章節 79: [DD2]: 78

Looking at Wang Dong'er, whose heart had already flown towards the Sun Moon Empire, Niu Tian shook his head helplessly. He shifted his gaze to the side, landing on Tai Tan.

"Second Brother, I'll have to trouble you again this time."

Tai Tan patted his chest, signaling Niu Tian to rest assured.

"Don't worry, Big Brother. Leave it to me—no problem at all. I guarantee, if anyone dares to bully Dong'er, I'll twist their head off."

Tai Tan stretched out his large hand, as big as a fan. With his strength, he could indeed twist someone's head off with just one hand.

Niu Tian: (ー_ー)!!

This blockhead. Is violence all you think about?

"Second Brother, let me remind you again: don't start hitting people over small matters. As long as Dong'er isn't in any life-threatening danger, and as long as no one is abusing their power to bully her, you don't need to take action. Dong'er isn't a flower in a greenhouse; she needs to grow too."

Niu Tian spoke earnestly.

"Oh, got it."

As soon as he heard there wouldn't be any fighting, Tai Tan looked much less interested.

"Don't give me that look. If I find out you're ignoring my words again, just see how I'll deal with you."

Niu Tian shot Tai Tan a dangerous glare that made him shudder.

"Don't worry, Big Brother, I've got it," Tai Tan quickly assured him. He knew very well that when his Big Brother got serious, it could be terrifying.

"That's more like it. Also, keep an eye on that Su Yu. If you notice anything strange, come back and tell me. But don't be rash, and don't cause any conflict with the Ice God Palace. Just keep an eye on him."

"Understood!"

Tai Tan thumped his chest.

"Good. Then tomorrow, take Dong'er to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy."

Having finished what he needed to say, Niu Tian felt a bit exhausted. These two, big and small, never gave him a moment of peace! At least he had said everything that needed to be said. He could only hope everything would go smoothly.

...

Sun Moon Empire, Radiant City.

After several months away, Su Yu had returned once again. The unique metallic atmosphere of Radiant City was indeed unlike any other city on the Douluo Continent. For Su Yu, Radiant City felt more familiar and welcoming. The neon lights, the dazzling brilliance of a city full of life, always stirred memories in Su Yu's heart.

By coincidence, the first time Su Yu had come to Radiant City, it had been nighttime. Now, setting foot in Radiant City again, it was still night. The unique night view of Radiant City was truly captivating.

"Snow Empress, how do you feel?"

Su Yu held the little Snow Empress in his arms. The bustling prosperity of this human city left her overwhelmed. Compared to the Extreme North, a lifeless expanse of white, the dazzling nightscape of the human city was an enormous shock to Snow Empress, who had never seen such sights before.

She had to admit that compared to soul beasts, human civilization was far more advanced. The creativity of humans was something soul beasts could never even dream of. No wonder humans had risen on the continent and even surpassed soul beasts for a time. Human creativity, wisdom, and societal systems were all terrifying in their efficiency. In contrast, soul beasts still lived in a primitive way, with loose systems where everyone went their own way. There was no comparison in terms of creativity.

Humans had short lifespans, but their advantages were ones soul beasts could never hope to match.

Watching the silent Snow Empress, who was lost in thought from the shock, Su Yu smiled faintly but didn't hurry her. Radiant City was perhaps the most advanced and prosperous city on the entire continent, with the widespread use of soul tools that left other countries in awe. For Snow Empress, coming to Radiant City was almost like Iskandar arriving in the 21st century—the shock she was experiencing was likely beyond words.

"This city is so prosperous, it'd be a shame to blow it up. Like I said, you just can't store an armory in the capital—it's too dangerous."

"These dangerous weapons are too much for the Sun Moon Royal Family to handle. Better leave them to me."

"I'm strong enough to manage them."

