Early the next morning.
Thud, thud, thud!
Long Jian woke up from his meditation, opened his eyes, got out of bed, and opened the door.
Greeting his eyes was Zhu Zhuqing, dressed in black with a faint smile on her face.
"Zhuqing?"
"I came to get you for breakfast!" Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head slightly, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Alright." Long Jian smiled slightly.
The blush on her pretty face was worth a thousand words.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong also pushed her door open.
Instantly, she caught sight of Long Jian and Zhu Zhuqing standing side by side.
"Tsk, tsk!"
"Zhuqing, I didn't expect you to move so fast!"
"We were just talking about this last night, and you couldn't wait to make your move?"
Zhu Zhuqing glared at Ning Rongrong in embarrassment and anger.
"I just came to call Long Jian for breakfast."
"Fine, breakfast it is!" Ning Rongrong waved her hand with a look that said *whatever you say is right*.
"Where is Xiao Wu?" Zhu Zhuqing didn't want to discuss this topic with Ning Rongrong and asked with a puzzled look.
"Her? She was dragged off by that Tang San early this morning!" Ning Rongrong said speechlessly.
"Those two siblings are practically lovers if you ask me!"
"That fellow Tang San is no good either!"
"Rongrong, it's better if we don't speak ill of others behind their backs," Long Jian said softly.
"Long Jian, you're just too upright." Ning Rongrong sighed, "Though you're right. From now on, I'll only say these things in front of you two!"
"You two mustn't betray me, okay?"
Long Jian shook his head helplessly.
He had only offered a gentle suggestion.
He had no right to police others.
The three of them then set off together toward the Shrek Academy cafeteria.
With Ning Rongrong present, Zhu Zhuqing felt rather awkward.
Suddenly.
A commotion came from not far ahead.
At the same time, a wave of scorching heat permeated the air.
Long Jian raised his hand, and a burst of chill instantly cooled the air, sparing the two young women from frowning.
Yet this display by Long Jian startled both Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong.
"Long Jian, you're amazing!" Ning Rongrong gave a thumbs up in admiration.
"Let's go see what's happening ahead," Long Jian said with a smile.
Soon.
The three of them saw two figures locked in combat ahead.
One of them was unexpectedly Tang San, manipulating his Blue Silver Grass.
Opposite him was a chubby fellow with red hair, standing under one meter six tall, yet weighing easily over two hundred jin.
Only now, this chubby fellow was covered from head to foot in fiery red chicken feathers, his red hair shaped into a cockscomb, and his arms resembling chicken wings—he looked precisely like a barnyard chicken wreathed in flames.
Xiao Wu was watching the battle from the side, and beside her stood a young woman of about twenty years old.
"Xiao Wu, why did your Third Brother get into a fight with someone?" Ning Rongrong walked up to Xiao Wu and asked, puzzled.
"That fatty was harassing an innocent woman!"
"When we run into something like this, naturally we have to stand up for justice and draw our swords to help!" Xiao Wu glared angrily at Ma Hongjun, pointing at the woman beside her with indignation.
Then she looked at Long Jian. "Long Jian, don't you agree?"
Long Jian nodded.
"If that's truly the case, then we certainly should!"
"However, Xiao Wu, while this is a good deed, before you act, you'd better look closely at yourselves and closely at the enemy."
"Otherwise, it's very easy to put yourselves in danger."
Long Jian's gaze landed on Tang San.
Tang San currently looked quite disheveled, running around in a frantic panic as he tried to dodge the purplish-red flames released by Ma Hongjun.
Those Blue Silver Grass vines turned to ashes the moment they touched the fire.
"Meddling where you don't belong takes skill, you know!" Ma Hongjun said disdainfully as he watched Tang San darting about everywhere to escape the flames.
"Oh no!" Seeing Tang San suppressed by Ma Hongjun, Xiao Wu's expression changed drastically, and she anxiously prepared to step in.
"Let me handle it!" Long Jian stopped Xiao Wu as she was about to rush forward.
Xiao Wu was momentarily stunned at his words.
Immediately after, the three women saw a burst of milky-white energy radiating a piercing chill suddenly condense in Long Jian's right hand.
"Chill Palm!"
With those words spoken, Long Jian abruptly lashed out with a palm strike.
A massive frost palm print, roughly ten meters wide, instantly surged toward Tang San and Ma Hongjun.
"What?!"
Gazing at the giant hand suddenly hurtling toward him, Ma Hongjun felt the evil fire within his body instantly recoil as if meeting its nemesis.
A look of terror appeared on Ma Hongjun's face.
Not far away, Tang San's expression also changed abruptly upon seeing this.
His Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track movement technique was pushed to its absolute limit at that moment. With flickering afterimages, he bolted far into the distance!
"Boom—"
As the Chill Palm landed, the spot where the two had just been standing turned instantly into an icy domain.
In the center of the arena was Ma Hongjun, frozen solidly in place.
The purple flames that had been raging across the grass vanished completely in that instant.
Tang San had already fled nearly a hundred meters away by now.
Turning back to look at this scene, his expression shifted continuously.
"Gasp! Long Jian, you didn't beat him to death, did you?" Ning Rongrong cried out in alarm.
Long Jian smiled. "Rest assured, I didn't use much force; I merely restrained him."
Hearing this, all three women looked at Long Jian in astonishment.
They gained a brand-new appreciation for Long Jian's strength.
"Can you please release him?"
At that moment, Cuihua, who stood beside Xiao Wu, spoke up.
"He wasn't harassing me. We've simply broken up."
"Broken up?"
Long Jian showed no surprise, but the three women let out cries of astonishment.
"Looks like I managed to turn a good deed into a mess," Long Jian said with a faint smile, raising his hand. The icy domain before him began to slowly dissipate.
Before long, Ma Hongjun's figure broke free from the restraint.
Even so, he had been frozen quite severely; his face was purplish and he shivered continuously on the spot.
Of course he knew this was a private matter between Ma Hongjun and Cuihua.
Yet things had reached this point, so there was no need to say anything more.
At this moment, Cuihua walked over to Ma Hongjun's side.
Seeing that Ma Hongjun's bulky body was actually shivering from the freezing cold, Cuihua looked quite surprised as well.
"Hongjun, we aren't suited for each other!"
"Stop pestering me from now on!"
Hearing this, Ma Hongjun stubbornly declared, "Unless you do it with me one more time, I'll never agree!"
"You are utterly despicable!" Cuihua's face flushed red with anger, and she blurted out, "We're finished! Don't ever come looking for me again!"
With that, Cuihua turned and walked away.
Having said all she had to say, she had done everything conscience demanded.
Ma Hongjun wanted to stop her, but his body was frozen stiff, and moving his legs proved somewhat difficult.
Hearing Ma Hongjun's outrageous remark, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Xiao Wu could not help slightly frowning.
"Long Jian, I think you went too easy on him just now. You should have taught this fatty a harsh lesson!" Xiao Wu said angrily, her hands on her hips.
Ning Rongrong nodded earnestly.
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing.
She simply looked at Ma Hongjun with her cold, striking eyes as if gazing at scum.
"After all, this is someone else's private affair!"
Long Jian shook his head.
"Besides, did any of you hear what this guy was called just now?"
"He ought to be the very last student in this academy!"