Chapter 77 – Escape, Mission Complete
"Dean, please don't hurt her!" Dai Mubai shouted hoarsely from the ground, his body curled up in pain.
Flender raised a brow in surprise. So, these two actually know each other?
That made things even better. It would be easier to bring Zhu Zhuqing into Shrek Academy if she already had ties with Dai Mubai.
"Mu Bai, how's your injury?" Flender asked, concern flashing in his eyes.
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, forcing a brave smile despite the agony surging through his body.
"Dean, I'm fine!"
He hadn't forgotten Zhu Zhuqing's cold declaration earlier—she said she would only marry a true man. How could he admit weakness now?
Flender walked over and placed a hand on Dai Mubai's shoulder, channeling a trace of soul power to check his condition.
"Hiss…" His brows furrowed.
"Mu Bai, you call this fine? These wounds are serious!"
He could feel that several of Dai Mubai's muscles and blood vessels had been torn apart by some kind of thin, coiled weapon.
Fortunately, those hidden weapons hadn't struck any vital points. Otherwise, if something like those Dragon Beard Needles had pierced his heart and twisted inside, they might have shredded it completely.
Flender sighed inwardly. 'So badly hurt, yet still trying to act tough… Fine then. I'll play the bad guy and handle this for you.'
He took out a small, candy-shaped pill and stuffed it into Dai Mubai's mouth, stabilizing his injuries.
Then he turned toward Zhu Zhuqing, his tone suddenly sharp and domineering.
"Hmph! Such audacity! How dare you injure a student of Shrek Academy within Suo Tuo City's borders? Do you think Shrek is without power or pride?"
"I'll kill you right here to avenge Mu Bai!"
His soul power surged as he took a step forward. At the same time, his keen eyes carefully observed Zhu Zhuqing, gauging her Martial Soul.
Under the crushing weight of his aura, Zhu Zhuqing had no choice but to release her Martial Soul to resist.
Her body trembled slightly under the pressure, but her eyes remained cold and defiant as she glared at both Flender and Dai Mubai.
"Dean! Please don't hurt her!" Dai Mubai's voice came again—his wounds had stabilized a little after taking the medicine.
Flender, of course, had no real intention of killing Zhu Zhuqing. On the contrary, he admired her talent and wanted her to join the academy—and perhaps even hoped to match her with Dai Mubai.
Still, he couldn't show that openly. He needed to intimidate her first.
"Mu Bai, if I let this go, what message would that send? If outsiders can harm Shrek students without consequence, what will others think of our academy?"
While he spoke, Flender secretly sent Dai Mubai a voice transmission and winked.
Dai Mubai immediately caught on. His eyes brightened, and he said quickly, "Dean, as long as Zhuqing joins Shrek Academy, she wouldn't count as an outsider!"
"If we're fellow students, then this would just be friendly sparring, right? A few injuries between classmates—perfectly normal!"
Flender stroked his chin and pretended to think it over.
"This…"
Then he turned to Zhu Zhuqing with a deliberately serious face.
"Girl, for Mu Bai's sake, I can give you a chance. Are you willing to join Shrek Academy?"
Despite his injuries, Dai Mubai couldn't help but boast proudly, his voice tinged with arrogance.
"Zhuqing, you might not understand—Shrek Academy has the strictest standards. Students must reach rank forty to graduate! Even the best among us have gone on to become elders of the Spirit Hall!"
Zhu Zhuqing merely watched the two of them coldly, expression unreadable.
Before coming here, she had already learned the truth about Shrek Academy from Qi Tian.
No matter how beautifully they painted their words, she would never join them.
At that moment, the clock struck midnight.
A familiar, steady voice echoed in her mind—Qi Tian's soul had arrived, just as promised.
"Zhuqing, are you alright?" his voice was filled with concern.
Warmth blossomed in her chest, and the tension she'd been holding melted away.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
"Alright."
Qi Tian immediately activated the Spatial Transmission Function of the Sea-Calming Pearl.
In an instant, a brilliant five-colored light burst forth from Zhu Zhuqing's body, shrouding her completely and cutting off Flender's perception.
