Yang, hurry up and marry me!

"He really is below level fifty."

Flender chimed in as well.

Anyone could tell that he was in an excellent mood.

"Teacher!"

"Headmaster!"

"..."

The moment Ma Hongjun and the others saw Flender, they all greeted him.

"If I'm not mistaken, young Yang should be level forty-eight now."

"Am I right?"

Flender looked at Yang Jian with a smile as he asked.

Seeing this, Yang Jian could only smile helplessly and nod.

He hadn't planned on hiding it anyway. He wanted to see whether he could fish out some system rewards.

Besides, since they had already seen through him, there was little point in refusing to admit it.

"Holy shit!"

"Holy shit!!"

"..."

[Ding! Dai Mubai's emotional fluctuations detected to be exceptionally intense. Reward: 10 bottles of Rapid Soul Power Recovery Pills.]

[Ding! Ma Hongjun's excitement, pride, admiration, and other emotions detected to be exceptionally intense. Reward: physical strength increase of 10%.]

[Ding! Tang San's jealousy, fear, rage, and other negative emotions detected to be rising rapidly. Reward: upgraded versions of all the Tang Sect's hidden weapons-the Divine Hidden Weapon Compendium.]

[Divine Hidden Weapon Compendium: records the power, firing techniques, and manufacturing details of every hidden weapon under heaven.]

[...]

Yang Jian smiled as the system notifications sounded in his ears one after another, like heavenly music.

Sure enough, Tang San was using his martial arts to eavesdrop on their conversation.

This reward was pretty good, too.

It was just a pity that Yu Xiaogang was such a useless waste. He had no martial arts to rely on, nor any means of eavesdropping.

Otherwise, given the system's usual antics, letting Yu Xiaogang hear this might well have produced another legendary golden reward.

Honestly, what's with Tang San? Seeing how weak Gangzi is, why hasn't he taught him a few martial arts moves to fall back on?

He can keep the other stuff to himself, but he should at least teach him how to eavesdrop, right?

Surely I can't be the one to teach him?

Hmm? Actually, that might not be out of the question. It's worth considering. If Gangzi's hearing improved, wouldn't farming system rewards become much easier for me?

"Boss, you really built up your strength before bursting forth!"

"I told you, Boss wouldn't lie! Boss Dai, do you believe him now?!"

"A fifteen-year-old, level forty-eight Soul Ancestor! Do you realize what that means?!!"

"He must be the only one on the entire Douluo Continent!"

Ma Hongjun spoke excitedly.

His pride in sharing Yang Jian's glory was entirely genuine.

His words pulled Yang Jian out of his thoughts about how to mess with Yu Xiaogang next.

"Yang, are you a monster?"

"We're both fifteen. Isn't this a bit too much of a blow for me?"

"I thought we were more or less on par. I never imagined the gap would be this huge."

"A fifteen-year-old, level forty-eight Soul Ancestor... is that really something a human can achieve?"

Dai Mubai sighed.

Yet there was little jealousy on his face. What showed instead was mostly envy and acceptance.

That was only natural.

People usually resented those who were roughly their equals, or at least felt like their equals.

As for those who far surpassed them, most people felt only envy or admiration.

Dai Mubai was also fifteen, a level thirty-seven Soul Elder. During the three years Yang Jian's system had lain dormant, he had only been two or three levels below Yang Jian.

Naturally, he had considered Yang Jian a rival-and an extremely formidable one at that.

Now Yang Jian had soared into the heavens in a single bound, reaching level forty-eight. How was he supposed to catch up?

Anyone who wasn't a petty, narrow-minded wretch would choose to accept it.

"Yang!"

"Hurry up and marry me!"

Ning Rongrong suddenly grabbed Yang Jian's arm, her eyes shining. She was a hair's breadth from pressing herself against him.

It wasn't that she didn't want to. Just as she was about to cling to him, Yang Jian reacted swiftly and pushed her away.

"Ning Rongrong, have you gone crazy?"

"Aww, you're hurting me, Yang~"

"..."

Yang Jian looked utterly speechless.

Setting aside the ulterior motives Ning Rongrong had harbored ever since coming to Shrek Academy, several people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were watching outside right now.

You're throwing yourself straight at me like this. What am I supposed to do if Ning Fengzhi gets the wrong idea?

He might be happy to become my father-in-law, but I'm not happy to become his son-in-law.

Who doesn't know that in a few years, Spirit Hall will all but wipe out the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

If you want me to help, shouldn't you show a little sincerity?

You think you can have your daughter lie down on a bed and get a high-level fighter like me for free?

Isn't that ridiculous?

"Yang, just say yes, and we can bow to heaven and earth and get married right now!"

"Then I'll make my father step down and take over myself. When that happens, the whole Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will be mine, and what's mine will be yours."

"Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Ning Rongrong clasped her hands before her chest and closed her eyes, as though lost in a beautiful dream.

"Well, if there's nothing else, let's all turn in. It's been a tiring day. I'm going to sleep."

Yang Jian ignored Ning Rongrong outright, said goodbye to everyone, then turned and walked off elsewhere.

Seeing this, Xiaotian immediately jumped down from Ning Rongrong's shoulder and chased after Yang Jian.

"Boss is right. I'm really sleepy."

Ma Hongjun yawned again as he spoke. "Let's talk tomorrow. I'm off to bed, everyone."

"Yeah."

Dai Mubai smiled and glanced at Zhu Zhuqing. When he found that she was still ignoring him, he sighed helplessly, then turned and saw Oscar, who was still despondent.

He suddenly felt that they were fellow sufferers of the same affliction.

And so.

He walked over and patted Oscar's shoulder. "Go get some sleep. Some things just can't be forced."

"Yeah. Okay, okay, Boss Dai."

Oscar suddenly came back to his senses, though his reply was still listless.

"Mm."

Dai Mubai nodded without saying anything more. He merely gave Oscar a long look, then went off to find a good place to sleep.

"Huh?!"

"Yang, you guys!"

"Hmph!!!"

The moment Ning Rongrong opened her eyes, she saw everyone leaving without even looking back. She stamped her feet in anger.

"All right, let's go to sleep."

Zhu Zhuqing, who had stayed where she was all this time, spoke with considerable helplessness.

"Qingqing, you're so nice!"

"I knew you wouldn't abandon me like those nasty men!"

As though changing masks, Ning Rongrong immediately put on a smile again, jogged over to Zhu Zhuqing, and took her small hand.

They walked off to one side.

Meanwhile.

The five members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who had been keeping watch in the shadows exchanged glances and spoke quietly among themselves.

Three of them stayed behind.

The other two hurried back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to report the news.

"What?!"

"A level forty-eight Soul Ancestor?!!"

"Two purple and two black Soul Rings?!!!"

"..."

"Are you sure it's that Yang Jian? If I remember correctly, that child is only fifteen this year!"