Do or Die

In the lounge of the Soto Great Soul Arena.

Yu Tianheng and the others sat in a circle, discussing their upcoming strategy.

Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan sat to one side, showing no intention of participating.

To be precise, neither of them was going to compete.

Originally, it was just a special situation where Fang Xuan was filling in for Ye Lingling, but after Dugu Yan's awakening, she suddenly felt that she didn't need to compete either.

With Fang Xuan being a Soul King, replacing two Soul Grandmasters was a walk in the park.

Even if he suppressed his level to hide his true strength, he was still far beyond what any Soul Grandmaster-level opponent could handle.

After all, he had changed his identity so many times without being discovered, which meant he must have some special methods.

A mere clone wouldn't suffice, as his face and physique wouldn't change.

She also happened to want to chat with Ye Lingling; in short, the original seven-person team had now become a six-person team.

Yu Tianheng had no objections to this, and while the teacher leading the team had been hesitant at first, he gave his full approval once he learned that Fang Xuan was a Soul King and heard of his illustrious combat record.

As for the others, they all knew of Fang Xuan's existence to some extent, as Dugu Yan had already told them about his situation with Ye Lingling.

Not everyone had been there when they went to find Ye Lingling, which meant some were completely unaware of what had happened.

Among them were a few of Ye Lingling's suitors; when they heard their goddess had been "snatched up," they were filled with righteous indignation and gnashed their teeth, scrambling to risk their lives against Fang Xuan.

But the moment they heard the other party was a Soul King, their expressions changed faster than anyone could blink.

Compared to their own lives, the goddess was a secondary concern.

"The opponent's information is all here. Brother Fang Xuan, what do you think?"

Yu Tianheng took the initiative to ask for Fang Xuan's opinion, as his strength was the highest here, and his experience the most extensive.

One had to know that he possessed dozens of gold Soul Fighting badges, and apparently even several purple-gold ones.

Soul Fighting Badge Ranks: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple-Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond

The highest rank among them was currently only Silver, which couldn't compare to Fang Xuan at all, so listening to him was the right move.

"I don't think anything of it. Just beat them up."

It was simple, direct, and brutal; he didn't even need the others to make a move, as he could take them all down by himself.

"Is... is it really that reckless? No tactics or anything?"

Yu Tianheng was clearly taken aback. Could this be the legendary "great truths are the simplest"?

"Tactics? Against this bunch? I beat them up just yesterday, so it's nothing special."

"I recall that fat guy named Ma Hongjun was beaten into a serious injury by me, so he shouldn't be able to compete. The others were also taught a lesson; they might just forfeit in a moment."

Hearing this, the group stared at Fang Xuan with wide, incredulous eyes.

He took them all down by himself? And he did it yesterday?

"Lingling, you two fought yesterday? What happened?"

Dugu Yan looked at Ye Lingling, asking for the specific details.

"Yesterday?"

"Oh, indeed, a few people came to cause trouble. A fat guy looked at me with a really disgusting gaze, and A-Xuan warned him, but they wouldn't listen, so he just beat them all into the dirt."

Ye Lingling remembered this incident very clearly; it was precisely because of this that she had become fully willing to accept Fang Xuan.

"Oh my, 'A-Xuan' already? You two are making me sick."

They had only known each other for two days, and it was already like this.

One side was calling out "Lingling" at every turn, while the other was calling him "A-Xuan."

Dugu Yan felt both envious and annoyed—envious that her best friend had found a good partner, and annoyed that her own man was so useless.

Although she knew it was her own fault, why didn't Yu Tianheng dare to make a move on her?

She had given him such clear hints; did she really have to do it herself?

There was a successful example right here; did he not feel anything for her?

She asked herself: she wasn't any less attractive than Ye Lingling, so why couldn't he be a bit braver?

"Useless man."

After her sarcastic remark to Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan threw a jab at Yu Tianheng.

The eyes of everyone else lit up; the gossip was delicious.

Fang Xuan was left between laughter and tears; he hadn't wanted this either. Who knew why those people had gone crazy and insisted on provoking him.

Not long after, the news of Shrek's forfeiture arrived.

