Chapter 31: The Path to the Star Dou Forest
The early morning sun had barely crested the horizon when the Shrek Academy students assembled at the village gates. The crisp morning air was filled with a sense of anticipation—and for a few of them, deep, suffocating dread.
Vice Dean Zhao Wuji stood at the front of the group, looking remarkably imposing despite the lingering yellowish bruises still fading on his face from Tang Hao's beating.
"Listen up, you little monsters!" Zhao Wuji barked, his voice echoing off the newly sterilized dormitories. "The Star Dou Great Forest is not a playground. It is the most dangerous ecosystem on this continent. From this moment forward, my word is absolute law... unless Bai Ming decides otherwise, then we negotiate. Understood?"
Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged dark, annoyed looks, but they both nodded along with the rest of the group.
"Good. It is a long journey to the border town," Zhao Wuji instructed. "We will not be using the profound iron bracers today. You need your spirit power at absolute maximum capacity when we enter the tree line. Conserve your energy. We march!"
The group set off down the dirt road. Tang San, relying on his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and Dai Mubai, utilizing his natural physical prowess, immediately took the lead, setting a brisk, efficient pace.
They hadn't made it a quarter of a mile when a smooth, polite voice called out from behind them.
"Vice Dean, if I may."
Zhao Wuji stopped and turned around. The rest of the group paused, looking back.
Bai Ming was standing in the middle of the road, adjusting his immaculate silver cuffs. He hadn't broken a single sweat.
"While I appreciate the value of cardiovascular exercise," Bai said smoothly, his pitch-black eyes entirely unbothered, "I have absolutely no intention of walking forty miles through the dirt. It is terrible for my shoes."
Tang San frowned. "We need to build our stamina, Bai. You can't just—"
Before Tang San could finish his lecture on martial arts discipline, Bai raised his right hand. The void-black spatial ring on his finger hummed.
With a flash of spatial distortion, a massive, utterly ridiculous object materialized on the dirt road.
It was a high-end, self-propelling luxury carriage. The exterior was crafted from polished ironwood and accented with actual silver plating. The wheels were thick and reinforced, and the interior, visible through the silk-curtained windows, featured plush, velvet-cushioned bench seating. At the front, a complex array of spirit-powered crystals hummed, providing the kinetic energy to drive the vehicle without the need for horses.
The entire group stared at it in stunned silence.
"A spirit-powered carriage?!" Ning Rongrong gasped, her cyan eyes wide. "Those cost tens of thousands of gold coins! Only the Imperial Family uses those!"
"I prefer to travel in style," Bai smirked, smoothly opening the lacquered wooden door and stepping inside. He settled onto the velvet cushions, casually summoning a small, steaming cup of premium tea from his ring. He looked out the window at his dumbstruck classmates.
"However, I suppose it is rather large for just one person," Bai noted, taking a delicate sip. "Rongrong, Xiao Wu, Zhuqing. The interior fits four comfortably. Would you care to join me?"
Ning Rongrong didn't even hesitate. "Yes! Absolutely yes!" She practically sprinted into the carriage, immediately sinking into the plush velvet with a sigh of relief.
Xiao Wu quickly followed her, completely abandoning her usual energetic bouncing for the sake of luxury. Zhu Zhuqing simply sighed, gave Dai Mubai a cold, indifferent look, and gracefully stepped into the carriage, pulling the door shut behind her.
Dai Mubai's jaw clenched so hard his teeth audibly ground together. The Evil Eye White Tiger was practically vibrating with silent rage as he watched his intended fiancé climb into another man's luxury vehicle.
"Hey, Ming!" Ma Hongjun yelled, waving his arms frantically. "What about us?! We're your loyal followers! You can't make us walk!"
"My apologies, Hongjun," Bai's metallic voice echoed from the carriage window, sounding completely unapologetic. "The interior only seats four. You boys will simply have to jog. Think of it as a character-building exercise."
Oscar groaned, his shoulders slumping. But before he could complain further, a massive shadow fell over the carriage.
"Move over, boys!" Zhao Wuji laughed booming loudly. The Vice Dean walked up to the front of the carriage and heavily sat down on the driver's bench. "The interior might be full, but the driver's seat is open! I'm not walking either!"
"Vice Dean!" Tang San protested, completely baffled by the teacher's blatant favoritism.
"Quiet, San!" Zhao Wuji waved a dismissive hand. "He bought the beds, he makes the rules! Now, mush!"
