Chapter 365: Chapter 345: Qian Renxue’s Resentment
"Rongrong, can you not ask about this for now?"
"…," Ning Rongrong stared at her for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. "Fine, I won't ask. Tell me what you're thinking first."
Zhu Zhuqing carefully considered her words, thinking about what she could say and what should be kept hidden.
After a moment, she spoke, "That person told me to go to Spirit City before the Academy Tournament begins. I think this might be a good opportunity."
"The person you're talking about, are they a member of the Spirit Hall?"
"I don't know." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes. "The strongest person in the Spirit Hall should be the current Pope, right? But the mysterious person who has taken an interest in me is a man, and he doesn't seem very old either. The strange thing is, I feel like I know him, but that doesn't make sense. Whether it's from the Star Luo Empire or the Zhu family, if someone like him had appeared, there would be no way they'd leave no trace."
"I don't know much about the Spirit Hall either. Should I ask my dad and Sword Grandpa? They might know who this person you're talking about is."
"…," Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment but eventually shook her head, rejecting Ning Rongrong's suggestion. "Let's not tell your father and Sword Douluo about this for now. I don't want others to know about it yet. By the way, Rongrong, do you think he wants me to represent Spirit Hall Academy in the tournament? Didn't Grandmaster mention before that this year's Spirit Master Academy Tournament would have a team made up of Spirit Hall Spirit Masters as well?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head and replied earnestly, "Zhuqing, you can't treat the Spirit Hall as an ordinary power. Their ambitions are set on the entire continent. So, for them, this tournament isn't just about making a name for themselves—it's also an opportunity to recruit and discover talent. If you can defeat the Spirit Hall Academy team, the attention you'll receive will be very different. I also believe that you'll definitely outperform the Spirit Masters from Spirit Hall Academy when the time comes."
As she spoke, she smiled warmly at Zhu Zhuqing, "No matter what happens in the future, we'll always be the best of friends, right?"
"Mm."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded and made up her mind.
Whether she joined the Spirit Hall or allied with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the decision would have to wait until after the tournament.
Maybe she would miss the promise she made three years ago, but if she could win the championship, there would be nothing to regret.
In this tournament, the Star Luo Royal Academy team would be directly seeded into the finals, and her elder sister would likely be part of it. Perhaps this could be an opportunity.
Meanwhile, in the palace of the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Renxue sat in her study, deep in thought.
"Three of them have external spirit bones among these people... they're really lucky…"
On the desk in front of her lay a stack of documents, including detailed information about several students from Shrek Academy.
The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament was about to begin, and academies from all over the continent were gathering in Heaven Dou City. During this time, she had met with many academy leaders and numerous young Spirit Masters with great potential.
Naturally, the Shrek Academy team, now part of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, was among them.
The reason she paid attention to this ragtag academy that wasn't even officially registered with the empire was partly due to the information she initially received from the education committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. But more importantly, it was because her current identity as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of Heaven Dou was publicly known as the disciple of Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
And Ning Rongrong, the heir-apparent of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, was a student at this academy.
However, after meeting these people in person through Ning Fengzhi's introduction, Qian Renxue became even more interested. She even thought this team might have a chance to defeat the Spirit Hall Academy team and deliver a heavy blow to Bibi Dong's reputation.
Especially Zhu Zhuqing, whose talent for Spirit cultivation was extraordinary.
As the heir of the Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue had naturally heard of the existence of the Hell White Tiger Spirit Fusion Technique.
But she had never imagined that such a Spirit Fusion Technique could be passed down through a Spirit Master's bloodline, existing independently as a Spirit.
Zhu Zhuqing's Hell White Tiger Spirit was of a quality no less than a divine-level Spirit, and even Qian Renxue, who possessed the divine-level Six-Winged Angel Spirit, felt somewhat threatened by it.
The only reason Zhu Zhuqing wasn't a match for her now was due to the vast difference in their current cultivation levels. Her potential hadn't fully bloomed yet.
But once Zhu Zhuqing advanced to the Spirit Saint level and acquired her Spirit Avatar, the Six-Winged Angel might not be able to defeat her at the same level.
