Seeking Ling Luochen's Help

Ling Luochen withdrew her cultivation power, rose from the bed, and went to open the door.

Seeing who stood outside, she smiled. "Xiao Tuo, so it really is you. Why aren't you in class at this hour? What are you doing here?"

"There are some things I'd like to ask Ling-xuejie to help me with."

"Alright, come in and tell me." Ling Luochen had known Yuwen Tuo for six years.

If Ma Xiaotao played the bad cop, then Ling Luochen played the good cop. As the only person in the academy who deliberately did not stop her from interacting with Yuwen Tuo—and who knew about the tangled history between Yuwen Tuo and Ma Xiaotao—her existence was meant to keep Yuwen Tuo from hating Shrek too much.

Even Ling Luochen herself did not realize that, unconsciously, the academy had taken advantage of her kindness.

Yet it was precisely because of those six years together that Ling Luochen had developed a favorable impression of Yuwen Tuo. Of course, it was not romantic love yet.

Ling Luochen had once had a younger brother, but he had died young. She had always missed him deeply, and perhaps she had now placed that longing for her brother onto Yuwen Tuo.

Yuwen Tuo entered the room and felt the bitterly cold aura within. "Ling-xuejie, were you cultivating? Judging by the lingering Soul Power fluctuations, your cultivation power should be close to Rank 55, right?"

Ling Luochen nodded. "I'm still just short of Rank 55. Advancing from Soul King to Soul Emperor is truly difficult. The path from Soul Emperor to Soul Saint will probably be even harder."

Yuwen Tuo fell silent for a moment. Though Ling Luochen was exceptionally talented, what she cultivated was merely the Meditation Method found across the continent. Perhaps it had been improved by Shrek Academy and could be considered high-grade.

But compared to true cultivation techniques, it still fell short.

If she had a superior internal cultivation method, her breakthrough efficiency would improve greatly. At the very least, she would not lose to Ma Xiaotao.

Unfortunately, Yuwen Tuo currently did not have a cultivation method especially suited to her.

Yuwen Tuo knew only four heart methods. The first was the Ghost Valley Sect Heart Method. The second was the Divine Fire Doppelganger taught to him by his master—the real Yuwen Tuo. The third was the Tan Shen Secret Manual, which his master had specifically obtained from Thunderbolt Hall in his early years to temper Yuwen Tuo's will. It was reputed to be the most grueling and extraordinary martial art in the martial world. In truth, it was nowhere near as good as the Divine Fire Doppelganger; his master had only made him learn it so he would suffer.

The last was the Sound Skill taught by his master's wife, Ning Ke.

The Divine Fire Doppelganger was obviously unsuitable for Ling Luochen's Ice Attribute. Yuwen Tuo would not deliberately torment Ling Luochen with the Tan Shen Secret Manual either. As for the Sound Skill, one of its requirements was a certain understanding of music, and Ling Luochen was not skilled in that area.

He could only wait for an opportunity in the future to improve the Ghost Valley Sect Heart Method and tailor a heart method specifically for her. Given Yuwen Tuo's cultivation in those days, he had been close to the level of the elders from those sects. Creating a basic cultivation heart method would not be difficult.

But that would have to wait until the day Ling Luochen also left Shrek. She was different from Xiao Xiao. Having cultivated at Shrek for many years, she had feelings for the academy. It would not be easy to lure her away.

Before then, no matter how close Yuwen Tuo was to Ling Luochen, he could not bring himself to aid the enemy.

But for the current Yuwen Tuo, the most important thing was to completely break away from Shrek first.

Whether for his own wishes or his future cultivation, there was one place he absolutely had to go.

"By the way, I heard that the Class Advisor for your class is Zhou Yi, the so-called female demon. You skipped class to come here during lesson time. Aren't you afraid she'll punish you?" Ling Luochen asked.

Yuwen Tuo smiled. "Heh, she really can't do anything to me. What I'm more worried about is someone else's anger."

His gaze crossed Sea God Lake toward the teaching building.

