"When you truly love someone, you don't treat them like a gambling stake," Feng Piaoling said, shaking his head.
By this time, many freshmen who had passed the entrance exam were filtering in. Among them were Jiang Nannan's companions, as well as the God-King Tang's daughter, who was currently disguised as a boy.
Hearing those words, the eyes of every woman present lit up, and they began to point and whisper critically at Xu Sanshi.
Faced with the pressure of public opinion, Xu Sanshi found himself in a difficult position, caught between a rock and a hard place. He glared at Feng Piaoling and said, "Then what do you want?"
"It's simple. If you lose, you pay the Mystic Water Pill and the one hundred thousand Gold Spirit Coins as agreed. Additionally, you will pay me one extra Mystic Water Pill." Feng Piaoling spoke with an air of calm indifference.
"Why don't you just go rob a bank?" Xu Sanshi snapped instantly.
"Don't be in such a hurry, let me finish," Feng Piaoling replied. "If I lose, I will drop out of school and leave Shrek Academy. Does that satisfy you?"
Drop out? Xu Sanshi's eyes lit up immediately. This seemed like a much better stake than the previous one about not pestering Jiang Nannan.
He asked suspiciously, "Are you certain?"
"A gentleman's word is his bond." Feng Piaoling had long ago consumed a Mystic Water Pill.
Xu Tianran, as the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire and its de facto ruler, was incredibly wealthy and possessed far-reaching influence. Procuring two Mystic Water Pills from the black market to help Feng Piaoling cleanse his marrow and temper his meridians had been a simple task.
Feng Piaoling's true objective was twofold. First, he wanted to test the soul skills he had just acquired. This "son of a tortoise" with the Water Tortoise martial soul was the perfect target for a test run.
Second... it was simply to ensure these two Mystic Water Pills didn't fall into Huo Yuhao's hands.
Regardless of whether Huo Yuhao had developed any friction with Bei Bei or Tang Ya, Feng Piaoling intended to seize the Mystic Water Pills from Xu Sanshi to cut off any possibility of Huo Yuhao continuing to use "cheat codes."
In the original timeline, taking the pill the first time caused soul power to jump from Rank 11 to the peak of Rank 12, quadrupled cultivation speed, and allowed the Purple Demon Eye to break through to the "Subtle" realm. The second dose pushed soul power to the peak of Rank 13, increased cultivation speed sevenfold, and further expelled bodily impurities.
You want to eat that on my watch? Keep dreaming.
"Tomorrow evening, at the Soul Dueling Arena. Be there or be square." Xu Sanshi, naturally unaware of what Feng Piaoling was thinking, formally issued the challenge with the posture of a man convinced he was fighting for love.
"I'll be there." Feng Piaoling waved a hand dismissively and turned to continue toward the Shrek Academy Freshmen Teaching Building.
Watching Feng Piaoling's nonchalant attitude only made the fire in Xu Sanshi's heart burn hotter. However, he didn't believe for a second that he could lose. He had broken through to the Soul Elder realm years ago and would reach the Soul Ancestor level in a year or two at most.
On the other hand, no matter how talented Feng Piaoling was, he was at most a newly ascended Soul Elder. Even if his soul ring configuration was superior, Xu Sanshi was certain of his victory in this duel.
With the challenge accepted, the crowd erupted into a frenzy.
Xu Sanshi, a fifth-year veteran known as the "Strongest Defense" in the Outer Court, versus Feng Piaoling, the newcomer rumored to be the "Number One Freshman" due to his thousand-year second ring and Soul Elder status. The stakes involved two Mystic Water Pills, one hundred thousand Gold Spirit Coins, and a withdrawal from the academy—all over Jiang Nannan, the most beautiful girl in the Outer Court.
A duel this explosive was a first in Shrek's history. The news spread like a plague, and it wouldn't be long before the entire academy knew. It was bound to cause a sensation throughout the Outer Court, and perhaps even students from the Inner Court would come down to watch.
Feng Piaoling seemed entirely unconcerned. He made his way toward the white Freshmen Teaching Building, located behind the plaza of statues and backing onto a massive lake known as the Sea God Lake. The freshmen building was situated at the southernmost end, near the lakeside path.
He followed the flow of the crowd across Shrek Plaza and entered the building. Shrek had admitted over a thousand freshmen this year. Because of the duel, many people had stopped to watch the commotion, so by the time Feng Piaoling arrived at the registration desk, it was already crowded.
Feng Piaoling was in no rush. As he waited in line, he inconspicuously scanned his surroundings.
This mission to act as an undercover agent was not a sudden whim. Back when he was eight years old, returning from hunting soul rings, he had mentioned the matter of Xu He to Xu Tianran. Consequently, Xu Tianran had long ago deployed spies embedded within Shrek Academy to investigate. However, after three years, they had found nothing. Feng Piaoling had seized the opportunity while hunting for his third soul ring to volunteer for the mission himself.
Naturally, Feng Piaoling had seen the portrait of the contact agent before coming here. He quickly identified the undercover teacher at the registration desk.
Goatee, hook nose, wearing a monocle, and possessing a somber, gloomy expression.
Seeing the man in person, Feng Piaoling felt a wave of speechlessness. Although the portrait had prepared him, this appearance was far too conspicuous—it was as if the man had the word "Villain" written across his face.
Currently, the man was registering a black-haired girl with an incredibly curvaceous figure. Putting the girl aside, the boy standing behind her caught Feng Piaoling's eye.
He was a robust youth who looked quite arrogant, with long golden hair parted down the middle and draped over his shoulders. He wore the noble attire unique to the Duke of White Tiger's manor.
Sensing someone's gaze, the arrogant youth turned his head, revealing a handsome but cold face and a pair of deep blue eyes.
Huo Yuhao's half-brother, Dai Huabin? Feng Piaoling instantly guessed his identity.
Seeing Feng Piaoling looking at his way, Dai Huabin immediately shot him a provocative glare. In this year's Shrek enrollment, he had entered as a specially recruited student. He originally thought that with his powerful White Tiger martial soul and Soul Elder cultivation, he would be the undisputed "Number One Freshman."
He hadn't expected Feng Piaoling to appear out of nowhere, possessing not only a thousand-year second ring and Soul Elder cultivation but also the audacity to accept a challenge from a fifth-year veteran like Xu Sanshi. It had completely stolen his thunder, leaving him deeply annoyed.
It seems this second-generation noble is just as narrow-minded as the rumors suggest. But he might be useful... Feng Piaoling remained stoic on the surface, but a plan quickly formed in his mind.
He glanced at Dai Huabin, then peered at the "three-part daughter" queuing not far behind him. Sinking his consciousness into his spiritual sea, he looked at the grey-green orb that Electrolux had transformed into and said, "Senior, could you do me a favor?"
"I can." A figure emerged from the grey orb. Though still blurry, it was significantly more stable than the near-vanishing state it had been in at the beginning. It seemed that the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye had indeed been of great help to Electrolux's recovery.
The corners of Feng Piaoling's mouth curled upward. "Please help me transmit a message to that man with the hook nose... I will say the words, and you transmit them. Do not let anyone else notice."
"Very well." Although Electrolux did not know what Feng Piaoling's goal was, since they had already reached an agreement, he didn't mind helping him.
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