Her Spirit was the ultimate in offensive power—a top-tier Beast Spirit. While it might not surpass the Six-Winged Angel in terms of quality, it was far more suited for combat, with much greater explosive power when using Spirit abilities.
However, despite Zhu Zhuqing's remarkable talent, Qian Renxue couldn't help but feel a strange sense of dislike for the girl.
Perhaps it was due to the threat posed by her Spirit, or perhaps for some other reason, but either way, Zhu Zhuqing greatly irritated her.
As for another outstanding student at Shrek Academy, Tang San, Qian Renxue didn't have much opinion on him.
It didn't matter that he was shrewd and calculating.
She had seen plenty of people like that. He was just a bit more mature than most.
What she hadn't expected, though, was that this guy was the son of her "father's killer," Tang Hao.
Of course, grudges should be settled by those directly involved. She had never considered the idea of making Tang San pay for his father's sins.
Thinking of Tang San, Qian Renxue couldn't help but recall another person—a boy who had stood her up.
Compared to Tang San, that person's talent was far superior.
Not even thirteen years old and already a Spirit Elder, he was no less talented than she was. Zhu Zhuqing couldn't even compare.
By now, he was probably already at the Spirit King level, right?
At this thought, a trace of frustration and annoyance flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes.
Thinking back to their first meeting, the boy had acted all innocent and naive, with the simplicity of a country boy.
It turned out he had been pretending the whole time, and he had successfully deceived her!
Following Su Cheng's clues, Qian Renxue had secretly dispatched several trusted members of the Spirit Hall to investigate Xue Beng for months, and they had indeed found some problems.
This Fourth Prince had some ambitions beneath his playboy exterior, contrary to his seemingly useless persona.
But aside from that, everything else Su Cheng had said was completely unrelated to reality.
Xue Beng and Su Cheng had never even met!
That was very strange.
If they had never met, how could Su Cheng have known about Xue Beng's hidden ambitions beneath his facade?
After all, she had been undercover in the Heaven Dou Imperial family for years and had never noticed her "younger brother" had so many schemes.
Could it be that Su Cheng had just been playing a prank on her, and his lies had coincidentally hit the mark?
Regardless, it was thanks to that boy's lies that she had discovered the problem in time and dealt with it. She owed him some gratitude for that.
If the boy was still alive, that is.
At this moment, a knock sounded on the study door. "Young Master."
"Come in."
At Qian Renxue's command, Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo entered the room.
Snake Spear Douluo spoke first, "Young Master, it seems that Xue Beng's unexpected death has raised some suspicions. Especially Prince Xue Xing; he has been secretly contacting high-level officials in the empire and frequently visiting Emperor Xue Ye. Should we take care of him quietly?"
"No need. Even if they suspect something, it won't affect the overall situation. As the Emperor, Xue Ye understands the gravity of the matter. He won't remove me, the last remaining member of the royal family, based on mere suspicions. At this point, no matter what Xue Xing does, it's too late. However, if we go too far, it might provoke a backlash from Emperor Xue Ye, and that wouldn't be good."
After addressing Snake Spear Douluo, she turned to Porcupinefish Douluo. "Uncle Cixue, how's the poison preparation going?"
"We've made an initial batch, but it's not perfect yet. Should we start using it?"
"There's no rush. Take your time and perfect it. After so many years, there's no need to rush now."
"Understood, Young Master."
After the two finished their reports, they turned to leave.
Qian Renxue paused for a moment, unable to hold back, and called out to the two men. "Uncle She, have you found any leads on Su Cheng and Su Yue, the brother and sister I asked you to investigate earlier?"
"None." Snake Spear Douluo shook his head, a trace of confusion flickering across his face.
The day Su Cheng met Qian Renxue, it was Snake Spear Douluo who had been waiting outside Moon Pavilion disguised as a coachman. He had long since memorized both the appearance and aura of the siblings perfectly.
Given Snake Spear Douluo's Title Douluo-level strength, ordinary disguises would never escape his perception unless the opponent possessed something akin to a nearly 100,000-year-old spirit bone, like his own young master.