Just as Yuwen Tuo expected, two people in the classroom were currently furious.

"Jerk! Yuwen Tuo, you big jerk! How could you stand me up again and lie to me again? This time, I definitely won't talk to you for a week. No—three days. Forget it, I won't talk to you for an entire day!" Xiao Xiao glared at the empty seat beside her, her face full of displeasure.

There was no acting involved—only genuine emotion.

Yuwen Tuo had promised her that he definitely would not be late. Strictly speaking, he had not deceived her. He had promised not to be late, and this was not being late—it was simply skipping class.

Afterward, he could only properly comfort this legal loli.

The other person was naturally Zhou Yi. This was the first time anyone had dared to skip her class. Who in the entire academy did not know her reputation? Yuwen Tuo had set a precedent. How could she tolerate it? They had clearly agreed to stay out of each other's way.

She knew she could not control Yuwen Tuo, so she would have Ma Xiaotao control him instead. He had better watch out, or she would strip him naked and throw him into Ma Xiaotao's room.

So she immediately sent students out to bring Yuwen Tuo back.

The result was that Yuwen Tuo had gone to the inner courtyard, using Ma Xiaotao's room card as proof.

"Brat, you've checkmated me!" Zhou Yi snapped.

Upon hearing the news, she instinctively assumed that Yuwen Tuo did not need her to strip him naked—he had washed himself clean and run into Ma Xiaotao's room on his own. Her threat was naturally useless now.

Expel Yuwen Tuo?

Not to mention that the dean would never approve it, Ma Xiaotao would never allow it either. Even if it somehow happened, Yuwen Tuo himself would probably be overjoyed.

For the first time—truly the first time—Zhou Yi was helpless against a student.

At worst, she could only resort to violence. But teachers beating students was absolutely forbidden at Shrek Academy.

Shrek's highest-grade punishment, at least on the surface, was merely expulsion.

"Forget it. That kid is beyond saving. I'll just pretend there's no such person in my class." Zhou Yi shook her head, completely giving up on Yuwen Tuo.

She knew about Yuwen Tuo's past and did feel some sympathy for him. His bright future had nearly been ruined by Ma Xiaotao.

But she had thought that as long as Yuwen Tuo worked hard, he would still have hope of rising again. His talent was there for all to see. Even though his Supreme Pure Fire had been corrupted and weakened, no matter how weak it became, it would not fall below a mid-grade Martial Soul.

Combined with his exceptionally high Innate Soul Power, he might still have a chance to reach the realm of a Titled Douluo in the future. Even the weakest Titled Douluo held a status far above that of a Soul Douluo.

But now, she felt Yuwen Tuo had completely given up on himself. Since he had abandoned himself, she had no need to waste any more effort teaching him.

"Hahahaha. This is probably the first time in Teacher Zhou Yi's life that she's encountered a student like you. That old witch actually got checkmated by you."

Inside the room, Ling Luochen laughed so hard she bent over.

Cold and frosty before outsiders, Ling Luochen could only be so unrestrained in front of her little brother, Yuwen Tuo.

"Heh, alright, Ling-xuejie. Have you laughed enough? Can you listen to what I'm asking now?" Yuwen Tuo asked helplessly.

Ling Luochen was serious and earnest with everyone else. Why did she have no reservations at all with him?

Could it be that even without a blood relation, an older sister still had the power to suppress a younger brother?

"Alright, alright. Go ahead, I'm listening." Ling Luochen reined in her smile and asked.

Yuwen Tuo moved close to Ling Luochen's ear and whispered, "Ling-xuejie, I want to make a deal with Dean Yan Shaozhe."

Ling Luochen listened quietly, her brows knitting slightly.

"If your request is only to take a trip far away, then from the dean's perspective, he might agree to this deal. But he would also have some other concerns."

Yuwen Tuo nodded. "I know. That's why I came to you. I hope you can help me with this. Although the academy is keeping me here now, it doesn't actually value me much anymore. This is probably all the value I have left, so I'll put it up as bargaining chip myself!"