"Sister Nannan, you don't have to stand in front of me. Let him come. I'll give him seven more moves this time. If he can hit me, I'm a turtle bastard. If he can't hit me, then he can forget about shedding that title himself!"Shi Yu was furious.
"I'll kill you!" Xu Sanshi roared, already overcome by the flames of jealousy and unable to bear such provocation.
"Sanshi, don't act recklessly!"Beibei noticed Xu Sanshi was losing control and might genuinely attack in rage. He quickly rushed over and restrained him, gesturing for him to calm down.
"What are you doing?"A cold, stern voice cut through the tension.
Everyone turned to look.
Zhang Lexuan was walking out of the academy gate.
The moment Xu Sanshi saw her—and heard her voice—his fury instantly died down. He even retracted the martial spirit he had just started to release. He didn't back off because he had a change of heart, but because... he didn't dare.
Beibei looked awkward and even regretted coming here to get a soul ring.
"Big Sister," Jiang Nannan greeted politely, recognizing her.
"Big Sister?"Shi Yu studied Zhang Lexuan with curiosity. So this was the one everyone in Shrek called Big Sister.Of course, it was possible that at this point in time, she hadn't yet officially received that title, but her presence said otherwise.
Zhang Lexuan's cold gaze swept across Xu Sanshi, Shi Yu, and Jiang Nannan before finally stopping on Xu Sanshi.
Under her glare, Xu Sanshi shrank back instinctively, hiding behind Beibei.
"We're all students of the same academy, and you were really going to kill him?" Zhang Lexuan questioned sharply, glancing at Beibei but directing her criticism at Xu Sanshi.
"I-I just wanted to scare him. I wouldn't really kill him..."Xu Sanshi chuckled nervously, clearly shaken.
"I don't want to hear such talk again. And I don't want to see students trying to kill each other. If this happens again, don't blame me for being rude," Zhang Lexuan warned coldly.
"I was wrong..."The usually arrogant Xu Sanshi didn't even try to defend himself under her glare.
For Beibei's sake, Zhang Lexuan didn't press the matter further. Instead, her eyes fell on Shi Yu.
"Hello, Senior Sister. I'm here to join the soul-hunting team—I need a soul ring."Shi Yu didn't bring up the incident with Xu Sanshi. Bringing it up again would only make him look petty.
More importantly, it would be meaningless. Rather than relying on others to seek justice for him, it was better to improve his strength and take matters into his own hands when the time came.
Besides, even if it was Zhang Lexuan—could he really expect her to punish Beibei's best friend?
He simply handed over his application form.
Zhang Lexuan gave it a quick glance and put it away.
"This time, the four of you will form a team to hunt soul beasts. I'll be in charge of your safety. It's also my end-of-term assessment task," she explained.
"I don't care what happened between you before. Once we enter the Star Dou Great Forest, all previous grudges are to be left behind. You will cooperate, support each other, and help each team member obtain the most suitable soul ring."
"If anyone lets personal conflict get in the way and causes me to fail this assessment... don't blame me for dealing with you personally," she warned.
"No, no, of course not!" Xu Sanshi hurriedly shook his head in assurance.
Beibei, Jiang Nannan, and Shi Yu all nodded in agreement.
"Let's go. I'll explain the precautions on the way," Zhang Lexuan said, wasting no time.
Xu Sanshi threw Shi Yu a fierce glare the moment Zhang Lexuan wasn't looking.Clearly, he wasn't going to let this grudge go.
"I hope you don't cause any trouble," Shi Yu thought, growing more alert around him.
The five of them headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest at a swift pace. At their speed, they'd arrive in about an hour.
Shrek Academy was only around a hundred miles from the forest—convenient for soul ring hunting.
Zhang Lexuan led the way. Beibei and Xu Sanshi ran together, while Shi Yu and Jiang Nannan stayed a short distance behind. The group was somewhat spaced out.
