Xiao Xiao lay obediently on the bedroom bed, her skirt slightly pulled up, revealing a portion of her fair and delicate thighs. The young man's fingers held a pair of white over-the-knee socks, adding a touch of innocent allure to the charming girl. Her small, exquisite feet presented their soles to An Zhen's view, and as if sensing the young man's fervent gaze, her round, pearl-like toes curled up.
"Don't worry, it will be very comfortable," An Zhen's gentle voice soothed Xiao Xiao's somewhat nervous emotions.
The young man's fingertips pressed into the girl's soft sole, his fingers dancing, stimulating the acupoints on her feet. Although the white socks covered them, it didn't affect An Zhen in the slightest; in fact, it excited him.
From her feet to her thighs, to her back, and shoulders.
"Mmm~" A shy moan escaped her lips.
Xiao Xiao's body was soft and relaxed from head to toe.
"Rest well," An Zhen said, bending down to kiss his girl.
"An Zhen~"
Xiao Xiao's sparkling eyes looked at the young man who was about to leave. This time, it was truly a very proper massage; An Zhen didn't even move his tongue. The girl suddenly recalled the feeling of sitting in An Zhen's arms earlier.
An Zhen turned back, only to see the girl's head already buried in the covers, a barely audible voice sounding, "That… now… do you… want to?"
An Zhen stopped in his tracks.
It was rare for the usually shy girl to be so proactive today.
Some time later, An Zhen walked into Wang Dong'er's room.
Her dream-like eyes scrutinized An Zhen with suspicion.
"Mmm," An Zhen nodded softly.
"Pervert!" Wang Dong'er hadn't changed her clothes, still wearing the dark green Shrek Academy uniform, with short boots and white socks on her feet.
An Zhen took off the girl's short boots, and the next moment, her small, white-socked foot directly kicked An Zhen's face.
"Did you wash them?" An Zhen asked, but he let the girl do as she pleased.
"Don't you dare dislike them! A beautiful girl is fragrant all over," Wang Dong'er's lips curved into an arc, and she happily pinched An Zhen's face.
"Is that so?" An Zhen suddenly looked serious and earnest.
The young man spoke very formally, "In the Spirit of rigorous scientific inquiry, I need to conduct an inspection."
"Eh?!"
Wang Dong'er watched as An Zhen grabbed her ankle and directly pulled her into his arms. Suddenly, the girl used force and directly tackled An Zhen onto the bed, a triumphant smile gracing her beautiful small face. "Inspect this young lady? Dream on."
"Then I absolutely must inspect you," An Zhen said playfully.
He flipped over.
Her pink and blue dream-like hair swayed as the girl's joyful "giggle" rang out.
…
"This young lady is still the best."
"Yes, yes, yes, Dong'er is the most amazing," An Zhen's doting voice sounded.
After playing with Wang Dong'er for a while, An Zhen walked into Huo Yutong's bedroom.
"Brother An Zhen!" Huo Yutong put down the spirit tool core array she was engraving and pounced, wrapping herself around An Zhen. The petite and adorable girl had changed into a fluffy blue dress, and her beautiful legs, encased in white pantyhose, hung in the air, soft like a doll, very comfortable to hold.
"You should relax after the competition," An Zhen said helplessly, glancing at the engraving knife on the girl's desk.
"That last match was very easy, not tiring at all." Huo Yutong was gently placed on the bed by An Zhen. The girl held up two small, exquisite ice pops. "Yu Tong washed her feet, Brother An Zhen, do you want to check if they're clean~"
Cool and refreshing ice cream truly is an indispensable delicacy in life.
He gave Huo Yutong a relaxing massage, the proper kind.
"Rest and relax," An Zhen gently kissed the girl's fair forehead. "Otherwise, my heart will ache."
He advised Huo Yutong not to work too hard. Even with Reflection's recovery, even a machine needs rest. Huo Yutong was already much stronger than Lord Huo. She studied during the day and engraved spirit tools at night. Sometimes An Zhen had to threaten Huo Yutong to make her rest; she was too hardworking and sensible, making his heart ache.
"Mmm," the little blue-haired cutie obediently lay in bed, closing her eyes under An Zhen's gaze.
Next were Ning Tian and Wu Feng.
One gold, one red; one white, one black.
Finally, the biggest challenge.
"Me first." The stunning silver-haired dragon girl hung onto An Zhen, her two artistic feet gently swaying in the air, the arrogance of the silver dragon pressing against An Zhen.
However, the next moment, a pair of slender, jade-like hands directly pulled Gu Yuena down. The phoenix girl's charming face held a bright smile. "Junior Sister Gu Yuena was exhausted last night, you need to take care of your body."
With that, Ma Xiaotao pulled An Zhen into her embrace.
Such things should be handled by her, the elder sister, first.
"Hmph," Gu Yuena pouted, her purple starlit eyes glaring at Ma Xiaotao. The hateful human woman dared to disrespect her. She would tie this woman up later and make her watch her and An Zhen's happiness.
"Shameless," Ling Luochen commented.
The two disadvantaged girls exchanged glances, seemingly reaching some common agreement.
Zhang Lexuan sat quietly to the side, gentle and serene.
Joyful time passed by minute by minute.
Before the third round-robin match began, the spirit tools needed by the Shrek Academy team arrived on time.
