When he saw someone attacking Tang San, Dugu Bo roared.
Distracted, he was struck by the dragon's tail and sent flying.
At the same time, Yu Xiaogang and the others spotted Ye Qiong.
"It's you! The headmaster of Amphoreus Academy, Ye Qiong!"
Ye Qiong curled his lip. "Nonsense. My name's Aha, not Ye Qiong."
Flender was furious.
"Bullshit!"
Do you think we're blind? We've seen what you look like!
Ye Qiong could tell how flimsy his excuse sounded.
But as a Pathfinder,
he'd long since mastered the art of keeping a straight face.
So he said no more and stepped forward, his Seventh Soul Ring lighting up.
Then he brought his enormous baseball bat crashing down on both sides.
Dugu Bo, Yu Xiaogang, and the others immediately poured all their strength into trying to hold it back.
But the bat was impossibly hard. It shattered Dugu Bo's true form and Yu Xiaogang's Golden Sacred Dragon in one blow.
Then Ye Qiong heard a thunderous crash.
The ground was smashed into a massive crater.
"Yikes. Looks like I didn't hold back enough."
He wondered if he'd crushed Yu Xiaogang to death.
He'd better go check.
Ye Qiong quickly withdrew the bat and leaned over the edge of the crater. When he saw that Yu Xiaogang and the others had only passed out, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Pretty tough, I'll give them that."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ye Qiong heard a system notification.
[Mission complete. Reward: 3000 Star Jade has been issued.]
[Current Star Jade balance: 4440]
Seeing the balance, Ye Qiong couldn't help smiling.
He was almost back up to fifty pulls.
He'd pull again in two days!
After Ye Qiong left, a long time passed.
Dugu Bo woke up, pushed himself upright, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He felt every bone in his body creaking.
Poison churned through him, and he had almost no Soul Power left.
He glanced at the unconscious Tang San on the ground. He knew that in his current state,
even if Tang San woke up, a single finger would be enough to kill him.
At that thought, Dugu Bo drew a deep breath and secretly made up his mind.
Just then, Tang San slowly came to.
His head was still buzzing,
but he vaguely remembered that he'd been working on the poison when something struck him on the back of the head. He hadn't seen what it was.
He raised his head and saw the medicinal herbs crushed all over the ground. His pupils contracted sharply.
"Who was it?!"
Dugu Bo sat on a nearby rock, his expression grim.
"That man. Ye Qiong."
Ye Qiong?
The headmaster of Amphoreus?
Was he the one who'd knocked him out?
Tang San's expression immediately turned grave.
He had no grudge against this Ye Qiong. Why had he targeted him?
Tang San suddenly spoke.
"Senior Dugu."
Tang San met Dugu Bo's gaze.
"He destroyed one of your treasured places and ruined my opportunity. We have the same enemy."
Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment, then asked hoarsely, "What are you getting at?"
"Instead of fighting separately, we should stand together."
Tang San's voice was calm, but laced with a heavy malice.
"He has all of Amphoreus Academy behind him, while we have nothing. But if we join forces, we'll find a way."
Dugu Bo looked into Tang San's eyes.
After a long while, he let out a helpless sigh.
"...Very well."
After that, Dugu Bo became an honorary advisor to Shrek Academy.
From that day on, Ye Qiong was blacklisted by Shrek Academy. Flender also officially came to regard Amphoreus Academy as a formidable rival on his academy's road to success.
Ye Qiong knew nothing about it, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
Pathetic little Shrek? What a joke.
Ye Qiong's goal was to grow the academy, strengthen himself, and prepare as thoroughly as possible for the Iron Curtain crisis that would soon arrive.
So, as soon as he got back to the academy, Ye Qiong plunged into the Simulation Realm.
The Simulation Realm could create a custom environment for anyone. When Ye Qiong entered, it automatically generated a Ferocious Beast over two hundred thousand years old for him.
At the sight of the Ferocious Beast, Ye Qiong's face lit up with excitement.
"Now that's impressive. It can even simulate something like this. I'm going to have a blast!"
And so Ye Qiong clashed with the Ferocious Beast.
At the gates of Shrek Academy in Heaven Dou City,
Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong stood beside the carriage while Ning Rongrong bowed her head to see them off.
After a moment of silence, Ning Fengzhi spoke.
"Rongrong, the marriage arrangement with Xiaoqiong has been called off."
Ning Rongrong's head snapped up. She'd thought she would be happy to hear the news, but when she actually did, an indescribable heaviness welled up inside her.
She opened her mouth, but it took her a long time to force out a question.
"Was it his idea?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded.
"It was."
Ning Rongrong clenched the edge of her sleeve.
"...When did this happen?"
"Just these past few days. He told me himself."
Ning Rongrong said nothing. She'd expected to jump up and cheer, but now her feet felt nailed to the ground, unable to move.
Her gaze drifted from her father's face to Chen Xin's and Gu Rong's.
All three looked at her calmly and silently, with a trace of unfamiliar distance. They were no longer as doting as they had been.
In that instant, something seemed to slam into Ning Rongrong's chest.
She suddenly wondered if she really had done something wrong.
But the thought lasted only a moment.
She shook her head fiercely.
She wasn't wrong!
She simply didn't want a life arranged for her. She just wanted to live like a free bird. What was wrong with that?
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the distance.
Ning Rongrong looked up and saw Flender staggering in through the gates, supporting Tang San.
Most of Tang San's robe had been torn away. Several charred burns marked his chest, and a smear of dried blood clung to the corner of his mouth.
Xiao Wu was the first to rush over.
"Brother! What happened to you?!"
Tang San waved a hand, his voice hoarse.
"I'm fine..."
Flender helped him sit against the wall, his face full of anger.
"It was Ye Qiong! That headmaster of Amphoreus Academy, Ye Qiong!"
Ning Rongrong's fingers suddenly tightened.
Ye Qiong again?
Tang San looked up at her. Seeing her expression, he asked quietly,
"Rongrong, what's wrong?"
Ning Rongrong was silent for a moment before answering in a very soft voice.
"Ye Qiong broke off our engagement."
The courtyard fell silent.
Xiao Wu froze, and Tang San's brows knit together.
Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and briefly explained the engagement and its cancellation.
"It's just as well he called it off,"
Ning Rongrong said, biting her lip.
"Besides, I never wanted to marry him."
The courtyard fell silent again. Tang San braced himself against the wall and stood.
"Then we have to get even stronger. If you don't, you won't even have the right to speak in front of him."
He looked at Flender, then at Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong.
"Besides, he stole my opportunity, hurt our people, and humiliated Rongrong. We can't let that go unavenged."
Flender nodded grimly.
"Exactly. I can't stand him either. We'll join forces with Dugu Bo, Dragon Duke, and the others, and prepare for the tournament together."
Xiao Wu gripped Tang San's hand tightly.
"Brother's right. We absolutely can't lose to them."
Seeing the determination on everyone's faces, Ning Rongrong finally felt the heaviness inside her begin to lift.
She nodded, a hint of resolve in her eyes.
"Then let's give it everything we've got."
Ye Qiong... just you wait.
Before you continue