A long time had passed since that incident. Fang Chang had been hiding in the Sunset Forest, quietly hunting and growing stronger, but the Shrek Seven Devils he had been waiting for never showed up.
One month passed, then another. The number of high-level soul beasts in the Sunset Forest, which had never been abundant to begin with, was visibly decreasing.
At this moment, a team of human soul masters had been wandering through the forest for several days. They had come to find a soul beast around four to five thousand years old to provide a fourth soul ring for one of their members.
But after several days, they hadn't even encountered a single soul beast over two thousand years old.
"Teacher Yu, do you think something's wrong with the Sunset Forest? When I came here last time, there were definitely more soul beasts," a woman in white, with a soft and delicate voice, asked the man leading the team.
The woman appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a soul power level of thirty-seven. By most standards, she would be considered quite talented.
"I'm not sure either. Let's keep looking. I refuse to believe that such a large forest like the Sunset Forest wouldn't have a suitable soul beast," the man leading the team replied.
The leader looked to be in his forties or fifties, with a soul power level at the Soul King rank, making him the strongest in the group.
Behind them were two other men, both slightly older than the woman in white, dressed in red and green uniforms.
One of the men had just reached the fortieth level of soul power. It seemed they had come here to find a soul ring for him.
"Teacher Yu, maybe we should just settle for a weaker thousand-year soul beast," the man said timidly, stepping forward to speak with Teacher Yu.
As a soul master from an ordinary family, he wouldn't dare to enter the Sunset Forest alone without his teacher's guidance.
He didn't dare to hope for a four or five thousand-year soul beast. Getting a decent thousand-year soul ring was already more than enough for him.
But the more he said this, the more Teacher Yu felt compelled to fulfill his promise. "Don't worry, Xiao Duan. I promised you, and I'll make sure it happens. Otherwise, how could I keep my reputation at our Blue Tyrant… I mean, Shrek Academy?"
As he spoke, the other man pointed ahead. "Teacher, look over there."
The group followed his finger and saw a Scale Armor Beast grazing on something in the grass not far away.
This soul beast resembled a large rhinoceros, with three blue horns on its head. Its aura suggested a soul power level of around four thousand years, which was exactly what they were looking for.
"See? There we go," Teacher Yu said with a smile, pointing at the Scale Armor Beast. "Listen to my commands. Bai Ling, you support me. Xiao Duan, you two look for opportunities to attack and deal as much damage as possible."
As he spoke, he summoned his martial soul—a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. The students followed suit, summoning their own martial souls.
Among them, the woman in white's martial soul was a white lotus. The lotus emitted a white light that enveloped the group, with the brightest light focusing on Teacher Yu.
With the white light's enhancement, Teacher Yu's already formidable aura grew even stronger, approaching the level of a Soul Emperor.
He moved cautiously, leading the three young people toward the Scale Armor Beast. When they were less than ten meters away, he suddenly stopped and waved his hand forward.
"Let's go!" But as soon as he spoke, he abruptly changed his tone. "Wait, no! Get back, don't go!"
Almost at the same moment, the sky above them darkened. Looking up, they saw a giant spider-shaped soul beast, over fifty meters long, standing right in front of them.
The spider lowered its head, its enormous mouth biting down on the Scale Armor Beast, completely oblivious to the human soul masters nearby.
This, of course, was Fang Chang, who had used his "Flexible Size" skill to enlarge his body to its maximum size.
As his size increased, so did his field of vision. Now, humans looked like insignificant ants to him, easy to overlook if he wasn't paying attention.
The Scale Armor Beast had just realized what was happening. It lifted its head in confusion but had no time to react before Fang Chang swallowed it whole.
On the other side, the human soul masters, including the Soul King-level Teacher Yu, broke out in a cold sweat.
Thankfully, Teacher Yu had noticed something was wrong and stopped his students in time. Otherwise, they might have ended up as the spider monster's meal along with the Scale Armor Beast.
But now, how were they supposed to escape from this spider monster? The thought made Teacher Yu break out in even more sweat.
"T-Teacher Yu, how many years is this spider soul beast? It looks so terrifying. Are we… are we going to…?" The woman in white trembled, her cold hands instinctively clutching Teacher Yu's clothes.
"Maybe… fifty or sixty thousand years? Or possibly even a hundred thousand," Teacher Yu pondered.
Judging by the spider monster's aura, it seemed slightly weaker than the vice-principal of their academy. But its sheer size made it far more intimidating, leaving him unsure.
He shielded his three students behind him, crouching as low as possible in the grass, hoping to avoid the giant spider's notice.
But Fang Chang's head was still close to the ground. From his elevated perspective, the grass provided no cover at all. He immediately spotted the group.
Bored out of his mind, Fang Chang quickly came up with an idea. Maintaining his current size, he took slow, deliberate steps toward the humans, lowering his head toward them.
Teacher Yu and the students felt their hearts leap into their throats. Facing a soul beast dozens of times their size and far exceeding their soul power, they had no thoughts of resistance.
Just as they were about to despair, a voice suddenly echoed in their minds. "Humans, answer my question. Have you heard of Shrek Academy?"
Who was that? The group looked around in confusion, then up at the giant spider. Could it be…?
They exchanged glances, too terrified to speak, frozen in place.
"Answer me!" the voice demanded again. One of the male students, weaker in soul power, collapsed to the ground, trembling as he replied, "Y-yes, we… we are from Shrek Academy."
Teacher Yu shot him a glare. Why did this idiot have to tell the truth now?
"Hmm?" Fang Chang's gaze froze for a moment as he looked at the group, suddenly realizing something.
Right, there was originally a Blue Tyrant Academy in Heaven Dou City, with Liu Erlong as its principal. But after Flender and the others brought the Shrek Seven Devils there, they took over the academy and renamed it Shrek Academy.
The seven little monsters were probably training there now.
Also, Tang San was supposed to spend half a year with Dugu Bo in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. But perhaps because Fang Chang had destroyed the herb garden, Tang San had left early.
Without the help of the immortal-grade herbs, the Shrek Seven Devils, except for the oldest Dai Mubai, were likely still at the thirty-something soul power level.
If he kept waiting here for them, who knew how long it would take…
Fang Chang glanced at the human soul masters again, and a bold plan formed in his mind.
"Take me to Shrek Academy, or else…" Fang Chang's voice echoed in their minds again. At the same time, he lowered his head further, a large pool of drool landing in front of the soul masters.
Teacher Yu looked at the giant spider, then at his students. He clenched and unclenched his fists, finally sighing and nodding heavily.