Robbery? Sorry, Times Have Changed

Deep into the night, three black shadows vaulted over the walls of Shrek Academy.

Tang San had changed into black clothes, with a black cloth cap on his head, his entire face hidden in shadow.

Dai Mubai was also dressed all in black. His long golden hair had been stuffed into his cap, making him impossible to recognize without a careful look.

Ma Hongjun had it the worst. His round body was wrapped in black, like a black ball of flesh, swaying from side to side as he walked.

The three of them followed the base of the wall and silently crept to the vicinity of the Shrek Academy across from them.

Tang San chose a hidden corner and crouched down.

Dai Mubai crouched to his left, and Ma Hongjun crouched to his right.

All three stared fixedly at that tightly shut gate.

Our martial souls might expose our identities...

Tang San thought to himself.

But as long as we're careful enough and the ambush succeeds, they won't have time to clearly see our martial souls.

If worst comes to worst...

A cold gleam flashed through his eyes.

We'll kill them to silence them.

Tang San had known since childhood that this was a world where the weak were prey to the strong.

Mercy was the thing that most needed to be discarded.

Time passed, second by second.

Fifteen minutes.

Half an hour.

One hour.

The gate remained tightly shut the entire time, without anyone coming out.

Ma Hongjun began to lose patience.

His body twisted back and forth, as if nails had grown on the chair beneath him.

"Tang San... can we really catch someone by waiting here?"

His voice was pressed very low, but the impatience in his tone was about to spill over.

Tang San did not look at him, his gaze still fixed on that gate.

"I said from the start that we might not catch anyone."

"Today is just to figure out their activity schedule, so we can prepare for the next operation."

Ma Hongjun scratched his head and muttered, "I know... but we can't just keep crouching here forever..."

He paused, lowering his voice even further.

"Tang San, I need to tell you something."

"My evil fire... it's going to flare up before long."

"If I don't release it in time... people could die."

Tang San's brows furrowed.

He turned his head and glanced at Ma Hongjun.

"I clearly said from the start that we might not catch anyone."

"And you're telling me this now?"

Ma Hongjun shrank his neck.

"I know that too... but I've got no choice..."

He looked at Dai Mubai, then at Tang San.

"How about... you two keep watch, and I go release it?"

"I'll be quick, I promise I'll be back in half an hour!"

Tang San's face darkened.

"If you leave now, you won't get a share of the next batch of pills."

Ma Hongjun's body stiffened.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he met Tang San's eyes, he swallowed it back down.

"Fine, fine... I'll crouch... I'll crouch, all right..."

Ma Hongjun crouched back down with a helpless expression, the fat on his face drooping.

Dai Mubai said nothing at the side, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, as if he were mocking Ma Hongjun.

An unknown amount of time passed again.

The tightly shut gate finally opened.

Several figures walked out from inside.

Tang San's eyes suddenly lit up.

"They're here."

He lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping quickly over them.

There were four in total.

Tang San knew the two walking at the front.

They were precisely the trash he had seen on enrollment day before, with only one ring of soul power.

The two following behind them were people Tang San had never seen before.

Tang San quickly analyzed the situation.

"Two one-rings, two unknowns..."

He thought to himself.

"Their overall strength doesn't count as strong."

He turned his head and looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun.

"I know the two in front. One-ring."

"Do you know the two behind them?"

Dai Mubai narrowed his eyes and looked, then shook his head.

"Never seen them."

Ma Hongjun also shook his head and grinned.

"Who cares who they are, as long as it isn't that woman."

"That woman was seriously too fierce..."

Dai Mubai smacked him on the head.

"Even if that woman is there, we're not afraid."

"Last time was just... an accidental loss, that's all."

Ma Hongjun hurriedly nodded.

"Right, right, an accident, an accident!"

As Tang San listened to their conversation, he kept feeling that they were not very reliable.

But this time, it was not as if he had made no preparations.

Tang San's right hand moved slightly.

Hidden inside his sleeve was something.

The Crystal Dragon Whisker Needle.

An existence ranked in the top ten among the Tang Sect's hidden weapons.

Within three meters, it could pierce internal-force protective aura. This was his trump card.

"Let's go."

Tang San said in a low voice.

The three of them followed silently.

After those four left the academy gates, they walked east along the street.

They were chatting and laughing, looking very relaxed.

Tang San followed behind them, maintaining enough distance.

Too close and he would be discovered; too far and he could easily lose them.

He considered his tracking skills fairly good.

But after they had passed two streets, Tang San's brows furrowed.

Those four... seemed to have noticed something.

Their footsteps quickened.

And they no longer took the main roads, instead choosing only small alleys to slip into.

A bad premonition surged up in Tang San's heart.

"We've been discovered?"

He thought to himself.

"Impossible... I'm following from so far away..."

They turned another corner, and the four people suddenly disappeared.

Tang San stopped and swept his gaze around.

This was a dead end.

Ahead stood a high wall, with sealed-up houses on both sides.

There were no other exits.

Those four people were standing at the end of the alley.

They turned around and looked at him.

Tang San's pupils contracted sharply.

"We've been counter-scouted..."

They had not lost them because of bad luck. They had been deliberately led here.

Tang San glanced around.

There was no one else. No pedestrians. No witnesses.

This was a... perfect ambush spot.

Only, the one being ambushed was him.

A vicious glint flashed through Tang San's eyes.

"They want to make a dirty move?"

