Zhou Yi

Bang!

A deep, muffled impact exploded. A fierce wind swept outward, yet what nearly made both girls' eyes pop out was that not a single crease appeared in Xiao Dong's seemingly thin black clothes. Wu Feng, who had struck with all her might, looked as though she had taken a crushing blow. The bones in her arm gave an aching groan, and she staggered back seven or eight steps before Ning Tian clumsily caught her.

"Who... who are you?!"

Ning Tian steadied the pale-faced Wu Feng. Her heart hammered, and alarm finally surged into her eyes.

Wu Feng was a Soul Grandmaster above level twenty-five, and she possessed the top-tier Red Dragon Beast Martial Soul. Even a Soul Elder above level thirty would not dare take that punch with their bare body. Yet this black-clad boy had not even released his Martial Soul or Soul Rings. He had knocked Wu Feng back with nothing but the protective energy around his body?!

"Who I am is something you're not qualified to know yet."

Xiao Dong gave a noncommittal smile. He could not even be bothered to spare Wu Feng, whose face was full of resentment and spite, another glance. Deep in his eyes, a faint dark-red glimmer flashed.

His x-ray vision activated, silent and instantaneous!

The next moment, the finely made, heavily protective robes the two girls wore as high-ranking Soul Masters melted from Xiao Dong's view like snow and ice, rapidly turning transparent.

One layer... two layers...

In the blink of an eye, the bodies of the two girls in the first bloom of youth were laid bare before Xiao Dong's eyes.

Ning Tian usually looked poised and reserved, but beneath her robe, her petite figure was delicate and soft. Her skin was flawless as white jade, and her slender waist looked small enough to circle with one hand. A pale-pink silk wrap covered her small chest, rising and falling gently with her quick breaths, lending her the shy, tender air of a well-bred young lady.

Wu Feng, beside her, presented an entirely different sight beneath her clothes—one wild enough to make any hot-blooded man's nose bleed.

Years of training had given Wu Feng a supple, graceful figure, with two defined lines along her abdomen. Her red leather top strained across her chest, its deep neckline impossible to miss.

The two girls could not have looked more different, yet both held Xiao Dong's gaze. A faint heat stirred in him despite himself.

Well, their figures are impressive. No wonder their tempers run so hot...

Xiao Dong gave a silent whistle. After indulging his eyes for another moment, he withdrew his x-ray vision, satisfied.

He had no time to waste beneath the city gate with two girls who knew little of the world. His main destination today was Shrek Academy.

"Take your time finding your ideal husbands at Shrek. But a word of advice: this place has far more hypocrites than you imagine."

Xiao Dong waved teasingly at the two girls, who had yet to recover from their shock. Then he turned, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled through the towering gate tunnel into Shrek City.

Behind him, Wu Feng stood with her face shifting between red and white, teeth clenched, while Ning Tian frowned, full of doubt and unease. The two exchanged a look.

Inside Shrek City, a broad bluestone avenue stretched toward the horizon like a vast square. Shops lined both sides, and vendors' cries rang out without end.

Xiao Dong had no interest in the stalls. Without slowing, he moved through the bustling crowd like a faint black breeze, heading straight for Shrek Academy's gates on the eastern side of the city.

A dozen or so minutes later, the gates of an enormous campus came clearly into view.

In the shade by the entrance stood several middle-aged Soul Masters wearing the robes of senior Shrek teachers. Hands clasped behind their backs, they surveyed the incoming students with arrogant, indifferent eyes.

Xiao Dong slowly stopped several dozen meters from the gates.

If he wanted to obtain his First Soul Ring, an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast would be worthless to him. If he was going to capture one, it would naturally have to be a Ten-Thousand-Year Top Soul Beast.

Since Shrek calls itself the greatest academy in ten thousand years, its teachers must know the Star Dou Great Forest inside out...

Xiao Dong's gaze passed slowly over the haughty Shrek teachers at the gate, as though sizing up prey for the slaughter. He casually cracked his knuckles, producing a crisp string of pops.

I'll grab a teacher who looks sensible enough to serve as a guide and have them take me to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts. If they refuse... I'll break both their legs first.

His barely audible mutter ended in a cold chuckle. Xiao Dong's eyes hardened, and he strode without hesitation toward the heavily guarded gates of Shrek Academy!

Beyond Shrek Academy's gates, lush ancient trees grew along both sides of a broad avenue. A quiet, solemn atmosphere hung over the campus.

But that peace was torn apart by a harsh, rasping tirade.

"You bunch of useless good-for-nothings! You think you deserve to set foot in Shrek Academy looking like that?!"

At the edge of a square off the tree-lined avenue, dozens of Shrek students stood with their heads bowed and cold sweat covering their bodies. Not one dared breathe too loudly.

Before them stood a thin, elderly figure.

She was an old woman in a coarse white robe. Deep wrinkles like the bark of an ancient tree covered her face. Her eyes were sunken, and her narrow, shadowed gaze gleamed with a severity and meanness that chilled the blood.

Zhou Yi.

She was an infamous monster of a teacher in Shrek Academy's Outer Academy. Her brutal teaching methods and readiness to punish or expel students had long made countless newcomers tremble at the mention of her name.

"What are you staring at? Get your asses to training! If you fail to meet the assessment standards, every last one of you will pack up and get out of Shrek!"

Zhou Yi stood with her hands behind her back and swept a cold gaze over the boys and girls before her. Her voice was shrill and merciless.

At that dismissal, the students scattered in a clumsy rush as though granted a reprieve. Each feared that one slow step would get them expelled by the notorious old woman.

Even after berating this group, Zhou Yi had clearly not vented much of her irritation. A grim cloud still hung over her withered face.

But just as she was about to leave the square, something at the school gates caught the corner of her eye.

There, a boy in coarse black clothes walked leisurely down the shaded path, his hands in his pockets and his steps utterly unhurried.