The ambiguous atmosphere left Zhu Zhuqing feeling unsettled.
She decided to break the silence and said:
"My older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, is engaged to the Star Luo Empire's crown prince, Davis, the one with the highest chance of inheriting the throne."
"Which means Zhu Zhuyun has a strong likelihood of becoming the Empress."
"That's why the family has chosen to fully support her and Davis."
"As a result, I've become overlooked by the family, even suppressed."
"Anyone brave enough to guide my cultivation would end up distancing themselves from me due to mysterious 'accidents.'"
"And as for Davis, from the way he cowardly runs away and indulges in debauchery, you can clearly see how responsible he is."
"So all my training since childhood was self-taught. That's why my foundation is weak in many areas."
Zhuge Lan gave a small "mm" in response.
He didn't make any further comment.
At times like this, it was better to just listen.
Keeping the ambiguous atmosphere intact was crucial, as it helped break through Zhu Zhuqing's protective shell.
Zhu Zhuqing assumed Zhuge Lan was solely focused on massaging her and remained silent.
The scene fell into a quiet lull once again.
The subtle tension seeped into Zhu Zhuqing's heart bit by bit.
Zhuge Lan, however, was careful and considerate.
He deliberately avoided sensitive areas.
Other than that, he didn't hold back!
While enjoying himself, he also gained nearly 20,000 emotion points, recouping about a quarter of his expenditure.
Plus, he could use the Nine Yin Manual healing technique later, further strengthening their bond.
A total win!
Distracted by his thoughts, Zhuge Lan suddenly gave Zhu Zhuqing's thigh a sharp slap.
"Massage over. You can get up now."
[Emotion Points +1111]
Zhuge Lan realized his hand was still on Zhu Zhuqing's thigh and froze.
"Haven't you finished?" Zhu Zhuqing softly asked, "Then why are you still—?"
"Ah? Oh!" Zhuge Lan quickly pulled his hand back, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Sorry."
"When I used to heal others, I'd habitually slap them to signal the end."
Zhu Zhuqing sat up, nodding calmly.
But...
[Emotion Points +1111]
[Emotion Points +1111]
[Emotion Points +1111]
So, cold on the outside but warm inside, huh?
The stark contrast made Zhuge Lan itch with anticipation.
—How he longed to win her over!
He wondered just how warm she really was beneath that cold exterior.
At that moment...
A broadcast soul communicator rang out: "Will the contestant 'Your Dad Again' please prepare for the next match."
Zhuge Lan stood up, and Zhu Zhuqing quickly followed.
With a cool tone, she asked, "Why did you choose such a name?"
Zhuge Lan smiled mysteriously.
"You'll see in a bit."
Outside, they parted ways. Zhuge Lan entered the contestant tunnel.
After the announcer introduced him, he stepped onto the stage.
Feeling the cheers from all around, he scanned the crowd.
[Emotion Points +1]
[Emotion Points +2]
[Emotion Points +1]
[Emotion Points +3]
Although the points were in small numbers, there were thousands of people in the audience, which meant he was earning several thousand points every second.
This sparked an idea in Zhuge Lan's mind—crowds weren't useless; he just hadn't been using them correctly.
Such large gatherings were perfect for "high-experience farming grounds!"
"How will the Level 36 contestant 'Your Dad Again' face off against the Level 38 contestant Terror Wolf?" the referee shouted excitedly.
"Let's watch and find out!"
"Let the match begin!"
Zhuge Lan finally turned to face his opponent, Terror Wolf.
A speed-type Battle Soul Master with the Martial Soul of a wolf.
As soon as his Martial Soul possessed him, Terror Wolf lunged at Zhuge Lan, who had yet to summon his Martial Soul, clawing at his chest.
His eyes were filled with disdain—another rookie frozen by fear.
"Swish—"
The sharp wolf claws sliced through the air, hitting "Zhuge Lan" and shattering him.
It was an afterimage.
Zhuge Lan had moved a few centimeters to the side, narrowly dodging the attack.
Then...
He slapped his opponent hard across the face!
The young man was stunned!
Huh?
Did...
Did this kid just slap him?
[Emotion Points +19]
Whoa!
In a fit of rage, he broke past the "audience cap!"
"You little brat! Die!"
"Third Soul Skill: Ripping Wolf Claws!!!"
Terror Wolf unleashed a barrage of claw strikes, aiming to tear Zhuge Lan apart!
But...
Zhuge Lan used his Spiral Nine Shadows technique, effortlessly dodging the attacks within inches.
