"Third Brother, isn't this Taoyuan Academy? What did you bring me here for?"
"Shh, Xiao Wu, keep your voice down. From my observations, the recent beast roars have been coming from Taoyuan Academy. We can use this opportunity to observe how their students train. That's the only way we can discover their weaknesses and help Boss Dai and Fatty defeat them in the future."
"Ooh, so you brought me here to peep, Third Brother. You're so skilled at climbing walls."
"Shh. This is called 'know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' You can't call it peeping."
"Scaling walls is just a small trick. If you want to learn, I can teach you later."
"Come on, Xiao Wu."
Outside the walls of Taoyuan Academy, Xiao Wu watched Tang San expertly scale the wall, find a blind spot on a roof to hide, and begin observing the scene inside. Only then did she realize that Tang San had dragged her along to spy on Taoyuan Academy.
The two of them sat on the edge of the outer eaves of Taoyuan Academy's storage room. Under the faint starlight, Tang San began to carefully study the academy's layout.
He had chosen an excellent position. He could see most of Taoyuan Academy, and it was at a safe distance from the inner courtyard where Su Ran resided, making them less likely to be discovered. His skill in selecting such a vantage point made it clear that this was not his first offense.
"The campus environment of this Taoyuan Academy is truly beautiful. Our Shrek can't compare. The endless peach blossoms, the swaying red maples, the brilliant starlight... it's so romantic. A pity they are our opponents."
"Xiao Wu, look. Taoyuan Academy is roughly divided into three main sections: front, middle, and inner. The front courtyard consists of the school gate and a small entrance plaza. I imagine only Wang Sheng is active there normally."
"The middle courtyard seems to be the training ground, with some iron posts and silver threads. These must be for training. My guess was right; this teacher at Taoyuan Academy must have some novel teaching methods."
"The environment of the inner courtyard is even more leisurely, with a garden, a pond, and an elegant tea pavilion. It seems this Teacher Su Ran of Taoyuan Academy usually enjoys a rather refined and quiet life."
"Xiao Wu, look quickly! No wonder Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing are improving so rapidly. They're cultivating even at night."
Suddenly, Tang San's focus sharpened, and he pointed towards the girls' dormitory.
On the roof of Taoyuan Academy's dormitory, there were several skylights made with wooden lattices. When the weather was good, they would open the skylights and sit cross-legged in their rooms, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon.
Three faint glows of different colors swirled in the air above the dormitory building. Xiao Wu might not have understood what they were, but Tang San, who also cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill by purifying his body with the essence of the sun and moon, knew very well that the students of Taoyuan Academy were cultivating.
Following Tang San's finger, Xiao Wu also noticed the anomaly above the dormitory. It didn't look like ordinary Spirit Master cultivation.
"Xiao Wu, from now on, we'll observe their situation from here. I refuse to believe we can't find a flaw in their cultivation methods."
Xiao Wu glanced at the serious-looking Tang San and hugged her bundle tighter. "Um, Third Brother, actually, tonight I was planning to..."
"ROAR—"
Just as Xiao Wu was hesitating about whether to say goodbye to Tang San and go find the transcendent immortal of her dreams, another tiger's roar faintly echoed.
Xiao Wu couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound. There, between the front courtyard plaza and the training grounds, under two dense peach trees, the faint silhouettes of two bound spirit beasts trembled. Because the peach trees were swaying, their view was obscured, and they couldn't see the beasts clearly, making them hard to spot at night.
"The beast roars are indeed coming from Taoyuan Academy. Both of these are ferocious and violent spirit beasts. Su Ran probably brought them back from the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Tsk. He's certainly good to his students, actually bringing spirit beasts back five hundred kilometers to the academy for them to hunt conveniently. And they're both rare species." A purple glint appeared in Tang San's eyes, allowing him to see clearly even at night.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't envious. After all, he had never received such treatment. When he was hunting for his first Spirit Ring, he and Grandmaster had gone to great lengths in the forest just to kill a single Datura Snake. Where could one find such a good thing as home delivery?
"Xiao Wu? Xiao Wu?! Where did she go!"
After clicking his tongue, Tang San realized that Xiao Wu was no longer beside him. The purple glow in his eyes intensified as he activated his Purple Demon Eye. Only then did he catch sight of her figure in the dim light.
Xiao Wu was crawling along the eaves toward the edge, finding a better vantage point, and staring intently at the spirit beasts under the two peach trees.
Her expression at this moment was extremely complex, as if she were trapped in some kind of puzzle.
Those two spirit beasts... looked so familiar.
Where had she seen them before?
Yes, she had seen them. They were the very same two spirit beasts she had seen being led away by that transcendent immortal in the Star Dou Great Forest that day! Their species, bloodline, and size were all nearly identical!
How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Why would these two exact spirit beasts appear in Taoyuan Academy? What was going on?
Could it be that the person she had seen was right here in Taoyuan Academy? Then why had he never shown his face?
The words echoed in Xiao Wu's mind again: "Lower your head. Pinch both sides of your nose with your fingers."
She then recalled the reclusive, constantly masked Peach Blossom Teacher of Taoyuan Academy, who had only shown himself a few times to stand up for his students. His figure, his voice... at this moment, they seemed to overlap with that of the transcendent immortal.
"Could it be him!"
The man she saw in the Star Dou Great Forest that day... could he be the teacher of this Taoyuan Academy, Su Ran?!!!
Xiao Wu's eyes widened. She stood frozen on the spot, unable to believe it. It felt like she was in a dream, petrified like a statue, completely motionless and dumbfounded.
Are you telling me that I had the chance to become the disciple of a transcendent immortal, but I missed that golden opportunity and joined Shrek instead?
Are you telling me that the peerlessly handsome man I fell in love with at first sight in the Star Dou Great Forest is the teacher of the rival academy?
Ah—
Xiao Wu felt like she could die. But if she could choose how to die, she would rather find out the truth and die on the bed of that man of unparalleled beauty. To be drained dry and die without regret.
"..."
"Xiao Wu? Xiao Wu?"
"Xiao Wu, what were you about to say just now?"
"Are you interested in these two spirit beasts?"
Tang San had to call her several times before Xiao Wu slowly came back to her senses. She quickly composed herself, but her wildly beating heart had already betrayed her.
Xiao Wu hugged her bundle tightly. She wasn't leaving anymore. "Third Brother, from now on, I want to come and observe Taoyuan Academy every day. Can you help me?"
"Come every day? We can, but... Xiao Wu, why..." Tang San was confused. Why did Xiao Wu seem like a completely different person after seeing those two spirit beasts? It was as if she had been revitalized, filled with excitement. Ever since her trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Wu had been acting very strangely.
"As long as we can, that's great! You'll know the reason in the future. You'll be amazed then, Third Brother!"
"Third Brother, if I find the person I like, the person I want to be with forever, will you support me and bless me?"
"Ah???"
"Xiao Wu, then what about me?"
"You're my Third Brother. I see you as the most trustworthy big brother I have."
"Xiao Wu, you—" Tang San looked at Xiao Wu with a complex expression. "Xiao Wu, do you think... that your lifesaver is in Taoyuan Academy?"
(End of Chapter)