Two days later, Dai Youheng completed all the leave procedures and prepared to depart from the academy.
On this trip, he would not only obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, but also add a fourth soul ring to his Evil Shadow Demon Tiger and break through to Soul Ancestor.
By then, he would meet the outer court's graduation requirements. Shrek Academy, the sacred ground countless Soul Masters yearned for, was more of a brief waystation to him than a final destination.
Just as he reached the gate, two slender figures in blue came into view. They seemed to have been waiting for quite some time. They were the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. Worry was plain on their pretty faces, and their long blue hair fluttered gently in the morning breeze.
"Youheng!" Lan Susu hurried up first, urgency in her voice. "We heard from Teacher Zhou that you took leave to clear your head. You... will you really be all right on your own? Should we come with you?"
Lan Luoluo nodded vigorously too, her bright eyes full of concern. "Yes, Youheng. Two people... uh, three people together would be better than you wandering around alone with your head down. We could keep you company and chat. If you're trying to clear your head, isn't it livelier with more people?"
Dai Youheng stopped and looked at the lovely twins before him. The concern in their eyes was sincere and pure. Clearly, like Zhou Yi, they had mistaken his departure for a dispirited retreat after suffering a blow.
He sighed inwardly. The emotional debts his predecessor had left behind occasionally brought this sort of warm-hearted trouble.
A gentle smile appeared on his face, and his tone softened. "Susu, Luoluo, thank you. But there's really no need."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the familiar scenery within the academy. His voice was calm but firm. "I just want some quiet time alone. I don't have a particular destination. I'll go wherever the road takes me, enjoy the mountains and rivers, and sort out my thoughts. Having someone along would only take away that freedom. I appreciate your kindness."
"For you, your classes and cultivation at the academy are more important. Don't let me hold you back. Especially you, Susu. You've just broken through to rank thirty. Stabilizing your cultivation and finding a suitable soul ring should come first. Once I've sorted myself out, I'll come back."
His words were clear and measured, his manner gentle yet leaving no room for doubt. He was nothing like a dejected failure who needed comfort and company.
The Lan sisters stared at him in a daze. Dai Youheng was still as handsome as ever, but the calm and independence radiating from within him were unlike anything they had seen before.
Disappointment quietly crept into their hearts, but his calm, resolute gaze told them that further persuasion would be useless. Lan Susu bit her lip lightly and said in a soft voice, "Then please be careful, Youheng, and come back soon."
Lan Luoluo hastily added, "Yes, come back soon. Whether you're one of the Shrek Seven Devils or not, you'll always be the best in our eyes! You're much better than that Dai Huabin!"
Dai Youheng shook his head with an amused smile. He offered no comment on Dai Huabin and simply said, "All right, I understand. Head back. I'm off."
With that, he lingered no longer. He gave the sisters a slight nod, turned, and strode through Shrek Academy's gates. The morning light fell over his retreating figure, casting a long shadow. He looked almost carefree and resolute, without a trace of the bleak loneliness they had expected.
The Lan sisters remained where they were, watching him recede into the distance until he vanished around a street corner. A jumble of feelings filled their hearts: disappointment at being unable to accompany him, and a faint flutter of attraction to his distinctive bearing.
About half a day later, on an open patch of ground beside Shrek Academy's Soul Fighting Zone.
The seven Reserve Team members, led by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, were practicing their teamwork under Xuan Zi's guidance. The atmosphere, however, was far from harmonious. Dai Huabin in particular was utterly at odds with the other six, and every attempt to coordinate with them was awkward and stiff.
During a break, Xiao Xiao walked over to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and said quietly, "I just heard Teacher Zhou mention that Youheng... took leave and left the academy. He said he wanted to go out and clear his head. He must be really disappointed. He's been so good to us since last year. He must have really wanted to compete alongside all of us."
Her voice was soft, but everyone present was a Soul Master with keen hearing and sharp eyes. Almost every word reached their ears clearly. The atmosphere on the training ground instantly grew even more delicate.
