Caught Ning Tian and Wu Feng

In the clearing ahead, Zhou Yi had been hurrying along. But the instant she caught sight of the black-clad youth, the harsh, murderous air that usually made every Outer Academy student tremble vanished like smoke.

The beautiful woman in white hurried forward a few steps. She even slowed her breathing without realizing it, folding her hands neatly before her. With her eyes lowered, her lovely, mature face was full of obedience and eagerness to please.

She looked as meek as a young wife who had done something wrong and was waiting, trembling, for her husband to scold her!

"Am I... seeing things?!"

Wu Feng rubbed her eyes hard. The sight was absurd beyond belief. Zhou Yi, who broke students' bones at the slightest provocation and was known as the Outer Academy's number-one tyrant—when had she ever shown such a shy, docile side?!

Ning Tian's heart pounded wildly in her chest. Her fingers dug into her palm inside her sleeve, while the stormy waves rising in her heart refused to settle.

What heaven-defying means had this youth used to tame such a fierce Soul Emperor, one who yielded to neither threats nor persuasion, into someone so outrageously obedient in so short a time?!

Under the two girls' stunned gazes, Xiao Dong casually waved at Zhou Yi. She immediately stepped aside and respectfully led the way. The two of them moved off, heading straight onto the quieter, more secluded Ancient Forest Path behind Shrek Academy.

"Let's follow them!"

After a brief moment of shock, Ning Tian and Wu Feng exchanged a glance. Curiosity and amazement overwhelmed every scruple. They gritted their teeth and slipped after the pair once more.

A breeze swept along the quiet path, stirring waves of rustling through the trees.

"Master, this is the detailed Ancient Map of the Star Dou Great Forest that I obtained from Wang Yan."

Zhou Yi took a sheepskin map from her robes, still warm from her body, and respectfully presented it to Xiao Dong with both hands. "According to Wang Yan's deductions, a ten-thousand-year Golden Light Eagle and a rare Purple Spirit Jackal may well inhabit these two shadowy cliffs and secluded valleys, which are shrouded in miasma year-round. Both are high-level Mental Attribute Soul Beasts seldom seen."

Xiao Dong took the map and swiftly scanned it. With his Brain Martial Soul running at overclocked speed, he imprinted every detail of its complex terrain deep in his mind in just a few breaths.

"Not bad. You handled this efficiently enough."

Xiao Dong nodded in satisfaction and put the sheepskin scroll away. A smile of fervent anticipation tugged at his lips.

Once he obtained his Second Soul Ring and broke through the shackles of his rank, the second, "Dou Shi-level" seal on Xiao Yan's inheritance deep in his mind would surely open as well!

In the original tale set on the Dou Qi Continent, Xiao Yan had used the power of Heavenly Flames and his astonishing spiritual strength to become a true Third-Rank Alchemist, renowned throughout the Jia Ma Empire, while he was still a Dou Shi!

On the Douluo Continent, Third-Rank Pills would be divine medicine that every sect would fight tooth and nail to obtain!

I wonder how many rings a Soul Master would need to match a Da Dou Shi or even a Dou Ling from the Dou Qi Continent...

Xiao Dong murmured the thought inwardly, his excitement swelling.

"Master..."

Just as Xiao Dong's thoughts stirred, Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly turned cold. As a high-level Soul Emperor above level sixty, she instantly detected two faint, somewhat hurried breaths deep in the woods behind them.

"Two little rats with a death wish have been tailing us. Shall I deal with them?" Zhou Yi asked in a low voice.

"No need. They're just two wet-behind-the-ears girls who think they're clever. I noticed them from the start."

Xiao Dong gave a faint, scornful laugh and shook his head. With Homelander's Super Hearing and X-Ray Vision, not even an ant could crawl unnoticed within dozens of miles. Ning Tian and Wu Feng had followed him in plain sight as far as he was concerned.

Xiao Dong turned, folded his arms, and looked with interest past the dense thickets, straight toward the trunk of a huge ancient tree dozens of meters away. A teasing smile curved his lips.

"Young Sect Master Ning of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and Wu Feng, that little red-haired wild horse—you've followed me like a pair of tails all this way. Why don't you come out? Or must I walk over, strip you both naked, and carry you out myself?!"

The youth had not spoken loudly, yet his voice burst against Ning Tian's and Wu Feng's eardrums like rolling thunder!

Behind the ancient tree, both slender figures jolted!

They had been discovered after all!

After several seconds of tense, fearful hesitation, the bushes behind the tree shook violently. At last, the two girls stepped out of the shadows, their expressions conflicted and their faces tight with embarrassment and unease.

The air along the forest path fell still.

At the sight of the two girls emerging from the ancient tree's shadow, Zhou Yi's brows drew together. Surprise flashed in her eyes.

They were Ning Tian, young sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and Wu Feng, a Red Dragon Battle Soul Master.

Had they been ordinary Outer Academy students spying on her, Zhou Yi's usual tyrannical temper would have had her blast them away with a palm strike and a surge of Soul Power. But Ning Tian's status was different. With the powerful Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect behind her, she was troublesome to deal with.

"Teacher Zhou Yi, Young Master Xiao Dong..."

Caught red-handed, Ning Tian looked momentarily flustered. But as a core heir of a great sect, she took a deep breath, forced down her panic, and bowed with poise.

"Wu Feng and I had just finished our enrollment formalities and happened to pass by. We had no intention of eavesdropping on your private conversation. Neither of us will breathe a word of what happened today to the academy or our sect. We'll take our leave now."

With that, Ning Tian reached for Wu Feng, intending to turn and hurry away from this dangerous place.

"Heh. You stumbled onto my business, and you think you can just brush yourself off and leave? Young Sect Master Ning, aren't you a little naive?"

The two girls had barely taken half a step when the black-clad youth's casual chuckle sounded behind them. His voice was quiet, but it pressed down on them like Mount Tai, making every hair on their bodies stand on end. They froze.

Wu Feng's fiery, proud nature could take no more. She turned, fixed her narrow eyes on Xiao Dong, and demanded through gritted teeth, "What exactly do you want?!"

"What do I want? Take a guess."

Xiao Dong folded his arms, a wicked smile on his lips. His gaze roamed openly over Wu Feng's full, lifted breasts and long legs, making the hot-tempered redhead's skin crawl.

"D-don't try anything! This is Shrek Academy. You can't do whatever you please here!"

Ning Tian was frightened too. She instinctively stepped in front of Wu Feng. Though she kept her voice firm, the fear and wariness in her eyes betrayed her.

Xiao Dong gave a cold laugh and shook his head.

His mind was on the aged Mental Attribute Soul Beasts deep in the Star Dou Great Forest and Xiao Yan's inheritance. He was eager to obtain his Second Soul Ring and advance to Soul Grandmaster; he had no time to waste arguing with two inexperienced girls in the woods.

"Since you've come to me, you can be my maids."

As Xiao Dong's calm but imperious words fell, an eerie, terrifying ripple surged from deep within his mind.

Buzz!

Two milky-white flames, each as thin as an embroidery needle, slipped from Xiao Dong's fingertips. Like two supple spirit snakes, they tore through the air and shot toward Ning Tian and Wu Feng in a flash!

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame!