Gazing at Xue Dangdang, in that instant, time seemed to stop. A great roar suddenly echoed in Shen Lang's mind, and in a flash, it went completely blank...
The entire world seemed to fall silent. All sound ceased, everything vanished, leaving only the person before him, her red dress fluttering.
An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart—joy, sorrow, and... endless desolation.
Your eyes, like the waters of a lake, dream of a sky full of stars; a heart like a legend, eternally waiting.
Whose voice is that, singing our song?
Whose zither strings are plucking at my heartstrings...?
Shen Lang, who had always felt something special for Xue Dangdang, now looked at her again after merging with the War Emperor's memories and seemed to have a completely new feeling.
He was beginning to believe the War Emperor's claim that his soul was a part of him.
In that same moment, the coldness in Xue Dangdang's eyes instantly melted away. She stared blankly as Shen Lang walked over and pulled her into his arms...
"Dingdang, you're okay... That's wonderful..."
Behind them, the anxious Lin Feng and Su Hen, along with Xue Dangdang's few followers, were completely dumbfounded.
When it came to Xue Dangdang, she actually seemed to treat Shen Lang quite well. After collecting protection money from him, she had always looked out for him, never letting anyone bully him.
Although she did "bully" Shen Lang occasionally, to Lin Feng and the others, it always looked more like kids playing house. "Bullying" wasn't the right word; "teasing" would be more accurate.
But no matter what, Xue Dangdang hadn't earned her title of "Little Witch" for nothing. Countless people at Tayun Academy had been crippled by her for getting on her bad side. Now, many of them would scurry away like mice from a cat the moment they saw her, starting to take detours from a great distance.
More importantly, she seemed to be a mysophobe—her obsession with cleanliness was unbearable.
But Shen Lang, currently covered in grime, with a disheveled head of hair... had just hugged her like that!
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Lin Feng's body trembled.
"Crap, a bad... a bad feeling my ass! Even I can see what's coming..." Su Hen started looking for an escape route.
...
Xue Dangdang's entire body was stiff and motionless, trapped in a daze. Who knows how long it was before she came back to her senses.
She looked around but couldn't see Shen Lang anywhere. She only saw her three followers, their eyes wide as saucers, standing frozen like statues.
"Where... where did he go?" Xue Dangdang's voice trembled slightly.
"He," of course, had run. Right now, Shen Lang was tearing through the woods with Lin Feng and Su Hen, as if some Fierce Beast were chasing them.
"Young Master Lang, you're unbelievable! You were as filthy as a beggar, and you still hugged the Little Witch, Xue Dangdang! No one in heaven or on earth can save us now! What are we going to do?" Lin Feng said, out of breath.
Su Hen was in even worse shape, on the verge of tears. "Damn it, if I'd known, you couldn't have paid me to bring her here! Now look at this huge mess! Ah, my life is so bitter!"
"Damn, it's not as bad as you think. The worst she can do is tear me limb from limb... By the way, you mentioned another problem earlier. What was it?" Although Shen Lang spoke lightly, he didn't slow down one bit.
Lin Feng said in a hoarse voice, "It's Xu Qing. He's got his family retainers looking for you everywhere. Two of them are at the Qi Martial Realm, and they're waiting outside our dorm."
"What?" Shen Lang stopped running, slowed to a walk, and frowned. "I just played a little trick on him. At most, it would've given him diarrhea for an hour or two. It's not such a huge grudge that he'd bring people from his family at the Qi Martial Realm, is it?"
"If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal, but..." Lin Feng's expression turned strange.
Shen Lang paused. "Don't stammer. What exactly happened?"
Just as he finished speaking, Su Hen burst out laughing, unable to stop. Lin Feng barely managed to control his emotions and said, "That day, after you played that trick on him, Xu Qing ran off with his men to find Qin Hun Tutor. On the way back, the bastard realized something was wrong with his stomach and rushed to find a latrine..."
"At that time, Qin Hun Tutor and Wooden Zither Tutor were both there, along with a large group of people. He's the class monitor, after all, so everyone waited for him outside."
At this point, Lin Feng's expression grew more and more excited. "Then he saw a note posted outside the latrine. On it were a few big words: 'Don't Break It!' 'Shit, I'm not a bull, how could I break your toilet?' Xu Qing thought. So he impatiently barged in... The next thing you know, sounds like 'SPLASH! SPLASH!' and 'Help me!' came from inside... When a few guys plugged their noses and pulled him out... he had already passed out from the fumes, covered from head to toe in yellow and white stuff... What the note actually said was 'Don't Use, Broken.' There was a space in the middle that he didn't see. WAAHAHAHA..."
Lin Feng, who had barely managed to finish the story while holding back his laughter, immediately burst out laughing just like Su Hen. The two of them rolled around on the grass like a couple of clowns.
Rolling his eyes, Shen Lang finally understood the whole story. So that was why Xu Qing, who had previously been afraid of him, was suddenly acting so arrogant and bringing in outsiders to deal with him. It was because of this unfortunate incident.
'It makes sense. If I were the one who missed my step... and was seen by that many people, there would only be two choices: either kill everyone or kill myself.'
However, Tayun Academy's power and influence were not to be underestimated. A rule had been established many years ago: any grudges between students were to be settled by the students themselves. People from outside families or factions were not allowed to enter Tayun Academy.
