"Mmm~"
A lazy moan sounded as a pair of jade-white arms stretched out from beneath the quilt. From the center of the large bed, nestled within soft sheets layered with additional padding, emerged a fair-skinned face.
"This guy really knows how to live in comfort."
The drowsy girl sat up, murmuring to herself before happily stretching her limbs. Her own small bed barely allowed room to turn over, while this large one offered space to roll freely. Yet the refined young lady dismissed this tempting idea—after all, this was his bed.
Knock, knock, knock—
A rapping sounded at the door.
Did he come back?
So I misunderstood him last night. But hmph! Who told him to feed Huo Yutong that pill then?
Pink feet padded across the sheets as slender fingers adjusted her collar, which had slipped to reveal delicate collarbones. After smoothing her attire, she opened the door.
Click—
"Wang Dong?"
A crisp voice rang out.
A lovely face filled Wang Dong's dreamy, gemstone-like eyes.
"Huo Yutong!"
A strange sensation jolted Wang Dong to full alertness. Her hand instinctively slammed the door shut with a sharp thud! She whirled around, gaze darting toward the bed. Seeing it empty, she froze briefly before exhaling in relief.
An Zhen isn't here.
Right. She'd merely slept alone in this room for one night. Why the panic?
Wang Dong reopened the door.
"Wang Dong, why are you here?"
The petite girl looked puzzled, her small face instinctively peering past Wang Dong into the room.
"It's all because of that pill An Zhen fed you! What, did you wake up to a foul-smelling room and grimy skin?"
"Pill?"
Huo Yutong nodded faintly. She had woken to precisely those conditions, leaving her baffled. An Zhen had given her something round last night.
"Yeah. It's called a Blackwater Pill."
Wang Dong explained its effects—expelling bodily impurities, enhancing innate soul power potential...
Too precious.
Mist gathered in Huo Yutong's radiant eyes, her vision blurring with unshed tears. A blanket, meals, generous pay, and now this invaluable pill... Huo Yutong had never been treated so kindly by anyone but her mother. And last night, An Zhen had even gotten injured defending her.
Injured!
"Wang Dong! Where's An Zhen?" Huo Yutong asked urgently. After washing and changing into clean clothes from the wardrobe, she'd rushed out without tidying her dorm, desperate to check on An Zhen's recovery.
"An Zhen?"
Wang Dong, prideful at having reclaimed her "home," lifted her chin. "I kicked him out last night. Serves him right for feeding you a pill at night."
"But—"
Huo Yutong stared in shock and disbelief. "But An Zhen was injured last night!"
"!"
Wang Dong froze. The memory flashed—An Zhen's unsteady, retreating figure under moonlight.
"There are inns in Shrek City..." Her voice trailed off. Even if lodgings existed, they weren't close. The distance meant little normally, but An Zhen had been wounded.
"Wang Dong!"
Huo Yutong stamped her foot, tears welling. "How could you?!"
"I... I didn't think of that earlier!"
...
"Beauty has truly left me haggard."
The young man lay panting, his head resting on thighs sheathed in black stockings that bit into soft flesh.
"Refresh."
Instantly, the weary expression vanished. Exhaustion gave way to vibrant energy.
As for renouncing desire?
Impossible. Desire was the very engine of progress.
"Mmmph! Mmm!"
A muffled cry sounded. Flame-red hair swayed like dancing fire as slender, knuckled fingers beat against An Zhen's thighs.
Cough—
Ma Xiaotao, clad in a maid's dress, covered her mouth as she coughed. The gesture added a touch of fragile beauty to her stunning features.
"Pity. Without Huo Yutong nearby, cultivation speed reverts to normal."
Slurp—
An unmistakable look of regret crossed An Zhen's face. One hand idly stroked the soft crimson tresses in his lap, the pleasure stimulating his mind, scattering momentary discontent.
Simultaneously, the young woman's pride eclipsed his vision as a tantalizing weight descended upon him.
...
Lazily rising from the lakeside, An Zhen summoned a pale yellow soul ring. Instantly, a soiled blanket and rumpled clothes became spotless, leaving only a clump of dirt behind.
"Time for a meal."
Purple Cafeteria.
An Zhen swiped the metal card Xu Sanshi had given him.
Still over twenty thousand gold soul coins.
"Rich people."
He had been one too. With Jing Hongchen as his foster grandfather, An Zhen never lacked funds. But large, untraceable sums were ill-advised here.
"An Zhen!"
A crisp, lively voice called out to the youth balancing a tray. A ponytailed girl, radiating playful energy, waved eagerly. "Sit here!"
"Good morning, Tang Ya, Bei Bei."
"Don't be so formal! Call me Tang Ya, him Bei Bei."
"Mn." The gentle youth beside her nodded softly.
"Sure." An Zhen agreed readily.
"How's your body?"
"Rested all night. Fine now." An Zhen sipped sweet broth.
