Chapter 300: Human Retions and Worldly Affairs - Zhang Lexuan

  "Elder Xuan is right. Our academy is indeed strong and well-prepared. If we can't even handle a base of evil soul masters composed of a few Soul Kings, what's the point of participating in the Soul Master Tournament? We might as well disband right here and now, rather than embarrass ourselves in the Star Luo Empire."

  At this moment, Wang Yan, the deputy leader and de facto leader of the team, chimed in after Elder Xuan. His tone wasn't particurly confident, but that was because he had never taken that group of evil soul masters seriously in the first pce. They weren't even a stumbling block in his eyes.

  After Wang Yan finished speaking, the members of the Shrek team exchanged gnces. Finally, Ma Xiaotao spoke on behalf of the group, "Teacher Wang, we have no objections. Let's set off now."

  A few days ter.

  Star Luo Empire.

  In the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

  "Everyone, gather around," Wang Yan called out after making a discovery.

  The outer courtyard students, without much thought, obediently complied like well-behaved children. However, the seven inner courtyard students all frowned in unison. What kind of trouble had this guy stirred up now?

  Had he grown so accustomed to bossing around the elite inner courtyard students that he thought he could order them around at will? After all, Wang Yan was only a Soul King, which was nothing special in the inner courtyard.

  Among the main team of seven, even the weakest was a Soul King, and in terms of combat power, aside from the support-type soul masters, Wang Yan might not even be a match for them. Thus, they held little respect for him.

  Still, Wang Yan held the title of an outer courtyard teacher, so they gave him face. Moreover, Elder Xuan, the Chicken Leg Douluo, was watching not far away. Even if they were unwilling, they had to obey.

  As everyone gathered, Wang Yan spoke solemnly, "We've found traces of Wenn Trees nearby. Wenn Trees thrive in cold, shady environments, and their tree cores are highly beneficial for soul masters with cold or dark-type martial souls. Additionally, I found this."

  As he spoke, he pulled out a section of a tree trunk from his storage soul tool. The trunk was partially damaged, with a cylindrical hollow inside.

  "Teacher Wang, could you just get to the point? We're in a hurry to track down the Death's Hand bandit group," Chen Zifeng said impatiently. This Wang Yan was all talk and no substance.

  Wang Yan looked slightly embarrassed. "According to our intelligence, the leader of the Death's Hand bandit group might be an evil soul master. The tree core of the Wenn Tree is now missing. Considering our current mission, I suspect it might have been consumed by the bandit leader. We're likely close to the enemy."

  "So that's how it is," Chen Zifeng and the others nodded.

  Ma Xiaotao instinctively asked, "Teacher Wang, what should we do now? Wait for them to come to us?"

  Wang Yan shook his head. "No, we need to take the initiative. I noticed that one of the damaged Wenn Trees was recently destroyed. Based on these traces, we might be able to locate the bandits' hideout."

  "Oh?" Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and they began searching carefully.

  None of them were weak, and they quickly found clues. For example, faint footprints on the ground, scraps of cloth caught on tree branches, and traces of blood on thorny bushes.

  Following these leads, they made their way out of the forest, and Dai Yueheng spotted a cave about a kilometer away.

  Wang Yan nodded and said, "The outer courtyard students will stay with me here to prepare for reinforcements. Xiaotao, the main assault will be up to you."

  Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xi Xi, Yao Haoxuan, and Gong Yangmo all nodded in unison. They then silently took out the dark green exclusive suits of the Shrek Monitors and put them on neatly. The suits included inner armor, outer robes, and a mask that concealed their faces, making it impossible to tell who was behind it.

  In addition, each of them wore a Monitor's Ring with a distress function and carried three signal fres. According to Shrek's policy, as long as a distress signal was sent, Shrek members would spare no effort to come to their aid.

  "I really don't think we need to carry these today. How many people does Shrek even have? And we're in this remote, desote pce in the middle of nowhere. If something happens, we can only rely on ourselves," Chen Zifeng said, disdainfully weighing the signal fre at his waist.

  Beside him, Dai Yueheng smiled slightly. "I think you're half right. The reason we don't need to carry them is that once we make our move, there won't be any unexpected incidents." His confidence was still evident.

  Wang Yan interjected, "Evil soul masters have no bottom line and will stop at nothing. You must not let your guard down, or you could easily find yourselves in trouble."

  "Enough, enough," Chen Zifeng waved his hand dismissively. "The Death's Hand bandit group, aside from their decent name, is nothing special. With a bunch of Soul Kings and two Soul Emperors, why are we dawdling? Let's just charge in and unleash our full power. In my opinion, by the time we finish talking, we could have already won and returned victorious."

  At that moment, Elder Xuan, holding a chicken leg in one hand and a wine gourd in the other, wobbled over and said discontentedly, "And these reserve team members, I don't see much point in them staying here. They might as well join in. More people mean more strength. Let's finish this quickly and get out of this godforsaken pce. My wine is almost gone."

  Wang Yan's eyes flickered as he saw this. He secretly grumbled in his heart, "No wonder the old man is in such a hurry. He's running out of wine."

  However, as soon as Elder Xuan finished speaking, the inner courtyard students couldn't help but feel uneasy. They were reminded of an old incident from years ago.

  Back then, Zhang Lexuan, the leader of the inner courtyard, and eleven others were separated from Elder Xuan in the Star Dou Forest and unfortunately encountered an attack from a 100,000-year soul beast. By the time Elder Xuan found them, the battle was already over. Eight of them had perished in the Star Dou Forest, and only four survived. It was the greatest loss the inner courtyard had ever suffered.

  Many people wondered how such a thing could have happened. Although Elder Xuan had offered to resign to take responsibility, Zhang Lexuan knelt and begged him to stay, repeatedly saying that the incident in the Star Dou Forest was not his fault. However, many still believed that Zhang Lexuan's actions were not out of a ck of resentment toward Elder Xuan. That kneeling was merely a matter of human retions and propriety.

  After all, what was Elder Xuan's status? Even if he retired, would he ck food or drink? Wasn't he still a revered figure in Shrek? But those who offended Elder Xuan—would they have a good outcome? Thus, it was clear that Zhang Lexuan understood the nuances of human retions.

  Of course, coming back to the present, the inner courtyard students couldn't help but wonder if Elder Xuan had also run out of wine back then and went to buy more, leading to the tragedy. The thought was terrifying.

  Ma Xiaotao knew they couldn't dwell on this any longer and shouted, "Everyone, listen up! If there are no issues, let's move out!"

  "Remember, our targets aren't particurly strong, so there's no need to worry."

  (End of Chapter)

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