On the way, the Shrek Academy group stared at Ning Rongrong in disbelief.
"Rongrong, we're all part of the same team. How can you leave the academy now?"
"Exactly! If you leave now, how can you face all the effort we've put in over the past six months?"
"Rongrong, have you already forgotten all the time we spent working hard together?"
Among the Shrek Group, Oscar looked at Ning Rongrong with a pale face.
He'd fallen for her at first sight, but now Ning Rongrong actually wanted to leave.
Tang San stepped forward and spoke seriously.
"Rongrong, stop joking around. We all came here together from Suotuo City!"
"Before long, we'll have to face the Heaven Dou Team led by that Su Ze in a decisive battle."
"What would it mean if you gave up now?"
After Tang San finished speaking, Xiao Wu looked at Ning Rongrong angrily, too.
Ning Rongrong couldn't understand why the Shrek Group were glaring at her with such anger.
She couldn't make sense of their way of thinking.
She'd only joined Shrek to study. She hadn't sold herself to the academy.
It would've been better if they hadn't mentioned Su Ze. The moment they did, Ning Rongrong became even more determined to leave.
"There's no need to say more, Dean Flender. Shrek Academy doesn't have a rule that students aren't allowed to leave, does it?"
At Ning Rongrong's words, Flender's expression grew extremely grim.
If they'd been at Shrek Academy, he could've bullied the naive little girl a bit and gotten away with it.
Ning Fengzhi wouldn't have said anything, either.
But this was Heaven Dou Imperial City, not far from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
If he tried to force Ning Rongrong to stay, he'd imprison her in the morning and have Sword Douluo or Bone Douluo come knocking to settle the score by the afternoon.
Still, Flender wasn't willing to let Ning Rongrong go just like that.
Behind Ning Rongrong stood the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Clans, with its endless wealth.
If the Shrek Group wanted to make a name for themselves in Heaven Dou City in the future, having a connection like Ning Rongrong would make things much easier.
And if they had the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda backing them in next year's competition, their chances of winning would improve considerably.
If they let Ning Rongrong go, what would happen to the competition?
"Flender, what are you hesitating for? If that little girl from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wants to leave, let her."
"Our Blue Tyrant Academy has plenty of talented support-type Soul Masters."
"We don't need her. Instead of wasting time on this, why don't you talk to me about Little Gang?"
"He seemed really upset when he came over."
A domineering woman's voice rang out from a distance.
The next moment, a crimson figure came striding through the flames. It was Yu Xiaogang's cousin, Liu Erlong.
Hearing Liu Erlong arrive, Flender sighed as if all the air had gone out of him. Then he turned to Ning Rongrong.
"Shrek Academy never had a rule against leaving."
"Go ahead."
At Flender's words, Ning Rongrong snorted and then looked toward Liu Erlong.
It had only been six months, and she'd become much more even-tempered. Otherwise, she would've asked Grandpa Jian and Grandpa Gu to teach that woman a lesson.
Just as Ning Rongrong turned to leave, Oscar, who'd been looking utterly miserable, finally moved.
"Rongrong, while I'm away, I hope you'll be happy."
"Please take good care of yourself."
At Oscar's words, Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Who are you?
Why should I need you to take care of me?
Without a trace of reluctance, Ning Rongrong turned and left Blue Tyrant Academy.
Sunset Forest.
"Hunting a Soul Beast alone is still too much for me."
"Too bad I gave all the money I brought to the young man who saved me. I can't afford to hire anyone to help."
Zhu Qingzhu stared at the Nether Civet behind her, which was over two thousand years old. A flicker of unwillingness passed through her eyes.
After reaching level thirty, she'd wanted to hunt a Soul Beast for herself.
This two-thousand-year-old Nether Civet was the best one she'd encountered lately.
Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough.
Just as Zhu Qingzhu was about to give up, a familiar figure appeared in front of her.
"Need some help?"
"Su Ze!"
Zhu Qingzhu recognized the figure who'd suddenly appeared before her almost instantly.
Her face lit up with delight.
She knew Su Ze, the junior fellow disciple of the person who'd saved her. He was her benefactor, too.
A Soul King over level fifty could handle a thousand-year Soul Beast with ease.
Besides, she knew he was a good person.
As she looked at Su Ze, who'd arrived just in time, Zhu Qingzhu felt happy, and couldn't help thinking that she and Su Ze really were fated to meet.
