Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent

He walked to the table, sat down opposite Ji Ye, poured a cup of tea, took a sip, and remained silent for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

Flender, oh Flender, he thought to himself.

Such a promising talent is simply not someone you or I can teach.

He looked up at Ji Ye, his gaze complex.

"You fellow really aren't afraid of Canghui Academy taking revenge."

Ji Ye did not look up, continuing to eat as he spoke indifferently.

"Does Teacher Zhao think they would dare to come after me?"

Zhao Wuji froze for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his face.

That was true.

This kid had the backing of Martial Soul Hall.

Although he didn't know what purpose Ji Ye had for staying at Shrek Academy, neither he nor Flender dared to provoke this guy for the time being.

Halfway through the meal, Ji Ye put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and stood up to head toward the stairs.

"Everyone take your time, I'm going up to sleep."

As he reached the doorway, Ji Ye noticed footsteps behind him.

He turned to see Ning Rongrong following him, with Zhu Zhuqing right behind her; the two girls were trailing him closely, one on each side.

Ji Ye stopped and looked back at them, his mouth twitching.

"Why are you following me?"

Ning Rongrong froze, stopping in her tracks as her face flushed bright red, the color spreading all the way to her ears.

Zhu Zhuqing also stopped, her face taut as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"I... I..."

Ning Rongrong opened her mouth, stammering "I" for a long time without managing to say anything coherent.

"I'm sleeping next door," Ning Rongrong said, before walking to the adjacent room to open the door and slip inside.

Zhu Zhuqing whispered that she was as well, then quickly turned and walked to another room.

Ji Ye stood on the landing, looked at the two closed doors, shook his head, and pushed open the door to his own room.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the group set out from the inn.

Zhao Wuji led the way, his steps steady and his expression vigilant.

No one mentioned the events of last night, and the swelling on Dai Mubai's face had subsided somewhat.

He walked at the very front of the group, not looking back at Ji Ye or speaking to anyone.

Ji Ye walked in the middle of the group, unhurried and relaxed, as if he were on a casual outing.

Zhao Wuji had been leading the way for about a mile when his pace suddenly slowed. He glanced back at the group, his gaze landing on Ji Ye.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words back. After hesitating for two seconds, he changed his target.

"Tang San, you arrange the formation," Zhao Wuji said.

Tang San was taken aback, clearly not expecting Zhao Wuji to call on him.

He looked at Zhao Wuji, then gave a quick glance at Ji Ye before nodding.

"Alright."

He stopped and waited for everyone to gather around before he began to organize.

"Boss Dai, you take the lead."

Tang San looked at Dai Mubai. "Your frontal combat ability is strong; you can withstand the first wave of impact if we encounter a sudden situation."

Dai Mubai nodded without a word and walked to the front of the formation to take his position.

"Xiao Wu, you take the right flank, five paces from the main group, and keep your field of vision open."

"Ma Hongjun, you take the left flank, symmetrical to Xiao Wu."

"Got it, leave it to me."

"Oscar, Rongrong, you two stay in the middle," Tang San paused.

"Your soul skills provide great support to the team, so staying in the safest position is most appropriate."

Oscar nodded and walked to the center of the group. Ning Rongrong followed, though she moved a little closer to Ji Ye after a few steps.

"Zhuqing, you are responsible for the outer perimeter," Tang San said, looking at her.

"Your speed is the fastest and your vision is broad; alert us immediately if you spot anything." Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly, her figure flickering as she leaped onto the branch of a large tree. Her cat-like eyes scanned the surroundings, just like a true spirit cat.

Tang San finally looked at Ji Ye.

"Ji Ye, you stay in the center to provide support and respond to any emergencies."

Ji Ye smiled faintly, having no objections, and nodded.

Everyone took their positions, and the team reformed.

"Move out."

Zhao Wuji waved his hand, and the team continued deeper into the Star Dou Forest.

After about half an hour, the surroundings grew denser. The trees were thick, their branches and leaves blocking out the sky, dimming the light. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and decaying vegetation.

Their footsteps made rustling sounds on the thick layer of fallen leaves. Occasionally, a few wild birds would startle from the treetops and fly towards the sky with a flapping of wings.

Ji Ye walked in the middle, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings, his mental perception spreading out like a net.

He knew the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent would arrive soon. In the original story, this creature flew very fast, passing over everyone's heads, and was then caught by Tang San's Blue Silver Grass.

Afterward, the Snake Grandma would arrive, and there would be some kind of competition.

Ji Ye had no interest in waiting that long.

As expected, not long after, a sound of flapping wings came from the distance ahead, approaching rapidly.

The leaves on the treetops rustled violently from the airflow, and a slender shadow drew an arc through the sky above the forest, rapidly approaching them.

"Something's coming!" Zhu Zhuqing's voice came from the trees, her cat-like pupils locked onto that direction.

Dai Mubai immediately stopped, his fists clenched, Soul Power surging on his skin. His gaze was fixed on the fast-moving shadow in the sky above the forest.

"It's a Soul Beast, and it can fly," Tang San also saw it, squinting to identify it.

"It's not large, but it's very fast."

Ma Hongjun craned his neck, looking for a long time but couldn't see anything clearly. He asked anxiously, "What Soul Beast is it?"

"Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent," Ji Ye's voice came from the side, unhurried.

"Thousand-year level."

Ma Hongjun turned to look at him.

"How did you know?"

Ji Ye didn't answer. His gaze fell on the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent rapidly approaching, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Then, he slowly raised his right hand.

He spread his five fingers and aimed at the swooping snake shadow in the sky.

The next second, the space in front of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent rippled.

A semi-transparent ripple appeared, and two semi-transparent flying blades shot out from it, accurately slicing towards the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's wings.

The space beside him rippled, like a stone dropped into calm water, and a semi-transparent ripple spread out before Ji Ye.

"Ch-,"

Two nearly overlapping cutting sounds.

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's wings were cleanly severed from their roots, and blood exploded into a red mist in the air.

The snake's body lost its balance and plummeted from mid-air, crashing onto the ground in front of the team with a thud, kicking up fallen leaves and dust.

Its body writhed and twitched violently on the ground, blood continuously gushing from the wounds where its wings were severed, staining the surrounding soil red.

It struggled a few times, its body gradually going limp, only its tail still twitching slightly. Its pupils were dilated, and it was clearly not long for this world.