Lan Si immediately waved his hand, and nine ice-blue lotuses appeared in front of him out of thin air. Each lotus split into eight, transforming into eight blade-like weapons resembling ice knives, but curiously emitting a blue-white flame of high heat.
Eight multiplied by nine became seventy-two. A total of seventy-two blades freely swept through Dugu Bo's medicinal garden. In no time, the remaining herbs were either slashed to powder, burned to ash, or frozen and shattered.
At a glance, the scene was in utter disarray. The area around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well looked as if it had just been bombarded, with hardly a single intact herb remaining.
"Tang San, I'll leave these remnants for you," Lan Si chuckled lightly, storing eight of the lotuses into his body, then jumped onto the last lotus and flew out of the poison array without looking back.
In the Sunset Forest, three people—a man, a woman, and another man—were swiftly moving through the woods.
The two men looked extremely anxious, while the woman, although calm on the surface, had a deeply furrowed brow.
These three were none other than the once-famous Golden Iron Triangle of the soul master world—Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong.
They had come searching for Tang San.
Just like in the original story, they had discovered traces of Dugu Bo's poisonous presence at the location where Tang San had disappeared and realized that Tang San had been captured by Dugu Bo. After inquiring at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and consulting with the three deans, they learned that Dugu Bo's residence was somewhere within the Sunset Forest, so they rushed there without delay.
From the evening two days ago until this morning, they had searched day and night but still found nothing.
Now, thoroughly exhausted, Flender suddenly halted, raising his hand and gasping slightly, "Erlong, Xiaogang, hold on for a moment. There seems to be something moving quickly up ahead."
Flender's martial soul was the Four-Eyed Owl, and owl-type martial souls usually possessed far-sight abilities, enabling him to see farther than most soul masters. Coupled with his soul power, which was higher than Liu Erlong's, who was also a soul sage, he was the first to detect movement ahead.
"It looks like a young man. He's very fast," Liu Erlong climbed a nearby tree, and upon looking ahead, she saw a blue figure rapidly weaving through the forest.
"A young man? Could it be Xiao San?" Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up with hope.
He had never married, and with no children of his own, his mutated martial soul had brought him ridicule and scorn ever since its awakening at age six. Only after meeting Tang San and taking him as a disciple did Yu Xiaogang see a glimmer of hope in his life.
After seeing Tang San's strength grow rapidly, the teachers at Nuoding Academy stopped looking down on him. At Shrek Academy, the staff and students began to truly respect him, genuinely calling him "Master."
In Yu Xiaogang's heart, Flender could die, the entire Shrek staff and students could die, even his beloved Liu Erlong could die, but Tang San must not. Tang San was the key to proving his invincible theories and earning the recognition of the world.
Tang San was his dream. He couldn't just stand by and watch that dream shatter.
"No, I don't think so. I'm very familiar with how Xiao San looks. That person seems taller than him," Flender shook his head. "Why don't we go over and ask? Maybe this young man knows where Dugu Bo lives."
At this moment, Flender harbored a different thought. Though they were too far away to clearly see the young man's features, he guessed the boy must be close in age to the Shrek Seven Monsters—if not the same, not much older.
Yet the boy's skill was clearly remarkable, his speed astounding. For a moment, Flender was reminded of the time when Lan Si single-handedly defeated the Shrek Seven Monsters.
With Zhu Zhuqing having left the Shrek Seven, and Tang San's fate unknown, Flender's hopes for the Shrek Seven Monsters had dimmed as two members were already gone. If they could recruit this young man into the team, at least he could fill the gap left by Zhu Zhuqing. That way, their chances at the upcoming All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament would improve.
Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong both nodded in agreement. It was always better to ask someone for directions than to wander around aimlessly like headless chickens.
The young man also seemed to notice them, but rather than flee, he waited calmly. As they got closer, they finally saw his appearance clearly.
He was a boy dressed in luxurious clothes, appearing to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a height of over 1.8 meters. He wore a blue, form-fitting outfit, with a well-proportioned, tall, and slender figure.
His clear, dark blue eyes were deep and calm, his skin fair, and his ice-blue hair hung loosely over his shoulders, yet didn't seem out of place. His whole presence exuded an air of nobility, elegance, and handsomeness, as if he was the pinnacle of the world's blessings.
It was Lan Si, who had just ransacked the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Upon their first meeting, the Golden Iron Triangle was shocked by his stunning appearance.
The young man was so perfect in both looks and demeanor that they couldn't find a single flaw, nor could they feel any dislike toward him.
Though they had lived for many years and had seen their fair share of handsome people—Oscar, Dai Mubai, and even Lan Si himself standing out among them—none could compare to this boy. Whether in appearance or aura, they were far outclassed.
Even Liu Erlong, who had been in love with Yu Xiaogang for twenty years, felt her heart flutter for a brief moment when she saw the boy. She covered her mouth with her delicate hand, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"I am Tang Ritian. May I ask what brings you here, seniors?" Lan Si's gaze swept over them without revealing his vigilance, and he cupped his hands in greeting, using a false name.
Hearing this, Flender was the first to respond, coughing lightly. "No need to worry, we mean you no harm. We just saw you wandering alone in the Sunset Forest and wanted to ask if you know a particular place. I am Flender, headmaster of the newly opened Shrek Academy in Heaven Dou City, with a Four-Eyed Owl martial soul, level seventy-eight agility-type battle soul saint. This is our vice-principal, Liu Erlong…"
As he spoke, Flender introduced the three of them and, out of habit, started boasting about Shrek Academy, exaggerating its greatness.
Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong exchanged eye rolls. They knew Flender must have developed a fondness for the young man and wanted to recruit him into Shrek Academy. Normally, they would have supported the idea since Lan Si's earlier skills were anything but ordinary, enough to make up for Zhu Zhuqing's departure from the Shrek Seven Monsters.
But right now, with Tang San's fate still unknown, they just weren't in the mood.
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