Ma Hongjun's Misfortune

It was a bright, sunny day. Spring was warm, flowers were blooming, all things were reviving—it was that season for animals again.

With a rose clenched between his teeth, Ma Hongjun hummed an unknown tune, swaying his hefty body as he strutted toward East Street in Suotuo City with the swagger of someone who feared neither heaven nor earth.

Princess Xue Ke, just wait for me in Heaven Dou City. Shrek Academy will be arriving at your academy soon. When the time comes... hehehe! Ma Hongjun muttered to himself.

When Yufeng had come to Shrek Academy to gather information, Ma Hongjun had happened to be fooling around in the neighboring village, so he had no idea that Xue Ke had gone missing. Naturally, Yufeng had not told him.

Sigh, the Evil Fire is acting up again. If I don't visit a brothel, my life might be in danger! I hope Princess Xue Ke won't blame me. I swear, as long as she agrees to date me, I'll immediately turn over a new leaf and love only her from then on! Mm... at most, I'll only go once every two months in the future! Ma Hongjun clenched his fists and secretly swore an oath.

Before long, Ma Hongjun arrived at East Street. Just as he was about to enter the brothel with practiced ease, several burly masked men suddenly leaped out from a nearby dark alley. Catching him off guard, they rained blows upon his back from behind. After knocking Ma Hongjun unconscious, they tied him up tightly and stuffed him into a large burlap sack. One of the men slung him over his shoulder, and the group vanished soundlessly at the end of the alley.

In his hazy consciousness, Ma Hongjun felt a chill all over his body. He was soaked through. Shuddering, he slowly opened his eyes, only to find utter darkness before him. He could see nothing, and only then did he realize that his eyes had been covered and that he had no idea where he was.

When he tried to stand, Ma Hongjun discovered that his hands and feet had been tightly bound, and his Soul Power had been sealed.

"Kid, you're finally awake!" The voice sounded like it belonged to a middle-aged man.

"Who are you? Why did you capture me? What do you want?" Ma Hongjun cried out in terror.

"Why did we capture you? Hehe... because you tried to pursue something that doesn't belong to you and provoked someone you shouldn't have. Little fatty, why don't you piss and take a good look at yourself? At such a young age, you're already constantly visiting places like that and have gone through who knows how many girlfriends. What makes you worthy of the noble Princess Xue Ke? You're a toad lusting after swan meat!"

"Let me go! My teacher is Flender, the headmaster of Shrek Academy! My teacher is a Soul Sage! Aren't you afraid of retaliation?" Ma Hongjun panicked and wriggled across the floor.

"What the hell is Shrek Academy? Never heard of it," one of the men said disdainfully.

"Hmph! You won't shed tears until you see the coffin! Next, we'll let you properly experience what the Ten Great Tortures of the Heaven Dou Empire are!"

"Ah..."

Ma Hongjun's pig-slaughtering screams and agonized wails rang out continuously from the cell. In the end, his voice gradually turned hoarse...

"Headmaster, Headmaster, this is bad!" Oscar burst through the door, panting heavily as he rushed into Flender's office.

"What happened that has you so flustered? Don't panic. Speak slowly!" Flender lounged calmly in his chair and pushed up his glasses.

"Ma Hongjun was beaten until he was covered in injuries. He only has one breath left, and he's been carried to the academy gate."

"What?!" Flender shot up from his chair and hurried out of the office with Oscar.

Upon careful examination, they found that Ma Hongjun's entire body had been beaten raw, with many broken ribs. His round, ball-like face was swollen red and covered in bruises, making him completely unrecognizable. His clothes were stained red with blood, and there was not a single uninjured spot on his body. A scorched smell also wafted from him.

"Who was it?! Who beat my disciple into this state?! I'll tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

Flender was so furious that he stomped his feet. After settling Ma Hongjun down, he spent a fortune to hire a healing-type Spirit Master from Suotuo City to treat him.

It was only after two full days of treatment that Ma Hongjun slowly regained consciousness.

"Water... I want water..." Ma Hongjun's broken voice sounded.

Flender, who had been keeping watch at his bedside, poured a cup of water and slowly helped Ma Hongjun drink it.

"Hongjun, are you all right? Tell your teacher, who did this to you?" Flender asked through gritted teeth.

"Teacher, I don't know who those people were. Cough, cough, cough... I guessed they were sent by the Heaven Dou Empire. They threatened me, telling me to give up pursuing Princess Xue Ke. Otherwise, they would keep torturing me mercilessly until I begged for death but could not die."

"People from the Heaven Dou Empire?" Flender narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

"There's an eighty or ninety percent chance that this was done by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Hongjun, it's not that your teacher wants to criticize you, but with your lecherous behavior—and as a commoner besides—Xue Ke has never even looked at you properly. You're still young. You should focus on cultivation. Listen to your teacher and give up!" Flender said earnestly, though his words carried a hint of frustration at Ma Hongjun's failure to live up to expectations.

"I understand, Teacher. I won't harbor any improper thoughts toward Xue Ke again." A trace of gloom and unwillingness flashed through Ma Hongjun's eyes.

"Get some proper rest. In a while, we'll set out for Heaven Dou City." Flender patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder and left the room.

Heaven Dou City, Prince's Mansion.

Xue Qinghe clenched the letter in his hands tightly, his brows furrowed as his hands trembled faintly.

"Princess Xue Ke's whereabouts are unknown... outside Suotuo City... a massive crater... Soul Power fluctuations at the scene belonging to someone above Soul Douluo..."

Xue Qinghe suddenly slammed his palm onto the table, sending everything on it crashing to the floor. He roared, "Investigate! Investigate this for me! Dead or alive, I want to see her! If you can't find Princess Xue Ke, don't come back to see me!"

"Yes!" His subordinate ran out trembling.

"Xiao Ke, which damned bastard dared lay a hand on you?! You mustn't let anything happen to you!"

As Xue Ke's innocent face and voice surfaced in his mind, Xue Qinghe clutched his chest tightly, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

"Xiao Ke..." Xue Qinghe walked to the window and gazed at the bright moon, murmuring under his breath.

News of Princess Xue Ke of the Heaven Dou Empire's disappearance quickly spread throughout Heaven Dou City. For half a month, both Suotuo City and Heaven Dou City were thrown into turmoil because of it.

Not only were the people of the Heaven Dou Empire frantically searching for Xue Ke's whereabouts, but Spirit Hall was also conducting a secret investigation in the shadows.

Yet neither side obtained any news about Xue Ke. It was as though she had vanished into thin air—neither alive nor dead could she be found.

Everyone knew that after half a month without any news of Xue Ke, this beautiful princess was likely doomed.

Xue Ke and Qian Renxue's new "cheat" will appear in the next chapter. This "cheat" will run through a series of later plotlines.