Invited for Tea

Ning Tian hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. Reason told her to bravely pursue love, but emotion told her that, as the young clan master, she needed to remain restrained.

In the end, she chose an ambiguous option somewhere between the two:

"This is my soul guide communicator number. No matter what happens, you can come to me. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and I will always be your friends."

"Forever? That's a rather irresponsible thing to say."

Wu Feng's expression immediately changed. She hated it most when others belittled Ning Tian's goodwill, and she was about to speak up.

But Ning Tian raised a hand to stop her, her gray-gold eyes still calmly fixed on Ling Tianchen.

After a moment, Ling Tianchen put the slip of paper into his storage soul guide.

"Still, I accept."

Ning Tian smiled at that. At the very least, he could never outmatch her in terms of wealth. How could the Ling family, which controlled the tax revenue of one city, compare to the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce, whose reach spanned the three nations of Douluo?

At least the first step had succeeded. As for the future, there was plenty of time.

Meanwhile, Ling Tianchen had entirely different thoughts.

A free long-term meal ticket. Why would I turn it down?

He might have a card with one hundred thousand gold soul coins on it, enough to cover his meals for the time being, but it would be nowhere near enough if bloodline body-tempering was included.

Besides, why pay when he could get it for free?

A humanoid gold soul coin vault had delivered herself right to his doorstep. Naturally, he had no reason to refuse.

Just then, a commotion broke out in the crowd, and those ahead voluntarily parted to make a path.

A tall middle-aged man around fifty, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looking refined and scholarly, slowly walked over.

"Who's that?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I'm a new student too."

"That blue-haired brat must have broken academy rules. Hmph, he actually dared to eat while sitting down. Let's see how the teacher punishes him!"

Whispers rose continuously around them.

"Who is that, Ning Tian?"

Ling Tianchen truly had little impression of this passerby-looking character.

"I looked into it beforehand. He seems to be Du Weilun, the dean of instruction for the outer courtyard's Martial Soul Department. Be careful."

So it was him. Ling Tianchen vaguely guessed why he had come.

"You're Ling Tianchen?"

"Yes."

"Come with me. Dean Yan wants to see you."

As expected.

Ling Tianchen silently sighed. He hoped the outer courtyard dean was a reasonable man.

"Understood."

Though Ling Tianchen followed Du Weilun away, chaos erupted behind them.

They might not have known Du Weilun, but everyone knew the name of Shrek Academy's outer courtyard dean!

Wu Feng was dumbfounded as well. "Young Master, is eating against the rules punished so severely? Even Dean Yan has been alerted. He's like a divine dragon that shows its head but never its tail—he rarely even attends the new student assessments."

"Feng, are you stupid? If that were really the reason, why didn't they take me too?"

"Huh? That's true."

Wu Feng held her head, suddenly enlightened.

"But... if it were merely the cultivation of a Soul Elder, it wouldn't be enough to alert Dean Yan. There must be something else special about Ling Tianchen."

Ning Tian wore a thoughtful expression.

"Young Master, forget about Ling Tianchen. Instead of wasting time thinking about him, why don't you return to the dorm with me and cultivate properly?"

"No, I need to find out what's happened in the academy recently. It might have something to do with Ling Tianchen."

"I really don't know what's so great about him."

Wu Feng curled her lips and muttered to herself.

Her Red Dragon martial soul was instinctively afraid of Ling Tianchen. It was not merely because ice countered fire; it also seemed as if there was suppression on the level of bloodline.

Impossible. My Red Dragon is a top-tier dragon martial soul. How could it be suppressed? Wu Feng desperately shook her head, trying to drive the thought away.

"Dean Yan, I've brought Ling Tianchen."

Du Weilun lightly knocked on the office door.

"Let him come in alone."

"Go on. It shouldn't be anything serious."

Du Weilun whispered beside Ling Tianchen.

"Understood."

He had short silver hair parted seven to three, with the hair falling over his forehead concealing his left eye. Though a few fine lines had appeared at the corners of his eyes, they could not hide his refined and handsome bearing in the slightest.

The old man still had good features. One could vaguely tell that he had been quite the handsome fellow in his younger days.

"Ling Tianchen, do you know your mistake?"

The academy strictly prohibited private fights, but as long as no one died or suffered irreversible injuries, the academy generally turned a blind eye.

Hadn't Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao escaped punishment as well?

But this time, Ling Tianchen had indeed been rather heavy-handed. Not only had Tang Ling's martial soul been damaged, but he himself had been severely injured and had fallen unconscious. He would not be able to leave his bed for at least two or three months. Missing the progress of new student studies was basically equivalent to dropping out early.

Such a serious matter was naturally reported to Du Weilun, the dean of instruction, immediately.

Du Weilun had initially intended to make an example of him. Shrek's rules were not to be trampled upon.

But Ling Tianchen's file had stunned him. Wasn't this the person Dean Yan had been searching for all along?

He possessed a pure ice attribute and had even reached the Soul Elder realm. Du Weilun immediately reported it to Yan Shaozhe, leading to the scene that followed.

"I don't believe I did anything wrong. My conscience is clear."

"You violently attacked your roommate and even crippled his martial soul. How do you explain that? You still think you did nothing wrong?"

Yan Shaozhe frowned slightly. Although he knew how powerful Ling Tianchen's soul ring configuration was, whether the Ice Phoenix could suppress the evil fire afflicting his disciple still required verification.

Moreover, he first had to deal with Ling Tianchen injuring someone. Ideally, he could temper the boy's arrogance a little. With his configuration, Ling Tianchen basically had no rivals among his peers, so Yan Shaozhe would take on that task himself.

At that thought, the corners of Yan Shaozhe's mouth lifted slightly.

Once he revealed his cultivation as a Super Douluo and his Bright Phoenix martial soul, wouldn't this boy obediently beg to become his disciple?

He was quite confident about that.

After all, there was no second Super Douluo with a Phoenix martial soul anywhere in Shrek Academy.

"Dean Yan, you're a perfect example of looking only at the outcome and not asking about the cause. It's true that I crippled Tang Ling's martial soul, but has it occurred to you that he provoked me first, then launched a sneak attack from behind like a petty coward? Was I supposed to stand there and swallow my anger after being ambushed?"

"According to academy rules, if students have grievances against one another, they should settle them in the Soul Fighting Area. However... since Tang Ling was the one who ambushed you first, your actions are understandable."

At that point, his tone changed.

"But how am I supposed to know whether what you said is true?"

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Dean Yan."

Ling Tianchen was out of patience. Why was he still clinging to such a trivial matter? Yan Shaozhe should stop calling himself the Bright Phoenix Douluo and call himself the Chicken-Gut Douluo instead.

"Could you release your martial soul for me to see?"

Yan Shaozhe asked after a moment of silence.

"Sorry, I'm not in a very good mood right now. I don't want to release my martial soul. Does Dean Yan have anything else?"

Ling Tianchen felt utterly calm inside.

You want me to release it, so I should release it? Wouldn't that make me look completely spineless?

If you're capable, figure it out yourself like Elder Mu did.

A powerhouse like Mu En, even if he noticed Ling Tianchen's ultimate ice, would most likely let things take their natural course rather than interfere excessively.

But Yan Shaozhe was different.

If he found out Ling Tianchen possessed the ultimate ice attribute now, Ma Xiaotao would probably be blocking his dormitory door the very next day.

His peaceful days had only just begun. He did not want to be dragged into trouble so quickly. If he could avoid it for one day, then one day was enough.