Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Ma Hongjun had barely returned to Shrek Academy when they ran into the Four Elements Academy contingent that had come looking for a fight. At a glance, they recognized quite a few of the faces.
Among them were Spirit Wind Academy's team captain Feng Xiaotian, Blazing Fire Academy's team captain Huo Wushuang and vice-captain Huo Wu, Heavenly Water Academy's team captain Shui Bing'er, and the dolphin Soul Master Shui Yue'er who could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Technique in tandem with her. There was also Lei Ting Academy's team captain Yu Tianxin of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family.
On Shrek Academy's side, three of the more capable teachers — Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, and Li Yusong — were holding the fort. All three looked rather grim, clearly having gotten the worse end of the exchange with the Four Elements Academy.
The moment Ma Hongjun, Tang San, and Xiao Wu appeared, they immediately drew the attention of the Four Elements Academy group. Ma Hongjun let out a hearty laugh. "Well, well — look who it is. All familiar faces. What's the matter? Still sore about losing to us back in the day, so you've come all this way to crash our party?"
Feng Xiaotian was clearly the leader of the bunch. Seeing Ma Hongjun, a smile spread across his face. "Long time no see, Ma Hongjun. Oh — Xiao Wu's here too. Where are the rest of your Shrek Academy people?"
Seeing Ma Hongjun and Tang San return, Shao Xin and the other teachers let out a collective sigh of relief. They knew nothing about Xiao Wu's situation, so her appearance didn't surprise them much.
Huo Wu's gaze, however, settled on Xiao Wu. When she saw Xiao Wu holding Tang San's hand, her brows furrowed. She didn't recognize Tang San after his changed appearance, and her first thought was that Xiao Wu had found someone new.
Ma Hongjun snorted in annoyance. "Feng Xiaotian, save the chatter. What are so many of you doing at our Shrek Academy today? If you're here to pick a fight, my brothers and I will take you on. Just lay out the rules."
Feng Xiaotian didn't so much as flinch at Ma Hongjun's provocation, maintaining his easy smile. "Our Four Elements Academy has been invited by the Tian Dou Empire's royal court to relocate to Tian Dou City. We're all old acquaintances, so we simply came to say hello. We were a bit unhappy about how we lost in that Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament back then, I'll admit. But we're not here to cause trouble. It's just that your Shrek Academy students insist on assuming we've come to start something — there's nothing I can do about that."
"If you're not here to pick a fight, then why did you barge into our academy and injure our students on gate duty?" someone in the crowd of Shrek Academy students shouted.
Feng Xiaotian's brows knit slightly. "That was just a misunderstanding. One of our younger students acted impulsively, that's all."
"A misunderstanding? So if we went over to your academy and beat up some of your people, that'd be a misunderstanding too?" The crowd parted, and two people walked through hand in hand — Oscar and Ning Rongrong. They had just heard the news and rushed over immediately.
Fatty was delighted to see them both arrive. The one who had spoken just now was none other than Oscar.
Huo Wu let out a cold snort. "If you're not convinced, then round up all seven of your Shrek Seven Devils and we'll have ourselves a proper match. Whoever loses apologizes to the other side."
When Feng Xiaotian caught sight of Oscar, a chill ran through him. Oscar's features hadn't changed, but that vicious scar across his face and his entire bearing were worlds apart from before. Once, he had been the least noticed among the Shrek Seven Devils, yet now Feng Xiaotian sensed a formidable threat radiating from him. The aura Oscar carried was not something that could be produced by mere cultivation alone.
Oscar was about to accept the challenge when he suddenly felt Ning Rongrong's hand tighten around his. He turned to look at her, but she had already let go and was rushing forward.
"Xiao Wu — !" With an excited cry, Ning Rongrong flew forward like a young swallow diving into an embrace, throwing her arms around Xiao Wu's body as tears streamed down her face.
Xiao Wu, her gaze vacant, was startled by the sudden hug. Panic flickered in her eyes, but her emotions quickly settled. Instinctively, she raised her arms and hugged Ning Rongrong back, her large eyes blinking as a hint of warmth crept into her expression.
