly opened his eyes, his purple pupils gleaming with a sharp light, and Sisi wisps of dark red blood energy swirling within them. Oscar, Tai Long, and Huang Yuan beside him also awoke from their meditation one after another, their faces filled with undisguised ecstasy.
"Level 23!"
Tang San felt the surging Soul Power within his body and couldn't help but clench his fists. In just one month, he had leaped from level fifteen to Soul Grandmaster twenty-three, a speed that was extremely rare in the entire history of human Soul Master.
He knew very well that besides the eight-hundred-year-old Ice Bear Soul Ring, the Death Warrior Pill bestowed upon him by Prince Xue Xing played a crucial role in this leap. That pill not only forcibly widened his meridians, but also allowed him to endlessly squeeze the residual life energy of the Soul Beast when absorbing the Soul Ring.
"Congratulations, Third Brother!" Tai Long excitedly rushed over. He had also broken through to level twenty-two this time, his muscles bulging and his strength more than doubled.
Tang San looked at Tai Long, a confident smile playing on his lips. Tai Long's progress was something he had personally nurtured. With this achievement, he believed that when they returned to Heaven Dou City, Tai Tan, the old man and patriarch of the Strength Clan, would understand that joining the Tang Sect was not only about repaying a debt of gratitude, but also the only opportunity for the Strength Clan to grow stronger and return to its peak.
"Let's go, the mission here is complete." Tang San waved his hand, signaling everyone to pack their bags. "We need to head back first. On the way back, we'll stop by Sunset Forest."
"What are we going to Sunset Forest for?" Oscar scratched his head, puzzled. "Little San, didn't you already finish hunting for the rings?"
Tang San looked at his right hand, where the mutated Blue Silver Thorns was quietly lurking.
"It's for Fatty, and also for my Blue Silver Grass." Tang San's eyes darkened slightly. "Although my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul has mutated, it still hasn't acquired a second Soul Skill. There's almost no precedent in the history of the Douluo Continent for a plant-type Soul Master hunting animal-type Soul Beast. Although Yu Xiaogang researched it with me before, saying that if we could hunt animal Soul Beast with highly venomous or resilient characteristics, the Blue Silver Grass might undergo a fundamental leap in toxicity..."
At this point, Tang San's tone became somewhat sarcastic and cautious.
"But I dare not gamble. Although the teacher's theory is profound, it is still just theory, and..." Tang San thought of his First Soul Ring - the white Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo Soul Ring that he was forced to absorb because of the Grandmaster's optimal choice, but now it seems extremely mediocre.
"Theory can only be half-reliable. If another white waste ring appears, my Blue Silver Grass will be completely ruined. I'm going to Sunset Forest to personally select a top-tier Plant-type Soul Beast. This time, I'll only trust my own judgment."
"Set off!"
With Tang San's command, the Shrek team, which had grown rapidly under the nourishment of dark power, transformed into several black shadows in the wind and snow and sped towards Sunset Forest.
On the way, since they hadn't yet left the territory of Dragon City, Tang San discovered that although most of the Soul Beast corpses had been cleared away, he could still occasionally see a few barely clinging Soul Beast that hadn't managed to escape due to their severe injuries among the piles of rocks and ice crevices.
His steps suddenly stopped beside a hidden snow pit.
At the bottom of the pit huddled an ice wolf with a cultivation of about a thousand years. Its belly had been cut open by a sharp blade, and although the wound had scabbed over in the freezing cold, its once fierce beastly eyes were now filled with despair and numbness.
Tang San stared unblinkingly at the Soul Beast, when a dark thought suddenly flashed through his mind.