Chapter 21: Zhu Zhuqing Entrusts Dugu Yan with a Message, Li Zhexian Attracts the Attention of the God King
The seven members of the Imperial Battle Team left the Douhun Arena in Soto City.
Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others who had won were initially very pleased.
But the mention of Sword Jiu by Yu Tianheng placed a heavy burden on their minds.
Ning Rongrong clicked her tongue and said, “To defeat Yu Tianheng with a single sword—that Sword Jiu is terrifying.”
Oscar glanced at Ning Rongrong, whose delicate face was full of admiration, then lowered his head without saying a word.
Ma Hongjun sneered, “Who knows if Yu Tianheng’s words are true or not?”
“Even if it is true, I don’t believe that Sword Jiu can beat Elder Dai and Third Brother,” he added.
Dai Mubai’s lips curled into a smile. “It’s a pity that Master’s third-stage special training is about to begin. Otherwise, I would really want to go to the Heavenly Dou Imperial City and meet that so-called Sword Jiu.”
Tang San smiled calmly.
He did not take Sword Jiu mentioned by Yu Tianheng to heart.
With the absolute skills of the Tang Sect and his twin martial souls, he had no reason to fear his peers.
“Hey, Zhu Qing, where are you going?” Suddenly, Xiao Wu called out.
The members of Shrek Academy saw Zhu Zhuqing chasing after the seven from the Imperial Battle Team.
Dai Mubai’s eyes darkened with a sinister gleam as he watched Zhu Zhuqing’s graceful figure.
If today Zhu Zhuqing was willing to perform the Martial Soul Fusion Technique with him—the Nether White Tiger—the Imperial Battle Team would have lost even more decisively, rather than barely winning because Yu Tianheng was injured.
Ever since Shrek Academy recruited students, he had declared his intention to pursue Zhu Zhuqing.
But after so long, Zhu Zhuqing hadn’t even acknowledged him.
...
“Why are you following us?”
“Do you Shrek Seven still chase people to mock them?”
The seven from the Imperial Battle Team had a poor impression of the Shrek Seven.
So when Zhu Zhuqing caught up, they didn’t show any kindness.
“Don’t misunderstand, I mean no harm,” Zhu Zhuqing said, clenching her fists. Usually calm, she was now nervous, stumbling over her words.
“I... I want to ask you about Sword Jiu...”
“Are you familiar with him?” Yu Tianheng and the others exchanged glances and were about to say “not really.”
But Dugu Yan nodded, “Familiar, very familiar—we’re all brothers. Before coming to Soto City, we even ate together.”
Noticing the faint doubt in Zhu Zhuqing’s beautiful eyes, Dugu Yan twirled a strand of his purple-dyed hair and smiled, “Sword Jiu always wears white. His sword can bloom like a lotus flower—fast and sharp.”
There was no doubt! It had to be Li Zhexian!
---
Zhu Zhuqing handed her personal wine flask to Dugu Yan, her eyes shining.
“Please, sister, help me give this to Li... Sword Jiu.”
“This is the finest wine I collected in Soto City. Also, tell him...”
“Promise me he won’t forget.”
Yu Tianheng and the others exchanged uneasy looks.
There was a scandal brewing here.
They didn’t expect that the cold and aloof Sword Jiu had such a beautiful confidante in Soto City.
“No problem,” Dugu Yan said with a steady smile as he took the flask and waved at Zhu Zhuqing.
“Your message and wine, I will deliver.”
“Well then, sister, until we meet again,” Zhu Zhuqing said.
Watching the Imperial Battle Team slowly walk away, Zhu Zhuqing returned alone to the inn where she was staying.
To her surprise, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were waiting inside her room.
“Hmph, tell me, Zhu Qing, where did you go?” Xiao Wu pouted unhappily. “Do you even consider us sisters? You don’t tell us anything.”
Ning Rongrong snorted softly, “Even if Zhu Qing doesn’t say, I know!”
“The person she cares about is in Heavenly Dou Imperial City. Did she go ask the Imperial Battle Team about him?”
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing’s face flush but remain silent, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong exchanged a glance and suddenly pounced on her waist.
“Hehe, if you don’t tell us, don’t blame us for being rude!”
“Ah, stop it…”
After a short while, Zhu Zhuqing’s face was flushed, her hair tousled and clothes disheveled.
“Enough, I’ll tell you.”
“I found out about him. He is indeed Sword Jiu.”
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong’s eyes widened.
“Sword Jiu?!”
“The one who defeated Yu Tianheng with a single sword?!”
Hearing their astonished voices, Zhu Zhuqing felt a sense of pride.
“Yes.”
Ning Rongrong quickly asked, “Zhu Qing, is it true he defeated Yu Tianheng with one sword?”
Zhu Zhuqing answered without hesitation, “Of course. Others can’t do it, but he can.”
Upon hearing this, a hint of envy flickered in Ning Rongrong’s eyes.
How wonderful it was for her best friend’s romance.
Unlike herself...
Ning Rongrong could sense Oscar’s feelings, but she simply did not like him. She had no feelings for Oscar at all.
Every time she saw Oscar, she was reminded of his sly appearance selling sausages at the academy’s gate.
There was no helping it.
She had once met a young man as free and unrestrained as a gentle breeze.
---
They had drunk and composed poetry under the moonlight, pledging their lives to one another.
But sadly, that young man’s soul power talent was too weak.
She had to painfully let go.
Xiao Wu tilted her head, puzzled as she looked at the sweet Zhu Zhuqing and the melancholy Ning Rongrong.
She didn’t understand what was wrong with her two best friends.
...
Heavenly Dou Imperial City.
In a small courtyard.
Li Zhexian half-leaned on the steps, raising a cup to the bright moon in the night sky.
“Burp~~~”
He burped after drinking, savoring the pleasant rush of the wine sliding down his throat, then suddenly sighed with a hint of autumnal sorrow.
“An empty golden goblet faces the moon; where can one find such fine wine?”
“The wine from the Clear Spring Flask grows tiresome after a while. Where can I find an even more flavorful vintage?”
“The Martial Soul of wine still needs to evolve; my sword is not yet sharp enough, sigh…”
Li Zhexian seldom felt troubled.
Perhaps now, the only things to vex him were his sword and his wine.
Cup after cup...
Cup after cup...
The aroma of wine surrounding him drifted away on the wind to some unknown place.
He fell asleep leaning on the steps.
And dreamed a strange dream.
...
The sea of clouds swirled with seven-colored rays of light.
A cluster of glassy palaces floated atop the clouds.
A towering figure stood within the temple.
His short hair stood sharp like silver blades; on his left shoulder hovered a blazing white flame, and on his right, a ghostly blue flame curled.
His black-and-red armor flowed with black, evil divine power, like liquid shadows writhing.
Something seemed to have caught his interest, as a smile played on his lips.
At that moment, a gentle voice sounded.
“Ji Dong, what are you looking at?”
A stunning woman wrapped in a holy aura approached gracefully.
Her white gown embroidered with golden lotus patterns trailed on the clouds, radiating a divine warmth like the morning light.
“Lie Yan, you’re here,” Ji Dong said.
Seeing the woman in white, his evil divine power was purified; only tender affection remained in his sharp gaze.
“A young man from the mortal realm is very interesting,” Lie Yan smiled.
“Has your Evil God’s divine seat found its successor?”
“It’s too early to say,” he replied.
“But Lie Yan, as you know, compared to the Evil God,”
“I prefer to be called...” Ji Dong flipped his palm.
The clouds within a radius of ten thousand miles condensed into his wine flask.
“The Wine God.”