Douluo Continent: Wielding Ice and Fire, Starting by Crushing Shrek Academy

"Sir, tonight's star is Yuexuan's newest famous courtesan."

Avalanche came closer, looking excited. "I heard she's incredibly beautiful and her piano skills are superb."

"Oh?"

Liangyi Luo raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll have to listen carefully."

Xue Qinghe smiled from the side: "Does Young Master Luo enjoy listening to the zither?"

"It's alright," Ryougi Raku said casually. "Anyway, I'm just killing time."

As they were talking, the door to the private room was gently pushed open.

A maid came in to announce, "Your Highness, Miss Pleated Pants has arrived."

"Please let her in."

Xue Qinghe waved his hand.

Footsteps sounded softly behind the screen.

The woman walked out gracefully, her appearance delicate and beautiful, her eyebrows and eyes exquisite, and her light blue dress was as clear as a spring.

Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, adorned with a white jade hairpin—simple yet elegant.

Holding her harp, she bowed slightly and said softly, "Baizhe greets His Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness the Fourth Prince, and Young Master Luo."

Liangyi Luo nodded, his gaze sweeping across her face.

He is indeed good-looking, and Yuexuan's training is truly remarkable, but compared to the others in Luoyuan, he still lacks a lot of charm.

Bai Zhe sat on the piano bench, tuning the strings.

Her slender fingers plucked the strings, and ethereal, melodious music flowed out.

Sometimes it sounds like the babbling of a spring, sometimes like a gentle breeze, and sometimes like moonlight falling.

Xue Beng listened with rapt attention, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Xue Qinghe outwardly appreciated the music, a smile playing on his lips, but out of the corner of his eye, he kept observing Liangyi Luo.

Liangyi Luo held her teacup, her expression calm and unreadable.

The song ended, but the lingering melody still resonated.

Avalanche led the applause, with cheers erupting: "Bravo! Bravo! The Pleated Girl truly lives up to her name!"

"It's really good."

Xue Qinghe smiled calmly, then turned to Liang Yiluo, "What does Young Master Luo think?"

Liangyi Luo put down her teacup and said calmly, "It's acceptable."

Is it acceptable?

Avalanche was stunned; in his eyes, this was already heavenly music.

Bai Zeng's face stiffened slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

She rose and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your comments, Young Master Luo."

As she left, she glanced resentfully in the direction of Liangyi Luo.

When the food and wine were served, Xue Qinghe personally poured wine for Liang Yiluo, showing no airs of a crown prince.

"Young Master Luo, please."

"Your Highness is too kind."

Liangyi Luo picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Good wine has a mellow and lingering aroma, and a sweet taste.

Xue Beng stood by, grinning foolishly as he drank with her. After a few drinks, he started talking more.

"Sir, do you think that Haotian Douluo will come to apologize?"

Liangyi Luo glanced at this seemingly simple-minded but actually profound fellow: "What do you think?"

"I think it's unlikely." Xue Beng shook his head, clearly having his own ideas. "I heard that Haotian Douluo has been wanted and hunted for over ten years because he injured the former Pope of the Spirit Hall, but they haven't been able to find his whereabouts."

"That old mouse..."

Liangyi Luo sneered, "They are indeed quite good at hiding, but I am not as cowardly as the Spirit Hall. I will simply wipe out their lair!"

Xue Qinghe paused slightly in his hand holding the wine glass, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

He then quickly smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "Young Master Luo is too kind. Come, let's drink."

Liangyi Luo picked up her wine cup, but did not drink it immediately.

A wicked sense of amusement welled up inside him, and he suddenly leaned closer to Xue Qinghe and took a deep breath.

Xue Qinghe froze, unsure of her purpose, but quickly returned to normal.

Liangyi Luo smiled faintly, with a hint of teasing: "Your Highness, you smell so good! What kind of incense is this? It doesn't smell like an ordinary product."

Xue Qinghe paused almost imperceptibly, his face stiffening slightly before he smiled and explained, "Young Master Luo has a good nose. This is ambergris that the sea people found in the deep sea; it's a rare find in the world."

"Ambergris?"

Liangyi Luo gave a meaningful "Oh," her eyes full of mischief.

"I thought it was some kind of rouge or face powder."

Xue Beng chimed in with a silly grin, "My brother has always been very clean and always smells nice. He's been like that since he was little."

"Yeah?"

Liangyi Luo looked at Xue Qinghe, raised her cup in a toast, and said, "That Crown Prince is truly a man of great taste."

Xue Qinghe raised his glass with a smile, but alarm bells were ringing in his mind.

Was this person joking, or did they see through his disguise?

If you see through his disguise, why not expose him to his face?

Is this an attempt to blackmail them?

Impossible. With Young Master Luo's strength, he would never stoop to such methods.

So he is...

Xue Qinghe suppressed his doubts and kept his smile unchanged.

Liangyi Luo held her wine cup, watching Xue Qinghe's forced composure, and was secretly delighted.

Teasing the young master of the Spirit Hall is quite a unique pleasure.

Qian Renxue, you've been disguised as a man for so many years, have you ever been teased like this before?

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere gradually warmed up.

Xue Beng got drunk, his face turned red and his neck bulged, and he started talking more and more.

"Sir, let me tell you, those Shrek students are utterly arrogant and ignorant..."

"Fourth brother, be careful with your words and actions!"

Seeing the avalanche getting increasingly rampant, Xue Qinghe quickly spoke up to stop it, then turned to look at Liang Yiluo, his expression becoming serious.

"Young Master Luo, actually, besides listening to the zither, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you tonight."

Liangyi Luo put down his wine glass, leaned back in his chair, and said calmly, "Speak."

Xue Qinghe organized his thoughts and slowly said, "The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament will begin soon. The Heaven Dou Royal Academy has two participating teams, but to be honest, neither of them is particularly strong."

"The teams from the Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire are both very strong, making it very difficult for the Heaven Dou Empire to win the championship."

Liangyi Luo didn't speak, but nodded slightly to signal him to continue.

"Although the Shrek Seven Devils are young, each of them is exceptionally talented," Xue Qinghe continued. "Dai Mubai has the Evil-Eyed White Tiger martial soul and is a level 39 Soul Master. Tang San has the Blue Silver Grass martial soul, which provides excellent crowd control, and he also possesses a superb sneak attack technique. The others are no ordinary people either."

"If they can represent the Heaven Dou Royal Academy in the competition, the Heaven Dou Empire's chances of winning will greatly increase."

Liangyi Luo held his wine cup, remaining noncommittal.

Seeing that he did not interrupt, Xue Qinghe continued, "The conflict between Luoyuan and Shrek Academy is ultimately just a verbal dispute between a few young people."

"They have already been taught a lesson by Miss Yanfei, and Dean Flander has also come to apologize."

"I wonder if Young Master Luo would be so kind as to let this matter drop?"

After saying that, he picked up his wine glass and looked at Ryougi Ryou with sincere eyes.

The private room quieted down, with only the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner.

Xue Beng didn't dare to speak, and cautiously looked at Liang Yiluo.

Liangyi Luo held a wine cup, her gaze lingering on Xue Qinghe's face.

After a moment, he said calmly, "We must give face to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Xue Qinghe was overjoyed.

"but--"

Liangyi Luo changed the subject, "There are some things I need to make clear."

"Young Master Luo, please speak."