Zhu Zhuqing slowly turned her head and looked at the middle-aged man who had rushed up to her, his face alight with fervor.
"You?"
She gave Yu Xiaogang a once-over, her gaze as if he were just some nobody by the roadside.
"Brother Cao only helps pretty girls."
The fervor on Yu Xiaogang's face froze instantly.
"You..."
His lips trembled.
"What do you mean?"
Zhu Zhuqing calmly looked away, her voice so placid it held not a ripple. "I mean you're not worthy."
"You!"
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed the color of pig liver. He opened his mouth to argue, only to find that he couldn't get a single word out.
He had spent his whole life researching theories. He prided himself on being the person in the Soul Master World who knew the most about Martial Souls. He had thought that with his intelligence, he could surely move the mysterious "Brother Cao" and earn his approval.
But now, all because he wasn't a pretty girl?
Yu Xiaogang staggered back several steps, his face as pale as paper. He looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
Nearby, the male students—Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Jing Ling, and the others—exchanged glances, their expressions rather complicated.
Just then, a thought suddenly occurred to everyone.
Everyone, including Dai Mubai, who had just climbed out of the rubble, turned their gazes in unison toward two other slender figures in the crowd.
Xiao Wu.
Ning Rongrong.
Of the Shrek Three Beauties, Zhu Zhuqing had already made the list. As for the other two...
Had they also cultivated the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique?
Once the thought arose, it spread like weeds run wild.
Both Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were young, beautiful women.
They spent every day with Zhu Zhuqing and were close to her. If Zhu Zhuqing had been hiding her strength, could they have also...
Tang San's face turned terribly grim.
He abruptly turned to Xiao Wu beside him. His usually gentle blue eyes were now filled with suspicion and anxiety.
"Xiao Wu..." His voice was a little hoarse. "You... you wouldn't have, too..."
Xiao Wu blinked her lively eyes at Tang San's anxious expression, the corners of her mouth curling into a mischievous smile.
"Guess."
Tang San's heart clenched.
"In real life, I haven't cultivated it."
Tang San let out a breath of relief. Good, she hadn't. Xiao Wu was still here!
Ning Rongrong, meanwhile, stood quietly where she was, without saying a word.
She felt everyone's gazes fall on her, but made no response.
Only a complex glimmer, difficult for anyone else to notice, flickered deep in her clear eyes.
Above them, the golden light of the Sky Screen still shone brilliantly.
Eleventh place: Zhu Zhuqing.
Five cultivators of the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique had now appeared.
Who would be next?
Everyone stared intently at the Sky Screen, waiting for the next name to be revealed.
After receiving all her rewards, Zhu Zhuqing merely gave everyone a cool glance, then turned and walked away.
There was no love or anything like that between her and Brother Cao. It was just a physical transaction.
Really!
"Zhuqing!" Flender called out without thinking. "Where are you going?"
Zhu Zhuqing didn't look back.
"To find Brother Cao."
Her black figure receded into the distance, finally vanishing into the boundless night.
Dai Mubai slumped amid the rubble, his face filled with humiliation and resentment.
Yu Xiaogang stood dazed, muttering to himself.
Tang San clenched his fists, his eyes full of jealousy.
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Liu Erlong stood silently where they were, each lost in her own thoughts.
Ye Family Fortress, rear courtyard side chamber.
Xiao Cui stood by the window, her lively eyes fixed on the golden Sky Screen in the sky. Her mouth hung open, her face full of amazement and envy.
"Wow... Another level-eighty-nine Soul Douluo! Brother Cao is incredible!"
Xiao Cui clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes sparkling.
"Those girls are so lucky. A powerful expert like him took a liking to them, and they went from complete nobodies to peerless geniuses in no time! If only I had that kind of luck..."
She chattered away, completely oblivious to the subtle expression on her young master's face behind her.
Cao Xiyu lounged against the daybed, a book in his hands, his posture languid.
Hearing Xiao Cui's sigh, he gave a faint smile and casually added,
"Tenth place will be another pretty girl."
Xiao Cui blinked and turned to look at her young master. "How do you know the tenth-place person will be another pretty girl?"
"Can't you see a pattern that obvious? The first five were all pretty girls. If the next one isn't, what could she be, an ugly girl?"
"Uh..." Xiao Cui scratched her head. Thinking about it, he had a point. "I guess that does make sense..."
She was about to ask more when a slender figure entered the side chamber with graceful steps.
Ye Lingling.
Her breathtakingly beautiful face held a faintly scrutinizing look.
She walked over to Cao Xiyu and sat down slowly, her limpid eyes fixed on her husband.
"Did you just say the tenth-place person would be another pretty girl?"
Cao Xiyu's hand paused slightly as he turned a page.
Ye Lingling continued, "You hardly ever leave the house. How do you know what's on the Sky Screen? And the way you said that just now—you sounded as if you already knew the result."
Cao Xiyu: "..."
Ye Lingling's gaze grew more penetrating. "Also, I thought it over carefully after I went back. You really did mention the words 'Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique' to me before. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now that I consider it..."
She leaned forward slightly, her bright eyes almost touching Cao Xiyu's face.
"Tell me. Do you really know something?"
The atmosphere in the side chamber turned tense in an instant.
Xiao Cui glanced at her young lady, then at her young master. Her eyes darted around as she suddenly remembered something: her young master's surname was Cao, too...
Could it be...
Xiao Cui's eyes flew wide. Pointing at Cao Xiyu, she stammered, "Y-Young master! Could you be that... that Brother Cao?"
Cao Xiyu looked at the two pairs of eyes fixed on him, one belonging to his wife and the other to her maid. After a moment's silence, he sighed and set down the book in his hands.
"Alas..."
"I'll come clean."
Ye Lingling raised an eyebrow.
Cao Xiyu began to speak, his tone as calm as if he were discussing what to eat that day.
"That Brother Cao is me."
"The Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique is a cultivation method I created myself."
"I created it in my dreams, and in those dreams, I also had... well, a little physical contact with those girls."
"My intention was to help those girls grow stronger and change the unhappy fates they would otherwise have had. I also told them to keep a low profile and not cause too much upheaval."
"I just didn't expect..." He looked up at the Sky Screen, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. "This Sky Screen suddenly appeared and exposed everything."
After finishing, he looked at Xiao Cui, the corners of his mouth curling into a slightly mischievous smile.
"Xiao Cui, now you know how impressive your young master is, don't you?"