"Senior Chu, that must be the Sky Azure Tree, right? Is this one of your soul skills?"
Temporarily setting aside her doubts, Ning Rongrong recognized the Sky Azure Tree summon that Chu Chengzhou hadn't yet retracted and asked curiously.
If she wasn't mistaken, the effect of this Senior Chu's True Spirit Flag martial soul was to summon spirit beasts for battle?
"Mm, my martial soul is rather unique. The effect of my soul skill allows me to summon spirit rings and beasts to fight."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but feel a jolt in her heart. Even Zhu Zhuqing, who stood nearby, opened her mouth in surprise.
These two weren't ordinary commoners. They came from distinguished families and had far broader horizons than most soul masters.
The ability to summon spirit ring beasts? If Chu Chengzhou ever managed to obtain a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, wouldn't he dominate most Title Douluo on the continent?
No, it didn't necessarily have to be a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring. Finding a powerful ninety-thousand-year spirit beast as a spirit ring would also allow him to contend with many Title Douluo.
After all, barring any unexpected circumstances, a seventeen-year-old thirty-fourth-level Soul Elder likely wouldn't reach the ninth-rank Title Douluo level.
However, while becoming a Title Douluo might be out of the question, reaching an eighth-rank Soul Douluo was still possible. And even eighty-level soul masters had a chance to attach a ninety-thousand-year spirit ring.
"By the way, Xiao Wu, I'm just about to arrange dormitories for these two juniors. But you know how the academy's dorms are. Rongrong wants to live in our wooden building. What do you think…?"
Retracting the Sky Azure Tree summon, Chu Chengzhou pointed to the two dilapidated wooden houses they had previously lived in and turned to Xiao Wu.
"Rongrong, you want to live in our wooden building? No problem. Principal Flender is such a cheapskate—he has money but refuses to renovate the dorms. Those shabby houses leak wind and rain; even dogs would disdain them!"
Xiao Wu didn't hesitate and immediately agreed, taking the opportunity to criticize Flender's stinginess.
"Hehe~, thank you so much, Xiao Wu!"
Ning Rongrong smiled and thanked her.
"What about you, Zhuqing? Do you want to stay with us?"
Xiao Wu asked the taciturn Zhu Zhuqing.
"This..."
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated.
Her purpose in coming to Shrek Academy was to find Dai Mubai. If the wooden building were only occupied by Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, or if all the academy's students lived there, she wouldn't have hesitated.
But this wooden building belonged to Chu Chengzhou, and he was the only male living there. As the future princess consort of Star Luo Empire, moving in would be somewhat inappropriate! What if Dai Mubai misunderstood the situation?
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing had no idea that Dai Mubai had already fallen into depravity.
Even though his reputation in the Star Luo City circles over the years had been poor, and even her older sister Zhu Zhuyun had called him a coward without responsibility, Zhu Zhuqing still held some hope for him.
She hoped that Dai Mubai coming to Shrek Academy wasn't an act of cowardice but rather a sign of striving for strength, working hard to accumulate power to defeat his older brother, Dai Weisi (T/N: Fun Fact- That's how the Chinese phonetically transliterate the name Davis), and seize the position of Crown Prince, thereby changing his fate of having his soul power revoked—or even being killed.
"Zhuqing, including you and Rongrong, our academy has only three girls. Let's live together!"
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's hesitation, Xiao Wu quickly urged her.
With so few people in the academy, Xiao Wu felt her role as the "big sister" was meaningless.
Now that two new sisters had finally arrived, how could she, as the self-proclaimed big sister, not take good care of them?
"Xiao Wu, you're saying our academy has only three girls?"
Ning Rongrong seized the key point.
"Yes! Before you two arrived, counting me and my brother, the academy had only five students, and I was the only girl."
Xiao Wu nodded.
Instantly, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were thunderstruck.
Was Shrek Academy some kind of just barely surviving institution?
The academy was already in such a sorry state, and now it turned out there were hardly any students! Who gave the principal the courage to keep the academy running?
After recovering from their shock, Ning Rongrong began to persuade Zhu Zhuqing.
Since there were only three girls in the entire academy, refusing to live together would make her seem anti-social, wouldn't it?
