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Just like Ye Guyi had expected, once Gu Yuena had calmed down and stopped throwing a fit, Liu Xing wasted no time dragging Xu Tianzhen onto the battle stage for a good old-fashioned beatdown.
Tianzhen, being the stubborn mule she was, went up there even though she knew she couldn't win.
"Waaahh, Liu Xing, I can't believe you really hit me! I'm a princess, you know!"
Tianzhen clung to Ye Guyi's chest, sobbing with panda eyes (those bruises!) and tears running down her cheeks.
Liu Xing just rolled his eyes. Every time Tianzhen got beat up, she'd try to pull the whole "I'm a princess" card. But not once had she actually tattled to her royal daddy or her crown prince brother.
Everyone knew she was all bark, no bite.
Ignoring the crying Tianzhen, Liu Xing snuck a guilty glance at Gu Yuena, who was silently fixing her hair. The part of her silver hair that had been singed was now cut off, making her hairstyle uneven on both sides.
It was like she could feel him staring—Gu Yuena's sharp eyes suddenly locked onto him like knives. Liu Xing froze on the spot and instinctively yanked Liu Ying over to stand in front of him like a human shield.
Liu Ying gave Gu Yuena a helpless look and shrugged. She just said coolly, "You really spoil him."
And with that, she turned away and continued fixing her hair.
After over a year of spending time together, Liu Ying had definitely relaxed around Gu Yuena. She'd been super wary at first, but after getting to know her, she realized that Gu Yuena, while proud and distant, was actually kind to the people she accepted.
At the very least, she got along well with their little group over the past year. Even the weakest member, Nana, had seen a gentle side of her. Gu Yuena never looked down on her for being weak.
Speaking of Nana, Liu Xing glanced at the girl sitting nearby, comforting Xu Tianzhen alongside Ye Guyi, and asked, "Hey Nana, how are things going at home lately?"
Nana's face immediately lit up. She beamed and said, "Everything's good now! Mom's back, and those people haven't come looking for her anymore. Dad's doing a lot better too."
Then she stood up, looking super serious, and said to the group, "Thank you, everyone. I know it was you who helped my mom. If there's anything you ever need from me, just say the word—I really want to repay you guys."
Even though Nana was still young, she was smart. Her parents had already told her that someone had been helping them in secret.
Given their family's status, her parents couldn't possibly have had that kind of support. So it had to be because of her. And who at the academy was close to her? Obviously Liu Xing and his crew. Plus, they'd been casually asking about her family lately, not-so-subtly.
It wasn't hard for her to put two and two together.
Liu Xing waved his hand and smiled. "As long as everything's okay now, that's all that matters. No need to thank us—we're not just classmates, we're friends. Of course we'd help if we can."
Xu Tianzhen lifted her bruised face from Ye Guyi's chest, sniffled, and added, "That's right! If I, Xu Tianzhen, call someone a friend, they're not gonna get pushed around by any random nobodies. If my brother hadn't stopped me, I'd have already gone to teach those jerks a lesson!"
Nana felt a warm rush in her heart and tears quietly slipped from her eyes. Liu Ying gently handed her a tissue and wiped her tears, saying softly, "It's okay now, don't cry. Crying makes you look bad."
"I—I'm not crying! I just got something in my eye!"
Nana blushed and quickly explained.
"Ahahaha ."
Everyone exchanged looks and burst out laughing. Even Gu Yuena's lips curled into a tiny smile.
Some students walking by couldn't help but feel a little envious when they saw how tight-knit and happy the group looked.
Liu Xing and his gang were all stars at Mingdu Junior Soul Engineer Academy. Even the "weakest" one, Nana, was a top student. Sure, compared to Liu Xing and Gu Yuena, she might seem weak—but to most students, she was still that unattainable "model student" type.
Liu Xing knew very well that the people threatening Nana's mom probably weren't just small-time crooks. He'd already been ready to bring Luan Yu along to confront them directly. With the force of a titled Douluo, he could pressure them into backing off.
Yeah, it might've caused some trouble later, but waiting any longer would've just made things worse for Nana's parents. Based on what Nana had told him, Liu Xing already had a good idea of who those people were.
And if he was right, the longer they delayed, the more dangerous it would become for her family.
But then the current crown prince, Xu Tianran, moved faster than he did. Not long after the new emperor took the throne, Xu Tianran sent people to warn those guys—and even struck a deal with whoever was backing them.
To those people, a mere Soul Sect was just a disposable pawn. Xu Tianran, as the newly appointed crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire, could easily trade favors to get someone like that off their backs.
Of course, Xu Tianran didn't go all out just because he doted on his sister. There were other reasons—Ye Guyi, Liu Xing, Liu Ying… all of them had powerful people behind them. His actions were also a way to show goodwill toward those backers.
At the same time, he was basically investing in a few high-potential students. None of them had fully matured yet, but their talent and performance at the academy hadn't gone unnoticed by the right people.
"All right, let's head to my place after school for training. I had my aunt finish that thing I was telling you about."
Liu Xing looked up at the sky, then turned to invite the others.
"You mean the soul tool you mentioned? The one that helps with physical conditioning?"
Ye Guyi's eyes lit up. She was very interested. Liu Xing and Liu Ying had freakishly strong bodies—that's how they were able to absorb higher-level soul rings and grow way faster than her and Xu Tianzhen. If she could get her physical strength to that level, maybe she could do the same!
"Yeah, it's done. But don't get your hopes too high—it'll help a bit, but training your body still takes time and consistency. The soul tool just speeds things up a little."
"That's still better than aimlessly jogging around."
Xu Tianzhen pouted. She always felt like popping some body-tempering pills or rare herbs was way more efficient than running.
Liu Xing sighed and shook his head. Running did help—just not as much.
"Gu Yue, you coming?" he asked, turning to Gu Yuena.
"What, am I not allowed?" she said, narrowing her eyes coldly.
"Of course you are! I'd be honored!"
Liu Xing quickly shook his head, helpless. Still mad, huh? Man, girls really hold grudges. Especially pretty girls.
But hey, what could he do? All the people close to him just happened to be girls. Sure, there were a few guys, but they just didn't click the same way—there was always this invisible gap between them.
"....."