After a three-day holiday, the Shrek group set out for their journey to Heaven Dou City.

The city was not close to Shrek Academy. Even with Ning Rongrong's speed boosts and Oscar's sausage supplies, it was nearly evening by the time they finally entered Heaven Dou.

Since it was already late, they decided it would be rude to disturb anyone, and agreed to visit Qin Ming at Heaven Dou Royal Academy the following morning.

The next day, everyone rose early and set off.

Reality, however, was harsh—by noon, they still hadn't even reached the Academy gates. They had run into a serious problem: they were lost…

"Rongrong, didn't you say you knew where the Academy was?" Ma Hongjun, exhausted from circling around the forest all morning, groaned as he called out to Ning Rongrong, looking utterly dejected.

Since she was born in Heaven Dou City and knew something about the Royal Academy, Ning Rongrong had confidently taken on the role of guide. The problem was, after leading them for three or four hours, they were still stuck in the forest…

Hearing Fatty's complaint, Rongrong stuck out her tongue sheepishly and admitted, "Actually, we've already entered the Academy grounds long ago. I just… can't find the teaching buildings right now…"

"Huh!?"

Ma Hongjun froze. Did that mean… this entire forest was part of Heaven Dou Royal Academy?

Flander's ears twitched immediately. His instincts as a money-grubber fired at once. His cloudy old eyes lit up like gold coins, and he asked with difficulty, "Rongrong… you mean this whole forest belongs to the Academy!?"

"Of course!" Rongrong nodded naturally, confused by his tone. What was so surprising? Her clan's back garden was bigger than this.

"How much is all this worth…? Is this the financial power of the royal family?" Flander trembled as though caressing delicate skin, his hands stroking a nearby tree trunk lovingly as he muttered to himself.

"What's the point of having such a huge forest? Decoration? In a capital where every inch of land is priceless, they buy up a massive tract just to keep it as forest? Is this showing off? Or are they just idiots?" Oscar snickered, used to Flander's antics, and mocked while sighing at the extravagance.

Only Tang San, a plant-type spirit master, shook his head. Blue Silver Grass unfurled from his fingertips, wrapped in faint green light.

"It's not that simple. This should be a simulated cultivation environment. Ever since we entered the forest, my Blue Silver Grass has resonated with the surrounding plants. Training here would definitely boost my cultivation speed."

"Xiao San's right. This forest is indeed a simulated training ground for plant spirit masters." The Master pointed toward a distant volcano and continued, "And that volcano over there—that's the perfect simulated environment for Han Feng and Hongjun to train."

"Wow…"

Oscar's jaw dropped. "Heaven Dou Royal Academy really is filthy rich!"

"Well, they are backed by the royal family." Tang San smiled faintly as he withdrew his spirit, leaving the remark hanging.

"Uh…" Ma Hongjun awkwardly raised his hand. "Can we talk about this later? The most important thing right now is… I'm starving."

Grrrrr!

Right on cue, his stomach rumbled loudly, leaving everyone momentarily speechless.

"Fatty! That's so you." Oscar laughed, patting him on the shoulder.

The others couldn't help but chuckle. Flander glared at him in mock anger, while Han Feng simply pulled out a packet of snacks from his soul tool and handed it over with a grin. "Here. Look at you—you've gotten so skinny lately! If you don't eat, you'll waste away to bones."

Ma Hongjun shot him an annoyed look but quickly gave in to temptation, snatching the food and stuffing it into his mouth.

After the laughter died down, Dai Mubai frowned and said seriously, "Don't you guys find it strange? We've been wandering in this forest all morning, and we haven't seen a single student. It's not a holiday, is it?"

Han Feng nodded slightly. He remembered that in the original story, the Shrek group had a small clash with Royal Academy students before even entering the grounds. But now… they hadn't seen a single soul.

"Exactly. If we'd met just one or two students, we could've asked for directions." Tang San agreed, frowning.

"Haha… Normally, there are many students training in this forest. But since you teachers and juniors are visiting today, the three deans worried the students might act rudely and offend you, so they temporarily dismissed them."

A familiar voice came from behind, and Qin Ming emerged from the trees.

Seeing him, Flander laughed heartily, throwing an arm around his former student's shoulders. "Xiao Ming! What are you doing out here?"

Qin Ming chuckled awkwardly. "The three deans noticed the teachers and juniors hadn't arrived yet, so they sent students out to search…"

"Ah… haha… ha…"

Flander's smile stiffened. He forced out two awkward chuckles to cover his embarrassment.

Him, a dignified agility-type Soul Sage, getting lost like this—if word got out to his former student, he'd never live it down.

"I didn't mean to…" Rongrong ducked behind Xiao Wu, tongue poking out as her cheeks burned red with guilt.

Qin Ming kindly chose not to expose them. Instead, he smiled and said, "The three deans sent me to guide you. Please, follow me."

"Perfect!" Flander praised warmly, secretly giving his student a mental thumbs-up.

"The three deans? You mean the three Contra seniors of the Academy?" The Master's expression shifted, surprised. He hadn't expected Heaven Dou Royal Academy to take them so seriously—after all, he'd only ever negotiated with Qin Ming.

"Exactly." Qin Ming nodded with a smile.

Flander wasn't surprised at all. With Han Feng in their group, even if the Crown Prince himself appeared, he wouldn't be shocked.

"Oh right, has Old Zhao arrived yet?" Flander asked in a low voice, referring to Zhao Wuji.

The Shrek party had split into two groups: Zhao Wuji and some teachers went one way, while Flander and the Master led the students the other. Now, failing to even find the Academy buildings, Flander couldn't help but compare.

Qin Ming gave a wry smile, fully aware of what his teacher was thinking, but answered honestly, "Teacher Zhao has already arrived."

"Click!" Flander clicked his tongue, displeased. "That old guy actually beat me here."

"Heh…" Qin Ming could only laugh bitterly in response.

Among the group, Xiao Wu's brows knitted slightly, her expression faintly troubled.

Tang San immediately noticed. "Xiao Wu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Wu forced a smile, masking her anxiety with a gloomy tone. "It's nothing. I just… don't really want to meet any Contras."

"Why?" Tang San asked, confused.

"Because they're just a bunch of boring old men!" Xiao Wu pulled a long face dramatically.

"Uh…" Tang San's smile froze, his expression shifting to helplessness. He could only try to comfort her softly.

Han Feng, watching the scene, rolled his eyes.

She wasn't avoiding them because Contras were boring—she was terrified of being exposed.

Thankfully, it was just Contras. If it had been three Titled Douluo instead, Xiao Wu would've bolted already.

But Han Feng remembered clearly—in the Royal Academy arc, Dugu Bo would eventually appear. And Dugu Bo was a genuine Titled Douluo.

If he discovered Xiao Wu's true identity… things would get very messy.

"Let's hope nothing changes… After all, even in the original story, he never found out."

Han Feng could only mutter this in his heart.

PS: Read Advance Chapters at patreon.com/c/Shinazuki