"We'll try them in the dream space tonight. Real combat begins tomorrow."
"Mmm."
One night later.
On the second day, the third round-robin match was still Shrek Academy's first.
Putting other things aside, at least they could finish quickly and go back to rest.
"This time, we are facing Zhengtian Advanced Academy. The entire Tianhun Empire, including their academy, is very resistant to spirit tools. As an old-brand advanced academy, they don't even have a spirit tool department, so you don't have to worry about the opponent using spirit tools," Wang Yan introduced the opponent's situation. "The opponent has a total of three Spirit Kings."
Ye Wuqing, Golden Leaf, high-rank Spirit King.
Yu Mengdi, Angel, but without the sacred attribute, Spirit King.
Tang Xiaolei, Bow Spirit, Spirit King.
An Zhen and the opposing team captain, Ye Wuqing, went on stage to draw lots.
Two-two-three confrontation.
An Zhen reflected a barrel of bamboo slips and looked at Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Dai Yueheng. "The four of us will draw lots. Three long, one short. The short one is eliminated, and the remaining ones each take one."
"Okay," Ma Xiaotao eagerly extended her slender, jade-like hand. She had been idle for so long, and now that her strength had greatly increased, she had no chance to act, which made the naturally active Ma Xiaotao extremely bored.
Ma Xiaotao and two others drew, with An Zhen drawing last.
Dai Yueheng drew second and immediately hit the jackpot: the short one.
An Zhen would take Ning Tian.
Ling Luochen would take Huo Yutong.
Ma Xiaotao would take Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er.
"Everyone." Before the match began, Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei's voice suddenly spread throughout the arena via a spirit tool. The Emperor stood on the high platform and said with a solemn expression, "To all participating teachers and students, and to the citizens of the Star Luo Empire, I am here to deliver a message to you, a message of sacrifice and honor."
Countless eyes focused on the Emperor, wondering what news he was about to announce.
"I believe everyone has already noticed that in this competition, the Shrek Academy representative team only has three main team members present. The other seven are reserve team members who have not even reached fourteen years old. In some of the previous matches, even the three main team members were absent."
"I believe everyone has a question in their hearts: the main team and the reserve team should total fourteen people. So, where are the remaining four powerful Spirit King-level main team members of the Shrek Academy representative team?"
The audience and teachers and students from other academies also recalled this previously puzzling question at this moment.
Yes, where were the other four team members?
An academy as strong as Shrek shouldn't even be unable to gather seven main team members!
"On the border of our Star Luo Empire, there was a den of extremely rampant and powerful Evil Soul Masters."
An Zhen: Powerful?
If he knew about Ma Xiaotao's Level 70 Extreme Fire power, he would probably imagine Spirit Saint and Spirit Douluo Evil Soul Masters. The Corpse Explosion technique was indeed absurd, and it absurdly appeared on a wild Evil Soul Master. It's estimated that no one would believe a Spirit King could achieve such a heaven-defdefying feat, and they didn't know that Ma Xiaotao's Extreme Fire was upgraded later.
Xu Jiawei did not know the exact strength of the Hand of Death. When Wang Yan spoke of it, he was too embarrassed to mention that they were severely injured by a Spirit King, leaving infinite room for imagination for the Emperor. However, he couldn't speak carelessly. This matter today was something he did to gain Shrek Academy's favor, so he used relatively vague descriptive words.
Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei passionately and tragically recounted the deeds of the Shrek Academy representative team in eradicating a powerful Evil Soul Master stronghold. Because of this, four main team students were severely injured and had to withdraw from the competition, and the remaining three students also sustained injuries of varying degrees.
"…It was them, bravely charging on the front lines against the Evil Soul Masters, even if it meant potentially losing the academy's honor, they did so without hesitation! Here, on behalf of the Star Luo Empire and its countless citizens, I thank the Shrek Academy inspection team for their contributions over the years."
After speaking, the Star Luo Emperor, clad in a bright yellow robe, bowed to the Shrek Academy representative team, and coincidentally, in the direction of Shrek City.
"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek…"
The audience stands were silent for a moment, as if savoring the shocking news. The next moment, a fervent cheer erupted, as if it would overturn the surrounding buildings. Countless eyes of reverence and fanaticism were cast upon them. Teachers and students from other academies also looked at them with complex expressions.
"Everyone…" Wang Yan, whose heart was filled with Shrek's glory, was moved to tears by the fervent emotions in the arena. He now understood what An Zhen had said earlier, that even if they lost the championship, Shrek's reputation would not be damaged at all.
They had already achieved a spiritual championship, and this feat was not only due to the efforts of the students present but also the four students who had returned to recover from their injuries.
In an unnoticed corner, a figure resembling an ordinary old man was gnawing on a chicken leg, tears glistening in his eyes.
On the high platform.
Ning Yunzhi looked at Xu Jiawei with some surprise. Was the situation in the Star Luo Empire really so grim? To go to such lengths to gain favor with Shrek Academy, the audience present were either powerful Spirit Masters or wealthy and influential merchants and middle-class citizens. After this speech, Shrek Academy's prestige in the Star Luo Empire would undoubtedly rise to another level. However, Shrek Academy's own influence was already enough to make the emperors of the Three Great Empires extremely wary. Ceding land and compensation would be less painful than this. Well, this Emperor probably wished Shrek Academy would move into his Star Luo Empire.