Benefactor

Feng Piaoling spotted Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao from quite a distance away.

However, the appearance of Jiang Nannan was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Back then, he had left the Sun Moon Empire to hunt for an Earth Armored Dragon soul ring in the Star Dou Great Forest, partly to change the regrets of the original story.

He had found Jiang Nannan near the Mysterious Underworld Sect.

At the time, to avoid arousing the suspicions of Xu Tianran, he had left behind medicine to treat her mother's heart condition, along with enough money for her mother's recuperation, before hurrying away.

Thinking that she had already joined Shrek Academy and that the Mysterious Underworld Sect would not make things too difficult for her, he had left in a rush.

Afterward, Xu Tianran simply assumed Feng Piaoling had been struck by a sudden fit of kindness and did not investigate further.

He had never expected that she would be waiting for him at the gates of Shrek Academy.

"Benefactor, it has been a long time."

Perhaps realizing her own lack of composure, or fearing that she might provoke Feng Piaoling's distaste, Jiang Nannan hesitated for a moment before reluctantly stepping back from him.

She then offered him a graceful bow.

"Indeed, years have passed in the blink of an eye. How is your mother's health?"

Feng Piaoling looked at the stunning face so close to his own and sighed softly.

If this were when he had first transmigrated, he would not have minded building a harem in this world filled with beauties.

But after experiencing the death of his parents and spending over five years in the Crown Prince's Mansion, walking on thin ice, he was no longer the naive newcomer he had once been.

He had more important things to do.

Seeming to sense the shift in Feng Piaoling's mood, Jiang Nannan's gaze turned sorrowful:

"Thanks to the medicine and money you gave me back then, Mother is no longer in any danger. Jiang Nannan will never forget your kindness in saving her."

"That is good." Feng Piaoling nodded.

Just then, Xu Sanshi walked over, holding a brocade box and a gold card in his hands. "So, you are the young brother who saved Nannan's mother back then. I have ten thousand Gold Soul Coins here, along with a Mysterious Water Pill; consider this my way of repaying the debt on Nannan's behalf."

The crowd erupted in an uproar at the sight of what Xu Sanshi held.

One must know that in this era, ten thousand years later, there were no soul master subsidies.

Soul masters were generally quite poor.

Even Shrek students, who could receive subsidies issued by the three empires, were barely scraping by at the subsistence level.

This alone showed the immense value of ten thousand Gold Soul Coins and a Mysterious Water Pill, which was worth its weight in gold.

Never mind the commoners, even the nobles were shocked by Xu Sanshi's grand gesture.

This undoubtedly angered Jiang Nannan, who glared at Xu Sanshi with her beautiful eyes wide open. "Xu Sanshi, what is the meaning of this?"

After receiving help from Feng Piaoling back then, Jiang Nannan had rejected the Mysterious Underworld Sect.

The result was, naturally, that she became a target of the sect.

Although the matter eventually fizzled out because they found a new substitute, this young master of the Mysterious Underworld Sect had somehow learned that she had nearly sold herself for her mother's sake and claimed to admire her.

He had begun a three-year campaign of pestering her, which she found incredibly tiresome.

"Don't be angry, Nannan. Am I not just thanking this young brother on your behalf? Whether he accepts it or not is entirely up to him."

Xu Sanshi's goal was simple: since he could not have Jiang Nannan for the time being, he would ensure no one else could either.

As long as this pretty boy accepted the Mysterious Water Pill and the gold, he would never be able to get involved with Jiang Nannan in the future.

Hearing this, Jiang Nannan was furious, yet she could not bring herself to tell Feng Piaoling not to accept it. She already owed her benefactor too much and had no right to make demands of him.

She could only look at him with an apologetic expression, feeling nervous and uneasy in her heart.

"Feng acts according to his own heart. As for this Mysterious Water Pill and these Gold Soul Coins, you should take them and help those who truly need them."

After saying this, Feng Piaoling ignored him and walked toward the east gate alone.

"Benefactor..." Jiang Nannan hurriedly chased after him.

"Your martial soul is not bad. You must cultivate diligently in the future and never cut short your path of cultivation."

Feng Piaoling merely raised a hand, giving her this advice with his back turned to her.

He then produced a letter of recommendation for a city lord of a major city in the Heaven Spirit Empire, which the Crown Prince's Mansion had prepared for him.

He presented it to the Shrek students on duty at the gate.

This was one of the necessary conditions for joining Shrek Academy without taking the back door.

With the city lord's recommendation letter, the students naturally did not block his path, signaling for him to head to the nearby grounds to participate in the assessment.

Watching Feng Piaoling's retreating figure, Jiang Nannan, who had been worried about a misunderstanding, suddenly felt her expression turn resolute.

She murmured, "Benefactor, rest assured. From now on, Nannan will definitely cultivate hard and will never let you down."

At this moment, Tang Ya walked over. "Nannan, you and him..."

She had just overheard their conversation, and her mind couldn't help but drift back to what Feng Piaoling had said in the Star Dou Great Forest about witnessing a female genius soul master forced to sell herself to save her mother.

At this moment, she already had her answer.

At the same time, she finally understood why Jiang Nannan remained indifferent to Xu Sanshi's pursuit.

If someone like that had appeared back when the Tang Sect suffered its great disaster and saved her parents, perhaps she, too, would have fallen in love with them from the bottom of her heart.

"Xiaoya, do you know my benefactor?" Jiang Nannan looked at her good friend with some surprise.

Tang Ya nodded. "Mm, his name is Feng Piaoling. We met by chance in the Star Dou Great Forest; I suppose you could say we know each other."

"Feng Piaoling..." This was the first time Jiang Nannan had learned her benefactor's name, and her beautiful eyes instantly lit up.

"Xiaoya, thank you for telling me his name. I need to go cultivate now; let's chat again when we have time."

After saying this, Jiang Nannan greeted her companions and walked alone into the East City Gate, the symbol of Shrek Academy.

Bei Bei said from the side, "Xiaoya, we should head in."

Tang Ya nodded, and the two of them entered the East City Gate along with Huo Yuhao, who was feeling extremely disgruntled by the arrival of Feng Piaoling.

Shortly after, Jiang Nannan's female companions also left, though they did not enter the academy.

Instead, they went to watch the entrance examination.

They wanted to see exactly what kind of strength this new student possessed—the one who had captivated their outer court's number one beauty.

Before long, only the second and third-year students on duty and Xu Sanshi remained at the East City Gate.

"Hmph, acting all high and mighty, even asking Nannan to encourage him. He's just a mere new student. I'd like to see just how much skill you actually have."

Xu Sanshi curled his lip in annoyance and, like Jiang Nannan's companions, headed over to watch.

In truth, there wasn't much to see in the entrance examination.

It boiled down to three conditions.

First, a recommendation letter from the lord of a major city in any of the three Douluo nations.

Second, the applicant must be no older than twelve.

Third, their soul power must be no lower than level fifteen.

Beyond these, there was an implicit rule regarding soul ring configuration.

If one's first soul ring was a white ten-year soul ring, they would not be accepted, unless they held an exemption quota like the Tang Sect.

ps: Jiang Nannan will definitely be recruited, but the protagonist's current focus is on becoming stronger.