met free Page 138
Page 138
"I... Am I dreaming? Xiao Wu, is it really you?" Tang San was so excited that he was incoherent, and his voice was trembling.
"Brother, it's me." Xiao Wu's eyes were also filled with tears, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
The two rushed toward each other like positive and negative magnets, embracing tightly as if trying to merge the other into their very bones.
Witnessing this scene, Dongfang Yao gently pursed her lips.
Having been pampered by her older brother and parents since childhood, she rarely felt envious.
But at this moment, she could only envy the affection between the two people in front of her.
Lover, brother and sister... Sigh.
She sighed silently to herself, longing just as much to be as close to her brother.
After a brief moment of tenderness, their emotions calmed down.
The crowd then gathered around and inquired about Xiao Wu's experiences with concern.
Xiao Wu first glanced quickly at Dongfang Yao at the back of the crowd, understanding that she had not revealed her secret.
Only then did he begin to recount his carefully crafted explanation:
How did he hear the earth-shattering roar of the bull and scare away the Titan Giant Ape? How did he manage to kill a soul beast that was knocked unconscious by the blast, and finally obtain his third soul ring?
After hearing this, Zhao Wuji and the others had some doubts, but they did not investigate further.
After all, the fact that people can return safely is already a great blessing, so a few doubts seem less important.
Those whose hearts were with Shrek chose to believe, but those whose hearts were no longer with Shrek...
For example, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a knowing glance.
This trip to the Starry Sky Forest was fraught with difficulties.
But the most fortunate thing is that the same number of people entered the forest and left the forest, with no one missing. This is the best possible outcome.
Moreover, the trip was very fruitful.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar both successfully obtained their third spirit ring.
Surprisingly, Xiao Wu and Tang San also each gained a brand new third soul skill.
As for Tang San, the human-faced demon spider that was originally destined for him was killed by Dongfang Yao with a single sword strike.
Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils were quite ambitious and unwilling to accept Dongfang Yao's help in leading the way. They wandered aimlessly around the edge of the forest like headless flies, naturally unable to find a suitable target for a long time.
Finally, they encountered a Mandala snake with a cultivation level of about 1,700 years.
Tang San couldn't bear to trouble his companions any longer to run around and live in fear for him, so he chose this snake as the source of his soul ring.
The resulting soul skill is called "Thousand Snake Binding".
This is a single-target control soul skill. Its effect is to summon hundreds of snake-shaped blue silver grasses on the ground. They will quickly swim towards the enemy, tightly wrap around and bind them, making it difficult for them to break free.
Upon learning the effects of his soul skill, Tang San appeared calm and unconcerned, as if he didn't care at all.
Deep down, he was filled with intense resentment and profound regret.
Tang San was certain that the human-faced demon spider with two thousand years of cultivation was the most suitable choice for his third soul ring, which might make the Blue Silver Grass stronger and give it a deadly poison attribute.
And the result? The cooked duck flew right out of their mouths!
This intense sense of loss and resentment made his hatred for Dongfang Yao, who "kindly" saved him but then stole his soul beast, grow ever stronger.
Even if the other party's initial motivation was to save his life.
But the resentment in his heart grew wildly like a poisonous vine!
In the shadows, unnoticed by everyone, Tang Hao...
Tang Dachui secretly protected his son all along.
It's truly a case of "birds of a feather flock together."
Tang Hao also believes that it was Dongfang Yao's seemingly "unintentional" sword strike that completely ruined his son's chance to obtain a high-quality soul ring, resulting in the third soul skill of the young master being too mediocre.
But what's done is done, and what can a dignified Haotian Douluo do?
Should we rush out and beat this little girl up like we did with Zhao Wuji?
'But this young girl's initial intention was, after all, to save the mistress's life.'
Besides, the other party is a girl.
It was already embarrassing enough to target Dongfang Jing in the past.
Tang Hao was caught in a deep dilemma and contradiction.
When faced with the threats from the Dragon God and Snake Goddess, Dongfang Yao, as their classmate, stood by and did nothing about Tang San's predicament, appearing indifferent and heartless.
However, from the perspective of a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, she abides by the rules and regulations, safeguards the interests of the sect, and her actions are beyond reproach, even serving as a model of loyalty.
No force, regardless of the strength of the other party, should implicate the sect behind them because of personal desires.
This is a wound in Tang Hao's heart that will never heal, which is why he is particularly sensitive to such things.
If Dongfang Yao were to stand up for the mistress, she would become too deeply involved with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, which is not what Tang Hao wants to see.
After much deliberation and weighing of options, Tang Hao was unable to find a satisfactory solution that could quell his inner turmoil.
Ultimately, he decided to make a note of the debt for the time being.
Let's see if Dongfang Yao can bring more substantial help or opportunities to the mistress in the future.
If that's truly the case, then it can be considered an invisible form of compensation for this spirit ring incident.
Chapter 158 Leaving the Forest, the Great Master Arrives
Shrek and his friends finally left the perilous Star Dou Great Forest and returned to the small town where they had first rested.
