In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

The perspective shifts once again to Ning Peiya.

Ning Peiya spent two full hours in the dean's office of the outer academy. After some research, she finally compiled a list of students she could recruit.

Simply compiling the list wasn't enough; she also needed to personally contact these students and win them over with her personal charm. As for getting the academy to assign them to her group? Ha! She wanted partners to fight alongside her for the rest of her life, not just one-off deals.

Ning Peiya left the office building, preparing to try her luck at the Tulip Hotel. According to intelligence, Chen Ning dined at the Tulip Hotel almost every night.

The scene shifts, and Ning Peiya walks into the Tulip Hotel, ignoring the waiter's routine greetings, and surveys the diners in the lobby.

Chen Ning's appearance was particularly eye-catching. In just one glance, Ning Peiya spotted the girl with long blue-green gradient hair in the crowd...

A blue-green gradient? Is this hair color due to my martial soul, or... did I dye it like this on purpose?

"It must be due to the martial spirit. With the current hair dyeing technology, I've never heard of any hair salon that can produce this kind of gradient color."

Without the slightest hesitation, Ning Peiya sat down directly in front of Chen Ning.

At this moment, Ning Peiya realized something was wrong. Right to her and Chen Ning's left, Huo Yuhao and his team members were feasting.

"How come I run into them everywhere?"

Ning Peiya's gaze didn't linger on Huo Yuhao and his group for long. She quickly turned around, looked at the strangely colored girl in front of her, and slowly said, "Chen Ning... Senior, hello. My name is Ning Peiya, a student in Class 1, Grade 1 of the Outer Court of Shrek Academy. My martial soul is the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. You should have heard of me, right?"

Ning Peiya called her "senior sister" reluctantly. For one thing, even though Chen Ning is a second-year student, she is actually several months younger than Ning Peiya.

"Well... Junior Ning, you wouldn't come here without a reason, so what brings you here?"

Chen Ning picked up her teacup, took a sip of the milk tea, and looked at Ning Peiya in front of her with a smile.

There aren't many complicated interactions among the younger generation. Rather than focusing on tangible benefits, they prefer to hang out with classmates they find agreeable.

Ning Peiya rested her chin on her hands, blinked her big, bright eyes, and said in a gentle tone, "It's nothing much, I just wanted to invite you to join my group."

It would have been better if he hadn't said those words, because once he did... led by Huo Yuhao, Xie Erbi, Tang Wulin, and Xu Baozi, the four of them hurriedly stood up.

"Ning Peiya, I'm so sorry, but just now, senior Chen Ning agreed to join our group."

Huo Yuhao stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute towards Ning Peiya, his smugness evident.

"Huo Yuhao... are you defending your sovereignty?" Ning Peiya sneered. "According to Shrek Academy's rules, even the homeroom teacher isn't authorized to decide which group each student joins. Senior Chen Ning hasn't expressed her opinion yet, so why are you so eager to step in? What, do you consider Senior Chen Ning your private property, preventing her from escaping your control?"

"You...that's not what I meant!"

Huo Yuhao almost ground his back teeth to powder.

He had finally managed to persuade Chen Ning to join his group, and was just one step away from success, when Ning Peiya suddenly appeared.

Huo Yuhao said with an unfriendly expression, "Ning Peiya, since you also want to recruit Senior Chen Ning, I won't talk about first come, first served. Let's resolve this in a... Soul Master way. You and I will have a Soul Battle, and whoever loses will withdraw from this competition... How about it?"

Fighting Spirit?

Ning Peiya's expression darkened, and the way she looked at Huo Yuhao changed slightly.

Since her awakening, she has always felt that Huo Yuhao's identity is not as simple as it seems on the surface. They share the same name and the same martial soul, and he also has a Blue Silver Grass martial soul follower whose name is extremely similar to that of Dragon Butterfly Douluo Tang Wutong. Are they all just coincidences?

She strongly suspected that Huo Yuhao in front of her might be the reincarnated Lingbing Douluo.

It's impossible for her to engage in a battle of spirits. Ning Peiya knows her own limitations. Don't be fooled by the fact that she created some tower fighting techniques; they're just a few moves over and over again. Using them too often would only expose her attack methods to the world.

Besides... she didn't want to flaunt the "divine artifact" that had just become her martial soul. "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." Before she became a Limit Douluo, no one would know that the divine artifact was in her hands!

Thinking of this, Ning Peiya suddenly raised her head, looked into Huo Yuhao's eyes, and said in an icy tone, "Huo Yuhao, I don't know if you've ever heard the saying, 'The martial world isn't just about fighting and killing, but more about human relationships.' I am the little princess of the Yun family, and Senior Sister Chen Ning is the eldest daughter of the Chen family. We have similar family backgrounds. Even if we are on opposing sides in the future, we can still be best friends in private."

"But what about you, Huo Yuhao? What makes you think you can compete with me?"

These words left Huo Yuhao speechless.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Having lived three lives, this was the first time Huo Yuhao had ever seen someone flaunt their status to him.

"So what if I have a privileged background?" Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, his face full of resentment. "I don't have a background like Senior Chen Ning right now, but my teacher taught me that if you're not born a noble, you have to become one through your own hard work."

Ning Peiya said with a smile, "Become a nobleman with your own hands? Tsk tsk tsk, Huo Yuhao, I never thought you were someone who liked to feed people toxic motivational quotes."

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning, Huo Yuhao. You just want to recruit Senior Chen Ning into your ranks... so you can make your move on her, right? As long as you can win over Senior Chen Ning, you'll gain His Majesty Han Hai's support. It really proves what you said: if you're not born a noble, then you'll become one with your own hands."

As she spoke, Ning Peiya glanced at the two giant pandas Chen Ning was raising, then at Huo Yuhao's hands, her expression becoming increasingly smug.

Seeing this scene, Chen Ning, who often played with the corner of the table in the dormitory, felt a chill and her gaze towards Huo Yuhao changed.

Looking at the entire Soul Master world, how many Soul Masters have walked down the aisle with their classmates who fought alongside them in the Soul Master Academy?

There are quite a few, but not too many.

Chen Ning naturally wouldn't believe Ning Peiya's one-sided story, but she could glean some meaning from Huo Yuhao's expression.

What did Huo Yuhao take her for? A naive and innocent girl who could be fooled with a bowl of spicy hot pot? (End of Chapter)