Could It Be "Let the Chicken"?

"Xiao Wu?"

"Xiao Wu-!!!"

Tang San did not react at first.

By the time he reacted, he saw that the Titan Giant Ape had already slung Xiao Wu over its body and was running into the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Little San, what are you doing?!"

Seeing Tang San about to chase after the Titan Giant Ape, Yu Xiaogang grabbed him.

After all, for Yu Xiaogang, if the thing he had treasured as dearly as his life in the first half of his life was the Ten Martial Soul Theories...

Then in the second half of his life, that thing was Tang San.

It was not that he loved Tang San all that much.

On the contrary, his demands of Tang San were already harsh to the extreme, at least to the limits of an ordinary genius.

Only Tang San would actually let him put him through all this. Anyone else would have left Yu Xiaogang long ago and gone to a better Soul Master Academy to undergo Martial Soul mimicry cultivation.

Why would anyone foolishly stay here with him, practicing running to improve themselves?

In other words, even without meeting Yu Xiaogang, even without gaining any unfair advantages later on, Tang San would still have been an undeniable genius, relying solely on his previous life's experience and the martial arts he had secretly learned in the Tang Sect.

The same could not be said for Yu Xiaogang.

Most likely, he would remain stuck at rank twenty-nine for his entire life, until his lifespan reached the limit of an ordinary Soul Master's, and then lie in a coffin, dreaming his sweet dreams.

It was easy to imagine that if Tang San died, Yu Xiaogang's chance to make his name across the continent would vanish completely.

Tell me, how could Yu Xiaogang not be anxious?

"Teacher, Xiao Wu is my little sister. I have to save her."

"I'm sorry, Teacher!"

With that, Tang San spoke no further.

Regardless of what Yu Xiaogang thought, he shoved him away hard.

Yu Xiaogang had little strength to begin with and a very weak constitution. With this shove from Tang San, he went rolling off to the side.

"Huh?"

"Why did that beast run away?"

At the same time...

In the clearing where the Shrek group stood several hundred meters away, Ning Rongrong asked somewhat weakly.

"Yeah."

"Why did it run away?"

"That doesn't make sense. Could this be what Boss called 'Let the Chicken' behavior?"

"Now that you mention it-hiss-you really might have a point..."

"Save it, you lot. Haven't you noticed that Yu Xiaogang and the others are gone?"

As everyone was discussing it...

Zhu Zhuqing, who had stood silently with her arms folded over her chest, suddenly spoke coldly.

Hearing this...

Only then did everyone notice that Yu Xiaogang and the others, who had been cowering at the back all along, had actually disappeared.

Whenever danger appeared, they would shrink back behind everyone, so no one had paid them much attention.

They simply had not expected those people to pull a disappearing act this time.

"Holy shit! Isn't that just shameless?"

"We were fighting for our lives here, and they just took off!"

"Dean, that brother of yours really has no balls."

Ma Hongjun had disliked Yu Xiaogang and the others to begin with. Now that he had caught an opening, he immediately went on the offensive.

Flender's face turned ashen at those words, but for a moment, he did not know what to say.

"Fatty, that's where you're wrong."

"Sister-in-law? Hehe, Sister-in-law, where was I wrong to curse them? They treated Boss like that, and now they've abandoned us and run away. One look tells you they're no good!"

"Ah, nothing we can do about it. His Excellency the Dean let them run away, after all. Doesn't that just give people something to talk about?"

Ning Rongrong deliberately mocked him.

Still, when she heard Ma Hongjun call her Sister-in-law, she secretly felt a little pleased.

As a result, even her mockery carried a hint of a smile.

In Flender's eyes, that was nothing short of an enormous provocation.

He desperately wanted to lose his temper.

But not at Ning Rongrong.

At Yu Xiaogang.

Ever since that fellow had arrived at Shrek Academy, he had done nothing but cause trouble for him, provoking one person and looking down on another.

He acted as though he, Yu Xiaogang, was the greatest person in the whole world.

At first, out of regard for their old friendship, Flender had said nothing. He also considered Yu Xiaogang a genius, and geniuses all had their peculiar tempers.

But now, when danger struck, he either sacrificed the academy's students or abandoned them and fled alone.

Was someone like this really the Yu Xiaogang I once knew?

Or was it only because Erlong had been beside him back then, protecting him, that he had acted with such impunity and led me to mistake him for a real man?

Was he actually a gutter rat with a dark heart, only now revealing himself before everyone?

At that thought...

Flender took off his glasses and gently rubbed his eyes. He did not dare keep thinking.

Because he had already begun to doubt whether his most precious memories were truly still that precious.

He did not want to question those years of his life, much less the close friend who had traveled those roads with him.

But by refusing to question it... could he really paint over the cracks and pretend all was well?

"Rongrong, that mouth of yours really doesn't spare anyone. You're almost catching up to Bastard Yang."

Dai Mubai chimed in with a complaint.

"Of course! A wife follows her husband's lead."

Ning Rongrong patted her chest and stomach, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"So what should we do now?"

Oscar asked.

"What else can we do?"

"Let's rest up first. Once Little Yang finishes absorbing the Soul Bone, we'll head back."

Zhao Wuji glanced at Flender. Seeing that he was no longer in the mood to organize things, he immediately took charge. "Mubai, you and Fatty will keep watch. I'll take over for the second half of the night. Everyone else, rest where you are."

"All right, Teacher Zhao."

Everyone answered and scattered, finding reasonably comfortable spots nearby to recline and rest.

Zhao Wuji patted Flender on the shoulder and gave him an affirming look, then went elsewhere, found a spot, and began meditating.

He had suffered considerable internal injuries in the fight against the Titan Giant Ape just now, so this was a good opportunity to recover.

He also needed to restore some Soul Power, lest the arrival of just another twenty- or thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast leave their entire group dead here.

"Hey, Qingqing, how long do you think it'll take Big Brother to absorb the Soul Bone?"

Ning Rongrong sat to one side with her chin in her hands, gazing longingly at Yang Jian.

"Seven days at the least, half a month at the most."

Zhu Zhuqing spoke calmly.

She seemed unconcerned, but in truth, her gaze had barely left Yang Jian either.

Compared with Ning Rongrong's reckless, blazing love, her affection was more veiled and buried deep, much like her Martial Soul.

"Qingqing, why exactly do you think Big Brother suddenly started bleeding from both eyes just now, then sat down cross-legged to meditate? Could it have something to do with that Soul Skill he used earlier?"

"Would that count as Soul Skill backlash?"

Ning Rongrong suddenly asked.

However...

Zhu Zhuqing did not know the answer to that question either.

And so the scene suddenly fell quiet again.

It was so quiet that it seemed possible to hear the beating of their hearts.

Although Zhu Zhuqing did not know the answer, deep down, she still leaned toward that explanation. After all, the image of Yang Jian in her heart was lofty and mighty.

Thud, thud, thud-

"Hm?"

"What's that sound!"

Flender and Zhao Wuji, who had been meditating to recover their Soul Power, snapped their eyes open almost simultaneously.

Because they had both heard the sound of an extremely powerful tremor through the ground, and it seemed so familiar.