Feeling the softness pressed against his chest and catching the faint, delicate fragrance unique to a young girl, Xiao Se's old face flushed slightly red. He let out an awkward dry laugh.
"Xue'er, don't mess around… I've told you so many times already—I'm not your dad."
"Oh?" Qian Renxue chuckled softly at his words. A trace of cunning and unmistakable mischief flashed through her pale-golden eyes. She leaned in closer, deliberately narrowing the distance between them until their cheeks were nearly touching. Her red lips parted slightly, exhaling the warm, innocent breath unique to a maiden.
"So… are you blushing?"
The two froze like that.
Neither spoke.
In the reflections of each other's pupils, they could clearly see their own mirrored figures.
Qian Renxue's skin was as fair as winter snow. Her light-golden eyes shimmered, carrying the victorious delight of successful teasing mixed with a hint of bashful embarrassment. Each blink sent her long lashes fluttering softly. Beneath those beautiful eyes was a refined, delicate nose, and below that—tempting red lips, gently breathing out warmth.
For this brief moment, it was as if the entire world had come to a halt.
There were only the two of them.
Qian Renxue's slender shoulders trembled ever so slightly, her radiant golden hair swaying along with the motion. A faint blush crept up her cheeks.
Xiao Se knew this could not continue.
Deep in his heart, he had an ominous premonition—if he actually leaned in and kissed her now, he would die a spectacular social death on the spot.
Without hesitation, he leaned backward, forcibly putting a bit of distance between them.
"Ahem." Xiao Se cleared his throat, just about to say something—
When suddenly, a crisp and melodious voice rang out by his ear.
"Brother, it seems Xue'er really missed you~"
A streak of blue light floated out from the demonic sword emblem on his right hand, landing lightly on the ground. In the next instant, it condensed into a flawless, graceful figure.
"Dragon Kui, Auntie!"
Realizing she might have gone a little too far this time, Qian Renxue immediately abandoned Xiao Se and threw herself into Dragon Kui's arms, decisively using her to dodge the previous topic.
Watching Qian Renxue nestle into Dragon Kui's embrace, Little Medical Fairy—who had been standing to the side—finally couldn't hold back anymore. She stepped closer to Xiao Se and asked in a low voice:
"Xiao Se… who is this girl? And why is she calling Dragon Kui 'Auntie'?"
"…That's a long story," Xiao Se said, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
How was he supposed to explain this?
Could he really say that Little Kitty and Dragon Kui both knew Qian Renxue's true background, while he was the only one completely kept in the dark?
At that moment, Little Kitty walked over, pulled Little Medical Fairy aside, and whispered something into her ear.
Little Medical Fairy froze for a brief second.
Then—
She turned and stared straight at Xiao Se with the exact look one might reserve for a human scumbag or absolute trash.
"Zhuqing… Xian'er… what are you two talking about?"
Being stared at like that made Xiao Se's scalp tingle. He hurriedly walked over and asked in a hushed voice.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. A sly glint appeared in her beautiful eyes as she smiled faintly.
"Nothing. Just some… little secrets between girls."
"Yes, exactly—girls' secrets," Little Medical Fairy chimed in smoothly.
As she spoke, she walked over to Qian Renxue. The jealousy from earlier had vanished without a trace, replaced by an oddly familiar warmth. She introduced herself naturally.
"You're Xue'er, right? Xiao Se probably told you about me already. I'm Little Medical Fairy. You can just call me Xian'er, like they do."
"Xian'er."
Watching the group of beauties quickly become friendly with one another, Xiao Se felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.
Women really could change faces faster than flipping a book.
Shaking his head, he walked over to Qian Renxue and said with a smile, "Xue'er, we won't be staying here for long. We came this time to bring you something."
As he spoke, a faint glow flickered from the storage ring on his finger, and a brocade box appeared in his hand.
"What's this?" Qian Renxue asked curiously.
Xiao Se smiled slightly and opened the jade box. Inside lay seven or eight scrolls.
