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—Night—
Star Dou Great Forest,
The Star Dou Great Forest was located southeast of the Balak Kingdom, sharing only a short border with the kingdom. Suotuo City itself was also situated in the southeastern region of Balak Kingdom, not far from the Star Dou Great Forest. With the distance being less than five hundred kilometers, it was naturally the most convenient destination for the students of Shrek Academy to obtain their Spirit Rings.
With the aid of Oscar's sausages, the Shrek Academy group had managed to travel more than four hundred kilometers in barely a single day. By nightfall, however, it was clear that they would not be able to reach their destination.
Seeing this, Zhao Wuji ordered everyone to stop and rest.
They had just arrived at a small town, and if they continued traveling deeper into the night, there was no guarantee that they would find another place with sufficient supplies or accommodations.
Zhao Wuji soon spotted a very ordinary-looking hotel ahead and pointed toward it.
"We'll stay there. Rest for one night and set out early tomorrow. You'll have to pay for your own lodging and food."
The hotel was a small, two-story building. The first floor consisted of a simple dining hall, while the second floor contained the guest rooms.
Zhao Wuji rented a single room for himself and immediately went upstairs.
Dai Mubai and the others briefly discussed their arrangements before renting a four-person room for the four boys and another two-person room for the two girls.
As for Lev, he simply paid for a separate room for himself and Zhu Zhuqing.
After settling their accommodations, everyone spent some time familiarizing themselves with the surroundings before eventually heading downstairs for dinner.
The group found a table in the corner of the dining hall and sat down.
Although they were all gathered around the same table, the atmosphere could hardly be described as harmonious.
Zhu Zhuqing maintained her usual cold expression, while Ning Rongrong sat quietly with her head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
As for Lev, he simply minded his own business, paying little attention to the awkward atmosphere around him.
Suddenly, the hotel's entrance opened.
A group of eight people walked inside.
The moment they entered, it was obvious that they were also Spirit Masters.
At the front of the group was a middle-aged man who appeared to be more than forty years old. He had a handsome appearance and neatly combed hair that shone brightly under the hotel's lights.
He wore a moon-white Spirit Master robe that was exceptionally exquisite, with silver-colored patterns embroidered across its surface. The designs shimmered brilliantly whenever he moved, making his attire particularly eye-catching.
Following behind the middle-aged man were six young men and one young woman, all seemingly around twenty years old.
The most noticeable thing about them was the identical blue symbol displayed on their clothing.
Lev's eyes narrowed slightly when he recognized it.
They were from the Blue Sunshine Academy.
After settling down, the Blue Sunshine Academy group took their seats only two tables away from Shrek Academy.
It wasn't unusual to see Spirit Masters staying at the hotel, so their presence initially attracted little attention. However, one of the Blue Sunshine Academy students suddenly stood up and began walking toward Dai Mubai's group.
Just as the story went, the young man soon started causing trouble.
Dai Mubai and Tang San naturally refused to back down, and before long, the confrontation escalated into a fight.
The diners sitting near the two groups immediately scrambled away, desperately trying to avoid being caught in the middle.
"What academy do you children belong to?"
The middle-aged man finally stood up and questioned them, his expression turning cold.
"You don't deserve to know."
A cold light flickered within Dai Mubai's evil double-pupiled eyes as he replied without the slightest hesitation.
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher's face immediately turned ashen with anger.
"Fine! You arrogant brats. Teach them a lesson for me."
The moment he gave the order, the Blue Sunshine Academy students moved.
They immediately rushed toward Tang San's group's table, smiles spreading across their faces.
From their expressions, it was obvious that they seemed to enjoy bullying others like this.
And judging from their behavior, Shrek Academy was clearly not their first victim.
With the situation already beyond reconciliation, Xiao Wu was the first to make a move.
She activated her body enhancement before using her second Spirit Skill to distract her opponents. Taking advantage of the opening, she immediately followed up with her first Spirit Skill, finishing the combination in one smooth sequence.
One of the Blue Sunshine Academy students was caught completely off guard and suffered an injury.
Seeing Xiao Wu's strange fighting style, the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher was stunned for a moment. Alarm mixed with anger flashed across his face.
"Idiots! Use your spirits!"
Hearing their teacher's command, the Blue Sunshine Academy students immediately released their spirits.