Remembering how Radiant City was destroyed in the original story, Su Yu felt it was such a pity. To save the Radiant City, he'd have to nip things in the bud and clean out the armory. There was no other way—Young Master Su was just that kind-hearted. He couldn't bear to see the world suffer. Dog head.jpg

Of course, Su Yu was just joking. Doing that would be extremely difficult. Radiant City's armory wasn't something you could just waltz into. Still, thinking about the numerous destructive weapons inside, Su Yu couldn't help but salivate a little. He loved powerful weapons the most.

Don't ask why—he just had a deep-rooted fear of insufficient firepower. The only cure was a ninth-level stationary soul cannon shell. (=^▽^=) If he could have a few dozen of those laid out in front of him, Su Yu swore he'd be cured instantly.

With random thoughts swirling in his head, Su Yu carried Snow Empress and strolled around Radiant City. Finally, he found a hotel, booked a private room, and rested for the night.

...

The next morning, after washing up and having breakfast, Su Yu fed Snow Empress some snow lotus juice. Afterward, he carefully placed her into the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse. Only then did Su Yu, alone, head toward the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy.

"System, check-in!"

Walking along the road to the academy, Su Yu casually initiated a check-in.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, you've obtained Zhang Lexuan's undergarments.]

Huh..?

Su Yu froze. What was this? Why had the check-in targeted her? Did he even need a check-in for this? If he wanted it, would Zhang Lexuan even... cough cough.

Clearing his throat, Su Yu pretended nothing had happened and continued walking with his hands behind his back.

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy, Zhang Lexuan stared at her missing undergarments, which had mysteriously disappeared right after she changed. She fell into deep thought.

...

Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Dean's Office.

Jing Hongchen looked at the handsome young man standing in front of him, his expression anything but pleasant. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his legs and spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Oh, isn't this our exceptionally gifted, well-connected Su Yu? Where have you been vacationing? Our little academy is so small; how could we possibly accommodate a big shot like you? We're so lucky you even remembered our humble academy exists."

Right from the start, Jing Hongchen used a sarcastic tone to express his dissatisfaction. Su Yu had said he was going to get a soul ring, but then he disappeared for nearly four months! Anyone in Jing Hongchen's position would have been angry; Su Yu's behavior had been utterly outrageous.

Seeing Jing Hongchen's attitude, Su Yu wasn't surprised. After all, he'd been gone for almost four months without a word, despite saying he'd be back shortly.

Since Su Yu remained silent, Jing Hongchen, still not finished venting his frustration, continued:

"As the head of Illustrious Virtue Hall for so many years, I've never encountered anything so absurd. Does getting a soul ring take four months? And you didn't even send back a single message during that time. Do you know how worried the academy was?

"Sure, you're talented, the academy's prized student, but that doesn't mean you can act spoiled. You need to understand that while you're here, you're a student, and everything should be done according to academy rules. You can't just do whatever you want. Where's your sense of responsibility?

"If you're so amazing, why didn't you just stay outside? You remembered to come back?"

Jing Hongchen's words came out in a flurry, so fast that even spittle flew in his frustration. Not particularly good-looking to begin with, he looked a bit ferocious in his agitated state. As he leaned closer, some of his spittle almost landed on Su Yu's face. Su Yu subtly tilted his head, but the movement didn't escape Jing Hongchen's sharp eyes. Instantly, his expression darkened further.

"What's this? You're avoiding me? Are you disgusted by this Hall Master?"

The more Jing Hongchen thought about it, the angrier he got. He even considered giving Su Yu a good beating. But when he thought about Su Yu's incredible talent, he hesitated. He genuinely liked Su Yu—the kid was just too gifted, too smart.

At the same time, he was more troublesome than any other student. Normally, everything was fine, but when Su Yu acted up, it was a headache. It was a love-hate relationship. If it had been anyone else, Jing Hongchen would have expelled them without a second thought. But with Su Yu, he was this upset and emotional, which showed just how much he valued the boy.

Sometimes, scolding someone shows you care. When you truly don't care, you won't even bother saying an extra word to them.

Looking at Su Yu, who kept his head down and said nothing, Jing Hongchen's anger continued to surge. It took him a long time to calm down. He pointed at Su Yu, paused for a moment, then finally sat back down in his chair.

