Provoking Canghui Academy

A moment of silence passed.

"Good!" Zhao Wuji clapped his hands together, the sound as loud as a thunderclap.

"Good! Excellent!"

He paced back and forth twice, the muscles on his face twitching.

"Very well! Today's mission has changed! We are heading to the Star Dou Forest to obtain the third spirit ring for Oscar!"

Ma Hongjun let out a whistle.

The corners of Dai Mubai's mouth twitched; at last, some good news.

Tang San unclenched his fists, shifted his gaze away from Xiao Wu, looked at Zhao Wuji, and nodded.

Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless.

Ning Rongrong clapped, though her applause was lackluster; her attention remained fixed on Ji Ye.

Xiao Wu finally raised her head, glanced at Tang San, then quickly lowered it again, her fingers twisting even tighter.

Ji Ye stood in the ranks, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

As expected, the plot had not changed much.

Oscar had still broken through to level thirty at this time, Zhao Wuji still had the same reaction, and the team remained the same.

He glanced at Oscar.

Oscar wore a smile, but his single eye kept darting toward Ning Rongrong, glancing over again and again.

Ning Rongrong did not look at him.

Ning Rongrong was looking at Ji Ye.

Oscar's smile faded slightly, and he lowered his head to stare at his own toes for a while.

Zhao Wuji, however, did not notice any of this.

He turned and walked toward the academy gate, waving his large hand.

"Let's move out! Star Dou Forest!"

The seven of them followed behind Zhao Wuji, walking out through the crooked, rickety gate of Shrek Academy.

Ji Ye walked at the very back of the group, with Xiao Wu in front of him and Tang San further ahead, who turned back to look from time to time with a complex expression.

Ning Rongrong walked beside Xiao Wu, turning her head to glance at Ji Ye every now and then.

Zhu Zhuqing walked beside Ning Rongrong, eyes fixed straight ahead, yet her pace remained perfectly synchronized with Ji Ye's.

Ma Hongjun walked beside Dai Mubai, his mouth never stopping as he gossiped.

Dai Mubai ignored him.

Oscar walked at the very front, following Zhao Wuji with a light step, though his eyes kept darting toward the back.

Ji Ye took all of this in, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Three days later.

The outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.

A lonely inn stood by the side of the main road. It was two stories high, built of wood and stone, with a faded flag hanging at the entrance bearing the characters "Welcome Inn."

The inn was not large, but in this desolate place, far from any village or town, it was a rare place to rest.

Zhao Wuji led the group inside.

The interior was more spacious than it looked from the outside, furnished with seven or eight tables. At the far end was a counter where a gaunt old man sat, head bowed over an abacus. He glanced up at the commotion, then lowered his head to continue clicking the beads.

"Waiter, we'd like to order." Ma Hongjun sat down at a table by the window and tossed his pack onto the table.

"Bring us one of every signature dish you have."

"You dead fatty, it's not your money you're spending!" Dai Mubai slapped Ma Hongjun on the head.

"Cough, cough, Boss Dai, you're not short on cash, are you?"

Dai Mubai ignored him.

The group slumped over the tables in disarray.

After a three-day forced march from Soto City to the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, everyone except Ji Ye was as exhausted as a dog.

Oscar sprawled in his chair, listlessly conjuring a few sausages from his palm and handing one to each person.

"Eat up. Before the food arrives, have some of my Super Recovery Sausages to replenish your strength."

Tang San took one and bit into it. Xiao Wu took one too, but didn't really eat it, instead kneading it in her hands.

It was quite small.

Dai Mubai took the sausage and swallowed it in two or three bites, wiped his mouth, and his complexion improved slightly.

Ma Hongjun had the most unsightly eating habits, shoving the entire sausage into his mouth at once and nearly choking on it.

Ning Rongrong ate in small bites, her eyes constantly darting towards Ji Ye.

Zhu Zhuqing kept her eyes closed, not having touched the sausage in front of her.

Ji Ye sat at the very edge of the table, the sausage before him also untouched.

After three days of forced marches, everyone else was exhausted, yet he had barely broken a sweat.

As for how he managed it, there was only one way to put it.

"Space folding, a hundred zhang in one step."

Just then.

The inn door was kicked open.

With a "bang," the door panel hit the wall, bounced back, and was then stopped by a hand.

A tall boy in a crimson uniform walked in, his chin held high, looking down his nose at everything.

Behind him followed a group, all in the same uniform, seven people in total: four boys and three girls, plus a middle-aged man wearing single-framed glasses.

Canghui Academy.

The tall boy at the front deliberately bumped into a waiter who was serving food.

The waiter, holding a plate of food, stumbled and dropped the dish, falling to the side.

The waiter's face turned pale with fright.

But in the next second, a hand steadily supported his shoulder, while another caught the plate before it hit the ground.

Ji Ye had stood up at some point, his left hand on the waiter's shoulder, his right hand holding the plate, not a drop of the soup spilled.

"Be careful," Ji Ye said, his voice not loud, his tone calm.

The waiter froze for a moment, then turned to see who had steadied him, his mouth agape.

"Th-thank you, young master."

The waiter took back the plate, his hands still trembling, whether from fear or some other reason, he didn't know.

The inn fell silent for a moment.

The gazes of the female students from Canghui Academy all fell on Ji Ye.

One girl with a ponytail dropped a chopstick, bent to pick it up, and then her eyes were glued back to him.

Another short-haired girl rested her elbows on the table, propping her chin with her hands, a smile playing on her lips as she stared directly at Ji Ye.

A girl in the back directly turned her head, watched for a few seconds before turning back, said something to her companion, and they both started laughing, their eyes still glancing towards Ji Ye as they did.

As for the male students from Canghui Academy, they let out cold snorts.

Dai Mubai watched this, his fists clenching with a loud crack.

Damn it, he was stealing the spotlight again.

The tall boy, seeing his female schoolmates all looking at Ji Ye, his expression turned ugly.

He snorted coldly, deliberately pulled out a chair, scraping its legs loudly against the floor, then plopped down, crossed his legs, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Boss, take my order!"

Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up first.

He stared at a female student from Canghui Academy, his eyes practically glued to her.

The girl was indeed beautiful, with a melon-seed face, large eyes, a curvaceous figure, and long hair cascading over her shoulders. She was chatting and laughing with her companion, revealing a row of neat white teeth when she smiled.

Ma Hongjun's saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, and he didn't even notice.