The team was moving forward slowly.
Without Huang Sheng and Zhang Tianyuan, but with the addition of Du She.
He had always disdained to be with these third - level students. But after Huang Sheng's death, he took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of guarding the team.
Everything was going on as usual, as if nothing had changed. But everyone knew well that now, everything was different.
After saving Su Nian and her group and getting rid of Huang Sheng, Zhao Shuning quickly returned to the teleportation array.
When she came, she had promised Immortal He that she would return to the Misty Rain Tower immediately after finishing her business.
Theoretically, without attending the preliminary lectures, she was not supposed to enter the Mysterious Forest.
Immortal He had helped her privately. If it was found out, he would be punished. Zhao Shuning understood this well. As long as someone had helped her, she would try her best not to cause trouble for that person.
Anyway, Du She was now a fourth - stage spiritual pharmacist. With him around, there was a certain guarantee for the safety of Kong Shishuang and the others.
Su Nian led the students on a trek deeper.
Most of their purpose for this trip had been achieved. Many people had completed their tasks and found their own spiritual beasts. Although the levels were very low, it was already quite difficult for second - level spiritual pharmacists.
Su Nian and Kong Shishuang both knew that what Zhao Shuning had demonstrated that night was spiritual power.
But Zhao Shuning had never told anyone about this, nor had she told them not to talk about it. That was because Zhao Shuning was convinced that Shishuang and the others must know her intention.
On the day when they were coming back, Zhao Shuning came to the exit of the teleportation array early.
The first one to come out was Teacher Su Nian.
Undoubtedly, she was still injured, but her face was much brighter than before.
It was obvious that during this mission, her status in the students' hearts had changed. Just looking at the students' attitudes towards her, one could tell that they were sincerely convinced of her.
Next came Kong Shishuang. There was no spiritual beast beside her. It was understandable. How many spiritual beasts in the Mysterious Forest could compare with the Lotus Green - Silk Cat? There was the shadow of the ancient demon beast, the Dustless Dragon - Butterfly Tiger, in Xiaoli's bloodline. Its future capabilities were immeasurable.
Then came Shishuang. There was a cute little spiritual beast following beside her. Zhao Shuning couldn't name it exactly. It just looked cute, but when it opened its mouth, it could actually swallow a buffalo alive. Its teeth were sharp. When it walked with Shishuang without opening its big mouth, it was a nice sight.
After that was Shuang'er. Apparently, she had no harvest. There was no spiritual beast beside her. But Zhao Shuning was sharp - eyed. She immediately noticed that there was a herb that had become a spirit peeping out of Shuang'er's bag.
A Shui and A Yue also had their own spiritual beasts. Their levels were at most first - level, but once those little things got stuck on an enemy, they would tear off a layer of the enemy's skin.
Slowly, more and more people came out. The several deans who had come to greet the third - level students also nodded slowly.
In the end, Zhao Shuning didn't see Du She. Just as she was about to ask, she saw a huge demon beast slowly stepping out from the exit.
It had a white head and red feet and looked like an ape.
It was Zhu Yan, the one that had caused everyone so much trouble and almost killed them.
When Zhu Yan appeared, Huodou in the Qiankun bag around Zhao Shuning's waist kept bumping against the bag excitedly. Zhao Shuning gently stroked the bag to comfort it, and it finally calmed down.
Zhao Shuning was calm, but the deans and stewards were not.
As soon as they saw Zhu Yan, they immediately went on full alert and got into a battle - ready state.
But later, when Zhu Yan fully appeared in front of everyone, they found that there was a young man standing on Zhu Yan's palm. That young man was Du She, a third - level student.
This shocked the whole audience.
"Du She is really impressive."
The thing in the Qiankun bag moved again.
Zhao Shuning said angrily, "Did you encourage Zhu Yan to submit to Du She?"
The Qiankun bag became quiet. Zhao Shuning sighed. It really was. She had thought that Zhu Yan was an ancient demon beast. Du She was strong, but he was not yet at the level to compete with an ancient demon beast. It turned out that it was all thanks to little Huodou.
"You're thinking too beautifully. Even if Zhu Yan comes to the Misty Rain Tower and becomes Du She's contracted demon beast, you two won't be able to meet every day."
"Now you know you're wrong? It's too late. Why do you always do these little tricks behind my back?"
"However, Xiao An is really a good person. With a master, Zhu Yan won't have to live a vagrant life anymore. Xiao An will surely reach a level that matches Zhu Yan in the future."
Zhao Shuning was having a mental conversation with Huodou in the Qiankun bag and didn't notice Su Nian walking towards her slowly.
"Student Zhao."
"Ah? Oh, what's up, Teacher Su?"
Su Nian leaned close to her ear and said softly, "Thank you."
Zhao Shuning showed a bright smile: "You're welcome. It's just a small thing."
It seemed that Su Nian should know that she had killed Huang Sheng.
Huang Sheng had committed many evils. He had damaged Su Nian's spiritual root before and later wanted to use the students' lives to pave his own way. He deserved to die, and his death was not a pity. Su Nian had dreamed of killing her enemy with her own hands, but she knew clearly that her combat power was far inferior to Huang Sheng's. It was simply impossible for her to kill him and take revenge.
Zhao Shuning killing Huang Sheng was actually helping her.
After all the people had arrived, Du She gently patted Zhu Yan, and Zhu Yan turned into a demon beast of normal human size.
The reason he chose such a high - profile appearance was to attract the attention of spiritual pharmacists. Since he had contracted the ancient demon beast Zhu Yan, he could win the hearts of many people even in the jianghu. The thing he had promised the senior, he had started to plan carefully from now on.
Because the demon beast Du She had contracted was extraordinary, the deans in the tower began to flatter him.
"Master."
Du She bowed to Dean Chen and then said, "Disciple didn't follow the teacher's instructions and entered the Mysterious Forest without permission. Please punish disciple."
Yes, Du She was originally the only disciple who didn't need to participate in the mission in the Mysterious Forest, but he had sneaked into it secretly, hiding from everyone.
Zhao Shuning had also been very puzzled when she saw him before.
It turned out that this kid had sneaked in.
"It doesn't matter. I'm happy for you that you've achieved so much."
How could he not be happy? The demon beast Du She had contracted was Zhu Yan. Even if the whole Misty Rain Tower was mortgaged, they might not be able to capture it.
"Dean Chen, I heard that there will be another big event today, so I deliberately rushed here. When will that event be announced?"