Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived in Suotuo City

A year was neither a long time nor a short one.

Life at Suotuo City Spirit Hall Academy passed at an unhurried pace.

There were no deadly battles, no sudden upheavals, only meditation day after day, lectures in class, and honing Soul Power afterward. It was uneventful, but reassuringly steady.

Lin Chen and Zhu Zhuqing had long since fully adapted to the rhythm here.

With Mo Yuan personally guiding them step by step and the academy's constant supply of resources backing them, their cultivation advanced at an astonishing pace. They left their fellow students far behind and stood firmly at the very top of the academy, with no one able to match them.

Lin Chen already had a strong foundation, and his temperament was far more mature than that of his peers.

On top of that, he carried memories of his previous life. His understanding of Soul Power control, chaining Soul Skills, and cultivation bottlenecks was simply beyond ordinary students.

After a full year of dedicated cultivation, he had steadily risen from rank thirty-three and firmly entered the realm of a rank thirty-six Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder.

His Soul Power was rich and solid, without the slightest instability. His three Soul Skills flowed seamlessly into one another, and he had amassed a wealth of combat experience.

At this point, he could scarcely find an opponent in this intermediate academy who could face him one-on-one.

Zhu Zhuqing's progress was even more striking than Lin Chen's.

Having escaped the cage of her family in the Star Luo Empire and left behind those days of fleeing in constant fear, she had finally relaxed.

She no longer had to guard against schemes at every moment or keep her nerves stretched taut just to survive. With Mo Yuan's targeted training, the academy's finest resources, and the exceptional talent of her Hell Spirit Cat, her cultivation advanced a thousand miles a day.

She had only been rank twenty-six when she first arrived. After a year of hard work, she had pushed all the way to the peak of rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster.

Only the thinnest sliver separated her from the threshold of rank thirty. All she needed was the right opportunity to break through.

Over that year, the two had done more than bury themselves in cultivation. Their most frequent destination was Suotuo City's civilian Soul Fighting Arena.

They had formed a two-person team with a simple, straightforward name: the Cat-Fox Duo.

Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Spirit Cat specialized in lightning-fast assaults and close-range kills. Her movements were elusive, and she excelled at surprise attacks and breaking through enemy techniques.

Lin Chen's White Fox Martial Soul could both attack and defend, with versatile Soul Skills focused on pinning opponents down, controlling the battlefield, and finishing them off.

Their abilities complemented each other, and their fighting styles were a perfect fit. After a year of fighting side by side, their coordination had been carved into their bones.

They needed no words. A glance or a shift in position was enough to understand the other's tactics, allowing them to follow up without leaving a single opening.

The Cat-Fox Duo tore through the Soul Fighting Arena. Whether they faced established student pairs or independent Soul Masters who had spent years competing, every opponent fell to them.

Their fighting was crisp and decisive, their command of spacing and pressure precise. Before long, they had made a name for themselves in Suotuo City's Soul Fighting Arena. Everyone knew this young pair was absurdly strong.

Once fame came, earnings naturally followed.

Winning-streak bonuses, ranking subsidies, and tournament rewards brought in one batch of Gold Soul Coins after another. Small sums accumulated into a considerable fortune.

They were no longer as hard-pressed as they had been upon first arriving in Suotuo City. With ample money and resources, they could support themselves entirely without relying on the academy's subsidies.

It was also through this daily companionship, fighting shoulder to shoulder and spending their days together, that their relationship quietly began to change.

At first, he had simply been her junior fellow disciple, and their bond had been one of gratitude and salvation.

Now it was different. Each was the person the other trusted most, understood best, and relied on most deeply.

Zhu Zhuqing was no longer like she had been upon arriving, covered in thorns, cold and distant, wary of everyone.

Only with Lin Chen did she lower all her defenses. She would quietly wait for him to finish class, accompany him shopping for supplies, silently wipe the sweat from his brow after a fight, and slip him warm water when cultivation left him tired.

That special tenderness and ease were reserved for Lin Chen alone.

Lin Chen, too, had long since abandoned his original self-serving motives.

At first, he had approached Zhu Zhuqing to snatch opportunities before others could and lay plans for the future.

