When Bei Bei brought Tang Ya to find Bing Ling, Bing Ling was cultivating with Ling Luochеn and Ma Xiaotao. Bei Bei's arrival interrupted the three of them. Ma Xiaotao was furious and about to erupt, but fortunately, Bing Ling caught her with one hand.
"Bei Bei, what do you need?" Bing Ling asked calmly.
"Senior Brother Bing Ling, Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao, Senior Sister Ling Luochеn. I just came to ask whether you have any plans to join a sect. The Tang Sect is rebuilding and urgently needs people. If you..."
Before Bei Bei could finish, Bing Ling interrupted him. "Sorry, Bei Bei, I already belong to a sect. It's just secluded from the world at present."
Bei Bei looked at Ma Xiaotao and was about to speak, but Bing Ling took Ma Xiaotao's and Ling Luochеn's hands at the same time and said, "Xiaotao and Luochеn will also join my sect in the future. Bei Bei, please leave."
Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochеn both blushed slightly and offered no objection. Bei Bei could only leave with Tang Ya, crestfallen. Over the next few days, Bei Bei continued taking Tang Ya around to recruit disciples from Shrek Academy's inner and outer courts.
Bei Bei revolved around Tang Ya all day long. Anyone with eyes could see that Bei Bei liked Tang Ya, a love that ran deep into his bones, irreplaceable.
Everything Bei Bei did ultimately fell under Zhang Lexuan's eyes, yet the pain struck her heart. For Bei Bei's sake, Zhang Lexuan had been suppressing her feelings for Qian Chen.
Today, Bei Bei brought Tang Ya to the home he shared with Zhang Lexuan again. After all this time, the Tang Sect had failed to recruit even a single fellow student. Anxious, Bei Bei called out at Zhang Lexuan's residence, "Sister Lexuan, Sister Lexuan, Teacher Xiao Ya and I are hungry."
Zhang Lexuan walked out of her room with reddened eyes and said, "Bei Bei, I'm cultivating today and don't have time to cook. Go to the cafeteria."
Bei Bei looked at Zhang Lexuan in surprise and said, "Sister Lexuan, I already promised Teacher Xiao Ya we'd have your braised Soul Beast meat today!"
"I said I don't have time," Zhang Lexuan said decisively, her words cutting through iron.
Bei Bei said angrily, "Fine, then we won't eat it. School is starting soon anyway, and I'll be entering the outer court. I won't live here anymore."
Then Bei Bei turned to Tang Ya and said, "Come on, Teacher Xiao Ya. Let's go eat in Shrek City."
Tang Ya held Bei Bei back and said, "Bei Bei, there's no need. Let's just eat at the cafeteria."
Then Tang Ya turned to Zhang Lexuan and said, "Sister Lexuan, I'm sorry. Bei Bei didn't mean it. Shall we bring you something to eat afterward?"
Zhang Lexuan didn't want to see either of them at all right now. "Go on. Don't worry about me." With that, Zhang Lexuan returned to her room and shut the door. Zhang Lexuan had never imagined that her steadfast devotion would end like this. Now, her only companion was a pillow soaked with tears.
After leaving Zhang Lexuan's residence, Tang Ya tried to reason with him. "Bei Bei, you shouldn't have said that today. Cultivation time is so precious now."
Then Tang Ya took Bei Bei's hand and said, "Bei Bei, I can feel how good you are to me, but my talent is truly limited. I might never get my revenge in this lifetime. Bei Bei, Shrek Academy refuses to help me get revenge. You're all I have."
Seeing Tang Ya in tears, Bei Bei's resolve became unshakable. "Teacher Xiao Ya, don't worry. I'll definitely cultivate hard and avenge you and the Tang Sect."
"Bei Bei, thank you." Seeing how determined Bei Bei was, Tang Ya gave him another heartfelt embrace, then continued, "Bei Bei, I won't give up either. Even if my talent is limited, I'll work twice as hard. When we go to the Iron Blood Sect for revenge in the future, I'll be able to do my part too."
"All right. We'll work hard together."
