Crack!
The courtyard door was suddenly pushed open. Zhang Jian walked in first. The moment his eyes landed on Wang Lin standing in the center of the yard, he excitedly said.
"Brother Lin, you're back!?"
Saying this, Zhang Jian was about to run toward Wang Lin, seemingly wanting to share something with him, but he was grabbed on the shoulder by a large hand.
Zhang Peng's purple eyebrow, beneath his high-low eyebrows, stared intently at Wu Yun beside Wang Lin, saying in a deep voice: "Don't move, Little Jianjian. Little Linzi, the person beside you is..."
He clearly recognized Wu Yun, but couldn't be sure if it was Wu Yun or Wu Yu, as these two were a pair of twins, both unmitigated maniacs.
Wu Yun also turned to look at Zhang Peng standing at the courtyard entrance. Her gentle voice held no trace of madness.
"Greetings, Sixth Enshrined. I am Wu Yun."
"Hmm!" Zhang Peng was surprised to see such a calm Wu Yun. "You're not mad anymore!?"
Wu Yun didn't reply. Wang Lin shook his head helplessly. "Uncle Zhang, what are you saying? I used my power to calm her madness. No one wants to be perpetually mad."
"Calmed? You can do that?"
Zhang Peng said, glancing at Wang Lin. He still looked at Wu Yun cautiously. Wang Lin's face immediately showed a proud expression.
"Of course!"
As his voice fell, four soul rings—Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black—jumped out of Wang Lin's body one after another, circling around him.
"Good kid."
Zhang Peng praised, looking at the ten-thousand-year soul ring on Wang Lin's body. Then he patted his disciple's shoulder: "You need to work hard too, Little Jianjian."
"Yes, Master!"
Zhang Jian nodded. Although he was only a two-ring Soul Grandmaster right now, he was not discouraged or jealous. Instead, he was genuinely happy for Wang Lin.
"Go ahead."
After staring at Wu Yun for a while, Zhang Peng relaxed and released Zhang Jian. "Little Linzi, is your Master in his room?"
"Yes."
Wang Lin nodded. Zhang Peng walked toward Long Xiaoyao's room, while Zhang Jian had already walked up to Wang Lin and started catching up.
Wang Lin chatted with Zhang Jian, carefully recounting the parts of his three-month experience that he could talk about. When Wang Lin mentioned the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
Zhang Jian immediately became energized, asking the question he cared about most: the matter of Shrek Academy cheating.
"You know about it?" Wang Lin looked at the rather excited Zhang Jian in confusion.
"Of course I know, Brother Lin. The news of Shrek Academy cheating is a huge sensation in Mingdu. It's more sensational than the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy winning the championship. Everyone is discussing who that Handsome Ancestor (Yanzu) Douluo, who exposed Shrek Academy's cheating, actually is!"
Zhang Jian said, raising an eyebrow. "I heard that because the cheating was exposed, Shrek Academy harmed that Handsome Ancestor Douluo, which is why the Handsome Ancestor Douluo has disappeared ever since."
The "Handsome Ancestor Douluo" himself twitched his lips upon hearing this, while Zhang Jian continued to babble, even vividly describing the process of how Shrek Academy secretly harmed the Handsome Ancestor Douluo.
It was clear that this kid had heard the rumor somewhere. Truly, three people can fabricate a tiger.
Wang Lin neither exposed the lie nor affirmed it. He had already decided to sever ties with the "Handsome Ancestor" identity. Since he wouldn't use it again, he wouldn't manage the influence this identity created.
After briefly glossing over this part, they talked about the soul hunting process. When Zhang Jian learned that Wang Lin had single-handedly hunted a ten-thousand-year soul beast to acquire his ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Admiration was hard to conceal in Zhang Jian's eyes.
As they talked, the sky slowly darkened. The group of five, including Wu Yun, had a reunion dinner in the courtyard. At the dinner table.
Wang Lin proposed to also bring Wu Yun's sister, Wu Yu, over. Long Xiaoyao nodded and agreed. Zhang Peng indicated that he would make the arrangements.
Wu Yu's strength was the same as Wu Yun's—a Soul Saint—and both had the Soul of Vengeance martial soul, both in a semi-mad state.
Semi-mad Evil Soul Masters like Wu Yun and Wu Yu were not well-regarded even in the Holy Spirit Cult. Otherwise, given Wu Yun's talent, she wouldn't have been stationed in a small city like Rising Sun City.
So, arranging the transfer of Wu Yu's location would not be a problem for someone of Zhang Peng's status.
...
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Wang Lin woke up early. He changed into the uniform of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, finished washing up.
He immediately left the courtyard and headed straight for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Passing by a pancake stall on the way, Wang Lin naturally stopped to get a pancake.
"Little brother, you haven't been here for a while?" The lady running the pancake stall smiled and chatted with Wang Lin as soon as she saw him.
"I went out soul hunting. Add an extra egg today, Boss Lady." Wang Lin smiled and replied. He frequently visited the pancake stall.
Over time, he became familiar with the boss lady of the pancake stall. Not just here; he was familiar with all the snack vendors nearby.
Just as Wang Lin was waiting for his pancake, a white-robed elder and a woman in her mid-twenties suddenly appeared at the end of the street.
The elder had a very gentle demeanor, giving the impression of an ordinary old man.
The woman had an exquisite face, fair and flawless. Her black hair flowed down to her waist. She wore a moon-white tight-fitting suit, perfectly outlining her figure.
The key point was the unique green badge on the woman's chest. The pattern on the badge was an ugly monster.
"As expected of Mingdu, it's even more prosperous than Shrek City," the woman remarked, looking around Mingdu.
The elder noncommittally scanned the street as well.
"Let's go, Le Xuan. We are here in Mingdu for business. Don't stare."
Saying this, the elder sighed lightly. The woman involuntarily clenched her fist, feeling a little angry upon hearing this.
"It's all because of Wang Yan. If he hadn't been so manipulative, allowing the students to cheat in the tournament, we wouldn't be so passive even if we had lost."
"Stop complaining, Le Xuan. It is what it is," the elder said, shaking his head. Because of Shrek Academy cheating in the tournament, the reputation Shrek Academy had maintained for ten thousand years was instantly halved.
They had originally negotiated a student exchange program with the Sun Moon Empire before the tournament, but after the tournament, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy side fell completely silent.
This forced him, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, to come in person.
"Hmph!" The woman snorted twice, but didn't complain further. The academy had already disciplined Wang Yan, merely lowering his teaching qualification to the minimum, but she was not satisfied with this punishment.
In the woman's view, Wang Yan should have been fired immediately. The investigation even showed that Wang Yan wanted Huo Yuhao to use his Mental Detection Sharing to assist the competitors on stage from off-stage, calling it a "secret weapon."
As they spoke, the elder and the woman noticed Wang Lin standing at the pancake stall not far away. The two exchanged a glance and immediately walked quickly toward that spot.
Wang Lin naturally noticed the elder and the woman. He immediately saw the monster badge on the woman's chest.
That's Shrek Academy's badge!?