It's like they're trying to get attention.
At the time, he was focused on finding the Eight Spider Lances and had no interest in dealing with that guy.
But looking back now, it all seems so inexplicable.
Chapter 145 Jealousy
"He..." Ah Rou lowered her head slightly, her expression somewhat unnatural, and her voice hesitant.
"He was Xiao San's teacher. Back in Nuoding City, I had some contact with him because of Xiao Wu. He... he seems to like me a little."
Seeing you walking with me probably made him... a little unhappy, which is why he treated you that way.
"I like you?" Xuan Ming paused, then inexplicably laughed.
Ah Rou, who was seeing Xuan Ming laugh for the first time, was stunned and looked at him blankly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just thought of something funny." Xuan Ming rested his chin on his hand, suppressing his laughter.
Threatened by Qian Xunji, he fled from Spirit City and immediately hooked up with Liu Erlong. In the future, he even had the audacity to go to the Pope's Palace to ask Bibi Dong for the cultivation method of Twin Martial Souls, and shamelessly made a guarantee that Tang San would not be an enemy of the Spirit Hall in the future.
After hiding in Nuoding City for almost twenty years, he met Ah Rou, and things started all over again?
"And what about you?" Xuan Ming asked.
"I only see him as a friend, nothing more," Ah Rou explained hurriedly, a hint of panic in her eyes.
"Just ordinary friends..." Xuan Ming stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.
"But why would he be hostile towards me because of you?"
Ah Rou frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "It must be jealousy, right?"
"He seems arrogant and aloof, always putting on an air of profound knowledge, but in reality, he is extremely jealous."
"He has a strong sense of self-esteem and always wants others to recognize and admire him, but he becomes extremely insecure if provoked even slightly."
"A... very cowardly person." Ah Rou sighed helplessly, the image of Yu Xiaogang's always stern face flashing through her mind.
Cowardice—that was the deepest impression Yu Xiaogang left on her.
Despite being extremely insecure, they have an inflated sense of self-importance, crave recognition from others, fear being looked down upon, and are easily angered by it.
But because of his cowardice, he dared not show it, so he became someone who always had a stern face and kept everything bottled up.
He would only argue with others about Tang San. Tang San was less his student and more his pride and his pillar.
It was even his hope to continue living.
"Jealous? Why would you be jealous of me?" Xuan Ming still couldn't understand.
"Because you also have Mutated Martial Soul," Ah Rou said.
"In the few months since Yu Xiaogang came to Shrek, Xiao Wu and the others have had many conflicts with him because of you. Then Dean Flender contacted his student Qin Ming and found out about you."
"What news?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Your past." Ah Rou's expression was somewhat unnatural, and her eyes darted away slightly.
"My past? What happened?" Xuan Ming asked, puzzled.
Ah Rou hesitated for a moment, then asked, "You... you're not a transformed Soul Beast, are you?"
"I never said I was; it was all your own guessing," Xuan Ming said.
Ah Rou paused for a moment, then said with a hint of reproach, "But you didn't explain either."
For so many years, she still couldn't understand how Xuan Ming could still unleash such terrifying power even after transforming and rebuilding his cultivation.
It wasn't until she arrived at Shrek Academy and learned from Flender, that she realized Xuan Ming wasn't some kind of Soul Beast Transformation at all; he was human, and even his birthplace could be found.
Ning Rongrong, who had known Xuan Ming before, even shared Xuan Ming's childhood experiences with everyone.
To be honest, compared to Xuan Ming, Tang San's childhood seems pretty wonderful!
"No, you're getting off-topic. What does this have to do with Yu Xiaogang being jealous of me?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Because you all Martial Soul Mutation, and you all Martial Soul Mutation," Ah Rou said.
"But your mutation is a benign one, granting you such powerful talent and strength that you far surpass ordinary people in both cultivation speed and strength improvement. However, his mutation is a detrimental one, which not only brought him no benefits but also made his cultivation path more difficult, even causing him to live half his life amidst the ridicule of others."
" Rongrong had a conflict with her classmate Dai Mubai before, and when she used you as an example to praise you in the academy, Yu Xiaogang would stand up and say that it was just because you were lucky, and there was nothing to brag about."
"Then, Rongrong spilled all your secrets. Yu Xiaogang didn't believe her, and Flender had no choice but to go ask his student."
