"What's the relationship? Just regular classmates of the opposite gender," Chen Xuan waved dismissively, feeling rather helpless.
Chen Yiyi's gem-like eyes blinked as she kept staring at Chen Xuan, clearly suspicious.
From the first time she saw Zhu Zhuqing and her brother interact, she had sensed that something was off.
Now, though the two seemed calm, there was an underlying tension, and the atmosphere felt strange.
It gave her the impression of a couple in the middle of a quarrel.
After leaving the Star Dou Forest, the three entered the nearest town.
This time, Chen Xuan rented two luxurious carriages, letting Zhu Zhuqing have one to herself while he and Chen Yiyi sat in the front carriage.
As soon as they entered the carriage, a wave of fatigue hit him, and he quickly fell asleep.
Having fought against a Soul Emperor and traveled for a day, he was utterly exhausted. His soul power had been completely drained, and he had been relying purely on physical strength to carry on. It hadn't been easy.
Chen Xuan fell into a deep sleep, undisturbed by anyone. The carriage bumped along at a slow pace on a route leading to the Heaven Dou Empire.
Time passed, night fell, and before long, an entire night had gone by.
While he slept peacefully, there was someone else who couldn't sleep at all.
At Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai hadn't slept for several days. His eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles had appeared under them, making him look as though his eyes might pop out of his head.
In the past few days, since Zhu Zhuqing had left the academy without a word, he had barely rested. He had tried every possible way to find her, asking everyone he could, but there was no sign of Zhu Zhuqing.
For a time, Dai Mubai even suspected that the Xing Luo royal family had acted ahead of schedule, with his older brother Davis taking action behind the scenes, perhaps even resorting to underhanded tactics like kidnapping Zhu Zhuqing or gathering forces.
However, after inquiring with key figures in the Xing Luo royal family, he was told that Davis had not left the Xing Luo Empire. Moreover, the candidates for the throne would not be confirmed until three years later, and the royal family would not tolerate any harm between heirs during this period.
After all, the second prince had already died, and now only Dai Mubai and Davis remained eligible to compete for the throne. If something happened to either of them, the other would naturally be blamed.
Davis wasn't foolish enough to risk such a move. Besides, he was extremely arrogant and didn't believe that his younger brother, who had trained so much less than him, could surpass him and Zhu Zhuyun.
Dai Mubai was on the verge of losing his mind. If it wasn't the royal family, who else could it be?
Later, he learned that Chen Xuan had also disappeared. Not only had he missed the victory banquet, but he hadn't returned to Shrek Academy for several days, apparently vanishing on the same day as Zhu Zhuqing.
Soon after, Dai Mubai received another piece of information. Someone had spotted a stunningly beautiful, cold woman with long black hair, wearing leather clothes, boarding a carriage with a man and leaving Heaven Dou City.
That man was said to be a student from Shrek Academy who had gained fame during the Continental Soul Master Tournament for having a ten-thousand-year spirit ring as his fourth ring. His popularity at the time had left a lasting impression on many.
In the Shrek team, there were only two people with ten-thousand-year spirit rings. Everyone knew Tang San liked Xiao Wu, and there was no way he would do something like steal a brother's fiancée.
Dai Mubai's expression turned icy. As a seasoned player in matters of love, he understood all too well what goes on in a man's mind. In such a special situation, how could he not overthink things?
A man and a woman, alone in a small, enclosed carriage—what could happen was obvious.
"Chen Xuan!" Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with rage. He wished he could rush out and kill the guy right then and there.
However, he didn't know where Chen Xuan and Zhu Zhuqing had gone. All he could do was swallow his anger, feeling utterly helpless.
In Dai Mubai's eyes, the two had left Heaven Dou City in a carriage together, clearly headed for a vacation.
Such behavior, to him, was no different from a couple on a honeymoon.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his face had twisted with frustration.
The more he thought about it, the more vivid the image became of Zhu Zhuqing being affectionate with another man, possibly even engaging in inappropriate behavior, or worse, already having done so.
