When Huo Wu asked her question, Fu Ye didn't give her a clear answer. After all, if one were to truly count, he should be around thirty-six or thirty-seven this year.
Of course, in a world of fantasy, age is the least important detail—especially here on Douluo Continent, a wondrous realm within that very fantasy.
Whenever Fu Ye remembered that old fellow Tang Chen—a man hundreds of years old with grandchildren—was still dating the Sea God Priest, he felt his perspective on love had become remarkably upright.
"That's for you to guess. But my strength isn't as weak as you assume."
Fu Ye shook his head. After all, he was a demigod—the kind who could break through to the God King or the God of Creation realm at any time.
Of course, if he told Huo Wu and the others that, they probably wouldn't believe him.
"Huh? You're not a Soul Emperor? Could you be a Soul Saint?"
Huo Wu looked Fu Ye up and down curiously, but she couldn't sense any powerful aura emanating from him.
"Hehe, Brother Fu Ye is really strong, Sister Huo Wu. Feel free to guess more boldly!"
Wu Ling was lying across a soft armchair as she glanced at Huo Wu, but she quickly turned her head away.
"Ah! Zhuqing, Rongrong—you're going too far! Save some for me!"
Eating was the top priority. While Wu Ling was turned away chatting, the two other girls, Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, had already started digging in.
A piece of seared, pink-and-tender thousand-year Earth Dragon Tendon slid down her throat, a warm current instantly spreading through her limbs and bones.
For a rare moment, the three girls ate in silence—until Huo Wu poked her head out from behind.
"Hm? What are you eating? It smells amazing!"
Late at night, the two team attendants—Jiang Jing and Xue Ke—were helping Fu Ye tidy up the day's mess.
"Hehe, Sister Jiang Jing looks so cute right now."
Morning soon arrived.
But don't be fooled by their petite frames—these small bodies hid immense energy.
Fu Ye gazed at the sunrise outside and felt deeply content.
A cat's tail is truly wonderful to stroke, and their ears are just as pleasing to touch.
Fu Ye admitted he was a bit of a pervert—he simply couldn't resist.
"Let us congratulate the Tianshui team for once again winning this match with absolute strength!"
Today, the Tianshui team was facing God Wind Academy. Zhuqing and the other two—who had just met Feng Xiaotian the day before—also happened to take the stage.
The result? Feng Xiaotian became the target of all seven girls. His teammates were knocked out one by one, while he himself was kicked around like a ball by the group for what felt like ages.
In the end, he only managed to escape his misery by relying on his superb acting skills—playing dead.
However, to confirm whether the opponent was truly dead, Yu Hairou thoughtfully struck him with an ice spear.
The result was obvious: he'd been faking. But after Yu Hairou realized she'd been fooled, Feng Xiaotian actually fled the arena.
And so—
Outside the arena, Feng Xiaotian's lower body was frozen solid. At that moment, he was stuck in the middle of a busy street like a statue—only his upper body could move.
"Hey, Huo Wushuang! I treat you like a brother, and this is how you treat me?"
Finally, Feng Xiaotian couldn't take it anymore. Being frozen there was embarrassing enough, but that bastard Huo Wushuang had actually recorded the whole thing with a crystal!
"Tsk. Feng Xiaotian, I have the entire video of you playing dead and running away on the battlefield. What should you call me now?"
Huo Wushuang winked at Feng Xiaotian, then swaggered over with a proud look on his face.
"Don't go too far, you jerk!"
"Oh, too far? Don't worry—I'll go even further than this."
As the other's best friend, Huo Wushuang was absolutely going to help his good brother become famous for today's antics.
"Your grandma's legs! I'll @#¥%...!"
Finally, under the sun's rays, the ice began to weaken. With Feng Xiaotian's desperate struggle, the ice around his legs slowly cracked.
"Crap! Bro, I know you're in a hurry, but how about you wait—let me run for ten seconds first!"
Seeing the situation turning south, Huo Wushuang took off.
"Crack!"
