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*****
"Brother Tian, are you really going to Shrek Academy with Tang San? Who is even at that academy? Why do you insist on going?"
"With our current strength, so many intermediate and even advanced Spirit Master academies have sent us invitations. Even the Headmaster said we should consider the advanced academy in the Balak Kingdom. We might even have a chance to participate in that Spirit Master Tournament later on!"
"I've asked around the entire academy about Shrek Academy, and no one has ever heard of it. It's probably some unaccredited, fly-by-night school. What good could it possibly do for our cultivation?"
Xiao Wu was completely exasperated. Did this mean the two of them would have to spend another several years studying with Tang San?
Ever since she had confessed her identity as a spirit beast to Xiao Tian, their relationship had become even closer. Xiao Wu had come to see Xiao Tian as her older brother, completely abandoning any thought of being the "big boss." Xiao Tian was very satisfied with this development. His training of Xiao Wu had been quite successful; at the very least, she now knew to cultivate diligently, keep a low profile, and not waste her time on meaningless things.
Xiao Tian leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, don't you trust your big brother? If the Grandmaster is really trying to scam us, we can just leave then. You said it yourself, with our current strength, we won't have any trouble finding a good advanced academy."
Xiao Tian felt a bit helpless himself. Once they got to Shrek Academy and Tang Hao finally left for good, he would be able to act without restraint. Besides, he had his own reasons for going to Shrek Academy: Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were there. Given his idiotic system's personality, as long as he did something involving the two of them, he should be able to trigger a critical hit reward.
Having come all the way to the world of Douluo, it would be a disservice to his awakened past-life memories if he didn't take a few beautiful wives. If it weren't for his curiosity about Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing and his desire to meet them, who would want to go to that godforsaken Shrek Academy?
Xiao Tian considered himself a very worldly person. Besides his love for the sword, he also loved all kinds of beautiful women. Of course, in his past life, he could only admire them through a screen, but now he had the chance to get up close and personal. How could he possibly pass up this opportunity? Of course, he would never be a simp. Not in this lifetime. He especially remembered a saying from a "grandmaster" in his past life: "Money is for women to see, not for them to spend."
Adapted to the world of Douluo, this meant: you can use your own strength and looks to attract the other party. If you can't, then just cut your losses. His special trip to Saint Soul Village was motivated by a similar idea. Ah Yin was also an exceptionally beautiful woman in the Douluo world, and she even had the "wife" attribute. Who wouldn't be excited by that? After Ah Yin re-condensed her form after a hundred thousand years, her body would be new as well. Who wouldn't want that? It was a good thing his storage ring had a treasure from the system that could completely conceal auras; otherwise, he would never have acted so recklessly. After all, compared to beautiful women, his own life was also very important.
Just then, Xiao Tian saw Tang San walk out of Yu Xiaogang's office and immediately asked, "How did it go?"
Tang San was in a very good mood. He smiled and said, "Mm, I finally managed to persuade Teacher. He's going to go to Shrek Academy with us."
"Tang San, are you sure Shrek Academy is any good? If I find out the Grandmaster scammed me, just watch how I'll beat you up! Even though you have an external spirit bone now, don't forget, I'm still stronger than you."
Yu Xiaogang, who had just finished packing a few things in his office, heard Xiao Wu's voice as he stepped out.
"Don't worry. It's true that Shrek Academy isn't famous on the continent, but that's because this academy only accepts monsters. I can let you in on a little secret: Shrek was founded by Flender, whom you met once before. An academy run by a rank seventy-eight Spirit Saint should have some credibility, don't you think?"
Originally, Yu Xiaogang had no intention of going to Shrek Academy with them. He had been hiding from Flender and Liu Erlong for so long. Because of certain events in the past, he didn't want to see either of them; he was too proud. However, under Xiao Tian's "abuse," Tang San's strength had improved rapidly, and he had reached rank thirty more than half a year ago. According to his theories, the best choice for Tang San's third spirit ring was one from a Man-Faced Demon Spider, but there were basically no such creatures in the nearby Spirit Hunting Forests. If he wanted one, his only option was to go to the Star Dou Great Forest and try his luck.
