"Xiao Ya!"
Bei Bei saw Tang Ya come out and brightened. Pushing aside the green leaves hanging over his head, he hurried after her.
Jiang Yi's appearance and Xiao Ya's unusual behavior had undoubtedly sent his sense of crisis through the roof. He had already made up his mind.
He didn't want to wait any longer!
He would confess his feelings to Teacher Xiao Ya and prove how he felt.
Xiao Ya, I love you!
Bei Bei clenched his fists, his gaze firm as he followed the bouncing ponytail ahead of him, like a calf that had finally worked up the courage.
Only, he didn't notice the other gaze quietly watching him from not far away.
"Ah, you don't have to do this."
An elderly sigh suddenly sounded from behind Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan turned around and respectfully bowed to the old man who had suddenly appeared.
"Elder Mu!"
"Mm."
Mu En nodded slightly, a trace of pity flickering in his cloudy eyes. He looked at Zhang Lexuan and gently tried to comfort her.
"That promise, you can just..."
"No! Elder Mu, there's no need to say more."
Before Mu En could finish, Zhang Lexuan interrupted him. Her gentle eyes were now filled with stubborn resolve.
"I would never forget your kindness. I'll protect Shrek for the rest of my life."
It was Shrek that had avenged her and given her the life she had now. She could never forget that kindness.
"Elder Mu, there are still some matters in the Inner Academy. This disciple will take her leave."
Zhang Lexuan cupped her hands and turned to leave. Her back was resolute, yet somehow carried a note of loneliness.
"Such a foolish child..."
Mu En watched her go and shook his head helplessly.
Back then, he had made that promise on a whim. As time passed, he had long since come to regret it.
That kindness had become an obsession in Zhang Lexuan's heart, to the point that it was almost interfering with her cultivation.
But there was nothing he could do about feelings. Forcing her and Bei Bei together would likely do both of them harm.
"I hope you can let go soon..."
Mu En shook his head and was about to go lie down again when the Roar of the Eastern River Lion suddenly exploded from inside the dormitory building.
"You country bumpkin! How dare you?"
Mu En looked up and instantly rubbed his temples, his head aching.
That little ancestor...
On the fourth floor, in a dormitory.
Two girls were glaring at each other. More accurately, the pink-and-blue-haired girl was the only one losing her temper.
"I thought you were going to mess with me—but you didn't—so doesn't that mean you were messing with me?"
Tang Wutong planted her hands on her hips. Her pink-and-blue eyes were full of anger, and her beautiful long hair fluttered slightly with her agitation.
She had been putting up with this country bumpkin for ages. Sneaking a peek at her while she bathed was bad enough, but she even stank.
Faced with Tang Wutong's accusations, Huo Yutong, who had been silent the whole time, finally looked up, unable to take it any longer.
"If you want to fight, just say so."
Huo Yutong's expression was cold.
She didn't want to cause trouble, but what the other girl was saying—was that even human speech?
She'd just been sitting quietly on her bed, folding clothes. She hadn't provoked anyone or bothered anyone, and she still got picked on?
If she kept putting up with this, the girl would end up pinning her to the ground and humiliating her. Enough was enough.
"Hmph! Then let's go!"
Tang Wutong's eyes lit up. Eagerly rolling up her sleeves, she turned and headed outside first.
At last, she had someone to fight! No one in the Divine Realm would spar with her.
However, Huo Yutong only glanced at her, then stayed seated on the bed, unmoved. She didn't follow.
"What? Are you scared?"
Tang Wutong stopped and looked back with a scornful smile, her chin lifted slightly.
"One month's worth of meal money."
Huo Yutong spoke evenly without looking up, continuing to fold her clothes at an unhurried pace.
She wasn't going to fight for free.
"Fine! But if I win, I don't want your meal money—"
Tang Wutong agreed readily, a crafty glint flashing in her pink-and-blue eyes.
"I just want you out of this dormitory."
She was only here to train. She didn't want to make friends or form bonds with these mortals.
Her two uncles had said Douluo Continent was surrounded by temporal turbulence, so her father couldn't keep an eye on her for the time being.
That meant she could have some fun here without being controlled by that Old Codger.
"Fine!"
Huo Yutong nodded calmly, finally setting aside the clothes in her hands and standing up.
The two girls left the dormitory one after the other and went to an open space beside the dormitory building.
Sunlight spilled over the lawn. A gentle breeze blew, and a few birds swept past in the distance. It was perfect weather for a fight.
"Come on! I'll let you have the first move."
Tang Wutong smiled and beckoned to Huo Yutong with a finger.
She had been seething ever since the entrance examination. Now she finally had a punching bag.
Faced with the provocation, Huo Yutong barely reacted. She had endured far too much discrimination at the Duke's Mansion.
Whoosh—
Huo Yutong flicked her toe upward. A small stone on the ground sprang into the air and bounced squarely off Tang Wutong's chest.
The stone was sent flying by that springy bounce before Tang Wutong even had to lift a finger.
It barely hurt, but the humiliation was off the charts!
Only then did Huo Yutong assume a proper stance. A yellow Soul Ring rose around her.
"Come on!"
One move had already been made!
Tang Wutong was naturally ready to explode at such a provocation.
"Fine! Very fine!"
Tang Wutong flew into a rage and charged at Huo Yutong with a sliding tackle.
She didn't use her Martial Soul, but even so, her speed far surpassed that of an ordinary One-Ring Soul Master.
In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Huo Yutong. She raised a leg and swept it sideways.
However, Huo Yutong struck first, despite moving second. Her palm landed precisely on the joint of Tang Wutong's thigh.