"In that case..."

He did not hesitate and shouted behind him.

"Do it!"

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun charged in from the mouth of the alley.

Both of their martial souls possessed them at the same time.

Dai Mubai's Evil Eye White Tiger appeared, black-and-white fur covering his entire body, while three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—rose from beneath his feet.

Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix appeared, purple-red flames burning around his body as two yellow soul rings slowly pulsed.

Tang San also released his Blue Silver Grass, and two yellow soul rings emerged beneath his feet.

On the opposite side, the four people had two with two rings and two with one ring.

Dai Mubai looked at the opposing lineup, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.

"We've won for sure."

Ma Hongjun laughed too, and his laugh was downright sleazy.

"Leave the two one-ringers to me!"

He was the first to charge forward. With a wave of both hands, a ball of flame gathered by his mouth, and he was just about to breathe fire.

The slightly shorter youth opposite him took something out from his clothes.

It was not large. Its entire body was dark gray, and it was shaped like a flat cylinder.

Ma Hongjun froze.

"What the hell is that thing?"

The next second.

That youth pressed the button on the cylinder.

Bang—!

A dazzling blue beam shot out from the cylinder at an astonishing speed.

Ma Hongjun had no time to dodge at all.

The beam slammed hard into his chest.

"Ah—!"

Ma Hongjun screamed, and his entire body was blasted flying. His round body flipped several times through the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

A large patch of his clothes had been scorched, a blackened mark was left on his chest, and even a few locks of his hair had been singed.

"Wh-what the hell is this thing?!"

Ma Hongjun lay on the ground, his face full of terror.

Zhang Yangzi walked out from behind, holding an identical cylinder in his hand.

He glanced at Wang Jinxi beside him, and both of them smiled.

"Open fire!"

Bang, bang, bang—

Blue beams shot out one after another from four directions, so dense they were like falling rain.

Dai Mubai's expression changed, and he hurriedly used his first soul skill.

"White Tiger Barrier!"

White light covered his entire body, forming a layer of protection.

But the power of those beams was far greater than he had imagined.

One came after another, with no end in sight.

Under the dense bombardment, cracks began to appear in Dai Mubai's protective barrier.

The old wounds on his body were shaken open as well, and blood seeped out from beneath his bandages.

"Bastards... what the hell is this thing?!"

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and tried to charge forward.

But the four people opposite him were standing far apart, attacking from four directions at once. He had no idea which way to charge.

Another shot blasted into his back.

Dai Mubai staggered two steps forward, his legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees.

Then another beam struck the back of his head.

Dai Mubai's vision went black, and he fainted on the spot.

Tang San stood where he was, completely stunned.

He looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun collapsed on the ground, then at the strange cylinders in the hands of the four people opposite him.

His mind went blank.

"Wh-what kind of weapon is this?"

Tang San's voice trembled slightly.

He had lived in the Tang Sect for so many years and had seen countless hidden weapons.

Sleeve Arrows, flying knives, ...

But none of them had this shape.

And...

Tang San's gaze fell on those beams of light.

Their power was too great, and the fire was too concentrated.

"How is this possible?!"

Tang San's pupils contracted violently.

Before he could figure it out, the four people opposite him had already surrounded him.

Four directions.

Four people.

Four Soul Cannons.

They opened fire at the same time.

"Bang bang bang bang—!"

Four blue beams shot toward Tang San from four directions at once.

Tang San wanted to dodge, but the place was very cramped, making it difficult for him to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step. On top of that, the four of them had pretty accurate aim, as if they had locked onto him. All four beams hit.

Tang San's body was blasted into the air. He slammed hard into the wall beside him, then fell back down.

His clothes were blown to tatters, burns and scrapes covered his body, and blood hung at the corner of his mouth.

He lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move.

Zhang Yangzi put away his Soul Cannon, walked forward, and lowered his head to look at the three people lying on the ground.

"That's it?"

There was a hint of surprise in his tone.

"I thought they'd be tougher than that."

"By the way, when did our aim get this good? We weren't this accurate back at the academy."

"No idea, but we can brag about it now. We didn't miss a single shot today!"

Wang Jinxi walked over and kicked Ma Hongjun's round body.

"This fatty... his martial soul seems to be the Evil Fire Phoenix?"

Zhang Yangzi nodded.

"Yeah, probably."

Wang Jinxi said, "Right, before we came out, the dean gave me a pill and said this kind of pill had to be fed to the guy with the Evil Fire Phoenix."

"Then feed it to him."

"Mm."

After feeding him the pill, the four of them left straight away, leaving the three figures lying there behind.

"Ah!!! Hot, so hot!"

Ma Hongjun woke up not long after being fed the pill. His whole body burned, his evil fire surged, and his eyes were bloodshot as his gaze fell on the two people beside him...

At the same time, in the dean's office.

[Detected an increase in key figure Tang San's recognition of Shrek Academy as Monster Academy!]

[Congratulations, host, you have received a reward: Special Student—Yang Nianxia (three-ring soul master)]

[Detected an increase in key figure Dai Mubai's recognition of Shrek Academy as Monster Academy!]

[Congratulations, host, you have received a reward: Special Student—Wei Xiaofeng (three-ring soul master)]

[Detected an increase in key figure Ma Hongjun's recognition of Shrek Academy as Monster Academy!]

[Congratulations, host, you have received a reward: Special Student—Zheng Yiran (three-ring soul master)]