"Where is Yu Xiaowei? Has he stopped coming to class again?"
Dugu Bo asked with dissatisfaction from the podium.
The students shook their heads.
Seeing even Ning Rongrong shaking her head, Dugu Bo knew that they truly didn't know.
"That little brat, how dare he skip my class—and three times in a row. Just wait until I get my hands on him."
Muttering to himself, Dugu Bo continued his lecture.
Except for Yu Xiaomeng, probably no one knew that Yu Xiaowei had arrived in the Barak Kingdom's Soto City.
"The timing is off."
Yu Xiaowei sat in a restaurant, staring at the city gate.
Thinking back on the letter he saw from Liu Erlong, he grew more and more furious.
The letter was from that old bastard, Flender.
He was initially complaining and saying that he had also set up an academy and recruited some talented students.
Recently, due to suppression from the Barak Kingdom, not only was he no longer receiving subsidies, but his academy was also disqualified from participating in the Continental Elite Soul Master Competition.
Although he was greatly disheartened, the academy was the fruit of his twenty years of hard work, and he wouldn't give it up no matter what.
Then came the main point. He mentioned one particular thing in the letter.
He had found Yu Xiaogang, and if given the chance, he would bring Yu Xiaogang to Heaven Dou City to reunite their Golden Triangle.
He also told Liu Erlong to let go of her past resentment and said that she and Yu Xiaogang were a perfect match.
After reading that, Yu Xiaowei felt his temples throb with rage.
He had tried everything to persuade Liu Erlong to give up on Yu Xiaogang.
And now Flender had come to steal her away.
He was so angry he almost tore the letter apart on the spot, but he still had some sense. If he did that, Liu Erlong would instantly know he had read it.
Yu Xiaowei forced himself to calm down, restored the letter to its original state, and even messed up the neatly arranged room.
Then, without telling anyone, he set out for Soto City overnight.
After arriving, he walked around but found no recruitment advertisements for Shrek.
Confused, he asked around and found out that Shrek hadn't started enrolling students yet.
Flender was an old liar. When Yu Xiaowei saw the letter, he thought they had already recruited all their students and that Tang San and the others had joined the academy. But even after so long, they still hadn't begun enrollment.
And according to the timeline in the original book, even if Shrek was about to start recruiting, they'd still have to wait another half month for Yu Xiaogang to arrive.
At this point, Yu Xiaogang wasn't in Notting City, so he had to stay in Soto City.
As for dealing with the culprit, Flender—
He wasn't stupid. When a Soul Master challenges a Soul Sage, that's not picking a fight—that's asking for a beating.
As for figuring out when Shrek would open in the city, he chose the simplest method: wait for Tang San to arrive.
If he remembered correctly, Tang San stayed at the Rose Hotel upon arriving in Soto City and went to Shrek the next day.
As the sky gradually darkened, Yu Xiaowei stood up helplessly, handed a silver soul coin to the waiter, and walked out of the restaurant.
Another fruitless day.
Soto City was bustling with lights and music at night.
Although it wasn't as prosperous as Heaven Dou City, it had a unique street that was always crowded. It was also the most fascinating place for travelers passing through Soto City.
A street full of brothels.
Here, everything was available—from small straw huts rented for three or five copper soul coins per session to large brothels that charged dozens of gold soul coins per night.
Yu Xiaowei was a serious person, so naturally, he wouldn't visit those places.
But there was no choice—the Red-Light Street was right at the most prominent entrance of the city. If he wanted to return to the Rose Hotel where he was staying, he had to pass through it.
Moreover, even though he was only 12 years old, he was tall and strong, and his muscular build didn't look like a child's at all.
So there were always some rowdy madams trying to seduce him.
Whenever that happened, he would speed up his steps, cover his face, and flee.
But tonight, he ran into someone he knew.
"Little girl, where are you going so late at night?"
"Oh my, this place is quite deserted. Aren't you afraid of running into bad people?"
"Where's your home? Come on, uncle will walk you back."
A seemingly sincere voice came from a distance.
But what responded was a cold shout:
"Get lost!"
Yu Xiaowei pricked up his ears when he heard the voice.
It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite recall who it was.
He looked toward the source of the voice curiously.
