Crossed Paths

Jiang Jiu had been peppered with all kinds of questions, and although he had a whole repertoire of nine parts truth to one part lie, even he was starting to struggle.

Where was Flender? Someone save him!

As Chao Tianxiang chatted, she started trying to set Jiang Jiu and her granddaughter up as friends. It felt like she was about to take him along to hunt for Soul Rings next.

It was fine to listen to that sort of thing, but it was a bad idea to bring two groups with such an imbalance in strength together.

At last, Flender finally made a move.

"Which advanced academy does your granddaughter attend? Perhaps she could arrange an exchange with our academy sometime." Flender looked like an elder showing concern for the younger generation.

Maybe Jiang Jiu was just too cynical, but it felt like Flender was asking where the other academy was so he could go block its entrance later.

Luckily, Snake Granny didn't see it that way.

With a proud expression, she began introducing her granddaughter.

Dragon Duke's eyes flickered, but in the end, he didn't stop her.

"Our Yiran is studying at Exotic Beast Academy. There's a good chance she'll represent them at the Soul Master Academy Tournament."

"Grandma, what are you saying?" Meng Yiran patted her grandmother's arm, looking a little embarrassed to be praised by an elder in front of outsiders.

Of course, she was just as proud inside.

And rightly so. Meng Yiran was the top genius at Exotic Beast Academy.

"That's wonderful. If she gets the chance to compete in the Soul Master Academy Tournament, she'll be one of the continent's most promising young talents," Flender praised.

"Haha, she's not bad," Chao Tianxiang said, waving a hand. The elderly loved hearing that sort of thing.

"But the academy tournament is fiercely competitive. No wonder you two have come all this way yourselves to help her find a suitable Soul Ring."

"Oh!" Flender seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead, changing the subject.

"We really have been keeping you two seniors from your business."

"Jiang Jiu, you should've reminded me sooner!"

With Flender passing the buck, Jiang Jiu had no choice but to play along. The trouble with a useful trick was that people kept making him use it.

"I saw how kind the two seniors were and got carried away. We really shouldn't have held you up."

"Oh, you're such a smooth talker. You haven't held us up at all."

Flender glared at him. Don't let Jiang Jiu make things worse.

But whether she simply didn't like seeing her grandmother so cheerful with outsiders, or genuinely felt their time was being wasted, Meng Yiran tugged at Chao Tianxiang's sleeve again.

With the granddaughter urging her on, the two groups naturally began to part ways.

They smiled as they said goodbye, then turned their backs, each keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Once they seemed far enough away, Flender finally let out a long breath.

Running into the Peerless Dragon and Snake couple on the outskirts of Star Dou Forest was the worst luck.

It was fortunate the other side hadn't intended to start a fight. Otherwise, the most Flender could have done was protect himself. In the worst-case scenario, he might have had to reveal Ning Rongrong's identity to make them hesitate.

That kind of balance, though, was far too fragile.

At least he and Jiang Jiu had worked together fairly well, keeping the atmosphere relatively restrained.

"Teacher, was that really dangerous just now?" Ma Hongjun asked.

To be honest, the little fatty had done very well.

For one thing, he hadn't stared around or leered at Meng Yiran with his less-than-wholesome gaze. Otherwise, things really might have gone badly.

Not causing trouble counted as success.

Flender didn't answer his disciple right away. His eyes swept around behind his black-rimmed glasses, and only when he was sure everything was fine did he speak.

"It was a little dangerous. From now on, all of you need to stay alert."

So now it's 'if you don't cause trouble, you're useless.' Jiang Jiu grumbled to himself. Flender had been shameless about passing the buck just now.

"Dean, we'll remember!"

But Dai Mubai, Flender's foremost disciple, seized the moment. Even though Flender hadn't said what they needed to watch out for, Dai Mubai answered with unwavering conviction. He was practically ready to start writing down the Dean's Sayings.

"Who were those two just now?" Ning Rongrong, the second one who hadn't caused trouble, asked as well.

Earlier, Flender had made them all hide behind him. Though the conflict they'd expected never came, Ma Hongjun and the others had still felt the weight of the atmosphere and didn't dare look or speak too much.

Now that they'd parted ways, the curious little one was back in action.

"The Peerless Dragon and Snake. Heard of them?" Flender replied. He'd been planning to educate the Shrek Academy kids anyway. They needed to know which people they couldn't afford to provoke.

"So it really was them? No wonder you were being so cautious, Dean." Ning Rongrong nodded, surprised.

"Dad told me the Peerless Dragon and Snake are a married couple. Dragon Duke is a Soul Douluo, and the two of them also have an extremely powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Once they use it, they can stand against a Titled Douluo."

Ning Rongrong's explanation saved Flender some effort, but he continued to fill them in.

"That's right. Just as Rongrong said, the Peerless Dragon and Snake couple are extremely powerful."

"Of course, you could also say, 'So what if they're strong? It has nothing to do with you.'"

"And that's exactly what I want to tell you."

"Unlike the world outside, there's almost no order among Soul Masters in Soul Beast forests."

"Outside, many powerful people follow certain rules and maintain a degree of decorum. But in a Soul Beast forest, they strike whenever they want and kill whenever they want."

"When someone dies, they're dead."

"No one knows. No one investigates."

"So remember: when you encounter unfamiliar Soul Masters in a Soul Beast forest, you can never be too cautious..."

This was part of their training, too. Flender, the dean, also taught classes at Shrek Academy, so this was the perfect chance to give them a vivid lesson through experience.

"So that's how it is?"

Only now did the little fatty, Ma Hongjun, start to feel afraid in hindsight. Oscar's legs were trembling a little, too.

When they'd hunted for Soul Rings before, their teachers had always been with them, and they'd never run into a situation like the one just now.

Either they hadn't encountered any other Soul Masters at all, or those they met had been no match for their teachers.

Teachers leading students out generally maintained a basic level of decorum in front of them. They wouldn't go out of their way to commit evil, kill people, or plunder.

The others reacted much better.

Ning Rongrong was still fearless, while Zhu Zhuqing only wished she were the strong one in control of the situation. She yearned for strength even more.

Flender felt the lesson had sunk in well enough, so he began teaching them another set of ideas.

"Of course, that's only how things are in Soul Beast forests."

"Outside, in many places, your dean can still cover for you."

"Don't be afraid of causing trouble, but keep your eyes open and choose the right opponents."

"People from those Soul Master academies are the easiest to bully..."

Jiang Jiu was speechless. Flender was slipping in his own agenda again, spouting his crooked logic—and they'd only just parted ways with the Peerless Dragon and Snake.