Up in the Divine Realm, God King Tang San watched everything, smiled faintly, and murmured to himself, "It seems my plan is being carried out very well. Every step falls within my precise calculations."
Then he turned to look at the child of destiny again. Huo Yuhao was now nine years old, and his Soul Power had finally reached rank seven. Tang San looked at Huo Yun'er again. By now, Huo Yun'er was terribly thin and frail, plagued by illness. Though she was only in her twenties, her body was on the verge of collapse.
Tang San calculated that she could probably live another year. Back then, he had imposed Consciousness Control on Huo Yun'er, making her firmly believe that Dai Hao loved her deeply, precisely so that she would continue suffering in the Duke's Mansion. This both deepened the bond between mother and son and made it easier to calculate the time of Huo Yun'er's death. Once Huo Yun'er died, Tang San would immediately take her soul, placing the child of destiny's greatest bond in his hands. Even if Huo Yuhao ultimately became estranged from him, Tang San could bring out Huo Yun'er's soul and force Huo Yuhao to join him.
Time hurried past, and another year passed. In the office of Shrek Academy's Inspection Corps, the plump teacher responsible for intelligence on Evil Soul Masters was sorting through reports when he saw an exceptionally handsome, white-haired youth arrive at his office.
The plump teacher clapped his hands and said, "Oh, it's Bing Ling, whose name resounds throughout Shrek Academy! What brings you here? Your big brother has taken every last one of my Evil Soul Master missions!"
"I know. I'm not here to take a mission. I'm here to wait for my big brother. These days, he hardly even returns to his residence in the inner court. He's really hard to find, so I can only wait here," Bing Ling answered.
"Oh, oh, I see. Please, sit wherever you like."
"All right, Teacher Liang. You're the teacher; you don't need to concern yourself with me," Bing Ling said to the plump teacher.
"All right, all right." Having said that, Teacher Liang went back to sorting his intelligence reports.
Bing Ling waited in the Inspection Corps' intelligence office for a full day and a half. Finally, a flash of golden light swept past, and Qian Chen appeared outside the Shrek Inspection Corps' intelligence office.
"Big brother!" Bing Ling called excitedly.
"Mm, Bing Ling, long time no see. I thought you'd forgotten your big brother now that you have Ling Luochеn and Ma Xiaotao, those two beauties of ice and fire, keeping you company all day," Qian Chen teased.
"Of course not. You're the one who rarely returns to the Shrek Inner Court, big brother. Whenever you return to Shrek Academy, you head straight to the Inspection Corps' intelligence office. Oh, right, big brother, let's talk about everything else later." Then Bing Ling took a letter out of his Storage Soul Tool. "Big brother, our fourth brother sent this."
Without hesitation, Qian Chen immediately tore the letter open. Inside were only five words: Huo Yun'er was critically ill.
Something stirred in Qian Chen's heart. The opportunity to take Huo Yuhao away had arrived. Qian Chen knew that Huo Yun'er had lived miserably in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. According to Bibi Dong, Consciousness Control would unravel once its subject realized that the belief was utterly wrong. After these years of brutal treatment in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, the Consciousness Control Tang San had imposed on Huo Yun'er should be close to unraveling.
After holding the letter for several seconds, Qian Chen settled on two courses of action. If Huo Yun'er could still be saved, he would save her; if she died, he would place her soul in his Sea of Consciousness, then take Huo Yuhao away. In any case, Tang San absolutely could not be allowed to take her soul. Otherwise, Tang San would certainly threaten Huo Yuhao with Huo Yun'er's soul in the future, making him side with Tang San.
Qian Chen squeezed his hand, crushing the letter into fragments. Looking at Bing Ling, he said, "Keep an eye on everything at the academy. I'm leaving now."
With that, Qian Chen activated his Flying Soul Tool and hurried toward the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Teacher Liang asked in puzzlement, "Bing Ling, isn't your big brother taking a mission today?"
"He has something urgent to do," Bing Ling said.
After flying away from Shrek Academy, Qian Chen immediately switched to his four angel wings and flew swiftly toward the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Just then, Qian Chen felt as though someone had locked onto him, and suddenly he could no longer move. Then his body began descending slowly, beyond his control.