"As a result, after receiving confirmation from Qin Ming, Yu Xiaogang, to save face, tried various ways to change the subject."
"You know Rongrong's personality. Once she starts arguing, she's bound to make a scene, no matter how unreasonable she is, and she won't let it go, especially since this matter involves you."
" Yu Xiaogang's words implied that he looked down on you, which made Rongrong even more intolerant, and they would argue for ages every time."
"You know Rongrong's sharp tongue; when she gets sarcastic, she's just as good as you."
Yu Xiaogang lived in his own world and couldn't accept that others were better than him, especially Xuan Ming, who had a similar experience of Martial Soul Mutation.
He always felt that he was well-versed in Martial Soul Theory and had profound attainments in Martial Soul research, but he was limited by the Martial Soul Mutation. He had accumulated a lot of resentment and anger in his heart. The appearance of Xuan Ming was like a mirror, reflecting his failure and incompetence. In order to protect his pitiful self-esteem, Yu Xiaogang could only try his best to belittle Xuan Ming.
As the precious daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong naturally saw this. Not only did she disapprove of Yu Xiaogang's behavior, but also, in order to protect Xuan Ming, she wanted to provoke and strike at Yu Xiaogang even more.
That serious yet infuriatingly sarcastic tone is exactly like Xuan Ming's!
Shrek Academy has been quite lively these past few months.
Although Xuan Ming is not here, he is the topic of conversation every day.
Flender even used the example of Xuan Ming's Martial Soul Mutation and its huge flaws to set an example for Ma Hongjun, who also had Martial Soul Mutation Martial Soul, encouraging Ma Hongjun to be self-reliant like Xuan Ming. This was even more of a shock to Yu Xiaogang, as his good brother had betrayed him.
Besides Tang San, there was also Dai Mubai, who had clashed with Xuan Ming. Most of the Shrek Academy sided with Xuan Ming.
After all, Xuanming's life story—a commoner genius with a tragic past, relentless self-improvement, and a Xuan Ming turnaround in his life—resonated with Shrek Academy teachers and most of its students, who also came from humble backgrounds.
On the other hand, Yu Xiaogang, born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Seven Great Sects in the Soul Master World, is the son of the sect leader. He was born to stand at the top, but now he is in this situation, his cultivation is stagnant, and his proud theories are being challenged in front of Xiao Wu.
As Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, no one understands Soul Beast and Soul Ring better than them.
Compared to Xiao Wu, Yu Xiaogang's knowledge of Soul Beast was no different from that of a three-year-old child.
In the past, it was one thing, but Xiao Wu, out of consideration for Tang San as a playmate, didn't hold a grudge against Yu Xiaogang.
But now, with Xuan Ming involved and Ning Rongrong leading the charge, Xiao Wu's mouth is really something else!
However, Yu Xiaogang seemed to inexplicably blame all these provocations on Xuan Ming, and developed intense jealousy and resentment towards him.
"This is inexplicable." Xuan Ming was somewhat speechless.
He did nothing wrong, he barely even spoke a few words to Yu Xiaogang, so why was he caught in the crossfire?
Not long after, the Soul Fighting ended. Since it was the first time for a team Soul Fighting today, everyone was quite excited and gained a lot of experience. Shrek Academy needed to have a post-match discussion and summary, so Xuan Ming and Ah Rou left first.
"What's wrong?" Xuan Ming looked at Ah Rou seemed to have something to say.
"I sense a... very strange aura on you," Ah Rou said, frowning, her eyes filled with doubt.
"Moreover, it can only sense you when it touches you."
Xuan Ming paused, then revealed the Blue Silver Emperor on his wrist. "You mean this?"
Ah Rou's eyes flickered slightly, and she subconsciously reached out to touch the vines Entanglement around Xuan Ming's wrist. The vines were soft yet resilient, and still carried a trace of warmth. "This is..."
" Blue Silver Emperor," Xuan Ming said.
" Blue Silver Emperor?" Ah Rou was taken aback.
"The specifics are a bit complicated and troublesome, so I'm too lazy to explain. If you're interested, you can ask her yourself," Xuan Ming said.
"Of course, you can ask the Dragon King on me if she's willing to."
Ah Rou nodded, without asking any further questions.
Chapter 146 An Opponent Arrives
Soon, the two returned to the courtyard.
