Chen Yuan and Ning Rongrong were having dinner in a private room at the hotel when they suddenly heard the sound of soul power colliding and intense fighting coming from the street outside.
Ning Rongrong's face lit up with interest. She put down her chopsticks and stood up, heading toward the window. As she walked, she said to Chen Yuan, who was still seated, "It sounds like spirit masters are fighting! Brother Chen Yuan, I'm going to take a look!"
She reached the window, pushed it open, and looked in the direction of the noise. Her expression immediately shifted to one of surprise. "How could it be them? Brother Chen Yuan, guess who I see?"
Chen Yuan put down his chopsticks and stood up as well. "Your classmates," he said confidently, as if he already knew.
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened slightly. She turned to look at Chen Yuan, surprised. "Brother Chen Yuan, you guessed it right! It's my classmates. I wonder why they're fighting with a Soul King. Why hasn't Teacher Zhao stepped in to stop them?"
By now, Chen Yuan had also reached the window and stood beside Ning Rongrong. He followed her gaze and quickly saw the two sides engaged in battle.
On one side were the Shrek Academy students: Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing. On the other side was a Soul King with a massive turtle shell on his back. His soul ring configuration was one white, two yellow, and two purple. While not the optimal configuration, his strength was still formidable.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan thought to himself:
*'They're still fighting. Even without Dai Mubai, these guys still have a knack for causing trouble. They always manage to pick fights with the fools from Canghui Academy. Honestly, during the Spirit Master Tournament, Shi Nian's revenge was somewhat justified.'*
Ning Rongrong had no intention of intervening. Instead, she looked amused, as if watching a show. "This is interesting. Five Great Soul Masters challenging a Soul King. But that Tang San has those special weapons. Even a Soul Sage like Zhao Wuji can be caught off guard by them. Let's see if he uses them this time. Brother Chen Yuan, you should be careful of Tang San. If you ever face him in the future, watch out for those unexpected weapons of his."
Chen Yuan glanced at Ning Rongrong, surprised by her detached attitude toward the Shrek group. He smiled and said, "I'll keep that in mind, if the day ever comes when I face him."
At that moment, the Soul King, relying on his superior strength, gradually gained the upper hand. However, out of caution regarding the students' backgrounds, he held back from going all out.
But while he held back, Tang San gritted his teeth and prepared to use his hidden weapons. No matter how tough Ye Zhiqiu's turtle shell was, Tang San was confident he could find its weak points and pierce it with his hidden weapons.
"Brat, what are you all doing out here? Go to sleep!"
Seeing his students at a disadvantage, Zhao Wuji immediately stepped in to intervene. He crossed his arms, his voice booming and his attitude arrogant.
The Shrek students breathed a sigh of relief. With Zhao Wuji here, they no longer had to fear the Soul King.
Ye Zhiqiu's expression darkened. His students had been humiliated and bullied, and the other side's teacher hadn't shown up until now. Now that he was fighting back, the other teacher suddenly appeared. This wasn't a teacher—this was a bandit.
"Wait a minute!" Ye Zhiqiu said sternly. "I'm Ye Zhiqiu, the external affairs director of Canghui Academy. Which academy are you from? Your students have been arrogant, humiliating and bullying our students. Don't you think you owe us an explanation?"
"Explanation?" Zhao Wuji laughed as if he'd heard something amusing. He stepped closer to Ye Zhiqiu, his eyes mocking. "A mere Soul King like you wants an explanation from me?"
Without even summoning his martial soul, Zhao Wuji slapped Ye Zhiqiu with pure physical strength. Ye Zhiqiu couldn't block it. His martial soul cracked, and he was sent flying, landing heavily on the ground. He was unconscious, his breathing faint.
Zhao Wuji thought to himself:
*'This feels great. I can't beat a Titled Douluo, but I can sure beat a Soul King. I didn't come looking for trouble, but you brought it to me.'*
The Canghui Academy students paled. Their leader had been taken down in one move. They didn't dare stay any longer. A few students helped Ye Zhiqiu up and quickly left.
Zhao Wuji then led the Shrek students back to the inn. Some went to eat, while others went to rest.
Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong pulled Chen Yuan out of the private room and headed to the inn on the other side of the street. When they entered, they saw that the only group left in the dining hall was the Shrek Academy students.
Ning Rongrong's earlier amusement was gone. She looked curious and innocent as she asked, "You're finally here! We've been waiting all afternoon. If it weren't for the commotion from the fight, we wouldn't have known you'd arrived. By the way, why were you fighting a Soul King?"
The group fell silent for a moment before Ma Hongjun spoke up casually. "Those Canghui Academy students were being arrogant, so we fought them. They couldn't handle losing, so they called their teacher—that big turtle who got beaten half to death by Teacher Zhao."
Ning Rongrong didn't believe Ma Hongjun's explanation. She let go of Chen Yuan's hand and moved closer to Zhu Zhuqing. The two girls whispered to each other for a while.
After learning that Ma Hongjun had been drooling over the female students from Canghui Academy and making inappropriate comments, which had escalated the conflict, Ning Rongrong shot him a look of disdain.
Because of the earlier incident, Ning Rongrong had the worst impression of Dai Mubai, and now she felt the same about Ma Hongjun, who had been smirking and waiting to see her reaction. Her disdain was genuine.
Ma Hongjun, feeling the heat of her gaze, grew irritated but didn't dare lash out. He muttered under his breath, "What's the big deal? It's not like looking at them will make them lose a piece of flesh. Besides, they're not that pretty, but their figures are decent. They've got that mature charm, you know? Curves in all the right places…"
As he spoke, his expression grew increasingly lecherous.
Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes filled with disgust as she looked at Ma Hongjun, who seemed to have nothing but lust on his mind.
Even Xiao Wu looked disdainful. When she and Tang San had first met Ma Hongjun, he had been flirting with a village girl. She had realized that Ma Hongjun's issues weren't just with his martial soul—his mind was just as messed up, filled with nothing but indecent thoughts.
Oscar, as Ma Hongjun's friend, felt extremely awkward. Tang San, seeing Xiao Wu's look of disdain, thought to himself that he needed to distance himself from Ma Hongjun. He was pure and virtuous, not someone filled with dirty thoughts.
Since entering the dining hall, Chen Yuan had remained calm and composed, playing the role of a quiet, handsome gentleman. He couldn't help but feel amused. He had only pulled Ning Rongrong aside to prevent her from being influenced by the group, but now it seemed that the Shrek Seven Monsters were already riddled with internal conflicts.
(End of Chapter)
Word Count : 1,257
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