A Chance You Can't Grasp, Young Friend

Heaven Dou City, Shrek Academy.

This place had originally housed Blue Tyrant Academy, but now its plaque had been replaced. The five grand golden characters, Shrek Academy, stood prominently upon it, with Flender's name inscribed below.

[So Blue Tyrant Academy has already been renamed Shrek Academy?]

[I wonder whether that little bastard has kept my immortal herbs safe. Dugu Bo guards a treasure trove yet cannot hold onto such an opportunity. Since you can't grasp it, I won't stand on ceremony.]

[Of course, even if Dugu Bo had managed to keep the treasure trove, I'd still go take a piece of it. Young friend, this chance isn't yours to grasp!]

Soul Land 1 Dugu Yan: "..."

[No, no. That makes me sound like a bandit. How can a scholar's business be called robbery?]

[Once I get the immortal herbs, if I have time, I'll help Dugu Yan resolve the flaws in her martial soul. I won't take them for nothing.]

[Unlike in the original story, where Dugu Bo "kindly" kidnapped Tang San and brought him to the Icefire Yin Yang Well as a guest. Tang San then used the Tang Sect's secret arts and his masterful poison techniques to bamboozle Dugu Bo completely.]

[In the end, Tang San showed no courtesy at all. He harvested every immortal herb in the Icefire Yin Yang Well, leaving not a single one for Dugu Bo. How "polite" of him.]

[Compared to that, I'm practically a saint!]

Soul Land 1 Ye Lingling: "That's wonderful, Yanzi! You're saved! Brother Mo Yu is amazing—no further words needed!"

Soul Land 2 Ning Tian: "Come to think of it, if Brother Mo Yu really takes all the immortal herbs, will our ancestor's martial soul still be able to evolve? Will the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect still exist in our era?"

Soul Land 4 Ye Lingtong: "It actually won't affect anything. Every plane is an independent parallel world. What happens in one parallel world only affects that world."

Soul Land 4 Ye Lingtong: "Simply put, in Brother Mo Yu's era of Douluo Continent, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect probably won't exist ten thousand years later."

Soul Land 2 Ning Tian: "Oh... I see. But why 'probably'?"

Soul Land 4 Ye Lingtong: "Maybe your ancestor, um... perhaps she was also planning to offer herself up?"

Soul Land 1 Ning Rongrong: "No, don't spread rumors! Brother Mo Yu is Xue Ke's type. How could I possibly do something like that?!"

Meanwhile, outside the gates of Shrek Academy.

"Brother Mo Yu, did you come all the way to Shrek Academy because you intend to enroll?" Xue Ke suddenly asked from beside him.

"How could that be? I merely stopped by to see what was so special about this academy rumored to accept only monsters."

As he spoke, Qin Moyu suddenly looked at Xue Ke beside him, his eyes carrying a faintly teasing smile. "What about you, Miss Xue Ke? What are you planning to do at Shrek Academy?"

[How strange. If I remember correctly, Xue Ke, the princess of the Heaven Dou Empire, had always studied etiquette under Tang Yuehua at Moon Pavilion Academy and became quite skilled at the zither.]

[But aside from that, Xue Ke shouldn't have come to Shrek Academy, should she?]

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "..."

What reason could she possibly have? From beginning to end, Xue Ke had merely made up a lie so she could strike up a conversation with Qin Moyu.

One lie required countless more lies to cover it up...

Xue Ke pretended to be composed as she raised a hand, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled sweetly. "Actually, I have a friend studying at Shrek Academy. I happened to be nearby, so I came to see her."

"Oh, I see..."

Qin Moyu pretended to believe her and withdrew his gaze.

Just as Xue Ke secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Qin Moyu suddenly turned his head. His dark eyes fixed directly on her. "But I heard that the legitimate princess of the Heaven Dou Empire happens to be named Xue Ke as well..."

The words landed lightly, yet the air instantly froze.

The smile on Xue Ke's face stiffened at once, and her mind went blank.

