Rejected

"Disgusting! Pervert! You actually ate that part of a Horned Sheep!" Xiao Ning'er had never expected Chang Ping to be such a sicko. The tiny bit of admiration she'd felt for him vanished in an instant.

Her Soul Force had now reached 78 points. In two months, she would definitely reach 100 and become a Bronze One-star Demon Spirit Master, allowing her to enter the Formal Class and study. As long as she reached Gold rank before graduation, her family should stop pressuring her to marry Shen Fei.

In principle, since she ate and used what her family provided, she should agree to the marriage and repay them for raising her. If she were marrying a decent person, she might reluctantly agree. But it had to be Shen Fei—a wastrel, and a despicable wastrel from the Sacred Family at that.

Several years ago, her grandfather, a Black Gold Demon Spirit Master, had just passed away. She was still very young then, and the Sacred Family had schemed against her family, leaving them short of funds. They had been forced to mortgage most of their businesses to the Sacred Family at a low price just to get through the crisis.

The family had suffered a devastating blow, and the Sacred Family's suppression sent their business into a steep decline. Their assets were gradually drained away, and their standing in the Glory City quickly fell. Before long, they would drop out of the Magnate Families and become an ordinary noble family.

Later, the family elders had unanimously agreed to marry her off to Shen Fei, hoping the Sacred Family would show mercy and spare them. The Sacred Family was also afraid of pushing the Winged Dragon Family too far and making them fight to the death, so they settled for what they could get and agreed.

"Hmph! I'll never marry into such a despicable family! And I'll never marry a womanizer like Shen Fei, who toys with women whenever he pleases!" Xiao Ning'er clenched her delicate fists and gritted her teeth, silently swearing to herself.

She would work twice as hard to cultivate her Soul Force. She would become a Gold-rank Demon Spirit Master before graduation and change her fate.

However, whenever she cultivated at night, she felt as if her body were burning one moment and plunging into an icy pit the next. She wanted to cultivate, but her body wouldn't cooperate. Even more worrying and frightening were the purple bruises that had suddenly appeared on her body. They sent stabbing pain through her the instant she touched them.

"They're just minor injuries. If they think they can stop me from cultivating and changing my fate, they've got another thing coming!"

On her way to the cafeteria, Xiao Ning'er ran into Ye Zi Yun.

"Good morning, Ning'er~" Ye Zi Yun greeted her warmly.

But Xiao Ning'er only gave her a polite nod and said nothing. She quickly passed by Ye Zi Yun, her manner cold.

She was a cultivation machine without feelings. Until she had completely changed her fate, she wouldn't do anything unnecessary—not even rekindle her friendship with Ye Zi Yun.

"Ning'er~" Ye Zi Yun gazed wistfully at Xiao Ning'er's retreating figure.

When would she be able to play with Ning'er without a care in the world?

Just like when they were little!

Dong, dong, dong!

The melodious chimes rang out. The morning classes at Saint Orchid Academy were about to begin.

Chang Ping wiped his greasy lips and shot out of the Trial Ground like a whirlwind, sprinting toward the Beginner Warrior Class classroom.

Even after eating eight Horned Sheep, his stomach was still empty. Horned Sheep were only Bronze-rank demonic beasts, and their flesh contained little energy. He estimated that he'd need to swallow at least another thousand Horned Sheep to feel full.

When he entered the classroom, Shen Xiu was already there. She stood on the platform with her arms crossed over her chest, alluring and graceful, watching him with a meaningful look.

Chang Ping glared back at her, thinking, What are you looking at? Keep staring and I'll fuck you up!

"What's that smell?" the gold-digger suddenly cried, pinching her nose.

She had been about to stand up and let Chang Ping pass, but then she caught a whiff of the unpleasant muttony smell coming from him.

Chang Ping glanced at her, unconcerned, and walked past her to his seat.

When Shen Xiu saw him sitting in her nephew Shen Yue's seat, she frowned slightly. But intimidated by Chang Ping's lecherous reputation, she said nothing.

"Chang Ping, did you eat mutton today?" Ye Zi Yun pinched her dainty nose and poked his sturdy, muscular arm as she asked.

The smell was so overpowering it made her head ache.

At the words "mutton," Xiao Ning'er's delicate body trembled slightly. Certain unspeakable things rose in her mind, and her face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears.

Xiao Ning'er turned and shot Chang Ping a glare, cursing him silently. Pervert!

"Yeah. Do you like mutton too? I'll treat you to some at lunch." Chang Ping flashed two rows of pearly white teeth. His fragrant breath made Ye Zi Yun roll her eyes.

She hadn't liked him much to begin with, after he'd stolen her seat. Now she disliked him even more.

"No, thanks!" Ye Zi Yun covered her nose and turned away, showing Chang Ping the back of her pretty head.

Chang Ping shrugged.

In less than three minutes, the muttony smell had spread to every corner of the classroom.

"This is fucking disgusting!" Shen Yue muttered as he propped open a window for ventilation.

The night before, he had bribed a chef on the cafeteria's second floor to poison Chang Ping's food.

But Chang Ping hadn't gone to the second floor that night. He'd eaten on the first floor instead.

That morning, he had bribed a chef on the first floor too, telling him to poison Chang Ping's food.

But Chang Ping hadn't gone to the cafeteria that morning. No one knew where he'd gone to eat mutton.

"Damn it! Why is poisoning him so hard?" Shen Yue was so angry he could have spat blood.

The students were doing all right. They hadn't started cultivating yet, so their sense of smell was about the same as an ordinary person's.

Shen Xiu, on the other hand, was suffering. She was a Silver Three-star Demon Spirit Master, and her sense of smell was twice as sharp as an ordinary person's. That meant she had to endure twice the damage from Chang Ping's poisonous gas attack.

Just thinking about having to beg Chang Ping at noon to help detoxify her made her feel sick.

Class began soon after.

Shen Xiu endured her nausea and began teaching the students about Demon Spirits.

"The Demon Spirit I fused with is a Gold-rank Blazing Flame Demon Fox, which means Gold rank is the highest I can cultivate to. Gold-rank Demon Spirits are the best you can buy on the market. But even the most ordinary Gold-rank Demon Spirit costs at least one million Demon Spirit Coins."

"Black Gold Demon Spirits are extremely precious and often impossible to buy at any price. Black Gold demonic beasts are savage and terrifying, and often possess special abilities. Even three Black Gold Warriors working together might not be able to bring one down. Even our Sacred Family would need to mobilize the strength of the entire family to hunt one."

When she spoke of her family, Shen Xiu proudly lifted her chin.

"So I advise most of you not to entertain unrealistic hopes. Face reality. At most, your families can support you in becoming Gold-rank Demon Spirit Masters. But that's the limit of your families, not your own potential."

"What determines your potential is your talent, which is your Soul Sea. Based on centuries of cultivation experience in the Glory City, those with a red Soul Sea can cultivate only as far as Bronze Five-star, while those with an orange Soul Sea can only..."

"So even if your family is a noble family, without a yellow Soul Sea, you'll never become a Gold-rank Demon Spirit Master in your lifetime. On the other hand, even if you do have a yellow Soul Sea, if your family is only moderately well-off, you still won't become a Gold-rank Demon Spirit Master in your lifetime."

"From the moment you were born, your future fate was already decided!"

"Nonsense!" Chang Ping suddenly spoke up, refuting Shen Xiu.