Once a Week? Don't Even Think About It

Once the light had fully returned to Xu Tianzhen's eyes, her brain finally reclaimed the high ground.

Realizing what she had done, Xu Tianzhen immediately crouched down and clutched her head.

Aaaah, what did I just say? How did I spill all my biggest secrets? They clearly warned me not to trust anyone... Should I tell them and have them help me deal with this...?

No, he's different.

This is a secret between him and me. I have to keep it.

Xu Tianzhen felt a trust in Lu Yu that came from the depths of her soul.

Mm, he definitely wouldn't hurt me.

Honestly, Xu Tianzhen! You can't be this careless next time. How will you ever carry out your grand revenge at this rate?

Lu Yu watched Xu Tianzhen pat her cheeks one moment, hop anxiously in place the next, then slap herself twice.

Elder Yi, you old fart, didn't you say there was nothing wrong with the Soul Tool? How did it turn her into an idiot? Is that Magic Book of yours even worth studying?

You unfilial disciple! You made her trust you. She's showing her true nature in front of you now. Ah, what a lively child she would have been without that deep-seated blood feud.

You're pretty sentimental, Elder Yi. Why do you sound like an old man? Don't they say people with high cultivation grow old but stay young at heart?

You unfilial disciple, you haven't reached that age yet. When you reach my age, you'll understand why people grow old.

It's fine. When I'm old, I can just sit in a wheelchair.

You, honestly!

Elder Yi sighed. This unfilial disciple had a good disposition, worked hard, and could endure hardship, but pursued power too obsessively. Fortunately, he knew his limits and pursued only power he could control. Only because of that would Elder Yi pass this remaining inheritance on to him.

Danger's coming. Deal with it yourself, you unfilial disciple.

Danger? What danger? Master, at least explain!

As punishment for his verbal disrespect toward his master, Elder Yi hid straight inside the Gold of Life and refused to come out, no matter how Lu Yu called.

Lu Yu felt a wave of heat behind him. Turning around, he saw that a vast stretch of Sea God Lake had been dyed red, and a figure engulfed in flames was charging toward him and Xu Tianzhen.

"Holy shit, an Evil Fire Phoenix! Hadn't Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul already finished evolving? Even an ancestral reversion should produce a Fire Phoenix. How is there still an Evil Fire Phoenix?"

Looking from afar, Lu Yu saw six Soul Rings behind the figure: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black. This was a Soul Emperor who had lost control!

At this rate, the two of them would probably be burned to ashes. No wonder Xu Tianzhen had said no one ever saw the missing people again. Of course no one could see them if they had been reduced to ashes and scattered into Sea God Lake.

"What is that thing?" Xu Tianzhen immediately tried to activate her Invincible Shield, only to discover that, for some reason, all her equipment had been removed. She froze in place, a sense of despair washing over her as she stared at the flames filling the sky.

"What are you standing there for? Use your Sun Martial Soul!"

Lu Yu immediately rushed over and activated the Sun Martial Soul he had already copied. Then he tackled Xu Tianzhen to the ground and held her tightly in his arms, their Soul Power merging and covering their entire bodies.

At the same time, a black snake-and-tortoise shield covered his back.

At the instant before the flaming truck could "pass through" him-

Spiritual Prison, Life Reflection Shield, Black Tortoise Quake, Black Tortoise Shield Formation, Sun Martial Soul Fire Control, Sun Martial Soul Soul Power Fusion!

Boom!

The sea of fire swept past at tremendous speed, scorching the entire lakeshore bare. A black shield on the ground shifted.

Lu Yu got up. His clothes were riddled with holes and tore apart with a tug. The girl beneath him was in little better shape.

"You... don't look!" Xu Tianzhen blushed crimson. This was the first time a member of the opposite sex had seen her body.

"It's fine. A very wealthy landing strip. I can handle it."

Only a little bigger than Xiao Xiao's. If I couldn't handle that, I'd turn into Electro Boy.

Lu Yu stood up, took a black robe from his Soul Tool, and put it on, then tossed Xu Tianzhen several pieces of women's clothing.

"They're my disciple's."

"Hurry up, get dressed, and let's scram."

Just after they had dressed and fled the shore of Sea God Lake as fast as they could, a blue-gold pillar of light suddenly erupted into the sky from the distant forest beside the lake. Countless figures immediately flew toward it.