"Looks like you do. I'll deal with this monster for you."
Seeing the delight on Zhu Qingzhu's face, Su Ze turned his gaze to the Nether Civet.
A Nether Civet over two thousand years old could be considered a minor overlord on the outskirts of the forest.
Its speed was enough to make many Soul Masters who wanted to hunt it think twice.
But against Su Ze, it didn't stand a chance.
The moment Su Ze appeared, the Nether Civet, unusually sensitive to auras, sensed something was wrong.
It immediately tried to flee.
As soon as the Nether Civet ran, Su Ze brought his hands together and activated his second skill, Furious Thunder Strike.
In the next instant, a violent bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky and struck the fleeing Nether Civet.
The skill's built-in restraint locked the Nether Civet in place.
"Hurry and finish it while you can!"
"You're incredible. You can actually restrain it outright."
Zhu Qingzhu had been chased by the Nether Civet, so she knew how fast it was.
She hadn't expected Su Ze to have such powerful abilities, capable of forcibly restraining a Soul Beast.
The Nether Civet that had just been chasing her could now do nothing but stare at her in terror.
Zhu Qingzhu couldn't help looking at Su Ze beside her in amazement.
This boy named Su Ze managed to surprise her every time he appeared.
They were clearly the same age, yet the gap between them was enormous.
Just then, a mature woman's voice rang out, unmistakably displeased.
"Su Ze, no wonder you suddenly sped off. So you came to play the hero and save a beauty."
At the sound of the voice, Su Ze and Zhu Qingzhu turned around together.
Two figures were slowly approaching in the distance.
It was Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.
Seeing the two approaching women, Zhu Qingzhu couldn't help but be taken aback.
She'd been praised for her looks since childhood and was very confident in her beauty.
But faced with the two women walking toward her, even she was struck by their stunning appearance.
As they spoke, Su Ze used his second skill, Furious Thunder Strike, again to extend the Nether Civet's restraint.
By now, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had also gotten a clear look at Zhu Qingzhu.
The moment they saw her, both women's expressions darkened.
Dugu Yan shot Su Ze a displeased look. That brat.
She'd always kept a close eye on him, yet he'd still managed to make the acquaintance of such a beauty.
Her looks and bearing made it obvious to Dugu Yan that she was the daughter of a noble family.
And from the delight in her voice earlier, Dugu Yan could tell that this beautiful girl had an unusual relationship with Su Ze.
Beside her, Ye Lingling, her face veiled, found her gaze drifting toward Zhu Qingzhu in the distance, especially her curvaceous figure.
Looking at that cool beauty paired with such a voluptuous figure, Ye Lingling instinctively glanced down at her own ordinary chest.
She'd developed quite a bit as she'd grown older, but compared with the perfect figure of the woman standing there, who could rival Dugu Yan, she didn't stand a chance.
She hadn't even dealt with Dugu Yan yet, and now another unfamiliar woman who could match her had appeared.
Ye Lingling glared at Su Ze in anger.
That damned junior fellow disciple.
He'd always seemed so well-behaved, yet the moment he made a move, he'd brought her such a formidable rival.
Under the two women's unfriendly gazes, Su Ze awkwardly rubbed his nose and tried to explain.
"This is Zhu Qingzhu. We met before in Star Dou Great Forest. We're acquaintances, more or less."
"Miss Zhu, these are Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling. One is my friend, and the other is also my friend—she's my Senior Sister!"
Su Ze watched the three women chatting happily before him, feeling helpless.
Women really were mysterious creatures.
How had they become close friends in such a short time?
"Zhu Qing, so that tall man was Dai Mubai. He looked like a fine, upstanding person, but he was going to brothels."
"Don't worry, sister. You're better off without a fiancé like that."
"You don't have an academy? Leave it to us. We're putting a team together right now."
"Join our Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had been somewhat wary of Zhu Qingzhu at first.
But after hearing what she'd gone through, their sympathy immediately kicked in.
The two girls began denouncing Dai Mubai together, saying that a man of such poor character didn't deserve Zhu Qingzhu.
After chatting for a few days, Dugu Yan even invited Zhu Qingzhu to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
When Zhu Qingzhu agreed, Dugu Yan, with her big-sister air, looked delighted.
"That makes four people on our team. Now we just need to find the rest and get seven altogether."
"Then we'll win the Advanced Soul Master Competition."
Dugu Yan was delighted. The Heaven Dou Team had taken another step toward completion.
