Zhao Wuji Loses an Arm, Xue Qinghe Invites Meng Chen to Moonlight Pavilion

Elsewhere, at Shrek Academy.

Zhu Zhuqing stood alone in an open space outside the village, staring blankly at the azure sky.

After a long while, she lowered her head and touched her abdomen. Her damaged leather outfit had already been changed, yet the coolness left by the ointment seemed to linger there.

Zhu Zhuqing vaguely remembered being picked up while unconscious. Someone had treated her wounds and fed her a restorative potion.

Although her mind had been hazy at the time, she still remembered a trace of an aura, as well as the blurry figure of a young man.

"Who exactly saved me?"

Zhu Zhuqing murmured softly, but a figure involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

She harbored a faint suspicion that it might have been that mysterious youth, yet she did not dare be certain.

But that youth clearly had a grudge against Tang San. Why would he save her?

Zhu Zhuqing could not figure it out, but instead of fading, the doubt took deeper and deeper root in her mind.

Suddenly, the sound of carriage wheels came from outside the academy.

Soon after, a carriage bearing the emblem of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda stopped before the academy gates. Two Soul Masters from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disembarked first, followed by Ning Rongrong stepping out of the carriage.

Quite a bit of dust clung to her body, and her expression carried faint exhaustion, but she was not injured.

Hearing the commotion, Flender and the others all came outside.

When Dai Mubai saw Ning Rongrong again, a flash of resentment appeared on his face.

However, when everyone saw Zhao Wuji being carried down from the carriage, their expressions changed.

Zhao Wuji's face was pale, and his right sleeve hung empty. His right arm was gone. Though the wound had been treated, it still made their scalps tingle.

"Teacher Zhao!"

Dai Mubai, Oscar, and the others hurried over.

Although Zhao Wuji's injuries were severe, he remained fairly conscious. He swept his gaze over the crowd and only let out a breath after confirming that no one was missing.

"It's good that you're all alive."

After Flender confirmed that Zhao Wuji's life was not in danger, the weight in his heart finally lifted.

But Dai Mubai rushed before Ning Rongrong, and the anger he had suppressed for days erupted on the spot.

"Ning Rongrong, you still dare come back!"

"In the Star Dou Great Forest, not only did you refuse to support us, you even ran away with Zhu Zhuqing first. Do you know you nearly got everyone killed?"

Already exhausted, Ning Rongrong stopped in her tracks upon hearing the accusation. Frost filled her pretty face.

"Dai Mubai, you'd better get the facts straight."

"That couple had already caught up. Even if I boosted you, could you defeat a Soul Douluo? Or could you get everyone out alive?"

"I sped up Zhu Qing and myself so we could find people from my sect for help as quickly as possible, not so we could stay behind and die with you."

Dai Mubai clenched his fists. Although he knew Ning Rongrong had a point, the fury of being abandoned still made it impossible for him to accept it.

"Stop making excuses!"

"Since you were part of the team, you should have followed the arrangement instead of running away at the critical moment!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Mubai walked toward Ning Rongrong and raised his hand to grab her shoulder.

However, Zhao Wuji's remaining left hand directly seized Dai Mubai's wrist.

Though Zhao Wuji had lost an arm, the strength of a Soul Saint was still beyond Dai Mubai's ability to resist.

"Enough!"

"Dai Mubai, who do you think you're going to teach a lesson?"

Zhao Wuji shoved him away and rebuked him in a deep voice. "If Ning Rongrong hadn't brought people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I'd already be Soul Beast shit in the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Her decision was not wrong. Rather than waste Soul Power supporting several people, it was better to focus it on herself and Zhu Zhuqing. Among all of you, only she had a chance of getting out and bringing back reinforcements."

Still unwilling to accept it, Dai Mubai pointed at Zhao Wuji's severed arm. "But Teacher Zhao, your arm..."

"Dragon Duke broke my arm. What does that have to do with her?"

Zhao Wuji lowered his head and glanced at his empty sleeve. Though his tone was rough, he did not place the blame on anyone.

