Chapter 8 Contradiction
Half a month later.
Deep in the Xingdou Great Forest.
A strange soul beast with a shoulder height of more than nine meters, eight legs on its belly, wings on its back, and covered with snow-white scales was lying on a huge rock for a nap.
In a pit not far from the soul beast, Qin Ming and others were hiding carefully. They
were afraid of causing a noise and alarming the soul beast.
Just when Qin Ming and others were nervous.
"Roar--"
A roar of an unknown soul beast was heard in the distance.
Hearing the sound, the strange soul beast stood up, spread its wings and flew towards the direction of the sound...
until its figure disappeared in the sky.
Qin Ming and others crawled out of the pit beside them with dust on their faces.
Their clothes were mostly torn and there were many scars on their bodies.
"Damn, I was scared to death.
What was that just now?"
Zhao Wuji kept glancing around as he spoke, just in case there were other soul beasts lurking around like them...
Ke Lin, watching the direction the soul beast had just departed, began to explain.
"That was probably an eight-legged Pegasus with a cultivation base of approximately 70,000 years.
According to the records in our Spirit Hall texts, this type of soul beast possesses the bloodline of a true dragon, and its power far surpasses that of other soul beasts of the same level..."
"Spirit Hall texts again? Do
you Spirit Hall people even understand the theoretical knowledge?"
Before Ke Lin could finish, Liu Erlong interrupted him.
Her tone was filled with impatience.
"Hmph, you guys called Xiaogang useless earlier.
In my opinion, it's you Spirit Hall people who are the ones who truly don't understand spirit theory.
You've been taking us on a tour of Star Dou for so many days,
and we haven't even seen a single soul beast you mentioned, yet we've encountered a ton of other ten-thousand-year soul beasts...
If Xiaogang were here, he'd definitely help us avoid these risks."
Hearing Liu Erlong's words, the rest of the team fell silent.
Their gazes shifted, and they couldn't help but recall the past few days' experiences.
Soto City wasn't far from the Star Dou Great Forest, and nearly all the team members were Soul Kings.
Therefore, they reached the Star Dou Great Forest in just two or three days.
For the rest of the time, under Ke Lin's guidance, they continued to explore deeper into the forest.
Initially, things were fine; the soul beasts they encountered were only a few hundred or a thousand years old, easily dispatched, and the team atmosphere remained relaxed.
However, as they continued to explore, the soul beasts they encountered grew stronger.
In recent days, the soul beasts they encountered were generally seventy or eighty thousand years old.
Faced with these soul beasts, they could only evade with dread.
Fortunately, Flanders's spirit, the Four-Eyed Owl, is a rare spirit capable of granting flight to a spirit master, while also significantly enhancing their vision.
By exploiting Flanders's relentless pursuit of scouting,
Qin Ming and his team narrowly avoided numerous dangers.
Reflecting on their recent adventures, the Shrek Academy members felt the entire soul-hunting operation had been a disaster.
Flanders, known for his unscrupulous nature and having contributed the most, felt heartbroken and breathless.
Seeing this, Qin Ming felt a bit overwhelmed.
Glancing at Liu Erlong, who was eager to speak, Qin Ming knew he had to speak up.
During the gathering two weeks ago, Qin Ming had intended to force Liu Erlong out of the group, citing her perceived lack of unity.
However, he hadn't anticipated her shamelessness.
Or rather, her persistence in the matter of Yu Xiaogang.
Previously a fairly normal person, she transformed into a frenzied woman at the mention of Yu Xiaogang.
These past few days, every time I've spoken to the other members of the team, I've been unable to finish more than three sentences without mentioning Yu Xiaogang.
I wonder what Flanders feels when he hears all this...
Thinking of this, Qin Ming sighed helplessly.
"I've already bullied Liu Erlong like that, and she still insists on following suit.
Damn Yu Xiaogang...
What incredible teammates I've encountered.
Without me, this team would be disbanded today!"
Shaking his head, Qin Ming stepped out from behind Ke Lin.
"Ahem—"
Qin Ming cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention, before slowly speaking.
"Dean Flanders, the difficulty of this soul hunting operation has truly exceeded Bishop Ke Lin's and my imagination."
Qin Ming pulled a gold soul coin card from his pocket and handed it to Flanders.
"Dean Flanders, your academy is currently under construction.
It must cost a lot to build the academy's supporting facilities.
I still have 8,000 gold soul coins in this card.
The money is not much, but it is a small gift from Bishop Colin and me.
I hope you can accept it."
