Outside Suotuo City.
A man who looked like trouble to anyone who saw him was driving a carriage.
The only boy inside lay across the seat, his head resting on a pair of shapely, straight thighs.
It was Lin Huai and his group.
They had spent the journey admiring the scenery and sampling delicious food. By the time they reached Suotuo City, a month had passed since Shrek's recruitment drive.
Qian Renxue stroked Lin Huai's hair. Even with two others in the carriage watching, she no longer blushed or felt shy just because he was using her lap as a pillow.
"Xiao Huai, we're in Suotuo City."
Lin Huai turned around and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, taking a deep breath.
As expected of a fantasy world—not only was there no seafood smell, but she even had a faint, natural fragrance.
Lin Huai mumbled,
"Then let's head straight to Shrek. There's nothing much to see in Suotuo City anyway."
As for the Crystal Board in Flender's shop, Lin Huai had already sent someone to buy it.
Feeling Lin Huai's warm breath wash over her private parts as he spoke, Qian Renxue pressed her legs together and clutched his head tightly, her face crimson.
Lin Huai patted Qian Renxue's rounded backside.
"Xiao Xue, are you trying to suffocate me?"
"Mm—ah—!"
"W-who told you to talk like that? This is all your fault!"
Although Qian Renxue was complaining, she loosened her arms a little.
Across from them, Tian Yue and Hu Liena had long since gotten used to it. The four of them had spent the whole journey like this.
Remembering how Lin Huai had teased the three of them along the way, Tian Yue pressed her legs together.
"Xiao Huai's always like this."
"He gets us all worked up, then never sees it through."
Watching the two across from her, Hu Liena seemed to think of something, and a faint blush bloomed across her cheeks.
She nodded emphatically at Tian Yue's words.
"Exactly!"
"I wonder when Xiao Huai will finally comprehend Blade Intent."
Hu Liena hugged Tian Yue and said fiercely,
"Xiao Huai, did you hear that?"
"If you make us wait too long, we'll tie you up off to the side and let you watch the three of us play!"
Lin Huai turned to look at the two women embracing each other, his tone helpless.
"Leaving aside the fact that I'm only twelve, Blade Intent isn't something you can just comprehend whenever you want."
Truthfully, he didn't want things this way either. This whole corruption business was just too sinister. What if, while he was enjoying himself, it slipped through the connection and into the three women's bodies? Wouldn't that be the end of him?
Otherwise, with three beautiful women right in front of him, completely off their guard,
how could he possibly resist?
Even when Lianlian kept complaining in his mind, he just treated it as mood music.
"Hmph!"
"We don't care. If you keep this up, we'll make you suffer—you'll only be able to watch."
Tian Yue wrapped an arm around Hu Liena's waist too and spoke with a touch of petulance.
The carriage gradually came to a stop. Qian Renxue spoke up,
"Looks like we're here. You two get off first."
Tian Yue stood and glanced below Qian Renxue's waist.
"Sister Xue'er really can't take a joke."
Hu Liena chimed in, "Exactly. Every time she sits beside Xiao Huai, she has to change her clothes."
Seeing that Qian Renxue was about to explode, Lin Huai hurriedly pulled the two still-teasing women up and led the way out of the carriage.
Up in the sky, Qian Daoliu saw that Qian Renxue was once again the last to emerge. His face darkened.
"This is the downfall of public morals!"
After Qian Renxue changed her clothes and came out, Lin Huai put the carriage away in his Soul Tool.
"Let's go!"
At that moment, inside Shrek, Tang San and the others were about to begin Yu Gang's running exercise.
"...So, no matter what type of Soul Master you are, running to train your body is essential!"
Yu Gang finished his impassioned speech and was ready to receive the cheers of the gathered geniuses.
Instead, Ning Rongrong said disdainfully,
"Great Master, I agree that running is good exercise."
"But I'm a support-type Soul Master, and you want me to carry a rock and run ten laps without using Soul Power? Are you kidding me?"
Ning Rongrong looked at Yu Gang as if he were an idiot.
Before Yu Gang could answer, Tang San, ever ready to defend his teacher, jumped in.
"Ning Rongrong, stop being unreasonable."
"My teacher's arrangements must have a purpose. Instead of being grateful, you're looking down on them."
Yu Gang was quite pleased that Tang San had spoken up for him. After all, that was exactly what he thought. But considering his role as a teacher and the need for these seven students to get along, he patted Tang San on the shoulder, signaling him to hold on.
"Ning Rongrong, when you first came to the academy, Flender had you run, and you did it."
"You should agree that on the battlefield, support Soul Masters can only survive if they're fast enough."
Over the years, Ning Rongrong had never slacked off on training or studying, all so she could get the Soul Tools she liked from Ning Fengzhi. She wouldn't be convinced by an argument that twisted the issue like this.
She held up a slender finger.
"First, if a support Soul Master can't survive on the battlefield, that means the Soul Masters protecting them aren't doing their job."
"Second, flying is faster than running, right?"
Yu Gang shook his head, looking at Ning Rongrong with pity.
So the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was nothing special after all. They didn't even understand basic common sense.
After silently disparaging the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Yu Gang struck a lecturing pose and pointed at the lumpy mass of flesh nearby, who wore an utterly lecherous expression.
"I don't know how the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect taught you, but apart from Soul Masters like Ma Hongjun, other Soul Masters have to reach the Titled Douluo level before they can fly."
Ma Hongjun even played along, using Martial Soul Possession and flapping his two hands, which looked like chicken wings.
Ning Rongrong didn't bother arguing with an idiot. She simply took out a gleaming cannon-shaped device.
When Tang San saw her pull out the Soul Tool that had injured Zhao Wuji at the start of the school year, he hurried behind Yu Gang and warned her,
"Ning Rongrong, don't use that thing just because you can't win an argument with Teacher!"
Yu Gang didn't know what Ning Rongrong was holding, but seeing how Tang San was keeping his distance, he realized it was dangerous.
He forced himself to prepare to speak, but Ning Rongrong beat him to it.
"Hmph, coward!"
"Great Master, you should know what this is, right?"
Yu Gang had no idea this was an offensive Soul Tool. To him, it was nothing more than an ornate tube.
"You don't think the teacher wouldn't recognize a Soul Tool, do you? I got my Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges from him!"
Seeing that Ning Rongrong had no intention of using the Soul Tool,
Tang San stepped forward again and showed off the belt at his waist.
Yu Gang relaxed too. So this was a Soul Tool as well. He wondered where the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had found it; it looked so strange.
He clasped his hands behind his back and spoke disdainfully.
"It's just a Soul Tool. Nothing special."
Everyone stared in disbelief. This was something that had injured a Soul Saint using Martial Soul Possession,
yet in the Great Master's eyes, it was no big deal!
Ning Rongrong was taken aback too, and put away the Level Five Soul Cannon Launcher.
"Since the Great Master recognizes it, I'll get straight to the point."
"When I reach the Soul Ancestor level, my father will give me a Flying Soul Tool."
She pointed at the seven bamboo baskets loaded with rocks and asked Yu Gang,
"So, tell me—which is faster, flying or running?"
Hearing "Flying Soul Tool," Yu Gang blurted out,
"How is that possible?"
"All the Soul Tools that exist are for storage. There's no such thing as a Flying Soul Tool."
"Your father must have been lying to you!"
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