Oscar had spotted Xiao Wu too. He hurried over in long strides, looking at Tang San in bewilderment, and whispered, "San, what's going on? Xiao Wu — she?"
Tang San replied in a voice only the few of them could hear. "By sheer fortune, I obtained a rare heavenly treasure. After Xiao Wu consumed it, her body reverted to human form — she's completely shed her beast body now. But only her body was restored. The Xiao Wu standing here has no soul. All she has are a few instinctive reactions."
The moment Ning Rongrong heard this, tears spilled from her eyes. She looked at Tang San. "Third Brother, don't be sad. This is already a good start. If her body can be restored, then her soul can be too — I'm sure of it."
Tang San nodded firmly. "I believe that with all my heart. Now, let's deal with what's in front of us first. We can't let outsiders laugh at us."
Ning Rongrong's reaction clearly caught the Four Elements Academy group off guard. Huo Wu couldn't help but speak up. "What? Are your Shrek Seven Devils too scared to fight?"
Oscar let out a cold snort. "However you want to compete, name it. We'll take you on."
Feng Xiaotian smiled. "Splendid. It looks like your Shrek Seven Devils aren't all here either. Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Zhu Zhuqing are all absent. We won't take advantage of you. We'll send out four people as well to make it fair. What do you think?"
Oscar glanced at Tang San, shooting him a questioning look.
Tang San shook his head. "Three. Xiao Wu needs someone to look after her."
Oscar turned back to Feng Xiaotian. "Three versus three, then."
Feng Xiaotian glanced at Xiao Wu and noticed something was off about her. The current Xiao Wu was undoubtedly even more beautiful than five years ago, but her vacant gaze, combined with Ning Rongrong's earlier reaction, told Feng Xiaotian that something wasn't right with her.
After turning to confer briefly with the rest of the Four Elements Academy group, Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu, and Huo Wushuang stepped forward. In terms of raw strength, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er's Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Ice and Snow Drift, was actually a bit stronger than the Huo siblings. However, they couldn't synchronize well with Feng Xiaotian, the strongest among their group. That was how this particular lineup had been chosen.
Tang San gently stroked Xiao Wu's head and said softly, "Xiao Wu, stay here with Rongrong. I'll be right back. Okay?"
As he spoke, he carefully released his hold on Xiao Wu's hand and placed it into Ning Rongrong's. Xiao Wu couldn't very well answer Tang San's words. At first she hesitated, but once Ning Rongrong took her hand and gazed at her through tear-blurred eyes, her unsettled emotions gradually steadied. Subconsciously, she was clearly willing to be close to Ning Rongrong.
Tang San let out a breath of relief, then nodded to Ma Hongjun and Oscar. "Let's go."
The six of them stood facing each other at the center of the arena. Huo Wu looked at Tang San, and a trace of distaste immediately surfaced on her face. "We're here to fight your Shrek Seven Devils, not some random bystanders."
Even Tang San didn't realize that Huo Wu's expression of distaste was actually directed at him. Seeing him together with Xiao Wu, she was indignantly upset on his behalf.
Ma Hongjun let out a hearty laugh. "Aren't you the ones who came to challenge Shrek Academy? Whether we're random bystanders or not, you'll find out soon enough."
Tang San looked toward Feng Xiaotian, and their gazes collided in midair. Feng Xiaotian couldn't help but freeze for a moment, because what he saw in Tang San's blue eyes was complete emotional stillness. On the surface, the handsome young man before him seemed to possess not a shred of Soul Power.
Tang San said calmly, "Brother Feng, it's been a long time. You all didn't come to our Shrek Academy without purpose. Before we start fighting, shouldn't we clear the air first?"
Feng Xiaotian said in surprise, "You know me? And you are…?" In his memory, there was no one who matched the appearance Tang San currently had.
Tang San smiled faintly. "Five years is a long time. Changes are to be expected. No wonder none of you recognize me. I'm Tang San."
"What? You're Tang San?" Huo Wu stared at him in shock, her eyes going wide.