Upon hearing this, Flanders' eyes lit up, and his previous unhappiness was swept away. "How can this be so embarrassing?
This operation went quite smoothly. Qin Ming, you don't have to be like this..."
Although he was trying to refuse, Flanders' hands had already grasped the card
Qin Ming had handed him. Seeing this, Qin Ming felt relieved.
"As long as Flanders is willing to accept the money, the rest will be easy."
Thinking of this, Qin Ming loosened his grip and pushed the Gold Soul Coin card towards Flanders.
"Take it, Dean Flanders."
After a few more tussles, Flanders reluctantly put away the card Qin Ming had handed him.
Seeing this, the other members of Shrek's team also looked more optimistic, and the atmosphere in the team was no longer as strange as before.
Seeing that everything was moving in a positive direction, Liu Erlong spoke again.
"Boss Fu!
Those Spirit Hall people know nothing about spirit theory. He's been leading us through the Great Forest for almost half a month, and we
haven't found any trace of that three-headed red devil dog.
If Xiaogang were here, we'd find that dog in a day..."
Noticing Liu Erlong was about to continue, Qin Ming quickly stepped forward to interrupt her 'casting'.
"Senior Liu Erlong, rest assured.
Bishop Kelin had already made a hypothesis about the location of the three-headed red devil dog during his extensive exploration of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Bishop Kelin roughly marked three locations where this spirit beast might be found, and we've already explored two of them.
We're now less than a day's journey from the last location.
If we still find no trace of the three-headed red devil dog after exploring the last location,
we'll withdraw from the Star Dou Great Forest
and conclude this operation.
Of course, I'll also ask Bishop Kelin to complete the Shrek Academy procedures for you as soon as possible."
Qin Ming turned to look at Zhao Wuji.
After spending the past few days together, Qin Ming had a clear understanding.
Flanders was like a completely different person when facing Liu Erlong. His profiteer nature vanished, and he became timid and coy.
But Zhao Wuji was different. Though seemingly rough, he was actually a shrewd man, able to work well with him.
More importantly, Zhao Wuji would not indulge Liu Erlong.
Moreover, Zhao Wuji's prestige within Shrek Academy was no less than Flanders'.
With him around, Liu Erlong's problems could be solved.
At this moment, Zhao Wuji felt a little helpless, noticing Qin Ming's expectant look.
After patting Flanders on the shoulder, Zhao Wuji stepped forward and said,
"Liu Erlong, the rest of us at Shrek do not want to get involved in the matter between you and the dean.
Similarly, you should keep your mouth shut about the actions between Shrek and the Spirit Hall."
Before Liu Erlong could speak, Kelin approached.
Kelin first pulled a gold soul coin card from his pocket and handed it to Qin Ming before speaking softly.
"Qin Ming, this Gold Soul Coin card also contains 10,000 Gold Soul Coins. Keep it.
This operation was my fault for being inconsiderate, and
it has nothing to do with you. You shouldn't have to pay for it."
With that, Kelin, having paid another large sum of Gold Soul Coins, withdrew his gaze.
Kelin didn't dare look at the Gold Soul Coins in Qin Ming's hand, fearing he would regret it...
After briefly calming himself, Kelin looked back at Flanders and said,
"Dean Flanders, the risks involved in this Soul Hunt operation are my fault.
But don't worry, regardless of whether our Soul Hunt operation is ultimately successful
, I will keep my promise to you."
Seeing Kelin's words, Flanders couldn't continue to play dumb.
With a helpless sigh, Flanders stopped Liu Erlong, who was about to speak.
"Sister Erlong, how about I have Old Zhao take you back so you can go back to the academy and rest?"
"Flanders, you..."
Liu Erlong glared at Flanders, unable to believe he would actually speak to her like that.
Fire was threatening to burst from her eyes, but she held it back.
After glancing at Qin Ming, Liu Erlong said coldly.
"Why are you leaving? I'll help that kid with his soul hunting.
I want to see if your Spirit Hall's theory is bullshit.
If we can't find that three-headed red demon dog later, it's fine.
I'll personally help him capture a high-quality fire-attributed soul beast with two or three thousand years of cultivation..."
As she spoke, Liu Erlong stepped within a foot of Qin Ming.
Staring into Qin Ming's eyes, Liu Erlong gritted her teeth and said,
"Kid, if you don't dare absorb a soul ring that exceeds your limit later, it's fine.
But you have to apologize for those slanderous words you said about Xiaogang!"
Hearing this, Qin Ming ignored Liu Erlong's gaze and responded as if nothing had happened.
"It should be so."
(End of this chapter)
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