"Well, tell me—what have you been up to these past few months? Give me a reasonable explanation. And don't tell me you've been fooling around for four months. If that's the case, don't blame me for making you clean all the toilets for your entire grade."

Su Yu: "..."

Wow, that's harsh. Cleaning the toilets for the whole grade? How did you even come up with that? For someone like Su Yu, who loved cleanliness, that would be worse than death.

"Hall Master there's a reason I didn't return for so long," Su Yu said, carefully choosing his words as he began to explain.

"Well, let's hear it. It better be convincing," Jing Hongchen replied coldly. No matter the reason, Su Yu had still been gone for four months. Jing Hongchen just hoped Su Yu could give a plausible explanation so he could brush the matter under the rug. Otherwise, did Su Yu think no one would gossip? The academy wasn't run by Jing Hongchen alone. If Su Yu went too far, people would start talking behind his back.

As for punishing Su Yu, Jing Hongchen hadn't even considered it. Yes, he was angry, but this was Su Yu—an exceptionally gifted and intelligent student. Even his granddaughter liked him. What could he do? Of course, he'd choose to forgive him. For all his tough talk, Jing Hongchen just wanted to teach Su Yu a lesson, to make him remember this incident. Once was enough—he didn't want to go through it again.

Su Yu looked at Jing Hongchen and gave the excuse he had prepared in advance:

"Hall Master, the reason I didn't return for so long is that I encountered a rare opportunity. I discovered an extremely rare cold pool in the Extreme North. The pool contained exceptionally pure ice energy, comparable to millennium ice marrow. Hall Master, you know how valuable a place like that is for ice-attribute soul masters like me. I couldn't pass up such a rare opportunity, so I had to enter the cold pool to cultivate. But I didn't expect the energy in the cold pool to be so abundant. By the time I finished refining it, several months had passed. It's not that I didn't want to send a message to the academy—I simply didn't have the time."

Su Yu's tone was calm, his eyes steady. Even though he was lying, his expression didn't change. He had to lie—what else could he say? That he hadn't returned because Snow Empress was teaching him the Three Absolute Techniques? That would've sounded even more ridiculous. The reason he gave now was as plausible as it could get.

Listening to Su Yu's explanation, Jing Hongchen felt a toothache coming on. Wait, wasn't this a bit far-fetched? Discovering a cold pool with abundant energy and then cultivating in it for several months? Did Su Yu think he would believe that?

It was almost as if Su Yu could read minds, because before Jing Hongchen could speak, Su Yu added, "Hall Master, I can prove it. My soul power has now reached level 46 Soul Ancestor. If it weren't for the cold pool, how could it have risen so high?"

As he spoke, Su Yu released his soul power. Jing Hongchen was stunned. The aura of a level 46 Soul Ancestor was unmistakable. He was even close to becoming a level 47 Soul Ancestor.

No way, is this for real?

Jing Hongchen had thought Su Yu was making up excuses. But it turned out Su Yu was telling the truth. Had he encountered a cold pool and cultivated there for three months? And he hadn't been fooling around outside?

Jing Hongchen had no reason to doubt him—Su Yu's soul power was too high. This was a level 46 Ultimate Ice Soul Master. That was no joke!

Aside from the situation Su Yu described, Jing Hongchen couldn't think of any other explanation. So, had he misunderstood Su Yu? Su Yu wasn't intentionally staying away. He was still the diligent, outstanding student he had always been. And Jing Hongchen had scolded him for so long, wrongly.

This child had been wrongly accused, yet he didn't say a word in his defense. Such a good child, and I scolded him so harshly. I even took away his monthly stipend of 100,000 gold soul coins. I'm such a terrible person!

At that moment, Jing Hongchen suddenly felt a sense of guilt. He had thought Su Yu's disappearance was suspicious, but it turned out Su Yu had been left with no choice. The poor kid didn't want to be away—it was just circumstances beyond his control. With that, all the anger Jing Hongchen had felt evaporated, replaced by a sense of guilt.

He had wronged Su Yu.