From Today On, Rongrong Will Never Throw a Young Miss's Tantrum!

Chu Yuan slowed and glanced at Ning Rongrong, who had stopped beside him and was looking up at him, a sweet, obedient smile on her fair little face.

"Serve tea and water?"

Chu Yuan's tone was indifferent, and his deep black eyes showed no ripple of emotion:

"The Divine Court of Heavenly Principles does not accept young ladies who harbor arrogance and haggle over terms. If you wish to stay by my side, you must obey the Divine Court's rules and be a maid who knows her place. As for when your Martial Soul can truly shed its imperfections, that depends entirely on your conduct from now on."

At the word "maid," Ning Rongrong's long eyelashes trembled slightly.

She was the esteemed little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Even Titled Douluo had to indulge her in the sect. When had she ever been anyone's maid?

But the moment she recalled the illusory eighth and ninth tiers of the pagoda that had clearly appeared beneath the light of the Crown of Heavenly Principles, and then looked at Zhu Zhuqing, the black-clad girl behind Chu Yuan whose presence was sharp as a blade and who obeyed his every command, the last of her young-miss reserve was instantly suppressed.

As long as she could evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the legendary Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, never mind serving tea and water—what would it matter if she had to pound this mysterious young master's legs and massage his shoulders every day?

"I agree! From today on, Rongrong will do as Master commands and never throw a young miss's tantrum!"

Ning Rongrong shrewdly adopted the form of address Zhu Zhuqing had used earlier. She obediently stepped back half a pace and took her place beside Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing gave her an indifferent glance and said nothing, merely narrowing her dark purple lightning eyes slightly.

Chu Yuan gave a noncommittal nod, and the group of five descended the auction house steps and walked slowly toward the city center.

Meanwhile, outside Suotuo City's south gate, at the entrance to a dilapidated little village surrounded by vast cornfields.

A crude wooden sign stood at the village entrance, with the words "Shrek Academy" carved crookedly into it.

Today was the day Shrek Academy opened its doors for its annual recruitment.

A battered wooden table stood beneath a large tree at the village entrance. Li Yusong, the elderly Soul Emperor in charge of the preliminary test, was dozing off. Most of the boys and girls who had lined up to register had been driven away for failing to qualify, leaving only Tang San and Xiao Wu at the end of the line.

"Twelve years old, level twenty-nine Soul Grandmasters? Good, good! Mubai, take these two straight in for the fourth test!"

After examining the bones in Tang San's and Xiao Wu's hands, Li Yusong's eyes gleamed brightly. Shaking off his earlier laziness, he excitedly called over Dai Mubai, who was standing nearby.

Tang San withdrew his hand with a smile, though a trace of barely perceptible redness still lingered deep in his eyes.

Last night, on a night-market street in Suotuo City, he had tried to use the Purple Demon Eye to probe the true strength of the black-haired youth in white. Instead, a terrifying law of a seven-colored crown of light had injured his eyes and meridians. He had spent the entire night regulating his breathing before he could barely suppress his roiling blood and Qi.

"Brother, is this the Monster Academy Grandmaster told you to come to? It looks even more run-down than our Nuoding Academy."

Xiao Wu tugged at Tang San's sleeve, her scorpion braid swinging as her large eyes roamed over the thatched cottages in the village.

"Since Teacher recommended this place, it must have something special about it."

Tang San answered quietly, his gaze settling on Dai Mubai's back as he led the way ahead.

Dai Mubai's face, however, was dark and grim, and his steps seemed somewhat distracted.

Yesterday at noon, in the Rose Hotel lobby, he had not only been driven back in public by a flash of lightning from the purple-haired girl's sword, losing all face. What rankled him even more was the black-clad girl named Zhu Zhuqing.

Judging by Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul presence and appearance, he was almost certain she was the fiancée he had never met in the Star Luo Empire.

Dai Mubai had been certain that Zhu Zhuqing had come to Suotuo City to find him at Shrek Academy. Yet he had stood watch at the village entrance all morning without catching a glimpse of her. Even the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, whom Dean Flender had heard in advance would also be coming to register today, was nowhere to be seen.

After passing through several rows of wooden houses, Dai Mubai led Tang San and Xiao Wu to an open area inside the academy.

In the center of the clearing, the burly vice dean Zhao Wuji sat sprawled in a chair with his eyes closed, resting. Beside him stood a hook-nosed middle-aged man with a goatee and a pair of black-framed crystal glasses perched on his nose.