"The red scroll is a fire-attribute, Earth-tier low-grade cultivation method called Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art. Both you and Dong'er's disciple, Hu Liena, are still cultivating Xuantian Gong from the Mysterious Heaven Record. That technique is refined, but its grade is far too low."
"The black scroll is a dark-attribute, Earth-tier low-grade cultivation method called Netherworld Art. It's for Dong'er—she's currently still using a high-grade Xuan-tier technique. These two cultivation methods can serve as transitional ones for now."
"Besides that, there are two Earth-tier combat techniques and several Xuan-tier ones. They suit you very well."
These cultivation methods and techniques were all specially selected by Xiao Se back then from the Canaan Academy's library—chosen precisely for them. At their current stage, they couldn't be more suitable.
Hearing that they were cultivation methods and combat techniques, Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes lit up immediately.
She took the brocade box, selected the cultivation method and techniques that suited her, then returned the box to Xiao Se with a bright smile.
"Thank you~ But I only took what suits me. As for what you picked out for Mom, you should wait and give it to her yourself when she arrives."
"When you came, I already had She Long head to Spirit City to notify her. At the latest, she'll be here before nightfall."
"Ah… alright then." Xiao Se nodded helplessly.
It just so happened that in the evening, he and Little Medical Fairy were planning to take Zhu Zhuqing to Blue Tyrant Academy to deal with some personal matters.
It wasn't that Xiao Se didn't have feelings for Bibi Dong—he truly did.
But relying on vague, fragmented memories, there were many moments when he simply couldn't respond to her gentleness.
Perhaps this was karma.
Cause and effect, perfectly balanced.
Back then, he had used mouth-fed wine to raise Bibi Dong.
And now, because of the side effects of that same mouth-fed wine, he had lost his memories—becoming the one being "raised" instead.
What a sin.
As Xiao Se sighed inwardly, Qian Renxue—standing nearby—heard his words, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"Dad! You wait here for me first!" she said excitedly. "Going to Blue Tyrant Academy sounds so fun—there's no way I'm missing that! I'll go switch cultivation methods right now. Don't leave without me!"
Without waiting for Xiao Se's response, she hurriedly sat cross-legged on the bed and immediately began switching her cultivation technique.
This left Xiao Se completely baffled.
Was going to Blue Tyrant Academy really that fun?
After thinking about it carefully…
Actually, yeah. It really was.
Yu Xiaogang was finished—seeing Liu Erlong would be one hell of a scene.
Little Kitty beating Dai Mubai? Utterly satisfying.
And while they were at it, stirring up Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Yu Xiaogang together—
That would be thrilling.
Come to think of it, ever since he used Kotoamatsukami once, he hadn't really used the Sharingan again. With three tomoe, he could already cast some low-level genjutsu.
Maybe…
Just maybe…
He could recreate what Yu Xiaogang experienced under the big willow tree outside Heaven Dou City in Douluo: Stealing the Myriad Realms System.
—
Elsewhere, the Shrek group had already arrived at Blue Tyrant Academy.
Just like in the original story, after Flander and the others announced their cultivation levels, they put on a show of face-slapping bravado, regaining a bit of lost confidence.
Then, under the guidance of Blue Tyrant Academy instructor Yin Shu, they headed toward the forest on the outskirts of the campus to search for the academy's headmaster—Liu Erlong.
Tang San glanced sideways at Dai Mubai.
"Mubai, are you confident about your fight with Zhu Zhuqing this evening?"
Dai Mubai grinned confidently. "Don't worry. Even though I wasted quite a bit of time over the past two years, I'm still a Level 34 Soul Master. I know Zhu Zhuqing's talent—at best, she probably hasn't even broken through to Soul Master yet."
"Even if she has those external flying soul bones, she's still no match for me."
Tang San frowned slightly upon hearing this. After hesitating for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "You should still be careful. Zhu Zhuqing feels very different from how she was more than four months ago."
"You're overthinking it," Dai Mubai said, raising his greasy hand and patting Tang San on the shoulder. "In the end, a soul master's combat strength is still decided by martial souls and soul power."
They walked for about ten minutes.
Yet even after reaching a small lake, they still hadn't heard the familiar singing from the original story.
(End of Chapter)
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