"So... considered joining the Tang Sect?" The girl revealed her true intent, eyes sparkling with hope.
"Tang Sect?"
"Exactly! The very sect founded by the great ancestor Tang San!"
An Zhen feigned contemplation.
"Our Tang Sect possesses the continent's supreme Profound Heaven Technique and incredibly powerful hidden weapons!" Tang Ya boasted.
"Apologies. Not interested."
An Zhen declined.
Hidden weapons held no appeal. The Profound Heaven Technique offered him nothing.
"Oh..." Though expected, Tang Ya's spirits visibly sank.
"By the way," the gentle youth Bei Bei addressed An Zhen, "Xu Sanshi—the fellow you fought yesterday—has organized a lunch gathering outside at noon today. He wishes to formally apologize to you, our junior apprentice brother, and Wang Dong. Are you free?"
"That I can do."
Stuffing a small steamed bun (costing one gold soul coin each) into his mouth, An Zhen wondered if Huo Yutong and Wang Dong had eaten. He'd bring them some.
...
"Ay, young sir! You're early today."
The 99th-ranked Limit Douluo had respawned at the dormitory entrance.
"Old bones struggle to sleep. Came to soak in the vigor of youth." The elder's voice was kindly.
An Zhen's gaze shifted sideways.
Black-haired, straight-haired senior apprentice sister.
Zhang Lexuan.
The serene Head Prefect stood quietly.
"Like her?"
The ancient voice teased softly near An Zhen's ear.
"Gentle, understanding, beautiful, excellent figure, wealthy, immensely powerful... she perfectly fits the criteria you mentioned the other day."
"Like her."
An Zhen nodded faintly.
He was an honest soul.
"Care to try getting along?" The old man's eyes crinkled with amusement.
"May I?" An Zhen's expression turned hopeful.
Honestly, who wouldn't be drawn to such a serene, graceful beauty?
The World embraced all.
The elder stayed silent. The black-haired senior apprentice sister took a step forward.
"You promised me last time. Use your Martial Soul on me."
"But you bear all consequences." The languid youth's dark eyes remained unreadable.
He wasn't ignorant of the original tale.
He understood this Head Prefect far better than most. Finding any female student in this academy—even the scarred Jiang Nannan—would offer higher success rates than pursuing this senior sister.
"Naturally."
Martial Soul, Manifest!
Eyes closed, then opened. Crystalline orbs refracted fleeting spiritual light. They say eyes are windows to the soul. Gazing into the youth's pupils, Zhang Lexuan's body jolted violently.
The World?
That was the vision reflected in An Zhen's eyes for Zhang Lexuan.
Two pale yellow soul rings materialized beside An Zhen's hands, glowing successively.
Replicate.
Reflect.
Plop!
A piping-hot steamed bun landed squarely on the senior sister's black hair.
"Leaving."
An Zhen had no desire for unnecessary trouble—especially against a Soul Douluo possessing a 100,000-year soul ring and soul bone. He hadn't altered her physically, merely telekinetically placing a bun above her head. Manipulating objects required negligible effort for him now.
He'd also secured a spiritual imprint of Zhang Lexuan.
"Honored Ancestor."
The black-haired senior apprentice sister retreated beside Mu En. "I sensed no soul power fluctuation."
"That was the World restructuring space itself."
Turbid eyes fixed on the spot above where Zhang Lexuan had stood. "When you one day reach the Limit Douluo realm, you will perceive it."
"Limit Douluo..." Zhang Lexuan murmured. "Your evaluation of him is that high?"
"If reaching Titled Douluo requires meticulously planning to fell a forest—hunting beasts, clearing brush, chopping trees step-by-step—then he... is a Fire Phoenix."
The aged recluse closed his eyes, the vibrant sounds of youth filling his ears.
The gentle senior apprentice sister cast a complex glance back at the dormitory building.
What some spend lifetimes desperately seeking... others are simply born possessing.
...
"Cheers!"
Drinks splashed lightly from their cups.
"My actions earlier were inexcusable. Here, I, Xu Sanshi, offer my sincerest apologies once more to you both."
In an elegantly furnished private room, an expensive rosewood table laden with sumptuous dishes hosted the gathering. The black-haired youth bowed deeply to the handsome pink-and-blue-haired boy and the adorable, round-faced youth beside him.
Returning to the dorm earlier, An Zhen hadn't found Wang Dong or Huo Yutong. He'd tidied Huo Yutong's room, meditated for two hours, and was heading to the address Bei Bei provided when he encountered them at the restaurant entrance—Wang Dong radiating guilt, Huo Yutong brimming with anxious concern.
"Th-this... Senior, you already apologized and compensated..." Huo Yutong had never experienced such formalities.
Wang Dong seemed distracted, her stunning pink-blue eyes flickering repeatedly toward the quietly seated handsome youth. Slender fingers twisted her clothes.
Next chapter marks the true beginning. Consider this the warm-up.
(End of Chapter)