Wang Dong's delicate brows drew together. Although she had complained quite a bit about Dai Youheng over the breakfast incident, hearing this news left her feeling uneasy too. She pursed her lips, her tone complicated. "He probably couldn't take the blow of not being selected, right? After all, the way he treated us before..."
She left the sentence unfinished, but everyone understood what she meant.
Dai Youheng's former, slavishly devoted attentiveness had been hard to watch and sometimes left them unsure whether to laugh or cry. Yet looking back now, his enthusiasm and kindness had not been false.
Someone who had once tried so hard to fit in with them and treated them so well had left in dejection because of a selection trial riddled with surprises and unfairness, and because Dai Huabin had taken advantage of his predicament. It weighed heavily on all their hearts.
Bei Bei wiped the sweat from his forehead, a trace of regret appearing on his gentle face. "Youheng's strength is actually quite impressive, especially that soul skill he created himself. It has tremendous potential. In a normal contest, he might well have earned a place. What a shame..."
He did not specify what was a shame, but his gaze swept casually over Dai Huabin, making his meaning clear.
He Caitou nodded earnestly. Though he did not know Dai Youheng well, Dai Youheng's powerful showing when he defeated Xu Sanshi head-on during the selection trial had left a deep impression on him. He had always respected people who relied on genuine strength.
Jiang Nannan sighed softly, a complicated emotion passing over her exquisite face. She remembered the medicine Dai Youheng had given her. It really had helped her mother. She murmured, "I hope he can come to terms with it soon."
Xu Sanshi, who had likewise failed to become a reserve member, still shamelessly came every day to watch from the sidelines. Leaning nearby, he snorted and was about to make a snide remark, but swallowed it when he saw Jiang Nannan's expression. He merely turned his head away in irritation.
He had certainly not forgotten Dai Youheng's "shady history" of getting close to Nannan.
Without question, Huo Yuhao felt it most deeply. His fists quietly clenched. Dai Youheng had not merely started treating him well last year. Back in the cold, oppressive Duke's Mansion, he had already been one of the very few people to offer him warmth and protection.
Yet this person who had given him warmth since childhood had been eliminated, and the one who eliminated him was Dai Huabin, the person who had caused him the most suffering.
Why did Dai Huabin get to stay and become one of the Shrek Seven Devils, while someone as kind as Youheng had to be eliminated and leave Shrek Academy alone in disappointment?
For a moment, his cold gaze swept toward Dai Huabin at the edge of the group. Old grudges and new hatred blazed within his heart, burn-
ing.
The others disliked Dai Huabin even more because of this. Although Xu Sanshi had also been one of the main reasons Dai Youheng was eliminated, he had at least fought Dai Youheng openly and fairly. Whichever of them had eliminated the other, it would only have meant the loser was less skilled.
Dai Huabin's sneak attack to snatch an easy victory, however, was something they truly despised.
Dai Huabin sensed the atmosphere around him growing noticeably colder and more hostile. His face turned ashen, and he could only clench his fists and force down his humiliation and anger. He absolutely could not give up halfway. His older brother, Dai Yueheng, had been one of the previous Shrek Seven Devils. Having finally caught up with his brother's footsteps, he could not fall here.
Watching this team with its strange atmosphere and tangled conflicts, Xuan Zi tipped his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of wine. He shook his head with a sigh. "Ah, with all this fighting, how do you look anything like a team?"
In stark contrast to the Shrek Reserve Team, plagued by constant infighting and a heavy atmosphere, Dai Youheng's mood as he left the academy alone was as clear as a sky without a cloud for ten thousand miles.
His steps were light as he savored the unrestrained air of freedom.
"The Shrek Seven Devils? Whoever wants the title can have it." A relaxed smile curved his lips. "An empty title, only to get dragged off to die by that unreliable Xuan Zi. How could that matter more than actually improving my strength?"
His goals were clear and definite: obtain powerful soul rings and raise his rank. With boundless seas and open skies before him, he would find his own place to soar.
The thought of the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring he would soon obtain and the leap in strength it would bring filled him with anticipation, driving away every stray thought.
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