At the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the Shrek group hadn't walked far when they were stopped. Several Spirit Masters, appearing to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, blocked their path.
"Stop right there, who are you?" one of them demanded. Although they hadn't summoned their Spirits, their goose-yellow school uniforms clearly identified them as students of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Flender responded calmly, "We are from Shrek Academy. We've come for an exchange, by invitation of your Heaven Dou Royal Academy." He waved his hand dismissively. "Now, lead the way."
The young man leading the group scrutinized Flender, then looked over the attire of the other Shrek members. A look of obvious disdain immediately crossed his face.
"You bumpkins, coming to our Academy for an exchange?" he sneered. "I think you're just a bunch of beggars from who knows where. Get lost now! Otherwise, we'll be forced to use force."
After several days of travel, the Shrek Academy group was indeed a bit travel-worn, but they were certainly not as bad as the youth made them sound. Especially Huo Feng and the three girls, who were quite clean and refreshed. The leading Heaven Dou Royal Academy student was clearly judging them entirely by their simple appearance, and Flender's somewhat arrogant tone had only annoyed him further.
Very few students who entered the Heaven Dou Royal Academy possessed real skill; most got in through connections and noble titles. This had always been the institution's biggest problem. Without the strength to back it up, how could they truly hold the title of the Heaven Dou Empire's number one Academy?
The teachers of Shrek Academy were all proud individuals, which was why they had given up opportunities to join Spirit Master families or major forces just to establish their own academy. At this moment, even the Shrek students were furious at the rude words hurled at them.
Dai Mubai moved in a flash, instantly appearing in front of Flender. A chilling aura erupted from him immediately. Since he was young, no one had ever insulted him with such contempt. Since he was never one to hold back his temper, he didn't hesitate.
"Bang—!"
Before anyone could react, Dai Mubai kicked the youth who had spoken, sending him flying. Immediately afterward, he activated his Spirit.
With this sudden turn of events, the noble scions of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy immediately panicked. They had never expected the visitors to dare to attack at the entrance of their own academy.
Aside from a few students who were quick-witted enough to activate their Spirits, most people hastily retreated, fearing they would get caught up in the fight. Even those few students who did activate their Spirits, upon seeing the three glittering Spirit Rings on Dai Mubai, didn't dare to step forward to fight and quickly backed away. In their minds, there was no concept of the weak overcoming the strong; Spirit Rings represented an absolute disparity, and not a single person in their group had reached level thirty.
"They're so weak?" Dai Mubai frowned. He genuinely hadn't expected this group of Spirit Masters to be so feeble. To put it bluntly, even if Tang San were here, fighting two or three of them wouldn't be a problem.
Dai Mubai's combat experience was extensive. Adhering to the principle of fighting first and asking questions later, he didn't even give the other Shrek students a chance to act. His tiger paws extended as he moved. In just two or three breaths, he had already sent several slower-retreating individuals flying.
Watching Dai Mubai in action, Flender and the others couldn't help but frown. They weren't displeased by Dai Mubai's sudden aggression; rather, they were shocked that the quality of these Heaven Dou Royal Academy students was so poor. Arrogance wasn't a problem, but you had to have the strength to back it up, or you were just an idiot.
These seemingly decent-looking youths couldn't withstand a single blow. One must remember that even though their Spirit Power was far inferior to Dai Mubai's, their numbers gave them an absolute advantage. If they could have united and launched an attack, they should have at least been able to resist him.
But what they saw was a completely one-sided situation. A dozen people were being beaten by Dai Mubai without any ability to fight back. Their appearance was utterly disheveled, like deserters on a battlefield. Some were even crying for their parents, showing no semblance of a Spirit Master's demeanor.
Flender looked at Zhao Wuji beside him. "These are the students of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy? They're simply a pile of trash." He sighed. "I'm starting to wonder if coming here was a mistake."
Zhao Wuji gave a wry smile. "Don't ask me, how would I know? The Royal Fight Team we met at the Soto Fighting Arena last time wasn't this weak."
"Alright, Mubai," Flender called out. If Dai Mubai kept going, he might cripple some of them.
Dai Mubai stopped, the evil light flickering in his twin pupils. He glared at the retreating students. "Let's see who's really getting lost now."
"You... you actually dared to cause trouble at our Heaven Dou Royal Academy!" the first youth screamed from the ground. "This is a provocation to the Empire! You just wait, you just wait..."
Flender snorted coldly. "The accusation sounds good, but unfortunately, it's just garbage coming from you." He raised his voice. "Call out your Academy's teachers!"
Just then, a strong voice suddenly rang out, "What's going on? Why is it so noisy?"
A figure quickly approached from between the tree-lined path on the hillside. He was dressed in a silver tight-fitting suit and appeared to be about the same age as Flender. His face was broad, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. With his hands clasped behind his back, he carried himself like a master.
"Great, Teacher Sun is here," the leading youth from before exclaimed, almost scrambling to meet the teacher as if he'd found a lifesaver. "Teacher Sun, they actually dared to come here and cause trouble, and they even beat us! You must uphold justice for us!"
Teacher Sun looked at the student before him, who resembled a stray dog, and frowned deeply. "Xue Beng, what kind of behavior is this?"
Xue Beng?
Huo Feng frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on Xue Beng. Familiar with the original plot, he naturally knew that this young man would later become the new Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire. It must be said that his act of playing dumb was quite effective; it was completely unnoticeable.
In front of outsiders, Teacher Sun didn't scold his student further. His gaze turned toward the Shrek Academy group. When his eyes met Flender's, his heart stirred. He quickly stepped forward a few paces, bowing slightly.
"I am Sun Buyu," he said. "May I ask what brings you to my Heaven Dou Academy?"
Meanwhile, in an unfamiliar place, Tang San suddenly stopped.
"Teacher," he asked Yu Xiaogang, "did you just say this direction is south?"
Yu Xiaogang frowned upon hearing the question. "Yes, why?"
Upon receiving the answer, Tang San was completely dumbfounded. This direction was clearly east! Yu Xiaogang had actually insisted it was south? This wasn't a joke! He never expected that Yu Xiaogang would get completely disoriented and lost, and then stubbornly refuse to admit it. What kind of situation was this? If they kept going like this, they wouldn't reach Heaven Dou City until the year of the monkey and horse.
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