Tang San's Mental Breakdown

Balak Kingdom, Suotuo City.Suotuo Grand Hotel was one of the most luxurious hotels in Suotuo City and even in the entire Balak Kingdom. Its grand scale rivaled that of the Martial Soul Hall in Suotuo City.

After the final group spirit battle between Emperor and Shrek, Zuzong made almost 300,000 gold soul coins from bets.

Since everyone was determined to have Zuzong treat them to a feast, Zuzong's student wasn't stingy either. Booking a super luxurious private room at Suotuo Grand Hotel cost 10,000 gold coins alone.

While waiting for the others to arrive, Zuzong casually sat on a 15-meter-long beast leather sofa, holding the kitten.

As for those who arrived early, they were happily munching on sunflower seeds, refraining from disturbing Zuzong's intimate moment with his girlfriend. Even Xiao Wu was distracted by Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, whom Zuzong had paid handsomely to keep her occupied.

Holding Zhu Zhuqing's soft, fair hand, Zuzong felt delighted but a bit reluctant, knowing they would soon part ways for a while.

Zuzong softly said, "Zhuqing, I'll be returning to Heaven Dou tomorrow. I'll miss you."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded, "Mm."

"Will you miss me, Zhuqing?"

"Mm."

"Zhuqing, how about you stay with me tonight?" As he said this, Zuzong was already bracing himself for a possible heel to the face.

However, Zhu Zhuqing's response surprised him. Blushing, she nodded slightly and softly said, "Mm."

Zuzong was stunned, his heart racing. Could it be that tonight he would finally leave boyhood behind and become a real man?

Little did Zuzong know, if this had been before, Zhu Zhuqing would have refused. Although she wasn't against the idea of being intimate, she was a conservative girl. She knew that the easier something was for a man to get, the less he would cherish it. 

Even though she trusted Zuzong, she still wanted to save herself for their wedding day, dressed in the most beautiful gown.

But things were different now. Zhu Zhuqing sensed a crisis.

No one understood her man's excellence better than she did. In both looks and talent, he was unmatched. In a world like Douluo Dalu, where strength was revered, a strong man like Zuzong was bound to be admired by many women. She knew that any girl who hadn't yet fallen in love would be smitten upon meeting him.

Aside from Xiao Wu, who had known Zuzong longer than she had, even the aloof Ye Lingling was starting to look at Zuzong with different eyes. 

This look was something only Zhu Zhuqing could notice, as she herself had had that same look back in the Star Dou Forest cave—before she became Zuzong's girlfriend.

Seeing Zuzong's confused expression, Zhu Zhuqing smiled slightly, "Don't get any ideas. I won't be sharing the same room with you."

"Ah…" Zuzong's face froze, his smile vanishing.

Then, he quickly recovered. It didn't matter if they stayed in the same room or not; as long as she stayed, that was good enough.

An elder once said back on Earth: Patience is a virtue. Big achievements take time.

Zuzong and Zhu Zhuqing continued their affectionate conversation, while the others from Emperor and Shrek gradually arrived.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuzong noticed Qin Ming speaking with Yu Xiaogang, Flender, and Zhao Wuji. It seemed they were discussing something.

Yu Xiaogang occasionally glanced over at Zuzong.

No doubt, they were likely discussing the "Shrek borrowing the chicken to lay eggs" plan—using Heaven Dou Royal Academy's qualification for the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament to benefit Shrek.

In the original story, Flender wasn't too happy about it, feeling it wasn't worth giving up half the glory to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Later, they entered Heaven Dou Royal Academy and even beat up Xue Beng. Well, Zuzong had done that too.

The problem was, they then went on to insult the Heaven Dou teachers, which eventually got them kicked out by Dugu Bo, who was called in by Xue Xing.

It could be said that Shrek's "fearless troublemaking" motto was flawed. Essentially, it was just bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

But things had changed. Shrek was no longer as arrogant after their crushing defeat to the Emperor team.

The feast was soon ready, and everyone sat down.

"Cheers!" Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate.

Zuzong swirled his wine, glancing around. Everyone from Shrek had arrived, except for Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Meng Yiran.

Seeing this, Zuzong chuckled to himself, "It seems Tang San has had a mental breakdown. Could it be like in the original story, where after suffering setbacks in the Continental Tournament, he turns to focus on training with the Clear Sky Hammer? Let's see if Yu Xiaogang can stop him. As for Meng Yiran, she's probably gone with him. And that Dai Mubai... well, he's acting weirdly feminine now, who knows what's up with him."

Zuzong turned to Yu Xiaogang and Flender, feigning curiosity. "Master, Dean Flender, where are Tang San and Dai... er, Dai Mubai? Why haven't they come?"

Phew, almost called him Dai Eunuch by mistake.

Yu Xiaogang's stiff face twitched slightly, his brow furrowing. He knew his student, Tang San, very well. Despite his calm and unassuming demeanor, Tang San was actually very proud and ambitious. This time, his pride had been deeply wounded by the defeat.

If it weren't for needing to discuss joining Heaven Dou Royal Academy with Qin Ming, Yu Xiaogang would've gone to comfort his disciple by now.

Yu Xiaogang replied, "Tang San has recovered from the poison, but his body is still weak, so he returned to the academy early."

Flender's brow also furrowed. "Mubai—Mubai wasn't feeling well either, so he left with Tang San."

Dai Mubai's sudden departure caught Flender by surprise. Normally, he would never miss such a gathering. But this time was different. Shortly after the spirit battle ended, people started calling him names like "Dai Girl," "Dai Eunuch," and "Sissy," most of whom were his ex-girlfriends.

After hearing this, Dai Mubai was mortified. He quickly changed back into more masculine clothes, vowing to reclaim his manhood.

The owner's daughter of the hotel was one of his ex-girlfriends, so naturally, he stayed far away. Flender only found out after asking Ma Hongjun.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the party grew more lively.

The girls were fine, sipping light beer, but the boys were getting tipsy.

Zuzong, in the spirit of "gratitude," took out a dozen bottles of century-old soul liquor that the system had once stolen. This delighted everyone, especially Flender and Zhao Wuji, who rarely had the budget to enjoy anything more than regular beer. Even the typically reserved Yu Xiaogang drank a few cups, a rare sight indeed.

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