Down below, Lu Yu kept Simulation active and went unnoticed.

Holy shit, the God King's descended. I'm out of here.

Lu Yu did not dare go over to join the excitement. If he accidentally got smitten by divine punishment, he would have nowhere to plead his case.

As for demanding compensation from Shrek? Lu Yu considered Shrek's tradition of shielding its own ten thousand years ago, along with its school motto that those who dared not cause trouble were mediocrities. Ma Hongjun's descendant clearly mattered less than Shrek itself, so how could he even think of demanding compensation? Had he forgotten those two people who had stolen Shrek's secrets?

Shrek's a little shady. What if I want to bail?

But I haven't finished stealing Martial Souls yet.

Lu Yu still decided to stay a little longer, see how he was treated, and find an opportunity to get revenge on that roast chicken.

Once they were far enough away, Lu Yu returned all the Soul Tools on his body and in his Sea of Consciousness to Xu Tianzhen in one go.

Keeping Spiritual Prison active for so long had left his eyes stinging, making him want to cover one eye and shout "Amaterasu!"

Fortunately, he had the Gold of Life, which was roughly equivalent to Hashirama cells. He only needed a little rest to have a completely undamaged pair of Mangekyo again.

"If you want compensation for what just happened, you can go yourself. But remember not to mention my name. Just act like you were the only victim."

"No thanks. I don't want to get expelled for stealing Shrek Academy's secrets."

Xu Tianzhen shook her head. Part of the reason she had initially come to Shrek Academy was her admiration for the continent's number-one academy. But after studying here for so many years, she had seen that Shrek Academy was nothing like the great, glorious, and righteous institution its publicity portrayed.

Besides, she was only from the Soul Tool Department, while that rotten chicken was obviously the Martial Soul Department's precious darling. Going there would probably only earn her humiliation for nothing. They might even investigate her and ultimately discover her identity.

"See you, then."

Lu Yu glanced at the sky. It was getting late, and his four teammates were probably already waiting in the dorm like hungry chicks clamoring to be fed.

"Um... can I still come help you out?"

Xu Tianzhen's face was faintly red, her voice as fine as silk.

"Sure. Shrek doesn't even have a Machine Tool. It's seriously backward. I could really use someone to hammer metal."

Lu Yu nodded.

"Hammer metal? You want me to come over just to hammer metal for you?"

Xu Tianzhen's face went from faintly pink to bright red. She jumped straight to Lu Yu's side and started elbowing him!

"Hey, stop elbowing me! How about coming to help me hammer metal once a week? Call it repayment for saving your life!"

"Hmph! Once a week? Don't even think about it!"

Xu Tianzhen delivered another two sets of elbow strikes, threw out that remark, then turned and left.

Then she hid behind the trees, looking back three times with every step.

"Why hasn't that bastard Lu Yu come to beg me yet? If he asked nicely, it's not like I couldn't hammer metal for him for free every day."

As Xu Tianzhen walked farther and farther away, with Lu Yu about to disappear from her sight, Elder Yi slipped secretly out of the Gold of Life. He pointed at Xu Tianzhen, sending a gray beam of light toward her and lifting the restriction on her soul.

Hehe, you unfilial disciple. Your master still has to help you handle matters of the heart. I wonder if your expression will give you away when you hypnotize this girl face-to-face later. As you would put it, can you keep a straight face?

After doing all this, Elder Yi decided to conceal his achievements and his name. At the thought of his unfilial disciple's deflated expression when everything came to light, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. Then he hid inside the Gold of Life. He had truly sacrificed far too much to toy with... safeguard his unfilial disciple's love life. He only hoped his disciple would not blame him.

Only after Xu Tianzhen had run far away did all her memories of Lu Yu ambushing and hypnotizing her resurface.

Her face instantly flushed bright red.

"Just you wait, Lu Yu! You actually dared to trick me, and you even hypnotized me into saying I told you all my secrets because you were so handsome! Ptooey, you shameless jerk! And you want me to hammer metal for you for free every week? Don't even think about it!"

Every day after that, Xu Tianzhen appeared punctually in Lu Yu's Manufacturing Room.

More precisely, she moved all her belongings into Lu Yu's Manufacturing Room.

"A useless Soul Engineer who can't even forge. Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you? I suppose your senior sister will reluctantly lend you a hand."