Heavenly Chasm

What entered his sight was two pools of water.

One large and one small, they were not connected.

Beside the pools was forest that seemed to stretch beyond sight, the woods deep and secluded.

In the smaller pool, steam bubbled and gurgled up. This was a Hot Spring, and beside the water stood a Thatched Hut.

Above the larger pool, a white cascade poured down like a bolt of silk, plunging into the water with a rumbling roar.

Right where the waterfall fell into the pool, there happened to be a huge boulder. Beaten by the rushing waterfall day after day, year after year, it had become incomparably smooth.

"Good place!"

Dai Yao thought to himself. That huge boulder was the perfect place to cultivate.

He pointed at the Thatched Hut beside the smaller pool and asked the student, "Does the owner live there?"

"Yes, Fourth Highness."

"The owner here is called Feng Wutong. Her personality is a little strange, so please be careful," the student warned.

Following the small path along the bank, the three of them arrived in front of the Thatched Hut.

The Thatched Hut was very crude, simply built from wooden planks and straw. What was strange was that the ground beside it was scorched black and red, as if it had been burned by fire.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Dai Yao knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

A clear voice came from inside the room, filled with the lively air of youth.

The door opened, and a delicate-looking girl appeared. Her fiery-red hair hung down to her waist, and she was a little taller than Dai Yao. Her small figure was already budding, and one could imagine that in the future, she would definitely become a woman who drew everyone's eyes.

However, she was still a little inferior to Zhu Zhuqing.

Dai Yao judged inwardly.

"It's me, Zhang Xiaofan. I came this time because I was entrusted by someone to buy this Simulated Cultivation Environment," the student said to Feng Wutong.

His tone was quite familiar, as if they were old friends.

"Not a chance. Selling it to those pampered rich brats? Don't even think about it! I'm not like you, selling yourself to those nobles! Serving them every day—aren't you ashamed?" Feng Wutong gave Zhang Xiaofan no face at all and scolded him fiercely.

Zhang Xiaofan looked somewhat helpless, as if he had long expected this situation. He walked over to Dai Yao and introduced him to Feng Wutong with some pride, even his tone lifting a little. "The one who came today isn't an ordinary noble. This is the Fourth Prince of Star Luo!"

"The Fourth Prince of Star Luo?" Feng Wutong looked at Dai Yao suspiciously, then said angrily to Zhang Xiaofan, "Who are you trying to fool? The Empire only has three princes. Where did a Fourth Prince come from? You'll really stop at nothing to get what you want!"

"I really didn't lie to you. He really is the Fourth Prince!" Zhang Xiaofan explained bitterly.

Dai Yao pushed Zhang Xiaofan aside, looked at Feng Wutong, and said, "Hello. My name is Dai Yao. Not long ago, I was conferred the title of Fourth Prince of the Star Luo Empire. Maybe you've been cultivating all this time, so it's normal that you don't know."

Feng Wutong looked at Dai Yao suspiciously. Not far away, Zhang Xiaofan also nodded to indicate that what Dai Yao said was true. She could not help straightening her expression, believing that Dai Yao was indeed the Fourth Prince, then said, "Even if you are the Fourth Prince, I still won't sell this Cultivation Ground!" After saying that, she moved to close the door.

Dai Yao hurriedly grabbed the door and said to Feng Wutong, "Listen to the price I'm offering first. It won't be too late to refuse afterward."

But Feng Wutong did not hesitate in the slightest. She pushed away Dai Yao's hand blocking the door, and with a bang, the door shut. Then a cold voice came from inside:

"There's no need to listen. No matter how high a price you offer, I'll refuse. To nobles like you, this Cultivation Ground is just a place to enjoy the scenery. But to me, this is the place where I can change my fate. No matter what, I will never sell this Simulated Environment."

"Leave."

Feng Wutong refused him outright.

That door seemed to be the boundary between nobles and commoners.

Dai Yao felt somewhat bitter. This Cultivation Ground was the place where Feng Wutong could change her fate—but was it not also the place where he could change his?

It was just that she refused to sell no matter what, which made things truly difficult.

There was always a solution to a problem. Thinking of how familiar Zhang Xiaofan and Feng Wutong had seemed just now, Zhang Xiaofan definitely knew something.

Dai Yao looked at Zhang Xiaofan and said coldly, "Why won't she sell? You should know the reason. Tell me."

Zhang Xiaofan found an empty spot, swept the snow clean, and gestured for Dai Yao to sit. He sighed, his expression somewhat silent.

All along the way, Zhang Xiaofan had served Dai Yao with all his effort. In Dai Yao's eyes, this was the first time he had shown such an expression. At this moment, it seemed as if this was the real him.

Zhang Xiaofan hesitated for a while, then said, "It's a long story. There's a deeper reason why Wutong won't sell this piece of land."

Picking up a wooden stick, Zhang Xiaofan drew a deep, long line on the ground. Pointing to one side of the line, he said, "In the academy, there are four great figures who cannot be provoked. The first two are the two princes. They represent the nobles."

"With powerful spirits and extraordinary talent, they are Soul Masters by birth, rulers by birth."

Then he pointed the wooden stick to the other side. "This side represents the commoner faction. Those who can enter the Royal Academy as commoners also have talent, but compared to the spirits passed down through generations among the nobles, they are far from enough."

That line on the ground was the Heavenly Chasm, separating commoners and nobles.

"However, there is one commoner whose spirit is better than most nobles'. It is one of the top Beast Spirits. On top of that, he is upright and forthright. Whenever any commoner is bullied by a noble, they can go to him to uphold justice, so naturally, he became the spiritual leader of many Commoner Soul Masters. Under his leadership, many commoners formed the third faction."

"Because of that, he is known as the third one who cannot be provoked."

"It can be said that for commoners who can enter Star Luo Royal Academy, their spirits must have mutated! Mutated Spirits generally have side effects. I'm like that, and so is Feng Wutong."

"Inside Feng Wutong's body, Heart Fire has always been tormenting her. Only by staying in the Hot Spring for long periods can she ease the pain. You could say this Cultivation Ground is her life."

Hearing these words, Dai Yao and Zhu Zhuqing both fell silent.

He knew about the gulf between classes on Douluo Continent, but hearing it with his own ears still felt heavy.

In the original, Shrek was strange. Only the Fatty and Oscar were true commoners, and they could become soul masters only because their Martial Souls had mutated. Ma Hongjun was a phoenix born from a barnyard chicken, and the evil fire in his body needed women to vent it.

"Then if you brought me here to buy his Cultivation Ground, wouldn't that be killing her?" Dai Yao asked, somewhat curious.

Zhang Xiaofan's eyes were complicated. Two streams of clear tears slid down his cheeks, and he choked out, "I don't want to either, but there's no other way. I want to live too. I need money to buy medicinal herbs, or the side effects of my Martial Soul will take my life."

"To stay alive, I sold myself to nobles. I lived groveling, doing disgraceful things. Those commoner friends of mine from before all spit on me now."

Dai Yao said nothing, only patted Zhang Xiaofan on the back. Beneath the night sky, there were only faint, stifled sobs.

Chapter Two will be later.