Douluo Continent: Beginning with Signing in with Yan Lingji

Though everyone was present, the atmosphere around the table was unusually tense. Aside from Tu Shan Yaya, who always wore her cold expression, both Yan Lingji and Bi Ji appeared somewhat uneasy.

The events of yesterday were still fresh in their minds, and they felt embarrassed. They needed some time to adjust after what had transpired.

In an effort to break the awkward silence and also because he was curious about the state of the Heavenly Garment Pavilion, Zhao Ming spoke up, "Bi Ji, why don't you tell me more about the progress of the pavilion?"

"We've just recently rented the store, and we've started producing several designs based on your drawings. You saw some of them yesterday," Bi Ji replied, her face flushing slightly.

Zhao Ming smirked at the thought. Sure, I've seen some, but not all of you have shown them to me yet!

His gaze subtly shifted toward Tu Shan Yaya. Over the years, he had become quite familiar with Yan Lingji and Bi Ji. Both were extraordinary women, with beauty and grace that were unmatched. However, Zhao Ming was a man who craved exploration and novelty.

He had always been intrigued by Yaya's aloof nature, and he couldn't deny that he was a bit... tempted by her.

"What are you staring at?" Yaya asked, clearly uncomfortable under Zhao Ming's intense gaze.

"Nothing," Zhao Ming chuckled before turning back to Bi Ji. He knew Yaya's temperament and understood that things couldn't be rushed with her.

"I believe our products will be well-received once they hit the market. But even if we succeed in gaining attention, I'm concerned that due to a lack of funding, other forces might come in and snatch the opportunity from us," Bi Ji analyzed seriously.

"You don't need to worry about money. In a few days, we'll have more than enough gold soul coins," Zhao Ming reassured her, thinking about the 40,000 gold coins he was expecting from Flender. Flender's winnings were no small amount, but Zhao Ming suspected that it would take some time to process such a large sum.

[TL/N: I didn't know if flender win 40K or 4K.]

As for marketing, Zhao Ming already had a plan.

He pondered for a moment before saying, "Go to Notting City and call Wang Sheng and the others here. They can handle the work for you."

Wang Sheng and the other students from Notting Academy had been close to Zhao Ming, and they were some of the first people he had befriended after arriving in this world. Bringing them over would give them a job and help them out.

After spending another day with Bi Ji and Yan Lingji, Zhao Ming eventually returned to Shrek Academy.

With the recent tension between Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai, Zhao Ming felt the need to stay close and be ready to deliver the final blow to Dai Mubai. He also worried that, out of frustration, Dai Mubai might try to do something harmful to his beloved Zhuqing.

However, Zhao Ming's concerns may have been unnecessary. Ever since the day Zhao Ming had beaten him, Dai Mubai had become much more subdued. He often wore a brooding expression and rarely spoke, even during their training sessions at the Great Soul Arena. His mood was so dark that even his usual companions, Oscar and Ma Hongjun, found it unsettling.

As for Zhu Zhuqing, outwardly, she seemed unchanged. But Zhao Ming could tell that her mood had improved significantly. Though she had not sought him out, likely to avoid further rumors, Zhao Ming had hoped that after giving her the Divine Footwork Manual, she would come to him for guidance. However, Zhu Zhuqing had resisted the temptation to enhance her strength through him, for now.

A week passed, and Zhao Ming and Ning Rongrong's "Invincible Combination" had started to make a name for themselves in the Great Soul Arena. Despite the odd pairing of a Soul Grandmaster and a Soul Elder, they continued to win match after match, often with startling ease. This, naturally, drew a great deal of attention.

Since their first match, where their youth had caused quite a stir, they had started wearing masks during their fights. Aside from those who had seen them initially, few people knew their real ages. Otherwise, just their age alone would have caused a sensation.

As usual, they had returned from the Great Soul Arena that afternoon.

Once everyone had left, Dai Mubai lingered behind, his eyes locking onto Zhu Zhuqing. His expression darkened with a mix of desire and malice as he watched her walk toward the dormitory.

"Zhuqing, I need to talk to you," Dai Mubai said, grabbing her wrist as she tried to leave.

"What do you want, Dai Mubai?" Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flashed with disdain as she shook off his hand.

Dai Mubai noticed the look of disgust in her eyes and felt a surge of rage rising within him.

But he quickly suppressed it.

"I'm your fiancé. Don't I even have the right to hold your hand?" Dai Mubai asked, his face pale with anger.

"Fiancé? Ha!" Zhu Zhuqing sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

However, Dai Mubai didn't see it as self-mockery. To him, Zhu Zhuqing's taunt was a direct challenge to his authority.

"If I'm not your fiancé, then what is Zhao Ming to you?" Dai Mubai sneered, his grip tightening around her wrist, his eyes cold.

"What do you mean by that?" Zhu Zhuqing's expression shifted.

"What do I mean? Do I really need to spell it out? That night, you didn't come back. I assume you were with him, weren't you? Having a good time together?"

Dai Mubai's words cut into Zhu Zhuqing's heart like a dagger, and she was infuriated.

For a woman, nothing was more important than her chastity.

And here was the man who was supposed to be her fiancé, blatantly questioning her virtue. The man she had been bound to since childhood was now accusing her of the very thing she had feared.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but Zhu Zhuqing held them back.

"Hmph, did I hit a sore spot?" Dai Mubai laughed mockingly.

Seeing the tears in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes brought him no remorse—only a twisted sense of satisfaction.

In his mind, all the humiliation he had suffered was because of Zhu Zhuqing and Zhao Ming. He couldn't defeat Zhao Ming, but he could take out his frustration on Zhu Zhuqing and reclaim his pride.

Smack!

Unable to bear Dai Mubai's insults any longer, Zhu Zhuqing slapped him hard across the face.

"Dai Mubai, don't push me too far!" she shouted angrily.

[•———•——•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

🌟 • 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿í𝗮 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟭𝟬]

🌟 • 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗡𝗴𝗼 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟭𝟬]

⭐ • 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱]

⭐ • 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱]

⭐ • 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱]

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