Like stirring up trouble? Then you'd better be able to settle it

After nearly half a month on the road, they finally reached a town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Xiao certainly hadn't forgotten this town.

Some trouble should be coming next-a clash with Canghui Academy.

The final outcome was Canghui Academy suffering a thorough humiliation.

Ye Zhiqiu would take a savage beating from Zhao Wuji, and a grudge would be born.

And the cause of this incident was Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun provoking them first.

Then came that classic saying.

A soul master who didn't dare stir up trouble wasn't a good soul master.

It sounded imposing, but Lin Xiao had his reservations.

Stir up trouble?

Then you'd better be able to settle it.

In the original story, if Zhao Wuji hadn't been leading the team, and they'd been out on their own instead, they probably would have been beaten to death long ago.

Looking at it another way, if Canghui Academy's leader had been a Soul Saint like Shi Nian, even Zhao Wuji probably couldn't have handled him.

After all, the properties of Shi Nian's martial soul were practically an instant death sentence for Zhao Wuji. He had absolutely no way to withstand them.

"Get some proper rest tonight, everyone. Tomorrow, we enter the Star Dou Great Forest."

Zhao Wuji yawned.

He needed to rest and build up his strength. Once they entered the forest tomorrow, things wouldn't be nearly so easy.

Even on its outermost fringes, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

With eight students in tow, a surprise attack from a soul beast several thousand years old could still leave someone injured or dead.

They might even encounter a ten-thousand-year soul beast.

Everyone believed that soul beasts under ten thousand years old generally wouldn't venture into the outskirts.

But that wasn't absolute.

Occasionally, a ten-thousand-year soul beast would appear on the outskirts.

It might have come out to hunt, or simply wandered there aimlessly.

Nothing was absolute, and he wouldn't dare gamble with his students' lives.

Zhao Wuji went upstairs to rest, leaving the students in the ground-floor dining hall to get dinner.

The restaurant was quite lively.

Since the town lay near the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, plenty of people passed through.

There were soul masters, merchants, and others.

Just like in the original story, the Shrek students chose a large round table with more than enough room for eight.

Once seated, they ordered quite a few dishes.

But judging by their seating arrangements, the dividing line between the two camps couldn't have been clearer.

Dai Mubai had wanted to find a chance to sit with Zhu Zhuqing.

But Zhu Zhuqing made her stance perfectly clear, choosing to sit with Ning Rongrong.

Tang San wanted to sit with Xiao Wu, but she sat beside Lin Xiao, leaving him separated from her.

Seeing this, Tang San secretly ground his teeth.

Anger blazed in Dai Mubai's heart. He desperately wanted an opportunity to get rid of Lin Xiao.

If he could beat Lin Xiao head-on, he would already have made his move.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun didn't dare cause trouble now.

Lin Xiao killing a ten-thousand-year soul beast with a single slash had dealt a ten-thousand-ton critical hit to their psyches.

Until they possessed absolute strength, they absolutely couldn't provoke Lin Xiao.

Otherwise, one slash of that sword would grind them to powder.

Oscar had bottled up his frustration, determined to absorb his third soul ring before Lin Xiao.

That way, at least he would have some advantage.

At the very least, he would have broken through faster than Lin Xiao, giving him something to boast about later.

What he didn't know, however, was that Lin Xiao could absorb his third soul ring whenever he wanted.

That thirty-thousand-year soul ring was lying in his system storage.

If he hadn't feared causing too much of a sensation, he would already have absorbed it.

During dinner, apart from Dai Mubai and the others chattering away in an attempt to draw attention, Lin Xiao's group of four remained very quiet.

They barely said a word.

This left the others thoroughly frustrated.

Before long, the people from Canghui Academy appeared.

Their manner certainly was rather arrogant.

When Dai Mubai saw them, a gleam flashed through his eyes. Here's my chance!

"What's a piddling little Canghui Academy acting so damn arrogant for?"

His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

Sure enough, the people from Canghui Academy stopped in their tracks and looked over.

Ma Hongjun stared at one of the female students, practically drooling.

His lecherous gaze made the female student furrow her brows.

One of Canghui Academy's students murmured a few words, then walked over.

He appeared casual, but as he passed Dai Mubai, he swiftly kicked at his chair.

Dai Mubai had been ready for him. He kicked back, and the Canghui Academy student cried out, clutching his foot as he hopped about.

Seeing this, the others from Canghui Academy immediately charged over.

"Fatty, let's go!"

Dai Mubai's eyes flashed, and he immediately rushed forward with Ma Hongjun.

Tang San raised an eyebrow at the scene.

Oscar let out a few sleazy chuckles.

"The dean said that a soul master who doesn't dare stir up trouble isn't a good soul master. When you're out in the world, act a little arrogant."

"Besides, they're from an academy. Even if things get ugly, it's only a conflict between students. It generally won't escalate into a matter of life and death."

Understanding dawned on Tang San. He rather liked that saying.

He wasn't a kindhearted person to begin with; in fact, he quite enjoyed stirring up trouble.

The dean's way of thinking sat very well with him.

The academy will have our backs if anything happens anyway, so let's have a good fight!

"Xiao Wu, let's go help."

Tang San took a look. Although Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were quite strong, they were already struggling against nearly ten Canghui Academy students.

Now was precisely the time for them to step in.

However...

Xiao Wu remained unmoved and looked at Lin Xiao instead.

Tang San frowned. Xiao Wu won't even listen to me anymore?

This can't go on.

"Boss Dai and the others can't hold out much longer. At this rate, they're done for."

"We're all classmates. We ought to help each other..."

Oscar was still speaking when Lin Xiao raised a hand to cut him off.

"Did you just say that a soul master who doesn't dare stir up trouble isn't a good soul master?"

"Then here's another saying for you: if you like stirring up trouble, you'd better be able to settle it."

"They mocked people for no reason, so they can deal with it themselves."

Trying to guilt-trip me?

Too bad that kind of pressure doesn't work on me.

Flender's saying was flawed to begin with.

If he really ran his academy according to that philosophy, ninety percent of Shrek's students would die.

Without their protagonist plot armor, Dai Mubai and the others might have died dozens of times already.

Oscar was left speechless. That did seem to be the case.

Tang San bristled at those words.

"Are you scared? Is that why you don't dare fight?"

Lin Xiao glanced at him and said coolly, "You sound so righteous. Why haven't I seen you lift a finger?"

Tang San was furious. With things having reached this point, he would probably become a laughingstock if he still didn't act.

He had wanted to pressure Lin Xiao, only for the boomerang to strike him instead. How frustrating.

Left with no choice, Tang San could only join the fight.

With Tang San's support, the pressure of battle did ease considerably.

But finishing the fight quickly would still be troublesome.

Moreover, their supervising teacher, Ye Zhiqiu, was still watching. He was the most dangerous presence of all.

If he made a move, the three of them would probably be finished.

Oscar's current support abilities were relatively weak, so he could only stare helplessly.

Lin Xiao, meanwhile, ate leisurely without even looking at the fight.

Ning Rongrong and the other two girls had no intention of helping now, either.

But they were the protagonist's group, after all. Despite facing numerous opponents, they gradually steadied their position.

Seeing this, Ye Zhiqiu could no longer quite stay put and took two steps forward.