"Hiss—"
Tang Wutong sucked in a sharp breath.
A strange numbness spread through her. Her forceful kick instantly lost all its strength.
"How is that possible?"
She frowned, refusing to believe it. Twisting in midair, she threw another roundhouse kick at Huo Yutong's waist.
But the same thing happened again: Huo Yutong's palm landed with a light tap.
Tang Wutong's right leg instantly felt as if all its strength had been drained away, throwing her entire body off balance.
Thud!
Huo Yutong seized the opening and pushed out a palm, striking Tang Wutong squarely on the shoulder.
Tang Wutong went flying, crashing onto the lawn on her back and kicking up a spray of grass.
"Cough, cough..."
Tang Wutong coughed lightly and tried to get up, only to discover in alarm that her legs wouldn't respond at all.
"What... what did you do to me?"
She jerked her head up and looked at Huo Yutong as she approached. For the first time, her eyes showed panic.
No one had ever made her this miserable before.
"You lost."
Huo Yutong walked over and looked down at her, her tone calm.
She had expected a tough fight, but she hadn't thought this girl would be so careless as to not even activate her Martial Soul.
"..."
Tang Wutong fell silent.
She looked at Huo Yutong and only then noticed that the other girl's eyes had turned a dazzling gold. That strange gaze seemed able to see right through her.
First Soul Skill, Eye of True Sight!
This Soul Skill wasn't as good as Tian Meng's Spirit Detection, but it had its own unique advantages, especially after Huo Yutong had come into contact with the Tang Sect Secret Arts.
By seeing through the other person's Soul Power circulation and using the Tang Sect's subtle Hidden Weapon techniques, Huo Yutong had realized that she could easily counter most people's Soul Skills.
Reading the move and breaking it... Huo Yutong had brought that phrase to life.
"You won."
Tang Wutong gritted her teeth, but still reached out and tossed her meal card to Huo Yutong.
She had been careless and hadn't even activated her Martial Soul, but she didn't want to make excuses.
With the other girl's strange ability, even if Tang Wutong had gone all out, she might not have gained any advantage.
"Thank you!"
Huo Yutong caught the meal card. When she saw the balance, the coldness vanished from her face, and a smile spread across her eyes and brows.
She was loaded!!!
After thinking it over, she crouched down and withdrew the Soul Power she had sent into the muscles inside Tang Wutong's thigh.
At least she'd paid...
"Hm? I'm better?"
Tang Wutong suddenly felt sensation return to her legs. Her eyes widened in surprise.
How had she done that?
But Huo Yutong had already turned to leave. Tang Wutong blinked, and curiosity won out over her pride.
"Hey! Was that your Soul Skill?"
Huo Yutong got up from the lawn, brushed the grass off her skirt, and followed.
"No."
"Then what was it?"
"Secret."
"Tell me, and I'll give you two months' worth of meal money..."
"Well, actually, it's..."
The two girls returned to the dormitory building one after the other, and the atmosphere between them had quietly grown more harmonious.
On the first floor, in the Zero-Zero-Zero dormitory.
Jiang Yi sat at the desk, looking through the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in his hands.
Since Tang Ya had given it to him, there was no reason not to read it. Jiang Yi wasn't that rigid; a freebie was still a freebie.
Everyone knew that transmigrators had no sense of honor.
"There's so much missing?"
Jiang Yi shook his head, a little speechless.
This Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record contained only some basic Hidden Weapon techniques.
The advanced Hidden Weapons, like Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus and Guanyin's Tears, were mentioned only briefly in stories.
Anyone who could cultivate those on their own would have to be a real master.
And most importantly, the section on poison was missing too. The contents had been pieced together by later generations through trial and error with poisons.
No wonder the Tang Sect had fallen into decline.
"Forget it. It's better than nothing."
Jiang Yi closed the book, but didn't cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose hard and squeezed out two tears.
He reached out and grabbed Tian Meng, who was still sound asleep inside the Master Ball.
"Hm? What is it this time? I told you, don't bother sis when there's nothing wrong."
Tian Meng yawned without even opening her eyes. She had clearly slept very well.
But the next moment, her eyes snapped open.
"Y-you... what's wrong?"
Tian Meng blinked at Jiang Yi, whose eyes were bloodshot. Her tone changed at once.
Who bullied my master?
After all, this was Shrek Academy. To avoid others noticing anything strange, she rarely took the initiative to probe the outside world.
"It's nothing, Tian Meng."
Jiang Yi shook his head, wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, and held out the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
"You said you didn't have any means of mental attack? I found you one. This is the legendary Sea God Inheritance..."
His voice was seven parts hoarse, three parts delighted, with a trace of exhaustion.
"Jiang Yi..."
Seeing this, how could Tian Meng not understand? Jiang Yi had made some kind of shady deal for her!
The Sea God Inheritance—just how precious was that?
She never expected that Jiang Yi had kept her casual complaint in mind all this time, and had even quietly gone and begged for it on her behalf...
"Waaah—Jiang Yi, I knew I was right about you!!!"
Tian Meng was so moved that tears streamed down her face, plopping onto the ground one after another.
She turned back into a little blonde girl, threw herself into Jiang Yi's arms, and sobbed like a three-year-old.
"From now on, when you hold me while we sleep, I'll definitely stay in my human form... and I won't kick you anymore... waaah..."
"Sister Tian Meng, as long as you're happy!"
Jiang Yi gently held the little girl in his arms, his gaze discreetly shifting toward the system panel.
[Affinity: 40%, 41%... 52%... 60%...]
Jiang Yi smiled with satisfaction.
Greatness speaks for itself!
Before you continue