On the other side.
Compared to Tang Wulin and the others, who landed in the wilderness and immediately erupted into a battle with Evil Soul Masters, the start of Wang Dong'er's group's experience was much more peaceful.
Accompanied by the faint sound of whistling air currents,
a silver-white high-altitude spirit tool car smoothly pierced through the clouds and finally landed steadily on an open space on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The car door opened.
Six girls—Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, Seele, Xu Xiaoyan, Lin Xi, and Zhang Xiaoning—stepped out of the car with light movements.
Breathing in the fresh air filled with the fragrance of plants at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, the six girls couldn't help but stretch, their moods quite relaxed.
"Alright, we've landed safely."
The Storage Soul Tool on Wang Dong'er's wrist flashed, and she skillfully stowed the spirit tool car away.
Then, she turned around, looked at her five companions, and asked,
"What are everyone's plans next? Do you have any specific plans for these four months of experience?"
Hearing Wang Dong'er's question, several people looked at each other and began to discuss.
Lin Xi and Zhang Xiaoning glanced at each other, then took a step forward.
"Donger, the two of us won't be going with you."
Lin Xi spoke up.
"It's been a full eight months since the start of school and we haven't been home. We don't plan to rush into taking on experience missions. We want to take this opportunity to leave here first and go home to see our families, and let them know we're safe."
Zhang Xiaoning also nodded from the side, her eyes full of homesickness.
Hearing their plans, Wang Dong'er and the others nodded understandingly and agreed.
"Okay, then be safe on the road. If you encounter danger during your experience, remember to send your location for help."
Wang Dong'er reminded them; the bracelets issued by the academy also had a distress function.
Lin Xi and Zhang Xiaoning expressed their understanding, then waved goodbye to everyone and left the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest together along the main road.
After seeing the two off, Wang Dong'er turned her gaze to the remaining three: Xiao Xiao, Seele, and Xu Xiaoyan.
"What about the three of you?"
Xiao Xiao spread her hands and said with a smile,
"I don't have a clear goal. Anyway, there's no rush for the experience right this moment."
Seele and Xu Xiaoyan also nodded, indicating they thought the same.
"Since no one is in a hurry, why don't we stay together for a while before splitting up?"
Wang Dong'er suggested.
"Sure."
The three agreed in unison.
Wang Dong'er raised her wrist, looked at the time displayed on the bracelet, and found it was exactly noon.
"It happens to be lunchtime now."
Wang Dong'er glanced at the Star Dou Great Forest behind her, her eyes darting around as she smiled at the remaining girls and said,
"This place is quite close to my home. How about it? Do you want to come to my house as guests? I'll treat you to a good meal, consider it a welcome feast for our Lower Realm experience."
Hearing Wang Dong'er's invitation, the eyes of Xiao Xiao and the other two lit up instantly.
They usually had a good relationship with Wang Dong'er at the academy, but they had never been to her home, so they were naturally quite curious.
"Yes! Of course we'll go!"
The three agreed excitedly.
"Then follow me."
Wang Dong'er smiled and led everyone to a courtyard that occupied a considerable area.
As soon as she returned, Wang Dong'er familiarly led them to the front gate of the courtyard.
She reached out and knocked hard on the door knocker, the crisp sound echoing in the courtyard.
"Big Dad! Second Dad! I'm back!"
Wang Dong'er's crisp voice had just fallen,
when a series of hurried footsteps immediately came from the courtyard.
The gate was pulled open from the inside with a 'creak,' and two tall and burly figures appeared before everyone.
It was exactly Da Ming and Tai Tan.
The two were originally a bit confused about who was knocking at this time, but when they saw the slender and elegant Wang Dong'er standing outside the door, along with the three unfamiliar girls behind her, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Xiao Qi?!"
Tai Tan's face was full of confusion; he rubbed his head, unable to wrap his mind around it.
"You girl, why did you suddenly run back at this time?"
Seeing Tai Tan's completely ignorant look, Wang Dong'er couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Second Dad! Did you let my words go in one ear and out the other again?"
Wang Dong'er put her hands on her hips and gave a dainty huff.
"Didn't I tell you in the message before? Starting today, our first-year class is coming down to the Douluo Continent for a four-month practical experience!"
Hearing Wang Dong'er's reminder, Tai Tan scratched his head hard again and thought back carefully.
After a long while, he let out an 'oh' of realization.
Actually, you really couldn't entirely blame Tai Tan for his poor memory.
During this period of time, because Tang San of the Divine Realm had rarely sent down his Divine Sense to urge them to do things, they had lost that 'overseer' who was always exerting pressure from behind, which led to Da Ming and Tai Tan living very comfortably these past few months.