Bai Ming chuckled from inside, tapping a small control crystal. The carriage hummed to life and began rolling smoothly down the dirt road at a steady, brisk pace.
For the next few hours, the journey was a study in contrasts. Inside the carriage, Bai Ming sat perfectly still, his eyes closed, sipping tea while the girls chatted happily about the city markets. Outside, the four boys were forced to jog alongside the vehicle.
Tang San was completely silent, his face set in a mask of rigid concentration, though his eyes burned with fierce, silent anger. Dai Mubai was worse, constantly mumbling under his breath. "I am a prince. I am the Prince of the Star Luo Empire. Why am I jogging in the dirt while he rides in a box?" Oscar and Ma Hongjun, however, just jogged along the side of the carriage without a single complaint. They were fully converted Bai Ming fans; a little jogging was a small price to pay for memory-foam mattresses and roasted boar.
As the sun reached its peak, the carriage hit a small bump. Bai Ming's eyes snapped open, a sharp, golden light momentarily flashing in his dark pupils before vanishing.
He let out a heavy, satisfied exhale, rolling his shoulders.
Ning Rongrong paused her conversation with Xiao Wu and looked at him curiously. "Is everything alright, Bai? You've been unusually quiet for the past three hours. We thought you were asleep."
"I was not sleeping, Rongrong," Bai replied smoothly, setting his empty teacup down. "I was cultivating. The ambient spirit energy is much denser out here than in the city."
Oscar, who was jogging right next to the open window, leaned his head in. "Cultivating? Wait, don't tell me... are you about to break through?! You're already a Spirit Elder like Dai Mubai! Are you hitting Rank 40?!"
The boys outside nearly tripped over their own feet. Tang San's head snapped toward the carriage, his heart dropping into his stomach. Dai Mubai stumbled, his dual-pupiled eyes wide with horror. A twelve-year-old Spirit Ancestor? That was biologically impossible.
Inside the carriage, Bai Ming let out a rich, cultured laugh that perfectly masked the multiversal truth of his Cosmic Origin Core.
"Rank 40? Do not be ridiculous, Oscar," Bai smiled, his pitch-black eyes dancing with hidden amusement. "I am a genius, not a god. No, I simply felt my foundation solidifying. The massive expenditure of energy required to completely renovate the academy yesterday pushed me past a minor bottleneck. I was around Rank 31 when I arrived in the village. I am simply approaching Rank 35 now."
The collective sigh of relief from outside the carriage was audible.
Tang San relaxed his fists. Rank 31 to 35. That's fast, but it's not an insurmountable gap. I just hit Rank 30. I can catch him. But inside the carriage, Xiao Wu's rabbit ears twitched. She looked at the silver-robed boy closely. Her beast instincts were screaming at her. He's lying, Xiao Wu thought, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. His spirit power doesn't feel like Rank 34. It feels... it feels heavy enough to crush a mountain.
"Still," Zhao Wuji called back from the driver's seat, genuinely impressed. "Rank 35 at twelve years old is terrifying. You'll be the youngest Spirit Ancestor in history at this rate."
"I certainly plan to be," Bai replied flawlessly.
As the afternoon sun began to dip, the dense, imposing tree line of the Star Dou Great Forest finally appeared on the horizon, casting a massive, dark shadow across the landscape.
"Alright, listen up!" Zhao Wuji barked, pulling back on the carriage's control crystal and bringing the vehicle to a halt. "We're a few miles out! There's a border town up ahead where mercenaries and hunters rest before entering the forest. We will stop there for the night. I want everyone rested, fed, and at 100% capacity before we cross that tree line tomorrow!"
Bai Ming stepped out of the luxury carriage, his silver robes catching the evening light. He looked toward the dark, looming forest. For the first time all day, the aristocratic mask slipped, replaced by the subtle, eager gleam of the King Beast returning to his domain.
"A border Inn," Bai murmured softly. "How quaint. I do hope they serve decent tea."
The carriage rolled to a smooth halt at the edge of a bustling, chaotic settlement. It wasn't a proper city, but rather a sprawling outpost built entirely to service the hunters, mercenaries, and merchants who braved the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. The air here was entirely different from Suotuo City—it was thick with the smell of cheap ale, roasting meat, and the metallic tang of blood and polished iron.
Bai Ming stepped out of the luxury carriage, his immaculate silver robes standing in stark contrast to the mud-caked boots of the passing mercenaries. He didn't even flinch at the gritty environment. With a casual flick of his wrist, the void-black spatial ring on his index finger hummed, and the massive spirit-powered carriage vanished into thin air, leaving the dirt road clear.
