The Hot-Tempered Su Yao

As he raced back with Ning Chengyi, Snake Lance Douluo looked distinctly uncomfortable. He kept glancing at the little fellow in his hand, feeling uneasy all over.

When Snake Lance Douluo She Long returned to clean up the battlefield and saw the bodies strewn across the ground, along with those Ning Chengyi had killed earlier, even he felt a chill.

The Evil Soul Masters had died in all manner of ways, but every single one had been killed in one strike!

Yet aside from a faint trace in front of the Soul Grandmaster, Ning Chengyi had erased every other sign cleanly. Had She Long not known this was Ning Chengyi's mission, he would have struggled to notice even that tiny clue.

Moreover, there were many things wrong with the bodies of those Evil Soul Masters.

Even setting aside their darkened eye sockets, their seemingly dehydrated bodies alone showed that Ning Chengyi had tormented them for quite some time. While subjecting them to psychological torture, he had quietly killed those on the perimeter before finally dealing with their leader.

Sometimes, Snake Lance Douluo really wanted to crack this little fellow's head open and see what was inside. How could he possess so many bizarre methods?

By the time they returned to the academy, it was already evening. Hearing a sound from the door next to hers, Su Yao hurried outside and happened to catch Ning Chengyi opening his door.

"You're back?"

"Yeah!"

Bang!

After answering with a simple "yeah," he casually shut his room's door.

The joy on Su Yao's face instantly turned into a dark scowl. "Ning Chengyi, get out here!"

Creak!

The door opened again. Su Yao immediately charged inside and pinned Ning Chengyi in a corner, staring him down as she demanded:

"So you still remembered to come back? And now you're giving me attitude? Getting pretty full of yourself, aren't you?"

Ning Chengyi tried to resist, but her delicate hands held him firmly in place. Looking helpless, he let his gaze drift downward—and immediately caught sight of an expanse of snowy white skin.

"Um, could you let go of me first?" Ning Chengyi asked meekly. His voice was still fairly calm, but there was an added note of helplessness, because he felt as though he was about to burst.

"Hm?" A moment later, Su Yao sensed something was wrong. Following his gaze, she found that her nightdress might as well have concealed nothing. In a flash, her face turned bright red.

She forced herself to act composed. "Hmph! I'll let you off today." With that, she ran out without looking back, her eyes darting about in utter panic.

"Whew..." After closing her own door, Su Yao leaned against it and panted, clutching her chest with a mixture of panic and embarrassment.

"How mortifying! How did that happen?"

When she lowered her hands and saw the view beneath them, she flushed even more deeply, as though her entire body had been painted red.

"What a strange woman. I wonder what tomorrow's special training will be."

Exhausted, Ning Chengyi lay straight down on his bed and soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile.

Xue Qinghe was listening to Snake Lance Douluo's report.

Almost every detail was laid out clearly.

After hearing it, Xue Qinghe covered his small mouth, disbelief written across his face.

Some of the crucial, bloody details sounded particularly disgusting. Yet according to Snake Lance Douluo She Long, Ning Chengyi had shown none of that reaction. On the contrary, he seemed to have enjoyed himself.

"Young master, word has arrived from Her Eminence. She says we are to spare no effort in nurturing him."

Just as Xue Qinghe fell into stunned silence, Porcupinefish Douluo Ci Xue walked in and spoke.

"I know, I know. Don't bother me unless it's important."

At the mention of that woman's title, Xue Qinghe felt an instinctive aversion.

"Wait, what did you say?!"

As though he had not heard properly, Xue Qinghe asked again.

"Her Eminence said to spare no effort in nurturing him."

"What?! She actually agreed to my proposal?" Xue Qinghe was incredulous. The past few days had brought him far too many surprises, not only in how thoroughly Ning Chengyi had completed his mission, but also in the details he had learned from She Long.

Now that woman had actually approved his request. It was simply unbelievable.

It was as though the sun had risen in the west.

"Request the resources. I'll handle things here in Heaven Dou. Coordinate with that woman on your end. Within this month, make him a Soul Grandmaster and hunt down his second soul ring. Let's see where the upper limit of his aptitude lies."

"Before the hunt, test him, then ask for his opinion."

Xue Qinghe was not indecisive. At least when it came to matters concerning Ning Chengyi, he showed no hesitation whatsoever.

"Yes."

Both men acknowledged the order and hurried away.

"Ning Chengyi, just where did you come from? Why can't I find any record of your martial soul awakening? It's all because I got carried away that night..."

At the thought of the absurd events of that night, Xue Qinghe blushed, his manner taking on a hint of girlish coyness.

"What a lecher."

With that, Xue Qinghe composed himself and prepared to return to his room to rest.

When Ning Chengyi woke the next morning, Su Yao was already outside his door, looking as though she had been waiting for quite some time.

"Have you been standing there long?" Ning Chengyi asked as he opened the door. Strangely, Su Yao had not called for him, which surprised him somewhat.

"Starting today, besides your regular special training, you'll also take medicinal baths to help raise your soul power."

"All right." Ning Chengyi still asked no further questions and simply nodded. He was currently three levels away from level twenty, but to keep breaking through within a single month, he would have to squeeze every last bit of potential out of himself.

"We're increasing the intensity of your weight training, medicinal baths, and other exercises for coordination, reflexes, and so on. But you'll have to push yourself to the absolute limit with the weight training and the rest if you're going to break through in a little over half a month."

"So prepare yourself mentally. We'll also arrange for you to wipe out nearby Evil Soul Masters to improve your combat skills and prepare for the major assessment at the end of the month."

Su Yao spoke with a solemn expression.

"All right." Ning Chengyi's reply remained calm and composed, and there was even anticipation in his eyes. Seeing him like this, Su Yao could not help remarking:

"You really are a freak."

"Hey, hey, hey! We're just talking. Why make it personal?"

Ning Chengyi immediately took offense.

He looked Su Yao up and down. Today, she had changed into a long purple dress with a partially open neckline, revealing a quarter of her snowy-white skin and accentuating her graceful figure. Its hem swayed elegantly as she moved.

The dress made her skin look whiter than snow, and paired with her gentle smile, she was like a spring breeze brushing against the face.

"Too bad she isn't my little sister..." Ning Chengyi murmured. Su Yao frowned, having caught only part of what he said. She immediately straightened her back, making her figure look even more impressive.

"Let's go."

Su Yao walked ahead. Her dress seemed barely able to contain her voluptuous figure, clinging tightly to her full hips in a deeply alluring display.

At the same time.

Zhu Zhuqing had regained her cool, aloof demeanor, radiating a frosty air that warned strangers to keep their distance. Standing at Shrek's entrance, she watched the people coming and going, her gaze fixed on a blond man with sinister eyes.

There was a measure of disgust in her eyes, as though it came naturally to her.

Especially after what had just happened—this man had actually thrown his weight around to bully others.

It reminded her of the life she had endured for years.

"How revolting. But it's a different kind of disgust from what I feel toward Ning Chengyi."

"I wonder what that fellow is doing now."

As she thought back on the days they had spent together, a trace of reminiscence entered Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. From him saving her life when they first met, to the embarrassment of their encounter while bathing, to the charged, intimate moment when he saved her again... those scenes kept flashing through her mind like images from a projector.

Only when someone called out to her did she abruptly come back to her senses.