Evening.
The first day of the Soul Master Tournament had concluded.
Other than the ferocity of Shrek's team, which left a deep impression, there wasn't much else worth remembering.
When the Blue Tyrant Team disbanded and returned home, the Zhu sisters left together.
Zhu Zhuyun kept stealing glances at Zhu Zhuqing, her gaze complicated.
After several such glances, Zhu Zhuqing finally stopped in the middle of the street.
There were many pedestrians around, and quite a few couldn't help but stare at the beautiful pair of sisters.
After all, the greater the mass, the stronger the gravity.
"Something on your mind?"Zhu Zhuqing asked.
Zhu Zhuyun nodded.
"Yes… Zhuqing, let's talk as we walk."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded and resumed walking while releasing a faint killing intent.
Immediately, all the eavesdropping and following bystanders got scared off, not daring to look at her again.
Zhu Zhuqing under the Killing God Domain was not someone ordinary people could afford to provoke.
Zhu Zhuyun, feeling this change, had a hint of envy flash through her eyes again.
She had really wanted to go to the Slaughter City back then.
But Dan Heng hadn't invited her, and without his help, she never could have survived the Slaughter City.
"Zhuqing, I really envy you…"
Zhu Zhuyun suddenly said.
Zhu Zhuqing stayed silent, not responding.
"Ever since you left home and took Dan Heng as your teacher, your life went in a direction I just can't understand."
"At first, I thought you'd been tricked by some ordinary guy. Someone who wasn't even a soul master—how could he be your teacher?"
"But then I saw it with my own eyes—he came to pick you up at the Star Luo Palace, walked in and out like he owned the place. I was so envious…"
Zhu Zhuyun opened up her heart.
After all she'd experienced, she had started to see things more clearly.
"Now, the Star Luo Empire is split. Our father is now a minister of the Fengdan Empire. Our ties with the Star Luo royal family are gone. The identity I used to be most proud of is now meaningless—and I've finally seen Davis' true nature."
"But at this time… I see how much you've changed. Your soul power left me far behind. So many people admire you. You…"
Zhu Zhuyun's eyes filled with tears.
The more she spoke, the more painful it became.
They were sisters. She had always believed she was the better one. But now, she had been completely outshined by her younger sister—to the point where she couldn't even see her shadow.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at her with a calm expression and slight confusion.
Following her teacher so closely, she'd ignored much of the outside world—like just how far she had progressed.
Could her very presence now shatter the shadows of the past?
Zhu Zhuyun burst into sobs, crouching on the ground hugging her knees.
"Why wasn't it me… If only I had taken Master Dan Heng as my teacher… maybe I could've been like you too…"
Now even the crowd, no longer intimidated by the Killing God Domain, began to form a circle to watch the drama.
Zhu Zhuqing frowned.
"Get up."
"Zhuqing, did you know? I took the divine test of the God of Speed. He came to me during the day…"
Zhu Zhuyun suddenly looked up, her hair messy, tears streaming down.
"Oh." Zhu Zhuqing responded blandly. "Congratulations."
"Waaah—!"
Zhu Zhuyun cried even harder, nearly unable to breathe.
"But, but… he actually favors you! He wants you to go to the Sea God Tower… to give you an opportunity. The God of Speed personally wants you!"
She shouted hysterically, nose and tears running down.
Her biggest dream had been hand-delivered to Zhu Zhuqing.
As long as Zhu Zhuqing lifted a finger, she could directly obtain a godhood.
How could Zhu Zhuyun possibly remain calm?
"I won't accept it. You don't need to worry."Zhu Zhuqing said without hesitation, pulling Zhu Zhuyun to her feet.
She didn't want to be watched like a circus act and dragged her sister away.
Zhu Zhuyun blinked in disbelief and followed her.
"Zhuqing, what did you say? Don't do something stupid just for me. I—I'm just upset…"
"I only listen to my teacher," Zhu Zhuqing said. "Right now, I won't go to the Sea God Tower."
"No! A god personally summoned you! Zhuqing, do you understand how rare that is?"
"And you probably already qualify for godhood!"
Zhu Zhuyun was stunned.
Faced with such temptation, Zhu Zhuqing was totally unmoved? Still insisting on "blind loyalty" to her teacher Dan Heng?
