As Lin Yun and Xiao Xiao concluded their pleasant week-long wilderness camping deep within the Star Dou Great Forest and began their journey to Star Luo City, Shrek's battered remnants also arrived at Star Luo City.
The distance from the Mingdou Mountain Range to Star Luo City wasn't short, but for a fully capable Shrek team, it would only take one or two days to reach Star Luo City from there.
However, with Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Yao Haoxuan severely injured, and to prevent their injuries from worsening, they had no choice but to borrow a few carriages from a military camp for their journey.
The journey that would normally take one or two days ended up taking them about a week.
Even so, Ma Xiaotao and the other two's injuries still worsened somewhat due to the lack of timely healing and quiet recuperation.
Their first priority upon arriving at Star Luo City was to find Lin Yun and Xiao Xiao.
Now, Shrek's competition team had been virtually wiped out, with only Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong remaining capable of fighting. Among these four, there wasn't even a single Soul Sect.
Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Yao Haoxuan were certainly unfit for combat. Their injuries wouldn't heal for at least ten days to half a month, and with the deterioration during their journey, that time would only be extended.
Jiang Nannan also suffered significant internal injuries from the initial explosion. Her injuries were lighter than Ma Xiaotao's group of three, but she couldn't fight in the short term either.
Just two Soul Grandmasters and two Great Soul Masters...
Wang Yan couldn't even imagine the consequences if Shrek still had such a team when the competition began.
But it was foreseeable that Shrek would definitely become the laughingstock of the entire Douluo Continent.
On the top floor of the Star Emperor Hotel, in Shrek's exclusive meeting room, Shrek's crippled forces gathered. The atmosphere was extremely oppressive and silent.
They didn't know how long Lin Yun would take to help Xiao Xiao acquire her soul ring, but if he didn't appear by the first elimination round, Shrek might even be eliminated in the first round.
If that were the case, it would be better to simply forfeit their qualification to compete from the start.
Xuan Zi had dumped them here, telling them to participate in the competition themselves, and then left with three injured and dying students back to Shrek Academy, completely disregarding what they should do next.
At this point, it would be strange if the atmosphere wasn't somber.
"Teacher Wang, what do we do now?" Huo Yuhao couldn't help but ask.
Huo Yuhao's question broke the silence in the meeting room. Everyone's gaze turned to Wang Yan, their eyes filled with helplessness and bewilderment.
Even Ma Xiaotao and the other two were the same.
'They're just a bunch of kids after all,' Wang Yan sighed bitterly in his heart. Although he thought so, to be honest, he wasn't doing much better himself. He appeared calm as an old dog on the surface but was panicking internally.
Xuan Zi had run off, and he was the one who would take the blame as the team leader!
After a moment of silence, Wang Yan smiled 'lightly': "Don't worry, isn't there still a few days until the competition starts? Lin Yun already said before we parted ways that he would be back before the competition begins. No need to rush."
Everyone nodded.
They weren't actually expecting Wang Yan to come up with a solution; they just wanted him to be the backbone (and scapegoat) due to his status as a teacher.
With Wang Yan's words, they could also reasonably put down their worries and await Lin Yun's arrival.
And Lin Yun did not disappoint them.
On the second day after Shrek's competition team arrived in Star Luo City, Lin Yun, flapping his golden dragon wings, landed ten kilometers outside Star Luo City with Xiao Xiao in his arms.
Major cities and imperial capitals generally didn't allow soul masters to fly at high altitudes. Lin Yun had no intention of provoking the Star Luo Empire; such things were better left to Shrek.
What was it called? Shrek for arson and murder, Lord Lin for saving the suffering!
Because he was so curious whether Xuan Zi had caused a big stir for Shrek, Lin Yun didn't waste any time on the journey. The speed of his Golden Shadow Dragon Wings was almost maxed out, which was how he managed to travel from the Star Dou Great Forest to Star Luo City in a single day.
There was no helping it; this was one of the biggest famous scenes in Peerless Tang Sect, and even if Lin Yun didn't want to be a spectator at the primary location, he had long admired the legend of the strongest Soul King.
Arriving at the Star Emperor Hotel, after showing Shrek's participation credentials (a secondary setting, where each participating member has proof of which academy and student they are), they were led by the hotel staff to the top floor, where Shrek's competition team resided.
As soon as he reached the top floor, Lin Yun saw Wu Feng, looking crestfallen, leaning on the balcony railing.
"I say, why are you making such a long face?" Lin Yun asked curiously, pulling Xiao Xiao over and patting Wu Feng's shoulder.
Wu Feng, who was somewhat lost in thought, hadn't heard Lin Yun and Xiao Xiao walking. Startled by his sudden voice and pat, she nearly jumped off the building.
"What are you doing~~~ Ow, you're so annoying!" Wu Feng punched Lin Yun's shoulder, her face filled with indignation.
Lin Yun's body didn't budge from the punch, but his expression slowly changed from his original calm and gentle demeanor to increasingly arrogant and smug.
"Too weak, too weak! Although we both have dragon-type martial souls, my Golden Dragon far surpasses your Fire Dragon in both strength and soul power!" Lin Yun's grin stretched to his ears as he taunted Wu Feng up close.
"Sure enough, the Golden Dragon is the most powerful dragon-type martial soul! I'm satisfied now that you understand this, wryyy!"
Wu Feng's face turned red, fuming with anger at Lin Yun.
'No, I can't beat him, I must endure!' Wu Feng took a deep breath, barely suppressing the urge to punch Lin Yun in the face and then be held down and stir-fried by him.
"Bastard, you almost led me astray! Hurry up, Teacher Wang and the others have been waiting for you!" Wu Feng suddenly remembered that Wang Yan and the others were still having a worried meeting in the conference room. She grabbed Lin Yun's arm and tugged him towards the meeting room.
Xiao Xiao followed behind Lin Yun, smiling.
To be honest, if it were Ning Tian pulling and tugging at Lin Yun, she might feel a sense of crisis, but if it was Wu Feng, she wouldn't have any emotional波动 (fluctuation) at all.
How could Lu Tong possibly like Lin Yun?
Impossible!
Wu Feng, transformed into an impatient king, kicked open the conference room door, then pulled Lin Yun in eagerly.
"Lin Yun's back!" Wu Feng announced loudly.
Everyone's gazes converged, and upon seeing Lin Yun's tall and imposing figure, their hearts, which had been in their throats, collectively relaxed.
Wang Yan: We're going to win!
Lin Yun's expression, however, immediately turned strange.
"Where are the others?" Lin Yun asked.
A silence fell over the room.
Lin Yun's expression became even more difficult to maintain. Although he still appeared calm and steady on the surface, as if a mountain collapsing before him wouldn't change his color, inwardly: Lin Yun: Ah~ Wonderful!!!
(End of Chapter)
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