Suotuo City, an Interesting Place

Dust swirled along the main road.

Three small figures cast long shadows in the morning light.

"My feet are about to fall off from all this walking!"

Xiao Wu plopped down on a roadside rock, pouting as her little legs swung back and forth.

"Lin Xi, Xiao San, why do we have to walk there? Taking a carriage would be so much more comfortable!"

Tang San took out a waterskin from his pack and handed it to her.

"Lin Xi said this is cultivation."

His gaze turned toward the slender figure walking at the front.

Lin Xi's pace was neither fast nor slow. The distance of every step was so precise, it seemed as though it had been measured with a ruler.

Her breathing was steady and deep, seemingly blending as one with the wind around her.

Tang San tried to imitate her rhythm, only to discover that the Mysterious Heaven Skill within him was actually circulating more smoothly.

He understood at once.

This was not merely traveling. It was cultivation in motion.

"Cultivation, cultivation, always cultivation!" Xiao Wu grumbled, but she obediently stood up and dusted off her backside.

"Fine, fine. But when are we resting? When are we eating? I'm starving!"

"There's a town up ahead. We'll resupply there," Lin Xi's voice came from the front.

After walking for roughly half an hour, the outline of a small town appeared on the horizon.

The town was not large, with only one main street lined by a few inns and taverns.

The three entered the cleanest-looking inn.

The place was bustling with voices and nearly every seat was occupied.

"Welcome, honored guests! Right this way!" The waiter warmly came forward to greet them.

When he saw that they were three children, surprise flashed through his eyes, but he still politely asked, "Are you here for a meal or lodging?"

"Food," Lin Xi said.

The waiter looked troubled. "Guests, what unfortunate timing. Every table is full right now. How about you three wait a little while?"

Lin Xi swept her gaze across the inn.

Most of the patrons were traveling merchants and mercenaries, plainly dressed and looking hurried.

Only a large table by the window seemed entirely out of place.

There were only four people seated there—three men and one woman—all dressed in luxurious silk, their expressions arrogant.

The table was laden with food and wine, yet they had barely touched it. They merely laughed and chatted loudly, their voices drowning out the entire inn.

"Brother Fike, heading to Suotuo City for that intermediate academy assessment is going to be a piece of cake!" A sharp-faced young man said ingratiatingly to the richly dressed youth seated at the head of the table.

"Of course." Fike smugly shook his head.

"I'm a level twenty-one Soul Grandmaster! Even in Fasnuo Province, I count as somebody!"

"Exactly! That Nuoding Academy supposedly doesn't even have a Soul King. It's practically a backwater!"

"Once we reach Suotuo City, that'll be where we truly show what we can do!"

Their conversation was full of disdain for small places and anticipation for the future.

Lin Xi's gaze settled on their Eight Immortals table, which seated only four people.

She walked over.

Tang San and Xiao Wu immediately followed.

"Hey, waiter."

Lin Xi tapped the table.

The waiter hurried over. "Yes, little miss? Is something wrong?"

"We'll take this table," Lin Xi said calmly.

Her voice was not loud, yet the entire inn instantly fell silent.

Everyone's eyes turned toward them.

The four young nobles at the table stopped laughing as well, staring at Lin Xi in astonishment.

"Little miss, are you joking?" The waiter broke out in a cold sweat.

"These guests are descendants of a prominent family in Fasnuo Province. They aren't people to be trifled with!"

"I told you to clear the table."

Lin Xi ignored the waiter, her gaze falling upon Fike's face.

"You can find somewhere else."

Fike froze for a moment. Then, as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world, he burst into loud laughter.

"Did I hear that right? A little girl wants us to move?"

The people beside him began laughing too.

"Where did this wild brat come from? She doesn't know her place!"

"Get lost! Don't interrupt Brother Fike's meal!"

Tang San frowned.

He stepped forward, shielding Lin Xi and Xiao Wu behind him.

"Watch your mouth."

His voice was cold.

"Oh? A protector of flowers now?" The sharp-faced young man stood up.

He looked Tang San up and down, his eyes full of contempt.

"Kid, judging by how shabby you look, you must be from some backwater village too, right?"

"If you know what's good for you, take your little girlfriend and get lost!"

"Otherwise, don't blame me for letting you taste a Soul Master's power!"

As he spoke, a white ten-year soul ring lit up around him.

An aura belonging to a Soul Master spread outward.

The inn immediately erupted in cries of alarm.

"Lord Soul Master!"

"He's such a young Soul Master!"

The waiter's face went deathly pale, and he nearly fell to his knees.

The young man was very pleased with the effect.

He looked smugly at Tang San, expecting to see fear and pleading on his face.

Yet Tang San's face remained expressionless.

He simply found it a little amusing.

A Soul Master with a ten-year soul ring actually dared to make threats in front of him?

"Lin Xi." Tang San turned back and asked softly.

"How should I deal with him?"

Lin Xi picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and idly played with one in her hand.

"Break his arms and legs."

"Throw him out."

Her voice was light and calm.

Yet it exploded through the silent inn like thunder.

Everyone was stunned.

The young man's face flushed red with rage.

"You little bitch! You're courting death!"

With an angry roar, he activated his soul skill and threw a punch straight at Lin Xi's face!

His martial soul was a gauntlet, and his soul skill increased the power of his fists.

This punch was enough to smash a stone into powder!

Yet his fist stopped in midair.

A hand appeared out of nowhere and seized his wrist.

It was Tang San.

"I told you to watch your mouth."

Tang San's voice was as cold as ice.

"You apparently didn't understand."

"Y-you, let me go!"

The young man struggled desperately, only to find that his wrist was clamped in an iron grip. He could not move at all!

"Let him go!"

Fike stood up as well.

Two yellow soul rings suddenly lit up around him!

A level twenty-one Soul Grandmaster!

The powerful fluctuations of Soul Power made the tables and chairs throughout the inn tremble faintly.

"Kid, I don't care who you are."

Fike stared coldly at Tang San.

"Let go of my man right now, then kneel and apologize."

"Otherwise, none of you three will be leaving through that door on your feet today!"

Tang San ignored him.

His eyes remained fixed on the face of the young man with the ten-year soul ring.

The hand gripping his wrist slowly tightened.

Crack!

A crisp, teeth-grinding sound of bone breaking rang out!

"Ahhh!!!"

The young man let out a pig-slaughtering scream!

His entire arm twisted at a grotesque angle!

Tang San released him.

The young man clutched his broken arm, rolling across the floor in agony.

"Now it's your turn."

Tang San slowly raised his head and looked at Fike, the Soul Grandmaster whose face had turned livid.

At his feet, a brand-new yellow soul ring gleaming with the radiance of a thousand years slowly rose!