Dai Mubai felt as if a field of grass had grown on his head, his face contorting in disgust as if he had swallowed a fly.
His face grew darker as a fire of rage burned in his chest, ready to explode at any moment.
"Mubai, calm down. Don't act rashly." Tang San held back the nearly exploding Dai Mubai.
Ma Hongjun also tried to console him. "Yeah, boss Dai, there's got to be a misunderstanding. Brother Chen doesn't seem like that kind of guy. Besides, even if he was trying to put a cap on you, there's nothing you can do about it now."
Ning Rongrong and the others joined in, trying to calm Dai Mubai down, encouraging him to be understanding.
Only Xiao Wu stood quietly outside the group, saying nothing, somewhat out of place. She was the only one who knew that Chen Xuan *was* that kind of person, evil to the core.
After their persuasion, Dai Mubai's anger gradually subsided, and he began to calm down.
He had been too impulsive just now. His anger had clouded his judgment. No matter what, Zhu Zhuqing was still engaged to him, and that was a fact.
Thinking about it rationally, Zhu Zhuqing, having grown up in a noble family, understood the importance of the Zhu and White Tiger families' alliance. She wouldn't do anything to betray him.
But that was only what Dai Mubai hoped for. He had countless affairs and had been with too many women to count, so he understood all too well that the royal family wouldn't interfere in these matters.
Even if Zhu Zhuqing had gone behind his back and done something with another man, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't break off the engagement. That wasn't up to him, but to his father and the head of the Zhu family.
In the end, Dai Mubai realized that if Zhu Zhuqing and Chen Xuan had really done something, he would just have to swallow his pride and accept it.
Meanwhile, back in the Heaven Dou Empire, the culprit, Chen Xuan, was fast asleep in the carriage, completely unaware that he had indirectly caused a rift between Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai.
Chen Yiyi, on the other hand, had moved to the other carriage to sit with Zhu Zhuqing.
She believed that Chen Xuan was hiding something and that there was definitely some special relationship between him and Zhu Zhuqing. Since he wouldn't tell her, she decided to find out for herself.
Thus, the three continued their journey, riding in two carriages towards Heaven Dou City.
After traveling day and night, they finally reached the largest city in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Chen Xuan had woken up by then, having gotten up before entering the city. Unfortunately for Chen Yiyi, she hadn't been able to get any useful information from Zhu Zhuqing.
"Sister Zhuqing, what exactly is your relationship with my brother? Don't tell me you're just regular classmates. I don't believe it. You two don't act like it, but you don't seem like a couple either. It's so weird," Chen Yiyi frowned, asking for the umpteenth time.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, her tone as calm as ever, stating that they were just good friends. However, this time she added that Chen Xuan was a good person, a trustworthy partner who wasn't the type to run from danger.
Chen Yiyi rolled her eyes in exasperation. The response was far too official. Now that they had reached Heaven Dou City, she decided to drop the topic and end the uncomfortable conversation.
After the Continental Soul Master Tournament, the teams that had succeeded in their regions were secretly training harder than ever, preparing for one-on-one battles, two-on-one duels, and more.
Though the tournament was over, they only had a month off before the next round of competitions.
Based on past experience, veteran teams speculated that the next stage would involve one-on-one matches.
Smart academies were using this time to focus on training their members in one-on-one combat to prepare for the upcoming battles.
Shrek Academy remained unaware of this, continuing with its usual training routine, emphasizing physical conditioning and teamwork.
Yu Xiaogang, who prided himself on being a theoretical master, didn't know everything. Not all knowledge could be found in books, and the rules of the Continental Soul Master Tournament were one such mystery.
Every member of the Shrek Seven Devils was deep in training when a student from the academy arrived with news.
"Senior Zhu Zhuqing is back!"
"Senior Dai, the person you asked us to keep an eye on has been spotted. Senior Zhu Zhuqing and a man are just outside the academy."
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