In the end, Ma Hongjun was left with only his last breath.
As the Blue Silver Vines loosened, Ma Hongjun fell from the air.
He lay on the ground like a maggot.
Seeing how badly Ma Hongjun was hurt, Xiao Wu was stunned, and her heart sank.
Lin Hui stared at his motionless body.
"I'm teaching you a lesson. If there's a next time, I'll kill you outright."
With that, Lin Hui turned and left with Xiao Wu.
After Lin Hui and Xiao Wu had gone some distance, Ma Hongjun, still writhing on the ground, summoned all his strength to call for help. His voice was so faint, though, that it was even quieter than ordinary speech.
"B-Boss Dai, Dean... help me... help me!"
About an hour later, Dai Mubai emerged from a brothel, freshly satisfied, and tightened his belt.
"Where's that damn Fatty been hiding all this time? Where'd he run off to now?"
Before long, Dai Mubai spotted Ma Hongjun lying in an alley not far from the brothel.
Blood had seeped through Ma Hongjun's clothes, staining the ground red.
"Fatty!" Dai Mubai cried out when he saw him, then rushed over in a panic.
Looking at Fatty lying on the ground, covered in blood and in such a wretched state, Dai Mubai was too shocked to speak.
"Fatty, tell me who did this. Who did this to you?" Dai Mubai roared in fury. "Tell me, and I'll avenge you!"
"A... a pretty boy with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul..." Ma Hongjun said, then promptly passed out.
"A Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, huh? Fine. I'll remember that," Dai Mubai said.
"Fatty, hang on. I'm taking you to a doctor!"
A week later, following Yu Xiaogang's instructions, Tang San arrived at Shrek Academy.
This time, though, he had come alone, without Xiao Wu.
After passing Li Yusong's Soul Power test, he made it to the second round: Zhao Wuji's combat test.
When Tang San revealed his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, Dai Mubai was stunned.
"Dean Zhao, Fatty said he was beaten up by a Soul Master with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. I'd bet anything this kid's the one!" Dai Mubai whispered to Zhao Wuji.
"What? So it was this brat!" Zhao Wuji was astonished. "Then I'll go all out this time. Let's see how I avenge Fatty!"
Without Xiao Wu by his side, Tang San didn't reach his full potential. On top of that, Zhao Wuji went all out from the start, intending to teach Tang San a lesson.
Even though Tang San used Hidden Weapons, Zhao Wuji took a hit to land a hit and thoroughly beat him down.
Tang San's face was battered into a pig's head!
Since Tang Hao was both searching for Ah Yin and evading the Spirit Hall's pursuit, he wasn't constantly following Tang San. As a result, Zhao Wuji wasn't punished by Tang Hao that night.
Later, after Ma Hongjun had recovered enough to identify his attacker, everyone realized it had all been a misunderstanding!
But Tang San's face was already swollen into a pig's head!
Tang San rubbed his swollen face and asked Ma Hongjun, who was lying in bed,
"You said the Soul Master who beat you fought with Blue Silver Grass?"
Wrapped in bandages from head to toe, Ma Hongjun nodded.
"Was his Blue Silver Grass released from a ball?" Tang San asked again.
Ma Hongjun thought it over. "Yeah, that's right. Come to think of it, his Martial Soul was kind of strange."
Tang San asked again, "Was the girl with him big-eyed, with a slightly chubby baby face, long legs, and a scorpion braid?"
Ma Hongjun nodded again. "Why? You know her?"
Tang San said excitedly, "That's right. The girl's name is Xiao Wu, and she's the one I love. The person who hurt you is Lin Hui. We're all classmates from Notting Soul Master Academy."
Dai Mubai was just about to ask, "If you love her, why is she with Lin Hui?" when Tang San spoke again.
"It was Lin Hui! He stole my Xiao Wu! Can you help me get her back?"
Tang San looked at Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar beside them with desperate, pleading eyes.
Dai Mubai quickly spoke up.
"Since you all call me Boss Dai, I'll say this: Lin Hui hurt my brother Fatty and stole the woman of my new brother, Xiao San. We'll make him pay for both!"
Oscar scratched his head and asked,
"But where would they go? How are we supposed to find them?"
Tang San thought for a moment.
"Lin Hui and Xiao Wu are both close to level thirty now. They'll most likely head to a Soul Beast forest to hunt for Soul Rings. The closest one is Star Dou Forest. If we go there, we might run into them!"
Dai Mubai agreed. "Looks like that's our only option. Fatty, rest for a few days. Xiao San and Xiao Ao are almost level thirty, too. Once we're ready, we'll tell Dean Flender and head to Star Dou Forest."
Star Dou Forest.
An endless sea of dark green trees stretched across the land, and ancient trees covered the rolling mountains as far as the eye could see.
Following Xiao Wu's directions, Lin Hui arrived here.
His purpose on this trip was to search the heart of Star Dou Forest for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm imprisoned by Di Tian.
The ground at their feet was tangled with old roots, and thorns crowded the path, ready to scratch their skin if they weren't careful.
Birds often beat their wings in the forest, and small Soul Beasts rustled through the undergrowth. From time to time, the distant howls of wolves and roars of tigers echoed through the trees, dull and far away.
They gradually made their way deeper into Star Dou Forest.
"Xiao Wu, are you sure you know the way?" Lin Hui asked.
"What kind of question is that? Coming here is like coming home!" Xiao Wu replied.
"But don't you think this place is getting stranger?" Lin Hui still felt uneasy. "The trees are getting taller, and there are fewer and fewer Soul Beasts."
Of course, what puzzled Lin Hui most was that they had barely encountered any Soul Beast attacks along the way!
They walked a few hundred meters farther, then Xiao Wu suddenly stopped.
Lin Hui didn't react in time and bumped straight into her.
Xiao Wu's body was soft, but she remained as steady as a rock.
"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" Lin Hui asked.
"Uh... well..." Xiao Wu suddenly looked a little awkward, hooking the index fingers of both hands together. "It looks like we're surrounded by Soul Beasts..."
"What?" Lin Hui was dumbfounded.
The ground around Lin Hui suddenly began to shake violently.
As the earth heaved, several giant burrowing worms emerged from the soil. There were more than ten of them, each five to ten meters long. Their bulky bodies looked like enormous lumps of flesh, and damp earth clung to their skin.
Their mouths were ringed with circles of white teeth, like suction cups.
The dozen-odd giant worms pointed their mouths at Lin Hui and Xiao Wu, all looking ravenous.
"They're Marrow-Eating Burrowing Worms. Judging by their age, they're between two and four thousand years old," Xiao Wu said hurriedly, glancing around in a panic. "They're not Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, but there are so many of them that we'll still have a hard time dealing with them!"