Tang San nodded to Huo Wu. "Due to a series of fortunate circumstances, my appearance has changed somewhat. No wonder none of you recognized me." The Tang Sect was about to be officially established. While Tang San had no intention of broadcasting his identity everywhere, he had also decided there was no need to hide anymore. The relationship between the two great empires and Spirit Hall had grown delicate. The imperial capitals of both empires were undoubtedly where royal power was at its strongest. Even Spirit Hall couldn't act rashly here. Even if Spirit Hall's people knew he was here, as long as he didn't leave Tian Dou City, his basic safety could be guaranteed. Moving against him would be far from easy.
Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu, and Huo Wushuang exchanged bewildered glances. With their frame of reference, they simply couldn't understand how one person's appearance and bearing could change so drastically. But Oscar and Ma Hongjun hadn't refuted Tang San's words — clearly he was telling the truth.
Feng Xiaotian's expression quickly returned to normal. "We're all serving at our respective academies now. We're all acquaintances, so I won't beat around the bush. The Four Elements Academy received an official invitation from the Tian Dou Empire to relocate to Tian Dou City. While neither of us is entirely optimistic about the balance of power between the two great empires and Spirit Hall, if the Soul Master world truly ends up dominated by a single force, it won't be good for any of us Soul Masters. What's more, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family's fate is still fresh in everyone's minds. Our Four Elements Academy branches are all connected. So we've decided to band together and move into Tian Dou City. Now, Shrek Academy is known as the top academy in Tian Dou. That title is quite tempting. And we've taken a fancy to your location as well. You've got plenty of space here, and we'd like to move in too. This visit was meant to be a negotiation. It's just that Headmaster Flandre and the Great Master aren't here. Getting a friendly spar out of you lot isn't a bad outcome either."
Ma Hongjun snorted. "You make it sound so noble. You're just here to squat on our turf. Dream on. With us around, don't even think about it. Of course, if you're willing to be absorbed into Shrek Academy, we wouldn't necessarily object."
"You fat slob, shut your mouth!" Huo Wu's fiery temper hadn't changed one bit. The moment she heard Ma Hongjun's words, her anger surged.
Ma Hongjun lifted his head with disdain. "Got a problem? One-on-one, then."
Huo Wu was about to explode, but Feng Xiaotian grabbed her hand, and she could only let out a disgruntled huff.
Feng Xiaotian said, "It's been five years, Tang San. I'd like to see how much you've all improved. Come on — how about we have a friendly spar?"
Tang San's heart stirred. He said, "Wait a moment. Brother Feng, the Four Elements Academy sent you here to negotiate — does that mean you have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the academy?"
Huo Wushuang, who had remained silent until now, spoke up: "After the Four Elements Academy decided to merge, Xiaotian was exceptionally appointed as vice dean thanks to his outstanding talent. He has full authority to represent the academy in this negotiation."
Tang San nodded, looking at the smiling Feng Xiaotian. "Then why don't we do this? Today's battle — if we win, the Four Elements Academy agrees to stop eyeing our academy. Of course, as long as you remain in Tian Dou City under the premise of standing against Spirit Hall, we'll be allies from now on."
The smile vanished from Feng Xiaotian's face, his gaze suddenly turning sharp. "So you're very confident in yourself, then?"
Tang San sighed and laid it bare. "Brother Feng, if you don't dare accept my challenge today, then you'll never surpass me in your entire life."
Feng Xiaotian knew Tang San was telling the truth. He had already lost to Tang San once. If he hesitated today and refused the challenge over the academy's affairs, then in any future encounter with Tang San, it would be even harder to compete.
Seeing Feng Xiaotian's hesitation, Tang San suddenly smiled. His expression was calm, yet brimming with confidence. "How about this — I'll take on all three of you and your signature techniques by myself. If I lose, I'll accept whatever you decide. But if I win, from now on the Four Elements Academy will keep its distance whenever it encounters Shrek Academy."
This time, it wasn't just Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu who were furious — even the perpetually good-natured Feng Xiaotian couldn't hold back.
Huo Wu snapped, "Well, well, Tang San — five years without seeing you, and you've gotten this arrogant. Xiaotian, accept it. I want to see just what kind of ability he has to take on all three of us at once. Tang San, you said yourself that if you lose, you'll accept whatever we decide. Would you even agree to become our slave?"
Tang San replied calmly, "As long as you have what it takes to beat me."