Seeing Dai Mubai about to attack, Su Ming, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong all prepared themselves. Su Ming calmly said, "Dai Mubai! You want to fight? Go ahead and try!"
Dai Mubai, however, no longer cared about what Su Ming said. Since Su Ming had decided to leave Shrek Academy, if they fought and Su Ming got the better of him, surely the two headmasters wouldn't just sit idly by.
"Su Ming, shut up! Disciplining my fiancée has nothing to do with you! I've been sick of you for a while now—messing around with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong. And now, you've got your eyes on my fiancée too?"
Su Ming: …
At that moment, Su Ming hadn't even considered such things. He wasn't someone who would take advantage of situations to impress women. Besides, he didn't think Dai Mubai could beat Zhu Zhuqing. He had always suspected that Zhu Zhuqing's abilities had a defense-breaking effect.
The reason Su Ming stepped up was simply because he saw Zhu Zhuqing as a friend.
Meanwhile, the members of the Emperor Team felt a bit out of place. Why had the Shrek Academy team suddenly turned on each other? Qin Ming felt the same way, thinking that Tang San's comment about Su Ming's cultivation technique was just the spark that lit the fuse.
All they could do now was wait and see what would happen.
Qin Ming also began to wonder—if Ning Rongrong brought Su Ming and the others to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, could he still bring in Tang San and the others? After all, he was just a talented teacher. His influence was nowhere near as great as Ning Rongrong's.
Seeing that Su Ming, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong had stood up for her, Zhu Zhuqing felt a warmth in her heart. But this time, she had made up her mind. It was time to settle things with Dai Mubai once and for all.
She had already anticipated this moment when she agreed to leave the academy with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong.
With a smile, Zhu Zhuqing told the trio, "You don't need to get involved. Dai Mubai and I need to settle this ourselves. I don't think he can beat me anymore."
Dai Mubai sneered. "Zhuqing, I admit you've improved quickly, but don't forget—I'm still one level above you. And as someone who knows the characteristics of the Hell Civet, I can tell you, all you've got is speed. Your attack power is nowhere near enough to break through my White Tiger's defense."
Su Ming: Where does Dai Mubai get all this confidence from?
Even Tang San recalled his previous fight with Zhu Zhuqing and whispered a warning to Dai Mubai, "Boss Dai, be careful. Zhuqing's strength is no joke."
But Dai Mubai ignored the warning. To him, the history of the Star Luo Empire had always shown the White Tiger to be superior to the Hell Civet. This would be no exception.
Without another word, Dai Mubai released his White Tiger martial spirit. His first and third spirit rings lit up, enhancing him to his strongest state.
"Come at me, Zhuqing! With your weak attacks, do you really think you can break through my full-power defense?"
With a swift step, Dai Mubai charged at Zhu Zhuqing, determined to show her his strength.
Zhu Zhuqing, however, wasn't worried. The White Tiger might excel in attack and defense, but in terms of speed, it was no match for her. What good was all that power if it couldn't hit her?
With the system-granted defense-breaking ability, Zhu Zhuqing was brimming with confidence in her attacks. She didn't need overwhelming strength—she had speed on her side.
She quickly summoned her martial spirit and activated her first spirit skill, Ghost Shadow Strike, to close the distance between herself and Dai Mubai. Then, with a quick movement, she gathered energy in her right hand and unleashed her third spirit skill, Hell Slash, striking down on him.
Dai Mubai, reacting swiftly, adjusted his stance, crossed his arms in front of him, and summoned a protective barrier of spirit power. "Zhuqing, give it up! Your Hell Slash won't be able to break through my defense!"
But to his shock, the moment her strike landed, a sharp pain shot through his arms, as if his defenses weren't there at all.
"Ahhhhh!"
Dai Mubai was sent stumbling back several steps, his arms bleeding profusely as he gritted his teeth in pain.
Seeing Dai Mubai in this state filled Zhu Zhuqing with satisfaction. She had long wanted to give him a proper beating, and today she finally had the chance. Her defense-breaking ability, even at half its full power, was more than enough to make Dai Mubai suffer.
