Tears began to well up in Xu Xiaoyan's eyes before flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"I always denounce you for being too proud, for being high and mighty, but I'm just as arrogant. You're right, I feel very inferior next to you. We come from such vastly different backgrounds, and you're so exceptional that it's easy for you to attract other women. I was afraid that you'd slowly love me less and less. On that day, when you made that confession to me during the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention, I felt like I was being spoken to like an accessory, and I hated that feeling. You ignored me for half a year, but did you know that I regretted what I did as soon as I left the match-making convention? I didn't regret rejecting you, but I shouldn't have embarrassed you in front of all of those people. However, I regret everything now, even my rejection. I shouldn't have rejected you because of my insecurities. I'm sorry, Zhengyu, I was too petty, and I'm sorry for hurting you, so can you please wake up? I'll never be so willful and self-centered ever again," Xu Xiaoyan sobbed as she gently stroked Yue Zhengyu's forehead.

"That won't do; I like it when you're willful and self-centered. I like you just the way you are." A gentle voice sounded, and Yue Zhengyu slowly opened his eyes.

Xu Xiaoyan was given a fright and immediately tried to withdraw her hand, but Yue Zhengyu grabbed onto her wrist.

"Don't go; don't leave me. I've had enough of being separated from you during the past six months."

A faint blush appeared on Xu Xiaoyan's face as she asked, "Wh, when did you wake up?"

Yue Zhengyu smiled in response. "Right when you began talking."

"You..." Xu Xiaoyan's blush deepened even further, and she really wanted to run away, but Yue Zhengyu refused to let her go.

"Can you listen to me repent now?" Yue Zhengyu asked in a gentle voice.

Xu Xiaoyan faltered slightly before raising her head to look at him.

Yue Zhengyu looked straight into her eyes, and said, "I'm sorry, Xiaoyan; it's all my fault. You're right; I'm too arrogant and conceited. I've been this way ever since I was a child, and in all honesty, this is a problem among all of my family members. My pride blinded me from your feelings, and I was too insensitive during the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention. All I was thinking at the time was that I wanted you to officially become my girlfriend in front of all of those people, but in doing so, I neglected to consider your feelings. However, I have to tell you that I don't love you out of pity, and nor have I ever looked down on your background and upbringing. I'm sorry; this is a genuine apology from me. I promise you that I'll do my best to change for you. I'm going to respect you more, and I'm going to love you and cherish you. Can you please forgive me?"

Xu Xiaoyan stared blankly at him for a long while before finally murmuring, "Idiot."

Yue Zhengyu sat up on the bed. After waking up, he was still feeling a little feeble, but aside from that, he was basically fully recovered.

"You're right, I'm an idiot. Even earlier today, I was still angry at you, I was still unable to control my laughable pride. When I saw you trapped inside that

E

vil Soul Master's soul skill and on the brink of death, I felt like I was the dumbest person in the world. If you died back then, I would've followed you to the other side. Trust me, I would've fought that

E

vil Soul Master with everything I had, and he would've killed me as well."

Xu Xiaoyan lowered her head. "How could I not trust you? You already used Sacrifice for my sake and burned through your life force."

Yue Zhengyu was slightly taken aback to hear this. "You found out about that?"

Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "You never told me you had such an ability."

Yue Zhengyu smiled in response. "Where do you think the pride of my clan comes from? It's not from our regal bloodline; instead, it's from our sacrificial spirit. For the sake of my friends, I can lay down my life at a moment's notice. This is why members of our Holy Angel clan will never tell their friends that we have such an ability. We'll only use the ability when our friends are in grave danger, and we'll protect them even it means burning away all of our life force."

Xu Xiaoyan abruptly raised her head and dove into Yue Zhengyu's arms as she sobbed, "10 years! That's 10 years of your lifespan, gone in an instant! You..."