The tension that had been building up finally eased, and as everyone looked back on the experience, it truly felt like a dream.
After resting and recuperating for two days in the town, the group set off back to Shrek Academy.
After a long day of travel, everyone was exhausted and headed towards their respective dormitories.
Throughout the journey, Ning Rongrong appeared unusually silent, lost in thought, and preoccupied.
She would occasionally glance in Tang San's direction, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something to him.
"Rongrong?" Dongfang Yao gently hooked her finger. "What's wrong? Has your soul been stolen by a soul beast?"
Ning Rongrong then came to her senses and whispered an explanation in her best friend's ear.
Dongfang Yao then understood.
It turned out that a few days ago, while they were still in the forest, Tang San introduced the Zhuge Crossbow and several other types of mechanical hidden weapons to everyone, and personally demonstrated their amazing power.
Ning Rongrong was incredibly intelligent and immediately realized that these hidden weapons were of immeasurable value to the sect!
All direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School are support-type Soul Masters.
While the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul possesses powerful support abilities, it is insufficient to guarantee their own safety.
Once they encounter an enemy, they will inevitably be the primary target of attack.
Therefore, if such hidden weapons could be equipped in large quantities, it would at least give the people a certain degree of self-defense capability.
Therefore, Ning Rongrong had the idea of cooperating with Tang San and ordering a batch of mechanical hidden weapons from him.
Of course, if they could take the opportunity to invite a genius like Tang San to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, that would be the icing on the cake.
Dongfang Yao lowered her eyes, her gaze shifting unpredictably, her mind rapidly weighing the pros and cons of the matter.
Then she remembered that her brother had mentioned in his letter that he had met the master craftsman Lou Gao in Gengxin City.
Dongfang Jing gave the other party the blueprints for the production of three kinds of hidden weapons. Doesn't that mean that Lou Gao can also manufacture mechanical hidden weapons such as Zhuge Divine Crossbow?
If that's the case, why bother going to find Tang San again?
Moreover, Dongfang Yao did not want her friend to have too much involvement with Tang San, so she revealed her thoughts to him.
Ning Rongrong was indeed puzzled. Was there something wrong with Tang San?
When pressed for details, Dongfang Yao was also unsure of the specific reasons. She only knew that this person appeared gentle and quiet on the surface, but was actually deep-thinking and quite treacherous.
Anyway, she was just following her brother's advice to be extra careful around Tang San.
Ning Rongrong was naturally willing to believe what her best friend said.
Since Yao'er doesn't like Tang San, she will naturally be more careful.
“But,” Ning Rongrong still hesitated, “you know the situation of sect disciples. The protective effect of those hidden weapons might be far greater than you can imagine.”
"Leave this to me! I have a way to solve it!" Dongfang Yao patted her chest and assured her.
Seeing her so determined, Ning Rongrong nodded: "Alright, then I'll follow your arrangements."
In the dean's office.
After listening to Zhao Wuji's detailed report on his experiences in the Star Dou Great Forest, Flander's expression changed several times.
Especially when he heard about Dongfang Yao's series of willful behaviors, he was so angry that he slammed his fist hard on the desk, making the objects on the desk jump.
"A fool is someone who causes trouble recklessly? Hmph! Well done, Dongfang Yao!"
Zhao Wuji sat on a chair to the side and added in a heavy tone, "There are just too many secrets about Dongfang Yao. The fact that she knows the Titan Giant Ape is enough to make people's jaws drop! But that's not the most important thing. The key is that her existence has created an invisible rift in the hearts of those little monsters, making it difficult for them to truly trust each other!"
Flander nodded in agreement: "Dai Mubai, Oscar, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, and Xiao Wu, these five performed reasonably well and their teamwork was also quite good. The problem is Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, they have completely followed Dongfang Yao's lead. And Dongfang Yao, alas, is ultimately a huge variable that is difficult to control."
Zhao Wuji tentatively asked, "How about we find a pretext to expel Dongfang Yao?"
Upon hearing this, Flander looked troubled and asked in return, "From your description, this girl has the ability to hunt down thousand-year-old soul beasts on her own?"
Zhao Wuji nodded affirmatively. Although he had not witnessed the battle firsthand, the thousand-year-old soul beast had indeed been brought back intact by Dongfang Yao.
Flander's expression became even more complicated, and he said with a wry smile, "Doesn't that mean that her true combat strength has probably surpassed that of an ordinary Soul King? If it were you, would you be willing to hand over such an unparalleled genius to another academy?"
“Uh,” Zhao Wuji scratched the back of his head, “That’s true. Let’s keep her then. Consider her a trump card, or a double-edged sword.”
"Well, that's all we can do for now. Maybe in time, she'll develop a sense of belonging and honor towards Shrek." Flander reluctantly accepted reality.
After discussing Dongfang Yao's question,
Flander then sighed at the perilous journey: "You actually encountered a Titan Ape, that was truly terrifying! Xiao Wu's survival is incredibly lucky. But what was that bull's roar she mentioned? And Dongfang Yao said the Titan Ape wanted to see her? What did it want?"