The Forty-Ninth Day of Being a Rich Second-Gen

Flender flipped through the competition schedule. The remaining matches were no longer worth watching, and with Master in such low spirits, he decided to take the team back.

Everyone supported the suggestion. Although they had only spent one semester in Calais City, they all liked that vibrant yet peaceful city. Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing especially had been away for a long time and wanted to return to the academy.

Holidays always passed in the blink of an eye. Shrek Academy was like a safe harbor, where the teachers gently sheltered the Shrek Seven Devils beneath their wings. No matter how fierce the storms outside became, they had never truly experienced them.

Outside, however, everything had descended into chaos.

This was what had happened.

Xue Qinghe, the Heaven Dou Crown Prince rumored to be about to lose his position, had recently attended a competition alongside the Heaven Dou Emperor. This meant the previous turmoil had passed. The Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince, and the rumors could not have been true.

That actually worked? He had forced his own clan brother to undergo Soul Split! The Emperor was far too fond of his son. Prince Xue Xing had been so enraged that he would not even leave his residence.

Still, not many people cared to watch the royal family's drama. Watching too much of it could easily drag one into the mess. After a few days of gossip, everyone let it go.

But only a few days later, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was assassinated. Four Spirit Douluo-level experts had attacked him. Fortunately, Sect Master Ning had a Titled Douluo by his side at all times, which saved his life, though it was said that he had still been injured.

Ning Fengzhi was the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects. Restricted by the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, he could only cultivate to the level of a Spirit Sage. His reputation had always been excellent. Who would want to kill Sect Master Ning?

The sharp-minded residents of the imperial city did not need anyone to remind them. They immediately recalled a crucial detail: Sect Master Ning was also Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's teacher.

Was this really something we should know? Everyone promptly shut their mouths, and even the air in Heaven Dou Imperial City seemed to tighten.

The various factions were all smashing cups. Ning Fengzhi's assassination had intensified the conflict ahead of schedule. In order to support his teacher, Xue Qinghe had to uncover the truth. Those who supported Fourth Prince Xue Beng also had to work hard to find the truth, both to clear themselves of suspicion and to avoid being framed. Even Spirit Hall was investigating the assassins' origins.

Everything was shrouded in mystery, and danger seemed to lurk everywhere.

The Crown Prince's residence.

Xue Qinghe had already arranged for people to investigate the assassins, but no matter how long he thought, he could not figure out who would choose this moment to provoke Ning Fengzhi and himself. Yes, provoke them. Four Spirit Douluos—who did they think they were looking down on?

Was it the imperial clan? Were they unwilling to accept that he had regained power? Or was it the Papal Palace, which believed the situation had become too clear and was no longer conducive to fishing in troubled waters? But the waters were so muddy now that no fish could be found at all.

There was another possibility: Ning Fengzhi had staged the whole thing himself. But was that possible?

When he had first fallen from favor, Xue Qinghe had not failed to suspect Ning Fengzhi. After all, everyone surrounding him had left, yet only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had continued sending him gifts and speaking well of him. It had felt a little unreal.

During that time, every gift sent by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been inspected repeatedly before he felt at ease. He had also mulled over every word Ning Fengzhi said again and again. Yet after guarding against him for so long, he had found nothing.

People always said, "The world grows worse with every generation, and people's hearts are no longer what they once were." Yet Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was still a gentleman with the bearing of the ancients!

It was because he had taken Ning Fengzhi as his teacher that, regardless of his circumstances, Ning Fengzhi had always cared for him. The entire Heaven Dou Royal Family knew he was a fake, and they all treated him with empty politeness. Only here was there still a trace of sincere concern.

Would such a gentleman stoop to these schemes and plots?

Of course, in order to clear his teacher of suspicion, he had investigated the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect first. The results showed that it had nothing to do with them!

Xue Qinghe stood and ordered someone to prepare gifts. He was going to visit his teacher again!

When Xue Qinghe arrived, the butler leading the way looked deeply worried. The moment he saw Xue Qinghe, though, a smile appeared on his face. "Your Highness, you have come to see the Sect Master. The Sect Master instructed that if Your Highness came, you were to be taken straight in."

Every word carried a sense of closeness.

When he was led to the study, Ning Fengzhi was reading a travel journal, looking utterly relaxed.

"Teacher, how are you recovering?"

"Your Highness. Stealing a little leisure amid the bustle is not without its pleasures." Ning Fengzhi seemed to be in a fairly good mood.

"Bring His Highness some donkey-hide gelatin cakes, along with some stewed dessert. There have been many matters to deal with these past few days. He should nourish himself," Ning Fengzhi told the butler.

Xue Qinghe let out a breath of relief. He had actually been afraid Ning Fengzhi would sternly demand that he immediately uncover who had arranged the assassins. But when his teacher gently told him that he had been busy lately and should take care of himself, his defenses still crumbled a little.

When the dessert arrived, he lifted the bowl to eat, only for Ning Fengzhi to stop him. "Your Highness, food should still be tested first. Even this place is not completely safe."

Xue Qinghe shook his head. "Teacher, you overestimate me. What value could I possibly have now?" Yet his hand obediently set the bowl back down.

Xue Qinghe's attendants tested everything one by one. There was no problem.

The soft, sweet dessert eased Xue Qinghe's nerves considerably. He asked Ning Fengzhi, "Teacher, do you have any thoughts regarding the assassins' origins?"

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a while, set down the travel journal in his hand, and said solemnly, "Your Highness, the current situation is not very favorable to you. As the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, you must consider the bigger picture. Stability should come first. Forgive my frankness, but the best way to mend the relationship between Your Highness and the imperial clan is to find an external enemy."