After repeated persuasion from both of them, Zhu Zhuqing stopped resisting and decided to move into the wooden building with Ning Rongrong to strengthen what could be considered—for now—a superficial sisterhood.
It was only their first day meeting, and they had known each other for less than an hour. That they even had a superficial sisterhood was thanks to being part of the same academy and the fact that there were very few female students.
As for whether this sisterhood would remain superficial or grow into something stronger—well, that depended on how things developed later.
"By the way, Zhuqing, your martial soul is the Netherworld Spirit Cat. This type of martial soul seems to belong only to the Netherworld Spirit Cat family of the Star Luo Empire, right? Why did you come to Shrek Academy?"
Suddenly, Ning Rongrong recalled a crucial detail and looked at Zhu Zhuqing with curiosity.
As the little princess of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong might have her flaws, but there was no denying that she was well-informed, especially when it came to martial souls.
"I know. Our academy has someone named Dai Mubai, whose martial soul is the White Tiger."
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou spoke up.
"Dai Mubai? White Tiger martial soul? Zhuqing, don't tell me you have some connection with this Dai Mubai?"
Ning Rongrong probed Zhu Zhuqing with a curious look.
If she remembered correctly, didn't the White Tiger Dai family of the Star Luo Imperial Family have a long-standing marriage alliance with the Netherworld Spirit Cat Zhu family?
"Mm, we've had a betrothal since childhood."
Not trying to hide anything, Zhu Zhuqing simply nodded after being guessed correctly.
"No way? Zhuqing, you're engaged to that lecherous tiger, Dai Mubai?"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened in disbelief.
That lecherous tiger Dai Mubai, who changed girlfriends faster than clothes, was worthy of her newly acquainted little sister?
"Lecherous tiger?"
Zhu Zhuqing paused, apparently surprised by the bad impression Dai Mubai had left on Xiao Wu.
Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up with excitement, clearly eager to hear some juicy gossip.
While there were indeed people in the world who didn't like drama, Ning Rongrong, the mischievous little devil who thrived on chaos, certainly wasn't one of them.
At this moment, Ning Rongrong's sharp mind was already spinning scenarios.
Could it be that Dai Mubai was fooling around with women outside, and Zhuqing, unable to tolerate his behavior despite their engagement, chased him all the way to Shrek Academy?
"Zhuqing, let me tell you, that lecherous tiger Dai Mubai changes women faster than clothes. According to Ma Hongjun from the academy, sometimes he even juggles three dates in a single day.
This kind of scumbag isn't worth your time. I think you'd better break off the engagement as soon as possible."
Xiao Wu urged Zhu Zhuqing.
In the past, Xiao Wu thought Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were cut from the same cloth—both insatiable lechers.
But now, Xiao Wu believed Dai Mubai was even worse than Ma Hongjun. At least Ma Hongjun wasn't engaged, so fooling around with women was his own business.
Dai Mubai, on the other hand, was different. His promiscuous behavior completely disregarded Zhu Zhuqing, who was engaged to him.
Chu Chengzhou tugged at Xiao Wu and said, "Xiao Wu, you shouldn't say these things. Dai Mubai isn't an ordinary person, and dissolving an engagement isn't that simple."
"Why not?"
Xiao Wu was puzzled.
"Dai Mubai is the third prince of the Star Luo Empire. Publicly breaking off an engagement would be slapping the face of the Star Luo Imperial Family. Unless someone strong enough forces the Emperor to agree to the annulment by putting a knife to his throat, it won't happen."
Given the overbearing nature of the White Tiger Dai family, Chu Chengzhou was certain that the imperial family would never agree to dissolve the engagement.
Unless an external force intervened—and it had to be a powerful one—even an ordinary Title Douluo wouldn't suffice.
Luring the 'Nether' young miss into his pond was going to be a long and arduous task.
Of course, it wasn't absolutely necessary to crush the entire Star Luo Empire—making them powerless to retaliate would be enough.
Even if they were slapped hard in the face, if resolving the issue required paying a price too heavy for the Star Luo Imperial Family to bear, they would likely ignore it.
After all, Zhu Zhuqing was merely the fiancée of an unimportant prince.
