Itching for a Fight

Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu arrive at the counter, the manager could not help but smile bitterly.

"You two are truly impressive. You even forced Young Master Dai to back down. It's just that the hotel's losses..."

Xiao Wu pouted unhappily. "Young Master Dai was the one who started trouble, and he was the first to attack. Shouldn't he be the one paying for the damage?"

The manager said nothing, merely smiling bitterly.

Tang San patted Xiao Wu on the shoulder and placed the card from before back on the hotel counter.

"Forget it. We'll pay for it. Since we forced that Young Master Dai to retreat, he'll definitely be furious from humiliation. If ordinary people like the hotel staff go ask him for compensation, they may end up bearing the brunt of his anger. It's better if we pay."

As he spoke, Tang San pushed the card toward the manager.

Tang San was a Grand Soul Master, Xiao Wu was a Soul Elder, and their teacher was a Soul Sage. Now that they were traveling outside, they naturally did not lack Gold Soul Coins.

The manager took the card and thanked them profusely, then hurriedly arranged for a waiter to prepare their room.

The two took their key and headed to the room on the top floor with a sign reading "Red Ocean."

However, after stepping inside and taking one look at the decor, Tang San and Xiao Wu's expressions turned strange.

Tang San looked somewhat embarrassed. "Could this hotel be specifically for couples on dates?"

He turned to look at Xiao Wu, only to discover in surprise that her face was full of excitement.

"I didn't think it would be a lovers' hotel. This is perfect!" Xiao Wu said excitedly, patting Tang San on the back. "It's settled, then. You cultivate on the sofa, while Teacher and I sleep on the bed."

Tang San shook his head helplessly.

Xiao Wu was already twelve, yet she still acted like a child who had not grown up.

Even at night, she still needed Teacher to sleep beside her.

He had stopped clinging to Teacher and demanding his company when he was ten!

In this regard, Tang San undoubtedly displayed the maturity expected of an older martial brother!

As the two joked around, someone knocked on the door behind them. A tall young man then entered.

He opened the door, and only after seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu standing inside did he nod. "Looks like I found the right place. This is it."

The visitor was naturally Fang Yuan.

Upon seeing their teacher, Tang San and Xiao Wu were both delighted.

Tang San respectfully bowed to Fang Yuan. As for Xiao Wu, her way of expressing her feelings was far more direct.

She suddenly leaped into the air and pounced toward Fang Yuan. Her slender body wrapped around him like an octopus, her arms around his neck and her legs tightly clamped around his waist.

Clinging to Fang Yuan, Xiao Wu pouted and complained, "Teacher, why didn't you wait for the two of us? You don't know it, but someone came to cause trouble when we were registering at the hotel. Without Teacher by our side, the two of us were so lonely and pitiful."

Their cheeks were nearly pressed together, and her warm breath brushed Fang Yuan's face, carrying a warm, fragrant breeze from the tip of her nose.

Xiao Wu's enthusiasm made Fang Yuan smile slightly. He rubbed her rabbit head, then lifted her by the back of her collar and set her down.

Then he turned to Tang San. "Little San, Xiao Wu said someone gave you trouble when you registered at the hotel?"

Xiao Wu had a lively, impulsive personality and sometimes spoke on a whim. Tang San, on the other hand, was steadier. Therefore, Fang Yuan did not ask Xiao Wu beside him, but instead asked Tang San for the details.

Tang San nodded. "Teacher, we did encounter a young Soul Elder just now. He tried to take this hotel's vacant room from us."

He then recounted his earlier conflict with Dai Mubai to Fang Yuan in full detail.

"Shrek Academy..." Fang Yuan stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

He had not expected that merely arriving early in Soto City to purchase supplies would once again trigger the plot for Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Thinking about the timing, Shrek Academy's admissions for this year did indeed seem to be happening around these days.

Realizing this, Fang Yuan suddenly felt an unbearable itch to fight.

Over the past five years, he had either been teaching or leading research into soul tools.

In five whole years, he had barely even summoned his martial soul. He could practically win the Nobel Peace Prize of the soul master world.

Now that he was about to enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts, how could he not warm up properly first?

To borrow a famous saying, those who dared not stir up trouble were mediocrities!

With that thought, a strange smile appeared on Fang Yuan's face as he said to Tang San and Xiao Wu:

"For a while, I'll be heading into the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain a soul ring. It's too dangerous there, so I can't take you with me. Once I obtain my eighth soul ring, I'll return and take you to the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest to help Little San obtain his soul ring.

"Before I leave, do you want to come with me to Shrek Academy and get your pride back?"

Fang Yuan was not worried that, after he took the two to offend Shrek Academy, the other side would seek revenge against Tang San and Xiao Wu while he was away.

It was not because he trusted those people's moral standards. Rather, Tang Hao, that great Buddha, was currently hidden in the shadows, watching Tang San at all times. If Shrek Academy's people had no martial virtue and wanted to attack the two while he was away, that would be quite a show.

Hearing Fang Yuan say he would take them to get their pride back, Tang San did not show much reaction. Xiao Wu, however, became excited.

Her lively personality carried a certain fearlessness toward causing chaos. "Sure, Teacher! Let's go to that Shrek Academy and see why the students they teach are so arrogant!"

Outside Soto City, the official road stretched straight into the distance.

Less than a few miles south along the road stood a small village by the roadside. The village was enclosed by a circle of fences, and quite a few people had gathered at its entrance.

Most of them were teenagers in their early teens, accompanied by their parents. They stood in a long line stretching all the way to the village entrance.

At the front of the line, a wooden table had been set up at the village entrance. An old man in his sixties sat behind it, looking lazy.

At the very front of the queue, a young man walked up to the table and respectfully said to the old man, "Teacher, I'm here to register."

Yet the old man behind the table did not even raise his eyelids. He merely gestured toward a box beside him. "The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins."

Hearing that price, the father accompanying the boy could not help but feel a sharp pang of pain. After all, one Gold Soul Coin was enough to cover their family's expenses for around half a year.

However, thinking of his child's future, he still suppressed his heartache, fished out ten Gold Soul Coins from his pocket, and hurriedly dropped them into the wooden box beside him.

Only after receiving the Gold Soul Coins did the old man lift half an eyelid and slowly speak. "Hold out one hand."

The boy did as instructed. The old man squeezed his hand twice before flinging it aside, his tone becoming casual. "Your age is not eligible. You can leave."

The boy and his father both froze.

The father behind him hurriedly forced a smile. "Teacher, my son only turned thirteen yesterday. Could you make an exception? It isn't easy for a child to find an academy."

The old man's voice suddenly turned impatient. "The academy's rule is that we only accept those under thirteen. Hurry up and leave. Don't hold up the people behind you."