The Rabbit in the Cage! An Offer She Couldn't Refuse

Ye Wanqing looked at her son's expression and didn't know whether to laugh or scold him.

She lightly smacked Su Ling on the back of the head. The little rascal actually had the nerve to look down on her.

Ning Rongrong was the beloved Little Princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the direct disciple of Light Feather Douluo of the Worship Hall.

She was exceptionally gifted and breathtakingly beautiful, the dream of countless young talents.

Compared with Su Ling—a good-for-nothing playboy with Innate Soul Power of only level three, a useless Martial Soul, and no interest in studying—she was like the difference between heaven and earth.

"You little brat, who do you think you are, making that face? You're actually in a position to look down on her?"

Ye Wanqing scolded him under her breath, but secretly pinched his arm.

Su Ling didn't answer. He merely turned to meet the nearly palpable hostility in the eyes of Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others, and nodded to himself, satisfied.

Good. He'd drawn plenty of their hatred.

Now all he had to do was fail to win her favor, sit back and wait to turn evil, then make a clean exit.

When Ning Rongrong met Su Ling's golden eyes, full of disdain, an inexplicable pang struck her heart.

She bit her lower lip, then gave a haughty little huff and raised her chin. "Hey, what's with that look? There are more people chasing after me than you could count from the Heaven Dou Empire to the Star Dou Great Forest!"

"You're a piece of trash with Innate Soul Power of only level three and a useless Martial Soul. What gives you the right to look down on me?"

The mood turned awkward in an instant, and Ye Wanqing's expression darkened slightly.

No matter how poorly gifted her son was, he was still the precious boy she had raised in the palm of her hand. How dare anyone humiliate him like that?

Su Ling suddenly smiled, as if he'd heard the system announce a "ding" in his mind, signaling the mission's progress.

He leaned back lazily into the sofa, tapping the armrest idly with his fingertips. "Miss Ning is right. I, Su Ling, am indeed unworthy of a heaven's favorite like you."

He paused. His gaze abruptly darkened, a dangerous glint flashing through it. "But I, Su Ling, have never failed to get a woman I wanted. If I really can't have her..."

His voice dropped, colored with a cold, playful edge. "Then I'll destroy her with my own hands."

"Not a hint of sincerity in that love, but you're certainly nailing the obsession," the system couldn't help commenting in his mind.

"If I'd rather destroy her than let anyone else have her, then what else could that be but love?"

Su Ling retorted in his mind, a teasing smile curving his lips.

After playing the "good-for-nothing" in so many lives, this was the first time he'd had this much fun acting.

System: "Emm... I think you're pretending to want her, when what you really want is to destroy her... Whatever. It can motivate the heroine, and it fits the story."

"What are you going to do?!" Tang San instantly stepped in front of Ning Rongrong, his eyes glinting with cold fury.

Even the smiles on Flender and Yu Xiaogang's faces had frozen completely. They had never expected Su Ling to suddenly say something so chilling.

Ye Wanqing sighed helplessly. "Little Ling..."

Su Ling raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"That's not how you pursue a girl."

Ye Wanqing pressed a hand to her forehead. The boy had picked up nothing but crooked ways. "If your father had talked like that back then, the grass on his grave would be three meters tall by now."

Su Ling pursed his lips dismissively and shrugged.

He wasn't actually planning to pursue Ning Rongrong. He just wanted an excuse to turn evil.

After all, with Gu Yuena liable to show up at any moment, if he kept following the original plot obediently, he might not even know how he died.

"Ahem... Madam Ye, it's getting late. We should take our leave."

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Flender hurriedly tried to smooth things over, while discreetly signaling to Yu Xiaogang.

"Please give some more thought to the investment. Shrek Academy really needs the funding..."

Yu Xiaogang understood and stepped forward. "Young Master Su is exceptionally gifted. Perhaps there's just a slight problem with his cultivation method. If you're willing, as an honorary elder of Spirit Hall and the foremost authority on Martial Soul Theory, I may be able to help him find a more suitable path."

With that, Yu Xiaogang and Flender headed for the door, and the rest of Shrek followed.

As Ning Rongrong was leaving, she couldn't help sneaking a glance back at Su Ling, only to see him lazily wave at her.

She glared back at him, cheeks puffed in anger, then suddenly noticed that her good friend Xiao Wu had already started walking toward Su Ling.

"Xiao Wu, what are you doing?" Tang San hurriedly grabbed Xiao Wu by the wrist, a trace of alarm in his voice.

"Rabbit, I never said you could leave."

Su Ling watched Xiao Wu with a knowing smile. His harmless-looking face held a pair of eyes as cold as a venomous snake's. "You wouldn't want everyone to find out about that, would you?"

Xiao Wu's pupils abruptly shrank, and her pink rabbit ears trembled uneasily.

"Third Brother... stop worrying about me."

She pulled free of Tang San's grasp, her voice so quiet it was almost inaudible. "Don't you like Rongrong? Go after her..."

After speaking, she couldn't bear to look at Tang San's expression. She lowered her head and hurried toward Su Ling.

Unprecedented fury welled up in Tang San's eyes. He stared at Su Ling, his killing intent almost palpable.

"Su Ling, you'd better explain yourself," Tang San said, his voice icy. Blue Silver Grass flickered in his palm.

"Tang San, could you take a look at who's actually at a disadvantage here?"

Su Ling lounged in the leather sofa as his golden eyes gradually turned blood-red, an oppressive aura radiating from him.

"Didn't you notice your teacher slinking off with his head down? This is the Su Family, not your shabby Shrek Academy."

At the same time, the Dark Guards all fixed their attention on the Shrek group. A silent pressure spread through the room. The moment anyone made a move, they would strike.

The atmosphere in the hall plunged to freezing in an instant, and the air seemed to solidify.

Ye Wanqing sighed, but decided not to interfere any further.

She rose gracefully and gently patted Su Ling on the shoulder. "Little Ling, treat that girl a little better."

With that, she turned and left the hall, her heart aching in a way she couldn't explain.

She knew what Su Ling was doing was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to blame him.

Because of his Martial Soul Mutation, the family had regarded him as an oddity since childhood, and he had suffered endless humiliation.

His present-day viciousness and obsession were, in the end, born of desperation.

The moment Ye Wanqing left, all the Su Family's Dark Guards answered only to Su Ling.

Under Old Mo's Soul Douluo-level pressure, the Shrek group could barely breathe.

"Old Mo, see our guests out." After giving the order flatly, Su Ling took Xiao Wu's hand and turned to leave without looking back.

His grip hurt Xiao Wu's wrist, but she didn't dare struggle. She could only lower her head and quietly follow him.

Su Ling took Xiao Wu back to his room. On the way, he caught sight of his mother's complicated gaze, but only gave a slight nod before closing the door.