Get Yourself Ahead First

Yu Tianheng lay facedown in a muddy ditch, his eyes rolled back from the beating.

Yu Xiaogang was unconscious, a bloodied brick plastered against his face.

Dai Mubai had it worst. He was curled up like a shrimp, with a patch of red between his legs.

"Dai Mubai is..."

Lu Qibin crouched for a look and sucked in a sharp breath. Even his hands were shaking.

"He... he's ruined. Who struck such a vicious blow?"

"Get them back, and cut the chatter!"

Flender roared through gritted teeth. Feeling guilty, he glanced toward the direction Huo Yuhao had gone, terrified the burly man with the hammer might come back.

"Old Li, carry Dai Mubai and Tian Heng. Hurry!"

The group hauled and dragged one another toward the village in a tangle of arms and legs.

Ning Rongrong blinked, then couldn't help laughing.

She brushed the dust off her skirt, skipped after them with her hands behind her back, and sidled up to the group with a smile.

"Grandpa, are you teachers from Shrek?"

Li Yusong, already at his wits' end, paused. He looked Ning Rongrong over and frowned.

"Little girl, something unexpected happened today. The academy isn't—"

Before he could finish, light flashed in Ning Rongrong's hand. An exquisite, translucent Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in her palm, and two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose around her.

"I'm twelve years old, a level twenty-six support-type Soul Grandmaster."

Ning Rongrong tilted her head, smiling as innocently as could be.

"Doesn't your academy only take monsters? I wonder if I count."

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

They had money!

A fat sheep had come right to their door—no, a genius.

Flender's face had been ashen, but his eyes lit up. He even forgot the pain all over his body.

"You count. Of course you count."

Flender wiped the blood from his mouth and forced an ugly smile.

"Old Lu, take our new student back to the academy."

In the shadows of an alley not far away, a slender figure in black silently followed them.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Dai Mubai on Li Yusong's back and pressed her lips together.

Dai Mubai was crippled now, but the royal struggle was not over.

Those were the rules of the royal family: the victor became king, and the loser had only death.

Even with Dai Mubai crippled, the eldest prince, Dai Weisi, and her elder sister, Zhu Zhuyun, would never show them mercy.

Worse, a prince who had lost his claim to the throne and even his ability to father children was worth less than a homeless dog in the royal family's eyes. She, too, had fallen with him into an abyss from which there was no return.

She needed to grow stronger. She needed to survive, even if her chance was no thicker than a single thread.

Zhu Zhuqing drew a deep breath, suppressed the chill in her heart, and slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"Wait."

Her cool voice rang through the empty street.

Flender stopped with a hand pressed to his chest and turned to look over the black-clad girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

The pain wracking his body had left him irritable. He frowned.

"Little girl, something unexpected happened today. Our academy isn't accepting—"

He never finished.

Zhu Zhuqing did not bother with another word. A cold gleam flashed in her eyes.

"Martial Soul, possess me."

A faint black glow rose from her body. A pair of black cat ears stood upright atop her head, and sharp claws sprang from her fingertips like blades.

At the same time, two bright, clear yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings rose beneath her feet!

"Twelve years old. Level twenty-seven Agility Attack Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Hell Spirit Cat."

Zhu Zhuqing's voice was icy.

"Am I qualified to enter Shrek?"

The Hell Spirit Cat!

Level twenty-seven!

Flender's face froze, and his eyes widened.

A seasoned veteran, he saw not only the girl's extraordinary talent. Her Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul also told him of her complicated connection to Dai Mubai!

"Yes! More than qualified!"

Though the beating had nearly killed him, finding two of the finest young talents on the continent still made him break into a grin.

"Old Lu, bring this student back to the academy too!"

Zhu Zhuqing withdrew her Martial Soul and followed without a trace of expression.

She did not spare Dai Mubai so much as a glance, treating him as though he were nothing but empty air.

At the back of the group, Ning Rongrong walked with her hands behind her back, looking this way and that. Her smile said she was delighted to see how the commotion would unfold.

She stole a look at Zhu Zhuqing, who seemed to radiate cold air, then at Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng. She muttered to herself:

This rundown academy really is rundown, and its people are ridiculous, but it does seem pretty interesting. I've got nothing better to do anyway. I'll stay and play for a few days, then run off when I get bored.

Meanwhile, on the road outside Suotuo City's north gate.

An ordinary-looking carriage was heading toward Heaven Dou City.

At the front, Tang Hao sat bare-chested with one leg propped on the wooden frame, his face black as thunder.

He held the reins in one hand and a wine jar in the other. Every so often, he took a swig and grumbled under his breath.

"I was famous across the continent back in the day, and now I've sunk to driving a carriage for a few brats... The older I get, the further I fall."

Inside the carriage, all was peaceful and comfortable.

Xiao Wu lay across the windowsill, eagerly enjoying the breeze on her face, half a carrot still in her hand.

Tang Sanmei sat obediently beside Huo Yuhao. She cut a peeled Suotuo City Snow Pear into small pieces, speared one with a silver pick, and respectfully held it to his lips.

"Senior brother, try this. It'll cool you down and ease your fatigue."

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and ate it. With his hands tucked behind his head, he leaned comfortably against the Cushioned Seat, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The letter Tang Hao had given them when they left Nuoding City had, on the surface, sent them to find Tang Yuehua at the Moonlight Pavilion in Heaven Dou City. She could use the Clear Sky Sect's remaining secret contacts to get them settled and keep Tang Sanmei out of Spirit Hall's sight.

But Huo Yuhao had far more than that in mind.

Beside Heaven Dou City lay the Sunset Forest, the strangest and richest treasure trove of opportunity on the entire continent.

And hidden at the heart of the Sunset Forest was a precious spring that even the Divine Realm coveted: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!

Infernal Delicate Apricot, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew...

Every one of them was a treasure.

The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot in particular had been the trump cards Tang San used to forge a body impervious to ice and fire.

But in this life...

I'd better absorb them myself.

His greatest weakness right now was his frail body, and he needed to reach the Far North as soon as possible.

Without those two Immortal Herbs to temper his body, he would still end up half-frozen to death.

As for Tang Sanmei...

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced sidelong at the young girl whose heart was entirely set on him.

Since he had decided to nurture her, he naturally would not shortchange her.

He would feed himself first and choose the Immortal Herbs that suited him. Tang Sanmei could have what remained.