To be born humble is no shame; to bend and endure is the mark of a true man.
You laugh at Fan Yu for lacking backbone, but Fan Yu laughs at your lack of resources.
Had Fan Yu chosen to be defiant, he would have ended up like Dai Hao—a crushed soul offering his family as tribute. Why suffer such a fate when there's a better way?
That night, Qian Ran went straight to Zhou Yi's room, while Fan Yu laid out a makeshift bed in the living room.
There, on his humble floor mattress, Fan Yu spent the night tormented by the sounds of a "concert" from Zhou Yi's bedroom.
Why? Why am I sleeping on the floor while Qian Ran sleeps with my wife in the bed?
Isn't this just bullying an honest man?
Fan Yu endured through the night. When morning finally came and Qian Ran left, he let out a long sigh of relief. While he had resigned himself to the reality of the situation, pretending to be blind and playing the fool was exhausting.
Forcing a smile in front of Qian Ran while suppressing his grief felt like torture.
Later that morning, Fan Yu retreated to his laboratory, immersing himself in the intricate world of soul engineering. In that sea of knowledge, he could momentarily forget his pain.
Elsewhere, Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen returned from the Star Dou Forest, while Cai Meier formally reported Bei Bei's death. The story had already been fabricated; whether Shrek Academy's leadership believed it or not was no longer Qian Ran's concern.
Meanwhile, the elders of Sea God's Pavilion had only just come to grips with the death of Mu En—killed by none other than Qian Ran.
Mu En's duel with Qian Renxue and Xue Di near Star Luo City had created such a commotion that it was impossible to ignore. There were few individuals on the continent capable of such a spectacle, so the elders had long suspected it was Mu En.
As for why Mu En had tried to assassinate Qian Ran, the reasoning was clear: Mu En had made a fatal miscalculation. The grandmaster of Sea God's Pavilion had gone after a student of Shrek Academy without proper justification, tarnishing his legacy.
Following Mu En's death, Elder Xuan naturally ascended to the role of Pavilion Master.
Bei Bei's death, coming so soon after Mu En's, raised some eyebrows. But with Cai Meier adamantly claiming he was killed by soul beasts, no one could prove otherwise. Investigating further would risk offending both Qian Ran and Cai Meier—an unnecessary gamble.
Back at Qian Ran's estate, Wang Dong'er sat obediently in a pristine JK uniform, watching him work on soul tools. Beside her, Xiao Xiao and the others observed with curiosity.
Qian Ran was upgrading their soul tools.
As their cultivation levels increased, he planned to enhance all their tools to Rank 4 or 5. He had anticipated this when designing them, so upgrading required only some adjustments to the core arrays.
For a Rank 7 soul engineer like Qian Ran, the process was incredibly fast.
So fast, in fact, that Wang Dong'er and the others could only see the afterimages of his fingers.
"Qian Ran is amazing," Wang Dong'er said, her face full of admiration. She couldn't believe how far ahead he had grown since they started at the academy together. Not just in cultivation, but in soul engineering as well.
She recalled that just a year ago, Qian Ran had known next to nothing about soul tools, barely at her level. Now, he was a Rank 7 soul engineer.
In Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department, this put him just behind Fan Yu, Qian Duoduo, and Xian Lin'er, making him the fourth-ranked soul engineer in the academy.
To reach such heights in a single year was nothing short of miraculous.
Soul power could be bolstered by rare treasures, but soul engineering required relentless accumulation of knowledge.
Unbeknownst to Wang Dong'er and the others, Qian Ran didn't need to study conventionally—his system directly downloaded the knowledge into his brain.
It took Qian Ran an average of thirty minutes to upgrade each soul tool.
Even the Rank 8 and 9 engineers of Mingde Hall would have been dumbfounded by his speed. Not even they could match Qian Ran's efficiency when working on lower-tier tools.
Qian Ran's inability to craft Rank 8 soul tools was due only to his current soul power reserves. Theoretically, his knowledge was sufficient to begin working on higher-level tools.
When Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen arrived back at the estate, they were stunned to see a group of women watching Qian Ran work.
For Ma Xiaotao, it was her first time seeing him craft soul tools. As an inner-court disciple, she had seen many soul engineers at work before, but none had the effortless precision of Qian Ran.
"So handsome. No wonder he's the man I've chosen," Ma Xiaotao murmured, captivated.
While she had been away in the Star Dou Forest, quiet moments often brought thoughts of Qian Ran to her mind. On more than one occasion, those thoughts had led her to relieve her longing with her own hands.
Since experiencing intimacy with him, Ma Xiaotao had grown addicted to the feeling. Every three or four days, she found herself yearning for another encounter with Qian Ran to quell the flames within her.
Ling Luochen, who had yet to take things further with Qian Ran, was reluctantly dragged along by Ma Xiaotao. Though she hadn't moved into the estate, she was already considered part of Qian Ran's circle.
"Xiaotao-jie, Luochen-xuejie, you're back!" Wang Dong'er greeted them warmly.
"Shh," Ma Xiaotao hushed her, gesturing for silence.
The group exchanged amused glances before returning their attention to Qian Ran's work.
"All done," Qian Ran finally said, setting down his engraving knife.
The prolonged focus left his head feeling slightly heavy.
The girls eagerly collected their upgraded soul tools, their faces alight with joy.
"You're a Rank 7 soul engineer now?" Ma Xiaotao asked, surprised as her gaze fell on the badge on Qian Ran's chest. Compared to Wang Dong'er and the others, she had a deeper understanding of what the badge represented.
"Of course. Isn't your husband amazing?" Qian Ran said with a smug grin.
Above Rank 7, soul engineers rarely remained anonymous. Holding such a badge signified one's status as a force to be reckoned with on the continent.
"You're unbelievable," Ma Xiaotao muttered, her face flushing. Though she wanted to celebrate their reunion more intimately, the presence of the others made her hesitant.
"Not convinced? Luochen-xuejie, care to explain what being a Rank 7 soul engineer means?" Qian Ran asked, turning to Ling Luochen.
"Rank 7 soul engineers are second only to the department head, deputy head, and Fan Yu," Ling Luochen explained earnestly, her wide eyes shining.
Hiss.
Though the girls had known Qian Ran's achievement was impressive, the significance hadn't fully sunk in.
High-level soul engineers were rare in Shrek Academy, where even Rank 8 engineers were considered elite. To reach Rank 7 was a remarkable feat.
And Qian Ran had done so at an age when most of his peers were still struggling to find their footing.
Even Ma Xiaotao, a Soul Sage herself, was left speechless. Compared to her, Qian Ran's accomplishments felt almost mythical.
"Monster!" she finally blurted, staring at Qian Ran with awe.
"You owe me a full set of Rank 7 soul tools!" Ma Xiaotao said, recovering her composure.
"A whole set? You're trying to kill me here. But fine, I'll make them—just come to my room later, and I'll work on them slowly," Qian Ran replied with a sly smile.
Ma Xiaotao blushed furiously. Had there not been so many people around, she would've dragged Qian Ran off then and there to "punish" him properly.
(End of Chapter)