"As long as I'm here."
"No one else can take Luo Chuan away."
Gu Yue let out a light hum, her expression firm as she spoke.
It was perfectly normal for Luo Chuan to attract girls, but if something like that could shake her position, then she wouldn't be Gu Yue!
"Nothing to fear, huh..."
Watching her confident demeanor, Na'er responded softly, her eyes thoughtful. She could only hope it would indeed be as Gu Yue believed.
"I hope it really turns out the way Gu Yue-jie thinks."
Na'er nodded, her gaze drifting toward Ye Xinglan's direction, unable to suppress a pang of envy in her heart...
She also wanted to be with Luo Chuan-gege.
"Maybe..."
"I should go back and try asking my teacher?"
Na'er murmured to herself, a contemplative gleam in her eyes.
Though her teacher was unlikely to agree, what if he did? Then she could finally be with Luo Chuan-gege!
Asking wouldn't hurt, and if it succeeded, that would be perfect.
At this thought, a spark of anticipation rose in Na'er's eyes as she glanced toward Tang Luochuan, her imagination running wild.
If she succeeded...
By tomorrow at the latest, she could be a member of the outer academy too.
Achoo!
Meanwhile, on Sea God Island, inside a wooden cabin, Yun Ming suddenly sneezed, his face blank with confusion.
"Hmm? Yun Ming, what's wrong?"
Beside him, Ya Li blinked in surprise, concern lacing her voice as she studied him with puzzlement.
Given his current cultivation level, he shouldn't be susceptible to illness—so what was this about?
"It's nothing, nothing."
"Maybe Na'er is thinking about us."
Yun Ming chuckled softly, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
"..."
That night, after bidding farewell to everyone, Tang Luochuan returned to his dorm and sat cross-legged on the sofa, reflecting on recent events.
Not long after settling in, his communicator buzzed—the caller ID displayed Yuanen Yehui's name.
"Yehui, what's up so late?"
Tang Luochuan answered the call and asked.
"Luo Chuan, are you free this weekend?"
Yuanen Yehui's voice came through softly from the other end.
"Today's Thursday, so I'll be free in a couple of days. Did you need something?"
Tang Luochuan acknowledged with a light hum, speaking unhurriedly.
"Good, it's like this..."
"I've just broken through to the 40th rank, so I need a Soul Spirit now. If you're available, could you accompany me to the Spirit Pagoda's Soul Spirit Tower Climb this weekend?"
Yuanen Yehui had only just returned to her dorm as well, her tone quiet. She should have broken through to the 40th rank much earlier, but earning money had delayed her for too long.
Since she had to save up to buy a Soul Spirit herself, she couldn't devote herself entirely to cultivation.
Now that she had nearly enough funds, none of the ordinary Soul Spirits available for purchase suited her—only by climbing the tower might she encounter a high-quality one.
On her own, she wouldn't make it very far, but Tang Luochuan...
He was the strongest person she knew, and the older brother of the Silver Spear Goddess, Na'er. With his overwhelming strength, his help would guarantee success!
"A Tower Climb?"
Hearing this, Tang Luochuan fell into thought, suddenly recalling something.
He had almost forgotten—in the original timeline, Yuanen Yehui had indeed gone to the Spirit Transfer Pagoda to obtain a Soul Spirit around this time.
"I'll go with you this weekend. If you need to challenge the Soul Spirit Pagoda, it won't be a problem."
"I'm actually a member of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda."
Tang Luochuan chuckled lightly and responded in a calm tone.
"Huh?"
"So you've joined the Spirit Transfer Pagoda?"
Yuanen Yehui was momentarily stunned by this revelation.
Luo Chuan had joined the Spirit Transfer Pagoda? But his younger sister was the disciple of the top powerhouse Yun Ming, the next-generation successor of Shrek Academy…
And yet, he had joined the Spirit Transfer Pagoda?
"Yeah."
Tang Luochuan replied softly, not denying it.
"Alright then, thank you, Luo Chuan."
Yuanen Yehui took a deep breath and smiled.
"No need to thank me. My dorm is Room 108. Just come find me this weekend…"
"Got it! But I might have some things to take care of, so I might need to contact you ahead of time…"
At this point, Yuanen Yehui hesitated slightly before speaking again in a quiet voice.
"Of course, no problem…"
"By the way, I actually wanted to introduce you to my friends tonight, but you seemed busy earlier, so I didn't call you."
"When we get the chance, I'll arrange a gathering with them. They're all second-years too…"
Tang Luochuan said with a smile. Since Yehui was part of the original protagonist group and also his friend, it would be great for her to meet the others.
"Well…"
"Thanks, Luo Chuan. Maybe next time."
Yuanen Yehui was taken aback once more before instinctively steering the conversation away, murmuring softly.
"As for the challenge…"
"Let me think… Yehui will probably still obtain the Diamond Ape from the original story this time."
