At the crack of dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Su Ran set off with Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong on the road to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Zhu Zhuqing seemed to be in much better spirits now. When a person has hope and is on an upward path, their state of mind naturally improves.
Ning Rongrong was practically buzzing with excitement. The thought of embarking on a thrilling and stimulating forest adventure with her handsome Teacher Su Ran was enough to make her ecstatic.
However, just as they left the academy gates, they unexpectedly ran into the group from Shrek, who were also planning to head to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Flender greeted Su Ran with forced politeness. "Teacher Su Ran, you're also going to the Star Dou Great Forest? Shall we travel together, since we're going the same way?"
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji's face darkened, and he quickly tugged on his sleeve. "Dean."
Su Ran gave a faint smile and a slight nod, politely declining. "No, thank you. Please, go ahead."
Zhao Wuji instantly breathed a sigh of relief. If they had really traveled together, wouldn't he have been on pins and needles the whole time?
Following this, Wang Sheng untied the horse tethers. With a soft whistle from Su Ran, two magnificent white horses trotted over. They were very affectionate with Su Ran, swishing their tails and circling him endlessly the moment they saw him.
Su Ran turned to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. "Do you know how to ride?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head. As a support-type, she had never learned to ride a horse.
Zhu Zhuqing, however, nodded. "I do."
The Star Luo Empire was a military empire. As a descendant of a great clan, she naturally had some experience with horsemanship.
"Our resources are limited; we only have these two thousand-mile steeds. It's enough that one of you can ride. You take Rongrong and follow me. We'll try to reach the Star Dou Great Forest before noon."
Su Ran swung himself onto a horse with a swift, elegant, and handsome motion. Even Zhu Zhuqing could tell that Teacher Su Ran was an expert rider.
In Ning Rongrong's eyes, the sight was even more incredible. To her, it was a peerless youth with the face of an immortal sitting astride a white horse. The so-called Prince Charming couldn't possibly compare.
"I want to be Teacher's horse!"
"Huh?"
"No, I mean, I want to ride the same horse as Teacher," Ning Rongrong's face flushed red, having accidentally blurted out her innermost thoughts.
"Teacher," Zhu Zhuqing interjected, "although I can ride, I'm not an expert. If we go too fast, I'm afraid I won't be able to manage with Rongrong. Perhaps it's better if you take her?" Having shared her feelings under the stars that night, Zhu Zhuqing could already see that Ning Rongrong harbored 'improper designs' on their teacher, so she decided to do her a favor.
Little did she know, some time later, when she would witness the breathtaking sight of Teacher Su Ran removing his mask, she would look back on this act of kindness and wish she could slap herself.
"Come on up," Su Ran said calmly, extending his hand to Ning Rongrong.
"Ah~"
Ning Rongrong placed her small hand in Su Ran's large one. Still lost in the sensation of holding his hand, she was suddenly pulled up with a sharp tug. With a cry of surprise, she found herself sitting in Su Ran's embrace.
"Hold on tight."
"Giddy-up!"
"Aah!"
With a low shout from Su Ran, the horse galloped off. Ning Rongrong was so frightened she felt her soul was about to fly out of her body. She shrank into Su Ran's arms, her hands clinging tightly to his waist.
Once she had adjusted to the speed, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but look up at him. From this angle, although he wore a mask, she could clearly see his jawline—absolutely exquisite. And his Adam's apple—ah, so masculine! The faint, fresh scent of peach blossoms wafted from his body. Teacher smells so good, wah~ She was completely intoxicated.
"Giddy-up!"
Nearby, Zhu Zhuqing also mounted her horse and followed closely behind Su Ran.
"They truly are fine steeds that can travel a thousand miles. They must be thousand-year spirit beasts themselves—Azure Cloud White Dragon Horses. They're incredibly valuable. This isn't a matter of 'limited resources'; even noble manors would find it difficult to acquire one. A single Azure Cloud White Dragon Horse is worth several thousand gold coins,"Zhu Zhuqing thought, her discerning eye recognizing the breed. They rode with an ethereal grace, as if treading on clouds—light and swift.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu couldn't help but ask, "Dean, their Taoyuan Academy is riding horses to the Star Dou Great Forest. What about us?"
"Their Taoyuan Academy indulges in pleasure and takes shortcuts. That's unacceptable. We at Shrek are all hardworking monsters. We will run there. It will both train our bodies and save money," Flender announced.
He glanced at Oscar, who took the hint immediately. "I, your father, have a big sausage!"
"I, your father, have a small sausage!"
One thick and one thin, two sausages with distinctly different flavors appeared in Oscar's hands. He proceeded to create several Recovery Big Sausages and Detoxifying Little Sausages to restore his teammates' stamina and spirit power and remove any negative statuses.
"Don't worry. Soto City isn't far from the Star Dou Great Forest, less than five hundred kilometers. With Little Ao's sausages to restore your spirit power, and Teacher Zhao Wuji leading the way, you'll definitely get there in a day," Flender reassured the students.
Xiao Wu's lip jutted out. "The academy next door claims their resources are 'limited,' yet they get to ride on such beautiful white horses. And we have to run? We're the ones with limited resources!"
"Alright, Xiao Wu, stop complaining. If we have to run, we run. The Dean is right; running there can be considered training," said Tang San, who was used to hardship from a young age and had no complaints. After all, having the backing of Shrek Academy was already a great advantage for him. Dean Flender and the others were Spirit Saints, after all. He recalled how back at Nuoding Academy, Grandmaster had to beg the dean for help just to hunt a single Ghost Vine.
"If I had known, we should have just joined Taoyuan Academy," Xiao Wu grumbled. The comparison was just too stark. Life at Shrek was too miserable. Look at the two girls who joined Taoyuan Academy—not only had their strength transformed, but they were also glowing with vitality.
Starting from the same point, Ning Rongrong, a support-type, could already take on a power-attack type of the same rank. She wondered how much Zhu Zhuqing would learn. I want to become stronger too!
Tang San gave Xiao Wu another look, and she finally sighed in resignation. "Fine, fine. We'll run then. Forcing hardship when there's none, sigh~"
While the group from Shrek Academy was sprinting under the blazing sun like a bunch of idiots, Su Ran had already brought Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to a small town on the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. They found an inn, stabled the white horses, and after lunch, they entered the forest directly.
Su Ran was quite familiar with this area of the Star Dou Great Forest, as he had obtained almost all of his ten-thousand-year spirit rings here.
The Star Dou Great Forest was currently divided into four zones: the Edge Zone, the Outer Circle, the Mixed Circle, and the Core Circle.
Aside from the Core Circle, which was unfamiliar to him, Su Ran had some experience in both the Outer and Mixed Circles.
The Edge Zone of the forest was home to some small human towns and villages. Unless there was a special situation like a beast tide, only ten-year spirit beasts were found here. The Outer Circle was home to hundred-year and thousand-year spirit beasts, while the Mixed Circle was more dangerous, with many ten-thousand-year spirit beasts residing there.
This time, their destination for hunting Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's third spirit rings was the Outer Circle.
(End of Chapter)