The ice finally shattered just as Huo Wushuang started running. Feng Xiaotian glared at him with a vicious expression.
"Run! I won't let you run! Come here and die, you bastard!"
In a nearby dessert shop, Fu Ye was eating ice cream with Zhuyun and Yan Zi. Little Jiang Jing—who'd overeaten the night before and turned into a cream puff—was still back at the hotel digesting.
Although Jiang Jing wasn't there today, a familiar face was.
"Little sister Huo Wu, you have good taste. Let me tell you—Fu Ye is no good guy."
Dugu Yan had always had a big-sister personality. Upon meeting Huo Wu, who was also forthright and bold, she immediately took a liking to her.
As Dugu Yan whispered to Huo Wu, Zhuyun leaned on Fu Ye's shoulder and murmured without the slightest hesitation:
"It's been three days since I've done anything… enjoyable with Master. Zhuyun feels so empty inside."
Zhu Zhuyun clung to Fu Ye's arm, her large dark eyes full of longing.
"Tsk, you little greedy cat. But your cultivation is about to reach Soul Emperor level."
Feeling Zhu Yun pressing truthfully against his arm, Fu Ye brushed aside the hair fallen across her cheek.
Hearing his words, Zhu Zhuyun smiled knowingly.
"Hehe, of course. I'm already a Level 59 Soul King."
Thinking back to when she first met Fu Ye, she was only a Level 36 Soul Elder. Now, in just over a year, her strength had soared to Level 59.
Without Fu Ye's help, it would have taken her at least five more years to reach this level.
"Would you like to meet your fiancé, Davis, and the others at the tournament?"
A sly smile flickered in Fu Ye's eyes. Upon hearing him refer to Davis as her fiancé, Zhu Zhuyun punched him lightly.
"You're so mean. How can you say things like that?"
Zhu Zhuyun's cheeks flushed red.
But by conventional logic, Davis was indeed her fiancé—it was an arrangement made by the royal family.
However, it was worth noting that before she became queen, Zhu Zhuyun never let him so much as lay a finger on her.
She knew all too well what kind of person Davis was.
Take Dai Mubai, for instance—he liked fooling around with twin girls outside.
But Davis was different. Due to his high status within the royal family, he kept many young girls for his pleasure.
He thought he'd covered it up well, but little did he know she had been aware of it all along.
The reason Zhu Zhuyun had still been willing to play along was because of her position as the Star Luo Empire's queen.
But now, her life was far better than it had been in Star Luo. Here, it was safe and comfortable—free of schemes and intrigues.
…
[Author's Note:
The Soul Master Tournament arc will wrap up quickly. There isn't much to write about it, so aside from the beatdowns of Tang San and Tang Chuan, I'll only briefly mention the matches.
After the tournament, the protagonist will begin cleansing the mainland of trash—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Xiaogang, and the Haotian Sect will be eliminated one by one.
I mentioned early on that this novel wouldn't have excessive fight scenes because the protagonist is invincible.
So my focus is on the emotional storyline—continuing to gather girls and develop relationships.]
...
"Fu Ye, it seems Davis's people have started to notice me recently."
A trace of seriousness flickered across Zhu Zhuqing's face, but Fu Ye only frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"Hmm? So what if they have? You're already mine. Don't tell me you're still thinking about that useless fool?"
As he spoke, Fu Ye gently pinched her delicate chin, carefully admiring her beautiful face.
"Hehe, of course not. I just came to tell you."
Seeing Fu Ye's reaction, Zhu Zhuqing immediately realized that even someone as powerful as him could feel jealous over her past. The thought sweetened her heart.
"After the tournament, I'll deal with Star Luo Empire. Then I'll take you and Zhuqing to meet your father."
Gently stroking her soft cheek, Fu Ye's eyes were filled with tenderness.
Their women would have their rightful status. As for the fathers-in-law, a casual godhood would be enough to satisfy them—after all, even a god's attendant is still a god.
Eventually, he planned to take his wives away from this world, but before that, he needed to find a suitable retirement home for their fathers. The Divine Realm seemed like a good choice.