Among them were three Tool Spirits and several Beast Spirits.
However, the momentum of the Blue Sunshine Academy students immediately faltered when Dai Mubai and the others released their own spirits.
The sight of Dai Mubai's three Spirit Rings alone was enough to make their expressions change.
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher's expression became increasingly solemn.
Finally, he could no longer remain standing by.
"You all withdraw."
With a wave of his hand, he ordered his students to retreat.
After realizing that the situation had exceeded his expectations, he decided to intervene personally.
He no longer hesitated.
A sharp glint flashed within his eyes as he released his own spirit.
"Black Tortoise Body Enhancement!"
A black ripple suddenly erupted from his body, forcibly pushing back the pressure released by Tang San's group.
At the same time, his four limbs contracted by nearly one-third. His back expanded dramatically, and a massive tortoise shell emerged behind him.
Black light surged across his entire body.
Then, five Spirit Rings rose from beneath his feet and slowly spiraled around his body.
Dai Mubai's expression immediately changed.
His gaze shifted toward Tang San beside him.
Tang San looked back.
The two exchanged a brief glance, instantly understanding what the other was thinking.
Lev, however, remained seated quietly on the other side.
He had no intention of interfering.
Instead, he simply watched the confrontation unfold with an amused expression.
More importantly, he was enjoying the constant notifications echoing inside his mind.
[Black Tortoise Body Enhancement has been learned.]
[.... has been learned.]
[.... has been learned.]
[.... has been learned.]
[.... has been learned.]
Lev's lips slowly curled upward.
'Not bad.'
They were just about to clash when the hotel owner suddenly rushed forward and pleaded with them.
"All of you, all of you Spirit Masters! I beg you, please don't fight inside my small shop! It's a small business! A small business!"
Hearing the desperate plea of the hotel owner, everyone finally decided to take the fight outside.
Dai Mubai and the others weren't afraid. Instead, they quickly began discussing how they could defeat their opponent.
To their surprise, Ning Rongrong also stepped forward and offered to help.
Tang San and the others were greatly surprised by her initiative. Considering how unreasonable her attitude had been toward them before, they hadn't expected her to willingly participate.
Nevertheless, they accepted her help and included her in their plan.
"Do you want me to join?"
Lev suddenly interrupted after seeing how seriously they were discussing their strategy.
Of course, he had another reason for wanting to participate.
Hearing Lev's question, Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged glances.
Although they weren't exactly on good terms with Lev, there was no denying his strength.
Having another powerful Spirit Master on their side could significantly increase their chances of winning.
For the moment, they decided to put their misunderstandings aside and focus entirely on the battle.
Before long, everyone had moved outside.
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher stepped forward, his expression filled with arrogance.
"I'll teach you a lesson today!"
Dai Mubai and the others immediately rushed forward.
"Second Spirit Ring Ability: White Tiger Light Wave!"
A powerful beam of white light shot toward their opponent.
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher remained calm and simultaneously activated his first and third Spirit Ring abilities.
"First Spirit Ring Ability: Black Tortoise Protective Form!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability: Black Water Surge!"
A powerful defensive force immediately enveloped his body.
Dai Mubai's attack failed to cause any damage, but it successfully created an opening for Tang San.
"First Spirit Ring Ability: Bind!"
Blue silver vines erupted from the ground and rapidly wrapped around the opponent, restricting his movements.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu rushed forward and launched their attacks.
However, their attacks barely managed to leave a scratch against the astonishing hardness of the tortoise shell.
Seeing that their combination had failed, Dai Mubai didn't hesitate.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability!"
He surged forward with explosive speed before throwing a powerful punch with all his might.
Bang!
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher was sent flying backward by the force of the impact.
However, he quickly stabilized himself and immediately launched a counterattack.
"Second Spirit Ring Ability: Black Water Freezing!"
A strange stream of freezing black liquid suddenly erupted from his mouth, resembling a flamethrower made entirely of ice as it surged toward Ma Hongjun.
At that moment, Ma Hongjun finally made his move.
"First Spirit Ring Ability: Phoenix Fire Wire!"
"Second Spirit Ring Ability: Bathing Fire Phoenix!"
Flames erupted around Ma Hongjun's body, enveloping him completely.
With the enhancement provided by his second Spirit Ring Ability, the power of his flames increased by thirty percent.