Seeing the expectant look in his disciple's eyes, and with the image of Tang San cultivating desperately in order to one day defeat Xiao Tian flashing in his mind, he had no choice. He had to write a letter and ask his old friend to come for a visit. That's right, Flender. This was the first time he had contacted Flender in all the years he had been in seclusion. Although Flender would have taken good care of Little San if they had just gone to Shrek Academy in half a year's time, Little San couldn't wait that long.
So, half a year ago, after receiving Yu Xiaogang's message, Flender had dropped everything at his academy and rushed over. It was on that day that Xiao Tian and the others had met him. And it was also on that day that Flender, after seeing the three of them, had vehemently urged Yu Xiaogang to bring them to his Shrek Academy. These were true geniuses, absolute monsters! At such a young age, they had all reached rank thirty or higher. They were far better than the likes of Oscar and Dai Mubai in his academy. He would have to properly supervise those little rascals to cultivate harder when he got back!
Xiao Wu: 'You're the rascal! Your whole family are rascals, you cat-eyed blind man!'
What surprised Xiao Tian was that Tang San, as the (fake) Son of Fortune of this world, had still managed to obtain the Eight Spider Lances external spirit bone, even after hunting the Man-Faced Demon Spider half a year ahead of schedule. However, upon learning that Tang San had obtained the spirit bone, Xiao Tian didn't feel depressed at all. On the contrary, he was a little excited. Now that Tang San's rank was above thirty, and with the addition of the Eight Spider Lances, if he were to defeat him now, he should be able to get a pretty good reward, right? And what if... what if he also pulled off the Eight Spider Lances? Would that trigger another critical hit reward? The thought alone was exhilarating.
Since Tang San had forcibly absorbed an external spirit bone beyond his rank, he couldn't easily and completely fuse with it unless he was subjected to an extremely powerful yet gentle spirit power pressure, like from the Poison Douluo in the original story. But Xiao Tian was in no hurry to fight him. He needed to wait until Tang San could actually use the Eight Spider Lances. And once they got to Shrek Academy, there would be plenty of opportunities to spar...
A few days later, after four days of hurried travel, they estimated that they should be able to reach Soto City by the next day.
Just then, Xiao Tian felt something soft collide with his back.
It was Zhu Zhuqing!
Her face was extremely pale, and the black cloak draped over her shoulders felt damp. Xiao Tian caught the scent of rust. It was blood!
"Brother, this person... she seems to be injured, and it looks pretty serious," Xiao Wu said with concern. She could see a thin trickle of black blood flowing down Xiao Tian's arm. It had clearly come from the unconscious girl.
"Xiao Wu, hold her for a moment. Let me check her back. The blood is coming from there, and she's probably been poisoned."
Xiao Tian's expression turned grave. He completely ignored the system's notification in his mind; saving her was the priority right now. He couldn't understand why Zhu Zhuqing would be injured and appear here. That's not how it happened in the original story. Could it be that she had escaped from her sister's pursuit but was seriously injured in the process? That shouldn't be right. How did she heal herself in the original story then?
After undoing her cloak, Xiao Tian could clearly see a long gash on her back.
"This young lady has likely been poisoned by a Shadow Poison Claw Wolf," Yu Xiaogang said, making a judgment based on the shallow wound.
"A Shadow Poison Claw Wolf?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.
"If my judgment is correct, then yes. It's fortunate that she was only lightly grazed, so the poisoning is not too deep. She should wake up after a while. The reason she's unconscious now is likely due to exhaustion. Luckily, the poison from this spirit beast isn't a potent toxin, but a slow-acting one. This young lady is very lucky to be alive!" Yu Xiaogang analyzed with great confidence.
"Little San, do you have any antidote pills on you?" Yu Xiaogang asked Tang San. He knew his disciple was always interested in poisons, so he might have some antidotes.
Faced with the expectant gazes of the other three, Tang San's expression stiffened, and he said with some embarrassment, "No, Teacher... I only have poisons on me right now. I haven't been able to make any antidote pills yet." Although he wanted to meet Xiao Wu's expectations, Nuoding City was ultimately too small and couldn't provide the resources he needed. The few poisons he did have weren't very potent either, which was a source of great frustration for him.
