This is f***ing nine years old?

Smack!

Qian Renxue opened her eyes in shock, only to see Shang An strike her again, muttering something about how "the texture is quite nice."

Of course, it was impossible for Shang An to actually do that kind of thing to Qian Renxue; at most, he was just giving her a small lesson to leave a deep impression on her heart.

Qian Renxue had initially thought she would lose her innocence, and even found herself thinking that if it had to be someone, Shang An wouldn't be so hard to accept. As it turned out, his punishment was just spanking her—it was painless and itchless, really.

Wait, how could I think something like that!

From childhood to now, no one had ever dared to humiliate her like this; this was a disgrace, a massive disgrace.

"Shang An, you just wait, I will definitely pay you back for this."

Hearing Qian Renxue's seemingly unyielding words, Shang An's hand involuntarily added a bit of force, and Qian Renxue's stubbornness didn't last much longer.

"Don't, stop hitting me, I surrender."

Smack!

"Call me big brother."

"In your dreams!"

"Still quite arrogant, huh."

Smack!

Smack!

"Big brother~"

After Shang An had his fill, he let go of Qian Renxue. She stood up, clutching her reddened bottom, and looked at his excessively handsome face, thinking to herself, Today's humiliation, I will pay back tenfold in the future.

"I'm leaving." Having had his fun, Shang An didn't intend to stay any longer and rose to leave.

"Wait."

Qian Renxue called out to him, hesitated for a moment, and asked:

"Was what you said before true?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, I mean about Bibi Dong."

Qian Renxue seemed a bit embarrassed.

It seemed this little girl still yearned for maternal love. After a moment of hesitation, Shang An said, "She really does have her reasons for not wanting to face you. Everything I said before was true."

"Is that so? I understand." Having received Shang An's confirmation, a longing for warmth couldn't help but surface in her eyes.

"Anything else?"

Qian Renxue struggled with herself again before asking, "Can you tell me your current strength?"

"Hmm, my current strength is that of a Spirit King. If we were to really fight, I should be just a bit stronger than an average Spirit Saint." Shang An decided to be modest.

Qian Renxue suddenly felt deflated. He was a Spirit King at nine years old and could even fight a Spirit Saint, while she had only been a Spirit Grandmaster at nine. The road to avenging this spanking was long and arduous.

"I'm leaving."

Shang An didn't linger. The Taiyi Dharma Domain shrank to shroud him once more, and he swaggered out of the bedchamber.

Watching Shang An suddenly vanish before her eyes, Qian Renxue finally understood how he had snuck in. With heaven-defying intelligence, peerless potential, an extraordinary appearance, and miraculous spirit skills, just how many more secrets did he have?

"Goodbye."

A barely audible voice escaped her lips; she didn't even know why she had said it.

Shang An, who hadn't walked far, paused slightly. Was this... being spanked into developing feelings?

Once Shang An was far away, Qian Renxue's expression turned cold.

"She Mao!"

"Your subordinate is here."

This time, no accidents occurred. The Spirit Sage She Long quickly appeared in the bedchamber, kneeling on one knee. His respectful demeanor only made Qian Renxue's anger flare up.

"Has there been anything unusual during this time?" Qian Renxue's tone was icy.

She Long was confused. Unusual? What could be unusual? He had been diligently guarding the bedchamber this whole time; absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"This subordinate has not discovered anything unusual."

"Oh, is that so? Then lift your head and take a good look at this bedchamber."

Hearing this, She Long raised his head, and everything inside the bedchamber immediately came into his view.

"This, this..."

The bedchamber was in a state of total disarray, caused by the battle between Qian Renxue and Shang An just moments ago. In some places, traces of light energy still lingered, and the large bed was still stained with the blood Shang An had coughed up earlier.

This—this was the aftermath of a major battle having taken place inside the bedchamber, and one of the main participants of this battle was Qian Renxue herself.

But how could this be?

He hadn't even sensed the slightest movement.

At this thought, cold sweat broke out on She Long's forehead. It was fortunate that Qian Renxue was unharmed this time; if anything had happened to this little ancestor, the people in the Elder Hall would have skinned him alive.

"Please forgive me, Young Mistress! Your subordinate will go and hunt down the culprit immediately."

"Forget it, this matter cannot be blamed on you. That person's spirit skill is truly bizarre and unfathomable."

