Yan Shaozhe promised them some compensation, and the two of them left.
Tang Wutong was still somewhat dissatisfied, so Xiao Yi could only helplessly tug her along. The academy wasn't entirely to blame for what had happened, after all. She had been the one to provoke them first. It wouldn't do to keep making a fuss after they had already offered compensation.
Tang Wutong had still been rather unhappy, but when Xiao Yi tugged her, she thought, Fine, I'll do you a favor. She said nothing more and strode away. Watching her retreating figure, Xiao Yi felt he needed to confirm his suspicions as soon as possible.
Otherwise, he would have no choice but to keep his distance. His suspicion was that something might have happened in the Divine Realm. Otherwise, there was no explaining why Tang Wutong had appeared in such a complete state, using a name like Tang Wulin.
As for how Xiao Yi had determined that this was the full-fledged Princess Tang,
in the original story, Wang Dong had been somewhat spoiled and hadn't taken cultivation seriously, but at least she had treated people kindly. She hadn't gone around acting as though the whole world owed her money.
This was outrageous. She didn't cultivate, treated people with arrogance and rudeness, and had only changed her attitude toward him after he'd just saved her. Even when she reined herself in while speaking, she couldn't conceal the arrogance and disdain in her tone.
If there was nothing wrong with the Divine Realm and this was simply another situation that differed from the original story, Xiao Yi would use a cold shoulder to distance himself from this source of trouble. At worst, he could push himself to cultivate faster and join the Inner Academy early. That wouldn't be difficult for him.
But if the Divine Realm really had lost contact, then—hee hee hee hee hee! He could put up with her temper for now. There would be plenty of ways to train her later. Hee hee hee hee hee!
As the two left, Yan Shaozhe's eyes gleamed. In that instant, a great many thoughts had crossed his mind.
Xiao Yi's Martial Soul contracted with snake-type Soul Beasts, and they could grow alongside him. So, aside from the age of their Soul Rings, what about the Soul Beasts themselves? If the Soul Beasts could evolve too, then in time, Xiao Yi alone would be the equivalent of ten Titled Douluo, or even Super Douluo.
And from what he had observed, Xiao Yi seemed able to use Martial Soul Possession as well.
At the thought, Yan Shaozhe's heart burned with excitement. A genius like this had to stay at the academy, no matter the cost.
He also thought of his disciple, Ma Xiaotao. Her Martial Soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, just like Ma Hongjun, the Phoenix God who had ascended to godhood ten thousand years ago. It possessed extraordinarily powerful flames, but her cultivation was troubled by Evil Fire, and she could only suppress it with the help of Soul Masters with ice or water attributes.
Yan Shaozhe thought of Xiao Yi's Nether Cold Ice Python. Although this Soul Beast hadn't reached the level of Ultimate Ice, it was still quite powerful.
Having made up his mind, Yan Shaozhe decided to first report to his teacher that such a genius had appeared at the academy. Then he would take his disciple to see Xiao Yi and find out whether he was willing to help suppress her Evil Fire.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yi ambled along behind Tang Wutong, pondering how to confirm the state of the Divine Realm. He remembered that Limit Douluo seemed able to sense the Divine Realm. But after glancing at the pink-and-blue figure ahead, he came to a decision.
Just as Xiao Yi was walking with his head lowered in thought, Tang Wutong abruptly stopped and turned around, looking a little awkward.
Xiao Yi stopped and looked at the hesitant Tang Wutong, curious about what she wanted to say.
"Thank you for saving me earlier. I acknowledge you as my friend now." After hesitating for a long while, Tang Wutong finally said it.
Xiao Yi was a little surprised. He hadn't expected this young miss to actually thank him. Though she'd been spoiled into developing quite a few bad habits, she was still a normal person after all.
"It's fine, Wulin. It was nothing more than a small favor." Xiao Yi looked at the "young man" in front of him, who was half a head shorter, and couldn't help smiling.
Girl, the way you're acting all bashful really doesn't seem manly.
But Xiao Yi had no intention of exposing her.
Tang Wutong felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and turned her head away awkwardly.
"I'm reluctantly acknowledging you now. Come on, it's getting late. I'll treat you to a meal." As she spoke, she patted her flat chest and boldly pulled out a gold card.
"Sure." Xiao Yi agreed, while also feeling a little curious. How does she keep it so flat?
As he spoke, he walked over beside Tang Wutong and casually put an arm around her shoulders, just like all the other good buddies on campus.
But the instant his hand touched her shoulder, Tang Wutong shuddered all over. She had never been touched like that by a member of the opposite sex. Just as she was about to pull away, she saw quite a few male students passing by with their arms around each other's shoulders.
She immediately remembered that she was currently disguised as a boy, so she could only force herself to act natural. Yet her ears had turned bright red, and her body was so stiff that something was obviously off.
The corner of Xiao Yi's mouth curled in a barely perceptible smile as he walked toward the cafeteria with his "good buddy" in his arms.
Xiao Yi pretended to be curious and chatted with Tang Wutong, trying to draw information out of her. Tang Wutong gradually relaxed and showed no desire to hide anything, sharing her experiences with a touch of pride.
She was, after all, from the Divine Realm, and her knowledge truly was extraordinary. On top of that, she had grown up in the Clear Sky Sect. Naturally, she knew far more than a self-taught Soul Master like Xiao Yi, with an impressively broad range of knowledge.
Before long, the two reached the cafeteria. Since there were no seats, Xiao Yi decided to take the food back to their dorm. Tang Wutong naturally had no objections.
Tang Wutong cast a somewhat disdainful look around Shrek's cafeteria.
"How did this place become the number one academy on the Douluo Continent?"
"The food's pretty good. You rarely see some of these ingredients elsewhere," Xiao Yi said with a smile. He had no intention of defending Shrek, either. The academy's nutritional resources really were excellent; many of them were hard to find even outside, at any price—if you had the Gold Soul Coins.
Tang Wutong was disdainful, but didn't argue. She'd lived in luxury since childhood, so naturally, none of this seemed like much to her.
"From now on, you can follow me. I'll take you to eat even better food."
Xiao Yi smiled and nodded. If a rich girl was treating, why not eat? His own savings couldn't guarantee he'd be able to eat this well every day.
The two returned to their dorm together. This time, Xiao Yi didn't deliberately put his arm around Tang Wutong again. Some things had to happen gradually; he needed to let her get used to it bit by bit.
As they passed Mu En, Xiao Yi greeted him as usual. Tang Wutong, however, walked straight past and impatiently called out to Xiao Yi.
"Sorry, Grandpa. Wulin's just like this. Please don't take it to heart." Xiao Yi smiled and bowed slightly to Mu En.
"Good child. Since your friend's calling you, go on." Mu En naturally didn't mind. He waved with a smile and let Xiao Yi leave.
Once Xiao Yi and Tang Wutong had gone some distance, a figure flashed into view beside Mu En's rocking chair. It was Yan Shaozhe.
"Elder Mu, I've found out about Xiao Yi."
"Xiao Yi is a good child. I told you there was no need to do all this. If the academy treats people sincerely, how could we fail to keep them? You, on the other hand, have struggled to advance your Soul Power because you lack the bearing that a Light Phoenix Martial Soul ought to have. Never mind. Go on, tell me what you found."
At Mu En's criticism, Yan Shaozhe, whose back was already bent, hunched over a little further.
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