The Brat's Resolve to Never Let the Sun Set! Douluo's Number One Roast Chicken!

Tang Ya, who had been battling a grilled fish, suddenly froze. Jiang Nannan raised an eyebrow, clearly less than satisfied with that answer.

Xiao Xiao had been eagerly waiting to watch a "love rivalry" unfold, but now she was the one left stunned.

Huo Yutong spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of thoughtful agreement:

"I think... Brother Tang Qi has a point."

Tang Qi gave her an approving look.

Little Huo really gets it.

Unlike Xiao Xiao, who's trying to fan the flames. She's already courting disaster. A little brat ought to be ready for the sun never to set on her!

"You joined the Tang Sect?" Jiang Nannan asked suddenly, surprise entering her voice.

When she had first arrived at Shrek, Tang Ya had invited her to join the Tang Sect. Come to think of it, people who played with Blue Silver Grass all seemed to have a soft spot for the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul.

But Jiang Nannan had turned her down.

Tang Qi nodded, looking perfectly at ease. "That's right. I'm the Tang Sect Leader now. Haki Ya has been demoted to deputy leader."

"Cough—"

Tang Ya choked, but only dared to protest with her eyes.

"Then I'm joining the Tang Sect too!"

Jiang Nannan barely hesitated before pressing her entire slender body against him. Her eyes, rippling with affection, stared at him without blinking. "I want to be the Tang Sect's Senior Sister."

"That won't do."

Tang Qi raised an index finger and wagged it solemnly in front of her. "If you join now, you can only be Third Junior Sister. Yutong is Senior Sister, and Xiao Xiao is Second Senior Sister."

"That's not how it should be arranged!"

Jiang Nannan gave a delicate huff. Her long, golden waves swayed with the motion, and her usually cool, gentle air took on a rare touch of wilfulness.

"We should go by age. I'm the eldest sister, Xiaoya is the second sister, and as for you..."

She turned back, a sly smile curling her lips. "Wasn't Sea God Tang San called 'Third Brother' ten thousand years ago? You can be Third Brother from now on."

"Third Brother~"

Jiang Nannan's eyes sparkled as she deliberately sweetened her voice. The end of her call rose slightly, and the tips of her ears flushed faintly red.

Good times always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was late at night. Fortunately, Shrek had no curfew.

After Tang Qi saw Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya off one by one, only Xiao Xiao and Huo Yutong remained beside him.

"Listen carefully. You absolutely must not stay up late. Otherwise you won't grow tall, and you'll stay tiny forever—"

The little girl tipped her face up. Her large, watery eyes stared at him without blinking, pure and guileless as a little animal with no sense of danger.

A petite, soft little girl who'd be easy to push over, heh heh heh~

"Stay up late, Xiao Xiao. Starting tonight, you're only allowed to sleep for half an hour a day. Spend all the rest of your time practising the Mysterious Heaven Skill."

Tang Qi bent slightly, smiled kindly, and vigorously tousled her hair.

"Huh—?"

Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief. She stood dazed for a long while before Huo Yutong pulled her back to the girls' dormitory.

The next morning.

Daylight had only just broken, and a layer of mist still hung in the air.

After washing up, Tang Qi strolled out of the dormitory. Today, however, only Xiao Xiao was waiting downstairs.

"Where's Yutong?"

Tang Qi looked around but saw no sign of that familiar figure.

"It's all your fault!"

Xiao Xiao pouted and shoved a packed breakfast into his hands. "Yutong cultivated all night. After practising the Purple Demon Eye this morning and eating breakfast with me, she said she felt dizzy and wanted to get some air by Sea God Lake."

Tang Qi took the breakfast, an uneasy feeling sinking through his chest.

Surely little Huo hasn't run into Douluo's number one roast chicken at a time like this?

"Xiao Xiao, go to class first." Tang Qi pushed the breakfast back into her arms. "I'm going to find Yutong."

With that, his figure blurred. He activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and vanished into the morning mist in an instant.

"Hey! You haven't eaten breakfast!"

Xiao Xiao stamped her foot and called after him. When Tang Qi didn't look back, she gritted her teeth and jogged after him.

Meanwhile, on the path beside Sea God Lake.

Huo Yutong was wandering along at an unhurried pace. The morning breeze off the lake brushed her face, its chill clearing her groggy head a little.

"Sister Tian Meng, I have to say, cultivating really is exhausting."

"You've got the nerve to say that?"

Tian Meng bristled at once. "Classes all morning, preparing ingredients for grilled fish all afternoon, then grilling fish until late at night.

"When you finally finished, you didn't even sleep. You studied Soul Tools, then researched that Necromancy stuff. And come morning, you got up to practise the Purple Demon Eye!"

Tian Meng grew more agitated with every word. "I'm starting to wonder if you have a death wish!"

"It's not that bad, is it?" Huo Yutong scratched her head, looking innocent.

Tian Meng rolled around in fury inside the Sea of Consciousness.

Just then, Huo Yutong stopped.

Sensing something, she looked through the mist over Sea God Lake toward the Inner Court.

A red point appeared in her field of vision, streaking closer like a meteor.

In the blink of an eye, it had grown several times larger. Scorching heat swept toward her, and pale steam began rising from the lake.

"Run!"

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng shrieked a warning.

Huo Yutong's pupils contracted. The last of her grogginess vanished instantly.

She activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, her figure darting aside like a phantom.

But the red point seemed locked onto her. No matter how she changed direction, it pursued her like a disease clinging to the bone.

"Yutong, give me control of your body!" Tian Meng cried.

He had not wanted to use "possession." It would take a tremendous toll on him, and the slightest mishap might injure Huo Yutong's still-developing body.

But there was no time to worry about that now.

Just as Tian Meng prepared to seize control by force, something whistled through the air from the side.

A length of Blue Silver Wood wrapped precisely around Huo Yutong's slender waist, and a gentle current of inner energy flowed through it.

To keep Huo Yutong from being hurt by the sudden pull, Tang Qi had already infused the Blue Silver Wood with the inner energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Combining it with Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, he indirectly achieved an effect like Superman's Biological Force Field.

"It's Tang Qi! Tang Qi's here, and the skies are clear! He's here—Yutong and I are saved!"

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng leapt up and down in excitement, the snowy white of his chest rising and falling with the motion.

Tang Qi wrapped one arm around Huo Yutong and activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. He moved many times faster than she had.

As he ran, he glanced back at the blood-red glow closing in and curled his lips into a cold smile.

"So it really is Douluo's roast chicken. Damn Shrek—they've practically got a death wish!" Tang Qi swore, a rarity for him.

"The greatest power on the continent, and they can't even keep watch over one Inner Court Disciple whose Evil Fire has gone out of control."

"When something goes wrong, are they going to tell everyone else to chalk it up to bad luck?"

If Shrek did not value the lives of its outer court students, Tang Qi had no reason to cover up its disgrace.

He raised his head and looked toward the Martial Soul Department's Teaching Building not far ahead.

Let's see how Shrek handles it when that roast chicken charges into the outer court and scares those nobles' precious children half to death!