"The difficulty of acquiring this Soul Spirit isn't exactly weak, but it's not overwhelmingly strong either…"
After ending the call, Tang Luochuan set aside his communicator, a thoughtful expression on his face.
If he remembered correctly, that Soul Spirit was a five or six thousand-year Diamond Ape—a Soul Beast of that level…
He felt like a mere release of Dragon Might could send it flying.
When it came to challenging the pagoda, his first thought was naturally to bring Gu Yue along, given that she was the disciple of the Deputy Pagoda Master, Sky Phoenix Douluo. But…
He was also a member of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda, under Leng Yaozhu's faction, so he should be fine on his own.
"I'll see if I should bring Gu Yue along or not."
Tang Luochuan remained composed. The weekend was still a few days away, so he wasn't in a hurry.
"Him…"
Meanwhile, in the work-study dormitory, Yuanen Yehui set down her communicator, her expression slightly dazed.
Luo Chuan actually wanted to introduce her to his friends? He truly didn't suspect her of being an Evil Soul Master at all—he genuinely saw her as a friend…
Unfortunately, precisely because some of his friends were students from her class, she couldn't afford to appear among them…
She had always been cautious. Even though Mu Xi was a freshman, she had no intention of revealing herself in front of her yet.
After all, even if the girl didn't suspect anything at first, it would be disastrous if she later realized there was no one like Yehui in the second-year class.
"I have full confidence in Luo Chuan's strength. With him around, I'm sure I'll be able to obtain a Soul Spirit when we challenge the tower this weekend. But my own problem..."
"What should I do about it?"
The next moment, Yuanen Yehui looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her originally beautiful figure transformed into that of an ordinary, honest-looking young man, leaving her momentarily helpless.
This appearance—the kind that wouldn't attract any attention in a crowd—was the state she most commonly used in daily life: a petite young man.
Yuanen, possessor of the Titan Giant Ape Spirit.
"These dual identities of mine..."
Yuanen Yehui took a deep breath. She had been hiding this at the academy for a long time. Apart from the school administrators, no one knew about her two identities—
The work-study student Yuanen, and the part-time worker Yehui.
People like Cai Yue'er from before were aware, but she hadn't shown any intention of telling Tang Luochuan.
"Should I tell Luo Chuan...?"
Yuanen Yehui muttered to herself. She thought that if it were Luo Chuan...
It probably wouldn't be a problem for him to know!
After all, he was her good friend!
"I just hope that when he sees my Titan Giant Ape Spirit..."
"He won't be too shocked."
Yuanen Yehui quickly made up her mind, then blinked as she pondered aloud. After all, no matter how you looked at it, a young girl having the Titan Giant Ape Spirit was...
Just really, really strange, right?
Of course, rather than worrying about that, she should probably think about how to explain to Luo Chuan that she was a boy in the second grade...
"Seems like..."
"That's the real big problem here!"
Yuanen Yehui murmured.
"..."
"Na'er."
"It's not that your teacher is being harsh, but you really can't go study at the outer academy."
At this moment, on Sea God Island in the inner academy.
Inside a wooden cabin, Yun Ming looked helplessly at the young girl before him, suppressing his frustration as he spoke calmly.
"Teacher, Teacher's wife."
"Can I really not go to the outer academy...?"
In the cabin, Na'er gazed pleadingly at Yun Ming and Ya Li, unable to hold back her murmur. Could it be that she really couldn't stay with her Brother?
"I want to study at the outer academy to be with Xinglan and the others, and Gu Yue-jie. We're all good friends. If we train together, it'll definitely be twice as effective."
Na'er said earnestly, blinking her eyes with an expression that clearly said this was her sincere wish.
"..."
Hearing Na'er's words, Yun Ming and Ya Li could only shake their heads helplessly, exchanging a glance filled with contemplation.
Whether Na'er truly wanted to study at the outer academy and what her real motives were—could these two elders not know?
For Ye Xinglan and Gu Yue?
It was true that these two girls had a good relationship with her, but if she claimed she wanted to go to the outer academy for them, that was absolutely impossible. The reason she wanted to go so badly...
Was for that Tang Luochuan kid!
"Na'er, you are the future successor of Shrek Academy. One day, you will be the next Sea God Pavilion Master. Naturally, you must be trained in the inner academy."
"Stay here and focus on your cultivation. Stop thinking about going out to find Luo Chuan. Training is far more important..."
Yun Ming stated bluntly. Rather than chasing after that brat Tang Luochuan, she'd be better off cultivating seriously here in the inner academy!
"How is that the same...?"
Hearing this, Na'er immediately protested tearfully.
In her eyes, Brother Luo Chuan was stronger than anything else. As for things like the inner academy or not, she didn't care at all.
"And besides..."
"Where did I say it was for Brother Luo Chuan? I'm doing this for Xinglan and Sister Gu Yue!"
With a skeptical look on her face, Na'er immediately said seriously.
She almost...got led astray by her teacher!