Xu Lizhi rolled his eyes, "Nonsense, my eyes are only on Yuanen Yehui and Xu Xiaoyan. I'm thinking which one of them should I confess to."
"You have a death wish, don't you?" Yue Zhengyu and Xie Xie replied in unison again.
Xu Lizhi looked at the two of them and broke into laughter, "You two are looking more and more like a couple with each passing day. I'll be off then." After he finished, he squeezed out of the door and ran immediately. He ran so quickly that he seemed to be flying.
Xie Xie and Yue Zhengyu exchanged looks. Yue Zhengyu suddenly leapt backward and said to Xie Xie with uprightness, "Keep our distance! Let's keep our distance from now on."
"It's you who should roll further away from me."
The news of Dai Yun'er and Long Yue coming to Shrek Academy and were accepted as Inner Court disciples spread like wildfire. The information spread throughout the entire Inner Court immediately.
The others knew nothing about them, but this generation of Shrek Seven Monsters were all too familiar with them.
Long Yue's undefeatable air was deeply branded in their hearts. If it were not for Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, with their Earth Element Imprisonment and bloodline suppression, and the final Divine Dragon Transformation, they could not have possibly defeated such a powerful opponent.
After the competition, even Wu Zhangkong said that he was not sure if they could defeat Long Yue if they fought one against one.
It was apparent just how powerful this person who was regarded as Star Luo Empire's rare talent in a hundred years was.
"What did you say?" Xu Xiaoyan's scream could be clearly heard even if one was a few hundred meters from here.
She was not the only one, even the other members of Shrek Seven Monsters were staring with their mouths agape at the duo who stood before them.
After they entered the Inner Court, under the arrangements made by the academy's staff, they finally met Dai Yun'er and Long Yue who came from far away. Also, they obtained a shocking information from their mouths.
"What we said is true," said Dai Yun'er seriously, "Not long ago, we've just received word. Tang Wulin has returned to Douluo Continent via a steamer provided by Tang Sect's headquarters in Star Luo City. There's a lot of uncertainties about a journey on sea, but Tang Sect's steamers are usually the most reliable mode of transportation. That's why we rushed here as quickly as we could. He hasn't returned?"
They had suddenly received information about Tang Wulin. Among the Shrek Seven Monsters, with the exception of Gu Yue being calm and silent, the others were all shocked and astonished.
"He's not dead, the captain's truly not dead? He's alive even though the small world has collapsed?" Xie Xie squalled and instantly leapt on the spot. His expression was one of utmost excitement.
Yue Zhengyu also swung his arm forcefully.
Dai Yun'er's eyes flickered with a strange light, "I was also astonished. I've always thought that he's... Fortunately, he's still alive. I believe the information given by Tang Sect is correct. We'll just have to wait for him here."
Ye Xinglan could be regarded as one of the calmer ones there. She looked at Dai Yun'er and said, "Why're you looking for Tang Wulin?"
Dai Yun'er smiled beautifully, "It's because I have something important, of course! He's my man. If I have information about him, it's a must for me to come and find him."
"What did you say?" Everyone stared at Dai Yun'er with their mouths agape. This time, they were even more shocked than when they heard that Tang Wulin was still alive.
A dash of redness appeared on Dai Yun'er's delicate face. She said with a slight shyness, "Back then, I've entered that small world with him. We're both fighters of Tang Sect's Battle Soul Hall. He was White Three, I was White Seven. Through sheer coincidence, we were paired together. Then, throughout the process of adventuring in Dragon Valley, we've spent a few months with each other. When you've spent that much time with someone, you're bound to have feelings for them. And then the rest just happened naturally. After that, we were suddenly in grave danger. He sent me out ahead of himself to protect me, then we've lost all contact with him. All these years, I've been looking hard for him, I believe that he'll be alright."
"Not long ago, I've finally received information about him. He's my fiancé, it's only natural that I come and find him. All of you are his best friends, if he returns, you must tell him that I'm here. If he's willing to return to Star Luo Continent with me, he'll be the emperor's son-in-law. If he truly does not wish to come with me, then I'll stay here. I'm willing to just be a civilian, as long as I'm with him."
As they witnessed Dai Yun'er making her confession shyly, their expressions became more peculiar. Their gazes subconsciously turned toward Gu Yue. However, surprisingly, Gu Yue's expression had been calm since the beginning, her expression had not change in the least.
"I thank the both of you for bringing back news regarding Tang Wulin, but he hasn't returned. We've also been waiting for him. If there's nothing else, let's adjourn this meeting," said Gu Yue drily. After she said this, she turned around and left.
A dash of triumph flashed across the bottom of Dai Yun'er's eyes. She said with a smile, "I'll be waiting for him here. I believe that he'll come back to the academy once he returns."
The others said nothing. The Shrek Seven Monsters followed Gu Yue out.
"Gu Yue, don't listen to her. When that princess was talking just now, there seemed to be something off about her tone and her voice, she doesn't sound like she's telling the truth. Besides, how old are they three years ago? Captain was only fifteen years old, how could they end up together just because they spent a few months together?" Ye Xinglan said softly.
Xie Xie said, "But, she's come all the way to our doorstep. If there's truly nothing, why would she be in such a hurry? But, no matter what, it's a great news that the captain is well! We'll just leave this matter to him once he returns."
The others nodded in agreement. Matters such as these were best left to the person concerned.
"How he's faring has nothing to do with me." Gu Yue suddenly hastened her footsteps and left with blinding speed.
'He has returned, now of all times. I've finally made the difficult decision to leave a few months later, but why did you return in this point of time? You have to know that it hadn't been easy for me to calm my heart down, but now it's all a mess again because of your news. Why did you come back? Why did you come back at this hour?'
"What do we do?" The others all looked at each other.
"We'll have to wait until captain returns. We'd best let him to attend to his male-female relationships himself," Yue Zhengyu shrugged. They truly had no way of making the decision for Tang Wulin. However, no matter what, they were currently in high spirits. Tang Wulin was alright, he was coming back. What news could be better than this?
A few days later, at Shrek Academy's main gate.
When Tang Wulin alighted from the soul taxi and saw the tall gateway, he could not help but feel as though an entire generation had passed since he was here last.
He had only known how long he had stayed within Dragon Valley after he left. It was a full three years and four months!
He had accomplished the great feat of burying the remains of the Dragon Clan after a long period of forty months. Three years and more had passed. He was already eighteen years old now, almost nineteen.
'Everyone must've grown up by now, right? But since I've been away for this long, I wonder how much has changed within the academy?'
'My companions, I've returned. Are you all still in the academy?'
'Na'er, I've returned. I've made you worry.'
With all these complicated feelings within him, Tang Wulin dashed swiftly toward Shrek City's gateway. He kissed the wall with great strength. The feeling of coming home had filled his body with a flaming heat.
He stepped into Shrek City, everything seemed so familiar. Tang Wulin eagerly went to the familiar noodle shop which Xu Lizhi had brought him to before. He ordered ten large bowls of noodles and chowed down on them.
When he used the dragonball to leave Dragon Bone, he discovered that the cabin on the cliff was empty. With no other options available to him, he could only find a way to get out of the forest by himself. After some time, he eventually found a car after going through much trouble, and he went back to Star Luo City.
When he reached Star Luo City, he could only request help from Tang Sect. Fortunately Tang Sect owned a commercial steamer that travelled back and forth between the two continents. He had also obtained information about the diplomatic corps from Tang Sect. The diplomatic corps had returned to Douluo Continent more than two years ago.