But that was clearly impossible. Having such a powerful spirit bone, with an ability to perfectly complement a disguise-type spirit bone, would be too much of a coincidence.
As for Su Cheng having somehow hidden from him using his own strength, Snake Spear Douluo didn't even consider it.
A boy not even thirteen years old being able to conceal his aura from him? That was pure fantasy.
"Those two kids seem to have vanished into thin air. During this time, I've notified various Spirit Hall branches in other towns, but none have sent back any information. As for the other advanced spirit master academies, they haven't appeared there either."
"…"
Qian Renxue furrowed her brows and fell silent, a trace of worry surfacing in her heart.
Could that kid have actually died somewhere?
Although the odds of that happening were low, it wasn't entirely impossible.
The powerful abilities of spirit masters often led them to act above the law. Due to their extraordinary powers, their personalities were easily influenced by their martial spirits, which frequently led to uncontrolled emotional outbursts.
Though the Spirit Hall's governance had kept evil spirit masters in check, ensuring peace in the spirit master world, conflicts over interests were still inevitable.
Especially among young people—even without any real conflict of interest, jealousy alone could spark a major confrontation.
Although that boy had deceived her and made her extremely angry, it wasn't a crime deserving of death.
If a civilian genius with such extraordinary talent were to perish like that, it would be a real shame.
Qian Renxue found it odd that she had such a favorable impression of Su Cheng, despite only having met him once, and her tolerance for him was unusually high.
"…Young master?"
Seeing Qian Renxue lost in thought, remaining silent for a long time, Snake Spear Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo exchanged glances. After some eye contact, the defeated Snake Spear Douluo spoke up to remind her.
"Hmm?" Qian Renxue snapped back to reality, realizing her lapse, and waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing. You two can leave now."
After the two men left, she lowered her eyes and muttered bitterly to herself, "You better have a good reason. No one has ever dared play tricks on me. If I find you, you'll pay."
Outside Spirit City, Su Cheng remained unaware of the series of events that had unfolded in Heaven Dou City. He also didn't know that, despite losing several rare herbs that could have improved their talents, the Shrek Seven Devils had gained other aids, significantly boosting their cultivation and strength.
Still, he hadn't planned on investing much time in those people at this stage. A few observations were enough to grasp the essentials.
In comparison, helping Su Yue quickly regain her peak strength was far more important.
"Why are we here? Are we planning to join the Spirit Hall?" Su Yue casually tossed her long, waist-length black hair and asked flatly. She wasn't sure about Su Cheng's exact plans, but the question was more out of curiosity than concern—she wouldn't oppose his decision anyway.
After all, she had gotten used to this by now.
A life where she didn't have to worry about anything was quite comfortable.
"Joining Spirit Hall is correct, but it won't be both of us—it'll just be you," Su Cheng said with a smile as he turned to Su Yue.
The girl's expression froze, her delicate eyes blinking as if she didn't quite understand what he meant.
"Just me?"
"Yes, I'll handle negotiations with Spirit Hall, and you'll join them for a while to accumulate some experience. You're different from ordinary 100,000-year spirit beasts—even I can't see through your true form, so none of those Title Douluos will be able to detect anything."
"And you?"
"I'll assess the situation and might have some other things to take care of."
"…"
Su Yue's face remained expressionless, but a trace of confusion flickered deep in her eyes.
The two had only been together for a few short years, a blink of an eye compared to her long life. But now, she found herself unsure of what to do alone.
In the past few years, her progress in cultivation, the restoration of her Dragon God bloodline, and her control over her power had far exceeded her original expectations.
Since that was the case, why bother worrying?
After all, Su Cheng always took care of everything for her…
Su Cheng didn't notice the deep, hidden emotions in her eyes. He continued speaking as if nothing had changed. "By the way, I had an agreement with Zhu Zhuqing. She can come to Spirit City to find me after three years. It's about time, and I told her to use your name. She might not come, but if she does, look after her and give her some pointers."
"…"
Hearing this, Su Yue immediately felt even more displeased.
Though she merely twitched her brows slightly, not showing too much on the surface.
Weekly Power Status
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