A Dark and Windy Night, Meng Chen Enters the Icefire Yin Yang Well

Xue Qinghe did not stay long. Stating that he still had governmental affairs to assist Xue Ye the Great with, he hurriedly departed.

Watching Xue Qinghe's departing figure, Meng Shenji stroked his beard before turning to Meng Chen.

"Student Meng, you truly should thank His Highness the Crown Prince this time. If not for His Highness speaking on your behalf before His Majesty, the imperial family would likely have already sent people to arrest you."

Meng Shenji recounted what had happened in the imperial study, leaving Xiao Wu utterly dumbfounded.

She had never expected that merely beating someone up could nearly cause such a huge disaster.

Xiao Wu felt guilty, a trace of regret appearing on her face.

Had she known, she would have endured it a little longer.

Sensing Xiao Wu's unease, Meng Chen reached out and clasped her fair, delicate hand. He looked at Meng Shenji without the slightest fear in his eyes.

"Chief Meng, you were the one who recruited us into the academy. Now, the noble students in the academy look down on our backgrounds and insult us as they please. Why shouldn't we fight back?"

"If we were recruited only to serve as entertainment for those noble students, then there's no point in staying at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy."

"As for retaliation from the imperial family and nobles? Hmph! My achievements today are not solely due to my own talent. It's not as though I have no one backing me either!"

Meng Shenji was stunned upon hearing this.

He had not expected Meng Chen to be so uncompromising, actually intending to stand up to the imperial family and nobles head-on.

But then Meng Shenji reconsidered.

Meng Chen had previously mentioned that he already had a teacher. Any soul master capable of nurturing a monster like Meng Chen could not possibly be weak; at the very least, he had to be a Soul Douluo.

Meng Shenji gave Meng Chen a long look, then raised a somewhat thin hand and gently patted his shoulder as he spoke earnestly.

"Child, I know you are proud, protective of your companions, and unwilling to suffer indignities."

"But this is, after all, a royal academy. By striking a prince, you effectively slapped the imperial family in the face. This time, there was a reason for it, and His Highness the Crown Prince mediated the matter and warned Xue Beng, so the imperial family will not do anything to you."

"Still, I hope you will not take things too personally. Do not ruin your days of study in Heaven Dou over a few playboys."

"I will also restrain the academy's students and ensure that nothing like what happened today occurs again."

Meng Shenji did not want Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to lose a student like Meng Chen, one qualified to win the Soul Master Tournament, but he also had to consider the dignity of the imperial family and nobility.

All he could do was try his best to mediate the conflict between both sides.

Meng Chen nodded at this. "Chief Meng, Xiao Wu and I have always followed one principle: if no one offends us, we will not offend them."

"As long as those imperial and noble brats do not provoke us, we cannot be bothered with them. But if they insist on acting like fools and coming to cause us trouble, then I cannot guarantee what will happen."

With things said to this extent, how could Meng Shenji fail to understand Meng Chen's meaning?

They would not stir up trouble, but neither were they afraid of it.

Meng Shenji let out a soft sigh and turned to leave.

After reaching the door, he paused without looking back. "Student Meng, I will keep them in line."

"Mm, then I'll have to trouble you, Chief Meng." Meng Chen watched Meng Shenji leave.

Once only Xiao Wu and Meng Chen remained in the living room, Xiao Wu lowered her head. An apologetic look surfaced on her pretty face, and her pink lips parted as her voice became as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"I'm sorry, Ah Chen. I caused you trouble..."

Hearing this, Meng Chen raised a hand and placed it on Xiao Wu's head, rubbing her beautiful hair as he smiled and comforted her.

"What trouble is this? Besides, you weren't the one who started it. Those guys were the ones who provoked us first. They deserved the beating they got."

"Besides, we're not dependent on anyone else. They were the ones who begged us to come. We don't need to swallow this kind of humiliation. At worst, we can withdraw from school; there are plenty of academies that would take us."