"Ha, haha... what a coincidence. I actually share a name with a royal princess. What a coincidence."

Xue Ke was at a loss, forcing out an awkward and clumsy smile as she laughed dryly.

Qin Moyu could not help laughing inwardly, but he did not expose her on the spot. Instead, he left behind a mischievous remark in his diary.

[The coincidences in this world really are bizarre. Xue Ke just happened to appear in Suotuo City, just happened to run into me, and even deliberately hid her royal identity...]

[Could it be that this little princess of Heaven Dou is really plotting something against me... like taking one of my kidneys?!]

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "..."

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "Oh no, oh no! I can't explain this!"

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "What do I do? Sister Rongrong, are you there? Hurry to Shrek's entrance and save me!"

Just as Xue Ke was so embarrassed that her toes were about to dig out a three-bedroom apartment, a crisp and lively young girl's voice suddenly came from inside Shrek Academy's gates...

"Little Sister Xue Ke? Is that really you?"

As soon as the words fell, a pretty and spirited figure skipped out.

The girl wore an exquisite teal-green dress, her skin as white as snow. With her impish, eccentric air, she was none other than Ning Rongrong, who had happened to be free and stepped outside for some fresh air.

Ning Rongrong naturally looped her arm through Xue Ke's, her movements intimate. "Didn't you say you were going outside the city to clear your mind? You actually snuck over to Shrek to see me without telling me in advance!"

Xue Ke's eyes instantly brightened. She smiled sweetly and said, "I happened to be passing by, so I came to see you and give you a surprise."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ning Rongrong's bright almond-shaped eyes turned toward Qin Moyu, who stood nearby with an otherworldly air. Curious, she asked, "And who is this?"

"Qin Moyu..." Qin Moyu smiled and waved. "Mo as in stranger, Yu as in jade."

[So Xue Ke really did come to Shrek to visit a friend? The original story did mention that Xue Qinghe, the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, became Ning Fengzhi's disciple. Xue Ke probably had known this little devil, Ning Rongrong, since childhood...]

Soul Land 1 Ning Rongrong: "Excuse me? How am I a little devil? I've been gentle, well-behaved, cultured, and sensible since I was little, all right?!"

[Honestly, I originally had quite a favorable impression of this little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Especially now that I've seen her in person, Ning Rongrong truly deserves to be called one of Shrek's three beauties.]

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "??? Sister Rongrong?"

Soul Land 1 Ning Rongrong: "Ah... no, little sister, Xue Ke, don't get the wrong idea! I really don't have the slightest feelings for your Brother Mo Yu anymore!"

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "I didn't ask you about that..."

[In fact, many people like Ning Rongrong as a character. She was the most talented genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the only daughter cherished by Sect Master Ning Fengzhi, and she even had two Titled Douluo grandfathers at her side.]

[If one could marry Ning Rongrong and bring her home, it would create an unreal feeling of having crossed the divide between social classes, as though one's entire life had reached its peak.]

Soul Land 1 Ning Rongrong: "So that's what he meant. I thought he meant something else..."

[Actually, I'm no exception.]

Soul Land 1 Ning Rongrong: "!!!"

Soul Land 1 Xue Ke: "Sister Rongrong, you..."

Soul Land 1 Ning Rongrong: "Little Sister Xue Ke, listen to my explanation! It really isn't what you think!"

Xue Ke's eyes quietly dimmed, and she cautiously put a little distance between herself and Ning Rongrong...

Was this what talent meant?

She had clearly been the first to meet Brother Mo Yu, yet Sister Rongrong only had to stand there to effortlessly receive a ticket in.

I was clearly here first...

Xue Ke's feelings were incredibly complicated.

She suddenly remembered what her father had once told her: the first girl to draw close to a boy would leave the deepest impression in his heart.

In a daze, Dai Yuner's earnest advice suddenly echoed beside Xue Ke's ears: good relationships were not something to wait for—they had to be fought for oneself...