In a secluded corner far away—
A shirtless man in his forties, wearing flower-patterned shorts full of holes and a pair of flip-flops, was blocking a cold-faced girl, a lecherous expression on his face.
"Is that her?"
Yu Xiaowei raised his eyebrows.
Seeing her sexy figure and somewhat Zhu Zhuyun-like face—if he didn't know who she was, he'd be an idiot.
Zhu Zhuqing.
The thief who had once broken into his room in Silves City.
At this moment, Yu Xiaowei's soul guide still held the one that had her underwear in it.
After hearing Zhu Zhuqing's voice, the middle-aged man didn't back off at all. Instead, his expression became even more lecherous.
Slurp—
"Such a sweet voice, hot body, and cute face~"
The man's lustful gaze swept across Zhu Zhuqing's curvy body without any hesitation, and he laughed wickedly.
He slowly approached her, placing his right hand on his waistband, pretending to pull something out.
"Little girl, why don't you come with your uncle? I'll take you to see some big golden fish."
Without a word, Zhu Zhuqing immediately activated her martial soul. Her hands turned into sharp claws, and she struck the middle-aged man fiercely.
"Tsk tsk, still feisty. I like that."
The man let out a strange screech, and four soul rings appeared beneath his feet.
Two large circular covers materialized out of nowhere, one in front and one behind, quickly wrapping around Zhu Zhuqing.
She was subdued in an instant, and panic finally appeared on her cold face.
She didn't know what the covers were made of, but they were extremely flexible, and her cat claws couldn't tear through them at all.
The man chuckled as he held the large cover, preparing to leave.
Realizing what was about to happen, Zhu Zhuqing desperately used her soul power to tear at the shield.
When that failed, she bit her lip tightly to stop herself from crying, but large teardrops still rolled from her eyes.
At that moment, a voice suddenly pierced the darkness. Hearing it, Zhu Zhuqing's body stiffened instinctively.
"Hey, you bastard, what's your deal bullying a little girl?"
The man paused and turned around with a frown.
Not far away, a tall young man raised his middle finger at him.
"Wow, a lot of people aren't afraid to die tonight."
The middle-aged man sneered, "Little brat, trying to be a hero and save a beauty? Have your balls even dropped yet? Do you know your own weight?"
Four soul rings—white, yellow, purple, purple—appeared, exuding the aura of a Level 46 Soul Master.
His martial soul was currently trapping Zhu Zhuqing, so it wasn't easy to use it on an enemy. He planned to rely on soul power alone to intimidate Yu Xiaowei.
"Oh no, he's a Soul Master. I'm so scared my heart is pounding~"
Yu Xiaowei whistled and smirked.
Seeing his fearless attitude, the man's expression turned more serious. He started to feel uneasy.
It was as if a Tyrannosaurus Rex was standing in front of him, roaring.
Boom—!
Yu Xiaowei stomped hard, sending gravel flying. He dashed forward and punched the man straight in the face.
"Cruelty against beauty deserves a beating!"
Facing Yu Xiaowei's fierce attack, the man no longer cared about Zhu Zhuqing and immediately activated his fourth soul skill.
A large cover emitting a pink mist surrounded them from all directions.
Upon contact with the mist, Yu Xiaowei's five senses were quickly dulled, and he lost his bearings in an instant.
A soft blanket wrapped around him, and no matter how hard he struggled, some strange force constantly sapped his strength.
"Hah—"
"You scared me. Turns out you're just a reckless little brat."
Seeing Yu Xiaowei wrapped up, the man let out a sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to walk over to the collapsed Zhu Zhuqing, a shocking force suddenly surged from the cocoon.
He looked in horror and saw beastly claws tearing through the cover in one blow.
A half-human, half-dragon boy emerged from the wrap, grinning at him.
"A control-type Soul Master? Nice skill, but too bad you lack raw strength."
"You don't even have the power to land a punch, and you dare call yourself a pervert?"
The man hurriedly tried to activate another soul skill, but his vision blurred—and Yu Xiaowei was already in front of him.
A devastating tail whip, slicing through the air, struck the man's right arm, sending him flying. He only stopped after crashing through several straw huts.
Zhu Zhuqing, exhausted, barely supported herself. Looking at Yu Xiaowei—now returned to his human form—she said just one thing before passing out:
"I'll repay you."