Dai Mubai's Fury, Zhu Zhuqing's Resolve

At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing had already ignored Yang Tian's teasing. Her cold eyes fixed on the Fire Snake Soul Elder, her pitch-black claws wreathed in crimson flames—the Fallen Heart Flame!

Using the Fallen Heart Flame as a seed, Yang Tian infused a portion of his Soul Power into Zhu Zhuqing's body, temporarily enhancing her combat strength and making her immune to fire-type burns.

Not only that, on Douluo Continent, even ultimate flames were weakened by thirty percent when facing Heavenly Flames, let alone the flames of the Fire Snake martial soul.

"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!" Zhu Zhuqing did not hesitate and attacked directly. The Fire Snake Soul Elder refused to show weakness as well, his first soul ring lighting up. "Flame Eruption!"

However, the flames spewed by the Fire Snake had no effect on Zhu Zhuqing whatsoever. She barely even needed to dodge before arriving beside the Fire Snake Soul Elder. Her claws, carrying the Fallen Heart Flame, tore directly through his defenses, leaving four bloodied gashes over twenty centimeters long on his body.

"Ah!" The Fire Snake Soul Elder cried out in pain. But how fast was Zhu Zhuqing? With Yang Tian's Soul Power enhancing her, she was only faster than agility-type Soul Elders, never slower.

"Netherworld Hundred Claws!" Zhu Zhuqing seemed truly angry. Any girl would be angry after being ogled like that by a sleazy man.

Bloody marks soon covered the Fire Snake Soul Elder's body. Fallen Heart Flame lingered in his wounds, making him unable to release any more soul skills.

"Argh, argh, argh! I... I s-s-surrender!"

The Fire Snake Soul Elder had barely managed to say the words "I surrender" before Yang Tian, who had been watching from the side, slapped him off the platform. Meanwhile, the Fire Lion Soul Elder within the azure flame barrier lay on the ground, completely dehydrated, as though he had been thrown into a pot and boiled for half an hour.

Zhu Zhuqing returned to Yang Tian's side, and Yang Tian gave her a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"

As he spoke, he recalled the Fallen Heart Flame. Zhu Zhuqing felt the warm current leave her body and immediately felt as if something were missing. Her strength returned to its original level, though some warmth still lingered within her, pleasantly warm and comfortable.

The two left behind an uproar. No one had expected that the final victors would be the Heaven Cat Combination, whom no one had favored.

The two walked out of the Soul Arena just as the fatty was saying goodbye to everyone, preparing to find Flender. There was no need to ask; he was definitely going to deal with his evil fire problem.

"Dai Boss, are you coming?" Ma Hongjun rubbed his hands together, looking impatient.

"No. Quit talking nonsense and get going." Dai Mubai glared at him irritably, though the corner of his eye drifted toward Zhu Zhuqing.

The fatty's reaction was clearly a little slow. He did not catch the meaning in Dai Mubai's gaze, and his chubby face flushed slightly with excitement. "Come on, let's go together. Didn't you say women aren't people, they're resources?"

Dai Mubai finally lost his patience. "Get lost. My taste isn't as bad as yours."

Zhu Zhuqing snorted and suddenly walked up to Dai Mubai. "Your taste is better than his?"

Dai Mubai froze, not knowing how to answer. "Zhuqing, I..."

He had realized that he had said the wrong thing. Wasn't having better taste than the fatty still referring to women in that particular profession? Whether high-class or low-class, whether a phoenix in a straw nest or a celebrated courtesan, what difference did their line of work make?

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes suddenly filled with disdain and contempt. "You're fifteen? You disgust me." With that, she turned and walked away.

Ever since Zhu Zhuqing had arrived at Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai had been suppressing himself and tolerating her. But now, the usually cold and proud Dai Mubai could no longer restrain the fury in his heart. Thinking of Yang Tian only made his anger burn hotter. "Stop right there."

Zhu Zhuqing left without even looking back. Seeing this, Dai Mubai clenched his fists tightly. "I told you to stop!"

Zhu Zhuqing paused, then turned back. Her beautiful eyes remained cold, but the disappointment in them had grown even deeper. Dai Mubai was beside himself with rage and raised his hand to strike Zhu Zhuqing across the face.

Zhu Zhuqing's heart turned to ashes. He was actually going to hit her? Though... that hand had been stopped.

Yang Tian gripped Dai Mubai's arm with one hand, frowning but saying nothing.

When Dai Mubai saw Yang Tian seize his wrist, his anger flared even higher. He raised his other hand, still intending to strike, but a chill suddenly surged into his heart.

Golden light swirled in Yang Tian's eyes. The hand gripping Dai Mubai slowly loosened, yet Dai Mubai did not dare make another move.

What kind of pupils were those? Golden tomoe were linked together within them, slowly rotating. Dai Mubai believed that if he dared to make a move, the next instant he would suffer an attack from those eyes.

"Let's go."

Yang Tian ignored Dai Mubai and directly took Zhu Zhuqing's hand as they left.

Seeing this, Tang San glanced at Dai Mubai before decisively taking Xiao Wu's hand and following them. To be honest, Dai Mubai's behavior today had greatly disappointed them. Of course, even if this had not happened, if Tang San had to choose between Yang Tian and Dai Mubai, he would naturally choose his sworn elder brother.

Supporting family over reason was Tang San's principle.

After everyone left, Dai Mubai gradually calmed down. He had no choice but to calm down. That gaze was something he feared he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Yang Tian kept holding Zhu Zhuqing's hand, giving her no chance to pull free.

Only after they returned to the academy did Yang Tian reluctantly release Zhu Zhuqing's little hand. Smiling in the face of her furious glare, he said, "Get some rest early. Don't overthink it. I just wanted to take a little advantage."

"Pah! You're no good person either!" Zhu Zhuqing left with a red face. Yang Tian, meanwhile, looked toward a dark corner. "Peeping isn't a good habit. Does your butt not hurt anymore?"

There was no response. Yang Tian smiled faintly, did not bother with it, and returned to his room.

After Yang Tian left, Ning Rongrong, whose backside had recovered thanks to Yang Tian's pills, crawled out from a small corner. She clenched her silver teeth. "Just watch how I deal with you! You want to pick up girls? No way!"

Naturally, Yang Tian had no idea what Ning Rongrong was thinking. What bad intentions could a little brother possibly have?

Lying on his bed, Yang Tian checked today's gains: one Brave Theft Coupon and two Ordinary Theft Coupons.

He would save them for now.

Cultivation! This time, he would naturally cultivate Soul Power!

He took out a piece of Divine Source he had stolen yesterday. It was only the size of a pinky fingertip, crystal-clear and so appetizing-looking.

"I wonder how many levels it'll raise me by?" The Divine Source contained abundant energy, and Yang Tian immediately began refining it.

Strands of Source Qi were refined, and Yang Tian's Soul Power soared in a straight line. In just two hours, he broke through two bottlenecks and reached level thirty-three. The Divine Source, meanwhile, turned to ash.

When he woke, Yang Tian sighed. This was the kind of haul where one opening in half a year could cover half a year's worth of business.

It was already close to two in the morning. Yang Tian had no intention of continuing his cultivation and lay down to sleep. However, just as he was drowsily about to fall asleep, Yang Tian suddenly sat up and looked out the window.

There was a patch of woods near the academy cafeteria. Since villagers cleaned it, there were no weeds in the forest, only scattered fallen leaves.

Yang Tian walked through the woods, his feet crunching over the leaves with soft rustling sounds.

"Why are you here?" Up ahead, a black figure turned around, her cold voice filled with confusion.