The day after Jiang Nannan returned from obtaining her soul ring, she and Zhu Ziyang went to the outer courtyard to attend a meal with Tang Ya, Beibei, and the others.
"Nannan!"
"Xiao Ya!"
At the entrance of Shrek Academy, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya embraced each other excitedly. Since one was in the outer courtyard and the other in the inner courtyard, their chances to meet were rare. The last time they had seen each other was three months ago, so now that they were reunited, both girls were overjoyed.
"Long time no see, Ziyang." Beibei smiled as he greeted Zhu Ziyang.
"It really has been a while," Zhu Ziyang replied. "So? Are you planning to enter the inner courtyard this year?"
"Hehe, hard to say," Beibei scratched the back of his head. "You know how it is, Xiao Ya started out slower. I want to wait and enter together with her."
"Hey! I've been working really hard too, alright?" Tang Ya immediately pouted when she heard that. "Besides, I'm already rank 36! You're only rank 39. I'll catch up to you soon!"
"Yes, yes, I misspoke, alright?" Beibei laughed and walked over to Tang Ya, taking her hand. "I've said it before, we'll definitely enter the inner courtyard together!"
"Hmph! I don't need you to wait. I can enter the inner courtyard myself." Tang Ya turned her head away in a slightly prideful gesture, but didn't pull her hand away from his.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan chuckled at the scene. It was common knowledge in the outer courtyard that Beibei was deliberately slowing down his progress to wait for Tang Ya. Otherwise, with his talent, he would've reached the Soul Ancestor realm by now. This wasn't just speculation—his peer, Xu Sanshi, who along with him was known as one of the Twin Stars of the outer courtyard, had already broken through to become a Soul Ancestor. Had Beibei not chosen to wait for Tang Ya, he would undoubtedly be a Soul Ancestor as well.
"Xiao Ya, you'd better work harder!" Jiang Nannan teased sweetly. "Brother and I are already Soul Kings!"
"What?" Tang Ya and Beibei were both stunned, staring blankly at Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan.
"Who's a Soul King?" A similarly shocked voice came from behind. Xu Sanshi walked over, pulling along Xue Weiwei. His expression mirrored Tang Ya and Beibei's. "Ziyang, you're already a Soul King? Damn, how are Beibei and I supposed to survive this pressure?"
"Seriously!" Beibei recovered from his shock, admiration filling his handsome face. "It looks like there's no hope of me beating you now, Ziyang. You're really putting pressure on everyone."
"Just good luck," Zhu Ziyang smiled calmly.
"Nannan, it's one thing for Ziyang to become a Soul King, but how did you also get there so fast? We agreed we'd be besties—why'd you leave us behind like this?" Tang Ya said, half-exasperated, half-amused. "Right, Weiwei? Looks like we're not even worthy to be Nannan's besties anymore!"
"Mm-hmm!" Xue Weiwei smiled warmly and nodded in agreement.
"Wow, I didn't abandon you two, but now you're ganging up on me?" Jiang Nannan pretended to be shocked and hurt. "And I liked you both so much too!"
With that, Jiang Nannan lunged at Tang Ya to teach her a lesson. Tang Ya quickly hid behind Xue Weiwei, who burst into laughter while trying to mediate between the two. The three girls laughed and played for a while.
"Alright, I give up!" Tang Ya stopped running after being caught by Jiang Nannan. "Nannan, you're bullying me. A speed-type Soul King picking on a control-type Soul Elder—no sense of chivalry at all!"
"What do you mean? I didn't even use my martial soul!" Jiang Nannan argued playfully, hugging Tang Ya and pinching her cheeks with a laugh.
"Pfft! With your physique, who needs to use a martial soul?" Tang Ya wasn't buying it. "Once I reach the Soul King realm, I'm going to tie you up and spank you!"
"Oh? So you're threatening me?" Jiang Nannan raised her delicate hand and said, "Then I better strike first!"
