Ning Rongrong's Money Power!

Crash—!

A burst of splintered wood and dirt exploded from the ruined woods dozens of meters away.

Zhao Wuji crawled out of the pit, dirty and disheveled, rubbing his numb right arm as he spat grass clippings from his mouth.

"Pah! Pah, pah! Damn... that was weird. There's definitely something wrong with you, kid!"

Zhao Wuji possessed the physique of a level seventy-six Soul Saint. Being blasted over a hundred meters head-on did not amount to internal injuries, though it had left his flesh and bones numb from the impact.

But he was the Unmoving Bright King, renowned across the continent. Today, he had been sent flying by the punch of a Soul Grandmaster who had only just turned twelve, with both of his first two soul rings being thousand-year rings.

If word got out, where would he put this old face of his?

With a dark expression, Zhao Wuji strode back. Ning Rongrong leaped out ahead of him, afraid he would go back on his word, and pointed her pale finger at the incense stick planted in the ground.

"Hey, old man, don't you dare welch on your loss!"

"Look closely! That incense stick has burned down to nothing but ash! By the rules you set yourself, we passed!"

The incense stick in the mud had indeed long since burned out, leaving only a small pile of white ash.

Zhao Wuji's mouth twitched. He glared at Ning Rongrong, then shifted his gaze to Ning Ze and waved a hand.

"Fine, fine! My word is as good as gold. You think I'd cheat a bunch of brats like you? You all passed!"

As he spoke, he rubbed his still-numb wrist twice, then pointed at Ning Ze and cursed.

"You brat... you're a goddamn purebred little monster! At twelve, you knocked me back with one punch. That brute strength is more outrageous than a Diamond Bear's!"

Finally, he lowered his voice and waved his sandbag-sized fist at everyone present.

"What happened today stays behind these gates. If any of you dare run your mouths outside, I'll skin you alive. Hear me?"

Everyone present nodded in succession.

Ning Ze showed no arrogance whatsoever. Instead, he cupped his hands and bowed with perfect courtesy, smiling humbly.

"Teacher Zhao flatters me. Just now, it was entirely because Teacher Zhao was merciful and held back at every turn. You did not even use Martial Soul Possession. This junior merely took advantage of my soul skill's surprise factor and got lucky."

"If Teacher Zhao had used even a trace of a Soul Saint's power, I likely would not have been able to withstand even one move. Besides, this second soul skill consumes an enormous amount of Soul Power and cannot be sustained for long."

After saying that, Ning Ze withdrew the pink-gold divine radiance around him and let out a long breath of turbid air. His body swayed as he put on the appearance of someone with exhausted Soul Power barely managing to remain standing.

Those words gave Zhao Wuji plenty of room to save face.

The bit of resentment in Zhao Wuji's heart was completely smoothed over.

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes as he examined him. The more he looked, the more pleasing Ning Ze seemed, and unconcealed admiration appeared on his fierce, fleshy face.

"Hahaha! Good kid. You're neither arrogant nor rash, strong and sensible besides! You're right up my alley!"

He patted the dust off himself and waved toward the stunned Dai Mubai nearby.

"Mubai! These little monsters all passed. Take them to the dorms and get them settled. I'm heading back to find some medicinal wine for bruises and sprains to rub on my wrist. Damn, that kid was hard..."

With that, Zhao Wuji clasped his hands behind his back, grimacing as he swung his sore, numb arm, and strode away.

Only after he had gone far away did the atmosphere in the courtyard finally relax.

Dai Mubai and Tang San, however, looked worse than the other.

Dai Mubai's face was livid, as though he had swallowed a bitter gallbladder.

Before the assessment, he had repeatedly tried to put Ning Ze in his place, hoping Zhao Wuji would teach the kid a lesson and vent his anger for him.

But what happened? Ning Ze and the three girls had suppressed a Soul Saint from beginning to end, and in the end, Ning Ze had sent Zhao Wuji flying with a single punch.

Dai Mubai took a deep breath and squeezed out a word through clenched back teeth. "...Come on. I'll take you to the dorms."

On the other side, Tang San's expression was dark enough to drip water.

