Xiao Xiao's Shock

"Hoo--"

Ji Jing exhaled a breath of turbid air. Engaging his core and waist, the muscles in his arms bulged instantly. He poured every ounce of his physical strength into the hammer and swung it violently toward the clearing ahead!

"Boom!"

The hammer did not touch the ground, but the terrifying air pressure generated by the swing acted like an invisible giant hand, forcing the ground within ten meters ahead to collapse inward!

Soil and grass clippings were swept up by the gale, forming a small tornado, and clear cracks appeared on the trunks of the surrounding large trees.

"What a powerful amplification!"

A flash of joy crossed Ji Jing's eyes.

He could feel that the weight and material of the hammer itself had magnified his raw physical strength by more than several times.

But this was only the beginning.

"Next, let's try the soul skills."

His gaze sharpened, and his first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously.

"First Soul Skill, Soaring Yang Fire! Triple stack!"

"Second Soul Skill, Solar Impact! Triple stack!"

Surging soul power poured frantically into his body. The golden-red Bingwu Primordial Yang Sacred Fire erupted from him, soaring into the sky and enveloping his entire frame.

As the flames rose, his strength, speed, and defense were all pushed to their limits.

At the same time, an unimaginable speed bonus began to accumulate in his arms.

When the triple-stacked effects of both soul skills climbed to their peak, Ji Jing poured all of the Bingwu Primordial Yang Sacred Fire—now as scorching as a miniature sun—into the Hammer of Creation.

A strange scene unfolded!

When the supreme Yang and rigid flames touched the divine hammer, which contained endless life force, the two did not conflict; instead, they merged perfectly.

Intricate golden-red patterns lit up on the green-gold hammer body. The pure aura of life intertwined with the power of the flames, forming an even more terrifying manifestation.

"Now!"

Ji Jing let out a low roar and smashed the hammer, which had condensed all of his strength, heavily into the ground!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a moment of dead silence.

The next instant, a thick golden-red beam of light erupted from the point of contact between the hammer and the ground, shooting straight into the sky!

Wherever the beam passed, trees and rocks alike were vaporized instantly, leaving not even ashes behind.

A visible shockwave spread wildly with him at the center. The forest within a hundred-meter radius was razed to the ground, leaving behind a bottomless, terrifying crater with edges as smooth as a mirror!

This power had already far surpassed the category of a Soul Ancestor.

Ji Jing had no doubt that even if a seven-ring Soul Saint who had activated their Martial Soul Avatar were standing here, they would be absolutely unable to contend with this strike; their only end would be to be instantly obliterated!

"The power... is beyond imagination."

He looked at his masterpiece and nodded with satisfaction.

"Time to go."

Having tested the power of the divine artifact, he felt no lingering attachment and tapped the ground lightly with the hammer in his left hand.

A gentle green light surged from the hammer, like a spring breeze brushing over the earth.

The razed forest and the bottomless crater began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye under this majestic power of creation.

Soil churned and vegetation regrew. In just a few breaths, the area returned to its original state, as if that world-destroying strike had never occurred.

After finishing all this, Ji Jing activated Flying Fire Meteor. With flames jetting from his back, he transformed into a meteor once more and quickly departed.

Ji Jing returned silently to the top-floor suite of the Star Luo Grand Hotel and opened the door to his and Wang Dong's room.

The moment he stepped into the room, a fragrant breeze rushed toward him.

Wang Dong's soft body collided tightly into his embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck as she said in a tone filled with grievance and coquetry:

"You're finally back! Next time you go out, take me with you, okay? I... I want to be with you all the time."

Feeling the reliance of the beauty in his arms, Ji Jing felt a warmth in his heart. He hugged her back gently and comforted her in a soft voice:

"Alright, I'll listen to you. No problem."

Just as Ji Jing was about to close the door, an unexpected change occurred.

The door to Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan's room clicked open. Xiao Xiao walked out, rubbing her sleepy eyes, muttering:

"I wonder if this hotel has any late-night snacks... I'm so hungry..."