And then it hit her like a brick—
The treasure she had dreamed of her whole life was something Zhu Zhuqing didn't even care about!
"Not interested. If it's not arranged by my teacher, then I won't go, no matter what kind of godhood it is."
Zhu Zhuqing said seriously.
In her mind, no god outranked her teacher's instructions.
Zhu Zhuyun was too shocked to cry anymore.
She felt like she had completely lost.
What the Zhu Sisters Didn't Know
Their entire conversation was watched by the God of Speed.
And hearing Zhu Zhuqing's words, the God of Speed was infuriated.
When had he, a dignified Level Two God, ever been treated this way?
Fuming, he decided to go check out Zhu Zhuqing's home to see what kind of mysterious teacher she had.
But just as he arrived, Sea God Poseidon urgently summoned him.
In a flash of light, the God of Speed teleported from above Dan Heng's house to the Sea God Tower.
"Sea God! Why did you call me? I just found someone really interesting!"
The God of Speed was clearly annoyed.
Poseidon rolled his eyes, wiping cold sweat from his brow.
He thought to himself:
If I hadn't seen you spying just now, you'd probably already be soul beast poop by now!
"Stay here quietly, or return to the God Realm."Poseidon said with a cold face.
The God of Speed looked at him suspiciously, staring until Poseidon turned away uncomfortably.
"You're hiding something, aren't you? Is that little girl connected to you somehow?"
"Don't talk nonsense…"
Poseidon frowned, thinking:
The one backing her is way scarier than me.
"Then why are you nervous? Relax, I just like the girl's potential."
"But…"
The God of Speed suddenly hesitated.
"But what?"
He squinted, pacing around, then said:
"I think I've found two kids with even greater talent. Too bad they're still infants. I don't know the details yet, but I can tell—they're top-tier. They could inherit any godhood without issue."
Infants… with top-tier potential?
Poseidon immediately had a bad feeling.
"Those two babies… are they from the household of that girl you were watching?"
Poseidon asked seriously.
"Yeah. Sea God, you're pretty smart."The God of Speed chuckled.
"…" Smart, my foot!
Are you asking to die!?
You're seriously targeting Dan Heng's children?
If this causes a disaster and Dan Heng goes berserk, even he (Poseidon) won't be able to mediate.
At that moment, Poseidon even had the urge to break the God of Speed's legs—better that than letting him be pulverized into ash by Dan Heng.
"Sea God, what's with that look? Why do I feel like you're about to do me harm?"
In a flash, the God of Speed darted higher into the sky.
"…"Damn it! This guy really is vigilant.
But how could he be so clueless about how terrifying Dan Heng really is?
"God of Speed, I have to warn you: you'd better return to the God Realm now, or you might face very serious consequences."
Poseidon said seriously.
The God of Speed smiled indifferently:
"You think someone can stop me? The world is vast—I can go wherever I want. Besides, I promised the Fire God and others to help their candidates complete their god trials. Let's talk later…"
With a wave, he turned into a streak of black light and vanished.
Poseidon slapped his forehead.
"Please don't go digging your own grave…"
…
On the other side, the Shrek group, through Ning Rongrong's connections, managed to meet Ning Fengzhi.
Ning Fengzhi was very gracious. Even though the Shrek members weren't very well-known, he personally received them out of respect for Ning Rongrong.
Yu Xiaogang then explained their purpose:
They wanted to partner with Ning Fengzhi in the hidden weapon (暗器) business.
The idea was for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan to manufacture the parts, and for Tang San to assemble and sell the finished weapons.
"We'll split the profits 70/30. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan will get 30% of the revenue, and we'll take 70%. It's a guaranteed profit, no loss."
Yu Xiaogang said with a smile.
Flender opened his mouth slightly, feeling a bit guilty. Even as a self-declared profiteer, he thought Yu Xiaogang had gone too far.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would be responsible for raw materials, distribution, and security, yet only get 30% of the revenue?
If it were a lower-status group, the split might make sense.
But what right did Shrek have to compare itself to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?
If it were any other group offering such a deal, they might be cheated or even directly turn the product over to the Spirit Hall.
Ning Fengzhi smiled and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Master. I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. After the great calamity we suffered, our clan has now partnered most of our businesses with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. We can't take on any more direct partnerships at the moment."
He examined the sample hidden weapon in his hand, his eyes flashing with admiration.