She was utterly confident they could win the championship.
That confidence wasn't in herself, but in Su Ze.
In Dugu Yan's eyes, with Su Ze's strength and support from Ye Lingling and her, it wouldn't matter who else joined them.
No team would be able to stand against them in this competition.
"The championship?"
At first, Zhu Qingzhu thought that sounded a little arrogant. But when she saw Su Ze smiling at her, she felt it made perfect sense.
She knew how strong Su Ze was. As a Soul King, he would have almost no rivals in the competition.
Thinking of the Golden Generation that Soul Martial Hall had been promoting so heavily lately, Zhu Qingzhu shook her head.
In her eyes, the only true genius was the young man standing before her, Su Ze.
With Su Ze's help, Zhu Qingzhu successfully hunted the nearly two-thousand-year-old Nether Civet.
The next day, after returning to Heaven Dou City, Zhu Qingzhu successfully enrolled with Su Ze's help.
Though the three education commissioners immediately recognized the Zhu Family's signature Nether Civet Martial Soul, they chose to turn a blind eye out of consideration for Dugu Bo and the Crown Prince.
After helping Zhu Qingzhu enroll, Ning Fengzhi unexpectedly showed up with Ning Rongrong and Bone Douluo.
"Su Ze, I'm entrusting Rongrong to you."
"Rather than waste her talent at Shrek Academy, she might as well follow you."
"Oh, and Su Ze, Shrek Academy is planning to join forces with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan against you."
"You should be careful from now on."
At Ning Fengzhi's words, Su Ze glanced at Ning Rongrong behind him in surprise.
He hadn't expected the butterfly effect he'd caused to be this powerful.
It was one thing for Zhu Qingzhu to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but now Ning Rongrong had come, too.
As for Shrek Academy's plans to deal with him, Su Ze didn't take them seriously at all.
Dai Mubai had already lost Zhu Qingzhu, so there was no chance of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Now she had even lost the support of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
There was simply no way she could pose a threat to him.
If she still made it to the end, all Su Ze could say was that Tang San's protagonist's luck was still far too powerful.
"Since Uncle Ning has asked, then Miss Rong Rong can train with me from now on."
After all, he had recently obtained a stone containing Thunder God Power from Ning Fengzhi.
Naturally, Su Ze couldn't refuse such a small request as taking Ning Rongrong under his wing.
When Su Ze agreed, a smile immediately spread across Ning Fengzhi's face.
This would bring Su Ze and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect closer and closer.
"Su Ze, I'll leave Rong Rong in your care. By the way, we've spoiled the girl rotten at home!"
"If she does anything wrong in the future, don't hesitate to discipline her."
"Don't hold back out of consideration for me."
Hearing her father's words, Ning Rongrong's pretty little face filled with disbelief.
Her father, who had always doted on her, had actually said something like that.
It seemed Su Ze was about to become more important to her father than she was.
"Don't worry, Father. I managed to stick it out under the harsh conditions at Shrek."
"You don't need to worry about me."
Remembering the grueling training she had endured at Shrek Academy, Ning Rongrong spoke with confidence.
While Ning Rongrong and Su Ze talked, Bone Douluo kept sizing up Su Ze.
His eyes were filled with astonishment and shock.
Ning Fengzhi had already told him about Su Ze's talent, but seeing it with his own eyes still left him amazed.
He truly had exceptional talent.
A Soul King who wasn't even fifteen—if he survived, he would undoubtedly become a renowned peerless powerhouse of his time.
At that moment, Bone Douluo felt completely at ease about leaving Rong Rong with Su Ze.
With such cultivation and talent, Rong Rong would surely learn a great deal from him.
After seeing Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo off, Su Ze looked at Ning Rongrong in front of him, puzzled.
"Uncle Ning has gone back. Come with me now."
"By the way, why did you leave Shrek Academy?"
Su Ze found it rather strange.
"What's so strange about that? The people at Shrek Academy wanted to deal with you, but Grandfather already told me about your talent."
"As the next head of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect, I have to think about the sect."
"Besides, those people at Shrek Academy—especially that Dai Mubai—even dared to threaten me. I've disliked him for a long time."
"And that Oscar, always coming over and pretending to be so devoted while trying to suck up to me. It's disgusting!"
Ning Rongrong spoke with disgust. Just remembering what Dai Mubai had said to her made her furious.
No one had ever dared to speak to her like that before.
Before you continue