As she spoke, her gaze habitually flicked toward Ji Jing's side.

Then, she froze completely.

Xiao Xiao's eyes went wide in an instant.

What had she just seen?

Their invincible monitor, Ji Jing, was holding a tall, peerless beauty with dreamy powder-blue hair in his arms with eyes full of tenderness, and by the looks of it, the two were just about to close the door and enter the room!

W-what is going on?!

Since when did the monitor hide a beauty in his room?

No, wait, why does this beauty look a bit familiar...

For a moment, the sheer volume of information caused Xiao Xiao's brain to crash, and she stood frozen in place.

Ji Jing and Wang Dong hadn't expected such an accident to occur either; the three of them just stood there in the hallway, staring at each other, the atmosphere becoming extremely awkward.

Wang Dong was the first to react.

The moment before Xiao Xiao was about to recover from her shock and scream, a flash of panic crossed her beautiful face. She lunged forward in a flash, clamped a hand over Xiao Xiao's mouth, and forcibly dragged her into the room.

"Bang!"

The door was slammed shut, sealing off all sound inside.

Inside the room, Wang Dong kept one hand firmly pressed over Xiao Xiao's mouth while using the other to make a "shush" gesture.

As for Xiao Xiao, who was being restrained, her large eyes were wide as copper bells, filled with shock, as she desperately made "mmph, mmph, mmph" sounds.

Just then, Jiang Nannan walked out of the room across the hall wearing pajamas, tidying her hair as she said softly:

"Xiao Xiao, if you're getting a late-night snack, could you bring me one too?"

Before she had even finished speaking, she had already reached the doorway.

Looking at the empty hallway, Jiang Nannan glanced left and right in confusion.

"Strange,"

She muttered to herself, "I clearly heard the sound of Xiao Xiao leaving just now. Did she walk away that fast?"

She scratched her head, unable to figure it out, then turned around, closed her door, and went back to rest.

Inside the room, Wang Dong finally released her hand from Xiao Xiao's mouth but remained blocking the door.

Ji Jing watched this slightly comical scene, choosing to lean against the wall, watching with ease to see how Wang Dong intended to handle it.

"Y-you are Wang Dong?"

Xiao Xiao finally caught her breath. She pointed at Wang Dong, then at Ji Jing, and asked in shock:

"Y-you two..."

Wang Dong's pretty face flushed red, knowing that this matter could no longer be hidden.

She sighed helplessly.

"Since it's come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore,"

Wang Dong rubbed her long powder-blue hair in annoyance and confessed to Xiao Xiao:

"I am actually a girl disguised as a boy attending Shrek Academy."

"Ah?!"

This information exploded in Xiao Xiao's mind like a thunderclap.

Her brain crashed once again, and her eyes widened even further than before.

After a long while, as if she had suddenly figured something out, she slapped her hand in realization and blurted out:

"Oh—! I get it! So you guys aren't..."

Halfway through her sentence, Xiao Xiao seemed to realize something and abruptly covered her mouth.

Wang Dong's expression instantly turned somewhat dangerous. She took a step forward, closing in on Xiao Xiao, her beautiful powder-blue eyes narrowing slightly, her willow eyebrows arched:

"Aren't what?"

Her tone carried a hint of shame and threat, as if she would silence Xiao Xiao on the spot if she dared to say that word.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Xiao Xiao's survival instinct was extremely strong, and she shook her head like a rattle.

How could she not understand now that she had completely misunderstood the monitor and Wang Dong earlier?

Seeing that Xiao Xiao was so sensible, Wang Dong finally let out a cold snort and let her off.

She turned around, her expression becoming serious once again, and said solemnly to Xiao Xiao:

"However, you must keep this a secret for the two of us."

"Definitely, definitely!"

Xiao Xiao nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

She immediately raised three fingers and swore with a serious face:

"I, Xiao Xiao, swear upon my martial soul that I will keep my mouth shut about what I saw today! This matter will absolutely not spread from my lips!"