"No, Fan Yu is second only to Dean Xian Lin'er in Shrek's Soul Tool Department!"
Mu Jin hurried to defend himself, his voice so urgent that his words grew jumbled.
He had no idea why even the new students knew about the affairs between him, Zhou Yi, and Fan Yu.
"Enough!"
Tang Qi's voice was icy. "I've realized you really do say one thing to people's faces and another behind their backs. What did you say in class? Soul Tools were nothing but clever tricks and useless gimmicks.
"Now look at you, practically desperate to shove students into the Soul Tool Department. Put whether we learn about Soul Tools aside for a moment. Just what sort of bottom-of-the-barrel outfit is Shrek's Soul Tool Department? Surely I don't need to remind you?"
Mu Jin opened his mouth, but could not muster a single word in rebuttal.
Tang Qi said no more.
He bent slightly and swept the girl in his arms into a bridal carry. Huo Yutong gave a startled little cry, instinctively wrapping her arms around Tang Qi's neck. A blush spread across her face.
"Xiao Xiao, let's go."
The little girl looked as though she had been granted a royal pardon. She hastily hopped off her chair and trotted after him.
At the doorway, Tang Qi suddenly paused and turned his head slightly.
He looked at Mu Jin, his gaze complicated.
"Teacher Mu Jin, let me leave you with a few words-"
"Before you love someone else, learn to love yourself."
"I feel my words have already touched your soul. Take care of yourself!"
The footsteps outside faded into the distance.
Inside the office, Mu Jin seemed to have been drained of all his strength. Dazed, he sank back into his chair.
"Brother Tang Qi, could you put me down now?" Huo Yutong asked, her voice muffled against his chest.
Even after her feet touched the ground again, the girl still felt light and floaty all over. She lowered her head and murmured, "Th... thank you."
Tang Qi said little and turned to continue walking. Xiao Xiao trotted along behind him, winking at Huo Yutong and pulling a face.
Huo Yutong glared at her and hurried to catch up, but her mind had already quietly returned to her Sea of Consciousness.
"Sister Tian Meng, I want to learn about Soul Tools."
Inside her Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yutong crouched beside Tian Meng's bedding, gazing at her pleadingly as she murmured.
"Hmm?"
Tian Meng abruptly rolled over, exposing a swath of snowy-white bare skin. Her face was full of annoyance at being disturbed.
"I want to combine Soul Tools with hidden weapons and help Brother Tang Qi revive the Tang Sect!"
Huo Yutong's eyes blazed as she declared with conviction, "Keep the essence and discard the dross!"
"What are you telling me for?"
Tian Meng sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes in a huff. Her exposed curves swayed with her movements, leaving Huo Yutong unsure where to look amid all that dazzling white skin.
"Sister Tian Meng, you're a spirit. Why do you still sleep naked?" Huo Yutong asked, dumbfounded.
"So what?"
Tian Meng thrust out her chest, utterly unapologetic. "I never wore clothes when I was a Soul Beast, either. This is called returning to my true nature."
"How is that the same? You were a maggot back then. Now you're human..."
Huo Yutong's voice grew quieter and quieter. Her gaze darted away, yet she could not help stealing glances at Tian Meng.
The girl instinctively looked down at herself, then quickly turned her face away.
They really were bigger than hers, and even Sister Xiaoya's.
Tian Meng snapped her fingers, and spiritual power draped over her entire body like a gauzy robe, restoring her usual refined appearance.
She sat cross-legged in midair, propping her chin on one hand as she regarded Huo Yutong with a teasing half-smile.
"Learning about Soul Tools, cultivating as a Soul Master, studying Necromancy from another world." Tian Meng counted them off on her fingers. "Are you trying to work yourself into an idiot?"
"It's fine, Sister Tian Meng. I can do it." Huo Yutong raised her head, her gaze resolute.
"All right. Since you've put it that way, I'll oblige you."
Tian Meng stood and puffed out her chest, looking proud. "When it comes to teaching you about Soul Tools, I actually can help."
With that, she leaned mysteriously toward Huo Yutong's ear.
