Tang Ya abruptly froze in her battle with the grilled fish. Jiang Nannan raised an eyebrow, clearly not particularly satisfied with that answer.
Xiao Xiao, who had eagerly been waiting to watch a "romantic showdown," was stunned instead.
It was Huo Yutong beside them who spoke first, her tone carrying a measure of thoughtful agreement:
"I think... Brother Tang Qi has a very good point."
Tang Qi gave her an approving look.
Little Huo really knows what's what.
Unlike Xiao Xiao, who's trying to fan the flames. She's practically asking for an oh-ho-ho-ho! A bratty girl ought to be prepared to get screwed without end!
"You joined the Tang Sect?" Jiang Nannan suddenly asked, a hint of surprise entering her voice.
When she had first enrolled at Shrek, Tang Ya had invited her to join the Tang Sect. Say what you would, these Blue Silver Grass users all seemed to have a particular fondness for the Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul.
But Jiang Nannan had refused.
Tang Qi nodded, his expression perfectly composed. "That's right. I'm the Tang Sect Leader now. Haki Ya has already been demoted to deputy sect leader."
"Cough-"
Tang Ya choked, but only dared protest with her eyes.
"Then I want to join the Tang Sect too!"
Jiang Nannan scarcely hesitated before pressing her entire delicate body against him, her tender, rippling eyes fixed unblinkingly on his face. "I want to be the Tang Sect's Senior Sister."
"That really won't do."
Tang Qi raised an index finger and solemnly wagged it before 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 you should arrange it!"
Jiang Nannan gave a petulant huff, her long, wavy golden hair swaying gently with the movement. Her normally cool, gentle bearing had taken on a rare touch of willfulness.
"We should be ranked by age. I'm the eldest sister, Xiaoya is the second sister, and as for you..."
She turned back to him, a sly smile curling her lips. "Wasn't Sea God Tang San from ten thousand years ago also called 'Third Brother'? You can be Third Brother from now on."
"Third Brother~"
Jiang Nannan deliberately sweetened her voice, her eyes shimmering as she called to him. The end of her words rose slightly, and a faint blush unwittingly spread over the tips of her ears.
Happy times always flew by, and before they knew it, it was late at night. Fortunately, Shrek had no curfew.
After Tang Qi saw Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya off in turn, only Xiao Xiao and Huo Yutong remained beside him.
"Listen carefully. You absolutely mustn't stay up late. Otherwise, you won't grow tall, and you'll stay a tiny little thing forever-"
The little girl tilted her face up, staring at him without blinking with her large, watery eyes. Her gaze was pure and innocent, like a defenseless little animal.
A delicate, soft little girl who's easy to push down, huh? Heh heh heh~
"Stay up late, Xiao Xiao. Starting tonight, you're only allowed one hour of sleep every day. All the rest of your time must go toward practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill."
Tang Qi bent down slightly, wearing a kindly smile as he thoroughly ruffled the little girl's hair.
"Huh-?"
Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief. She stood dumbfounded for quite a while before Huo Yutong pulled her back to the Female Dormitory.
The following morning.
Daylight had only just begun to break, and a veil of morning mist still hung in the air.
After a quick wash, Tang Qi walked unhurriedly out of the dormitory building. Today, however, Xiao Xiao was the only one waiting downstairs.
"Where's Yutong?"
Tang Qi glanced around but saw no sign of that familiar figure.
"Isn't this all your fault?"
Xiao Xiao pursed her lips and shoved a packed breakfast into his hands. "Yutong cultivated all night. After practicing the Purple Demon Eye this morning and having breakfast with me, she said she felt dizzy and wanted to get some air by Sea God Lake."
Tang Qi took the breakfast, his heart inexplicably sinking.
Little Huo wouldn't happen to run into Douluo's number one roast chicken, would she?
"Xiao Xiao, head to class first." Tang Qi pushed the breakfast back into her arms. "I'm going to find Yutong."
With that, his figure blurred. Activating Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he vanished into the morning mist in the blink of an eye.
"Hey! You haven't had breakfast yet!"
Xiao Xiao stamped her foot and shouted after him. Seeing that Tang Qi did not even look back, she could only grit her teeth and jog after him.
Meanwhile, on the path beside Sea God Lake.
Huo Yutong was strolling along at a leisurely pace. The cool morning breeze off the lake brushed her face, clearing her somewhat foggy head considerably.
"Sister Tian Meng, I have to say, cultivating really is exhausting."
"You have the nerve to say that?"
Tian Meng immediately bristled. "You finish class in the morning, prepare ingredients for grilled fish in the afternoon, and grill fish until late at night.
"Then, when you finally finish working, you still won't sleep! You keep studying Soul Tool knowledge and researching that Necromancy stuff. And come morning, you get up again to practice the Purple Demon Eye!"
Tian Meng grew more agitated as she spoke. "I'm starting to wonder whether you're tired of living!"
"It's not that bad, is it?" Huo Yutong scratched her head innocently.
Tian Meng was so furious that she rolled around in the Sea of Consciousness.
Just then, the girl suddenly stopped walking.
Sensing something, she looked toward the Inner Court across the mist-shrouded surface of Sea God Lake.
A red dot streaked into view from the distance like a meteor.
In the blink of an eye, it had grown several times larger. Scorching heat swept toward her, and even the lake began to give off clouds of white vapor.
"Run!"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng shrieked a warning.
Huo Yutong's pupils contracted sharply, her still slightly foggy mind instantly snapping awake.
Activating Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, the girl darted aside like a phantom.
Yet the red dot seemed locked onto her. No matter how she changed direction, it pursued her relentlessly, like a festering sore clinging to the bone.
"Yutong, hand your body over to me!" Tian Meng cried anxiously.
She had not wanted to use "possession." It would take an enormous toll on her, and the slightest mistake could also injure Huo Yutong's still-developing body.
But under the circumstances, she could no longer afford to worry about that.
Just as Tian Meng prepared to forcibly take control of her body, something whistled through the air from the side.
A strand of Blue Silver Wood wrapped precisely around Huo Yutong's slender waist, followed by a gentle stream of internal energy flowing through it.
To prevent the inertia from injuring Huo Yutong, Tang Qi had already coated the Blue Silver Wood in Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy. Combining Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon with that internal energy, he indirectly achieved an effect resembling Superman's biological force field.
"It's Tang Qi! Now that Tang Qi's here, justice has arrived! Tang Qi's here-Yutong and I are saved!"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng excitedly bounced on the spot, the snowy curves of her chest bobbing along with her.
Tang Qi held the girl with one arm and activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, moving far more than several times faster than Huo Yutong had just been.
As he moved, he glanced back at the rapidly approaching mass of blood-red light, his lips twisting into a cold sneer.
"It really is Douluo's roast chicken. Fucking Shrek-they've practically chosen the road to death!" Tang Qi swore, a rare occurrence for him.
"The continent's number one power, and they can't even keep watch over one Inner Court Disciple whose evil fire has gone out of control."
"If something happens, are everyone else supposed to just swallow their bad luck?"
Since Shrek did not regard the lives of its outer court students as lives worth protecting, he had no reason to cover up its shame.
He raised his head and looked toward the Martial Soul Department's Teaching Building a short distance ahead.
"I'd like to see how Shrek cleans this up once this roast chicken charges into the outer court and scares those noble lords' precious children half to death!"
Before you continue