The plan becomes a surprise attackDai Youheng looked at his mother's eager and worried eyes, and a rare trace of guilt rose in his heart. He nodded, his tone relatively sincere as he replied, "Mother, rest assured. Your son understands. When I get to the Academy, I will cultivate diligently and will never disappoint you and Luoli."However, only he knew how much of these words came from the heart and how much was merely habitual perfunctory.In his heart, the thought of cultivating diligently was far less important and practical than "clinging to Huo Yuhao's thigh."In his opinion, as long as he maintained a good relationship with Huo Yuhao, the future god Huo Yuhao casually giving him a hand would be much easier and more effective than him cultivating painstakingly for decades.Dai Luoli, standing beside him, though still young, also obediently said, "Brother, you must work hard at the Academy! I will take good care of Mother."Dai Youheng patted his younger brother's shoulder, forcing a smile, "Alright, I'll leave the family to you."It was getting late. A middle-aged man in tight clothing with a steady aura quietly appeared outside the courtyard gate, respectfully saluting, "Young Master Youheng, the carriage is ready. We can depart now."This man was the guard assigned to Dai Youheng by the Duke's Mansion, a level 58 Spirit King.Compared to the Spirit Emperor-level guards accompanying Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin when they traveled, this Spirit King guard's configuration was clearly a step down.However, in the Duke's Mansion's view, for a concubine's son, being accompanied by a high-level Spirit King as a bodyguard was already quite good treatment, sufficient to deal with most dangers on the road.Dai Youheng didn't have too much dissatisfaction with this, as he had long been accustomed to the differential treatment between legitimate and illegitimate children.He bid farewell to his mother and younger brother one last time, then turned and, with a relaxed, or perhaps blind, mindset of returning to Shrek to continue his "clinging to power" endeavor, boarded the carriage."Let's go," he instructed the coachman and the Spirit King guard.The carriage slowly started, drove out of the side gate of the Duke's Mansion, merged into the morning streets of Star Luo City, and headed out of the city, aiming directly for the distant Shrek Academy.Inside the carriage, Simp Youheng might still be plotting how to further improve his relationship with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and others upon returning to the Academy, and how to find a way to join the Tang Sect, completely unaware that a web of death targeting him had already quietly unfolded.Meanwhile, in the elegant room window of a teahouse in the distance, another Dai Youheng coldly watched the gradually receding carriage, a chilling arc forming at the corner of his lips.The prey has left its cage.He gently put down his teacup, his figure vanishing from the window like Gui Mei, silently merging into the bustling crowd below, following from a distance.The hunt has begun. Today is the bootlicker's death day.Over fifty li outside Star Luo City, in the desolate wilderness, the wind rustled.The carriage Dai Youheng was riding in was traveling unhurriedly on the main road. Inside, he was still somewhat distracted, looking at the constantly receding scenery outside the window, but his thoughts had long flown back to the magnificent imperial palace in Star Luo City, to the dazzling princess."Jiujiu… just wait a little longer…" he murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming with a mix of infatuation and anticipation, "Huo Yuhao will definitely shine brightly in this competition! Once he starts to rise, I will beg him to use his power to help the Star Luo Empire, to help you. By then, you will definitely look at me in a new light!"He was immersed in the beautiful fantasy he had woven, completely unaware of the approaching danger.Suddenly.Boom—!A terrifying, irresistible force struck without warning from the side, like an invisible giant hammer, smashing fiercely into the carriage compartment!The sturdy compartment instantly twisted and deformed like paper, then violently rolled off the ground!"Enemy attack! Young Master, be careful!" In the nick of time, the Spirit King guard reacted extremely quickly, shouting loudly. His Spirit instantly possessed him, the agility-attack system Wind Wolf Spirit, and the five spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, one black—suddenly lit up on his body.He grabbed the terrified Dai Youheng, his body like lightning, breaking through the rolling carriage wall, and landed precariously on the ground not far away.Amidst the flying dust, Dai Youheng, still shaken, looked up and finally saw the attackers.The leader was a burly man whose face was distorted with anger, and dark aura permeated his body. It was Huang Heyun!Beside him stood a middle-aged man holding a cold, gleaming, savagely shaped beheading saber. Six spirit rings—two yellow, three purple, one black—slowly rotated around him. That thunderous strike just now had clearly come from this Spirit Emperor!"Huang Heyun! What are you doing?" Dai Youheng was both shocked and angry, completely confused about the situation, "Are you crazy? How dare you attack my White Tiger Dukes Mansion's carriage!"It would have been better if he hadn't asked; this question completely ignited Huang Heyun's fury."Am I crazy?" Huang Heyun's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth grinding. He pointed at his face, and although the dirt had been cleaned, the sense of humiliation was deeply ingrained, "Dai Youheng! What the hell did you do last night? Weren't you very arrogant when you stomped my face in the mud? What? Now you're scared? You dare to do it but not admit it!""Last night? Stomped your face?" Dai Youheng looked bewildered and wronged, "What nonsense are you talking about! I rested early yesterday to prepare for today's journey. I never left the mansion, didn't even go to see Jiujiu! Huang Heyun, did you mistake me for someone else?""Mistake you for someone else?" Huang Heyun was so angry he almost laughed, his voice full of savagery, "I would never mistake anyone, especially not your disgusting bootlicker face! I'd recognize you even if you turned to ash! Stop pretending to be stupid!"He could no longer suppress his killing intent and roared at the Great Saber Soul Emperor beside him, "Uncle Huang Yan, take down that guard for me! This bootlicker is mine. Today, I'll make him understand!"The Great Saber Soul Emperor, Huang Yan, heard this, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his beheading saber was raised, carrying an unparalleled fierce aura, directly locking onto the Wind Wolf Soul King!The Wind Wolf Soul King's expression was incredibly solemn. Although the opponent was a Spirit Emperor, his spirit rings were not optimally configured, with only one ten-thousand-year spirit ring. His spirit power fluctuations were not much stronger than his own, roughly around level 62.A high-level Spirit King facing an initial-level Spirit Emperor was not entirely unmatchable. He let out a low growl, "Young Master, run! I'll draw him away and hold him back!"He knew that the aftermath of a Spirit Emperor-level battle was something Dai Youheng could not withstand, so the battlefield had to be moved away.At the same time, he also knew very well that Huang Heyun might severely punish Dai Youheng, but he would never actually kill him. Killing the Duke's son and merely beating him up were completely different in nature. After all, a concubine's son was still a son, and rashly killing a young master of the White Tiger Dukes Mansion could very likely trigger a large-scale conflict between the two great families.
