Inside the Le Family Mansion.
Le Zhengyue sat on his bed. Jiang Nannan stood before him, her face full of hesitation.
"Do we really have to go to Shrek Academy early? There doesn't seem to be any rush. If we go, we might run into those old friends of ours. Who knows... who knows if that might cause problems?"
Jiang Nannan looked at Le Zhengyue, pleading in her eyes.
After spending these three years together, Jiang Nannan had no thoughts of resisting Le Zhengyue anymore. She had even begun to take on the role of his maid.
But the thought of seeing those once-familiar friends again still made her reluctant.
After all, this was the most awkward time for her. Although Xu Sanshi was still alive, he had been imprisoned all this time.
Under the circumstances, she had no idea how to explain things to the others.
Yet as Le Zhengyue listened to her, his face showed no particular reaction.
"I've already received word in advance. There's a four- or five-year age gap between you and me, roughly speaking. I'm exactly nine this year, while you're about fourteen. You're a little older than the others, but your age is still just right for joining the youth class."
Le Zhengyue spoke casually.
The Le Family was, after all, one of the great families. On top of that, it controlled the entire Southern Legion, so obtaining information about Shrek Academy wasn't difficult.
After all, aside from Le Zhengyu, the Le Family had other students studying at Shrek Academy.
Through them, Le Zhengyue had learned quite a bit.
For instance, the youth class being opened early at Shrek Academy wasn't Yun Ming's idea. It had been proposed by Mu En.
Compared with Yun Ming, the true number one under heaven, the one Le Zhengyue actually feared most was Mu En.
That was because, in terms of cunning and treachery alone, the old man far surpassed Yun Ming.
Aside from their difference in age, the two couldn't even be compared in terms of how devious they were.
Mu En might look like a kindly old man, but he had a great many schemes behind the scenes, and his methods were far beyond Yun Ming's.
That was why Le Zhengyue was extremely wary of the old man.
The youth class plan had been proposed by him. It was open to all students between the ages of ten and fifteen, an age range that roughly encompassed Huo Yuhao's entire generation.
It was obvious that the old man's memories had also awakened—or at least that he retained some memories—which was why he had decided to start this youth class and draw in the talent early.
This time, however, it was open to both the Second Continent and the Third Continent.
"All right, Jiang Nannan. Do as I say. At school, you and I don't know each other. Of course, in private, I hope you won't forget your place."
As he spoke, Le Zhengyue raised a hand and gently pinched the girl's cheek.
Faced with the young boy's brazen behavior, Jiang Nannan's eyes filled with helplessness.
Compared with Xu Sanshi and the other boys, who always treated her with the utmost respect, she had no dignity at all in front of Le Zhengyue.
Le Zhengyue had been pressuring her the whole time, and he gave her no right to choose.
Yet that somehow made Jiang Nannan more patient with him. Or perhaps she simply wasn't used to making her own choices.
When someone else had already made the choice and all she had to do was carry it out, she found, to her surprise, that she didn't feel much resentment.
Of course, she understood that even if she did resent it, it wouldn't matter. Le Zhengyue wouldn't care.
The two discussed the youth class briefly, then Jiang Nannan turned to leave.
She would use special means to return to the Second Continent, then travel to Shrek Academy on the Third Continent again under a different identity.
Le Zhengyue trusted Jiang Nannan.
After three years of training, the young woman had become much more obedient. Or rather, she had come to understand the relationship between them, so Le Zhengyue felt relatively reassured.
His strength hadn't improved much over these three years, rising only from level twenty-something to level thirty-seven.
That was already a very respectable rate of improvement for anyone else. Advancing by around ten levels in three years was impressive, especially when progressing from the second ring to the third.
But for Le Zhengyue, it wasn't much.
Aside from his Dragon God Martial Soul, he had devoted most of his attention to his Human Emperor Banner Martial Soul.
After all, the Dragon God Martial Soul was far too powerful and strange. It could serve as a trump card, so for now, Le Zhengyue intended to focus on the Human Emperor Banner.
During this time, besides searching all over for condemned prisoners to make use of, he had also raised his Bone Dragon Soul Spirit to ten thousand years.
Only because his Martial Soul was the Dragon God Martial Soul—and because his physique had been strengthened by the Golden Dragon King, or perhaps something even more terrifying—could his first Soul Spirit be ten thousand years old. To anyone else, that would have been unthinkable.
But for Le Zhengyue, it was more than enough.
Now that he had his first Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, he didn't need to rush to strengthen his Soul Spirit for a while. And having a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit could greatly increase his strength.
After sending Jiang Nannan away, Le Zhengyue sat on the bed, flipping through the letters in his hands.
They had come from Eastsea City, and recorded what Tang Wulin and the other two had been doing over the years, along with their various plans.
Although the three had kept meeting before, they hadn't attended the same school. Only now had they decided to apply to Eastsea Academy together.
As he looked at the words "Eastsea Academy" on the page, Le Zhengyue's eyes flickered slightly.
He, too, needed a pretext—or rather, an identity—to get in. And the easiest opening wasn't anywhere else. It was through Tang Wulin.
Given his relationship with Le Zhengyu, Xu Xiaoyan might know that Le Zhengyu didn't have a younger brother, but she couldn't possibly know the full story of the Le Family.
Even if she later married Le Zhengyu and he became the new head of the Le Family, she couldn't possibly understand all the details about its branch families.
That gave Le Zhengyue an opportunity. He could easily disguise himself as a member of a branch family, then go meet his sister-in-law.
Especially after seeing the footage of Le Zhengyu harassing Jiang Nannan. Once Xu Xiaoyan confirmed that Le Zhengyu had been reborn—or had recovered his memories—and was still going after Jiang Nannan, even looking for other women, what would she think?
Le Zhengyue was already looking forward to it.
As for his older brother's return, Le Zhengyue showed no particular reaction.
Over the three years Le Zhengyu had been away, Le Zhengyue's influence within the Le Family had steadily grown.
Although he still had no influence over the Southern Legion's military affairs, his authority within the Le Family itself had grown stronger and stronger.
His strength had improved, too. A nine-year-old with three Soul Rings was already formidable.
If such a three-ring powerhouse had real talent and the old master's favor, then his standing within the family would only grow stronger.
That was exactly what Le Zhengyue was like now.
Although he refused to admit he was the future young head of the family, many people already treated him as such, and some members of the branch families had begun quietly investing in him.
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