As he led the group toward the largest, reasonably clean two-story inn at the center of the town, Bai Ming's pitch-black eyes narrowed slightly in quiet contemplation.
The border town inn, Mame thought, accessing the multiversal meta-knowledge stored deep within his consciousness. This is where the altercation with the Canghui Academy happens. If memory serves, in the original timeline, Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Hongjun were entirely at fault. They used the Canghui students as punching bags just to vent their own frustrations, and Flender's ridiculous 'dare to cause trouble' motto justified it. The Canghui group were just unfortunate victims.
Bai Ming smoothly sidestepped a drunk mercenary stumbling out of the tavern doors.
Should I temper this encounter? he mused. If I project a fraction of my aura now, I could suppress Dai Mubai's temper and prevent the brawl entirely. Then again... why should I? It is not my responsibility to babysit their morality. Let the play act out. It will be an amusing show to watch while I drink.
"Alright, inside!" Zhao Wuji barked, pushing open the heavy wooden doors of the inn. "We'll secure rooms for the night and get some food. Stay together and don't wander off!"
The interior of the inn was loud, smoky, and packed with rough-looking Spirit Masters. The Shrek group managed to secure a cluster of rooms on the second floor before making their way back down to the busy restaurant area.
True to Shrek Academy's strict, notoriously stingy rules, Zhao Wuji immediately separated himself from the students. He found a small table in the corner, heavily sitting down and waving over a waiter to order a massive plate of meat and a barrel of ale. The academy paid for the teachers, but the students were strictly on their own.
The seven students claimed a large, round wooden table near the center of the room.
Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar were absolutely starving. The day-long jog behind the carriage had drained their stamina. They eagerly flagged down a server and began ordering mountains of the inn's standard fare: greasy meat skewers, thick loaves of bread, and heavy bowls of stew.
Bai Ming sat perfectly upright in his wooden chair, his posture flawless. He looked at the menu written on a chalkboard above the bar, completely ignoring the cheap bar food his peers were drooling over. His Saiyan biology required dense, high-quality calories, and he had absolutely no intention of putting low-tier, grease-soaked meat into his perfectly cultivated vessel. He simply wasn't hungry enough to compromise his standards.
When the server approached him, Bai Ming didn't even look at the man.
"I will not be eating," Bai said smoothly, his metallic voice cutting through the din of the tavern. "However, I require tea. Bring me your most expensive, highest-grade premium tea. And ensure the water is boiled properly, not just warmed."
"R-right away, Young Master," the server stammered, intimidated by the boy's sheer aristocratic presence.
"Wait," Bai added, casually pulling a heavy gold coin from his ring and tossing it onto the table. It clattered loudly, drawing the greedy eyes of several nearby mercenaries, though a single, chilling glance from the King Beast instantly forced them to look away. "Send a full pot of that premium tea to the Vice Dean's table in the corner. Then, bring a separate pot for the three young ladies here."
Ning Rongrong beamed, resting her chin on her hands. "You really are the perfect gentleman, Bai."
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing both offered him small, appreciative nods. The greasy ale the boys had ordered smelled terrible to them.
Bai Ming was about to dismiss the server when he noticed Oscar sitting across from him. The food-system Spirit Master looked completely parched, his eyes darting longingly toward the gold coin and then back to the mention of high-grade tea. Even Ma Hongjun, despite his excitement for the meat skewers, looked incredibly thirsty after his long jog.
Bai let out a soft, highly amused sigh.
"Actually, make it five pots," Bai instructed the server, waving a dismissive hand. "Bring enough for the entire table. It seems my peers have neglected their hydration."
"Big Bro Bai!" Ma Hongjun practically cheered, slamming his hands on the table. "I knew I followed the right boss!"
"You're a lifesaver, Ming," Oscar groaned, dramatically laying his head on the wooden table.
Tang San and Dai Mubai remained silent, though they didn't protest the order. They were too thirsty to let their pride stop them from drinking the premium tea, even if it tasted like defeat.
Within minutes, the steaming pots of high-grade tea were distributed. Bai Ming poured himself a delicate cup, inhaling the fragrant, herbal steam. He took a slow, measured sip, his pitch-black eyes calmly scanning the noisy tavern doors.
He was perfectly positioned. The stage was set. Now, he just had to wait for the unfortunate victims of Canghui Academy to walk through the doors and trigger the boys' pent-up rage.