For the Sake of My Teacher's Great Undertaking, I'll Marry Him

Cao Mengde's ascension to godhood drew countless onlookers.

The entrance to Rejuvenation Hall was a sea of heads, a dark mass of people.

They talked among themselves about how much they envied and admired Cao Mengde.

Only Hu Liena had been stumped by Bibi Dong's question.

What was the matter with her teacher?

Why had she suddenly asked if she liked him?

Liked what?

"Nana, come back with me."

Once they had returned to the Pope's Palace,

Bibi Dong sat on her lofty throne. To bring her great undertaking to fruition as soon as possible, she didn't beat around the bush, but went straight to the point.

"Nana, you're grown up now. You're old enough to talk about marriage."

As soon as she said it,

Hu Liena's delicate body trembled.

In the past,

her teacher would never have brought up romance. What had gotten into her now?

Was it really because she had grown up?

"Teacher, I've never thought about getting married."

"Besides, I've decided to go to Slaughter City to temper myself."

Although she had won the Soul Master Tournament Finals,

as a Soul Master, what she ought to pursue was growing stronger through constant tempering.

Never mind anything else for now.

There was one person she had to surpass.

Even if that person had already become a god, she would strive to grow stronger and prove herself.

Bibi Dong's expression froze.

She wondered why Hu Liena had suddenly made such a major decision.

"Nana, I want to hear what you really think. What exactly spurred you on?"

Hu Liena hid nothing.

Instead, she answered from Spirit Hall's standpoint.

"In terms of age, I'm a few years older than him, yet he's already become a god, while I..."

Bibi Dong's eyes lit up.

Wasn't she talking about Cao Mengde?

She had been wanting to play matchmaker for the two of them.

She hadn't expected Cao Mengde to have already made such a deep impression on Hu Liena.

It must have been when she herself was ill, when Cao Mengde had won Hu Liena over with his strength at Rejuvenation Hall.

With that connection between them,

things could fall naturally into place.

"You're talking about Cao Mengde, aren't you?"

Hu Liena neither denied nor confirmed it.

Instead, she said firmly, "Teacher, please let me go to Slaughter City to temper myself."

She desperately wanted to defeat Cao Mengde and salvage her pride.

Only through constant effort could she prove herself.

"No, you can't go to Slaughter City," Bibi Dong refused her on the spot.

It was as though she were saying,

If you go to Slaughter City, who will marry Cao Mengde?

Therefore,

she would never agree to let Hu Liena go to Slaughter City.

"Nana, do you remember when I asked you if you liked him?"

"I meant Cao Mengde."

What?

So her teacher had been asking whether she liked Cao Mengde?

At once,

Hu Liena's expression changed in alarm.

Just what she feared had come to pass.

Even her voice began to stammer.

"Teacher, I... I... how could I have feelings for him?"

"I've only met him once. I've even... even forgotten him already..."

Bibi Dong nearly burst out laughing.

"Didn't you just say you wanted to temper yourself and defeat Cao Mengde? How can you say you've forgotten him now?"

"I..."

As though her thoughts had been laid bare, Hu Liena's face turned crimson.

Bibi Dong was a serious person.

Naturally, she wouldn't keep teasing her.

Instead, she continued,

"I've already asked Cao Mengde. He had nothing but praise for you."

Huh?

Those words were like a thunderclap out of a clear sky, exploding over Hu Liena's head.

So her teacher had already mentioned her to Cao Mengde?

And from what her teacher had just said, Cao Mengde didn't seem inclined to reject her?

"What... what did he say about me?" Hu Liena couldn't help asking curiously.

Seeing that Hu Liena had fallen for it,

Bibi Dong immediately began making things up.

"Cao Mengde said you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen."

"He remembers that when you first met at Rejuvenation Hall, you stole his heart."

As Bibi Dong said this, she felt deeply uneasy.

After all, he was deceiving Hu Liena.

But there was no other way.

To win Cao Mengde over, she could only tell a few white lies now and get Hu Liena to marry him.

After hearing Bibi Dong out,

Hu Liena's proud determination to go to Slaughter City and temper herself vanished in an instant.

Truth be told,

she had always kept Cao Mengde in her thoughts.

After all, among those of her age, he was the first to make her see him in a new light, and had reached a height she couldn't attain.

"Such a smooth talker."

"That just goes to show Cao Mengde must be a big flirt."

As someone who had been through it herself,

Bibi Dong saw that Hu Liena had fallen for it and hurried to reassure her.

"Nana, he was praising your beauty. Should he have said you weren't pretty instead?"

That question left Hu Liena speechless.

Bibi Dong seized the chance to ask,

"Nana, then, are you willing to marry Cao Mengde?"

Hu Liena's face flushed bright red.

Her head had long since drooped, and she stared at the floor, hesitant and halting.

"I... I don't know."

Even though Hu Liena hadn't said so outright,

Bibi Dong had already guessed the answer.

To give Hu Liena another way to accept, Bibi Dong said gently,

"Cao Mengde is immensely powerful, and he said he isn't in a hurry to ascend to the Divine Realm. He intends to stay in Spirit City for a while. My great undertaking is still unfinished. If I can get Cao Mengde's help, everything will go much more smoothly."

"Nana, are you willing to do your teacher this favor?"

Now that her teacher had put it that way,

Hu Liena naturally had nothing more to say.

"I... I'll go back and think about it."

With that,

Hu Liena fled the Pope's Palace, her heart trembling.

She had been planning to go temper herself and find a chance to defeat Cao Mengde in the future.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined

that Cao Mengde would fall for her.

This...

The world was unpredictable.

Damn it.

If he liked her, why had he been so overbearing back then, unleashing a Titled Douluo's pressure to teach her a lesson?

But on second thought,

if Cao Mengde had acted meek and humble, she would have looked down on him.

Forget it.

She would just consider it for the sake of her teacher's great undertaking.

She would marry him.

Meanwhile,

Cao Mengde stood at the entrance to Rejuvenation Hall.

He appeared to be addressing the crowd around him, but he was actually showing off to Shrek and the others.

"There's no need to envy me."

"As long as you work hard, my today will be your tomorrow."

Tang San really couldn't bear to listen anymore.

He said to Ma Hongjun and Oscar,

"Carry me back."

After they had gotten away from the crowd,

Shrek's teachers and students all began to chime in.

"I never imagined there really were gods in this world."

"Cao Mengde is terrifying. He's reached the legendary height at such a young age."

Tang San's face darkened.

Hearing his companions' discussion,

he seemed even more shaken than the onlookers enjoying the spectacle.

"Cao Mengde must have taken some Immortal Herb or something like that."

"Otherwise, his cultivation would never have progressed so quickly."

Never mind becoming a god of legend.

Even reaching the Titled Douluo realm was incredibly difficult.

Everyone could tell

that Tang San's words had a sour edge to them.

But as his companions of many years, they naturally took his side.

"Third Brother is right. Cao Mengde must have eaten an Immortal Herb."

"Right. Maybe he secretly ate all the Immortal Herbs in Senior Dugu Bo's cave residence. That's how he achieved what he has today."

Hearing this,

Tang San's expression softened.

His companions' words made him feel much better.

"Oh no..."

Suddenly,

Xiao Wu stopped and cried out,

"I still have to go to Cao Mengde for treatment. The month-long course mustn't be interrupted."

"Third Brother, go back and recover first. I'll come back once my treatment is over."

Xiao Wu's words reminded everyone.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing remembered too.

"Xiao Wu, wait for us. We need to see Cao Mengde for treatment too."