It was exactly as Fang Xuan had predicted.

Because Shrek had voluntarily forfeited, those who had bet on Imperial Fighting won.

The Soto Great Soul Arena suffered a massive loss, and they were now pinning the entire bill on Shrek.

If you didn't have the ability, why did you take the match? Giving up without even fighting is just handing money over to others, plain and simple.

There were already so many people betting on the Imperial Fighting Team, and now they've all lost their shirts.

The most critical point is that Shrek had previously sworn to them with absolute certainty that they could win.

They arranged the match based on that, and then when it was time to start, they said they weren't going to fight. You can imagine the consequences.

Tang San and the others didn't come to cause trouble for Fang Xuan today, and I'm afraid this is the reason. They can barely look after themselves, so how could they worry about anything else?

"So, when are you planning to head back?"

"What? In such a rush to see your future mother-in-law?"

When Dugu Yan heard Fang Xuan ask that, the first thought that popped into her mind was exactly that.

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingling's face turned red involuntarily. To be honest, she really wasn't prepared for how to tell her mother about this.

"What else could it be?"

Resolve it early, get the certificate early—you can't just keep getting a free ride forever, even if it is quite enjoyable.

Then there was the issue with the Nine Star Begonia itself. What if she got pregnant one day? That would cost someone their life.

It wouldn't be Ye Lingling's life, but her mother's.

Only two Nine Star Begonias can exist at the same time; when a third appears, one of the others will wither.

In other words, the moment Ye Lingling became pregnant, her mother's life would begin its countdown.

The only request Ye Lingling made when she agreed to him yesterday was that she didn't want to conceive.

She even wanted to go find contraceptive medicine yesterday, just in case she got caught on the first try.

To avoid any worries in this regard later on, he had to get to Heaven Dou City as soon as possible and pluck the immortal herbs from Dugu Bo's garden.

If he wanted to help Ye Lingling solve this problem, I'm afraid only immortal herbs could do it.

As for whether it was the Silk Velvet Tulip or the Love-Sickness Heartbroken Red, he didn't care; there was no harm in eating more immortal herbs anyway.

Since Dugu Bo didn't know their true value, he might as well use them to his heart's content.

"Look at you, so impatient. It's just a few days late to get the 'certificate,' it's not like you're worried she'll run away, right?"

With Ye Lingling the way she is, it would be a miracle if she could run.

"If we're fast, we leave tomorrow. You should be able to get packed by then, right?"

Knowing it was a serious matter, Dugu Yan didn't continue to spout nonsense.

"That's enough time."

Fang Xuan didn't have much to pack. He kept his money in the bank, and as for the house, it didn't matter if he kept it or not; it was in a remote location and wouldn't fetch much money anyway.

After agreeing on the specific time and place, Fang Xuan left alone to go pack his things.

By the next day, Fang Xuan left the city he had lived in for over a decade alongside the group from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

And just half a day after Fang Xuan left, his house was surrounded.

A group of people charged in aggressively looking for him, but the place was already empty; there was no way they would find anything.

Watching the people he sent out return empty-handed to report the situation, Ning Rongrong nearly died of anger on the spot.

"Damn it! You ran fast, but don't let this young lady catch you, or I'll have to pull your tendons and peel your bones!"

Ning Rongrong was so furious her lungs felt like they were about to explode; she had never been bullied like this since she was a child.

When Fang Xuan hit her, he went straight for her face and slapped her several times—she had almost been disfigured.

In the end, because they were injured and unable to participate in the match, the people from the Soto Great Soul Arena came knocking on their door directly.

If she hadn't used the connections of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to smooth things over, who knows what would have happened.

Now, with new grudges and old hatreds piled together, Ning Rongrong wished she could hack Fang Xuan into mincemeat right then and there to satisfy the hatred in her heart.

Yet, the enemy she was fixated on was currently heading toward her hometown.

And he was already calculating in his mind how to raze the entire Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to the ground.

Since they were already enemies, he might as well make it thorough.

Either don't do it, or do it completely—that was Fang Xuan's consistent style of doing things.

"Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, I see you have already embarked on the path to your own destruction!"