He immediately opened his mouth and unleashed a straight line of blazing fire toward the incoming attack.
The two attacks collided.
However, the difference in Spirit Power between them was simply too great.
Ma Hongjun's flames were quickly overwhelmed and extinguished.
The Black Water Freezing continued forward, heading directly toward Ma Hongjun.
Fortunately, Ning Rongrong reacted in time and assisted him, allowing him to narrowly dodge the attack.
The entire group was shocked.
They had initially assumed that their opponent was a defensive-type Spirit Master because of his Black Tortoise Spirit.
Yet the power he had displayed was clearly that of a powerful attacking Spirit Master as well.
Their expressions became much more serious after that exchange.
None of them noticed, however, that someone had already appeared behind their opponent.
Even the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher himself had no idea.
Lev was standing directly behind him.
'Looks like I don't have to worry.'
Lev's gaze briefly shifted toward Zhu Zhuqing.
His main concern had never been the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher.
He had been watching Zhu Zhuqing from the beginning, wondering whether she was still unfamiliar with the strength she had obtained.
Fighting while unable to properly control one's newfound power could easily become detrimental.
However, seeing how quickly she had adapted after only one day, Lev finally felt relieved.
His attention returned to the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher's back.
A sinister grin slowly appeared on Lev's face.
***Saiha***
A thunderous dragon roar suddenly echoed through the area.
In the next instant, a massive dragon-shaped flame erupted from Lev's arms before transforming into a blade-like stream of fire.
Hearing the roar of a dragon, the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher hurriedly turned around.
But it was already too late.
Lev had already swung his flaming blade.
Slash!
His arms were severed in an instant, falling heavily to the ground.
Lev had deliberately raised the temperature of the flames to an extreme level. Despite the incredible defensive power of the Black Tortoise Spirit, the sheer heat of his attack allowed it to cut through the teacher's defenses without difficulty.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher screamed in agony.
Only after hearing his own scream did he finally realize what had happened.
He stared down in disbelief at his severed arms, blood pouring from the wounds as his entire body trembled violently from the pain.
For a moment, he completely forgot about Lev.
The sudden turn of events had left him utterly stunned.
Tang San and the others were equally shocked.
They hadn't even noticed when Lev had moved.
Their eyes widened as they looked at the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher, who was now screaming in pain.
The sight of the blood and severed arms lying on the ground caused their faces to turn pale.
Then, almost instinctively, their gazes shifted toward Lev.
He stood there calmly, a faint smile on his face, several bloodstains visible on his body as he watched the injured teacher writhe in agony.
For some reason, that smile sent a chill down their spines.
Seeing the condition of their teacher, the Blue Sunshine Academy students immediately rushed toward him.
Lev simply watched them without making a move.
Although they were clearly frightened of him, they still gathered around their teacher, helping him stabilize himself while glaring at Lev with grim expressions.
Lev noticed their reactions.
Despite being minor antagonists in this arc, these students were genuinely loyal to their teacher.
Seeing that loyalty unexpectedly touched something within him.
He raised his hand.
"Nature's Heal."
A gentle white light immediately enveloped the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher.
The bleeding stopped.
The intense pain gradually disappeared.
However, there was one thing even healing could not change.
His arms were gone.
"I think this will serve as a good lesson."
Lev calmly looked at the Blue Sunshine Academy students.
"Don't think that the life of a Spirit Master is easy. You must be cruel enough to survive, or sooner or later, you'll become the victim of someone else's cruelty."
With that, Lev turned around and walked back toward the hotel.
His actions hadn't been necessary.
He could have simply defeated the teacher and left.
But perhaps seeing the loyalty of those students had reminded him of something.
Sometimes, the best lesson wasn't one that could be taught with words alone.
The two groups remained completely silent.
No one dared to speak.
Lev's words continued to echo inside their minds as they struggled to process how quickly the battle had ended.
"W-Who was that?!"
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher finally shouted, his voice trembling with fear as he clutched the remnants of his injured arm.
He had been a teacher at the academy for years, yet this was the first time he had ever experienced something like this.
He was so terrified that his body nearly lost control.
"H-He is one of our classmates."
Dai Mubai answered nervously.
Afterward, he couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
Only now did he truly understand what had happened during Lev's test.
Back then, he had thought Lev was merely playing around with him.
