Is No One Concerned About Whether Tang San Is Alive?

The meeting with the Shrek group caught Gu Zhi and the others completely off guard.

Gu Zhi was doing all right, though being stared at by Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong with such resentful looks was certainly awkward. Still, compared to this meeting between Liu Erlong, Yu Xiaogang, and Flender, that was nothing—it was an absolute mess.

"You're Liu Erlong? Er Long, is that really you?"

Flender's jaw nearly dropped as he looked at the vastly changed Liu Erlong. A woman who had always presented herself as bold and valiant had suddenly become so gentle and captivating, a stunning beauty whose every gesture carried a natural charm.

Forget acquaintances—even her biological parents would have been shocked beyond belief.

"Er Long? It really is you!"

Yu Xiaogang could not hide the amazement in his eyes. Liu Erlong had already been extraordinarily beautiful, but after a little dressing up, she was simply heartbreakingly lovely.

In Yu Xiaogang's heart, Liu Erlong at this moment was fully capable of rivaling that peerless Spirit Hall Pope in beauty!

"Flender... Xiao Gang... it's been a long time."

Seeing Yu Xiaogang again, Liu Erlong realized that she did not seem particularly emotional.

It was as though everything that had happened in the past had long become drifting clouds. Now, she was merely meeting two old friends.

"How did you end up here?"

"A student at the academy is about to break through, so I came ahead of time to look for a suitable soul beast for her..."

It was as if Flender and Yu Xiaogang could not even see Gu Zhi. They simply continued talking to Liu Erlong on their own.

However, Gu Zhi was not exactly free at the moment either. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong had come over and surrounded him.

"Young Master Gu, you're certainly living freely! What a waste of my concern for your safety! So you had such a great beauty following you around! You must be having quite the wonderful time!"

Ning Rongrong immediately displayed her little witch side. How was this any different from a jealous girlfriend? Zhu Zhuqing looked at Gu Zhi with the aggrieved expression of a wronged little wife, making him nearly stumble over his words.

"Haha... I didn't expect to run into you here... Zhuqing, you... you're level thirty already? Did you come here to hunt for a soul ring?"

Gu Zhi had no desire to explain his relationship with Liu Erlong to them. Though he had no idea why these girls cared so much about him, one should never discuss another woman with a woman. That was sound advice!

Of course, Gu Zhi was also extremely surprised that Zhu Zhuqing had reached level thirty. It had not even been ten days since they last parted, yet she had raised her Soul Power by three levels in a row.

Her speed was only slightly slower than his. Compared to anyone else, it was astonishingly fast. Could Zhu Zhuqing have a system too?

"That's right! It's all thanks to your good fortune, Young Master!"

Ning Rongrong answered for Zhu Zhuqing. Naturally, Gu Zhi was full of question marks. How could he have known that Zhu Zhuqing and the others could benefit from his system rewards?

"Zhuqing, Rongrong, you know this guy?"

Before Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong could say much more to Gu Zhi, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai walked over. Unlike the amazement they had shown upon seeing Liu Erlong, they now held considerable hostility toward Gu Zhi.

"Yes, he's a friend we met at the Great Soul Arena."

Ning Rongrong gave a simple explanation. She and Oscar's group were only ordinary friends and classmates. There was no need for her to report to them about whom she chose to befriend.

Zhu Zhuqing had no intention of responding to Dai Mubai and the others at all. Especially when she saw the unfriendly look in Dai Mubai's eyes, she deliberately glared back, as if warning him not to start trouble.

"Hello, my name is Gu Zhi."

Gu Zhi did not want to clash with the protagonist group. Besides, Dai Mubai and the other two were not worth his attention at the moment.

Even if they all became gods later, so what? Could they possibly be stronger than him, the owner of the Strongest Deity System?

"Hello, Uncle! My name is Oscar. Since you're Rongrong's friend, you're naturally my friend too! You're welcome to visit Shrek Academy anytime, Uncle! But our academy generally only entertains monsters. We'll never accept trash!"

Oscar immediately started with his usual passive-aggressive nonsense. That single "Uncle" nearly struck everyone present dumb!

"Damn! Oscar's tongue is poisoned! Though Gu Zhi really is a few years older than them!"

"Just a few years older and he gets called Uncle? Oscar isn't just rude—he's begging for a beating!"

"Get used to it! That's just how Shrek does things!"

"Gu Zhi, honey, beat him up! What uncle? Has Oscar forgotten who the real boss is?"

"With people like this around, it's no wonder I have such a terrible impression of Shrek! Earlier, they were teaching that anyone who dared not cause trouble was mediocre! My blood pressure shot up just listening to it! Shrek's educational philosophy is a disgrace to education!"

"Agreed! The students have no proper behavior at all! They look like a bunch of delinquent punks! And they call themselves students?"

"They've been taught so crookedly at such a young age! They don't possess a single virtue of gentleness, kindness, courtesy, restraint, or humility!"

The comments were instantly enraged by Oscar's remark. They had already been unhappy that Gu Zhi had treated them so humbly and given them face, yet Oscar actually started acting full of himself?

"Oscar! Has no one ever taught you any manners?"

