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The eastern gate of Shrek City served as Shrek Academy's main entrance.
With the academy's most critical period—the start of the new term—upon them, the area had been swarming with people since dawn. Alongside returning upperclassmen, most were parents escorting their children to register for the freshman trials.
Yet of this massive crowd, fewer than one in ten would ever step through Shrek's hallowed halls. Still, families from the original Three Great Empires flocked here relentlessly.
At the gate, senior students—mostly Soul Elders who'd met the basic promotion requirements—handled registration and check-ins. As they verified new applicants, they watched certain upperclassmen rush past with weary eyes.
Twenty-eight days had passed since the holiday began. In just two more days, the promotion exams would commence.
Yet these students were only arriving now—their anxious expressions betraying woefully inadequate preparation. Fail the exam, and they'd be sent home, just like the rejected freshmen.
The registrars sympathized—they'd been there too.
"Make way! Coming through!"
A lithe figure darted through the crowd with astonishing speed. Amidst the grumbles, the boy called out breathlessly, "Sorry! Sorry! I'm in a hurry!" He muttered to himself, "Late again… Yuhao joined the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect—he should've returned already. Gotta show him my Soul Elder breakthrough as a surprise!"
Just then—
"Wang Dong!"
A deep, familiar voice rang out. Wang Dong instinctively halted, scanning the crowd until his eyes locked onto a black-clad senior nearby.
"Senior Xu!" Wang Dong waved, jogging over. Before his excitement faded, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for Nannan after her shift, of course," Xu Sanshi declared proudly, puffing his chest.
Wang Dong fell silent, glancing at Jiang Nannan in the distance. Of course. Only for her would Senior Xu endure this chaotic duty.
But that wasn't why he'd come.
"Senior Xu—how long have you been back?"
"About half the holiday," Xu Sanshi replied after a quick calculation—a timeframe that thrilled Wang Dong.
"Then… have you seen Yuhao?"
"Nope." Xu Sanshi shook his head without hesitation. "Not Yuhao—none of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect students have returned." He eyed Wang Dong curiously. "Wait… you didn't know?"
"Know what?" Wang Dong's disappointment vanished, replaced by confusion.
"The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect got an immortal herb—Beautiful Silk Tulip—and evolved Ning Tian's martial soul into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda," Xu Sanshi explained, his tone tinged with envy.
Wang Dong's eyes widened. "The same Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda as Ancestor Ning Rongrong!?"
"Exactly."
"Lucky Xiao Tian," Wang Dong murmured, genuinely happy for her. But his focus snapped back instantly. "Senior Xu—any word on Yuhao?"
Xu Sanshi frowned. Why's he fixated on Huo Yuhao when the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda just reappeared?
Before he could ask, his sharp eyes caught two soul engineering carriages approaching through the crowd. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect insignia was unmistakable.
"Hey! Look who's here!"
The words barely left his mouth before Wang Dong activated his martial soul. His Radiant Goddess Butterfly wings unfurled, and he shot forward like a blurred streak—soaring far ahead to meet them.
Xu Sanshi gaped.
That's… excessive. He muttered to himself, "Is it really like me waiting for Nannan? But they're both guys—eww!" A shiver ran down his spine as he realized his own implication.
Meanwhile, the carriages halted to avoid disrupting the crowd. Five figures stepped out: Chen Junting's group.
"Yuhao!"
Huo Yuhao turned at the shout—just in time to see Wang Dong barreling toward him.
"Wang Dong!"
The commotion drew Chen Junting's quartet's attention. None interrupted—Chen Junting and Ning Tian even adopted amused, expectant grins.
Wang Dong landed before Huo Yuhao, dismissing his wings. He struck a proud pose, masking his eagerness. "Huo Yuhao! This holiday, I didn't slack off—I broke through to Soul Elder! Shocked, aren't you?"
Huo Yuhao's reaction was textbook Wang Dong: scratching his head in genuine surprise. "Huh? You became a Soul Elder too?"
Too?
The word hung in the air.
Wang Dong's eyes narrowed. "Wait—you became a Soul Elder?!"
He seized Huo Yuhao's collar, voice dropping to a frantic whisper. "You didn't… take an immortal herb like Xiao Tian, did you?"
Though hushed, Chen Junting heard every word.
His brow furrowed. Problem.
If Wang Dong knew about the immortal herbs… could Tang San access that knowledge through Wang Dong's memories?
Chen Junting's playful mood vanished.
He didn't know Tang San's stance on the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well—but he knew outsiders must never enter. Above all, Tang San couldn't learn of the valley before Huo Yuhao's trial.
This risk had to be eliminated.
Chen Junting's consciousness plunged into his spiritual sea.
"Elder Electrolux!"
"What's so urgent?" Electrolux chuckled, his mood unusually light. "Has the sky fallen?"
"Not quite," Chen Junting said grimly, rubbing his hands together. "But if mishandled, it might as well have. Can you… seal part of someone's memory so thoroughly that even a god wouldn't detect the tampering?"
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