A little loss of face here and there—the Star Luo Imperial Family had suffered countless humiliations before.
If they cared too much about face, they would have gone to war with the Spirit Hall a long time ago.
The Star Luo Empire was powerful, while the Tian Dou Empire was weaker. There had been opportunities in the past for the Star Luo Empire to annex Tian Dou, but all were thwarted by the Spirit Hall.
Such deep animosity existed because the Spirit Hall's fists were strong. Otherwise, the Star Luo Empire would have ground them to dust long ago.
One could say that the ones who hated the Spirit Hall the most weren't the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, whose wealth was coveted, nor the Tian Dou Empire, whose interests were heavily infringed upon—but rather the Star Luo Empire, whose chances at unifying the continent were repeatedly sabotaged, and the Hao Tian Sect, which was forced into seclusion more than a decade ago.
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family: ??? What about me?
"Put a knife to the Star Luo Emperor's throat?"
Ning Rongrong's expression turned strange. Senior Chu's ideas were quite dangerous!
However, though dangerous, they suited her taste perfectly.
Because the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was a staunch ally of the Tian Dou Empire, every time the two empires went to war, the sect had to support the weaker Tian Dou Empire.
And in war, sacrifices were inevitable. Over the centuries, many of the sect's ancestors and elders had died at the hands of the Star Luo Empire's army.
If one were to tally it up, the Star Luo Empire was actually the greatest enemy of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
However, as long as the Tian Dou Empire didn't fall, the Star Luo Empire couldn't do much to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. This led to the Spirit Hall, which had its eyes on the sect's vast wealth, becoming the sect's biggest enemy.
"Xiao Wu, can you tell me more about Dai Mubai?"
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing spoke up with a calm expression.
"My brother and Dai Mubai have many conflicts. I also don't like him, and I don't know him well, so what I say might be biased. Why don't you ask Ma Hongjun and Oscar from the academy later?
They're closer to Dai Mubai and don't yet know about your relationship with him, so their words should be more credible."
After hesitating, Xiao Wu suggested that Zhu Zhuqing ask Ma Hongjun and Oscar herself.
Even if she told the truth, Zhu Zhuqing, as the fiancée, might subconsciously think she was deliberately smearing Dai Mubai. It was better to let Zhu Zhuqing seek answers from others.
"That works."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded indifferently, though inwardly she respected Xiao Wu a bit more.
Though young, she had already experienced the warmth and coldness of the world.
From Xiao Wu's earlier words, she could sense that Xiao Wu had a very negative impression of Dai Mubai—perhaps even to the point of disgust.
Xiao Wu could have unilaterally smeared Dai Mubai, but she chose not to, showing that her character was good.
And when making friends, shouldn't one befriend those with good character?
The wooden building Chu Chengzhou had constructed was fairly spacious. The first floor included a living room, bathroom, forging room, and an empty bedroom intended to serve as a storage room. The second floor had a small living room and four bedrooms.
At the time, Chu Chengzhou had calculated carefully: one room for him, one for Xiao Wu, one for Ning Rongrong, and one for Zhu Zhuqing, perfectly allocating the four bedrooms on the second floor.
Now everything unfolded according to the original plan. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing moved into the remaining two bedrooms on the second floor.
Just as Chu Chengzhou was contemplating whether he could visit their rooms in the evening, Xiao Wu suddenly furrowed her brows, as if remembering something.
"Brother, all three of us girls are staying on the second floor, and you're the only guy. Why don't you move downstairs to that bedroom?"
Xiao Wu suggested to Chu Chengzhou.
Instantly, this suggestion resonated with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
Indeed, with all three girls staying upstairs, it would be inconvenient for Chu Chengzhou, the only male, to stay there.
If there were no empty rooms downstairs, they wouldn't have raised the issue.
After all, guests should respect the host's arrangements—how could they suggest kicking the host out?
But since there was an available room downstairs, it made perfect sense for the only male to move down.
Besides, this suggestion wasn't made by them—it was proposed by Xiao Wu, another resident of the house. They couldn't be accused of forcing the host to leave.
Stabbed in the back by Xiao Wu, Chu Chengzhou looked utterly incredulous.
