Chapter 43

After agreeing with the other academy disciples to start the "dog hunt" plan tomorrow, Ye Chen finally had some time to rest.

Back at the villa courtyard, Flender and Zhao Wuji, along with others, seemed to have been waiting for quite a while. As soon as Ye Chen entered, Dai Mubai stepped forward with a heavy expression.

"Ye Chen, why don't you come back to the Xingluo Empire with me? At least that way, we can ensure your safety."

"Am I in danger?" Ye Chen patted Dai Mubai's shoulder and smiled at everyone, "Don't worry, it's just a prince. Killing him isn't going to cause that much trouble."

"That's true, but he's still the son of Emperor Xue Ye. Killing Xue Beng will inevitably bring retaliation," Zhu Zhuqing walked to Ye Chen's side, holding his arm with a worried expression. She felt once again that she was just an ordinary woman without any background or strength, only able to watch as the one she liked was mired in trouble without being able to help.

Suddenly, a large hand rested on her head, and she heard Ye Chen's gentle voice by her ear, "Don't worry, trust me, okay?"

"Mm."

Nodding obediently, Zhu Zhuqing clung tightly to Ye Chen's arm, her towering chest making it hard to look away.

Even though Ye Chen assured them it was nothing to worry about, the atmosphere in the villa's living room remained heavy. Everyone still felt he was in danger.

"Ye Chen, I have something to tell you," Hu Liena pulled Ye Chen into a room on the west side and continued, "Master sent a letter saying that recently two Super Douluos, at least level 95 or higher, came to the Wuhun Academy. They captured a few students and asked about someone, but after being released, those captured lost their memories. Master wants me to ask if this has anything to do with you."

"If it doesn't, Master will send Super Douluos to investigate to prevent anyone from discovering Wuhun Hall's secrets. If it does, Master will stop investigating."

Ye Chen rubbed his chin and nodded, "It should be my masters. Don't worry, they must have gone to Wuhun Hall out of concern for my safety."

"Okay, I'll write back as you said." Hu Liena took out a pen and paper from her pocket and began writing.

Ye Chen added, "Those two Super Douluos are alright, right? With so many experts in Wuhun Hall, nothing happened to them, right?"

"They should be fine. Just that four Super Douluos from the Elder Hall fought with them for a while."

"Hiss!"

Hearing Hu Liena's response, Ye Chen couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. Four Super Douluos fighting simultaneously, and she says they're fine?

Looking out the window, Ye Chen thought to himself, "I hope Master Gu and Sword Senior are okay."

The next morning, the "dog hunt plan" officially started.

Based on Ye Chen's understanding of the yellow dog, it was no ordinary animal. Since its initial target was him, and it caused a ruckus at the Royal Academy seemingly just for him, it was evident that the dog had extraordinary intelligence, even capable of manipulating others to do its bidding.

Early in the morning, everyone who had been victimized by the yellow dog gathered in the plaza in front of Ye Chen's villa.

Seeing the large crowd, Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh, "Wow, there are twice as many people here today as there were yesterday, nearly 300 in total."

"What is our slogan?"

Ye Chen raised his arm and shouted passionately, instantly igniting the crowd's enthusiasm.

"Our slogan is: Evil yellow dog, better wrong than miss, see yellow fur, blow the iron whistle."

"Evil yellow dog, better wrong than miss, see yellow fur, blow the iron whistle."

"Evil yellow dog, better wrong than miss, see yellow fur, blow the iron whistle."

Seeing the crowd's fervor, Ye Chen felt a surge of excitement. He didn't even know why he was so interested in this dog.

"Move out, towards the southern forest!"

Ye Chen led the charge, heading towards the southern forest, the closest one to the Royal Academy, and the best hiding spot for the yellow dog. Several times, people had seen it flee there after causing trouble.

The lush forest, close to the academy, was perfect for the cunning yellow dog to play hit-and-run tactics.

The nearly 300-person group, all spirit masters, moved quickly and soon reached the edge of the southern forest.

Looking at the dense foliage, Ye Chen said, "Stick to the plan, groups of ten, search every inch. If you spot the yellow dog, blow the whistle to call for backup. Remember, don't get cocky; that dog is really fast."

"Don't worry, we know what to do."

The crowd laughed and split into dozens of teams, spreading out from the forest's edge in a fan shape, continuously expanding the search area.

But soon after the teams had fully dispersed, the left side reported back with whistle sounds. When Ye Chen and his team arrived, they found a scene that left them speechless.

A group of ten had fallen into a pit full of spirit beast feces, the smell so overpowering it made it hard to approach. Ye Chen couldn't imagine how they got so close to such a place.

"You guys stay and help them out. I'll check elsewhere."

Ye Chen walked away, but soon, whistles came from the right side. Rushing over, he found several teams in trouble.

It turned out the yellow dog had outsmarted them. Some teams had disturbed beehives, others had accidentally broken spirit beast eggs, and the worst had attacked a young ten-thousand-year spirit beast with yellow fur, thinking it was the dog.

As a result, some teams were covered in bee stings, others were chased by powerful spirit beasts, and the group attacking the young spirit beast was stomped to death by its mother.

Rubbing his temples, Ye Chen realized that continuing like this was futile. So he took out a pet spirit beast, an ice crystal white wolf, from his bag. He had stolen it from someone unlucky, thinking it might attract the yellow dog.

Initially, Ye Chen planned to use the "beauty" strategy to lure the yellow dog, but pet lovers had vehemently opposed it, forcing him to come up with a backup plan.

Stroking the fur of the low-level ice crystal white wolf, Ye Chen thought, "It's up to you, 'sister,' to lure out that stupid dog. I'll definitely catch it."

Smiling, he placed the white wolf in a tree hollow and scattered female spirit beast pheromones around it.

After setting up, Ye Chen climbed a tree and waited.

Ignoring the constant whistle sounds and screams from his "teammates," Ye Chen focused on his trap. The nearly 300 people were just decoys.

"Sshh!"

A faint sound came from not far away. Ye Chen squinted and saw a yellow figure cautiously moving through the grass, attracted by the pheromones.

At the same time, two tall forest wolves appeared, drawn by the scent, heading towards the white wolf.

Sensing competition, the yellow dog, about a meter tall, rushed out and attacked the forest wolves, killing them effortlessly.

"Damn, that's a fierce dog!"

Ye Chen was surprised. He knew the dog wasn't ordinary but didn't expect it to be this strong.

"Howl!"

The yellow dog howled, but the thorny restriction Ye Chen had placed in the white wolf took effect. Seizing the moment, Ye Chen quickly approached and struck the injured yellow dog with a sword, cutting it in half.

Watching the troublesome dog bleed out, Ye Chen felt a sense of relief and triumph. The frustration of being outsmarted twice faded away.

Just as he was celebrating, three powerful presences appeared above, filled with hostility.

Before Ye Chen could react, three elders with immense spirit power grabbed him, lifted him into the sky, and disappeared over the southern forest.