It was late into the night, Shrek Academy was lifeless from the outside. No activities whatsoever.
It had been calm for the past few days, everything was quiet…
"What time is it?! Go and sleep!" Zhao WuJi yelled at Ma HongJun who wanted a late night snack.
Flender jolted up from his bed from the loud conversations, breathing heavily.
Hearing commotion outside in the centre of the academy, he stood up and stretched.
"You all go rest for two days. On the third day, class is as usual." He barked his orders at the rest of them.
"The little monsters are back…" he said as he watched the group file back into their own dormitories.
Silence
"I'll deal with the report from Zhao WuJi tomorrow morning." Flender said lazily as he got back into bed to sleep.
Even though it was midnight by now, the students of shrek academy didn't immediately go to sleep.
Dai MuBai sat on his bed, holding a necklace of yin and yang except Yang was missing.
He was reminiscing about his life back then before he escaped.
Silence
ZhuQing sat on a rooftop, playing a flute silently.
Oscar and Tang San were getting ready to go to bed.
Liu Yan and Ying Xuan sat down, star gazing like they used to back then.
It was peaceful…
The next morning, the students were still sound asleep.
Zhao WuJi sat in Flender's house as he recounted the details of their expedition to the Star Dou Forest.
"And that's about it." He explained briefly but didn't skip over important parts either.
"So you're telling me… that Oscar gained soul ring. Ran into the snake grandmother and dragon grandfather. And had a minor conflict with them." Flender repeated the main points.
"Not only that, Tang San had surpassed into Soul Eder and absorbed a Human Faced Demon Spider." He continued, it sounded unbelievable.
"And then Xiao Wu and Ying Xuan was captured, Liu Yan chased after and all three of them came back. Liu Yan was limping but the other two somehow broke through into Soul Elder and got their third soul ring?" Flender was contemplating whether this was a joke.
How did things get so out of control.
"That's right! What's worse was the appearance of a titan giant ape! Even with all our combined efforts, we barely scratched the beast!" Zhao WuJi said in frustration.
"Afterwards, when Liu Yan and the other two girls came back. Only one was injured whike the other two not only came back inscratched, but also as a Soul Elder and having absorbed a soul ring!" He slammed the table, clearly unable to wrap his head around the scenario.
"Tell me the situation with Xiao Wu and Ying Xuan, more in detail.." Flender pondered for a bit before asking for more details.
"Alright. But no one witnesses it. This was from the accounts of the three of them…" Zhao WuJi gave a slight warning before continuing.
"Xiao Wu said that as the Titan Giant Ape had grabbed her and Ying Xuan, it just ran and ran deep into the forest. The deeper it got, the faster it got as well. But soon, Liu Yan caught up but was knocked sown by the ape." Zhao WuJi recounted what he was told.
"As the Titan Giant Ape planned to finish him off, a loud roar sounded from the centre of Star Dou forest, agitating all the soul beast, including the ape. It dropped and scrambled away. When Xiao Wu and Ying Xuan looked around them, they saw that a lot of weaker soul beasts were unconscious, so they picked out their most suitable one and absorbed their soul ring" Zhao WuJi finished recounting the story.
"To be so lucky…" Flender pondered.
"I think they fabricated the story! How could there be a roar that could scare that ape!" Zhao WuJi said.
Creakk
The door swung open as someone stepped inside.
"That's because there is." The person said before walking into clearer view.
As Zhao WuJi prepared to teach this random guy a lesson for barging in and eavesdropping, Flender greeted the man with a smile.
"Xiao Gang! It's been so long" Flender greeted cheerfully.
"Huh… Flender, who is this guy?" Zhao WuJi was confused.
"This. Is Tang San's teacher and my old friend, soul master's number one philosopher, Yu XiaoGang" Flender introduced Grandmaster to him.
Gurgle
Flender poured tea for the three of them.
Once picking up his cup and taking a sip, he looked towards his old friend, "If it wasn't for Xiao San, you would never have come and see me, would you."
Silence
Zhao WuJi sat there awkwardly, seeping his tea as the tension grew thick.
"Yes.." a low voice came from Grandmaster.
The tension was thick now.
Zhao WuJi, trying to lighten the atmosphere, asked "Grandmaster, you still haven't explained why you believe in those three."
"… The Star Dou forest doesn't just have that Titan Giant Ape as the king of the forest. It houses something even more powerful and terrifying." Grandmaster slowly explained to them.
"There was once a powerful titled douluo. He, looking for a challenge, travelled into the heart of the forest to seek out a worthy opponent. With his abilites, he successfully reached the centre."
"It wasn't a place full of carnage… but rather… a lake. A tranquil place that seemed heavenly and ideal especially to plant martial souls. It was connected to nature itself. Next to the pond, he saw a soul beast drinking water.."
"That soul beast, is the ape you saw" Grandmaster looked at Zhao WuJi who was shocked.
"The titled douluo was excited to spar with the ape… but when he tried to make a move. The lake trembled, a shadowy beast emerged from the deprhs of the lake. It was greenish, and its head was like a an ox. With the length of more than a hundred meters."
"It spoke with human speech, teeling the titled douluo to leave."
"Human speech! How is that possible?!" Zhao WuJi was shocked and stood up.
"Ten thousand year soul beasts can think like humans, a hundred thousand year soul beast can definitely speak human language."
"H-hundred thousand year…" Zhao WuJi stuttered before collapsing back into his seat, remaining silent.
He had been fighting with a hundred thousand year Titan Giant Ape… he was so close to death without even knowing. It was very rare for him to feel fear.
"That soul beast that they speak of, is the Oxpython of the heavens. The emperor of the forest." Grandmaster stated.
"Oxpythons don't usually live directly in the lake, that's why it's not as well known. If Xiao Wu could talk about it, it was clear she told the truth" Grandmaster concluded and provided all the evidence.
"So she's realy telling the truth…" Zhao WuJi spoke quietly as he accepted this fact.
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Hello my readers!
Sorry for not uploading for a while. Its the second half of the year, finals are gonna be harsh.
As always, hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a good day!