An external enemy. The dessert in Xue Qinghe's mouth gradually turned bitter. How do you know the external enemy is not me? Ning Fengzhi did not know the Heaven Dou Royal Family's secret, so he still regarded him as the Crown Prince and made plans for his sake. Xue Qinghe sighed.

After seeing Xue Qinghe off, Ning Fengzhi lowered his gaze. Bone Douluo came over.

"Has Rongrong reached Calais City?"

Bone Douluo nodded. "I watched her enter Shrek."

"Then begin. Make it clean. Isn't Spirit Hall's style of cleaning house quick and decisive?"

Before the case of Ning Fengzhi's assassination could be solved, more people met with misfortune. Several civil and military officials who supported the Fourth Prince were assassinated. Unlike Ning Fengzhi, who had merely been injured, these people all died.

Crown Prince Xue Qinghe was reprimanded by the Emperor for the slow progress of the investigation. The imperial clan members who had been jumping around particularly energetically these past few days were also scolded and sent home to reflect behind closed doors. The Emperor ordered the Crown Prince to uncover the truth as quickly as possible.

First, the Crown Prince's teacher had been injured. Then, the Fourth Prince's supporters had been assassinated. The situation in Heaven Dou Imperial City became unpredictable, with undercurrents surging beneath the surface.

Xue Qinghe dispatched the guards and personally led people to inspect the victims' homes, investigating their movements before death. Yet no matter how they investigated, all the evidence pointed to one place: Spirit Hall. What made it even more suspicious was that four Spirit Douluos had gone missing from Spirit Hall's main branch in the Heaven Dou Empire. When investigators tried to access Spirit Hall's personnel register to verify the martial souls of the four missing individuals, they were refused.

No further evidence was needed. Everyone had already declared Spirit Hall guilty. Spirit Hall and Xue Qinghe, one in the open and one in the shadows, had both been forced into a corner.

The next day, Xue Qinghe announced at court that the culprit had been found. It was a certain bishop of Spirit Hall who, due to a personal grudge, had bribed four Spirit Douluos to assassinate Ning Fengzhi and then murder Heaven Dou Empire officials.

Salas, the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall's main branch in the Heaven Dou Empire, was dismissed from his post and sent back to reflect on his actions. The Papal Palace sent someone else to reorganize the Heaven Dou Empire branch. Because this explanation was too perfunctory, the Heaven Dou Emperor decided to suspend the distribution of spirit master subsidies.

Sect Master Ning recovered from his injuries. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe returned to court, though his prestige had suffered. The imperial clan behaved itself and caused no further trouble. The Heaven Dou Empire entered a brief period of peace.

None of the storms had anything to do with Shrek. The academy had started again.

The pain of returning to school went without saying, because they were immediately thrown into devilish training.

Though the Shrek Seven Devils looked like a bunch of scoundrels, their strength had improved over the break. As a team, they naturally needed to familiarize themselves with their companions' newest abilities, so devilish training right at the start of term was perfectly normal.

Normal my ass. Ning Rongrong was a complete mess. During the break, Grandpa Gu had thrown her into the sect's training grounds. Apart from cultivation, all she did was fight. She had finally gotten out, only for her father to be assassinated. Although Grandpa Gu said it had been staged, she had still been terrified. She obediently returned straight to the academy, only to be thrown directly into devilish training.

What did seamless transition even mean?!

She desperately wanted to know how Third Brother had changed his face. Sui Sui seemed much closer to Third Brother now. Dai Laoda and Zhuqing had new spirit bone skills, Little Ao's newly developed dishes were delicious, and she had heard that Master was still in a bad mood in Heaven Dou Imperial City...

She had not even finished gossiping! Ning Rongrong, tortured until she had only one breath left by the devilish training, wailed weakly.

Still, seeing that the little monsters had not regressed during the break and that many students had even improved somewhat in combat awareness, Flender and the other teachers were satisfied. Thus, after a month of devilish training, the children received good news. They would soon depart for Spirit City to watch the second stage of the Elite Competition. In order not to miss the opening match, they had to leave early.

Before leaving, A'tu went to see Xiao Wu.

"Take this and wear it properly. Be careful in every matter when you go to Spirit City. Heaven Shaking Your Excellency will travel with you the whole way, so stay close to her." She handed Xiao Wu a wooden token.

Xiao Wu took it, put it on, and tucked it beneath her clothes. "Mom, don't worry. I'll come back safely."

A'tu nodded. Little rabbits had to weather storms if they wanted to grow up.

Spirit City was quite far from Calais City, and they would spend many days on the road. Just thinking about it made them happy. Before departure, Dai Mubai, Oscar, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun went out and swept through snack shops large and small across Calais City, stocking up on every kind of treat. The girls, meanwhile, prepared bedding for resting.

Everything was ready—except for homework. As expected, A'tu stuffed a whole stack of homework into the children's luggage at the last moment. A literal stack, especially for Ma Hongjun. She even told him to organize an error notebook. His wrong answers outnumbered his homework!

The carriage party became a study hall.

Just when the children had grown accustomed to doing homework in the swaying carriages, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.

"There's something ahead. Someone is lying in ambush. Everyone, Martial Soul Possession. Prepare for battle at any moment."

After Tang San awakened, his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul and powerful Spiritual Power had elevated both the range and detail of his perception to a whole new level.

The homework was stuffed back into the Storage Spirit Tool. Everyone put on their masks for going out to fight, rubbed their fists, which were itching from doing homework, and prepared to get to work.

The teachers in another carriage also sensed people ahead. Since their strength did not seem particularly formidable, they simply waited to watch the little monsters perform.

Up ahead, an arrow shot through the air, opening the curtain on battle!