Dai Huabin stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the stream of people on the street. Hearing Ning Tian's retort, he turned around and gave a soft chuckle.
"All I want is to control my own destiny and break the cage they've put me in."
Dai Huabin's tone was calm, without a trace of excitement. "And, while I'm at it, protect the people I love."
The words were light as a feather, yet they struck Ning Tian's heart like a boulder.
Control one's destiny?
Those four words were easy to say, but carrying them out was harder than climbing to the heavens.
How many astonishingly gifted geniuses in this world had ultimately become pawns in the power struggles between great factions?
Even she, the young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, would one day have to recruit young powerhouses for the sake of her sect's survival—and might even have to marry for an alliance.
Ning Tian looked at the boy before her, who was only a few months older than she was.
There was an indefinable confidence about him, a composure that came from truly paying no heed to worldly rules.
"Then what do you need me to do?"
Ning Tian blurted it out. When the words left her mouth, even she was taken aback.
Dai Huabin pulled out a chair and sat back down at the table.
"As the saying goes, even a hero needs three helpers. I may consider my talent decent enough, but I still need allies to help me with plenty of things. You and the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect are an excellent choice."
Ning Tian pursed her lips, sounding a little unconvinced.
"You just called our sect worthless. And now we're an excellent choice?"
"Those are two separate matters."
Dai Huabin spread his hands, his tone turning utterly candid.
"Your sect really is short on top-tier fighters, but you have money.
"These days, what doesn't take a mountain of gold and silver? The cultivation resources for high-ranked Soul Masters, expensive Soul Bones, top-tier Soul Tools—the lot. With my strength and your wealth and support, this deal can't lose."
Ning Tian quickly weighed it all in her mind.
What the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect lacked most right now was an unparalleled genius who could hold the line.
Dai Huabin had reached rank thirty-three at eleven, and his Martial Soul Fusion Skill had even mutated to give him a pair of wings. Even if one combed through the entire history of Shrek Academy, there would be few talents like his.
Investing early in a future top powerhouse would bring the sect every benefit and no harm.
"Fine."
Ning Tian extended her right hand without hesitation.
"Speaking for myself, I agree to this alliance for now. As for the sect, I'll write home and explain the stakes to my mother."
Dai Huabin reached out and shook her hand. Their hands parted as soon as they touched.
The alliance had come together with unusual ease, and both sides had gotten what they wanted.
The afternoon classes were relatively relaxed.
During the first three months of the new students' term, afternoons were mostly devoted to basic cultivation. Mu Jin was a rather gentle person.
Unlike Zhou Yi of Class One, who made her students run laps in iron suits, she had everyone practice Soul Power meditation and basic physical training in the shade of the woods.
Dai Huabin leaned against a thick tree, circulating his Soul Power as he watched Zhu Lu meditate earnestly beside him.
A breeze passed, stirring the girl's long black hair. It was peaceful and beautiful.
Time flew by.
Before long, dusk had fallen.
The end-of-class bell rang across the entire Outer Academy.
Dai Huabin brushed the grass off himself and took Zhu Lu's hand as they left the training area.
As they passed Shrek Square, he spotted two people at the edge of Class One's training grounds.
One was Tang Ya, wearing a fitted blue outfit and sporting a graceful figure.
The other was Huo Yuhao, covered in dust and bent over as he gathered up a heavy iron suit.
Dai Huabin stopped and rubbed his chin.
He remembered now.
According to the original story, tonight was the first time Huo Yuhao would set up a stall outside the academy to sell grilled fish.
It was a key plot point where one small incident set off a chain of conflicts.
Xu Sanshi, the Outer Academy's top defender, would take his frustration over being rejected by Jiang Nannan to the grilled fish stall, lose his temper, and smash Huo Yuhao's setup.
Afterward, Bei Bei would defend Tang Ya and his junior fellow apprentice, then fight Xu Sanshi in the Soul Fighting Zone. By cheating with Huo Yuhao's "Spiritual Detection Sharing," he would quickly win a Mystic Water Pill that could cleanse the marrow and transform the bones.
Dai Huabin wasn't interested in that Mystic Water Pill.
Although the White Tiger Duke Mansion was no longer what it used to be, he had still taken Mystic Water Pills before.
But Dai Huabin was very interested in the grilled fish in Huo Yuhao's hands.
As someone who had transmigrated, he was simply too curious.
What sort of magic did this legendary God King grilled fish hold?
How could it leave the genius girls from the original Douluo Continent story so enchanted that they were completely captivated? Could there be some secret hidden in the fish?
"Huabin, what are you looking at?" Zhu Lu followed his gaze, but all she saw was a few first-year students tidying up the grounds.
"Nothing. I spotted someone I know." Dai Huabin pulled his attention away and turned to Zhu Lu.
"We're not eating in the dining hall tonight. I'll take you to the snack street outside the Outer Academy's east gate."
Zhu Lu had no objections, of course. "All right. Whatever you say."
Night had fully fallen, and the snack street outside Shrek Academy's east gate was already brightly lit.
It was the Outer Academy students' favorite place to visit each evening.
Stalls of all kinds lined both sides of the road. Hawkers' cries mingled with the clatter of food sizzling in iron pans, filling the street with the rich, lively bustle of everyday life.
At that moment, three other girls were heading that way too.
Wang Dong'er wore a close-fitting white casual outfit. Her pink-blue hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and her flawless face carried a hint of excitement.
She was tugging at Xiao Xiao's sleeve as they hurried along the street.
"Dong'er, slow down! The food in the dining hall isn't going to grow legs and run away." Xiao Xiao was being dragged along at a jog and couldn't help complaining.
"Who said we were going to the dining hall?"
Wang Dong'er lifted her smooth chin.
"I just heard someone in the dorm next door say a new candied hawthorn stall opened outside the east gate. The sugar coating is crisp and sweet. I'm going to try it today, no matter what!"
Cui Yajie followed the two at an unhurried pace.
Her signature pink hair and the alluring aura that came with her Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul drew frequent glances from passing male students.
As for why Cui Yajie was walking with Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao, naturally, it was because Dai Huabin was bringing Zhu Lu along.
Hearing Wang Dong'er's words, Cui Yajie covered her mouth with one hand and chuckled.
"Oh, Wang Dong'er. That excuse is a little too flimsy, isn't it?
"Don't tell me you just happened to hear our class monitor was heading to the snack street, so you deliberately came to run into him?"
"Pah! Like I'd want to run into him!"
Wang Dong'er bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"I'm just going to eat candied hawthorns! The road's wide enough. He can walk his way, and I'll walk mine. What, is Shrek City run by the Dai Family? Am I not even allowed to go shopping?"
Xiao Xiao covered her mouth and snickered.
"Sure, sure, you're just going to eat. But the snack street's so big and packed with people, you might not even run into him."
Before you continue