When he activated his Martial Soul Avatar to intercept the Dragon Duke and Snake Woman, he had already prepared himself to pay a price.

The Dragon-Snake Combined Strike had shattered his right arm. Had Ning Rongrong not arrived in time with Soul Masters from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and mediated in the sect's name, he would not even have kept his life.

"She saved me. That's a fact."

"As for the conflict between you, we'll deal with it after I recover. Whoever dares act on their own is disrespecting me. Just see how I'll deal with you!"

Hearing this, Dai Mubai felt deeply aggrieved and could only suppress his anger.

Still, dissatisfaction remained in his gaze when he looked at Ning Rongrong. Clearly, he had not truly let the matter go.

Ning Rongrong ignored him. She simply walked to Zhao Wuji's side and handed a bottle of restorative medicine to the Soul Master responsible for caring for him.

"Teacher Zhao, the sect's healing Soul Masters said that while your severed arm cannot be restored, as long as you rest and recover for half a year, it will not affect your Soul Power cultivation."

"This time, you stopped the Dragon Duke and Snake Woman because of us. Consider it a debt of an arm from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Once I return to the sect, I'll have my father compensate you."

After hearing her, Zhao Wuji instead shook his head.

"Protecting students is what I'm supposed to do."

"You came back to save me, so we're even. As for compensation, I don't care about that."

Ning Rongrong was stunned. For the first time, she felt that Teacher Zhao, who spoke so crudely and had such a violent temper, did not seem as bad as she had imagined.

Zhu Zhuqing watched everything from nearby without joining the argument. The blurry figure of that young man still lingered in her mind.

Meanwhile, at the Crown Prince's Residence in Heaven Dou City.

Xue Qinghe sat in his study, carefully reading the intelligence report Heaven Dou Royal Academy had just sent over.

The report was not long, yet he read it twice in full.

Meng Chen had left the academy for less than ten days, but when he returned, he had successfully broken through to Rank 40. Moreover, his fourth Soul Ring was still of the ten-thousand-year level.

Two purple, two black.

Such a Soul Ring configuration could no longer be measured by the word genius.

Although Xue Qinghe had long valued Meng Chen's potential, he had not expected him to enter the Soul Ancestor realm so quickly.

A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor had never appeared in the continent's recent history. Not even that woman had achieved such a feat in her youth.

What was more, an unidentified powerhouse stood behind Meng Chen.

Someone capable of raising a child to this level was, at the very least, a Titled Douluo, perhaps even stronger.

"Can't wait any longer."

Xue Qinghe set down the report and began considering how to approach Meng Chen.

The imperial palace had too many rules and could easily make Meng Chen think the Heaven Dou Imperial Family was pressuring him.

The Crown Prince's Residence was quiet, but its intent to recruit him would be too obvious.

After pondering for a moment, Xue Qinghe took out a pale moon-colored invitation and personally wrote a line upon it.

"Deliver this to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Invite Meng Chen to Moonlight Pavilion for a talk."

The attendant accepted the invitation and immediately left the Crown Prince's Residence.

At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Meng Chen had just finished eating with Xiao Wu when he received Xue Qinghe's invitation.

Xiao Wu leaned close to him and looked over the invitation, somewhat puzzled.

"A-Chen, how did that crown prince know you'd returned?"

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy belongs to the imperial family. My return isn't exactly classified information, so it's normal for him to know."

Meng Chen closed the invitation, his expression calm.

Xiao Wu wrapped her arms around Meng Chen's arm and asked, "Then are you going?"

"Of course I am."

"Since he has taken the initiative to invite me, I can take the chance to see exactly what he wants from me."

Although Xue Qinghe appeared gentle and courteous on the surface, Meng Chen had never regarded him as an ordinary imperial crown prince.

More importantly, Xue Qinghe's true identity was Qian Renxue, the young mistress of Spirit Hall.

Facing the woman who had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Imperial Family for years and had nearly placed the entire empire in her grasp, Meng Chen also wanted to see how she intended to recruit him...