The players' first encounter with story characters

After receiving the new story quest, the players found that no new map had opened and no new teleport point had appeared.

But they soon realized that the people from Shrek Academy might be nearby.

Wang Zhongwang: "I remember the teacher called Zhou Yi led the team in the story. Shouldn't they be here by now?"

Ten-Year Veteran: "Maybe they're already here, watching us from the shadows."

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "They won't mistake us for those Evil Soul Masters and attack us, will they?"

Primordial One: "If they mistake us for Evil Soul Masters and attack us, what should we do? Fight back?"

Agile Dog in the Mountains: "If we kill off the story quest, will we fail the quest and make it impossible for the story to continue?"

Wang Zhongwang: "If they're important story characters, we probably can't kill them."

Primordial One: "Not necessarily. This game gives us so much freedom that even important story characters might be killable. At most, we'd unlock a bad ending."

I Am an Angel: "Enough talk. Let's first figure out whether the people from Shrek Academy are here."

Spirit Hall Eternal: "I don't care. I don't have the slightest fondness for Shrek Academy."

Ten-Year Veteran: "Don't bring your feelings into the game. Dislike them all you want, but we still have a quest to do. Brother, if you've got what it takes, go overthrow Shrek Academy."

Wang Zhongwang: "Yeah, brother. If you can overthrow Shrek Academy and graft it into the Spirit Hall of your dreams, I'll call you a badass!"

Spirit Hall Eternal: "You said it. Now I have to give it a try. At worst, I'll turn the story upside down. Isn't that what we players do?"

Watching all this behind the scenes, Tang Yi gave Spirit Hall Eternal a thumbs-up. That was exactly the spirit they needed.

The more the players changed the story, the more he would gain.

The players had just wiped out Death's Hand, killed the Deathbringer, and reversed the storyline in which Ma Xiaotao's generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters suffered heavy casualties. That had already provided Tang Yi with a large number of fortune points.

After all, this storyline really was important. If Ma Xiaotao's generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters hadn't suffered such devastating casualties, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the others would never have had the chance to shine so brilliantly at their first Soul Master Tournament.

By now, Zhou Yi had already brought Huo Yuhao and the others to meet up with Ma Xiaotao's group.

Zhou Yi frowned as she asked, "What's going on with you? Why haven't you taken action? Did something unexpected happen?"

"Teacher Zhou, we found some strange people. They're blocking the cave entrance."

"Strange people? What strange people? Aren't they the bandits from Death's Hand?"

"They don't look like bandits..."

Wang Xiaotao was about to say more when she suddenly heard Ten-Year Veteran's voice.

Ten-Year Veteran: "Are the people from Shrek Academy here? If you are, come out and meet us."

Wang Zhongwang: "Will calling them out that bluntly actually work?"

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "You don't understand. Sometimes, the simpler and more direct you are, the better it works."

Wang Zhongwang: "Why does that sound so familiar? Didn't some fellow named Little Bu say that?"

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Never mind who said it. Just tell me whether it makes sense."

Ten-Year Veteran: "Everyone from Shrek Academy, we're not Evil Soul Masters. Just like you, we came to wipe out Death's Hand. Now that Death's Hand has been completely eradicated, come out and meet us if you're here."

On Shrek Academy's side, Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao, and the others all looked at Zhou Yi. After all, she was the teacher leading them.

After thinking it over, Zhou Yi said to Ma Xiaotao, "Ma Xiaotao, bring your team and follow me out to take a look. Huo Yuhao, the rest of you stay put."

"Yes!"

Immediately afterward, Zhou Yi led Ma Xiaotao's team out before the players.

"Who exactly are you?"

Wang Zhongwang: "They actually came out. That beautiful teacher must be Zhou Yi. She really is pretty."

Primordial One: "Stop getting ideas, or you might get beaten up."

Wang Zhongwang: "Can't I at least think about it? Thinking isn't a crime."

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "I still prefer Ma Xiaotao. She's beautiful and fierce. But at this point, isn't there already something a little ambiguous between her and Huo Yuhao?"

Agile Dog in the Mountains: "What's there to fear? Swing your hoe well enough, and there's no corner you can't dig out from under someone. Besides, didn't Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao end up having no relationship anyway? Speaking of which, where are Huo Yuhao and the others? Didn't they come?"

I Am an Angel: "I think they're probably watching us from the shadows."

The players were using team voice chat, so Ma Xiaotao, Zhou Yi, and the others had no idea the players were heatedly discussing them.

Ten-Year Veteran looked toward Qian Xixi. He wasn't good at dialogue quests.

Qian Xixi stepped forward and spoke.

Qian Xixi: "We're from the New Tang Sect. We received a sect mission to come here and wipe out Death's Hand."

Zhou Yi's brow furrowed even more deeply at that.

"The New Tang Sect? What's your relationship with the Tang Sect?"

Qian Xixi: "We're its successors, of course. We reclaimed the Old Tang Sect Site and rebuilt the Tang Sect, so we're called the New Tang Sect. Is there a problem, teacher?"

Huo Yuhao couldn't help rushing out then, and Wang Dong followed him.

Wang Zhongwang: "Hey, Huo Yuhao's coming over. He really does look delicate at this age, just like a little bottom."

Primordial One: "Look at Wang Dong. You really can't tell she's a girl at all. Do you think she hasn't developed yet, or is she binding herself too tightly?"

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Judging by her figure later on, there's no way she hasn't developed yet. She must just be binding herself too tightly."

Wang Zhongwang: "Binding herself that tightly didn't even affect her development? Badass."

As the players chatted, their conversation wandered off track. Wang Dong seemed to notice the way they were looking at her and couldn't help frowning too.

"What's wrong with these guys? Why are they looking at me so strangely? Could they have figured out that I'm a girl disguised as a boy?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Even Huo Yuhao hasn't noticed. How could they tell when this is their first time seeing me?"

Wang Dong kicked the thought out of her head, putting it down to her being oversensitive.

Seeing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong run over, Zhou Yi felt somewhat angry.

"Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, what are you doing?"

"Sorry, Teacher Zhou. This concerns the Tang Sect. I have to get to the bottom of it."

"Sorry, Teacher Zhou."

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong apologized quite sincerely, so Zhou Yi couldn't very well scold them in front of this group.

"Never mind. Ask whatever you want to ask."

Huo Yuhao looked toward the players. He, too, had a strange feeling, as though he had become a rare animal in a zoo and people were crowding around to look at him.