"Xiao Wu, help me move her into the tent for now. You're a girl, so change her into a clean set of clothes and clean the wound. I happen to have some wound ointment. It's a long shot, but we might as well try. Anyway, the Grandmaster said the poison isn't immediately fatal, and we'll be in the city tomorrow."
"Xiao Tian, isn't that a bit too reckless? It's better not to use medicine randomly," Tang San said with a frown.
"Don't worry. The Grandmaster said the poison isn't that serious. I'll transfer some spirit power to her later. She can use her own spirit power to resist it," Xiao Tian said nonchalantly.
In reality, what he was giving Xiao Wu wasn't some locally bought wound ointment, but a healing pill from his system that could both cure poison and heal wounds. He was only saying this because he couldn't explain its origin.
Xiao Wu trusted Xiao Tian unconditionally. She knew he probably had some other plan.
After they worked together to move Zhu Zhuqing into the tent, Xiao Tian handed the healing medicine to Xiao Wu. "Xiao Wu, give her one of these pills to take orally, and then grind the other one with water and apply it to her wound before bandaging it. She should be fully recovered in a few days. It would be a pity if such a beautiful girl were left with a scar because of this."
Hearing the first half of his sentence, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She knew that the brother she had acknowledged was no simple person. After spending so many years with him, she knew better than anyone that he was becoming more and more mysterious. But she was also very sensible and didn't ask any further questions. Xiao Tian would tell her what she needed to know when the time was right.
It was just... when she heard the second half of his sentence, for some reason, her heart felt a little sour.
Xiao Wu fell silent.
Xiao Wu pouted.
Xiao Wu whined.
"Brother, you didn't just have a change of heart because you saw she was a beauty, did you? You told me before that cultivation is the most important thing and that we shouldn't waste extra energy on other matters," she said with a wary expression.
"Hahaha, Xiao Wu, could it be that you're... jealous?" Xiao Tian couldn't help but tease her.
"Jealous? Why would I be jealous? As your sister, it's my duty to remind you that before we become strong, diligent cultivation is our number one priority!" Xiao Wu felt as if her secret thoughts had been exposed, and a blush spread across her face. But she still repeated the words he had once said to her, attempting to "CPU" him (a slang term for psychoanalyzing or manipulating).
However, she knew now was not the time to be hung up on this. Although the person before her was pale, it was clear she was a real beauty. Even she herself was a little captivated. It really would be a pity if she were scarred.
After pushing Xiao Tian out of the tent and warning the three men not to come within three meters without her permission, she took out a basin, a water kettle, and a towel from her storage soul tool and prepared to clean Zhu Zhuqing's wound.
After carefully removing Zhu Zhuqing's top, Xiao Wu's eyes went wide. She subconsciously covered her mouth, looked at Zhu Zhuqing's snowy white assets, then looked down at her own, and immediately fell silent.
She was green with envy! For the past six years, she had been eating papaya and milk every single day, and her cup size had finally evolved from an A to a B. But compared to Zhu Zhuqing's... comparisons are truly odious! For the past six years, she hadn't even eaten her favorite carrots every day!
Xiao Wu felt like crying. How was this even possible? Looking at Zhu Zhuqing's delicate face, she knew that she had to be around the same age as her. Out of curiosity, after cleaning the blood from her body and applying the medicine, she felt around her body, estimating her age by her bone structure.
Xiao Wu fell silent.
Xiao Wu was shocked.
Xiao Wu wanted to cry.
Although it might not be entirely accurate, it seemed that Zhu Zhuqing's age was... even younger than her own!
Outside the tent.
Only now did Xiao Tian have the time to pay attention to the system's notification.
[Warning! Warning! The God of Speed, Zhu Zhuqing, is rapidly approaching the Host! To avoid the jealousy of the God of War, Dai Mubai, the Host is advised to maintain a distance from Zhu Zhuqing and, preferably, avoid any physical contact! Otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences!]
'Responsible for the consequences?'
'Just wait until I meet Dai Mubai in a day or two. Let's see if I don't beat the crap out of him!' With Dai Mubai's current strength, he probably couldn't even beat Tang San, let alone him!
Mmm... Hmph!
After more than half an hour, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes fluttered open in a daze...
(End of chapter)