...
Having dealt with Na'er, the "little housekeeper," Xuan Hao didn't linger any longer.
He quickly tidied up the camp and led the four girls toward the Shrek Academy group.
In the days leading up to this, on the surface, he led Na'er and the others on aimless wanderings in the mixed zone, as if they were trying their luck to find soul beasts.
But in reality, he had always deliberately maintained a subtle distance, keeping the Shrek Seven Devils firmly within his surveillance range.
All of this is naturally thanks to his second martial soul—the silver dragon.
In this lush and vibrant Star Dou Great Forest, the Silver Dragon Martial Soul's extremely strong elemental affinity was amplified to the greatest extent.
In addition, Xuan Hao's already terrifying mental strength, amplified by the forest environment, allowed his perception range to be expanded to an astonishing ten kilometers!
He could see every move of Shrek and his gang as clearly as if he had a full-view map, making it impossible for him to lose track of them.
Not long after, Xuan Hao and his group passed through a dense forest and found the Shrek Academy students who were resting by a stream.
Seeing this menacing figure return, the atmosphere on Shrek's side instantly became tense.
Dai Mubai, who was gnawing on dry rations, almost choked, while Tang San's hand instinctively reached for the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moon at his waist.
As for Yu Xiaogang, whose head had been slapped into a pig's head and whose swelling had only just subsided, he stiffened and silently shrank behind Flander, trying to minimize his presence.
Xuan Hao didn't bother with other people's reactions or waste any more time.
He strode forward, beckoned to Flander, who was all smiles, and called him to a tree where no one was around.
"Young Brother Xuanhao, so... you've changed your mind and are planning to travel with us?"
Flander asked tentatively, rubbing his hands together.
"I don't have the time for that."
Xuan Hao cut straight to the point and briefly explained the situation to him:
"There's a sudden emergency at home, so I have to leave now and get out of the Star Dou Great Forest immediately."
"But I'm not comfortable leaving those girls here alone, so…" Xuan Hao pointed to Ning Rongrong and the others not far away, and looked at Flander, saying, "For safety's sake, I'm entrusting them to you.
When you've finished hunting for your spirit rings and left the Star Dou Great Forest, please help me get them safely back to the Grand Hotel in Soto City."
"Dean Flander should be able to handle this, right?"
"Yes! Of course!"
Faced with this man who was quick to resort to violence and whose strength was unfathomable, how could Flander dare to utter a single "no"?
He was terrified of being slapped if he answered too slowly, so he nodded his head like a pestle pounding garlic.
"Qin Ming's friends are Shrek's friends! Brother Xuan Hao, you can go and do your business with peace of mind.
These girls are absolutely safe with me, Old Fu!"
Looking at Flander's long, narrow face, contorted with nervousness and forced smiles, Xuan Hao smiled faintly.
Xuan Hao is not the kind of scoundrel who only knows how to use force to intimidate people and make them do work for free.
"Whoosh—"
Xuan Hao flipped his wrist, and a black card with a faint golden light and special patterns appeared between his two fingers.
He then casually stuffed it into Flander's shirt pocket.
"What... what is this?"
Flander looked down, and his previously unsteady eyes widened instantly.
As a notoriously stingy person, he recognized the card's value at a glance.
That's a 10,000 gold soul coins anonymous savings card!
"Consider this a small fee as protection money for them."
Xuan Hao patted Flander's stiff shoulder, then lowered his head slightly and whispered in his ear.
"These girls are mine."
"If they get thirsty, hungry, tired, or suffer even the slightest grievance along the way..."
"In particular, there must be absolutely no safety issues."
"If they were missing even a single hair..."
"Keep this money for your funeral expenses."
Upon hearing those seemingly casual yet murderous words, Flander felt his legs go weak and the hairs on his body stand on end.
He almost couldn't hold it in and wet himself on the spot.
He kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice cracking with extreme fear:
"Don't worry! Absolutely don't worry!"
"As long as I, Flander, have a breath left, I will never let these young ladies lose a single hair!
You can put your mind at ease!"
With this Soul Saint guaranteeing his life, Xuan Hao finally withdrew his suffocating pressure and stopped arguing.
"Alright, I'll take my leave now."
Xuan Hao turned around, walked up to Na'er and the others, smiled and ruffled the hair of Na'er and Ning Rongrong, then waved to Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing and gave them some instructions:
"Be a good boy and wait for me to come back in Soto City after we leave the forest."
With that, he stomped his foot, and his entire body instantly transformed into a silver streak of light.
In a few leaps, he completely disappeared into the dense primeval forest, leaving not even a trace of his presence.
It wasn't until Xuan Hao's figure had completely disappeared for a full half minute that the suffocating atmosphere, which seemed to have frozen, finally began to ease.
Everyone on Shrek's side, including Yu Xiaogang who had been hiding in the back pretending to be invisible, all breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had just walked through the gates of hell.
But once the crisis was over, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Although the two groups could barely be considered acquainted, they had quite a few conflicts, both big and small.
They stood there staring at each other, neither knowing what to say.
In the end, it was the lively and cheerful Xiao Wu who broke the deadlock.
She hopped forward two steps with her hands behind her back, her rabbit ears perked up curiously, and looked at Tang San opposite her, asking:
"Hey, what are you guys still doing wandering around in the Star Dou Great Forest?
Did that snake with the rooster's comb get lost again?"
Seeing Xiao Wu, whom he had been longing for, take the initiative to speak to him, a glimmer of light flashed in Tang San's previously lifeless eyes.
He subconsciously took a step forward, but when he thought of Yu Xiaogang's words last night, and the invincible man beside Xiao Wu now, his eyes involuntarily dimmed again.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and tried his best to make his voice sound as gentle as ever:
"No, Xiao Ao has successfully absorbed that Phoenix-tailed Crested Snake."
"The reason we're still here... is because right after Xiao Ao absorbed his spirit ring, my spirit power also broke through the bottleneck of level 30.
So, Dean Flander and everyone else stayed to continue helping me find a suitable third spirit ring."
"Wow!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu's big eyes lit up immediately, and she exclaimed in sincere admiration:
"No wonder she's the mistress!
She's already broken through level 30 so quickly!"
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong, who was standing next to her, raised her eyebrows in surprise and nodded in agreement.
"That's really impressive."
Ning Rongrong's words were not just polite talk.
As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, she had seen countless geniuses.
Although she had taken the "Qiluo Tulip" herb given to her by Xuanhao at an early age, she had already far surpassed her peers at the starting line and had already passed the level 30 mark.
But she knew very well that it was because of external forces helping her.
If we disregard the magical herb, she knows all too well what a genius is like under normal circumstances.
Tang San, who relied solely on his own cultivation to break through level 30 and reach the Soul Master realm at the age of twelve, not even thirteen... his cultivation speed is absolutely monstrous, ranking among the top in the entire Soul Master world of Douluo Continent!
Among their peers across the entire mainland, they are absolutely rare.
Thinking of this, Ning Rongrong glanced at Dai Mubai, who had a complicated expression, out of the corner of her eye.
If we had to be honest, Dai Mubai, who has evil eyes and is a few years older than them, reached level 37 at the age of fifteen.
His cultivation level was indeed very impressive, making him a top genius.
However, Ning Rongrong felt disgusted from the bottom of her heart for this arrogant, chaotic, and arrogant guy who had once made outrageous remarks about her.
She couldn't be bothered to even look at him properly, let alone praise him.
Read 20+ chapters ahead at Patreon
patreon.com/TaroYamato
patreon.com/TaroYamato