However, Huo Wu, who was watching from the side, felt utterly lost and confused as she saw Zhu Zhuqing resting her head on Fu Ye's shoulder.
'Could it be that the man I like already has a woman?'
'Oh heavens… don't do this to me!'
Huo Wu bitterly regretted not having met him earlier. The thought that such an exceptional man was already taken left her deeply upset.
Dugu Yan naturally noticed the change in Huo Wu's expression.
How could she not understand that her newly recognized sister had fallen for her husband? Still, given how overwhelmingly strong that bad guy Fu Ye was—enough to overpower all of them—Dugu Yan was considering recruiting more sisters to share the burden.
After all, in the first half of the year, her shameless husband had pestered her every day to do… those indecent things with him. That period had been anything but pleasant for Dugu Yan.
She had only told her sisters that she had defeated him, but he eventually found out.
Just thinking about it made her blush. Only heaven knew how she had survived those days—every time she closed her eyes, she would rest to recover her strength, and the moment she opened them, she would see Fu Ye's smug, grinning face.
'No! I must find more allies!' She was determined to bring Huo Wu into their sisterhood!
"Sister Huo Wu, if you like Brother Fu Ye, you should make your move quickly. All the girls in our team are head over heels for that bad guy," Dugu Yan whispered into Huo Wu's ear.
"Huh?!!"
Huo Wu snapped back to reality, looking at her new sister with disbelief.
Seeing the excitement and anticipation in her eyes, Dugu Yan knew this girl had truly fallen for her husband.
"Sister Yan, aren't you…?"
Before she could finish, Dugu Yan pressed a finger gently against her fiery red lips.
"Shh~ Sister Huo Wu, keep your voice down. Sister Zhuqing is quite vigilant."
Huo Wu immediately covered her mouth. Glancing at Zhu Zhuqing's perfect figure and stunning looks, she couldn't help but feel intimidated.
She knew very well that every member of the Tianshui Team was a peerless beauty. As an outsider, she clearly stood no chance against these girls.
'But if a direct approach won't work, maybe a covert one will!' For love, Huo Wu was willing to sacrifice some pride.
Seeing the determination and fiery passion in Huo Wu's eyes, Dugu Yan knew she was sure to become one of them.
After all, although Fu Ye was a bit of a playboy, he never forced himself on any girl. He was powerful, charming, and never hid anything from his women. He even gifted them various skills and miraculous herbs that enhanced their martial souls.
But what made her happiest was…
'Hehe, although it gets a bit overwhelming after too long, it's really wonderful at the beginning.'
Her cheeks flushed at the thought.
Of course, if he weren't so insatiable, and if she alone could satisfy him, she wouldn't be trying to recruit Huo Wu and the others.
Still, Dugu Yan was curious about her husband's limits. After all, it seemed he had never truly been defeated since she joined him.
Late at night, the two young girls, the kitten-girl Jiang Nannan and Xue Ke, still hadn't fully recovered.
That night, Fu Ye had deployed four spatial barriers in succession—with a time dilation of 24:1 inside. Essentially, Fu Ye had turned four hours into four days.
The two girls had been injured and were now resting in bed.
Just as Dugu Yan was about to face another grueling night alone, three graceful figures appeared on his balcony.
"Brother Fu Ye is so wicked, treating Sister Xue Ke and Sister Jiang Nannan so harshly," Xiao Wu said, swaying gently as she approached him.
"Hehe, Ruyan has been craving it lately anyway. Since we're not competing tomorrow…" Ning Rongrong licked her pink lips mischievously.
"Alright! Tonight, the three of us will avenge Sisters Xue Ke and Jiang Nannan. Let's do this together!" Liu Erlong declared, pushing Fu Ye directly onto the bed.
The other two girls immediately began teasing him.
What could Fu Ye do? They were all his women—he had to let them have their way. He wasn't afraid of one against twelve, so one against three should be a breeze, right?
