Breaking the Engagement

Tang San was feeling very upset—extremely upset, in fact.

When he came, he was traveling with Zhu Zhuqing. Although he didn't like Zuzong, he still had a good impression of Zhu Zhuqing, who was diligent in her cultivation but had a somewhat cold personality.

Shrek Academy was quite a distance from Suotuo City. With the thought of taking care of Zhu Zhuqing, Tang San decided to slow his pace.

After all, although Zhu Zhuqing was a sensitive-agility type soul master, her stamina couldn't possibly match his. Tang San, equipped with the superior internal energy cultivation technique "Mysterious Heaven Skill" and the Tang Sect's top-tier movement technique "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track," thought that while his top speed might be slightly lower than Zhu Zhuqing's after she used her martial soul, his stamina was far superior.

Who would have thought that Zhu Zhuqing maintained a speed one step faster than Tang San the entire way? Even when Tang San pushed both the "Mysterious Heaven Skill" and "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track" to their limits, he still couldn't keep up with her. This left him feeling very frustrated.

Tang San was a proud person. Although he appeared calm on the outside, deep down, his desire to compete was stronger than anyone's. From the time he spent with Zhu Zhuqing, he had a good understanding of her speed and endurance. So how had she gotten so strong in just one day?

It would have been fine if it had just been Zhu Zhuqing, since she was a sensitive-agility type soul master after all. But what really shocked him was that even the support-type Ye Lingling was able to keep up with his pace on the way back. This plunged Tang San into self-doubt—had he been using "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track" wrong?

"Hey, Tang San at the back, hurry up! What's the matter? Didn't have enough to eat, or were you out learning bad habits from Dai Mubai last night? Even Lingling, who's a support-type, is faster than you," a clan member at the front teased.

Zhu Zhuqing shot Zuzong a glance and thought to herself, "You're using soul power attached to your feet, which is both energy-efficient and fast, so of course it's easy for you. Tang San, on the other hand, is truly running with his legs."

However, she didn't say anything. Without permission from Zong, she wasn't allowed to teach this special technique for controlling soul power to anyone—especially not to someone as "blindly righteous" as Tang San.

If Zong knew what Zhu Zhuqing was thinking, he'd probably feel wronged. He wasn't doing this for no reason—he was trying to push Tang San to the limit with "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track." Where else could he find such a great opportunity to copy it? After all, his "Nine Yang Divine Skill" could be used to perform any martial arts technique, but he was just missing a good movement technique.

"Damn it, what's wrong with me?" Tang San cursed to himself.

Of course, if Tang San knew that Zong had secretly copied his "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track" using his Sharingan, he'd probably be even angrier. While his speed might not match his, "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track" was far superior to Zong's soul power attachment technique when it came to maneuverability.

Before long, Tang San and the others arrived at Shrek Academy.

Xiao Wu looked at the sign in astonishment and exclaimed, "No way! This is Shrek?"

"Xiao Zong, did Zhuqing make a mistake? This doesn't look like an academy at all."

Even though Zong had been prepared for this, a dark line still appeared on his forehead. This place was more rundown than even their Imperial Soul Village.

Zuzong patted Xiao Wu's head and smiled bitterly. "Let's just go inside."

As they entered the gate, the Shrek members were already waiting for them.

When Flender saw Zuzong, his brow furrowed, and he shot Yu Xiaogang a look. Is this the guy you said had no background? A guy with no background who has a Soul Douluo as his bodyguard?

Zuzong also carefully observed the group in front of him, excluding Yu Xiaogang and the Shrek students whom he already knew. The man with the hooked nose and square black-framed glasses was probably Flender, and the short, stocky man next to him, who was built like a bull, must be Zhao Wuji. The two of them looked rather unique, Zuzong mused to himself.

Walking forward with exaggerated enthusiasm, Zuzong greeted, "Dashi, you're here too!" (Note: the word here is "dashi," meaning "Master," but the author uses a pun here, saying "dashi" like "wet master" for comedic effect.)

Yu Xiaogang's stiff face rarely showed a smile, but toward this clan member, who he believed was the best candidate to be his disciple, he couldn't help it. Originally, he had planned for Tang San to compete with Zuzong after obtaining his first soul ring. 

Once Zuzong lost, he would take the opportunity to accept him as a disciple, which was similar to how he had recruited Tang San in the past.

But unexpectedly, a troublesome character appeared, and from that moment, Yu Xiaogang knew that Tang San wouldn't be a match for Zuzong until he had mastered his second martial soul.

Yu Xiaogang said, "Xiao Zong, I'm sure Zhuqing has already explained the situation to you. While Mubai has offended you, I still hope you can forgive him and help him through this crisis."

Zuzong smiled and looked at Flender. Compared to Yu Xiaogang, he had a better impression of this "Iron Rooster." Although Flender was greedy and a bit of a sycophant (toward Liu Erlong), he could at least differentiate right from wrong. Zuzong also had secretly stolen some of Flender's savings a few times—low-key, of course—and the fact that Flender hadn't tried to kill anyone over it made Zuzong think he was alright.

Zuzong cupped his hands and said, "You must be the famous Headmaster Flender! I appreciate how well you've taken care of Zhuqing here at Shrek Academy."

Flender's brow furrowed. For some reason, the sight of Zuzong made him feel uneasy. Remembering the times he had lost valuables in past years brought tears to his eyes, but knowing that Zuzong had a Soul Douluo as a bodyguard, he dismissed the idea that this person had stolen from him.

Flender said, "Oh, you must be the classmate that Master Yu often mentions—Xiao Zong, right? You're quite talented. Well then, I leave Mubai in your hands."

After entering Dai Mubai's dorm, Zhao Wuji had already covered Mubai's bed with a wooden board.

At this point, Dai Mubai couldn't be more frustrated. He still didn't know what had possessed him the previous night. Just as he was about to "strike the heart of the phoenix in the grass nest," he remembered the humiliation he had suffered earlier that day. Full of anger, he vented on the grass-nest phoenix for the entire night. By the time he came to his senses, he was in extreme pain and had lost all feeling below his waist.

For someone like Dai Mubai, who had always prided himself on his invincibility with women, it was a cruel irony to be rendered helpless now.

Yu Xiaogang said, "Xiao Zong, could I ask your companion Ye Lingling to lend a hand now?"

Instead of answering, Zuzong asked, "Master, I think you've known since Zhuqing came to find me at Nuoding Academy that we've been acquainted for some time, right?"

Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened. Back then, seeing how young Zhu Zhuqing was yet already possessing a soul power of level 27, he was quite impressed. With a bit of selfish intent, he had told Zhu Zhuqing that Zuzong had already joined Shrek, though the truth was Zuzong had only said he would visit.

Feeling embarrassed, Yu Xiaogang replied, "I may have exaggerated things a bit."

Zuzong shook his head and handed Flender an envelope. "That doesn't matter now. What I want you to look at is this."

"What is this..." Flender opened the envelope, and his expression changed drastically. Inside was a letter of annulment, already signed and stamped by Zhu Zhuqing herself.

_____

Check out my pa**on to read 100 advanced chapters. Link is in synopsis/description of this fic.

_____

If any of you find any error in the chapter, please point it out in the paragraph comments and I will correct it as soon as possible.