"Ah, so pretentious! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a Titled Douluo,", Dugu Feng chuckled under his breath, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Old Scorpion," he said without looking back, "keep an eye on this Canghui Academy. I want them brought under our control to make them an affiliated academy of the clan."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Their strongest is a Soul Sage named Shi Nian. He possesses a soul bone. Send word to Old Serpent...tell him I want Shi Nian alive."
"Yes, Young Master!", Old Scorpion bowed deeply, excitement flickering in his eyes.
Dugu Feng's gaze drifted toward the street below.
Canghui Academy's Seven-in-One Fusion Technique—Seven Asura Illusions.
That was a fascinating skill, one far too underestimated by the world.
Only Tang San's monstrous spiritual cultivation and the Purple Demon Eye could counter such an illusion. For ordinary soul masters, once trapped, there was no escape.
And Shi Nian's ultimate ability…To glimpse fragments of his opponent's memories within the illusion once he reached the Titled Douluo realm—A skill bordering on divine.
Dugu Feng's lips curved. A man like that was worth recruiting. Or dissecting.
That night, the excitement in the inn finally died down.
The Shrek Seven Monsters finished their meal and went back to their rooms.
In one of the rooms, Zhu Zhuqing followed Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu inside, her steps silent as ever.
During the earlier fight, she had felt something strange...her soul power had surged, flowing faster than usual.
Was it because she had reached level thirty but had yet to obtain her third ring? The thought lingered in her heart, though her face remained expressionless.
She would find out soon enough.
They were already close to the Star Dou Forest and soon she would claim her next spirit ring.
Even her usually calm heart fluttered faintly at the thought.
Her cultivation speed had long shocked the entire Zhu family. At twelve years old, she was already at level twenty-nine when she left home.
Unheard of.
They had all predicted that if she continued at this pace, she might one day stand among the Titled Douluo.
Back in the room, Zhu Zhuqing immediately sat cross-legged and entered meditation.
Ning Rongrong, who had the same nightly habit, said nothing, only followed suit.
Xiao Wu looked between the two, her lips twitching.So boring.
She had wanted to chat a bit, but faced with two cultivation maniacs, she could only sigh, flop onto the bed, and mutter, "Fine, fine, you two can meditate yourselves to death."
Unlike them, Xiao Wu didn't need to cultivate much.
Her power came from her Hundred-thousand-year foundation as a soul beast. The longer she remained among humans, the more her beast energy would convert into soul power naturally.
So she simply lay down and drifted into sleep.
The room grew dark and quiet.
Zhu Zhuqing focused wholly on her meditation, her body surrounded by a faint, gentle glow.
She hated wasting time and losing even an hour of training left her uneasy.
Twenty-four hours in a day; if she didn't cultivate at least eighteen of them, she'd feel guilty!
She and her sister had long discovered that their meridians were unusually resilient and far tougher than ordinary people's.
That was why they could train for so long without exhaustion. Combined with their discipline, their growth had become terrifyingly fast.
But suddenly—
"Ugh—"
A wave of nausea hit her.
It came so fast she barely had time to react.
She clutched her stomach, eyes widening, and then—
"Ah!"
She gasped, standing abruptly.She'd… vomited nothing.Not even a trace of spirit energy residue.
Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu were startled awake.
"Zhuqing, what's wrong?" Ning Rongrong asked, voice full of concern.
Zhu Zhuqing frowned, running her senses through her body.
No abnormalities.
Everything was as usual.
She tried releasing her spirit.
Still, nothing unusual.
"I'm fine," she said calmly. "Just now, my soul power surged. Made me feel like throwing up, that's all. It's gone now."
"Feeling nauseous?", Xiao Wu tilted her head, eyes wide. "Wait! you're not pregnant, are you? I heard human women feel like that when they are!"
"Xiao Wu!" Ning Rongrong burst out laughing. "You really know too much! Zhuqing isn't that kind of person. Not like you and your Third Brother, always glued together!"
Instead of blushing, Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks. "Me and Third Brother are siblings! It's not what you think!"
Ning Rongrong chuckled even harder. If that's how siblings act, then the world has far too many strange families!
"Zhuqing, remember when you first entered the academy and challenged Teacher Zhao?" she teased. "When Xiao Wu fainted, her 'brother' lost it...he nearly went berserk charging Zhao Wuji. Tell me, does that look like just siblings to you? Oh, and I heard they used to share a bed at the Nuoding Academy. The same bed!"
Ning Rongrong's tone was teasing, her eyes full of mischief.
Zhu Zhuqing smirked faintly. "We all saw it with our own eyes. Same bed, same blankets."
This time, even Xiao Wu blushed, "T-That was when we were little! It was the academy's arrangement! After third year, we slept separately! And anyway, Rongrong, I told you about me and San-ge—but you still haven't told us about your time in Heaven Dou City!"
Her counterattack was sharp.
"I don't believe there aren't any geniuses there that caught your eye!"
"Ha, Heaven Dou has plenty of geniuses," Zhu Zhuqing added, ever the quiet instigator. Her cold eyes shimmered with faint amusement.
At the mention of Heaven Dou City, Ning Rongrong's breath caught.
That familiar gaze from earlier—the one she'd felt during the fight—she had been sure it was him.
That calm yet piercing look…it could only belong to Dugu Feng.
But reason quickly doused her hope.
Impossible.
He'd just obtained his third spirit ring not long ago. How could he appear here, near the Star Dou Forest?
She bit her lip.
Am I… just imagining him?
No… it's because I miss him, that's all!
That heartless man… never once came to see me. Not even a letter. Truly a stone-hearted block of ice!
"Zhuqing," Xiao Wu suddenly whispered with a grin, "look at her eyes! There is someone she likes in Heaven Dou!". Zhu Zhuqing's brows arched slightly. That was surprising.
The little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, proud, elegant, impossible to please and yet someone had captured her attention?
"Xiao Wu, don't talk nonsense," Ning Rongrong huffed, turning her head away. "Zhuqing only said there are many geniuses in Heaven Dou. I just… remembered some old classmates, that's all. There were some freaks even stronger than us."
"Oh?" Xiao Wu's eyes sparkled with gossip. "Tell us about them! I don't know anything about Heaven Dou yet!"
"Next time," Ning Rongrong cut her off quickly, lying back down. "It's late. We need to rest...tomorrow we're hunting soul beasts."
Her sudden seriousness only made the other two more suspicious.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a knowing look, her eyes shining with curiosity and mischief.
Ning Rongrong's tone, her glance, her evasiveness, all betrayed her.
They didn't push further. But both silently vowed to dig out the truth later.
The room gradually fell into silence again.
In another room, Dugu Feng sat by the window, a faint smile playing on his lips. A jade-green bead spun lazily between his fingers.
He had, of course, heard everything.
After all, Zhu Zhuqing's earlier "nausea" had been caused by him.He had deliberately drawn one of the Dan Beads from within her body, just to test the connection.
He hadn't expected that tiny gesture to trigger such an amusing conversation.
Through the faint spiritual link, their entire chatter had reached his ears word for word.
He leaned back in his chair, eyes half-closed, quietly laughing.
"So the cold Zhu Zhuqing is actually this gossipy, hmm?"
He smirked.
"Truly… three women make one play." (T/N : Have no clue what this is suppose to mean...from what I can figure out, this seems to be a chinese idiom, proverb or something? Raw : 真不愧是三个女人一台戏啊!)