Shi Hao burst into laughter, this penny-pinching, freeloading tightwad had finally learned his lesson, hadn’t he?
"Don’t be so smug," Xu Zeqi moaned.
"Why not?" Shi Hao asked.
"Humph, do you think you can stay out of this?" Xu Zeqi said.
As if to annotate his words, a woman’s shout came from outside: "Shi Hao, come out!"
This was a woman’s voice, most likely from the Falling Flower Alliance.
Shi Hao remained silent as if he hadn’t heard.
"Shi Hao, I know you’re back, stop pretending you’re not there!" the woman called again.
"Hehe," Xu Zeqi let out a schadenfreude chuckle.
Shi Hao glared at him, picked him up, and then walked out the door.
Since you love to laugh so much, you might as well join in.
"Wow, what are you doing?" Xu Zeqi struggled excitedly; he did not want to get beaten up again.
Although in principle higher-ranking students shouldn’t lay hands on lower-ranking ones, who asked him to ask for his own death and confess to Weng Nanqing?
The academy, knowing this, turned a blind eye; for one, Xu Zeqi was indeed at fault, and secondly, Weng Nanqing was a genius among geniuses, upon whom the academy had placed much hope.
Shi Hao didn’t care and strode out.
Outside the courtyard wall, a young girl stood gracefully, dressed in a tight-fitting red outfit that outlined her shapely figure perfectly.
When she saw Shi Hao, she snorted and said, "If it weren’t for Sister Weng’s orders, I’d really like to knock out all your teeth for daring to defile Sister Weng!"
Huh, can that be considered defilement?
Shi Hao wasn’t interested in arguing with a greenhorn girl and smiled, "Then what brings you here?"
"Sister Weng has summoned you," the girl in red said.
Xu Zeqi was stunned; why, oh why?
He had been severely beaten and lay recuperating for a month, while Shi Hao was actually receiving an invitation from the goddess of his dreams, was this really a world about appearances?
After all, he considered himself rather handsome too.
"Oh?" Shi Hao thought for a moment, then casually dropped Xu Zeqi to the ground.
"Ouch!" Xu Zeqi cried out in pain; he wasn’t really that hurt, but he was heartbroken, a clear look of deep resentment on his face.
"Come with me!" the girl in red said coldly, her face unwilling.
Shi Hao didn’t mind and followed the girl in red.
Along the way, they were seen by many people.
"Hey, isn’t that the girl from the Falling Flower Alliance, Red Willow?"
"The Red Willow of the Falling Flower Alliance, Zhang Qian?"
"Who else could it be?"
"Where is she taking Shi Hao?"
"Judging by the direction, it should be to Sister Weng Nanqing’s place."
"It’s said that a few days ago, Shi Hao proposed to Weng Nanqing on behalf of someone else, then immediately fled the academy; now, it seems he’s about to face Sister Weng’s autumn reckoning."
"He’s got some nerve, daring to provoke Sister Weng Nanqing’s authority!"
"Hehe, he’s definitely in for big trouble this time."
Everyone said so, Shi Hao’s recent notoriety naturally also filled many with envy.
Under everyone’s gaze, Shi Hao once again arrived at Weng Nanqing’s residence.
"Go on in," Zhang Qian said, clearly annoyed.
"You might want to work on your temper; being so fierce, no man will be able to handle you," Shi Hao said with a smile.
Zhang Qian was about to lose her temper. How could this guy’s words be so annoying?
However, since Nan Qing said she wanted to see Shi Hao, and he had already arrived, how could she dare to cause any trouble at this juncture and waste time?
Therefore, she watched Shi Hao enter the yard, puffed up with anger, but did not speak.
As Shi Hao walked into the yard, though it was the same as any other, there was an indescribable beauty to it, as if the flowers bloomed more vividly here.
In a pavilion in the yard sat a woman alone, her back to him. He could see her hands resting on the strings of a zither, yet she wasn’t playing, merely adopting the posture.
"Miss Weng," Shi Hao said.
Nan Qing didn’t turn around, responding, "In three days, you will come back to the Weng Family with me."
"To do what?" Shi Hao asked.
"My family has arranged a marriage for me, which I’m not satisfied with. So, you’re going to help me reject it," Nan Qing said indifferently.
Hey, you’ve got the wrong idea!
Shi Hao laughed, "That seems to have nothing to do with me, right?"
"Since you dared to come to me to confess on behalf of someone else, how can it have nothing to do with you?" Nan Qing countered.
"Then why doesn’t Miss Weng ask Xu Zeqi?"
"Him?" Nan Qing shook her head, "He’s too worthless."
Shi Hao couldn’t help but mourn for Xu Zeqi; the poor guy was truly pitiable.
"However, I am merely Self-Observation, and the one who could discuss a marriage with Miss Weng must also be from the Supplementing Divine Temple, right? So what use would there be in me going?"
It wasn’t that he was belittling himself—it was the reality, given the vast gap in their cultivation levels.
"That person is also just Self-Observation, but he ranks tenth on the Heaven Connecting Road list in the South Wood Continent!" Nan Qing declared.
This was astonishing.
The martial arts levels of the South Wood Continent looked down upon the other three continents, and within the same rank, the martial artists from South Wood were even stronger. Thus, their tenth rank would undoubtedly be first in another continent, perhaps even an overpowering first, far superior to the second.
Shi Hao’s eyes lit up: "What’s his background?"
"He is the offspring of a Heaven Connecting Road Almighty, and his great-grandmaster is an entity of the Sky Ladder level!" Nan Qing stated solemnly.
Tsk, that’s quite the pitfall.
Shi Hao found it strange and said, "If this man is such a genius, why hasn’t he come to the Heavenly Palace Academy?"
"Naturally, there are reasons for that, and you will find out in the future," Nan Qing replied vaguely.
"I could help you beat him, make him feel ashamed, and dare not propose to you ever again," Shi Hao offered, "But in doing so, I would needlessly offend a Heaven Connecting Road almighty, and possibly even a Sky Ladder Almighty—wouldn’t that be too great a loss for me?"
"Once it’s done, I’ll give you a Spiritual Artifact, of the six-star level," Nan Qing put forth her terms.
"The enmity of two powerful individuals is only worth one six-star Spiritual Artifact?" Shi Hao was naturally dissatisfied; this was like asking an exorbitant price and intending to repay much less.
"Then what else do you want?" Nan Qing inquired.
"I want a dozen Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that can directly enhance Soul Power!" Shi Hao declared boldly.
In the cultivation of the Great Void Realm, Dharma appearance could indeed be improved quickly, but the growth of Soul Power could only slowly increase through normal cultivation.
His progress was too rapid now, and his Soul Power was nearly unable to keep up.
Nan Qing rolled her eyes in exasperation, a dozen?
Did he know how precious the items that could enhance Soul Power were?
Even those that could accelerate the growth were exceedingly rare, let alone those that directly boosted it.
She too desired a dozen such treasures.
"I can give you a Nurturing Spirit Netherworld Fruit," she finally relented, knowing that without bleeding a little, Shi Hao would never make a move.
"Deal!" Shi Hao wasn’t too greedy; defeating one person in exchange for a Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure was still a worthy transaction.