"Sister Xiaotao!" Zhu Ziyang was surprised and delighted. He hadn't expected to meet Ma Xiaotao at the academy entrance. With a joyful expression, he said, "You're back!"
"Ziyang!" Ma Xiaotao was also very surprised. She had just been thinking of finding Zhu Ziyang after settling Huan Er, but she ended up running into him at the entrance. So, Ma Xiaotao quickly rushed to Zhu Ziyang, throwing herself into his embrace and hugging him tightly.
Facing Ma Xiaotao's actions, Zhu Ziyang naturally returned her embrace, feeling the warmth in his arms. Even after three years apart, that familiar feeling immediately re-entered his mind.
Jiang Nannan watched Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao, who were intimately embracing right in front of her, and pouted unhappily. However, she didn't make any further moves. Because of Qian Lingyi, her tolerance had greatly increased. No matter what, she was Zhu Ziyang's first!
The girl named Huan Er looked at Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao with curious eyes. How should she put it? She had traveled the continent with Ma Xiaotao for so long, and this was the first time she had seen Ma Xiaotao act like this.
The two embraced for a long time before reluctantly letting go of each other. Ma Xiaotao's pretty face was flushed, and then she saw Jiang Nannan, who was standing nearby with an unhappy expression. Even with her open and unrestrained personality, she felt a little embarrassed at this moment. She said, "Nannan, long time no see!"
"Mm! Long time no see, Sister Xiaotao!" Jiang Nannan forced a somewhat stiff smile, her tone a bit cold, as she replied.
"Sister Xiaotao, why are you suddenly back at the academy?" Seeing the somewhat cold atmosphere between the two girls, Zhu Ziyang immediately spoke up, breaking the silence and asking.
"Ah! Isn't the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition coming up? I specifically came back to cheer you all on!" Ma Xiaotao said with a charming smile, raising her eyebrows, looking as if she cared about them very much.
"Is that so? Then I should thank Sister Xiaotao!" Zhu Ziyang said with a chuckle, his gaze sweeping across Ma Xiaotao's delicate face, but he was immediately drawn to her brow and froze.
He saw a golden flame mark flickering on Ma Xiaotao's brow. From that flame mark, Zhu Ziyang felt a very familiar aura, a divine charm!
Ma Xiaotao had actually received a God Position inheritance!
"Sister Xiaotao, you…" Zhu Ziyang immediately cried out in a daze.
"What about me?" Ma Xiaotao looked at Zhu Ziyang with a smile, as if she had long expected him to show such an expression.
"Nothing!" Zhu Ziyang immediately regained his composure and said with a smile, "Can we have a good talk tonight? I'm very curious about your experiences over the years, Sister Xiaotao."
"Of course!" Ma Xiaotao agreed without hesitation, saying, "Even if you didn't look for me, I was planning to look for you."
"I say, are you two not even trying to hide it anymore?" Jiang Nannan was furious. She hadn't expected Zhu Ziyang to openly ask Ma Xiaotao for a romantic evening right in front of her. Wasn't he taking her too lightly? The girl was so wronged she almost cried.
"Nannan!" Zhu Ziyang immediately comforted Jiang Nannan. He took her hand, pulled her closer, and then whispered in her fair, jade-like ear, "Look at Sister Xiaotao's brow!"
Although Jiang Nannan was angry, she instinctively followed Zhu Ziyang's instruction and looked up. Then, she saw the flame mark that only fellow God's Chosen could see, and her heart immediately froze.
Ma Xiaotao naturally also saw the osmanthus mark on Jiang Nannan's brow, and her heart also froze. She had learned from her God's Test that Zhu Ziyang had received a God Position inheritance, but she didn't know that Jiang Nannan had also received a God Position inheritance.
So, both girls were a bit stunned, and the four of them fell into silence until the girl named Huan Er broke it.
"Sister Xiaotao, didn't you say you'd help me with my enrollment procedures? How is it?" The girl Huan Er reached out and tugged on Ma Xiaotao's sleeve, her voice soft as she asked.
"Ah! Right, I almost forgot about the main thing." Ma Xiaotao suddenly realized and quickly said, "It's already taken care of. From now on, Huan Er, you're a member of our Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard!"
"Really! Thank you, Sister Xiaotao!" The girl Huan Er exclaimed excitedly, but for some reason, Zhu Ziyang always felt that her eyes didn't seem as excited as her tone.