Xu Qing had probably gone mad with rage, and knowing he was no match for Shen Lang, he had actually sought out two Qi Martial Realm experts from his family to deal with him. If word of this got out, he would definitely be in for a world of trouble.
However, snitching wasn't Shen Lang's style.
"Xu Qing's got some nerve. In that case, I'll play along with him." He snorted coldly and started walking toward the dorms.
Lin Feng and Su Hen, who had just been rolling with laughter, scrambled to their feet and blocked his path.
"Young Master Lang, you can't go to the dorms! Two people from Xu Qing's family are blocking the way. If you go, it'll be more bad luck than good!" Lin Feng said, waving his hands frantically.
"Yeah, don't walk into the lion's den! We should go straight to the Vice Dean and report them. We could definitely get them messed up for this..." Su Hen added.
"Walk into the lion's den?" Shen Lang chuckled. "It's not yet certain who the lion is and who the sheep is. Alright, Fengzi, you and Young Master Heng should head back first. I don't want to drag you guys into this."
Lin Feng rolled his eyes, puffed out his chest, and said loudly, "Young Master Lang, what are you saying? Are Young Master Heng and I those kinds of people? After all these years, what dens of dragons and lairs of tigers haven't we braved? When have we ever been afraid of anyone!"
The corner of Shen Lang's mouth twitched into a smile. "Then do you think we can beat Qi Martial Realm experts?"
"We can't... we can't... The worst that can happen is we take a beating. It's not like they'd dare kill someone in Tayun Academy, right?" Lin Feng and Su Hen deflated like punctured balls, but they still tried to talk tough.
Shen Lang, feeling a little touched, patted both Lin Feng and Su Hen on the shoulder. "I'll handle things at the dorms myself. Don't worry, I'm not as weak as you think. Didn't I agree to a platform match with Shen Jianfeng today? It's getting late, and that bastard has probably been waiting for a long time. You two go on ahead. I'll be there later."
"No way!" Lin Feng shot up like a rubber ball. "You're going to the dorms to face two Qi Martial Realm experts, and you still plan on coming back to fight Shen Jianfeng? Shen Jianfeng is at the Qi Martial Realm Third Heaven! He's much stronger than those two at the Qi Martial Realm First Heaven..."
"How depressing. Even you guys don't have faith in me. Forget it. Just go to the Martial Arts Arena first. I'm going back to the dorm to take a shower. We'll talk later." Shen Lang waved his hand dismissively and walked toward the dorms.
Lin Feng and Su Hen were left staring at each other, speechless for a long moment.
Once Shen Lang was far away, Lin Feng let out a dry howl. "Why do I feel like I understand Young Master Lang less and less? He's usually much more level-headed than us. He probably wouldn't do anything reckless. Forget it, I'll trust him one more time!"
"Yeah, let's trust him, let's trust him, you damn merchant... Didn't you see him beat Shen Daofeng to a pulp a few days ago? Young Master Lang is really strong, and he even spent three days in the Cultivation Hall. Let's go check on Shen Jianfeng first. We have to make sure he hasn't set some kind of trap."
"Mm, okay..." Lin Feng suddenly remembered Xue Dangdang. His heart leaped into his throat, and he glanced around nervously before taking off with Su Hen, running toward the Martial Arts Arena.
The Martial Arts Arena was currently bustling with a sea of people. A platform, several dozen meters square, was surrounded by dense crowds.
And atop that platform, Shen Jianfeng stood straight as a javelin, his hands clasped behind his back, his white robes and black hair dancing in the wind.
Truth be told, Shen Jianfeng, with his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, was quite dashing, even if he wasn't devastatingly handsome. It was just that his reputation had always been suppressed by Chu Qingcheng, so he didn't attract much attention.
This time, to build up hype, he had his underlings fan the flames and publicize the event. As a result, what was merely a squabble between two students had been blown up to seem like a duel with Chu Qingcheng herself. The publicity was so great that even many tutors had been drawn out to watch.
In fact, Shen Jianfeng knew that who he was fighting wasn't important. What was important was creating a spectacle so everyone could witness his, Shen Jianfeng's, prowess.
Shen Jianfeng opened his eyes and glanced at the sun. It was already noon, but there was still no sign of Shen Lang.
'It seems Shen Lang is indeed an expert. He knows to wear down my edge first! He's making me wait, and wait, and wait, all to drain my edge and Battle Intent until they're completely gone. Then he can control the entire battle!'
'But he's wrong, dead wrong! He's making me wait here, trying to make me anxious, but isn't he waiting too? Ah, Shen Lang, you are clever indeed, but unfortunately for you, you've met me, Shen Jianfeng. Your fate is sealed! I won't fall for your trick... It's just that, damn it, this sun is a little too strong...'
As Shen Jianfeng thought this, he couldn't help but wipe away a bead of sweat. He had been standing there for several hours. If he weren't concerned with maintaining his image, he would have started cursing a long time ago.
Shen Lang had no idea about all the nonsense going through Shen Jianfeng's mind. He truly wasn't in a hurry. He was actually quite leisurely, strolling through the woods toward the dorms with his hands behind his back and a measured pace.
When he was less than ten meters from the stone house he shared with Lin Feng and Su Hen, two black shadows burst out from behind a large tree!
From the left and right, two longswords shot toward Shen Lang's face, brimming with fierce Killing Intent!
"You want to kill me?" Killing Intent flashed through Shen Lang's eyes.