Potential Danger

The Death God Scythe martial soul was far too powerful. With Tang San's current Soul Power of only level twenty-nine, if the scythe so much as cut his skin, death would be certain.

Chu Zhao had lived on Blue Star for longer, and the education she had received had seeped deep into her bones, making it difficult for her to kill ordinary people.

At that moment, Chu Zhao even wished she and Tang San had some deep-seated grudge between them, so she would not feel so conflicted when making her move.

"No, maybe I can exploit a loophole. The system only told me to use the Death God Scythe to cut his skin, and Death will take him away for me. But what if... this Death Qi can't kill Tang San?"

A thought suddenly struck Chu Zhao, and she came up with a crazy idea.

She did not know whether this method would work, but she still wanted to try it first. What if it did?

Wouldn't that open up a new way to complete the mission?

With an idea in mind, she took action. Knowing the plot, Chu Zhao knew that the Shrek group would come to the Soto Soul Arena for training tonight, so she registered another alt account and prepared to wait for her prey.

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy outside Suotuo City, Tang San and Xiao Wu were both in poor spirits, especially Tang San.

Since Yu Xiaogang and Headmaster Flender had some history together, after Chu Zhao left, Tang San immediately went to Flender as Yu Xiaogang's disciple and demanded an explanation for why Chu Zhao had been driven away.

"Headmaster, why did you drive Zhao Zhao away? Doesn't she meet your standards for selecting talent?"

At that moment, Tang San had even considered leaving.

Although this was the place Yu Xiaogang had told him to come to, and he had always listened to Yu Xiaogang—one could even say he obeyed his every command—he could not help but wonder whether a place blind enough to drive away Chu Zhao was truly worth staying in.

"Her talent is indeed excellent, the best among the nine of you. Naturally, she meets my standards. But she could not pay the tuition. The rules of Shrek Academy cannot be changed, so I could only regretfully ask her to leave."

Flender did not dare reveal the real reason. He could only use this obviously clumsy excuse to deceive both himself and others.

He thought that after saying this, Tang San would compromise.

But Tang San was clearly a very stubborn person. Driven by his indignation, he insisted on getting to the bottom of it.

"That's an excuse—a very clumsy excuse. There must be some other reason we don't know about. Headmaster Flender, I want to know the real reason."

His words were extremely forceful and carried a hint of spite. Even if Flender became angry at being embarrassed and expelled Tang San from Shrek Academy, Tang San would probably feel relieved instead.

Seeing Tang San persist so stubbornly, and considering Tang San's dual identity, Flender finally relented and revealed part of the reason.

"Because Chu Zhao is not suited for this place. There are too many dangers surrounding her, and she could easily drag others into them. I cannot place the entire academy in danger because of her alone."

Flender's tone and expression were more serious than ever before.

Though he was a Soul Saint, there were always greater people beyond greater people and higher heavens beyond higher heavens. Many times, even he could do nothing.

For example, that important figure had said that Chu Zhao had once been hunted by two Soul Douluos and a group of Soul Saints. Those people had stopped only because they believed Chu Zhao was dead. Once they discovered she was still alive, a new round of pursuit could very well begin.

"Zhao Zhao is in danger? No, I have to find her."

Yet after Flender said all that, Tang San seemed to have heard only one thing. As he spoke, he turned to go find Chu Zhao.

Flender hurriedly grabbed him and began trying to persuade him.

"The people bringing danger to Chu Zhao are opponents even I cannot handle, much less you as you are now. Your strength is not even equal to hers. I'm afraid you won't be able to save her and will only hold her back."

"If I were you, I would seize the time to cultivate properly and grow strong enough to protect her as soon as possible."

"Strength is the only hard truth."

After hearing Flender's words, Tang San was persuaded. He immediately set aside his hesitation and threw himself into cultivation and study.

And because Xiao Wu wanted to avenge her mother as soon as possible, she also cast off her usual laziness and began cultivating diligently.

Before they knew it, Tang San and Xiao Wu had become the next generation of grind kings after Chu Zhao.

But while some cultivated diligently, others became smug over their decent talent and had no intention of cultivating at all.

For example, Ma Hongjun, who possessed a top-tier beast martial soul, was as usual harassing women from the surrounding villages, his eyes practically glued to them.

Then there was Dai Mubai, who possessed a powerful beast martial soul and had risen twelve levels in three years. He believed himself exceptionally talented and of noble birth, so even casual cultivation made his Soul Power rise quickly.

And then there was Shi Yang, the Transmigrator who considered himself extraordinary because of his golden finger. Thinking about how he had broken through more than ten levels in merely two or three months—faster than even consuming immortal herbs—he became even more pleased with himself.

He immediately went to share his joy with Dai Mubai.

"Dai Lao Da, I've broken through to level thirty!"

"Congratulations, congratulations! Your progress is truly astounding!

"If I remember correctly, you're not even thirteen this year, and you're younger than Fatty. With this, you've broken my old record and become the youngest Soul Elder in Shrek's history. You could even be written into the academy's history."

Upon hearing the good news, Dai Mubai sincerely praised Shi Yang, making him bloom with delight.

"I originally thought Tang San would be the first among you to reach level thirty. I never expected it to be you. It seems your talent is far better than his. But that makes sense—how can Blue Silver Grass, a useless martial soul, possibly compare to the Battle Wolf martial soul?"

Hearing Dai Mubai say that his talent was better than Tang San's, Shi Yang was inwardly delighted beyond measure. Yet he did not show it and hurriedly demurred.

"Not at all, not at all. I just happened to get lucky. How could I compare to Third Brother?"

Though he said that, Shi Yang secretly felt the thrill of having defeated Tang San.

So what if he's the male lead? He's still inferior to me, a Transmigrator.

He actually dared to embarrass me. I have to snatch one of your opportunities.

Shi Yang thought smugly to himself.

Meanwhile, in Suotuo City, Chu Zhao had not yet encountered Shrek Academy when she first ran into an acquaintance.

"Boss, Boss, you're..."

There was a trace of doubt in Wang Sheng's voice, and he was not quite sure whether what he had just seen was real.

With Chu Zhao's strength, wasn't this just bullying people? She had actually entered the matches herself.

"I'll suppress my strength to the Soul Grandmaster level. This is to train them a little; it's a good thing. But what about you? Why are you here too?"

In the VIP box, Chu Zhao looked at the seven people of varying ages standing before her and raised an eyebrow as she asked.