Entering Heaven Dou, Mentor Qin Ming

As the fog dispersed, it took several seconds for the three pairs of eyes to focus, as if they had just awakened from a dream.

Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes and looked around blankly. Smacking her lips, she said pitifully,

"Huh? Brother Ning Ze... you were clearly holding me so tightly in the illusion just now, and you even touched my ears... Why are you standing so far away from me now?"

"Pfft—!"

That sentence instantly left the other two girls dumbfounded.

Ning Rongrong was still savoring the pleasant events from the illusion when that bombshell hit her head-on. Her pretty face went from red to green as she squeezed out through gritted teeth,

"Xiao Wu! You shameless wild rabbit! What exactly did you do with Ning Ze in that illusion?!"

Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, wished she could carve a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda out of the ground with her toes.

Even the base of her neck had turned red. She twisted her head away and stubbornly refused to look at Ning Ze.

After quite a while, Ning Rongrong finally recovered and grabbed Ning Ze's sleeve.

"N-Ning Ze, that thing just now... was that really your third soul skill?"

Ning Ze coughed and nodded solemnly.

"Mm, that's right. In future battles, when I use this move, remember to run at least twenty meters away first so you don't get caught in it by mistake..."

At that reminder, the three girls fell silent for the first time.

Stay away?

Xiao Wu rubbed her face and muttered inwardly, Why should I stay away... That feeling was so nice just now. Being held by Brother Ning Ze every day would be wonderful...

Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together without replying, the tips of her ears red enough to bleed.

Ning Rongrong secretly spat in disdain, already plotting how to force Ning Ze to create an "exclusive illusion" just for her when they returned to the hotel that night.

Gu Rong took in the youngsters' expressions and threw back his head in laughter.

"Hahaha! All right! Since everyone has broken through to Soul Elder, let's head for Heaven Dou City!"

Heaven Dou City.

Its towering walls stretched across the plains like a massive dragon, extending for dozens of miles beyond sight.

As the center of power for one of the Douluo Continent's two great empires, Heaven Dou City's grandeur and prosperity were far beyond what the remote Suotuo City could compare with.

"Wow—so this is Heaven Dou City!"

Xiao Wu ran at the very front, her rabbit ears bouncing with each step as her pink eyes sparkled while she looked around. "It's so, so much bigger than Notting City and Suotuo City! There are beautiful grand palaces everywhere!"

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing and stared upward for a long time.

She had been born into a great noble family of the Star Luo Empire and was accustomed to gold and jade, yet as she looked at the city's countless spires and domed buildings, she quietly swallowed the breath caught in her throat.

Whether in luxury or in the artistic refinement ingrained in its bones, the Heaven Dou Imperial City stood alone.

At the end of the long street, Bone Douluo Gu Rong reined in the horses and stepped down from the carriage.

"All right, little ones. This old man's job as your bodyguard has come to a successful end."

He dusted off his sleeves and looked toward Ning Rongrong and Ning Ze, a smile on his gaunt face.

"Now that you've safely reached Heaven Dou City, this old man will return to the sect first."

"You caused quite a stir in Suotuo City, and you even ran into that mad dog Tang Hao. Fengzhi and Chen Xin are probably pacing circles around the sect by now."

"This old man needs to hurry back and let them know what happened, lest they truly carry the Seven Kill Sword to Suotuo City to settle matters."

Ning Ze smiled and cupped his fists in salute.

"Thank you for your efforts along the way, Grandpa Gu. Please return to the sect and report back without worry. I'll handle our enrollment at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Rongrong and the others have me."

"Hahaha! With you keeping an eye on Rongrong, this old man couldn't be more relieved!"

Gu Rong raised a hand and patted Ning Ze's shoulder. As he turned to leave, he glanced back and winked at the three girls.

That one look made the three young girls' faces flush crimson.

The old bone laughed loudly. With a stomp of his foot, a pitch-black fissure opened before him. He stepped into it, and both he and his laughter vanished without a trace.

After seeing Bone Douluo off, Ning Ze turned and beckoned to the three girls. "Let's go. Time to handle our real business at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was not located in the bustling city center, but on a mountain range ten miles east of the city outskirts.

The mountain was not particularly steep, but it was lush and verdant, encircled by peaks on all sides. At its base lay a clear artificial lake, resting there like an embedded piece of emerald.

Among the forested slopes stood scattered pavilions and halls of white marble, each elegantly built in the style of a royal garden.

In terms of cultivation environment and financial resources, there was likely no second place like it on the entire continent.

The four climbed the white marble steps until they reached the academy gates.

This time, the gatehouse was imposing, the steps were spotless, there were no bandit old men blocking the road to collect fees, and no muddy paths that left muck on their shoes.

Ning Ze took out a letter from his storage Soul Tool. The gilded envelope bore the twin black-and-gold wax seals of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou imperial family. He handed it to the teacher on guard duty.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the state religion of Heaven Dou, and its sect master, Ning Fengzhi, was also the tutor of the current crown prince, Xue Qinghe.

The duty teacher froze upon seeing the letter. When he made out the signature, his waist had already bent in a bow.

He respectfully ushered the four into the main administrative building, and their enrollment procedures were completed quickly and smoothly.

Ning Fengzhi had included an additional request in the letter, and the four were assigned to the same elite class.

The door to a side hall of the administrative office was pushed open, and a young man strode in.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with a well-proportioned, upright build. He wore a neatly tailored instructor's uniform embroidered with subtle golden flying-bird patterns along the lapels.

His features were not particularly striking, and his black hair was slightly curly, but his eyes were calm and restrained. The Soul Power fluctuations around him were deep and solid—he was Qin Ming, the lead instructor of the elite class and a renowned mentor of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Hello, new students."

Qin Ming nodded to the four. His gaze lingered on Ning Ze for an extra moment. "I am Qin Ming, your direct instructor from now on."

After the greetings, Qin Ming lowered his head and flipped through the files, confusion appearing between his brows.

"However, Qin has a question. Registration for the academy's special admissions this term closed half a month ago. With your talents, why had there been no word of you applying before now? Were you delayed somewhere?"

Ning Rongrong exploded on the spot.

"Teacher Qin, don't even mention it! Just thinking about it makes me furious!"

She planted her hands on her hips, her little cheeks puffed up.

"Ning Ze and I originally planned to attend a place called 'Shrek Academy' outside Suotuo City in the Balak Kingdom!"

"But what happened? It was a sham academy, nothing but a makeshift den of swindlers!"

"It was bad enough that it hid in a poor village full of chicken droppings and pigsties, but that bespectacled profiteer of a headmaster was an old fool who couldn't tell right from wrong and turned black into white!"

Xiao Wu nodded repeatedly and joined in the complaint.

"Exactly, exactly! That Headmaster Flender was disgusting!"

"Before school started, we went out for a meal and took a walk around town on our own. He insisted on showing off his authority before the whole academy, pinned fabricated charges on us, and forced us to run ten kilometers on foot!"

"And those older students couldn't beat Brother Ning Ze, but after losing, they joined the headmaster in morally blackmailing us and forcing us to admit fault!"

Zhu Zhuqing spat out eight words. "Unable to distinguish right from wrong, all in league with one another!!!"

The three girls grew angrier the more they spoke, and none of them noticed Qin Ming's expression.

The moment the name "Shrek" came up, the smile vanished from his face.

It was as though someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. He froze at first, then a flush crept up from the base of his neck to his face, and the veins at his temples throbbed violently.