What was the point of building this wooden house in the first place? Besides the academy's dorms being terrible, wasn't it so he could have more opportunities to interact with Little Rich Girl and Miss Nether?
Now that the rich girl had arrived, and Miss Nether too, he was being kicked out by Xiao Wu.
Should he move or not?
Did he even have a choice?
No choice! He had to move downstairs.
There was nothing else to it. He was a man. Even if he objected, with three votes in favor—especially Xiao Wu's vote—he would lose decisively.
"Xiao Wu, you really are my good little sister!"
Chu Chengzhou ruthlessly ruffled Xiao Wu's rabbit ears.
Ruining my plans—you'll pay for this, little bunny!
"I am your good little sister!"
Xiao Wu pretended not to catch the hidden meaning behind his words and responded innocently.
Having Chu Chengzhou move downstairs was a deliberate move on her part.
With Chu Chengzhou living downstairs, his daily interactions with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing would naturally decrease, reducing the chances of him being lured away.
Some things, even among good sisters, couldn't be given up! Especially when the sisterhood was still superficial.
At noon, seeing that it was mealtime, Xiao Wu grabbed Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing—one by each hand—and headed to the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Chu Chengzhou, who had been forced to move and had already relocated to the first floor, followed behind with a sour expression.
As soon as they entered the cafeteria, Chu Chengzhou spotted Ma Hongjun and Oscar sitting at a table, gorging themselves.
"Rongrong, Zhuqing, the chubby one is Ma Hongjun, and the skinny one is Oscar."
Pointing to Ma Hongjun and Oscar, Xiao Wu introduced them to the two girls.
Xiao Wu's voice immediately caught Ma Hongjun and Oscar's attention. They looked up toward the door.
When they saw Zhu Zhuqing's fiery figure wrapped in tight black leather, Ma Hongjun nearly drooled.
"Fatty, where are you looking? Keep ogling Zhuqing like that, and Big Sister Xiao Wu won't go easy on you!"
Seeing Ma Hongjun's lecherous gaze, Xiao Wu immediately scolded him.
Admiring beautiful women was natural—it was human nature for men to enjoy looking. But staring so lewdly was unacceptable.
"My bad, my bad, Big Sister Xiao Wu. Are these two beauties new students at our academy?"
Ma Hongjun said awkwardly.
"Hmph~! Rongrong, Zhuqing, let me tell you, when my brother and I first arrived last year, this pervert tried to flirt with me. My brother beat him up so badly his head swelled like a pig's…"
Snorting, Xiao Wu ignored Ma Hongjun and instead recounted his embarrassing story to the two girls.
"Big Brother Chu, are these the new sisters who just arrived today?"
Glancing at the noble Ning Rongrong and the voluptuous Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar quietly asked Chu Chengzhou.
"Mm."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
"Big Brother Chu, you already have Xiao Wu. Surely you won't compete with me, right?"
Oscar probed.
"You? No chance!"
Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow and then shook his head.
"Eh, Big Brother Chu, that's unfair. Xiao Wu is so great, how can you eat from the bowl while eyeing the pot?"
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not lying—you truly have no chance!"
Chu Chengzhou straightened his expression and spoke seriously.
Though he secretly harbored such thoughts, he couldn't admit it. Otherwise, Xiao Wu wouldn't approve, and he had to proceed cautiously.
"Why not?"
Hearing that he truly had no chance, Oscar was baffled.
He was Oscar, born with full soul power, and he was the hottest guy in any crowd. How could he have no chance?
"Ning Rongrong is an auxiliary system soul master, and you're a food system soul master. You're not within her criteria for choosing a partner."
Chu Chengzhou pointed to Ning Rongrong, intending to dispel Oscar's hopes. What he said was true.
Ning Rongrong came from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, which had a rule for its direct-line disciples:
Anyone who awakened the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul must choose a partner capable of combat.
Otherwise, if both partners were soft auxiliaries, how could they protect each other?
"Tsk~, what a pity. What about the other one?"
Regretfully glancing at Ning Rongrong, Oscar turned to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Her name is Zhu Zhuqing. But you can forget about her. As for why, you'll find out later."
