Finally, he said one more thing: "Don't tell Tang Wulin and the others about this."
"What?" Arthur immediately put on an exaggerated face, digging at his ear. "Speak up! I can't hear you!"
A vein throbbed at Wu Changkong's temple. His cool, cold voice dropped even lower, tinged with gritted-teeth restraint. "I said, don't tell Tang Wulin and the others that I knelt here."
"Ah, I see. Since Brother Kneel has spoken, I'll definitely listen."
The nickname "Brother Kneel" made Wu Changkong's eye twitch, and he fled the scene as though escaping.
Watching this, Shen Yi couldn't help but laugh. She bowed to Arthur. "Thank you."
"No problem, we're buddies." Arthur waved a hand.
Shen Yi couldn't help but smile. After thanking Arthur, she turned to catch up with her teacher and senior brother.
"Another day of doing good deeds." Arthur, thoroughly pleased with himself, hummed a tune as he continued touring the academy under Ya Li's guidance.
Walking into the inner courtyard, the first thing that caught the eye was a stretch of green, all lush vegetation. Not far ahead, several statues stood in quiet silence.
They were statues of the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils.
An old tradition of the Douluo Continent.
Actually, Arthur had a statue too, one Eastsea Academy had built for him.
After the Skysea Alliance Tournament, Arthur had become the most popular young genius Soul Master in the Federation. His enormous fame had brought Eastsea Academy no end of benefits.
Even Eastsea City itself had been swept up in the resulting growth.
Ya Li, who had been introducing the statues to Arthur, noticed he was distracted and uninterested the entire time, so she stopped and led the way deeper into the grounds.
Before long, a stretch of azure lake came into view. The water was clear all the way to the bottom, and under the sunlight it shimmered with rippling gold. A faint mist carried the fresh scent of grass and trees, refreshing to the senses.
"This is Sea God Lake," Ya Li said softly, her gaze sweeping over the water's surface. "At its center is Sea God Island, the core sacred ground of Shrek."
With that, she was about to take Arthur onto the island.
"No." Arthur suddenly refused. "Let's not go there for now."
He gazed quietly at Sea God Island, betraying no emotion.
The Plane Consciousness had sent him a warning.
He must never go to Sea God Island!
This made his heart race, and his mind immediately spun through possibilities, trying to work out the deeper meaning.
Was there danger on Sea God Island?
He glanced at Ya Li without changing his expression.
Surely it wasn't that the moment he set foot on the island, the Sea God Pavilion would swarm him and surround him.
That seemed unlikely.
Ya Li should be fine. Arthur could sense her goodwill; she was simply trying to win him over.
Besides, if they truly wanted to deal with him, there was no need to go through so much trouble.
Then what else could be on Sea God Island...
The Golden Ancient Tree?
That wasn't right either. Given Arthur's current status bound to the Douluo Plane, the Golden Ancient Tree posed no threat to him at all.
Ya Li asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Arthur suppressed the doubts in his heart, his expression unchanged. "Never mind, next time."
He turned to look at the lake's surface. "The scenery at Sea God Lake is quite nice. Wandering along the shore for a bit sounds good too."
Ya Li gave him a deep look but didn't press the matter. "Very well."
Though curious about why Arthur had suddenly changed his mind, she knew when to let something go.
They had not been walking around Sea God Lake for long
when Arthur spotted an old woman fishing there.
He looked more closely.
Oh, wasn't that Cai Yue'er?
An old friend.
When enemies meet, Arthur naturally had to needle her a bit. He walked straight over, calling out loudly while still far away, "Well if it isn't Little Cai! So relaxed, out here fishing."
"Little Cai?"
The shout rang out crisp and loud, and for a moment the air by the lake seemed to still.
Cai Yue'er's grip on her fishing rod tightened abruptly. It was a voice she would never forget for the rest of her life.
She whipped her head around to look. Sure enough, it was Arthur.
Her brow shot up sharply, a flash of mischievous fury crossing her eyes. "You little brat. Haven't seen you in years, and your gall has only gotten fatter."
"The reason I'm fishing out here is thanks to you."
All her titles and authority had been stripped away, and she had been confined for sixty years, forbidden to leave Shrek Academy.
Cai Yue'er had nearly gone mad from the confinement, and fishing was all she had to pass the time.
"And what's more..."
Cai Yue'er shot to her feet, Soul Power surging violently around her body. A terrifying pressure rolled outward like waves, layer upon layer.
Her eyes turned icy. "Arthur, say 'Little Cai' one more time and see what happens."
Utterly unafraid, Arthur ducked behind Ya Li while muttering, "As the new Outer Court Dean, surely there's nothing wrong with me calling you Little Cai."
Hearing this, Cai Yue'er, hit square in the face by the remark, instantly lost her composure.
"Outer Court Dean?!"
Cai Yue'er's furious roar nearly shattered the shimmering light on the lake's surface. She had once cared deeply about her position as Outer Court Dean, only to be stripped of it because of Arthur and confined for sixty years on top of that. Now this brat had the nerve to trample on her sore spot and call himself "Outer Court Dean." It was like pouring oil on the fire!
Just as it seemed Cai Yue'er could no longer hold back from striking,
Ya Li immediately stepped forward.
"Enough!"
Ya Li's robes fluttered lightly as a holy power spread outward like soft water.
The aura surrounding her was gentle, yet it forcibly suppressed Cai Yue'er's raging Soul Power, and the lake's surface gradually calmed.
Cai Yue'er found herself instantly pinned in place, with no possibility of striking at Arthur at all.
What had happened two and a half years ago could not happen again. Cai Yue'er absolutely could not raise a hand against Arthur again, or the matter would become something entirely beyond discussion.
Ya Li?
The pressure!!!
Pinned down completely, Cai Yue'er could only grind her teeth at Arthur.
Arthur, hiding behind Ya Li, poked his head out to make faces at Cai Yue'er, his tone thoroughly asking for a beating. "This is exactly the expression I wanted to see! That look of fury with absolutely nothing you can do about it!"
Hearing Arthur still egging her on shamelessly, and sensing Cai Yue'er beginning to fight with all her strength against the suppression,
Ya Li couldn't hold back either. She reached out and grabbed the little yellow-haired troublemaker, snapping, "You shut up too."
"Okay." Arthur knew when to quit while ahead and instantly turned obedient.
Being able to make Ya Li lose her composure like that, he really was one of a kind.
"Ya Li, are you really going to just indulge him like this?" Cai Yue'er's voice carried suppressed fury. "This brat is clearly provoking me on purpose!"
Ya Li turned to look at her, her expression having returned to calm. "You don't understand."
Her tone grew a touch heavier. "If you still insist on making a move, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Cai Yue'er could only withdraw her gaze bitterly, refusing to look any longer at Arthur's punchable face.
"Let's go."
Ya Li practically dragged Arthur away.
Only after they had walked quite a distance did Ya Li release her grip. She turned back to glare at him, saying with a headache in her voice, "You need to rein it in from now on. I won't always be around."
Arthur promptly changed the subject. "So, about tomorrow's entrance examination, do you think I could be an examiner?"
Ya Li was caught off guard by the abrupt change of topic. She rubbed her temple helplessly. "You want to be an examiner? Never mind the academy's rules, with how much you love causing trouble, you'd probably turn the whole examination site upside down."
"How could that be!" Arthur immediately straightened his back, declaring with righteous conviction, "I'm the most rule-abiding person there is."
Ya Li could only sigh. After a day spent together, she felt she had finally come to understand exactly what kind of person Arthur was.
Looking at his utterly serious expression, she found it both exasperating and amusing. In the end she said helplessly, "You'd better behave yourself."