Hu Liena's Invitation

A week has passed quietly.

That morning, Zhou You stood at the outer city gate of Spirit City, watching She Long's carriage and horses depart into the distance.

According to She Long, his destination was the Heaven Dou Empire. Zhou You hadn't thought much about it beforehand, but only later did he realize that the old man's mission was to protect Qian Renxue.

Speaking of this, Zhou You felt a bit uncomfortable. To make a lowly Soul Master with Innate Level 20 Soul Power not focus on cultivation, but instead go to another country to carry out a "Nation-Stealing Plan," he wondered who came up with this "genius plan."

Qian Daoliu? He cares most about the inheritance of the Angel God, so he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would come up with such a foolish move.

Bibi Dong? She's more likely.

However, if the Nation-Stealing Plan succeeds, the biggest beneficiary will undoubtedly be Qian Renxue. Given Bibi Dong's attitude towards her and her current lust for power, she probably does not want this to happen.

But who knows? After all, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue are mother and daughter, and the bond of blood cannot be severed. They might just reconcile.

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it. Zhou You put these things out of his mind and turned to look at the people around him.

"I said, you really didn't need to come out to see the teacher off, did you? I've never heard of any close relationship between you two."

Standing next to Zhou You was Hu Liena. It's unclear what possessed this young lady this time, but she actually came out to see She Long off.

Zhou You just saw it; when Lao Deng saw her, he also had a puzzled expression on his face.

"What? You're allowed to come and see Elder She off, but I'm not?"

Is that what I meant? Zhou You was speechless. Sure enough, women are inherently difficult to understand. He couldn't handle them even in his past life.

"Now that I've finished delivering, I'll be going."

"Etc!"

"Hmm?" Zhou You frowned slightly and stopped walking.

"What, is there something else?"

"... You don't like me at all?" A gust of wind blew, ruffling Hu Liena's hair. She gently brushed the stray strands behind her ear.

Unlike his previous deliberate displays of charm, this time Zhou You saw a completely different feeling in Hu Liena.

She possessed a serene temperament, initially giving off a cold impression, but upon closer inspection, one could sense an indescribable tenderness within her, a mixture of sorrow and resentment. Her fox-like eyes, simply looking at one, seemed to evoke a surge of tenderness in the heart.

Zhou You didn't sense that the other party was using [Charm]. Without the mental skill, her appearance was like a filter being removed, revealing her true appearance.

To be honest, Hu Liena doesn't have the kind of appearance that immediately wows you. It's not that she's not beautiful, but her beauty isn't striking.

Unlike her aggressive and alluring beauty when she activates [Charm], Hu Liena now gives off a feeling of returning to simplicity.

There is a type of woman who may seem unremarkable at first glance, but when you leave her, you will always feel inexplicably restless and unable to sleep at night, your mind filled with thoughts of her every smile and gesture.

Zhou You raised an eyebrow and praised, "Your skill has improved!"

Compared to the deliberate "Charm" of the past, this feeling is undoubtedly superior.

Hu Liena simply smiled and did not respond, instead changing the subject.

"Zhou You, do you still stand by your promise?"

"What did I promise?" he asked instinctively.

"You really have a bad memory! You said you'd join my team if I went into the Soul Hunting Forest with you. Are you trying to renege on your promise?"

"So that's what it was about." Zhou You remembered.

Although there was a slight mishap during that Soul Hunting, Hu Liena didn't actually offer much help.

However, considering that Zhou You actually took advantage of her in that incident, he naturally cannot deny it now.

Only...

"There's still a long time before our competition, right? You're contacting me now because..."

"Team, team, what is a team? Naturally, it requires cultivating team spirit and honing teamwork tactics. These all need to be trained in advance, unless you think you can defeat the entire opposing team by yourself on the field."

Zhou You remained silent, and Hu Liena's smile froze as she looked at him in surprise.

"No way, you don't really think that, do you?"

"Of course not," Zhou You said calmly.

"Suspicious." Hu Liena wrinkled her pretty nose, looking suspicious.

In short, we should prepare in advance to train teamwork skills.

"This is a bit too early," Zhou You frowned; he had a lot of things to do himself.

"Don't forget what you promised me~" Hu Liena's tone was slightly coquettish, making one feel a little tingly.

"Tch." Zhou You curled his lip. "Speak, what do you want?"

"Come with me to the Pope Hall today. Let's take advantage of this holiday to get back into the swing of things as a team."

Zhou You glanced at her sideways. "Is this the real reason you came here today?"

"There's no way around it. If I went directly to your door, I'd probably be turned away." Hu Liena seemed to have foreseen this. "You'll definitely deliberately avoid me, won't you?"

"... That's not necessarily true..."

So, you agree?

Zhou You thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright then." Consider it a visit to the Main Hall.

He was still quite curious about the sense of danger he had sensed when he spied on the Main Hall some time ago.

Upon hearing his agreement, Hu Liena couldn't help but smile.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly upwards, just a faint arc, and her eyelashes narrowed slightly with this smile, much like a little fox's smugness after successfully stealing a chicken. Gone was her captivating charm, but she gained a natural cuteness and coquettishness.

Compared to any smile she's ever shown before, perhaps the smile before her is Hu Liena's most authentic self.

"Then hurry up!" Hu Liena said, climbing onto the carriage first and then sticking her head out from the door. "Hurry up!"

Zhou You had no choice but to board the carriage and accompany her to the Spirit Hall.

Hu Liena and Xie Yue were fostered under Bibi Dong's care, so whenever the academy was on holiday, they could choose to stay at the academy or return to the Pope Hall.

Because Bibi Dong is usually quite busy, the brother and sister spend most of their time at the academy. After all, their familiar teachers are there, making it more comfortable than the desolate Pope Hall.

However, this time, for some reason, the brother and sister chose to return to live in the Pope Hall.

"Arrive."

The carriage stopped in front of the Pope Hall. Zhou You followed Hu Liena into the Pope Hall. The palace was magnificent and solemn, needless to say. Surprisingly, Zhou You did not see any statues of Six-Winged Angels.

At first glance, it doesn't look like the Pope's residence; it looks more like a secular palace.

"Boss!"

Zhou You looked in the direction of the sound and found Yan there as well. Not only him, but also Xie Yue was there. To his surprise, Sun Chuantao, Zhang Ping, and others were also there.

Hu Liena thoughtfully explained from the side, "This time, I invited the top-ranked students in our class."

"I remember the competition required seven participants."

There has to be a substitute, right?

"That's true." Zhou You nodded and raised his hand to greet the person opposite him.

Good morning, everyone. Have you eaten yet?