Confrontation, The Cat Acknowledges Its Master

"Dean!"

Zhao Wuji supported the unconscious Flender and hurriedly used his soul power to probe his body, letting out a sigh of relief only after discovering it was merely a shock to his spirit.

"I give you one month to dismantle Shrek Academy and leave Suotuo City. Otherwise, I shall have to ask the Suotuo City Guard to assist you."

After delivering this final ultimatum to the Shrek group, Su Di turned toward Su Zhen with a smile.

"Young Master Su, welcome to Suotuo City. Please, accompany me to the Suotuo City Spirit Hall Main Branch so I may fulfill my duties as a host."

"No need. I have other matters to attend to; perhaps next time."

Su Zhen turned to leave after speaking, only to be intercepted by a young girl.

"Big Brother, please stay a moment. I am Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. You mentioned you were a guest elder of the Crown Prince's Mansion, but my father is the Crown Prince's tutor. Why have I never seen you before?"

Ning Rongrong stepped out to block Su Zhen's path, her delicate face revealing a hint of cunning.

"I know of you; the Crown Prince has mentioned you to me. You have not seen me because, for the past few years, the Crown Prince has kept me busy negotiating matters with Martial Soul Hall. Ask him again when you return, and you will know."

Su Zhen glanced at Ning Rongrong and spoke coldly before walking around her to leave. He had no desire to waste further effort on her; a support-type soul master destined never to evolve into a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was fated to fade away in the river of time.

Su Zhen departed with Dugu Yan and the others, leaving behind the Shrek group and Tang San, who were huddled together in shared sorrow.

"Little San, thank you for clearing the siege for the academy."

Having regained consciousness under the infusion of Zhao Wuji's soul power, Flender thanked Tang San weakly.

"Dean, do not say that. My teacher is your close friend; your academy is my academy."

Tang San supported Flender, offering words of comfort.

"Alas, I fear my Shrek Academy ends here."

Flender sighed, turning to look at the village-turned-academy that had accompanied him for twenty years.

Tang San witnessed the demise of the academy and turned toward the blurry figures of Su Zhen and his group in the distance, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

You have humiliated me so today; you have already invited your own death. One day, I will surely make you pay the price.

Su Zhen left Suotuo City, heading in the direction of the Star Luo Empire.

"You are a disciple of the upper echelons of Martial Soul Hall, a successor of the Thunder God Palace, and a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Empire's Crown Prince. What other identities are you hiding from me?"

Dugu Yan looked at Su Zhen before her and asked; everything that happened today felt too surreal to her.

"You will know of my other identities in time. For now, it is time to welcome our new friend, isn't that right, little kitten?"

Su Zhen responded casually to Dugu Yan before casting his gaze toward a tree behind them.

"You are strong."

A girl in leather clothing jumped down from the tree, her eyes burning as she looked at Su Zhen. To be able to crush a Soul Elder and a Soul Emperor with physical strength alone—the man before her possessed power that could not be underestimated.

Dugu Yan looked at the girl who had been tracking them, her wariness unconcealed. The leather-clad girl's tracking skills were formidable; she hadn't sensed her at all. Most importantly, the girl looked no older than eleven or twelve, yet her figure was already more mature than her own.

Dugu Yan puffed out her own well-developed chest and asked the girl in leather.

"Who are you? Why are you following us?"

"Zhu Zhuqing, martial soul Hell Spirit Cat, twenty-seventh-level agility-attack system Soul Grand Master. You are strong; I want to follow you to become stronger."

Zhu Zhuqing's gaze never left Su Zhen, her cold words revealing both unwillingness and stubbornness.

"Surname Zhu, and your martial soul is the Hell Spirit Cat? How did a great noble of the Star Luo Empire end up in Suotuo City? And you want to follow me?"

Su Zhen chuckled as he identified Zhu Zhuqing's background.

"My fiancé ran here, and I came to find him."

When Zhu Zhuqing said this, her eyes were filled with grievance and disgust. She truly had not expected that Dai Mubai would run here and waste his days in a fraudulent academy for so many years. Her heart, which had broken when she came to Suotuo City to find him in order to survive, shattered like crystal when she saw Dai Mubai being beaten by Su Zhen.

"I never would have guessed; you are a girl with a story."

"If you want to follow me, you must demonstrate your value. My team has no need for dead weight that holds me back."

"I am not dead weight!"

Zhu Zhuqing was incensed by Su Zhen's use of the word "dead weight." She refused to let her years of hard work be dismissed so lightly by a single word.

"Then prove it to me. Dugu Yan is a thirty-fifth-level control-system battle Soul Elder. If you can hold your own against her for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, I will allow you to stay by my side. Otherwise, go back to your useless fiancé."

"And you, you must defeat her within half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

Su Zhen said, turning to give instructions to Dugu Yan as well.

After speaking, Su Zhen took an incense stick from his ring, lit it, and stuck it into the ground, then leaned against a nearby tree to close his eyes and rest.

Although Dugu Yan was extremely unhappy with Su Zhen's orders, she still stepped forward to accept the challenge.

"Dugu Yan, martial soul Jade Phosphorous Serpent, thirty-fifth-level control-system battle Soul Elder. Please advise."

"Zhu Zhuqing, martial soul Hell Spirit Cat, twenty-seventh-level agility-attack system Soul Grand Master. Please advise."

The two women announced their information to each other and began to fight to prove their worth.

"Young Master, do you really intend to keep Zhu Zhuqing? She is, after all, the daughter of the Duke of Nether."

Li Hao approached Su Zhen and asked in a low voice.

"How did you know I wanted to keep her?"

Su Zhen opened his eyes and looked at Li Hao.

"If you wanted to drive her away, Young Master, you wouldn't have asked her to hold out for the duration of one incense stick, but rather to defeat Dugu Yan."

"You are very clever. Zhu Zhuqing must stay; she plays a vital role in my future plans. As for the Duke of Nether,"

Su Zhen paused here, his gaze shifting toward the alluring figure on the battlefield desperately dodging Dugu Yan's toxins.

"If he knows what's good for him, he might still have a way to survive."

Seeing Su Zhen close his eyes once again, Li Hao tactfully took his leave.

The time for one incense stick passed quickly, and the battle between Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing drew to a close.

"Time is up."

Su Zhen spoke, halting their duel.

At this moment, the two on the battlefield ceased their movements. Dugu Yan's poisonous mist was only a finger's breadth away from Zhu Zhuqing's body; one more second and Zhu Zhuqing would have been corroded by the toxins.

"Damn it! If I hadn't neglected my cultivation these past few years, how could you have possibly dodged my Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison?"

Dugu Yan retracted her martial soul, stomped her foot, and said indignantly.

Her grandfather had been missing for six years. During these six years, she had no heart for cultivation, and the resources she needed became scarce without his provision, causing her Soul Power Level to be significantly lower than when she first appeared in the original story.

"There are no 'ifs.' The outcome is that I won."

Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice rang out. Having exhausted her soul power during the constant dodging, she was merely forcing herself to stand now.

"Can I stay?"

Zhu Zhuqing turned to look at Su Zhen, who had walked up to her, and asked.

"You can. Not just you, but you as well, Dugu Yan—both of you may stay. You are both still too weak right now, but I will cultivate you properly in the future."

Su Zhen reached out his hands toward the two of them, grasping the tentacles of what they called fate; he intended to pull them both into the web of destiny he had woven.