Zhu Zhuqing had already been angry, and the comments only fanned the flames further. If Gu Zhi had not stopped her, she might have attacked him.

"Oscar! I think we shouldn't be friends anymore! I don't like people speaking to my friends like that!"

Ning Rongrong's expression darkened. Even if she, the little witch, occasionally spoke without restraint, she would still show a stranger the most basic respect.

"Oh, come on! Oscar was just joking! This brother here can't be so touchy that he can't even take a joke, right?"

Ma Hongjun seemed unable to read the atmosphere at all. Or perhaps he felt Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were making too much of it; they had always acted this way.

"All right, all right! Zhuqing, don't be so angry either. Little Ao has always been straightforward."

Dai Mubai was even less aware of his side's mistake. He magnanimously told Zhu Zhuqing not to be angry, causing her to retreat again and again to avoid the hand he tried to reach toward her. She stared at him with undisguised disgust.

"I've heard a little about Shrek's rules. Though I'm a bit older, I can still count as one of the monsters... If I get the chance in the future, I'll definitely visit Shrek Academy and see it for myself."

Gu Zhi was not particularly angry. These children fighting over jealousy and pride seemed far too childish to him. As a mature adult, he naturally had to maintain his composure.

"Tch! You?"

Oscar and Ma Hongjun snorted disdainfully. At Gu Zhi's age, being only level forty—what kind of monster was that supposed to be?

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong both fell silent. Oscar and the others' arrogant attitude could only be described as laughable. Compared to Gu Zhi, they were worlds apart!

"Gu Zhi, honey, you're so graceful! I can't take it anymore! I'm giving myself to him again tonight!"

"Damn! That comment is way too outrageous! Take your hand out of there, you bastard!"

"Trying to change a delinquent's worldview really is pointless! Gu Zhi handled this well!"

"That's just how Shrek is! If they hadn't later won the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament and the Battle of the Twin Gods, I wouldn't know what made them worthy of the title of the number one soul master academy under heaven!"

"Zhuqing, Rongrong, babies, let's get out of Shrek already! Its reputation is awful! Why not let Gu Zhi open a new academy for you instead?"

"Wait! So no one cares whether Tang San is alive anymore?"

"Tang San isn't a good person either! Better if he's dead!"

The comments continued to scroll by. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong completely cast Oscar's group out of their minds and chatted with Gu Zhi about their experiences and amusing stories from the journey. At one point, the conversation even turned to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

Oscar's group tried several times to interrupt, but Gu Zhi and the other two ignored them completely, leaving them standing there in impotent fury.

"These are your students? Their strength looks decent enough, but their character..."

Liu Erlong, Yu Xiaogang, and Flender were also running out of things to say. In truth, from the moment they met, Liu Erlong had felt that there was little she wanted to say. Every now and then, her attention would drift toward Gu Zhi.

She had heard everything Oscar and the other two said just now. It made her feel as though she were seeing Flender from the past, and her mood unconsciously grew irritated.

"Little Ao and the others are still young. These problems can slowly be corrected... Is this Gu Zhi also your friend? I don't recall ever hearing that you had such a friend."

Naturally, Flender sided with Oscar and the others; after all, they were his prized students. Moreover, he cared greatly about Liu Erlong's relationship with Gu Zhi. He could sense that Liu Erlong seemed to care a great deal about that fellow!

"He is a good friend of mine."

Liu Erlong gave Yu Xiaogang a complicated look. Perhaps the last trace of distance she felt toward Gu Zhi came from the final lingering affection she still held for Yu Xiaogang...

"A friend? As long as he's just a friend..."

Yu Xiaogang, however, let out a sigh of relief. The gap between him and Gu Zhi was simply too great. The only thing he could possibly boast about was having a clan leader for a father.

Otherwise, whether in looks, cultivation, or age, he was completely defeated!

"Come to think of it, don't you still have important business to attend to?"

Liu Erlong might have been the only one who noticed the comments mentioning Tang San. At this moment, she no longer wanted to stay with Yu Xiaogang and the others.

It was not only because she felt they were disrupting her time with Gu Zhi. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were also continuously making advances on him—how could she allow that?

"Right! Er Long, it's wonderful that you're here! My disciple may be in trouble! We urgently need your help!"

Only then did Yu Xiaogang remember that his disciple was still in dire straits. Without another word, he pulled Liu Erlong into the search for Tang San. In his memories, Liu Erlong had never once said "no" to him.

Liu Erlong fell silent for two seconds before finally agreeing. Yu Xiaogang was wearing away the last trace of affection she held for him. Once it was entirely gone, perhaps he would finally realize that Liu Erlong had already been drifting farther and farther away from him.

"Looks like there's no more time for you to catch up. Xiao Gu, I'm going to help them with something. Will you come with me, or wait here for me to return?"

Liu Erlong walked over to Gu Zhi and the other two, effortlessly asserting her position. Oscar's group's expressions shifted repeatedly upon hearing this, and all of them sensed that something was off between Liu Erlong and Gu Zhi.

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong stared at Liu Erlong with eyes full of hostility. It was bad enough that this wicked woman had gotten ahead of them, but now she wanted to take the whole pot with her!