Dai Mubai glared at Zhu Zhuqing, disbelief written all over his face. "Impossible! What did you do? Why do I feel like my defenses are useless?"
Everyone watching furrowed their brows. How was this happening?
Most of them had assumed Zhu Zhuqing wouldn't be able to beat Dai Mubai. But the outcome was completely unexpected.
Even Qin Ming was taken aback. He had thought Zhu Zhuqing's abilities were rather average, especially given her traditional path as an agility-type spirit master, which made her less effective in direct combat. He figured she was more suited for assassination, relying on speed and stealth to deliver a deadly blow.
Dai Mubai, having learned from his first mistake, didn't hesitate to launch multiple White Tiger Light Waves at Zhu Zhuqing, no longer caring that they were in a restaurant.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Su Ming, then easily dodged the slow-moving attacks.
Su Ming, understanding her silent request, created several wooden hands on the ground, which enveloped the incoming light waves and snuffed them out.
The ease with which Su Ming nullified the attack stunned everyone, especially Dai Mubai. Was the gap between him and Su Ming really that wide? His strongest attack had been neutralized so effortlessly.
Luckily, the group had reserved a private room for their dinner, so the soundproof barrier Su Ming had set up earlier prevented their fight from disturbing the other patrons.
Of course, the soundproof barrier was nothing special to Gu Rong, who had been eavesdropping from the shadows. He could break through it at any time, though he didn't see the need. Instead, he used space transfer to discreetly position himself within the restaurant.
Su Ming sensed Gu Rong's presence and couldn't help but twitch a little. That old man was at it again—always sneaking around to spy. Just like last time
Su Ming was more concerned about something else—when had Bone Douluo started eavesdropping on their conversation? Had he overheard everything? If so, that could be tricky to handle. After all, Gu Rong wasn't as easy to deal with as Ning Rongrong.
Considering Gu Rong's doting nature toward Rongrong, if he learned that Su Ming wasn't just interested in her, he might not approve of their relationship.
Su Ming had initially planned to keep things under wraps for as long as possible, waiting until his relationship with Rongrong was firmly established and his strength had grown enough to have more influence. At that point, he would confess everything to Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong, and Chen Xin. By then, they would have no choice but to accept it. However, now...
Well, Su Ming thought, it's best to take things one step at a time. Ultimately, the most important factor was Rongrong. As long as she didn't mind, given how much Ning Fengzhi and the two elders adored her, Rongrong could likely smooth things over with some sweet talk. After all, Su Ming was certainly no Oscar.
Still feeling a bit guilty, Su Ming glanced cautiously toward the spot where Gu Rong was hiding.
Gu Rong: …
Gu Rong silently acknowledged Su Ming's sharp instincts—it was impressive that he had sensed his presence. Still, Gu Rong felt he had to demand justice for Rongrong. His frustration was rising, and he figured a good beating would relieve his anger.
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing, who had just dodged Dai Mubai's attack, coldly scolded him, "Dai Mubai, you've become even worse. You claim you've changed, but we're still in a public place—a restaurant. What if your reckless attacks hurt innocent people?"
Without giving Dai Mubai a chance to respond, Zhu Zhuqing unleashed her speed again, instantly closing the distance and activating her second spirit ability, Nether Hundred Claws.
Dai Mubai, unable to dodge in time, instinctively raised his arms to defend himself, but it was useless.
Zhu Zhuqing followed up with a powerful kick to Dai Mubai's stomach, sending him flying.
To prevent Dai Mubai from crashing through the walls of the private room, Su Ming quickly raised a wooden wall in the path of his flight.
Boom!
Dai Mubai slammed into the wooden wall hard, fell to the ground, and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body felt weak and dizzy.
But more than his physical pain, Dai Mubai was tormented by the fact that he had been defeated by Zhu Zhuqing. This shouldn't have happened! In the history of the Star Luo Empire, the Hell Civet had always been the weaker of the two. Otherwise, the imperial family wouldn't have forced arranged marriages with the Zhu family.
