By the time Lin Kong and his party reached the town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, dusk had already fallen.
Zhao Wuji found an inn and booked a superior room for himself, asking the waiter to deliver dinner to his room.
Lin Kong and the other seven booked three rooms, with exactly the same arrangements as their dormitories at Shrek. They would eat dinner in the main hall.
Ma Hongjun wore a sly grin and rubbed his hands together, practically drooling. "Brother Lin, you're the richest out of all of us. How about... treating us again tonight?"
Lin Kong shot him an exasperated glance. "In your dreams!"
Ning Rongrong immediately stepped forward and patted her chest, displaying every bit of a little princess's bearing. "Exactly! Brother Lin already treated us once. Tonight's meal is on me! It's just a meal. No big deal!"
The little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might lack other things, but money certainly wasn't one of them!
Not to be outdone, Dai Mubai puffed out his chest and assumed the air of a big brother. "Hey, whether we're talking age or Soul Power Level, I'm the highest. This meal has to be on me!"
Ma Hongjun didn't care who paid, as long as he didn't have to open his own purse. He immediately slapped his thigh in agreement. "All right! Boss Dai, how generous! I definitely won't hold back!"
Everyone burst out laughing, and the atmosphere grew lively.
In truth, they all knew that none of them lacked the money for a meal. Out adventuring together, if they had to tally up every last coin even over dinner, that would put far too much distance between them.
As they spoke, a sizable party strode inside. Leading them was a middle-aged man, Ye Zhiqiu, a Soul King. Behind him followed seven people, one woman and six men, either about to enter the Star Dou Great Forest or having just come out of it.
Ma Hongjun's true nature showed itself. His eyes stuck to the female student and refused to budge. He even brazenly nudged Dai Mubai beside him and called out, "Boss Dai, look! That chick's really pretty!"
Dai Mubai followed his gaze, and his eyes lit up as well. Then he curled his lip, his voice full of disdain. "Tch, it's only some little Canghui Academy. What do they have to swagger about?"
They had a powerful Soul Saint like Zhao Wuji backing them!
Even with such solid backing, they hadn't strutted around flaunting their might like this group.
The teacher leading them looked about Zhao Wuji's age, and his strength probably wasn't even on Teacher Zhao's level!
In that case, what did they have to worry about?
Oscar snickered at the side, waggling his eyebrows. "We're in for a good show!"
Tang San frowned and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
Oscar chuckled and lowered his voice. "The dean has a famous saying-anyone who doesn't dare stir up trouble is mediocre!"
Tang San's eyes suddenly lit up. Those words flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning, and he committed them firmly to memory.
Lin Kong looked at the fellows before him. "Oh, you lot really are..."
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing all turned to him at once, their eyes full of curiosity. Judging by Brother Lin's reaction, did he disagree with the dean's saying?
Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai hadn't lowered their voices at all. The Canghui Academy party heard every word, their faces darkening and anger showing in their eyes. Given the setting, however, they held back for the moment.
Before long, a male student from Canghui Academy stood and walked toward Lin Kong's table with a hostile expression. His intentions went without saying.
"Because of you two, trouble from that side has come knocking," Lin Kong suddenly said. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the hall.
At those words, the expressions of everyone from Shrek shifted slightly, while the Canghui Academy party also grew wary.
Ma Hongjun looked astonished and couldn't help saying, "Brother Lin, you..."
Brother, you're undermining your own people!
Dai Mubai's expression gradually grew grave as well. He stared at Lin Kong, his tone carrying a hint of accusation. "Lin Kong, what do you mean?"
He already harbored resentment toward Lin Kong over two things: first, Zhu Zhuqing's attitude toward Lin Kong was clearly much better than her attitude toward him; second, Lin Kong's standing within the team was faintly surpassing his own, stealing his limelight as captain.
Tang San glanced from side to side, a barely noticeable sneer curling his lips. He had already made his calculations-this was the perfect chance to draw Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun over to his side and isolate Lin Kong!
The others also stared at Lin Kong in bewilderment, truly unable to understand why he would point out his own companions' faults in front of outsiders. Wasn't this leaving them far too little face?
Ye Zhiqiu, the teacher leading Canghui Academy, rolled his eyes in thought and immediately seized the chance to drive a wedge between them. With a smile that never reached his eyes, he said, "I thought everyone from Shrek lacked sense. It turns out there's still someone who understands reason!"