Xu Sanshi glanced back at Shi Yu and Jiang Nannan walking so closely together and clenched his jaw. His jealousy flared once more.
"Restraint. Restraint."Beibei kept quietly urging Xu Sanshi to hold back.
"Senior Sister Nannan, what's that senior's name?" Shi Yu asked casually, wanting confirmation.
"It's Zhang Lexuan," Jiang Nannan replied.
So it really was her.Shi Yu glanced at Zhang Lexuan and Beibei again, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
They reached the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest in less than an hour.
"Take a short break," Zhang Lexuan said, not immediately leading them inside.
Even she had broken a sweat after the nonstop run. They needed to be in top condition before entering the dangerous forest.
Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan were panting heavily. A hundred miles at that pace was no joke.
All three turned to look at Shi Yu—who didn't even seem out of breath and was curiously observing the forest ahead.
"What?" Shi Yu asked, noticing their stares.
"Aren't you tired?" Jiang Nannan asked, a little self-conscious.
"I'm fine," Shi Yu said casually. He could already guess why they were staring.
"What are you pretending for?" Xu Sanshi muttered, trying to catch his breath faster so he wouldn't look bad in comparison.
Zhang Lexuan observed Shi Yu closely. She had noticed faint fluctuations in energy around him during the run—not the kind of soul power most soul masters used to enhance their speed.
It was as if the distance he traveled had been shortened.
She couldn't be sure what exactly was going on, but it was likely related to his spatial abilities.
"This guy's martial spirit is really interesting..."From Shi Yu's application, she knew his martial spirit was simply "Space."
She had seen space-related martial spirits before—like the Space Leopard or Void Marten—but never a martial spirit that was pure space itself.
That was a completely different level.
After resting for more than ten minutes, the group entered the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
They arranged themselves in formation: Xu Sanshi, as the defensive soul master, walked in front. Beibei covered the left, Jiang Nannan the right, and Shi Yu—being the weakest—was in the center. Zhang Lexuan brought up the rear, making sure she could see everyone.
"There's a snake lurking about seventy to eighty meters ahead," Shi Yu suddenly warned.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Don't talk nonsense," Xu Sanshi immediately scoffed. "What alarmist nonsense. I don't feel any soul beast ahead."
"You're only a level 20 soul master. How could your perception be better than mine?"
"Psycho," Shi Yu muttered, not bothering to argue further.
"You little—!"Xu Sanshi was about to blow up again.
"How do you know?"Jiang Nannan hadn't sensed anything either, but she didn't think Shi Yu was lying.
Zhang Lexuan also looked at Shi Yu curiously. Her own spiritual sense hadn't detected any soul beasts, so she wasn't entirely convinced.
"My martial spirit is space. I have a heightened sensitivity to objects and creatures that exist within space. Of course, there's a limit—I can sense things within about a 500-meter radius," Shi Yu explained calmly.
He didn't have powerful spiritual perception, but his natural affinity with space allowed him to gather detailed information from it.
"Proceed with caution," Zhang Lexuan ordered Xu Sanshi, preventing him from arguing further.
About 70 or 80 meters later, there was still no sign of soul beasts. No snake in sight.
Xu Sanshi turned around, a mocking smile on his face.
Shi Yu ignored him, staring silently in one direction.
"Careful!" Beibei suddenly shouted. His right arm transformed into a dragon claw, covered in fine scales, and he reached out.
With pinpoint accuracy, he caught a small poisonous snake mid-air—just before it struck.
The snake had flown straight toward Xu Sanshi's neck.
Xu Sanshi froze, his whole body tense. Cold sweat slid down his back as he stared at the venomous creature just inches away.
Beibei, Jiang Nannan, and Zhang Lexuan all turned to look at Shi Yu.
He had been right.
The snake had been camouflaged, its scales nearly identical to the tree trunk it clung to. It would've been nearly impossible to spot with the naked eye.