But after a year together, this girl had truly moved him. She was resilient, considerate, and sincere, never affected or fussy, working silently and growing stronger without fanfare.

Again and again, she had stirred the steady heart he had developed over two lifetimes, and his affection for her continued to grow.

Their relationship hovered between friendship and romance, full of unspoken attraction and lingering warmth. Neither named it, yet both felt wonderfully at ease.

Their days continued peacefully, simple but fulfilling, until noon that day, when all that tranquility was shattered.

The midday sun was fierce, baking the ground until it radiated heat.

The academy cafeteria buzzed with voices. Conversation and the clatter of bowls and chopsticks mingled in a lively bustle.

With the morning's classes over, all the students had gathered here to eat and rest.

As usual, Lin Chen and Zhu Zhuqing sat in a quiet spot by the window, eating peacefully. Meat and vegetables filled the table, wisps of steam rising from them, while a breeze drifted through the window and dispelled some of the oppressive heat.

Zhu Zhuqing ate slowly and gracefully. Sunlight fell across her cool profile, softening its contours.

Occasionally, she looked up and exchanged a few casual words with Lin Chen about everyday things. Her tone was relaxed, her eyes curved with a smile, lacking their former chill.

While the two were enjoying their meal, a junior student from the academy squeezed through the crowd, hurried to their table, and addressed Lin Chen:

"Senior Lin Chen, someone's looking for you at the school gate. He says it's urgent and wants you to come right away."

The junior had always admired Lin Chen. He was strong, dependable, and Mo Yuan's disciple besides, so the boy sounded somewhat nervous as he spoke.

Lin Chen's fingers paused. He set down his chopsticks, his heart giving a sudden jolt.

Someone's looking for me?

This past year had been so peaceful that he had nearly put the original story's plot out of his mind. But this unexpected message instantly pulled his thoughts back to it.

The timing matched.

Tang San and Xiao Wu would have left Nuoding City around now and arrived in Suotuo City, ready to apply to Shrek Academy.

Realizing this, Lin Chen's eyes flickered with understanding. He raised a hand and nodded to the junior. "Thanks."

The junior waved it off with a smile, then turned and ran back into the crowd.

Lin Chen turned to Zhu Zhuqing and said softly, "Zhu Zhuqing, I'll go take a look at the gate. Take your time eating. Don't wait for me. You can head straight back to the dorm to rest afterward."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded gently, her voice warm and soft. "All right. Stay safe."

She never pried into Lin Chen's private affairs. She trusted him completely and had long since grown accustomed to how he handled things.

Lin Chen quickly finished the food left in his bowl, rose, and strode out of the cafeteria, following the corridor straight toward the academy's main gate.

A few minutes later, he stood at the gate.

People streamed past the entrance, students coming and going amid the bustle.

In the shade at a street corner, a plainly dressed middle-aged idler paced back and forth, his gaze repeatedly darting toward the academy gate. His expression held a trace of anxiety; he was clearly waiting specifically for Lin Chen.

This man was an informant Lin Chen had deliberately hired a year earlier.

To pinpoint the original story's key moments and avoid missing any crucial opportunities, he had started paying several local idlers in Suotuo City early on.

These men spent their lives on the streets and were exceptionally well informed. When it came to who had arrived and where something was happening, they were even sharper than official scouts.

His instructions at the time had been simple: if they saw an unusual young pair enter the city—a blue-haired boy and a petite, lively girl who did not look like locals—they were to report to the academy immediately.

Over the past year, he had spent quite a few Gold Soul Coins in scattered payments, all to wait for this very moment.

When the idler saw Lin Chen approaching, his eyes instantly lit up. He hurried over and lowered his voice respectfully:

"Young Master Lin, the people you told us about are here! A boy and a girl, just arrived in the city. Their looks and clothes match your description exactly. I saw them heading toward the shopping street in the city center!"

They were finally here.

Lin Chen suppressed the surge of emotion in his heart, showing nothing unusual on his face. He casually took out the agreed payment for the information and handed it over, then pulled out a brand-new Gold Soul Coin and tossed it to the man as an extra.

"Thanks for your effort. Take this. You did well."