Yue Zhengyu held her in his arms and smiled as he said, "10 years of my lifespan is nothing compared to you. If you can return to my side, I'll be happy for the rest of my life, even if it ends up being 10 years shorter. My days without you are filled with darkness; you're not going to leave me again, are you?"

Xu Xiaoyan murmured, "I was yours from the moment you used your Sacrifice for me. No matter how you treat me in the future, no matter whether you remain proud, no matter how inferior I feel, I won't leave you ever again. You saved my life, and I'm going to spend the rest of it with you."

The best thing about youth was the brilliant recovery speed that came with it, and after a good night's rest, everyone was already completely reinvigorated, with the exception of Yue Zhengyu, who was still a little pale.

"What do we do from here onward, Boss? By the way, I'm really happy to be able to see you eating like this again," Xie Xie said with a smile.

Back in the inner court, everyone cultivated separately, so they rarely ever met one another. In particular, Tang Wulin was in seclusion virtually all the time, so it had been quite a long while since everyone had witnessed his extraordinary appetite in action.

Tang Wulin replied, "If we're not going to travel by high-speed train, then we have no option other than driving to our destination by soul car."

Yue Zhengyu said, "If only we had mechas."

Yuanen Yehui scoffed, " Are you kidding me? Mechas? It wouldn't matter even if we did have mechas; we can't fly them in the federation unless we get special permission certificates. Those certificates are only handed out to some special departments and the military, so it would be impossible for us to get our hands on them."

Xu Xiaoyan countered, "Don't get so snarky; Zhengyu was only talking in a hypothetical sense. In that case, we'll just have to drive there."

Everyone immediately directed their attention toward Xu Xiaoyan upon hearing this.

Xu Xiaoyan was feeling rather uncomfortable from the widespread scrutiny she was receiving. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Xie Xie wore a curious look as he asked, "Are you two back together again?"

Yue Zhengyu glowered at him. "When were we ever not together? There was only a small misunderstanding between us."

"Exactly!" Xu Xiaoyan chimed in in support.

Xie Xie pursed his lips. "Alright, you win."

Xu Xiaoyan wrapped an arm around Yue Zhengyu's arm with a blissful expression on her face. "I heard that our Tang Sect has spirit items that can extend one's life span. After this military training, Zhengyu and I will do those missions together."

Tang Wulin smiled, and corrected, "We'll all be doing those missions with you. Don't forget that we're a unified team."

Ye Xinglan suddenly said, "Captain, do you have a plan from here onward? I'm referring to our long-term futures."

Tang Wulin replied, "I heard a lot of useful information from the Battle God Hall senior yesterday. I learned about the existence of the Battle God Hall from him, as well as many of the unspoken rules on the continent. The Battle God Hall is comprised of the most elite group of Soul Masters from the federation, and the Spirit Pagoda most likely also has a similar organization. The organization is kind of like the equivalent to the Battle Hall and Holy Hall of our Tang Sect, and the inner court and Sea God's Pavilion of our academy. 

"These organizations are where the most powerful beings on our continent can be found. As the new generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters, we're automatically regarded as the representatives of the academy, which means that we can't join the Spirit Pagoda or the Battle God Hall. At the same time, we're members of the Tang Sect, which is quite close with our academy, and we'll most likely be staying in the Tang Sect for the foreseeable future. Following this military training, all of us should become more powerful, and some of us will most likely have progressed to become six-ring Soul Emperors. 

"As such, we should upgrade our suits of battle armor during the upcoming two years. Only after becoming two-word battle armor masters will we truly have the ability to protect ourselves. Suits of two-word battle armor come with wings, so we won't be limited by a lack of mechas, either. The federation's radars can restrict mechas, but they can't restrict our wings."

Tang Wulin paused here before lowering his head slightly. "Also, I have to apologize to all of you. I left for over three years, and after coming back, I've been completely absorbed in my own cultivation, so I neglected to train together with all of you. As a result, I've become unfamiliar with your fighting styles, and our teamwork wasn't as good as it could've been. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been in such a perilous situation yesterday."

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