Chu Chengzhou said mysteriously.
"Big Brother Chu, you still claim you're not interested in her?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou's evasiveness, Oscar became even more convinced of his greed.
He refused to believe that with such an impressive figure, Chu Chengzhou wouldn't be tempted!
"Oscar, stop talking nonsense. I'm not that kind of person!"
Catching Xiao Wu's glance in his direction from the corner of his eye, Chu Chengzhou quickly straightened his attitude and refuted Oscar with a serious expression.
"Fatty, Little Ao, have you seen Dai Mubai?"
At this moment, Xiao Wu asked the two.
It wasn't that Xiao Wu cared about Dai Mubai—it was on behalf of Zhu Zhuqing.
"Dai Mubai? Haven't seen him since this morning. He probably went to Suotuo City for a date?"
Without much thought, Ma Hongjun blurted out.
Instantly, Zhu Zhuqing's expression darkened.
Ma Hongjun's immediate response confirmed that Dai Mubai's situation was exactly as Xiao Wu had described earlier.
And the impression Dai Mubai left on his classmates spoke volumes about his lifestyle.
Thinking back on the years she endured sneers in Star Luo City, Zhu Zhuqing had convinced herself that Dai Mubai came to Shrek Academy to work hard. But to her dismay, it seemed he wasn't striving for strength at all—he was simply enjoying his final days!
"Alright, alright, let's eat quickly. The food will get cold if we keep talking."
Noticing Zhu Zhuqing's gloomy mood, Xiao Wu quickly changed the subject.
"Big Brother Chu, does this girl have a connection with Dai Mubai?"
Observant Oscar noticed Zhu Zhuqing's unease and quietly asked Chu Chengzhou.
"Mm."
Chu Chengzhou didn't elaborate, merely nodding.
"Tsk~, poor girl!"
Oscar cast a sympathetic glance at Zhu Zhuqing.
How could he not know what kind of person Dai Mubai was?
He was also somewhat aware of Dai Mubai's identity as a prince of the Star Luo Empire. Knowing that Zhu Zhuqing was connected to Dai Mubai, it was almost certain that their relationship stemmed from a family-arranged marriage.
Arranged marriages without any emotional foundation naturally bred resistance, especially when paired with someone like Dai Mubai. In Oscar's eyes, Zhu Zhuqing's parents were essentially pushing their daughter into a fire pit.
Though Oscar's voice was soft, Zhu Zhuqing, being a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, had significantly better hearing than ordinary people and wasn't far away, so she naturally heard him.
Thus, Zhu Zhuqing's heart sank even further.
If only Chu Chengzhou were closer to the big cat, he would surely hold her close to comfort her.
In the afternoon, feeling bored and not wanting to cultivate, Xiao Wu decided to invite her two newly acquainted sisters to go shopping in Suotuo City.
Ning Rongrong readily agreed since she loved to play.
On the other hand, Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat reluctant.
She was a diligent girl. Otherwise, she wouldn't have surpassed Ning Rongrong in soul power despite having inferior talent and being younger.
But thinking about it, it was an invitation from her classmates, and Ning Rongrong was going. To avoid appearing antisocial, Zhu Zhuqing ultimately agreed.
"Brother, we're planning to go shopping in Suotuo City. Are you coming?"
Coming downstairs, Xiao Wu saw Chu Chengzhou practicing boxing behind the wooden building and asked.
"I won't go. Just remember not to stay out too late!"
Glancing at the three of them, Chu Chengzhou declined.
If it were just Xiao Wu, he might have gone, but with all three together, he decided against it.
What would he, a guy, do tagging along with newly acquainted sisters shopping? Discuss which store had prettier clothes?
"Oh~, then we're leaving!"
Waving goodbye, Xiao Wu led the two girls out of the wooden building.
"Xiao Wu, what was Senior Chu doing just now?"
Once outside, Ning Rongrong curiously asked Xiao Wu.
"Exercising, of course~"
Blinking, Xiao Wu didn't elaborate on the real situation to Ning Rongrong.
But saying he was exercising wasn't wrong either. After all, his body-refining techniques did improve physical fitness—they were just extraordinarily effective.
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