"So, Xiao Wu, don't blame yourself over something so minor. The Sister Xiao Wu who ruled Notting Academy wasn't like this."

Meng Chen pinched Xiao Wu's soft cheek again, trying to perk her up. She was the big sister of Notting Academy, after all.

After being comforted like this, Xiao Wu no longer felt quite so negative.

She threw herself into Meng Chen's arms. Feeling his scent and warmth, her unsettled heart gradually calmed.

Meng Chen's nose twitched as a faint fragrance drifted into his nostrils, like lotus flowers blooming after rain—elegant and pure.

Looking at the Xiao Wu who depended on him in his arms, Meng Chen's eyes held a trace of affection as he gently stroked her back.

Over the years, Meng Chen had been guiding and educating Xiao Wu.

He tried his best to turn her from a wild rabbit that had come out of the Star Dou Great Forest into a normal girl who understood reason, knew good from evil, and remembered kindness and grudges.

In truth, Meng Chen had never understood it. Xiao Wu had been perfectly fine at first, so how had her reputation online suddenly become so terrible, and for no apparent reason at that?

As for the claim that all the rabbits in the Star Dou Great Forest were born by Xiao Wu, that was even more absurd.

Not to mention that Xiao Wu's mother was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, with Da Ming and Er Ming, two super soul beasts, as her underlings—who could possibly touch Xiao Wu?

Savage beasts excluded.

Moreover, having cultivated to one hundred thousand years, how could Xiao Wu possibly have been an ordinary rabbit? She surely possessed a special bloodline, and the more exceptional the bloodline, the more difficult it was to produce offspring.

It could only be said that it was all San Gou's fault. He dug holes without filling them and harmed people everywhere.

Night fell. The stars were hidden, and the moon was dim.

A streak of purple light cut across the dark night sky before stopping above Sunset Forest.

Meng Chen floated in midair, a pair of purple flying soul tools spread behind his back, scattering particles of purple light.

Ye Xishui followed at his side, surveying the surroundings.

A map of Sunset Forest appeared in Meng Chen's hand. Comparing it with the forest and gesturing a few times, he pointed toward the southeast.

"It should be over there."

Hearing this, Ye Xishui flew with Meng Chen toward the southeast.

A moment later, the two saw an inverted cone-shaped valley, from which thick heat billowed, carrying a faint scent of sulfur.

"This is it!"

At the sight of the Icefire Yin Yang Well, Meng Chen was delighted. Spreading his purple-winged soul tool, he dived toward the valley.

As for the outer poison array Dugu Bo had set up, it was utterly useless.

Ye Xishui and Meng Chen landed smoothly within the Icefire Yin Yang Well. Dugu Bo was not there, leaving Ye Xishui, who had wanted to beat him to death one-handed, somewhat disappointed.

Within the Icefire Yin Yang Well, precious medicinal herbs could be found everywhere, and there were no shortage of immortal-grade spiritual medicines. Even Ye Xishui, with her vast knowledge and experience, was shocked by the sheer number of rare medicinal ingredients.

So this was the legendary Icefire Yin Yang Well!

"There are actually so many precious medicinal herbs here. This truly is a treasure land!"

Even Ye Xishui could not help but marvel. Any random herb here would have been enormously valuable even in her era.

The immortal-grade herbs in particular were enough to excite even Titled Douluo.

"A treasure land so heaven-defying is occupied by a level ninety-one Titled Douluo, yet he does not know how to make use of it. After all these years, he is still stuck at level ninety-one. What a waste."

Ye Xishui mocked Dugu Bo. He possessed a treasure land yet did not know how to use it; no wonder the Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul never appeared again ten thousand years later.

Why? Of course, because it had gone extinct!

"Don't get close to that hot spring. It is the core of this herb garden and contains poisons of extreme heat and extreme cold. Even a peak Douluo would not necessarily have an easy time after coming into contact with it."