Once their nerves relaxed, the two of them had become somewhat lax.
Although Wang Dong'er had indeed mentioned the Lower Realm experience before, they were only focused on drinking and playing chess at the time; they knew it was happening, but they hadn't bothered to remember the specific start time at all, completely putting it out of their minds.
"Haha, I remember now, I remember."
Tai Tan gave a dry laugh and quickly stepped aside.
"Oh, look at Second Dad's memory. Come, come, Xiao Qi, and you little guests, come in and sit!"
Wang Dong'er gave Tai Tan a white look and pulled Xiao Xiao and the others into the courtyard.
As soon as she walked into the main hall of the courtyard, Wang Dong'er's sharp eyes noticed that the table in the center was covered with exquisite tea sets and several empty wine jars, and the room was filled with a mellow aroma of wine.
Da Ming and Tai Tan were living quite a carefree life, drinking tea and wine at home every day.
After everyone was seated, Wang Dong'er slapped the table casually and said to Da Ming and Tai Tan,
"Big Dad, Second Dad, I brought friends home as guests today. I plan to treat everyone to a big feast at home."
Hearing Wang Dong'er's words, the smiles on Da Ming and Tai Tan's faces suddenly froze.
The two looked at each other, their expressions instantly becoming somewhat awkward, and they stood in place for a long time without moving.
Eat? Eat what?
Others might not know, but the two of them were very clear in their hearts.
Their courtyard was currently cleaner than a whistle; there wasn't even a single extra grain of rice left!
Their daily expenses were entirely maintained by going out to 'rob the rich to help the poor' every day.
Of course, this so-called robbing the rich to help the poor was mainly divided into two steps.
The first step was to go into the wilderness and rob some blind wild Spirit Masters or Evil Soul Masters who dared to attack them, scouring for some profit.
And the second step was to occasionally contact Bei Bei, and upon meeting him, say,
"Bei Bei, you wouldn't want the people of Shrek City to know what happened to your Vice Dean Qian Duoduo, Dean Yan Shaozhe, and that Xuan Zi in the Shrek Academy in the sky, right?"
This trick was simply tried and true.
In order to preserve the ten-thousand-year reputation and majesty of Shrek Academy and prevent internal panic, Bei Bei could only grit his teeth every time and pull out gold coins to avert disaster, treating it as hush money.
Bei Bei also wanted to tell the academy, but Da Ming and Tai Tan's strength was not something their academy could easily deal with. Coupled with his Ancestor Mu being unconscious, he could only spend money. Fortunately, Da Ming and Tai Tan didn't come every day.
But today, it just so happened...
Da Ming and Tai Tan had spent the whole morning drinking the good wine they bought yesterday and hadn't had time to go out for today's 'robbing the rich to help the poor.'
The gold coins extorted from Bei Bei had long since been used to buy the premium tea and aged wine on the table, spent down to the last penny.
At this moment, facing Wang Dong'er's request to treat guests to dinner, the two former world-shaking hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts actually fell into an eerie silence because they had no money in their pockets.
Looking at their hesitant and awkward expressions,
Wang Dong'er's gaze swept over the empty wine jars on the table, and she instantly realized what was going on.
Understanding what was happening in an instant, Da Ming's old face turned red as he met Wang Dong'er's eyes; he coughed and turned his head away, while Tai Tan guiltily lowered his head to look at his toes.
Now, it was Wang Dong'er's turn to feel embarrassed.
She had originally vowed to treat her friends to a good meal at home, but as it turned out, they couldn't even put food on the table.
Wang Dong'er turned her head and smiled somewhat awkwardly at Xiao Xiao, Seele, and Xu Xiaoyan.
"Um... sorry, it seems there are no ingredients at home. How about we go out to eat instead?"
Xiao Xiao and the others were all understanding girls and naturally wouldn't mind, nodding and agreeing with smiles.
However, before leaving, Wang Dong'er still couldn't hold back the confusion and resentment in her heart.
She turned around, glared at Da Ming and Tai Tan, and couldn't help but scold them,
"I clearly left all ten thousand gold coins of my pocket money to you before school started!"
Ten thousand gold coins were enough for an ordinary family to spend for who knows how long, but in this short time, the two had actually spent it so quickly.
Facing Wang Dong'er's questioning, Tai Tan became even more guilty.
Because most of the gold coins had gone into the stomachs of the two brothers. During this time here, without Tang San's surveillance, the two had returned to their old habits—one drinking tea, the other drinking wine—and they chose the expensive kinds, drinking quite a lot every day. Those gold coins simply didn't last.
Seeing their reaction, Wang Dong'er didn't continue to argue with them and left with Xiao Xiao and the others.
-------------------------------------------------
A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.