From a business standpoint, this weapon definitely had massive profit potential.
But based on what he knew, the Fengdan Empire already used such hidden weapons as standard equipment—so it was likely that these weapons originated from that side.
How could a mere teenage boy invent them?
It was clearly impossible.
More importantly, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan couldn't afford to make new enemies, and they didn't want to offend the Fengdan Empire.
"I see... Well then, I hope we'll have a chance to work together in the future."Yu Xiaogang didn't push it further. With such a powerful tool in hand, they weren't worried about making money.
Ning Fengzhi then asked:
"Has the tournament incident been resolved? If necessary, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan can put in a good word."
"The Soul Master Tournament Committee concluded it was a one-time exception."
Yu Xiaogang replied with a smile.
"That's good." Ning Fengzhi chatted with them a bit more and then personally saw them off.
As they left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, despite having been rejected, the Shrek team was in good spirits—Ning Fengzhi's gracious demeanor made them feel respected.
Tang San turned back to look at the grand, newly constructed buildings of the clan.
"In the future, we'll use the money we earn from selling hidden weapons to build a Shrek Academy just like that!"
"Ambitious! Well said, Little San. We're going to do even better. In fact,"Yu Xiaogang suddenly proposed,"let's not work with anyone at all! Scarcity increases value. Let's auction the hidden weapons instead!"
"Auction?"Everyone looked at each other in surprise.
"That's right! Instead of scaling up production, we'll claim they were recovered from ancient ruins. That'll reduce pressure on Little San. Each weapon could go for dozens of gold soul coins! Just selling a few thousand will be more than enough to build our new Shrek Academy!"
Yu Xiaogang said with enthusiasm.
"Rare goods are expensive, eh? Good idea, Xiaogang! You really are full of tricks! Then should we call this plan... 'Monkey Show'?"
Flender's eyes lit up—he'd caught the main idea.
"Exactly. Just wait—we're going to make a fortune!"
Yu Xiaogang looked radiant with excitement.
Shrek had eliminated the Thunderclap Team, and now they were about to make big money. He was overjoyed!
If the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan hadn't cast him out, all this money would've gone to them.Now… those clan elders must be regretting their decision.
The more Yu Xiaogang thought about it, the more excited he got. He couldn't stop smiling.
"But teacher… we don't have much starting capital..."Tang San said hesitantly.
"Then borrow it! But don't borrow from people we know. Owe money—not favors. Favors are harder to repay."
Yu Xiaogang said cunningly.
Everyone immediately understood why Yu Xiaogang hadn't asked Ning Fengzhi for a loan earlier.
Ning Rongrong's face darkened. With a cold snort, she turned and returned to her clan.
Meanwhile, at Dan Heng's house…
Zi Ji was quarreling with Bi Ji. She came up close and whispered:
"Bi Ji, isn't it time you went home too? I've already been gone for two years. You should at least be gone for four!"
Bi Ji was wiping windows. Upon hearing that, she showed a helpless expression.
"Zi Ji, why are you so determined to make me leave?"
Zi Ji snorted.
"Duh! I've already been away for two years—why do you get to stay? That's not fair!"
"…Unless big sister tells me to leave, I'm not going anywhere."
Bi Ji said softly.
Her bright eyes stared at Zi Ji, her will unwavering.
She had long gotten used to Zi Ji's antics and no longer felt the need to tolerate them passively.
"Oh? Are you challenging me now?"
Zi Ji put her hands on her hips, displeased.
Bi Ji shook her head—neither admitting nor denying it.
At that moment, a voice rang out from inside the house—it was Gu Yuena.
"Bi Ji, come here for a moment…"
Zi Ji immediately showed a gloating smile.
"Well now! Looks like big sis remembered you. Time for you to go!"
Bi Ji gave Zi Ji a helpless look and walked into the house.
Zi Ji sneakily followed, hiding by the doorway to eavesdrop.
"Bi Ji, you'll be in charge of selling the hidden weapons. Since the Shrek group is promoting them, rather than letting them sell—we will."
"Yes, big sister…"
Bi Ji replied obediently.
Zi Ji was stunned.
Selling hidden weapons?
That would mean she had to stay in Heaven Dou City?
So Bi Ji didn't need to leave after all?!
(End of Chapter)