"Ah! My eyes! What kind of soul skill is this?!" Flender exclaimed, shielding his face. The dazzling radiance was blinding, and even his spiritual sense was unable to detect Zhu Zhuqing's presence.
The sheer power of that mysterious ability startled him deeply—it was on par with the techniques of a Soul Saint.
He hastily summoned his Martial Soul, ready to defend himself.
But before he could even enter Martial Soul Possession, Zhu Zhuqing's figure had already vanished without a trace.
"Where… where did she go?"
Flender stared in disbelief at the empty space before him.
Back at Shrek Academy, he immediately summoned Shao Xin to treat Dai Mubai's injuries.
Though Shao Xin was a food-type auxiliary soul master, his sugar beans weren't just for support—they also contained healing soul skills.
"Hiss—Mubai, who did this to you? How could you be hurt this badly?"
Flender only shook his head slightly, signaling Shao Xin not to ask further.
Shao Xin carefully extracted the golden needles embedded in Dai Mubai's body one by one before feeding him several types of sugar beans—some to accelerate recovery, some to enhance healing effects, and others to replenish energy.
Within moments, most of Dai Mubai's wounds had begun to heal. But his eyes were empty, his spirit utterly broken.
His fiancée had annulled their engagement—and worse, she had defeated him despite only having the cultivation of a Soul Grandmaster. How could he possibly lift his head again after such humiliation? Living felt meaningless.
---
Meanwhile, several miles away from Suo Tuo City, Zhu Zhuqing had already escaped.
If not for the risk of something unexpected happening, Qi Tian could've fled much farther before teleporting Zhu Zhuqing to safety.
The reason he'd only gone a dozen or so miles was simple—if anything went wrong, he could rush back to help immediately.
Now that he possessed the divine artifact Sea-Calming Pearl, he could unleash power strong enough to slay even a Soul Saint—or perhaps someone even stronger—if he went all out.
But such power came at a price. The consumption was immense. If he failed to finish the battle in a single strike, he would end up endangering himself instead.
"Zhuqing, have you thought about where you want to go next?" Qi Tian asked.
Zhu Zhuqing felt a rare sense of relief. For now, all she wanted was to train hard—and if Qi Tian could accompany her, all the better.
"I want to go back and cultivate with you," she replied softly.
"Alright."
Qi Tian nodded without hesitation. Having a beauty by his side during cultivation was not only pleasant to the eyes—it also made training a little less lonely.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Zhu Zhuqing's destiny has been slightly altered. Possession Mission: Zhu Zhuqing—Completed.]
[Reward Issued: Spirit Soul Contract Method.]
[Notice: Upon mission completion, the host will no longer be able to possess Zhu Zhuqing for the time being. Please handle any resulting consequences accordingly.]
As the system's voice echoed in his mind, a new set of profound knowledge poured into Qi Tian's consciousness—the complete method of forging a spirit soul contract.
The spell incantations, contract formulas, and detailed fusion techniques of soul power and spiritual energy were all included—no need for trial or error.
It even contained methods to forcibly extract a soul beast's spirit soul and bind it into a contract.
However, with his current level of spiritual power, hatching a high-tier spirit soul was still far beyond his reach.
'I still need to strengthen my spiritual power,' Qi Tian thought to himself.
---
The next day, Qi Tian brought Zhu Zhuqing back to his personal cultivation base.
Once they returned to the forest, both of them exhaled in relief. Facing a Soul Saint directly had been nerve-wracking, to say the least.
"Zhuqing, you can stay in this room again. If there's anything you need, just let me know," Qi Tian said.
The base was only about a hundred miles from Silves City—not far for soul masters like them. With storage tools in hand, buying supplies was never a problem.
"Alright," Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
Her words were still few, but Qi Tian could clearly sense a subtle warmth in her tone—a small but welcome change.
"We've been away for a few days," Qi Tian said, smiling slightly. "Let's resume cultivation. Don't forget—your goal is to become a Title Douluo."
"Mn."
With that, the two began cultivating once more.
Qi Tian's soul power had already reached Rank 33, while Zhu Zhuqing—having let go of her inner burdens—had broken through to Rank 23.
—
End of Chapter