[Emotion Points +19]
[Emotion Points +6]
[Emotion Points +7]
[Emotion Points +4]
Whoa!
The points shot up to over a thousand per second!
Zhuge Lan was now even more reluctant to defeat his opponent. He kept dodging with the Spiral Nine Shadows technique.
—After all, the system's abilities required no consumption on his part.
He could keep this up for a day and a night!
But...
His opponent couldn't. Using his third soul skill drained a lot of energy for a Soul Elder.
Within half a minute, Terror Wolf had to stop, glaring at Zhuge Lan in frustration.
"Brat, all you can do is dodge?"
Seeing that the emotion points were starting to drop, Zhuge Lan decided to put on a show.
He summoned his Martial Soul, Thorn Armor, and all three of his thousand-year soul rings lit up.
The atmosphere went dead silent!
Three...
Thousand-year soul rings?!
Seconds later, the crowd erupted!
"What did I just see?!"
"Three thousand-year soul rings!!!"
"How is it possible for the first and second rings to be thousand-year rings?"
"No way! That's impossible!"
[Emotion Points +9]
[Emotion Points +9]
[Emotion Points +9]
The crowd's uproar sent the emotion points skyrocketing to over ten thousand per second.
Zhuge Lan was grinning from ear to ear.
He beckoned to the stunned Terror Wolf.
"Alright, I won't dodge anymore."
"Come hit me."
Terror Wolf snapped out of it.
He looked at Zhuge Lan in disbelief, recalling the earlier afterimage, and suddenly had an idea.
"You're a mental-type soul master, aren't you?" Terror Wolf said confidently. "Some kind of illusion technique, right? But you didn't make it convincing enough—thousand-year first and second soul rings? Impossible!"
Reactivating his third soul skill, he confidently attacked again!
But ignorance led to fearlessness.
Then...
"Splat, splat, splat—"
Terror Wolf, terribly unlucky, triggered the "diarrhea" debuff.
A foul stench filled half the battle arena.
Zhuge Lan had long since held his breath in anticipation.
But the referee in the air...
"What is thi—urgh—"
Terror Wolf clutched his stomach, trying to hold back.
But he was wearing shorts for ease of movement.
So...
When yellowish stuff started running down his leg...
Everyone was stunned!
Did he just...
Have an accident in the middle of a fight?
[Emotion Points +9]
[Emotion Points +9]
[Emotion Points +9]
Terror Wolf covered his face with one hand and his backside with the other, sprinting off the stage, leaving a trail of yellow spots.
Zhuge Lan was repulsed by the sight.
—Man, this guy's really unlucky, huh?
He quickly distanced himself while collecting more emotion points.
Unfortunately...
The referee was quite professional, recovering within seconds.
"The fight has ended in a most unexpected way!"
"Congratulations to the contestant 'Your Dad Again' for defeating Terror Wolf!"
"Huh?"
The referee paused for a moment.
Only then did he realize the oddity of the name—it all made sense now!
The audience burst into laughter!
"This kid's hilarious!"
"Those three thousand-year rings must be fake, right?"
"Of course! No way they're real!"
"His soul skills are strange, and he's even stranger!"
"I'm definitely watching his future matches!"
"Hahaha—"
[Emotion Points +9]
[Emotion Points +9]
[Emotion Points +9]
Zhuge Lan stood on stage, basking in the steady flow of emotion points, until the referee reminded him multiple times to leave.
Reluctantly, he stepped down.
Glancing at his balance:
[Emotion Points: 95,321;]
Whoa!
He had just redeemed the Nine Yin Manual healing technique, and including what he farmed from Zhu Zhuqing, he'd only earned about 30,000 points.
In just over a minute, he had collected over 60,000 emotion points?
Damn!
This is a gold mine!
Zhuge Lan headed to the spectator stands.
Zhu Zhuqing came over, her face still cold, but her black eyes twinkled with amusement.
[Emotion Points +233]
"So, what do you think? Fun, right?" Zhuge Lan grinned. "How about changing your title to 'Your Mom Again'?"
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but smile, though she quickly shook her head.
Too silly. It didn't fit her personality.
"Will the contestant 'Netherworld Spirit Cat' please prepare for the next match."
Zhu Zhuqing gave Zhuge Lan a look and turned away.
Zhuge Lan glanced at the screen displaying the upcoming matches.
"Still that brat?"
He immediately reminded her, "Tang San's Blue Silver Grass has a sense of touch, so be careful not to get tied up."
[Emotion Points +111]
"Got it."
---
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