"Dean, Teacher Zhao, I've brought the new students who passed the preliminary test today. There are just the two of them."

Dai Mubai stepped forward to report, then couldn't help glancing back toward the village entrance, his brows tightly furrowed:

"Strange. It's almost noon. How come there's not a single person left in line out there?"

Flender pushed up the black-framed glasses on his nose and swept his gaze over Tang San and Xiao Wu. A pleased smile had just begun to appear on his face when his brows knitted.

"Only two?"

Flender stood and paced two steps across the clearing with his hands behind his back, speaking in a low voice:

"That can't be right... A few days ago, Ning Fengzhi had someone send me word that his precious daughter Ning Rongrong had run away from home to the Balak Kingdom, and asked me to look after her. And Mubai, didn't you say yesterday that you ran into that girl from the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family at the Rose Hotel? By rights, both of them should have come to register today."

Beside him, Zhao Wuji grinned broadly and chuckled in a muffled voice:

"Flender, could those two little girls have thought our shabby village was too poor and turned back halfway here? In any case, taking in these two level twenty-nine Little Monsters today means our work this year hasn't been for nothing!"

As he spoke, Zhao Wuji flexed his thick wrists, ready to step forward and properly test Tang San and Xiao Wu's mettle as usual.

Just then, Li Yusong, the elderly Soul Emperor who guarded the village entrance, suddenly hurried in, looking anxious. In his hand was a Soul Master news bulletin that had just arrived from Suotuo City.

"Dean Flender! News just came from Suotuo City. Take a look!"

Flender took the slip of paper and glanced at it. His expression changed at once:

"The Rare Treasures Auction House in western Suotuo City auctioned off three strange objects from beyond the heavens this morning, all of which fell from the Heavenly Abyss Rift the night before last? And the mysterious youth who bought them casually tossed out a priceless, top-grade Life Spirit Crystal, with several girls his own age whose presences were unfathomable following him?!"

By the time he finished, Flender's eyes were blazing with excitement!

Strange objects from beyond the heavens! A top-grade Life Spirit Crystal!

What did he, Flender, value most in life? Besides nurturing monster disciples, it was money and treasures!

More importantly, the note stated clearly that Ning Rongrong, the little witch of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, had also appeared at the Rare Treasures Auction House that morning. After losing to the mysterious youth in the bidding, she had followed his group away as soon as the auction ended!

"No wonder Ning Fengzhi's daughter didn't come to our academy. Someone got to her first in Suotuo City?!"

Flender put away the note and turned to Dai Mubai:

"Mubai, this says the mysterious youth had a purple-haired girl who used a lightning sword and a black-clad girl with him. Is that the group you ran into at the Rose Hotel yesterday?"

At this, Dai Mubai's fists clenched with a crack, and humiliation and jealous fury flashed in his eyes:

"A black-clad girl? Could it be that Zhu Zhuqing never stayed at the hotel yesterday, but got mixed up with that pretty boy instead?! Dean, it has to be them! At the Rose Hotel yesterday, it was that brat in white and that purple-haired woman who ruined things for me!"

When Tang San heard "youth in white" and "purple-haired girl," his pupils also contracted sharply. He spoke in a low voice:

"Dean, Brother Dai, Xiao Wu and I ran into that group at Suotuo City's night market last night too. The black-haired youth leading them is no ordinary Soul Master. I only looked at him once, and suffered an extremely overbearing mental backlash."

"Oh? Even the disciple Xiaogang chose suffered a hidden loss?"

Flender pushed up his glasses, a trace of gravity and intense curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"Old Zhao, we'll skip today's entrance test. Tang San and Xiao Wu are admitted directly!"

Flender made the decision on the spot and swept his sleeve:

"Come on! You and I will take Mubai and the others into Suotuo City to meet this mysterious young master right now! I want to see just what sort of person dares to snatch Shrek Academy's prospective students in Suotuo City, and take a look at what quality those so-called strange objects from beyond the heavens really are!"

"Haha, that's more like it! Someone actually dared to bully our academy's Boss Dai. I have to go help Mubai get even today!"

Zhao Wuji, eager to stir up trouble, roared with laughter and slapped his chest with a hand as broad as a palm-leaf fan. He immediately joined Flender and the others as they set off at a furious pace toward Suotuo City.