Suddenly, over a dozen flames ignited in midair. Accompanied by several heart-wrenching screams, the dozen or so black-clad attackers who had ambushed Fang Chang and the others were instantly turned into blazing torches.
Through the gaps between Fang Chang's fingers, Zhu Zhu caught a faint glimpse of the gruesome scene outside. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Those were Soul Kings and Soul Emperors—Soul Masters whose strength wasn't much lower than theirs—so why had they stood no chance at all against Fang Chang? The question filled her heart with confusion.
Then there was everything Fang Chang had done recently, and the way the academy higher-ups treated him. No matter how she thought about it, something didn't add up.
The screams gradually faded away, and the scorched bodies turned into ashes. Only then did Fang Chang move his hand away from her face.
She refused to back down, her eyes wide as she stared straight at him. "You've been hiding your strength, haven't you?"
Truthfully, as she asked this, Zhu Zhu was already almost certain of the answer. But driven by curiosity, she couldn't help asking anyway.
She understood this sort of thing well. First, she had once been a hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Beast, standing at the top of the continent, with far greater insight than ordinary human Soul Masters of this level.
Second, she knew how dangerous it was for reformed Soul Beasts to live among humans after taking human form. In such circumstances, hiding part of one's strength was only natural.
Fang Chang didn't respond directly. Instead, he walked over to the scorched corpses and picked up a few yellowed and blackened tokens from them, tossing them toward Zhu Zhu.
"Have you seen these before?"
"Let me take a look." Zhu Zhu took the tokens and frowned, using her sleeve to wipe away the grime and carefully examine them.
"These… seem to be royal insignias from the Sun-Moon Empire," she said uncertainly. "I think I've seen them in this city before."
Worried, she leaned in a little closer. "It must be because of Xu Sheng. Back when you were in Spider God Academy, they didn't dare touch you because of the academy's prestige and the three great empires."
"But now that you've come to their territory, there's no way they'll let you off easily."
She hesitated. "How about… you head back for now? Let the seven of us participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament instead."
Fang Chang tousled her hair without replying, his tone casual. "It's fine. Just the royal clan of the Sun-Moon Empire. They don't scare me."
"Besides, I have other matters to handle in Sun-Moon City this time."
His real reason for coming back was to investigate the Tang Sect and the so-called Spider Hunters organization. Participating in the tournament was only incidental.
"Oh." Zhu Zhu pouted. "Then you better be careful. If anything happens to you, don't expect me to help."
Fang Chang had been clear, even without saying it outright—he had indeed hidden his strength. But exactly how powerful he was now remained a mystery.
Judging from how easily he had just crushed those Soul King and Soul Emperor-level assassins from the Sun-Moon Empire, he was likely at least a Soul Sage… perhaps even stronger, Zhu Zhu speculated inwardly.
"Come on, we haven't gotten to the place you promised to take me yet." Fang Chang quickly changed the subject.
Zhu Zhu blinked, then remembered what they had been doing. "Let's go. We're almost there."
She led him toward the western edge of the city, passing through a slum area before arriving at a small riverbank.
Countless floating lanterns drifted in the river, their pale yellow glow dotting the night with gentle light, painting a beautiful picture.
"We're here. This is the place I told you about," she explained. "Back when I still lived in Sun-Moon City, I loved coming here at night to see the lanterns."
"There's a tradition in the Sun-Moon Empire. When someone in the family passes away, their loved ones light a floating lantern on their birthday, death anniversary, or other festivals. It's a way to express grief and remembrance."
"And this stretch of river is the widest and calmest within the city, so the lanterns often gather here for quite a while." As she spoke, a trace of sorrow appeared in her eyes.
Fang Chang remained silent and didn't ask questions. He simply stood quietly beside her.
Only when the night grew deep did the two return to their lodging in the city.
Fang Chang didn't tell anyone else what had happened that night, and Zhu Zhu, being considerate, kept the secret as well.
Time passed in this way for nearly a month. Then, just before the start of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, two of the academy instructors led the team to the tournament's host venue—Shrek Academy.
The architecture here followed the Sun-Moon Empire's modern style, filled with tall buildings and a contemporary feel. Yet the students' uniforms were still that same deep green.
This made Fang Chang frown. What disturbed him even more was hearing that the title of "Shrek Seven Devils" was still in use at this academy.
From just those two details, it was clear that this place had a connection to the Shrek Academy that had once been wiped out by the Spirit Hall. But who was behind it?
There were still two days before the official start of the tournament. For now, Fang Chang's group had only been assigned temporary lodgings by Shrek Academy, with nothing else scheduled.
"Teacher, the students of this Shrek Academy don't seem weak," said Yu Nantian, a bit worried. Along the way, he had already encountered several students who matched their strength.
"Of course not," their lead instructor replied helplessly. "They're one of our two main rivals in this tournament."
"And both academies are right here in Sun-Moon City. One is Shrek Academy, and the other is the Royal Soul Master Academy of the Sun-Moon Empire."
"When it comes to soul tools, the Royal Soul Master Academy is unmatched. I'm sure you've all seen their combat style by now."
"Meanwhile, Shrek Academy is known for only accepting monsters. Every tournament, there are always a few freakishly strong students."
"Not only that, but thanks to their position in Sun-Moon City, their soul tool technology surpasses ours too."
"If it weren't for…" He glanced stealthily at Fang Chang. "But don't worry. I have great confidence in all of you. You'll definitely defeat them."
"Oh…" Yu Nantian and the others sounded a little disheartened. The instructor made it sound like their Spider God Academy team was the weakest among the competitors.
Fang Chang stared at the bustling scene inside the academy, his expression gradually turning cold.
Shrek Academy, huh? Since I destroyed you once ten thousand years ago… this time, I'll do it again.
His divine sense swept unrestrained across the academy grounds. From what he could tell, Shrek Academy's current strength was roughly on par with the Spider God Academy.
Two Title Douluo. Over a dozen Soul Douluo. To others, such strength might seem impressive—but to him, it was hardly worth mentioning.