The next morning, bright sunlight washed over the world.
As the first rays slipped through the window and spilled into the room, Zhu Zhuqing—who had fallen asleep on the desk—slowly opened her beautiful eyes.
She lifted the long robe draped over her body, catching a strange but refreshing medicinal fragrance. Slightly stunned, her gaze drifted across the room until it landed on a familiar figure in the corner—Xiao Se. He sat cross-legged atop a lotus-shaped pedestal, fingers forming a mysterious seal as he steadily absorbed the energy of heaven and earth.
Sensing Zhu Zhuqing awaken, Xiao Se gradually opened his eyes and withdrew from his cultivation state.
"You're awake?" Xiao Se stepped down from the azure lotus stand, giving her a gentle smile.
"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing nodded lightly. She removed the robe and smoothed the fabric, then asked softly, "Last night… did you…"
"Last night when we came back, my brother saw you sleeping on the desk," Long Kui said as she floated out from the sword's tattooed pattern, chuckling. "He was afraid you'd catch a cold, so he covered you with that."
Xiao Se rubbed Long Kui's head and smiled at Zhu Zhuqing. "Don't worry. That guy won't dare come looking for trouble again."
"Thank you…" A faint blush colored Zhu Zhuqing's cheeks. She stood up and returned the robe to Xiao Se.
After carefully looking him over and confirming he wasn't injured, she unconsciously let out a breath of relief.
Xiao Se put the black robe back on, then collected the lotus pedestal into his storage ring. "So, what's your plan now?"
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing froze slightly. Her head lowered, and silence wrapped around her.
Originally, she came here to find Dai Mubai. If the two of them worked together, they might still have a sliver of hope. But now that Dai Mubai had fallen so far, she no longer knew where her path lay.
Seeing this, Xiao Se smiled faintly. He walked over to her, gently placing a hand on her jade-like shoulder. "If you feel lost," he said softly, "how about coming with me? I can show you the beauty of an entirely different world."
"A different world?" Zhu Zhuqing lifted her delicate face toward him. A flicker of emotion passed through her eyes.
"Go, go! My brother is super strong! Even your world's Title Douluo ran off in embarrassment after fighting him last night," Long Kui said immediately, grabbing Zhu Zhuqing's hand and helping him shamelessly. "With him around, no one will be able to hurt you."
Xiao Se gave Long Kui a mental thumbs-up. He waited quietly for Zhu Zhuqing's answer.
Faced with the sincere gazes of Xiao Se and Long Kui, warmth flowed slowly through Zhu Zhuqing's heart. She nodded gently.
"Where are we going now? Are we returning to the Douqi Continent?" she asked.
Xiao Se shook his head and smiled. "I'll need to stay on this continent for at least six more days before I can return to the Douqi Continent. Before that, refine this first—then we'll head somewhere else."
As he spoke, a flash of pale light shimmered in his hand. A pristine, lotus-like white herb materialized out of thin air.
"What is this?" Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously.
"An immortal herb—Water Fairy Jade Skin Bone," Xiao Se replied calmly.
Meanwhile…
While Xiao Se was successfully "abducting" the little kitty, the Shrek group was absolutely miserable.
Because Tang Ritian had returned beaten and humiliated, the Shrek members feared Xiao Se might hold a grudge and come after them. So they fled more than a hundred li overnight, escaping all the way to Ma Hongjun's hometown—"Rooster Vil—No, Phoenix Village."
Flander and Zhao Wuji suffered the most. On one hand, they were too stingy to spend money; on the other, they were too scared to return to Soto City to hire a carriage. The two ended up carrying the swollen, pig-headed Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun on their backs, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
Tang San, meanwhile, was carried by Instructor Lu Qibin, with Xiao Wu and Oscar running beside them.
As for Ning Rongrong—since she had never clashed with Xiao Se, and as the precious daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—she naturally didn't flee. The next day, she and instructors Shao Xin and Li Yusong settled down in Soto City to gather information about Xiao Se.
If Xiao Se had already left Soto, then everything was fine.
If he hadn't… the two instructors had never even interacted with him, and Ning Rongrong didn't offend him, so nothing should go wrong.
This thought alone delighted Ning Rongrong beyond reason. The little witch's true nature burst fully to life—she treated Li Yusong and Shao Xin like personal attendants and went on a shopping spree.
Her excuse?
"We need to hide your identity as Shrek instructors. Just pretend you're servants the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan assigned to me. It'll help us gather information!"
And the two idiots actually believed her, even thinking it was a clever plan. After all, no matter how talented Xiao Se was, he shouldn't target someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan without cause—especially since the clan had two Title Douluo at level 95 and above.
Unfortunately, they completely failed to notice that Ning Rongrong truly was treating them as servants. After half a day, they had nearly walked through every shop in Soto City. Their storage soul tools were full, and both instructors were carrying piles of bags, panting as if their legs might snap.
"Rongrong, maybe we should stop for today? We still haven't found that young man," Shao Xin said with a bitter face. "The dean might've just been overthinking. If he really wanted to attack you, he would've done it yesterday. Why let you leave first?"
"Yes, yes," Li Yusong echoed quickly. "Dai Mubai and the others did offend him, but they've already been beaten half to death. They probably won't come looking for Shrek again."
Hearing them, Ning Rongrong glanced up at the sun—it was already noon. She nodded lightly. "Alright then, we'll stop sh— cough, stop investigating for today. Come on, I'll treat you to lunch."
With that, she headed toward the place where yesterday's conflict had happened. She wanted to try her luck—maybe she could still run into Xiao Se.
After all, Xiao Se had beaten Tang San and the others so badly without even using his spirit, and he was still so young. It was impossible not to be interested.
Of course… if she knew even Tang Ritian, the Haotian Douluo himself, had been defeated by Xiao Se, she definitely wouldn't be thinking like that anymore.
Meanwhile…
After spending the entire morning refining the immortal herb, Zhu Zhuqing finally opened her eyes.
"How do you feel?" Xiao Se asked with a bright smile.
Zhu Zhuqing's lips curved gently. "Amazing. This herb is incredible—it cleared all my blocked meridians, and my soul power directly broke through to level thirty."
Joy surged through her like a wave. This immortal herb was too precious—its help was simply unimaginable.
Xiao Se chuckled. "After you get your third spirit ring, your soul power should rise another four or five ranks on top of level thirty-one."
(End of Chapter)
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