Meanwhile, in the Spirit Hall, inside the interrogation room behind the Pope's palace…
Yu Xiaogang, his face greasy and body bloated, once again found himself in this place where it all started.
"Whoosh!"
"Crack!'
"Ahhh!!!!"
A piercing scream erupted from the interrogation room. The two guards outside didn't dare to breathe.
"Wha—!!!"
The screams continued but soon cut off abruptly—
"Swish!"
"Snap!"
"Thud!"
Bibi Dong, clad in golden robes, accurately severed Yu Xiaogang's tongue with a steel whip as he howled in agony!
"Bibi Dong… it's you!!" he tried to scream, but only gurgled sounds emerged.
...
On the competition stage, Shui Bing'er led her team to a crushing victory over another all-female team—the Botanic Team.
The Botanic Team was affiliated with the Botanical Academy, the top institution in a second-tier city located four hundred kilometers east of the Heaven Dou Imperial City.
"How infuriating!"
Their captain, Yao Zi, was kneeling on one knee, exhausted. Her emerald-green eyes burned with frustration and defiance.
"Sister Yao, are you alright?"
At that moment, the vice-captain, Mu Yunteng, dragged her injured body over to her close friend and helped her up with great effort.
Seeing this, Shui Bing'er and the others felt a pang of sympathy. But they were still on the arena; they had to maintain the dignity of Tianshui Academy.
"Wu Ling, Yue'er, let's go through the passage and help them. They're all girls, after all. It won't be easy for them to return in such a state after suffering such a defeat."
Shui Bing'er was kind-hearted by nature. Though they were rivals on stage, these girls could still be friends off it.
"Mhmm!"
Wu Ling and the other six girls nodded in unison.
As their figures disappeared into the corridor behind them, their victory in today's match was officially declared, advancing them to the semi-finals of the next qualifying round.
Meanwhile, in the corridor behind the Botanical Academy's side.
As the seven members of the Botanic Team trudged wearily around the corner, injured and weakened, they were met by a dozen royal guards clad in black and gold armor, holding sharp spears.
And behind them stood a young man with a lecherous gleam in his eyes.
"Botanical Academy—you've lost."
As Xue Beng spoke, the two guards in front of him stepped aside, revealing the malicious smirk on his face.
If it wasn't Xue Beng, who else could it be?
Yao Zi, the captain of the Botanic Team, felt a surge of anger at the sight of his expression, but she couldn't deny their loss.
"We'll pay back what we owe. Now, step aside!"
Yao Zi was not one to mince words. Had they not lost the bet beforehand, she wouldn't have even deigned to speak to the so-called prince before her!
"Hah, pay me back? No, no, no—I never said losing the bet meant you had to repay me in money."
As he spoke, Xue Beng's gaze wandered brazenly over the seven graceful girls of the Botanical Academy.
"How dare you!"
Yao Zi, at the front, understood his intentions immediately from his look!
But before she could summon her spirit power in her severely injured state, the cold tip of a spear was already pressed against her throat.
The other six Botanical Academy students also found sharp spears held at their necks.
"Oh, quite the fiery one, aren't you? But I enjoy taming little beauties like you—hahahaha!!!"
Xue Beng reached out to grab her chin, but what met him was a mouthful of bloody spit.
Already heavily injured from her earlier match with Tianshui, Yao Zi was now overwhelmed with rage—and Xue Beng wore her blood across his face.
"You bitch! You're asking for death!"
Just as Xue Beng was about to slap Yao Zi, a thin wall of ice instantly materialized between them.
His palm struck the ice hard, but upon contact, his right hand was nearly frozen solid. Within three seconds, he lost all sensation from the invasive cold.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, the experienced guards quickly identified the members of the Tianshui team.
They split into three groups: one continued restraining the Botanic Team, while—
"Pfft!"
But a black light flashed beneath Shui Bing'er's feet. A chilling gust swept past the faces of the Botanic Team members, followed immediately by a warm liquid splashing across their cold cheeks.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
The successive sounds of heavy objects hitting the floor echoed through the corridor, leaving everyone present breathless.
