Early that morning, at the first hint of dawn, Su Ran, accompanied by Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, embarked on their journey to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Zhu Zhuqing's current state looked much better; once a person has hope and is on an upward path, their condition becomes exceptionally good.
Ning Rongrong was very excited; the thought of embarking on a thrilling and adventurous forest expedition with the handsome Teacher Su Ran made her ecstatic.
However, just as they exited the school gate, they unexpectedly encountered the Shrek Academy group, who were also planning to head to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Flender politely greeted Su Ran:
"Teacher Su Ran, are you also going to the Star Dou Great Forest? Shall we go together since it's on the way?"
Upon hearing Flender's words, Zhao Wuji's face darkened, and he quickly tugged at him: "Dean."
Su Ran smiled faintly, merely nodding slightly as he politely declined:
"No, please go ahead."
Zhao Wuji immediately breathed a sigh of relief; if they had truly gone together, wouldn't he have been constantly on edge?
Subsequently, Wang Sheng untied the horses, and with a soft whistle from Su Ran, two white steeds galloped over.
The white horses were very affectionate towards Su Ran, wagging their tails and circling him nonstop the moment they saw him.
Su Ran turned to look at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing:
"Can you ride a horse?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head; as a support type, how could she know how to ride a horse?
Zhu Zhuqing, however, nodded: "I can."
The Star Luo Empire was a military Empire, and as a descendant of a prominent Star Luo clan, it was natural for her to have some knowledge of horsemanship.
"Conditions are limited; we only have two steeds. One of you knowing how to ride is enough. You take Rongrong and follow me. We'll try to reach the Star Dou Great Forest before noon."
Su Ran swiftly mounted his horse, his posture dashing and elegant.
Even Zhu Zhuqing could tell that Teacher Su Ran was a master horseman.
In Ning Rongrong's eyes, it was even more extraordinary; to her, it was an unparalleled young man with an immortal countenance and appearance sitting atop a white horse—the so-called Prince Charming couldn't be better than this, could he?
"I want to be Teacher's horse!"
"Huh?"
"No, I mean, I want to ride the same horse as Teacher."
Ning Rongrong's face flushed red; she had accidentally blurted out what was on her mind.
"Teacher, although I can ride a horse, I'm not proficient. If the speed is too fast, I'm afraid I can't take Rongrong. How about Teacher takes her instead?"
After their heart-to-heart talk that starry night, Zhu Zhuqing had already realized Ning Rongrong's 'improper intentions' towards Teacher, so she decided to play matchmaker.
However, some time later, when she personally saw Teacher Su Ran's stunning appearance after he removed his mask, she would likely regret her matchmaking today and wish she could slap herself.
"Come up,"
Su Ran extended his hand to Ning Rongrong, speaking softly.
"Ah~"
Ning Rongrong placed her small hand in Su Ran's large one, still immersed in the sensation of holding Teacher's hand, when she was suddenly pulled, letting out a surprised cry, and found herself sitting in Su Ran's embrace.
"Hold on tight."
"Giddy up!"
"Ah!"
With a low shout from Su Ran, he was already galloping away on his horse.
Ning Rongrong was so scared her soul nearly left her body.
She instinctively shrank into Su Ran's arms, her hands tightly clutching his waist.
Only after she adjusted did Ning Rongrong finally dare to look up at Su Ran.
From this angle, although Teacher Su Ran wore a mask, his exquisite jawline was clearly visible, as was his Adam's apple—ah, so masculine!
The faint, fresh scent of peach blossoms from Teacher lingered around her nose.
Teacher, so fragrant, wow~
She was enchanted.
"Giddy up!"
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing also mounted her horse sideways, following closely behind Su Ran.
"Indeed, it's a magnificent steed. This must be a thousand-year Spirit Beast itself, a Azure Cloud White Dragon Horse, which is quite expensive. This isn't 'limited conditions' at all; even noble mansions rarely see one. A single Azure Cloud White Dragon Horse is worth thousands of gold."
Zhu Zhuqing had some discernment and recognized the white horse Su Ran summoned. It rode with an ethereal grace, as if treading on clouds, light and swift.
Here, Xiao Wu couldn't help but ask:
"Dean, they from peach blossom Spring Academy are riding horses to the Star Dou Great Forest, what about us?"
"They from peach blossom Spring Academy indulge in pleasure and take shortcuts, which is unacceptable. We Shrek Academy members are all hardworking monsters. We'll run there; it'll both exercise our bodies and save money."
Flender glanced at Oscar, who was quick to understand:
"I've got a Big Sausage."
"I've got a Small Sausage."
One thick and one thin, two distinctly flavored Sausages appeared in Oscar's palm.
He continuously produced several Big Recovery Sausages and Small Detoxifying Sausages, which could be used to restore teammates' stamina and spirit power, and remove negative statuses.
"Don't worry, Soto City isn't far from the Star Dou Great Forest, less than five hundred kilometers. With Little Ao's Sausages to restore everyone's spirit power, and Teacher Zhao Wuji leading you to run for a day, you'll definitely get there."
Flender reassured the Shrek Academy students.
Xiao Wu pouted:
"peach blossom Spring Academy next door claimed they had limited conditions, but they're traveling on such beautiful white horses. We, on the other hand, have to run. Aren't we the ones with truly limited conditions?!"
"Alright, Xiao Wu, stop complaining. If we have to run, then we run. What the Dean said isn't wrong; running there can be considered training."
Tang San, who had endured hardship since childhood, had no complaints about this. After all, being able to rely on Shrek Academy was already quite good for him, and Dean Flender and the others were Spirit Saint powerhouses.
He recalled how, at Nuoding Academy, Grandmaster had to beg the Nuoding Academy Dean for help just to hunt a Ghost Vine.
"If I had known this, we might as well have joined peach blossom Spring Academy."
Xiao Wu felt resentful; there was no harm without comparison.
It was truly suffering at Shrek Academy. Look at those two girls who joined peach blossom Spring Academy; not only did their strength transform, but they were also radiant.
Starting from the same point, Ning Rongrong, a support type, could already single-handedly challenge attack system Spirit Masters of the same rank.
She wondered to what extent Zhu Zhuqing would learn.
I want to become stronger too!
Tang San glanced at Xiao Wu again, and only then did Xiao Wu sigh helplessly:
"Alright, alright, if we have to run, we run."
"Truly enduring hardship unnecessarily, sigh~"
...
While the Shrek Academy group was running at full speed like idiots under the scorching sun.
Su Ran had already taken Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to a small town on the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, found a hotel, settled the white horses, and after lunch, they directly entered the Star Dou Great Forest.
Su Ran was also quite familiar with the conditions in this area of the Star Dou Great Forest. Almost all of his ten-thousand-year spirit rings were obtained in the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Star Dou Great Forest is currently divided into four regions: the Fringe Zone → the Outer Circle → the Mixed Zone → the Core Zone.
Aside from the Core Zone, which Su Ran was unfamiliar with, he had some experience in both the Outer Circle and the Mixed Zone.
The Fringe Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest consists of human settlements like small towns and villages. Unless special circumstances like a beast tide occur, only ten-year Spirit Beasts usually appear. The Outer Circle has hundred-year and thousand-year Spirit Beasts roaming, while the Mixed Zone is more dangerous, harboring many ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts.
This time, to hunt the third spirit ring for Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, the area they were heading to was the Outer Circle.