Those words struck straight at the heart, making the looks everyone from Shrek gave Lin Kong grow even more peculiar.
Yet Lin Kong seemed not to notice anything unusual about them. He smiled, shook his head, and slowly rose to his feet. Looking straight at Ye Zhiqiu, he spoke with heavy mockery. "A teacher, playing petty tricks like sowing discord? You really do have a thick hide!"
Ye Zhiqiu's face flushed crimson. He pointed at Lin Kong in fury. "You... you..."
"How this conflict started no longer matters." Lin Kong couldn't be bothered to waste more words on him. His gaze swept across the Shrek group, his voice ringing firm and clear. "Let's be direct. Clear some space and have a fight! How about it?"
"A fight? I like that!" Xiao Wu was the first to jump up, her eyes sparkling as she rubbed her hands in excitement.
That single remark from her settled the tone.
Ma Hongjun also slammed his hand onto the table with a bang, shot to his feet, and declared loudly, "Couldn't be better! My hands have been itching for ages!"
Dai Mubai gave a cold snort and flexed his wrists, his gaze sharp as an eagle's. "My hands are itching a little too!"
After all, the two of them had started this. Naturally, there was no reason for them to back down.
Ning Rongrong clapped and cheered along, smiling brightly. "Hehe, we're in for some excitement!"
Things developed so quickly that everyone was caught off guard.
One moment, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai had been running their mouths and pointing fingers at the people from Canghui Academy; the next, Lin Kong and Ye Zhiqiu were crossing verbal swords, the air thick with gunpowder; then, in the blink of an eye, Shrek's side was already rubbing their fists and palms, looking ready to strike at any moment.
The Canghui Academy party exchanged looks, clearly not having expected these youngsters to be so arrogant.
Ye Zhiqiu gritted his teeth, his expression so dark it could drip water. He stepped forward, his voice icy. "Fine! I'd like to see just what gives you the confidence to act so arrogantly!"
This town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest was a place where fish and dragons mingled. The depths of an individual Soul Master's strength might be difficult to fathom, but when a group of young Soul Masters gathered together, their background was easy to judge.
Ye Zhiqiu had already reached a conclusion-they were most likely students from some academy who needed Soul Rings, organized into a team to hunt Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
He was judging others by himself, yet his guess happened to be partly right. Lin Kong had also long since seen through their circumstances, judging at a glance that the female student was level thirty and the six male students were all around level twenty. Oh, if they had just come out of the Star Dou Great Forest, then they were level thirty-one and level twenty-one.
Ye Zhiqiu swept his gaze over their ages again. Dai Mubai looked no more than fifteen or sixteen, while the others looked only eleven or twelve.
To Ye Zhiqiu, the tiers of their strength could not have been clearer: Dai Mubai was level twenty at the absolute most, while the others were probably still lingering at the threshold of level ten.
He could never have imagined that Dai Mubai was actually already a level thirty-seven Soul Elder; still less could he have imagined that Shrek Academy had only eight students in total, and that all of them had come out this time merely to accompany Oscar in obtaining his third Soul Ring; let alone that these seemingly childish boys and girls were all monsters with extraordinary talent!
Indeed, under normal circumstances, students who didn't need to obtain Soul Rings wouldn't enter the Star Dou Great Forest for reasons such as unity, training, or growth.
But Shrek was different!
The more Ye Zhiqiu thought about it, the more certain he felt of victory, and his confidence grew. Raising his chin, he asked arrogantly, "Speak! How do you want to arrange this fight? One-on-one, or a team battle?"
"Arrange what fight?" At this, Lin Kong merely shook his head gently, the contempt in his eyes almost spilling over. "We started this, so we'll take a little disadvantage."
He called out, "Fatty, you're up."
Ma Hongjun immediately perked up and took a step forward, his chest thrust out as he shouted aggressively, "I'll do it!"
Everyone thought this would be a one-on-one contest.
Who knew that Lin Kong would immediately add another casual remark, his tone light and breezy, yet like a thunderclap exploding in the center of the hall:
"One against three."
"Huh???"
Ma Hongjun was utterly dumbfounded, his mouth opening wide enough to fit an egg as he wondered whether he had misheard.
Everyone from Canghui Academy turned to stone as well, staring with their mouths agape, their faces full of disbelief.
One against three? Had this kid gone mad?!