"Sister Xiaotao, who is this?" Zhu Ziyang became even more curious about the girl named Huan Er, so he asked Ma Xiaotao.
"Oh, her? She's the younger sister I recognized while traveling the continent, Fifth Huan'er. You can just call her Huan Er." Ma Xiaotao heard Zhu Ziyang's question and immediately introduced her with a smile, "Huan Er, this is Zhu Ziyang, whom I mentioned to you. He's a few months older than you, so you can call him Brother Ziyang. And this is Jiang Nannan, she's also older than you, you can call her Sister Nannan. Of course, I think Nannan wouldn't mind if you just called her Nannan."
"Hello, Huan Er." Zhu Ziyang greeted her with a smile.
"Hello, Sister Huan Er," Jiang Nannan also said with a smile. She still cared about what Ma Xiaotao said when introducing her, otherwise she wouldn't have specifically added the word'sister'. She wondered who it was meant for.
"Hello, Brother Ziyang, Nannan." Fifth Huan'er said. One could only say that she was indeed Ma Xiaotao's recognized sister; her voice was soft, but her personality was not soft at all.
Jiang Nannan lightly bit her silver teeth, feeling provoked, and gave Ma Xiaotao a disgruntled glance.
However, Ma Xiaotao didn't care. She had a very clear goal in returning to the academy this time: to win Zhu Ziyang. Originally, she didn't have the determination to compete with Jiang Nannan for Zhu Ziyang, but now it was different. With the prospect of becoming a god, she absolutely didn't want to be alone in an eternal future. Therefore, she absolutely had to have Zhu Ziyang!
"Let's go into the academy. I still need to arrange a room for Huan Er on Sea God Island." Ma Xiaotao said. She had just returned and didn't know some things yet. "Let's talk as we go."
"Sister Xiaotao, there's no Sea God Island anymore." Jiang Nannan said, "Now there's only Tian Yuan Island and Tian Yuan Pavilion."
"What?" Ma Xiaotao was stunned, showing a confused expression.
"Let's talk as we go." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.
So, on the way back to Tian Yuan Island, Zhu Ziyang told Ma Xiaotao all the important things she didn't know. Ma Xiaotao's reaction was very strong; it was clear that she truly knew nothing at all.
By the time they arrived under the Golden Ancient Tree, Ma Xiaotao was already in tears. She was Mu En's grand-disciple, and her relationship with Mu En was very close. Therefore, she felt extremely guilty for not being able to see Mu En off on his last journey. Zhu Ziyang didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only let her teacher, Yan Shaozhe, who also hadn't been able to see Mu En off, comfort her.
Perhaps it was shared suffering, but Yan Shaozhe quickly comforted Ma Xiaotao, making her stop crying.
"Ziyang, I'm sorry, I made a fool of myself." Ma Xiaotao said with red eyes.
"It's alright, Sister Xiaotao." Zhu Ziyang comforted her, "Teacher wouldn't want to hear you crying either, so there's no need to be sad."
"Mm!" Ma Xiaotao nodded, then called out to Fifth Huan'er, "Huan Er, come on, big sister will arrange your room."
Fifth Huan'er was staring blankly at the Golden Ancient Tree at the moment. After hearing Ma Xiaotao's call, her body visibly trembled, and then she replied, "Oh, oh! I'm coming!"
Ma Xiaotao left with Fifth Huan'er, and Jiang Nannan finally got a chance to be alone with Zhu Ziyang. She immediately pouted and threw herself into Zhu Ziyang's arms.
"Brother, you owe me compensation!" Jiang Nannan whined.
"Okay! What kind of compensation do you want?" Zhu Ziyang embraced the girl's delicate body, saying helplessly.
"I don't know!" The girl looked up, a bewildered expression in her beautiful eyes, and said, "I want you to distance yourself from Sister Xiaotao, but I know you can't do that, so I don't know what compensation I want."
…" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but fall silent. Looking at Jiang Nannan's picturesque jade-like face, a hint of shame appeared on his face as he said, "I'm sorry, Nannan!"
"Hmph! You playboy!" Jiang Nannan snorted, then rested her head against Zhu Ziyang's chest and said, "I won't let you off easily!"
Saying that, she opened her small mouth and gently bit Zhu Ziyang's shoulder, her pretty face feigning fierceness, yet appearing extremely alluring.
This naturally couldn't harm Zhu Ziyang's body, but it was a critical blow to his spirit, so he directly picked up the girl's delicate body and instantly vanished from the spot.