"Nooo! Sister Nannan, I was wrong!" Tang Ya instantly surrendered.
"Hmph! Lucky for you I'm magnanimous." Jiang Nannan didn't really intend to hit her and let her go after the playful surrender. Then she asked, "Since we're all here, what are we still waiting for?"
"Oh right! There's still one Junior Brother who hasn't arrived yet," Tang Ya said while fixing her messy hair and clothes from the earlier scuffle. "I was planning to use this chance to introduce him to you and Ziyang."
"Who is it?" Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan both grew curious, especially seeing Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Xue Weiwei's expressions. Clearly, they all knew who Tang Ya was referring to.
"Hehe, he's our new Tang Sect member!" Tang Ya beamed.
"A new member of the Tang Sect?!" This time it was Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan's turn to be shocked. They hadn't expected anyone from Shrek Academy to actually be persuaded by Tang Ya to join the Tang Sect.
"Xiao Ya, how did you pull that off?" Jiang Nannan asked immediately.
"Hehehe… I sort of tricked him into it," Tang Ya said a bit sheepishly under Jiang Nannan's eager gaze. "No, wait, it's not really tricking. I offered him a place in Shrek Academy without needing to pass the entrance exam!"
"So, he's one of this year's new students?" Zhu Ziyang understood. It seemed likely that Tang Ya had used the Tang Sect's exclusive Shrek admission quota to lure someone who couldn't pass the normal exams.
"Mm!" Tang Ya nodded and looked toward the academy entrance, puzzled. "At this time, Yuhao should be out of class. Why isn't he here yet?"
Seeing Tang Ya's behavior, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan grew even more curious about the new member. Meanwhile, Xu Sanshi and Xue Weiwei wore strange expressions. Especially Xu Sanshi—his face was tinged with grievance.
"Xu Sanshi, what's with that face? Don't tell me this new student has something to do with you?" Zhu Ziyang asked curiously.
"Ask Beibei!" Xu Sanshi said, pointing at Beibei with an aggrieved look.
"Uh…" Beibei looked a bit embarrassed after being called out and said with a laugh, "You can't blame me! You were the one who provoked Xiao Ya. And besides, I beat you in a challenge above my level. One Mystic Water Pill is already more than fair!"
"Hmph!" Xu Sanshi's face darkened. "What do you mean just one Mystic Water Pill? You think Mystic Water Pills grow on trees?"
From their exchange, Zhu Ziyang pieced together the situation. The new student probably wasn't very talented, so Beibei had made Xu Sanshi cough up a Mystic Water Pill as compensation. This meant Beibei actually cared about this new Tang Sect recruit. Maybe the student hadn't joined just for the Shrek Academy admission privilege.
That only made Zhu Ziyang more curious—what kind of fool would dare join the fallen Tang Sect with all its burdens?
"Ah, there he is!" Tang Ya shouted joyfully and waved toward the two students approaching from afar. "Yuhao, over here!"
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan followed her gaze and saw the two new students walking over. As they approached, their appearances became clear. The one in front was a thin, frail-looking boy dressed in a freshman uniform. His physique was weak, his features plain, but his eyes were unforgettable—clear, bright, filled with resolve and wariness. The moment they saw him, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan knew he was the new Tang Sect member.
His eyes were strikingly similar to Tang Ya's when they had first met. Like a fawn wandering into the dark wilderness, filled with fear, uncertainty, doubt, and unease. The only difference was that Tang Ya had a spark of optimism. This boy's eyes held none. Perhaps this was how Tang Ya looked before she met Beibei.
The boy behind him was the complete opposite—short blue hair, handsome features, arrogant gaze, and a noble air. He was clearly from an aristocratic family. His eyes were full of disdain for everything, though they softened when they landed on the boy ahead.
It was an odd pairing that made Zhu Ziyang even more intrigued.
"Teacher Xiao Ya!" The frail boy's face lit up with a sincere smile when he saw Tang Ya, and he quickly waved back.
(End of Chapter)
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