"Let me tell you the truth, Yutong. Before I sacrificed myself to you, I actually sacrificed myself to someone else."
Huo Yutong blinked, not quite processing what she had heard.
"He was a Quasi-Titled Douluo."
Tian Meng's voice grew quieter, carrying a hint of guilt. "I spent ages picking someone out in the Star Dou Great Forest. After all that searching, his spiritual power was the only one that was somewhat strong, and he happened to need a ninth Soul Ring."
"And then?" Huo Yutong could not help asking.
"And then?"
Tian Meng gave a dry cough, her eyes wandering. "Without another word, I sacrificed everything to him in one go. I'd only just finished reading his memories when he burst from the overload."
Huo Yutong: "..."
"That time was a mistake. When I sacrificed myself to you, I sealed away a lot of my origin power."
"None of that matters." Tian Meng waved a hand and wagged a finger in front of Huo Yutong. "What matters is that the fellow turned out to be an Evil Soul Master from the Sun Moon Empire, and a Level 7 Soul Engineer, too."
Tian Meng snapped her fingers with a sharp crack and raised an eyebrow at Huo Yutong. "So, while I can't promise anything else, teaching a little beginner like you is child's play for me."
"Well? Admire me now, don't you?" Tian Meng lifted her chin smugly.
Huo Yutong fell silent for a moment, then left her Sea of Consciousness and hurried forward to tell Tang Qi what she and Tian Meng had just discussed.
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng stamped her feet in fury. "Haki Tong, what is this supposed to mean? Selling me out for favors?!"
After hearing her out, Tang Qi looked somewhat surprised.
He truly had not expected Tian Meng, that maggot, to be useful in this way. Soul Engineers from the Sun Moon Empire were not remotely comparable to the self-taught amateurs of the three great empires.
Tang Qi rather wanted to see Huo Yutong raise an undead legion, strap magnetic bombs to every one of them, and send them charging forward with howls as a suicide squad.
Before long, evening arrived.
As for why they had not attended class that afternoon, it was because Mu Jin had, for once in his life, taken sick leave.
It seemed Tang Qi's words had struck deep into his soul.
So much so that Mu Jin was actually trying to break free of the control of the Douluo Continent's underlying code-the love gu.
Tang Qi was delighted to see it.
Food Street, outside Shrek Academy's east gate.
Dusk had not quite settled, and the streetlights lit up one after another. The smoky aromas of all kinds of snacks filled the air, while crowds surged through the bustling street.
Beside one stall, Huo Yutong was hard at work. Tang Ya stood beside the girl, helping her out. That was, of course, if "drooling" counted as helping.
"Whatever else you say, Mu En really knows how to enjoy himself." Tang Qi lounged in a reclining chair of the same model as Mu En's, his eyes comfortably narrowed.
As the great Tang Sect Leader, Tang Qi was indulging in a little critical enjoyment today.
Beside him, Xiao Xiao sat primly on a small stool, her chin cupped in both hands. She looked as docile as a little hamster waiting to be fed.
A short while later, everything was ready. Huo Yutong took a deep breath before reluctantly lifting the price sign Tang Qi had made himself and planting it in front of the stall.
Xiao Xiao leaned over to look, and her little lips immediately puckered into a pout.
"Five Gold Soul Coins each? Limit one per person?" She rubbed her eyes and read it again, confirming that she had not seen it wrong.
"Tang Qi, will anyone really buy a Grilled Herring for five Gold Soul Coins?" Unable to help herself, she turned to look at Tang Qi.
Tang Qi drawled, "This is called scarcity marketing. Rarity makes things valuable. Yutong has no idea what caliber her grilled fish is."
"At seven copper coins, you wouldn't make much even if you grilled until your little hands cramped. Think bigger. Why save money for rich folks?"
Huo Yutong looked at the price sign, her little face troubled. Is my grilled fish really as delicious as Brother Tang Qi says?
The rich aroma of grilled fish drifted through the air, tantalizing the taste buds of those nearby.
But the price of five Gold Soul Coins did indeed scare off a large portion of the crowd.
Still, the world never lacked someone willing to be the first to eat a crab.
Before you continue