Thump~ thump~ thump~
Ozka and Feng Xiaodi's hearts pounded wildly.
Someone in this world had never heard of Emperor Qingtian? What a joke! The biggest joke on the entire continent!
Feng Xiaodi took a deep breath, wanting to make sure, and asked again, "Qian Xunji was the previous pope?"
"Yeah!"
"Then what was Qian Xunji's older brother called?"
The young man furrowed his brow and asked in return, "Did the previous pope have an older brother? I've never heard of one!"
"Phew~"
Feng Xiaodi let out a long breath and looked at Ozka with sudden understanding. As if speaking to himself, he said to Ozka, "I knew it! Why did this world feel so strange everywhere? It turns out Emperor Qingtian doesn't exist in this world!"
Ozka licked his dry lips and murmured, "So! This world has no Martial Path cultivation techniques! No more efficient Soul Power cultivation techniques! No technique for condensing Soul Rings! The continent hasn't been unified, either! And there are no cultivation techniques for ordinary people!"
Feng Xiaodi continued, "So Feng Xiaotian is a Soul Ancestor at twenty-three, and Yu Tianheng is also a Soul Ancestor at twenty!"
Ozka picked up the thread: "So my Doppelganger might only be at level twenty or thirty, and definitely isn't a Soul Emperor or Soul Saint!"
Feng Xiaodi said, "So those two Titled Douluo beside the Eldest Princess's Doppelganger really couldn't beat me! They weren't holding back! They were spitting blood over there, and I thought it was just blood in their words—no small matter!"
Ozka said, "So we were the ones jumping to conclusions all along! We felt that the concentration of Soul Power in nature was thirty percent higher than back home, and then... we made up an imaginary enemy!"
Feng Xiaodi said helplessly, "Heh~ we got way off track~~"
Ozka smiled bitterly. "Heh~ we let our imaginations run wild~~"
The two exchanged a smile, both wanting to say to the other, Heh~~ you're such an idiot!
Watching them mutter to themselves, the young man scratched his head and asked, "Is there anything else you two want to ask?"
"Uh... tell us more about Spirit Hall and the two empires."
"Sure! Spirit Hall awakens Martial Souls for commoners every year..."
By now, Ozka and Feng Xiaodi had finally sorted things out.
Meanwhile, as soon as Ning Rongrong returned to Shrek, she saw Oscar hurrying over to her.
"Rongrong, did you successfully obtain your third Soul Ring?"
"Hm?"
Ning Rongrong looked at Oscar in confusion and asked, "How did you get back so quickly? You've not only shaved your beard, you've changed your clothes, too?"
"What are you talking about?" Oscar looked confused for a moment, then dismissed the question and said with a smile, "Rongrong, congratulations! You've become a Soul Elder!"
Ning Rongrong blinked, feeling that something was strange, and asked, "By the way, what did you and Feng Xiaotian go off to do?"
"Feng Xiaotian? Who's that?"
"Huh?"
Ning Rongrong froze.
Oscar blinked in confusion and asked, "Rongrong, who are you talking about?"
"Feng Xiaotian! The Feng Xiaotian who was just with you! We came back from Sunset Forest together!"
"Who?" Oscar paused, then explained, "I've been at the academy the whole time. How could I have come back from Sunset Forest with you?"
Ning Rongrong asked, bewildered, "What are you talking about? We just parted at the gates of Heaven Dou City! You ran back so quickly just to pretend you'd never seen me?"
"I really have been at Shrek Academy this whole time. I haven't gone anywhere! If you don't believe me, ask the Fatty."
Ma Hongjun nodded and said, "That's right. Rongrong, are you remembering wrong? Brother Xiao Ao's been cultivating at the academy the whole time! If you don't believe me, ask Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Boss Dai!"
Then Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dai Mubai all vouched for Oscar.
Ning Rongrong was even more bewildered. She said earnestly, "I'm not lying to you! Oscar and Feng Xiaotian walked all the way back from Sunset Forest with me! Grandpa Gu can vouch for me!"
Dai Mubai asked, "Where's your Grandpa Gu?"
"He took me to the city gate, then went back to the sect. I really did come back with Oscar! He was wearing really strange clothes and had a beard!"
Oscar shook his head. "I didn't have a beard, I didn't leave the academy, and I didn't go to Sunset Forest!"
"You! You all!" Ning Rongrong was so angry that steam practically puffed from her nostrils.
Xiao Wu ran over and tugged at Ning Rongrong's arm, smiling as she said, "All right, all right. Maybe you mistook someone else for him, Rongrong."
"How could I? We traveled together for more than three whole hours!"
Xiao Wu scratched her head, baffled. "But Xiao Ao really has been at the academy the entire time. He never left."
Ning Rongrong: "..."
"Did you all team up to lie to me? To prank me? I'm getting mad!"
Oscar said earnestly, "Rongrong, how could I lie to you? I like you too much to do that!"
Ning Rongrong stared blankly at the people before her. None of them seemed to be lying, and she began to doubt herself.
Just then, Yu Xiaogang walked over and called out to everyone, "What are you all doing? Have you run with your weights for two hours today? Have you properly reflected on whether you've been slacking off?"
The others scattered like startled birds and beasts.
Ning Rongrong was still full of questions.
Meanwhile.
At the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Xue had been observing in secret for a long time.
Ahead of him stood an old man with pale gray-green hair and a black-haired youth.
The old man with pale gray-green hair looked a lot like Dugu Xue, except one of them was very old, while the other was a middle-aged man with only a few strands of white at his temples.
Is that my Doppelganger? Dugu Xue watched for a long time before reaching his answer.
But after that, Dugu Xue couldn't figure out what his Doppelganger and the young man were doing!
He watched for a very long time before he finally began to form a vague guess.
Could it be... could it be that the me in this world still hasn't solved the problem with his Martial Soul's flaws? Level ninety-one Soul Power, plagued by illness—that really does look like a case of poison that's seeped into his very bones! That doesn't make sense. Could it be that he never followed Emperor Qingtian?
He watched a little longer.
Dugu Xue thought, This young man's understanding of poison is commendable! But his intentions are impure! And clearly, he recognizes these Immortal Herbs and wants to claim them for himself! Hm? A Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul? Level thirty-two Soul Power? His cultivation is indeed a little low. He looks a bit like someone I know, with a two- or three-part resemblance in his features... Wait! Could he possibly be the Doppelganger of that Third Prince? This young man with impure intentions definitely isn't the Doppelganger of the upright Third Prince, Qian Pingchuan!
He continued watching for a while, then couldn't help shaking his head. The me in this world is really too simple! He's about to give this entire garden of Immortal Herbs to someone else after being fooled with just a few words! Hm? Wait!
Dugu Xue pondered for a long time. Doesn't this garden belong to Emperor Qingtian? My Doppelganger is actually giving Emperor Qingtian's garden away? Betraying Emperor Qingtian? That can't be right~! How could my Doppelganger betray Emperor Qingtian? Even in a different world, he couldn't possibly betray Emperor Qingtian! Even if he'd lost his mind, he still couldn't betray Emperor Qingtian, could he?
Dugu Xue couldn't figure it out, but he knew there had to be something fishy going on!
Before you continue