Now he realized the truth.
If Lev had genuinely wanted to hurt him, he would have suffered the same fate as the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher.
Tang San and Xiao Wu already knew that Lev was powerful.
But neither of them had expected him to be this powerful.
To cripple a Spirit King with a single attack…
The thought alone left them both shocked and awed.
Meanwhile, Oscar and Ma Hongjun remained silent.
After witnessing Lev's ruthlessness firsthand, they silently made a decision.
They would never provoke him.
Although they still harbored some petty resentment toward Lev, it wasn't nearly enough to make them foolish enough to turn him into an enemy.
Zhu Zhuqing, unlike the others, was only slightly surprised.
She quickly regained her composure.
After looking at everyone's frightened expressions, she couldn't help but sigh.
Her gaze then shifted toward Lev's retreating back.
Without saying anything, she followed him toward the hotel.
Ning Rongrong, however, was still trembling.
She couldn't forget Lev's expression or the words he had spoken earlier.
Knowing that she and Lev were not on good terms, fear slowly crept into her heart.
'I should probably apologize for what happened before…'
After seeing what Lev was capable of, she had no desire to end up suffering the same fate as the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher.
Dai Mubai's words also shocked the remaining members of the Blue Sunshine Academy.
They hadn't expected that there was someone even stronger among Shrek Academy's group.
They had initially assumed that Dai Mubai and Tang San were the leaders of the group.
The teacher was just about to say something when a loud voice suddenly echoed through the night.
"It's already late at night, yet you haven't gone to bed? Why are you all running outside and causing trouble?"
Tang San and the others froze for a moment.
They were immediately familiar with that voice.
A large figure soon appeared within everyone's field of vision.
It was Zhao Wuji—their teacher and guide for this journey.
"What happened here?"
Zhao Wuji asked as he approached, his gaze immediately falling upon the Blue Sunshine Academy group.
He had no idea what had happened, but the sight before him was enough to make him understand that a fight had taken place.
A middle-aged man was missing both arms, and several drops of blood still stained the ground.
Zhao Wuji's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Looks like things got out of hand.'
"We were just having a small fight, Teacher Zhao."
Tang San immediately answered.
"Small?"
Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow before pointing toward the injured middle-aged man.
"Then what happened to him?"
His gaze shifted toward the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher.
The moment the teacher noticed Zhao Wuji looking at him, he instinctively crawled backward, his body trembling with nervousness.
"I-It's Lev."
Ning Rongrong answered fearfully.
Her face paled as the gruesome scene resurfaced in her mind, making her stomach churn.
Zhao Wuji's eyes immediately glistened upon hearing Lev's name.
He was somewhat surprised.
Although he had already known that Lev was powerful, he hadn't expected him to have such a ruthless side.
Zhao Wuji looked toward Tang San and the others.
One after another, they nodded in confirmation.
'So that's what happened…'
Zhao Wuji understood the situation without needing to ask for further details.
He didn't intend to question Lev about it either.
In their line of work, this sort of thing wasn't exactly unusual. Spirit Masters fought constantly, and sometimes the consequences were far more severe than a few injuries.
"All of you, go back to sleep. We still have to travel tomorrow."
Zhao Wuji waved his hand dismissively.
Although he was curious about the details, the evidence before him had already answered most of his questions.
Tang San and the others immediately returned to the hotel.
Zhao Wuji followed shortly afterward.
The Blue Sunshine Academy students remained behind, staring at their injured teacher.
"Teacher, are we really going to do nothing? Shouldn't they at least give us an explanation?"
One of the students hurriedly asked.
"Stupid!"
The Blue Sunshine Academy teacher snapped angrily.
"You all know that those children are monsters. So how could an ordinary teacher possibly handle them? If their students are monsters, then their teacher must be an even greater monster!"
The students fell silent.
Another student glanced at his teacher's missing arms before cautiously asking,
"Teacher… what will happen to you now?"
Hearing the question, the Blue Sunshine Academy teacher let out a long, bitter sigh.
He completely regretted provoking those monsters.
Looking down at the wounds where his arms had once been, his expression became complicated.
"Let's head back to the academy first."
The students immediately nodded.
Supporting their injured teacher, the Blue Sunshine Academy group slowly left the area.
The night once again became quiet.
But for the people involved, the events of that night would not be so easily forgotten.