The small grove within the academy had practically become Jiang Chen and Jing Wuming's exclusive territory.
Teachers rarely ventured here, and students knew better than to approach—this was Jing Wuming's domain.
Since arriving at the academy, Jiang Chen had scarcely returned to the dormitory. He spent his days and nights cultivating here without pause.
While the two of them were chatting idly, night had quietly fallen, and Su Yuntao had already returned to Nuoding City.
When he arrived home, Sisi was already back from work.
"Sisi, great news!" Su Yuntao shouted joyfully the moment he stepped through the door.
"What great news?" Sisi was stunned. After everything that happened today—their public disgrace and expulsion—how could Su Yuntao suddenly be so cheerful?
"Hahaha! Jiang Chen is still alive! The village chief of Holy Soul Village told me himself. Jiang Chen is currently studying at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy!"
"Really?" Sisi found it hard to believe.
She clearly remembered Maxino telling her Jiang Chen was dead. She could still recall the certainty in his expression at the time—it hadn't seemed like a lie.
"It's true! The chief personally brought Jiang Chen to the academy just a few days ago. There was also another child with him named Tang San."
"Tang San? I did soul master certification for a kid by that name today," Sisi said.
Su Yuntao paused, then frowned. "Wait... you went back to work at the Spirit Hall?"
Sisi shook her head and immediately told him about Jing Wuming's visit, along with the plan to take revenge on Maxino.
A moment later, Su Yuntao clapped his hands and burst into hearty laughter, the sound filled with catharsis.
Ever since Maxino had toyed with Sisi, hatred had taken root in Su Yuntao's heart. And now, after breaking his promise and throwing both of them out, Su Yuntao's hatred had only deepened.
From Sisi's plan, he could already envision Maxino's miserable downfall.
"Sisi, do you really have no idea who that young man is?" Su Yuntao asked.
Sisi shook her head. "No. He refused to reveal his identity. Maybe he's just someone Maxino wronged over the years."
Su Yuntao hesitated, then said, "I've been thinking... should we go ahead and submit Jiang Chen's awakening report to the higher-ups? Once your plan succeeds, Maxino will lose his position for sure. If we can take credit for discovering Jiang Chen, maybe we can actually take control of the Nuoding Spirit Hall."
Sisi thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait until Maxino falls. We can't rush this. For now, he still holds the most power. Every document has to go through his hands."
Su Yuntao nodded. "Then I'll just wait and enjoy watching that old bastard go down."
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen, thinking there was nothing important left to monitor, had recalled his black sparrow. As a result, he remained unaware of Su Yuntao and Sisi's plot.
Time passed quickly, and before long, a new day had arrived.
Early that morning, Sisi returned to the Spirit Hall. The main gate was tightly shut—it was their rest day.
Instead of entering through the front, she quietly slipped in through the back.
Trailing behind her was a plump middle-aged woman, around forty, wearing layers of heavy makeup and bright red lipstick that made her look rather terrifying.
Forget men—even Sisi, as a woman, found her nauseating to look at.
This woman was a prostitute Sisi had specifically chosen for Maxino.
Due to her age and a terrible disease she had contracted, she had been thrown out by the brothel. She was desperate—just the kind of person Sisi needed.
Enticed by gold, the starving woman hadn't hesitated. She had already received five gold soul coins as an advance and would earn five more after the task. That was more than she could make in a month.
After hiding the woman, Sisi made her way to Maxino's room and waited silently.
At exactly ten in the morning, the Spirit Hall's main gate opened, and Maxino walked in beaming, closing the door behind him.
Upon hearing the sound of the door, Sisi added a bit more hot water to a cup.
"Sisi, I'm here~" Maxino's giddy voice rang out as he hurried upstairs like a lustful monkey.
When he saw Sisi posed seductively, his eyes almost burst into flames.
As he lunged toward her, Sisi gestured for him to stop and picked up the cup.
"Darling, have some water to quench your thirst first."
Maxino had come straight from home and was indeed thirsty. He took the cup and downed it in one gulp—then immediately reached for her.
"Not yet~ This time, let's do it somewhere else, shall we?" Sisi cooed.
"Where?" Maxino was practically panting.
He felt a fierce desire burning inside him—more intense than anything he had ever experienced, even in his youth.
"Let's go to the reception hall on the first floor," Sisi said sweetly.
Maxino's eyes lit up, and he chuckled lewdly. "You really know how to have fun. Alright, I'll play along. Just thinking about it gets me excited—a busy street outside, people coming and going, and us right there in the hall!"
As he spoke, Sisi had already dashed downstairs. Maxino quickly followed.
But when he reached the first floor, Sisi was nowhere to be seen. His desire flared even more violently—he felt like he was about to explode.
"Sisi? Sisi?" he called out again and again.
Suddenly, the plump woman Sisi had brought earlier stepped out, giggling coquettishly as she approached Maxino.
Hidden in the shadows, Sisi nearly gagged at the sight.
But to her shock, Maxino cried out with delight, "Sisi, where did you run off to just now?"
As he spoke, he threw his arms around the obese woman and immediately descended into madness.
Seeing that things had progressed to this point, Sisi quietly slipped out through the back door. She crossed the street and entered a teahouse directly across from the Spirit Hall.
Upstairs, Su Yuntao was already waiting for her.
"Sisi, did it go smoothly?" he asked the moment she arrived.
Sisi smiled and nodded. "No hiccups. Now we just wait and enjoy the show."
Su Yuntao turned to face the grand entrance of the Spirit Hall with eager anticipation. Very soon now, he would witness the dramatic downfall he'd long awaited.
Not far away, on the second floor of a neighboring restaurant, by a window seat, sat a young man and a six-year-old boy. Both stared intently at the Spirit Hall's main gate.
They were none other than Jing Wuming and Jiang Chen, having just arrived.
By mid-morning, the street was already bustling with life. Especially this road—one of the most prestigious in Nuoding City due to the presence of the Spirit Hall—was now packed with people.
Nearly everyone who passed the gates of the Spirit Hall bore expressions of reverence and solemnity.
In the eyes of most citizens, the Spirit Hall was a sacred institution. Whether commoners or soul masters, they all viewed it as holy and inviolable.
But today, that sacred prestige was about to be shattered.
Perhaps, by the end of this day, the Spirit Hall would become the laughingstock of the entire Douluo Continent.
Just as the passing crowd cast reverent gazes toward the Hall, its majestic doors suddenly burst open from within.
And then—without warning—an old man in his eighties, entangled with a grotesquely overweight woman, tumbled out in a lewd, tangled mess… completely oblivious to the watching world.
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