"Clatter!"
"Crack!"
The clanking of armor and the powerless clatter of spears hitting the ground followed the next moment.
The black shadow then retracted into a sphere of dark light and returned to Shui Bing'er's feet at an incredible speed.
Although the Tianshui girls felt nauseated by the scene, they had witnessed such things before. None of them screamed or panicked.
On the other hand, in the Botanic Team, only their captain Yao Zi remained relatively calm. The rest, including vice-captain Mu Yunmo, were so terrified they collapsed to the ground.
"Shui… Shui Bing'er—no! Ancestor, grandpa—I was wrong! I was really wrong! Please, don't kill me! Spare my life!"
How could Xue Beng, the prince who had tyrannized the imperial city for years, have ever witnessed such a bloody scene?
A foul, fishy odor seeped from his lower body. Shui Bing'er and the Tianshui women all wrinkled their noses in disgust.
"Sister Bing'er, will Brother Fu Ye blame us for this?"
Ning Rongrong looked at the headless corpses before them. Though she had seen such scenes before, her stomach still churned uncomfortably.
"It should be fine. Even if Brother Fu Ye is angry, I'll take full responsibility."
Shui Bing'er had long been disgusted by the scum that was Xue Beng. It was she who had condensed the ice wall that destroyed one of his arms.
Looking back at Xue Beng, all his arrogance from moments ago had vanished. Now, he was no different from a wild dog—utterly devoid of dignity.
"Tell me, what were you planning to do? Trying to force yourself on others again?"
A cold light flickered in Shui Bing'er's eyes. If not for Brother Fu Ye, their Tianshui team would have long fallen into his clutches. Seeing him target other girls now, she couldn't simply let him off.
"I was wrong—please, have mercy! Spare my life, I—"
But before he could finish, an icy palm materialized mid-air and struck him across the face with domineering force.
"Pfft!"
The blow shattered more than half of the teeth Xue Beng had preserved for over twenty years. Blood gushed from his mouth.
Then, under everyone's gaze, Shui Bing'er conjured another frostbitten hand and slammed it directly into his face!
"Boom!"
...
In the dim corridor, members of the Tianshui team helped carry the injured members of the Botanic Team away from the competition arena.
Meanwhile, Fu Ye withdrew his first-person perspective from Shui Bing'er's consciousness.
That's right—Fu Ye was fully aware of everything Shui Bing'er and the others had just experienced.
The swift beheading executed by the puppet had also been carried out under his orders.
He was certain that someone as clever as Shui Bing'er had likely already guessed he was watching the scene unfold.
As for Shui Bing'er beating Xue Beng within an inch of his life—that was entirely her own doing.
Fu Ye was rather pleased, though he did feel Bing'er had gone a bit easy on him. If it were him, Xue Beng would be suffering in bed, wishing for death.
…
On the other side, in the waiting room of the Botanical Academy…
The lead instructor, a female teacher, was anxiously waiting for her students. Just as she was about to go out to search for them, a knock came at the door.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
She opened the door immediately, only to be met with the sight of her students drenched in blood.
"Yao Zi! Yun Mo! What happened to you?!"
The moment she saw the bloodied members of the Botanic Team, the teacher released her martial soul almost instinctively.
A soft, cool sensation instantly washed over Shui Bing'er and the others.
The instructor's martial soul was called the Qingling Tree—a control-type soul with minor healing properties.
Unlike Tang San from the original story, all her spirit rings were aligned with plants brimming with vitality, placing her closer to a support-type healing soul master.
A faint, green mist filled the room. Only after checking each of her students did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet a trace of doubt lingered in her eyes. None of the girls had any major wounds—so where had all the blood come from?
"Teacher, since we've helped bring them back, we should take our leave now."
Shui Bing'er had no intention of explaining the bloodstains. Once the girls woke up, their teacher would learn the truth.
"Hmm? Oh! Thank you for bringing them back."
