Tang San shook his head with a smile. "Why would I? If I discriminated against Xiao Wu, wouldn't I be discriminating against my own mother? Don't forget, my mother was also a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast."
Liu Erlong smiled. "Good. When you see her, remember to tell her I miss her. Even though she's much older than me in actual years, I'm still her godmother, and that won't ever change."
Tang San laughed. "Of course."
After leaving the Clear Sky Sect, the highest priority Tang San had set for himself was to find Xiao Wu. Only then would he continue his cultivation. He wasn't particularly worried about reaching rank eighty within ten years — he believed he had the ability. Of course, during that period of training, he intended to be with Xiao Wu no matter what.
He had already made up his mind: once he found Xiao Wu, if she wished to stay in the Star Dou Great Forest, he would stay there with her. If she was willing to leave with him, they would find somewhere for him to properly craft his Hidden Weapons while continuing his cultivation.
Tang San had never been fond of the glitter and glamour of the outside world. As long as he could be with Xiao Wu, nothing else mattered. As for restoring the Clear Sky Sect — that would have to wait until he possessed the requisite strength. It was still too early.
With his increased strength, there were already quite a few Tang Sect Hidden Weapon techniques he could begin learning, but the more powerful the Hidden Weapon, the harder it was to master. The forging process only grew more difficult as well. The finest-grade Hidden Weapons required extended periods of tempering.
Flandre's eyes darted back and forth as he grinned. "You five are the pride of our Shrek Academy. You can't very well come back without contributing anything. So how about doing something for the Academy? What do you say?"
The Shrek Five Devils exchanged knowing smiles, well aware that their headmaster was about to squeeze whatever remaining value they had out of them. But that was quintessentially Flandre — and far from resenting it, they were happy to oblige.
Flandre launched into his pitch. "When young Soul Masters are training, having a suitable idol to look up to can be a tremendous psychological boost. In terms of actual training, I'm certainly no match for Xiaogang, but I know my way around matters of the heart. If you have no objections, I'd like you to demonstrate your abilities in front of the entire student body. Let them see what's achievable at your age."
Liu Erlong shot him a look. "Boss, that could backfire. What if the students get so discouraged seeing how far behind they are that they spiral into apathy?"
Flandre adopted a solemn expression. "Any student like that isn't worth nurturing. Xiaogang, what do you think of my proposal?"
The Great Master offered a faint smile. "I have no objections. You're the headmaster — it's your call."
Only then did Flandre turn to Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others, a questioning look in his eyes.
Dai Mubai chuckled. "I'm fine with it. Actually, I'd like to see how everyone's progressed. Back at the gate, we didn't recognize Little San and ended up clashing with him. From the looks of it, everyone's improved quite a bit. This is a perfect chance to see where everyone really stands."
Tang San and the other three nodded in unison, signaling their agreement with Dai Mubai. Shrek Academy was essentially their second home — they would never refuse the chance to give something back.
Flandre beamed. "Excellent. Erlong, you go make the arrangements. The young ones all have things to do — we can't take up too much of their time. Let's schedule it for tomorrow."
Liu Erlong cast a glance at Flandre, a glint of cunning flickering in his eyes. He nodded, rose, and left the room. By the time he stepped through Flandre's office door, a smile was already playing at the corners of his mouth.
An hour later, enormous posters had been plastered all over Shrek Academy. The headline read: "Five of the Shrek Seven Devils Return — Tomorrow They Will Showcase Their Cultivation Progress and Spar Against Headmaster Flandre and Vice-Headmaster Zhao Wuji!"
Poor Zhao Wuji and Flandre were still chatting away enthusiastically with the Shrek Five Devils, utterly unaware that Liu Erlong had already sold them out.
…
The northern reaches of the Tian Dou Empire. The Icebound Forest.
The Icebound Forest was a vast expanse of coniferous woodland perfectly suited to frigid climates. Human visitors were exceedingly rare.
This was also a Soul Beast forest, but because the environment was so punishing — temperatures dropping to extreme lows — only Soul Masters with ice-attribute Martial Souls chose to come here to hunt the Soul Beasts they needed.
A group of more than a dozen people were chewing heartily on delicious sausages, the steam rising from their bodies revealing just how much energy they had expended.
Most of them sat on the ground to rest. Only one person remained standing. Before him lay a dying Soul Beast of enormous stature, its entire body wreathed in a resplendent, ethereal glow.
The creature measured over seven meters in length. Its armor was extraordinary — every single scale resembled a tiny mirror, reflecting the surrounding landscape. If it stood perfectly still, it could blend into its environment almost seamlessly. A careless observer might miss it entirely.
But at this moment, blue blood was splattered all over the ground around the beast. Among those sitting on the ground, rapidly recovering their stamina, more than half bore wounds. It was clear that the Soul Beast had inflicted every one of them.