It was midnight, and the world was completely silent. Xuan Ming lay on a chair resting, with Ah Rou beside him, holding the Blue Silver Emperor on his wrist. The mischievous Ice Dragon King had also joined this silent "group chat."
As the Ice Dragon King's descriptions became increasingly exaggerated, Xuan Ming chose to cover his ears and block them out.
The Ice Dragon King is indeed very aloof in front of others, but he is also quite cunning.
He was also a bit dark-skinned.
Otherwise, the matter of the Nine-Tailed Fox Heart Lotus wouldn't have turned out this way.
If he had known that the remnant soul of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox would cause trouble, he wouldn't have taken that thing...
"I knew we'd argue again. She's incredibly narrow-minded, yet she acts all high and mighty, looking down on everyone else..."
Ning Rongrong's complaining voice rang out from afar, and then the courtyard gate creaked open, and the three women, having finished their meeting, returned to rest with light steps.
"What right does he have to look down on Xuan Ming? He's so old..."
Ning Rongrong was speaking enthusiastically when she suddenly fell silent. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who were standing beside her, also showed indescribable complicated expressions.
They all turned their gazes to Xuan Ming, who was lying on the chair and seemed to be asleep, and to Ah Rou was leaning against him and holding his wrist tightly.
Almost instinctively, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing both looked at Xiao Wu with extremely strange expressions, "What... what's your relationship?"
Why do I feel like the relationships between these people are a bit complicated?
"Can you guys stop getting the wrong idea all the time?" Xiao Wu complained.
Her mother used to be very afraid of Xuan Ming, but after learning that he was not a Dragon Clan form, but just a human, and even a very unlucky one at that, her fear of him lessened considerably. Sometimes, looking at Xuan Ming's Bingbing demeanor, her mother would even feel sorry for him.
Strictly speaking, her mother actually regarded Xuan Ming as a child just like herself.
Furthermore, given Xuan Ming's determination to break through to the God Realm, even at the cost of his life, the two of them could be said to have shared life and death with Xuan Ming.
Although she also felt somewhat confused, neither of them could truly hate Xuan Ming.
For the next month, Xuan Ming stayed there peacefully and resumed his usual cultivation routine.
Every day during the day, he would go to a secluded spot Suotuo City to train, with Ah Rou serving as his sparring partner.
Ah Rou possesses the Invincible Golden Body, an ability that can be described as a "bug". When Xuan Ming spars with her, he doesn't need to worry about stopping at all and can unleash his full power. This is a perfect way to change his previous fighting style, and the training effect is much better than when he was in Heaven Dou City.
Ning Rongrong and the others also came to join in the fun, Xuan Ming took the opportunity to use his domain as a special training ground for them.
Of course, only Zhu Zhuqing was willing; this girl wouldn't let go of any opportunity that could help her become stronger. But Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were purely forced to be her sparring partners.
After all, seeing Zhu Zhuqing struggling alone in the field, they felt embarrassed to just sit on the sidelines and watch the scenery, so they decided to join her.
" Xuan Ming!"
In the afternoon, Xuan Ming had just finished training and was returning to the city for lunch when a dark shadow shot towards him and wrapped itself around him like an octopus.
"You... take it easy." Xuan Ming looked at Dugu Yan clinging to him, hesitating to speak.
"It's been more than half a year since we last met, what are you dawdling about?" Dugu Yan remained unmoved, still clinging tightly to Xuan Ming, as if he would disappear if she let go.
" Yanyan, you're acting a bit like a lovesick girl," Ye Lingling whispered as she followed.
"You're the one who's a pervert!" Dugu Yan pouted, somewhat embarrassed, and let go of Xuan Ming.
"When did you arrive?" Xuan Ming asked.
"We've been here for several days now, and we've almost swept through the Soto Great Soul Arena," Dugu Yan said.
"Didn't Grandpa say you went back to Heaven Dou City? Why did you suddenly come to Suotuo City again?"
"Annoying, they ran away," Xuan Ming said.
Dugu Yan was taken aback. "Is the Crown Prince busy again?"
The only one in Heaven Dou City with the qualifications and ability to bother Xuan Ming is Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
Because the relationship between the two was so inexplicable, and sometimes even ambiguous, coupled with Xuan Ming's consistently Bingbing attitude towards women, rumors even circulated in Heaven Dou City that the two had a special relationship!