"How are you feeling now?"
Wang Yan gave Jiang Qingtong a careful once-over. She reassured him, "Don't worry, Teacher Wang. I'm fine now. My brother used his Ultimate Ice attribute to temporarily suppress the evil fire."
Only after hearing that did Wang Yan finally breathe a sigh of relief.
To fight for the honor of Shrek Academy, Jiang Qingtong had gone up against her own brother without mercy—even forcing her evil fire to erupt. No one could say she hadn't given it her all.
The eruption of her evil fire had become her clearest answer and declaration of loyalty.
To Wang Yan, Jiang Qingtong was now truly and completely one of Shrek's own.
And to those he considered his own, Wang Yan always showed great concern.
Off to the side, Beibei looked over at Jiang Qingtong and suddenly asked, "Since you just came back from the Sun Moon team… did you see Xiaoya?"
"I did. Why?" Qingtong nodded, looking puzzled. Meanwhile, Jiang Shengyu had already walked over to Tang Ya, apparently sensing something was going on between her and Beibei.
Wang Yan glanced at Beibei's dispirited expression and sighed. Then he explained softly to Qingtong, "Beibei and Tang Ya had a match earlier. He… lost to her."
Hearing that, Jiang Qingtong turned her gaze to Beibei. "Senior Beibei… did you lose on purpose?"
The moment she asked, Beibei's expression changed, his brows furrowing as he defended himself, "Of course not! Why would I do that on purpose? I'm a student of Shrek Academy—of course I fought with everything I had for the academy's honor… I… I…"
But as he spoke, his voice grew smaller and smaller. In the end, he fell silent.
That battle had dealt Beibei a heavy blow. To fight Tang Ya—representing the Sun Moon Empire—was something he couldn't emotionally accept. It had shaken his resolve, and he couldn't bounce back right away.
What he couldn't understand was why Tang Ya, the head of the Tang Sect, would fight against Shrek Academy on behalf of the Sun Moon Empire. Hadn't the Tang Sect once stood with the original Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent to resist that very empire's invasion?
And if it was about the Tang Sect's future, the academy had already stated that if both he and Tang Ya reached Titled Douluo rank, they'd help rebuild the Tang Sect. Mu En had even sent people to reclaim the Tang Sect's ancestral grounds in Heaven Dou City.
But when he brought this up during the match… Tang Ya only grew angrier.
Beibei couldn't understand why.
Watching his dejected state, Jiang Qingtong didn't say much. No matter what he thought, Beibei was still too naïve.
He really believed that Tang Ya, burdened with reviving the Tang Sect, would put her personal feelings for him above that mission?
That she would understand his stance and support him simply because of love?
Impossible.
In Tang Ya's mind, nothing was more important than rebuilding the Tang Sect. Even if it meant setting aside her feelings for Beibei temporarily, she would do it—without hesitation.
Wang Yan stepped in to break the tension, "Alright, let's put that matter to rest. We've still got matches coming up. Everyone rest and recover. We have to hold out until Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng return!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Ling Luochen returned to the official team's medical suite—a facility far superior to what the reserve members had access to. It had been specially arranged by the Duchess to ensure that Dai Yueheng received the best treatment possible.
Both Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen had also been invited to stay here. Even Dai Huabin had been moved into the suite, though he remained unconscious, unable to appreciate the comfort.
As soon as Ling Luochen returned, both Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng eagerly asked about the day's matches. When they learned that Shrek's solo battle event had been against the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy—and that they'd lost—both of them became visibly agitated.
"Damn it! Those bastards took advantage of our injuries… cough, cough!" Dai Yueheng cursed, only to aggravate his wounds, erupting into a fit of coughing.
Ma Xiaotao's brow was tightly furrowed. She turned to Ling Luochen and asked, "Qingtong had an evil fire outburst? Is she alright?"
"She's okay now," Ling Luochen replied. "Her brother, Jiang Shengyu, helped suppress it using his Ultimate Ice attribute."
"Her brother used Ultimate Ice?"
Ma Xiaotao was surprised. "Her brother has an Ultimate Ice martial soul too?"
Ling Luochen nodded. "Yes. His martial soul seems to be one of those unique to the Sun Moon Empire. I don't know exactly what it is, but the Ultimate Ice aura is unmistakable."
Seriously? Are Ultimate Ice martial souls just popping up everywhere now?
Ma Xiaotao and Yan Shaozhe had spent years scouring the continent in search of one—and now two had shown up in the Sun Moon Empire?
After hearing everything, Ma Xiaotao's eyes sparkled. "I'm going to check on Qingtong. Even if the evil fire was suppressed, that doesn't mean she's safe. I have to make sure she's really okay."
Without waiting for a response, she rushed off.
Dai Yueheng walked over to Ling Luochen and, watching Ma Xiaotao disappear down the corridor, asked quietly, "Is she… going because she's worried about Qingtong?"
"She has the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul too," Ling Luocheng replied evenly. "Of course she'd be concerned. As for Jiang Shengyu—he may be young, but he's handsome. With Qingtong as the connection, if Senior Sister Ma were interested… it wouldn't be impossible."
She took a few steps to the side, subtly widening the distance between them.
Dai Yueheng noticed but said nothing. He simply turned and returned to his room to rest.
Not long after Ma Xiaotao arrived at the reserve team's rest area, Elder Xuan returned as well.
"Wang Yan, I—"
He had barely stepped into the room and started speaking when he spotted Jiang Qingtong sitting in the lounge with Ma Xiaotao. He stopped mid-sentence, surprised.
Wang Yan quickly stepped out to greet him. "Elder Xuan, you're back."
Elder Xuan raised his hand to stop him and asked, "Qingtong, how did you get back?"
Jiang Qingtong offered a simple explanation. Elder Xuan listened and, while he accepted her words on the surface, he still found it strange.
If Jiang Shengyu had really brought her back, how had he not noticed?
Still, Jiang Qingtong wouldn't lie to him. The fact that she'd even pushed herself to the point of an evil fire outburst made her loyalty to Shrek Academy beyond question.
Could I really have missed it?
Ironically, Ye Yeshui's interference had ended up reinforcing Shrek Academy's trust in Jiang Qingtong, solidifying her position.
Ma Xiaotao clapped Qingtong on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Qingtong. Once we're recovered, we'll make sure to repay the Sun Moon team—with interest!"
PS: Access advance (100+) chapters at