Leaving the Star Dou Forest

"Big Sister?"

Upon hearing this address, Hu Liena was momentarily stunned, a bit taken aback.

"What did you call me?" She immediately felt displeased. What kind of nonsense was this?

She was alluring and charming, in the prime of her youth, with beauty that could captivate anyone. Yet this guy actually called her "Big Sister"—how unappealing!

"I called you 'Big Sister.' What else should I call you, 'Miss'?" Chen Xuan asked, puzzled, not noticing anything wrong.

Hu Liena's face immediately darkened, clearly unhappy. Being called "Big Sister" was bad enough, and now he was calling her "Miss."

In this world, only the women in brothels and nightclubs were addressed as "Miss." She didn't believe that Chen Xuan didn't know this; he must have been deliberately trying to disgust her, perhaps as revenge for what happened earlier.

If Chen Xuan knew her thoughts, he would definitely feel wronged. After all, who was the one who kept calling him "Little Brother" from the start? Wasn't it normal for him to call her "Big Sister" in return?

This place had become unbearable for even a minute longer.

"Farewell!" Chen Xuan sensed the location of his Flying Thunder God kunai. In the next moment, he activated his ability and disappeared from where he stood, leaving only a trace of golden light behind.

Three hundred meters away, beneath a giant pine tree, a silver kunai was embedded in the ground.

A flash of golden light appeared, and Chen Xuan's figure materialized there. He pulled the kunai from the ground and threw it forcefully into the sky. His whole body transformed into a yellow flash again.

Traveling in this way was not only convenient but also allowed him to conceal his presence to the maximum extent.

On the other side...

Witnessing Chen Xuan's sudden disappearance, Chrysanthemum Douluo showed a hint of surprise, murmuring, "It seems this little guy is hiding something."

Under his powerful perception, he sensed Chen Xuan's presence three hundred meters away, and the time that had passed was only two or three seconds.

"Elder Chrysanthemum, could it be a spatial soul skill?" Hu Liena speculated.

Spatial martial souls were extremely rare across the entire continent, as rare as ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

The Bone Douluo, Gu Rong, from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, had a martial soul that possessed spatial abilities.

Even though Chrysanthemum Douluo was well-versed in many things, it was difficult for him to give an accurate conclusion. It seemed like a spatial ability, yet at the same time, it didn't. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Crossing terrain and achieving short-distance jumps—what else could it be besides a spatial soul skill?" Hu Liena wondered. Could any speed-type soul skill accomplish this?

Not long after, once the students of the Spirit Hall Academy had absorbed their soul rings, Chrysanthemum Douluo led the group away.

At this point, Chen Xuan had used the Flying Thunder God technique several times in succession, covering a distance of several kilometers.

Suddenly, he stopped, his expression somewhat grim.

He had returned to the place where he had separated from the main group earlier, but the area was now in disarray. Flowers were crushed, trees broken as if a large beast had rampaged through.

Chen Xuan squatted down and found some torn pieces of clothing on the ground, along with traces of blood.

"This is... that uncle's clothes..." Chen Xuan's face changed slightly. Judging by the bloodstains, those two were likely already dead.

He sighed but didn't linger. Turning around, he left, heading out of the Star Dou Forest.

From then on, he traveled using the Flying Thunder God technique, moving at several times his normal speed.

While it was extremely useful over long distances, its effectiveness over short distances was less impressive, and it still had some limitations. From zero to one hundred meters, it took just one second, regardless of the distance. For two hundred meters, it took two seconds, and for three hundred meters, it took three seconds.

However, after breaking through to the Soul Elder level, all distances took half a second less—within one hundred meters, any distance now took only half a second.

Moreover, the original three-hundred-meter limit had increased to four hundred meters as his level improved.

Chen Xuan estimated that if this trend continued, it might even reach the speed of sound or perhaps the speed of light.

---

**Within the Heaven Dou Empire**

In a small town where the morning air was cool, the early market was bustling with people. Many vendors lined the streets with a variety of goods, and the area was lively and noisy.

Chen Xuan, riding in a carriage, had spent two days traveling and finally arrived on this day. The sun had not yet risen, and the sky was still dim.

He got off the carriage and chose not to continue the ride, as his destination was now close.

The original Chen Xuan's parents had died when he was young, leaving him and his three-year-younger sister to depend on each other. They had lived with their uncle's family since childhood.

From his memories, he learned that although his uncle had taken them in, his childhood had been far from good—actually, it had been quite poor.

Chen Xuan's parents were both soul masters who often went out on missions, similar to mercenary soul masters. But one day, after leaving for a mission, they never returned, forever lost in the Star Dou Forest.

Because of this, they left behind a considerable inheritance—five to six hundred thousand gold soul coins, enough for an ordinary person to live a life of luxury.

Unfortunately, this inheritance was taken by his uncle's family under the pretense of keeping it safe until the children were grown.

"No matter where you go, there are always such greedy people," Chen Xuan sighed.

This time, he had returned to settle this matter, but he didn't want to waste too much time and intended to resolve it quickly.

After all, he still wanted to participate in the Continental Soul Master Tournament.

Moreover, after returning to Shrek, he wasn't sure how to face Xiao Wu. Their relationship had become too strained, and he didn't know how to ease the tension.

Chen Xuan picked out some items along the way, including a few princess dresses as gifts.

He quickened his pace, with no time to soak in the market's atmosphere, and headed toward the outskirts of the town.

---

**Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy**

Since that incident, Xiao Wu had been shutting herself in her room every day, refusing to participate in any competitions, and isolating herself from others.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, her close friends, tried to understand what was going on, but Xiao Wu simply brushed them off by saying she didn't feel well.

Tang San had also tried to visit her multiple times, but she refused to see him, shutting herself away for days.

The Shrek group was worried about Xiao Wu, fearing that she had suffered some injustice but was unwilling to talk about it.

Over the past few days, Xiao Wu's mental state had been terrible. She refused to see anyone, especially Tang San.

This led the Shrek group to believe that Tang San had done something wrong to cause her to become so withdrawn.

"Xiao San, what on earth did you do wrong? Go apologize to Xiao Wu, quickly." Five days had passed, and Xiao Wu neither cried nor protested but refused to participate in the competitions. Dai Mubai and the others couldn't bear to see her like this any longer.

"That's right, Third Young Master," Tai Long also urged. "Even I feel heartbroken seeing Sister Xiao Wu like this. Her eyes are dull, and she looks like she's suffered a huge blow. Third Young Master, did you do something shameful?"

Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and the others all suspected that something had happened between Xiao Wu and Tang San. Their relationship had always been good, so her refusal to see him now must be because he had done something wrong.

Tang San was extremely frustrated. With everyone repeatedly emphasizing it, he even began to doubt himself.

But no matter how much he reviewed everything that had happened recently, he couldn't think of anything that might have upset Xiao Wu.

What he didn't know was that Xiao Wu's refusal to see him wasn't because of something he did wrong, but because of the guilt she felt towards him.

Since that incident, Xiao Wu had been in great pain. She had secretly been with another man, even though she had always planned to give her first time to Tang San. The accident had left her devastated.

She felt deeply guilty and believed she had wronged Tang San, which was why she couldn't bring herself to see him.

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