Qian Renxue had summoned She Long partly because she had some pent-up anger that needed an outlet. She knew there were extenuating circumstances and didn't truly blame him; at the very least, aside from today's incident, She Long was usually quite reliable.

"There is no need to search for the culprit. He is not an enemy. If he truly were an enemy, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now."

"This... your subordinate obeys."

Although She Long was not a man of great schemes, he was not stupid. He realized that the person who came must have been someone from Spirit Hall, and that Qian Renxue had only summoned him to give him a warning. Naturally, he wouldn't say anything as foolish as insisting on pursuing the culprit.

However, he secretly told himself to be more vigilant in the future. This time it wasn't an enemy, but what about next time?

After returning to Dugu Mansion, Shang An prepared to bid farewell to Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.

He had already achieved most of his goals for this trip, and there was no point in lingering outside any longer. It would be better to return to Spirit City to cultivate properly; after sleeping with a body pillow of the fake Pope for a night, he missed his teacher even more.

"Brother An, are you really leaving?"

Dugu Yan held Shang An's hand, looking somewhat reluctant to let go.

"Yan Yan, I've been out for so long, it's time for me to go back." Shang An patted Dugu Yan's head. "If two hearts are one, does it matter if they are together day and night?"

"But I want to be together day and night~"

Dugu Yan didn't fall for the sweet talk of this playboy, stating her desire without wavering.

Dugu Bo, standing to the side, also feigned persuasion: "That's right, His Holiness the Holy Son. Why not stay for a few more days and let me properly host you?"

"Oh, really?" Shang An looked at Dugu Bo with a smile.

Dugu Bo coughed twice in embarrassment. Of course, it was a lie. The last time Shang An went missing, it had left him terrified, and he didn't want a repeat of that. His temple was too small to house a giant Buddha like Shang An.

"Grandfather!" Seeing Dugu Bo's expression, Dugu Yan said indignantly.

"Hahaha, alright, there will be plenty of time in the future. Work hard on your cultivation. I will come to see you when I have time, and if I see that your cultivation hasn't improved, I will be angry." Shang An had already decided to leave, so he wouldn't choose to stay just because of romantic attachments.

Besides, compared to the one back home, Dugu Yan was still lacking quite a bit.

"Alright then, you must come to see me. I will cultivate hard and catch up to your pace." Hearing the determination in Shang An's tone, Dugu Yan didn't try to persuade him further.

"I'm leaving then." Shang An turned to leave with Xiao Wu and Ni Huang.

"Wait." Dugu Yan called out to him.

Shang An stopped in his tracks. Why did all these women like to do this? Couldn't they just say everything at once?

"Can you tell me your strength?" Dugu Yan wanted to catch up to Shang An, so naturally, she wanted to know his true strength to have a target and motivation.

"I am currently level 52." Shang An replied truthfully.

"Level 52! Brother An, your talent is truly incredible. You've become a Spirit King at only ten-something years old."

Dugu Yan felt a little discouraged, but she quickly regained her fighting spirit. With the help of the immortal herb, her cultivation speed had greatly increased, so it wasn't impossible for her to catch up to Shang An.

"I will definitely work hard to catch up to you."

"Pfft." Xiao Wu, standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What, what's wrong?" Being laughed at by Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan felt her face flush. Was it really worth mocking her for setting a goal?

"Do you know how old Shang An is?" After spending these days together, Xiao Wu's relationship with Dugu Yan had improved quite a bit, but she still took great pleasure in teasing her.

Shang An saw Xiao Wu's mischievous intent but didn't stop her. He hadn't intended to hide it anyway; it was just that Dugu Yan and the others hadn't asked.

"Fifteen?" Dugu Yan guessed.

"Wrong, guess again." Xiao Wu shook her head.

"Fourteen?"

"Too high, guess again."

"Twelve?" Dugu Yan said uncertainly.

"Let me tell you, your Brother An is only nine years old."

"Nine years old? How is that possible?"

Both Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Dugu Bo looked Shang An up and down. He stood 1.8 meters tall, with a handsome physique, an imposing manner, sharp facial features, and an extraordinary appearance. He also had his own way of handling affairs.

This is nine years old?

"Hee hee, unbelievable, right? Even I find it hard to believe, but Brother Shang An is indeed only nine years old, the same age as me." Xiao Wu said to Dugu Yan with a giggle, almost implying that she was a better match for Shang An.

Shang An nodded. "(Excluding my life before transmigration), I am indeed only nine years old this year." He swallowed the first half of the sentence.