As the inheritor of the Tang Sect's hidden weapons and the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, he had always possessed tremendous confidence in his combat instincts and his control over the entire battlefield.

Yet in this assessment, he had first been ignored, then had his first soul skill shattered by Zhao Wuji. Before he could even draw his hidden weapons, he had been sent flying with one palm strike and spent the entire round lying on the ground.

What made his chest feel even more stifled was—

When he crawled out of the muddy pit, he saw Xiao Wu holding her hands to her heart, her eyes shining with adoration as she looked entirely toward Ning Ze.

That gaze had once belonged solely to him.

Tang San clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. It felt as though a stone weighed on his chest, and for the first time, an unmistakable trace of jealousy flashed through his eyes as he looked at Ning Ze's retreating back.

Not long after, led in silence by Dai Mubai, the group crossed several patches of barren farmland and arrived at the dormitory area behind Shrek.

The moment they saw the "dormitories" before them, the air fell silent.

Calling them dormitories was generous. They were really just a few earthen houses piled together from yellow mud and dry straw.

The plaster on the walls was cracked with gaps everywhere. Several broken wooden boards in the windows creaked in the autumn wind, the thatch on the roofs was sparse, and a faint stench drifted over from the pigsty next door.

For the dormitories of an advanced Soul Master Academy, they looked more like a ruined temple in an abandoned village that had fallen into disrepair for years.

"Th-this is supposed to be where people live?!"

Ning Rongrong's pretty face immediately fell. Pinching her nose, she retreated three steps, and the young lady's temper erupted on the spot.

"It's filthy! It stinks! Even the servants who feed horses at our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect live a thousand times better than this! Ning Ze, we're not staying here! Let's go back to Suotuo City and rent rooms at an inn!"

Zhu Zhuqing did not throw a spoiled tantrum like Ning Rongrong, but when she swept her eyes over the drafty earthen houses, her delicate brows furrowed tightly, her eyes filled with resistance.

Xiao Wu's pink rabbit ears drooped behind her head as she tugged at the hem of her clothes in grievance, utterly disappointed by the dusty wreck of a house.

Dai Mubai forced himself to salvage the situation. "Ahem... Shrek has always valued hardship and simplicity. The dean often says that only the harshest environment can temper true monsters..."

"Give it a rest, Young Master Dai. Simple doesn't mean living with fleas and cockroaches."

Ning Ze chuckled and cut him off. He turned to Ning Rongrong and said calmly, "The dormitories are in poor condition, but... the academy has no rule saying students can't pay to renovate them themselves, right?"

Dai Mubai's expression stiffened. His mouth twitched as he spread his hands helplessly. "There... really isn't such a rule."

"Then this is easy."

Ning Ze's gaze fell lovingly on Ning Rongrong, and he gave her a look.

The little witch, who had still been sulking, immediately understood. Her eyes curved into crescents as she patted her chest. "Hehe! Leave it to me! There are many things this young lady lacks, but Gold Soul Coins aren't one of them!"

During their battle against Zhao Wuji, Ning Rongrong had seen Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing desperately shielding Ning Ze. Though she still felt a little jealous, her hostility and wariness toward the two had faded, replaced by a faint sense of camaraderie.

She raised her chin and boldly announced to Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu:

"Zhuqing, Xiao Wu! Don't you two suffer in these lousy mud houses either! Today, this young lady will hire the best construction crew and furniture merchants in all of Suotuo City!"

"Not just Ning Ze's room and mine—I'll cover both of yours too! We'll replace everything with redwood floors, velvet beds, and crystal chandeliers. I guarantee you'll live in comfort!"

"Really? Rongrong, you're amazing!" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she lunged forward to hug Ning Rongrong.

Zhu Zhuqing froze for a moment. Then a sincere, faint smile appeared on her cool, breathtaking face as she nodded to Ning Rongrong. "Thank you, Rongrong."

The relationship between the three girls unexpectedly warmed rapidly under the terrifying money power of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Only Tang San stood alone in the distance.

From beginning to end, Ning Rongrong's renovation list had not mentioned him even once.

The dignified disciple of the Tang Sect had once again been left alone before the dilapidated mud houses, standing in the bleak autumn wind as his face turned pale, then green.