It was only then that the teacher, who seemed a bit scatterbrained, finally noticed Shui Bing'er and the others who had carried her students back.
"Hehe, don't mention it, big sister. It was nothing."
With that, the seven girls quickly left and hurried back to their own waiting room.
When they entered, the first thing they saw was Fu Ye lounging on a sofa, enjoying a close massage from two young girls.
"Hmm? Finished already?"
Before any of them could speak, Fu Ye spoke up first.
Hearing his words, Shui Bing'er's expression softened with relief.
"Yes, we safely returned all seven members of the Botanic Team."
Shui Bing'er walked directly up to Fu Ye and, in front of everyone, nestled into his arms.
"Hey now, little girl, what's this? So what if some people from the Heaven Dou royal family died? How could I ever blame my Captain Bing'er over a bunch of nobodies?"
Fu Ye gently pinched Shui Bing'er's delicate cheek. The other girls who saw this couldn't help but smile like fond onlookers.
Nearby, Wu Ling and Meng Yiran—the two non-regular members—blushed deeply.
It was the first time they had seen Sister Bing'er act so proactively.
Wu Ling, Meng Yiran: 'Sister Bing'er is practically a holy ice angel… but we want a hug from Brother Fu Ye too.'
"Hehe, Brother Fu Ye knows best."
Shui Bing'er showed no intention of getting up. After all, the man whose lap she was sitting on was her husband—what was wrong with enjoying his embrace a little longer?
And so, under everyone's gaze, the team captain stayed nestled in Fu Ye's arms for several minutes.
Zhu Zhuyun: 'Wow, Sister Bing'er is getting bolder~'
Dugu Yan: 'I think I could do that too…'
Xue Ke: 'Sister Bing'er is so adorable!'
Jiang Jing: 'Hehe, Sister Bing'er is so soft!'
…
That evening, within the Heaven Dou Imperial palace…
A young man, clothes stained with blood and missing several teeth, dragged his half-destroyed body back into the palace.
"Your Highness, Xue Beng! What happened to you?!"
The palace physician rushed over as soon as he saw Xue Beng's miserable state and hurriedly helped him inside.
Word quickly reached the old emperor, Xue Ye, who arrived shortly after. The moment he saw his third son's condition, he roared in fury.
"Who did this to you?!"
It was clear Xue Ye was truly enraged, hovering on the brink of an outburst.
After all, even if Xue Beng was good-for-nothing, he was still a son of Xue Ye—a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire! Laying a hand on him was nothing less than a slap to the imperial family's dignity!
"Father, please forgive me… I fell down the stairs by accident. Please, don't be angry."
How could Xue Beng dare say he had used his status as prince to mobilize his personal guards to capture the injured Botanic Team members for his own desires?
Mobilizing troops privately was a serious offense—let alone using his own guards!
Luckily, he had already sent his privately-trained men to dispose of the guards' bodies. With several thousand guards in total, the disappearance of a dozen wouldn't raise eyebrows.
"You fell? How could a fall do this to you?! Tell me! Who hit you?!"
Xue Ye had already been seething these past few days because of Fu Ye, who kept bringing his little daughter along to air all his dirty laundry in public.
Xue Ye could still vividly remember the expressions of Ning Fengzhi and the others—trying hard not to laugh!
'Damn it—this kind of humiliation didn't kill you, but it sure felt like it!'
What's more, because Xue Ye had spoiled his daughter too much before, she knew far too many of his secrets.
Now she didn't even acknowledge him as her father, and even exposed his past in front of everyone. Worst of all—Fu Ye! He was no match for him! Not at all!
He was absolutely certain that if he lost his temper and made a move, his head would be flying in the next instant.
"Father! It's true! I really fell by myself!"
Xue Beng was on the verge of tears. He absolutely could not let this matter slip! Behind Shui Bing'er stood that devil, Fu Ye—and privately mobilizing the guards was definitely not something he could ever admit.
"Speak! I order you to speak! Your father is the emperor! What kind of prince are you, acting so cowardly?!"
...
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