Every generation, a prince of the Star Luo Empire was required to marry a woman from the Zhu family—this was a mandatory royal marriage.
So it was easy to imagine how difficult this defeat was for Dai Mubai to accept, especially since he was three years older than Zhu Zhuqing.
During the attack, Zhu Zhuqing had also infused a bit of icy energy into Dai Mubai's body. While she hadn't yet mastered the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, she was skilled enough to use a bit of icy energy.
Even after Dai Mubai's physical wounds were healed, unless the healer was highly skilled, the lingering cold energy would continue to torment him, leaving him weak for a while.
The private room fell into a heavy silence. Qin Ming noticed something unusual—Dai Mubai's arm wounds were slowly expanding. Was this the result of a special spirit ability? He realized he had underestimated Zhu Zhuqing.
Qin Ming quickly turned to Ye Lingling and said, "Lingling, release your spirit and heal Dai Mubai."
To his surprise, Ye Lingling's typically cold expression tightened, and she shook her head. "Teacher Qin, I must refuse. Dai Mubai disgusts me. His character is so vile—why should I heal him?"
As a fellow woman, Ye Lingling understood Zhu Zhuqing's frustration. What woman would want to live under someone else's control?
And Dai Mubai's earlier behavior had certainly left a bad impression.
Dugu Yan chimed in, "Teacher Qin, I can't believe you. Can't you see who's in the right and who's in the wrong here? Are you helping Dai Mubai just because he's your teacher's student? You've really disappointed us!"
Qin Ming felt the weight of Dugu Yan's words—she was right. He had been biased, not wanting his teacher's students to look bad.
Seeing Dai Mubai defeated, Oscar hurriedly made a recovery sausage. Although his sausage's healing effect was the weakest in the room, it was better than nothing. After all, neither Ye Lingling nor Su Ming would help heal Dai Mubai, leaving Oscar as his only option.
Su Ming was also impressed by Zhu Zhuqing's strength—she was truly formidable!
As for Qin Ming, Su Ming merely glanced at him. Was Shrek really worth all this? Even after learning so much, Qin Ming still defended them! It seemed he was of the same ilk as the rest of them—if not, then he wasn't far off.
Su Ming spoke up, "Let's leave it at that. Dean Flender, you'd better find a good healer for Dai Mubai soon. Oscar's recovery sausages won't be enough."
Then, turning to Qin Ming, Su Ming asked, "Teacher Qin, are you still planning to recommend Tang San and the others to Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"
Qin Ming hesitated for a moment, glancing at Dean Flender before making up his mind. Despite the tension between Su Ming and Tang San, he couldn't turn his back on his teacher, and Tang San's talent was undeniable. He couldn't let it slip away.
"Yes, despite your differences with Tang San, I'll still recommend them to Heaven Dou Royal Academy! Without Dean Flender, I wouldn't be who I am today."
Su Ming nodded indifferently. This Qin Ming was really stubborn. Fine, if he loved Shrek so much, let him stick with them. Once Su Ming made contact with Dugu Bo, he would make sure Qin Ming was removed.
Unexpectedly, Dugu Yan stepped forward and said, "Teacher Qin, after what you've done tonight, I don't think you're fit to be our teacher anymore. You should resign on your own, or things will get ugly when my grandfather steps in."
Her statement shocked everyone in the Emperor Team, except for Ye Lingling. Was Dugu Yan really going to make Teacher Qin quit over this?
Yu Tianheng, puzzled by Dugu Yan's unusual behavior, asked, "Yan, what are you doing?"
Ignoring him, Dugu Yan turned to the rest of the Emperor Team and asked, "What do you all think of my decision?"
Realizing that Dugu Yan wasn't asking for their input but informing them of her decision, the team nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly. They knew it wasn't worth offending Dugu Yan over a teacher—her grandfather was a titled Douluo, after all.
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT