The City's Tricks Run Deep; Warming Hu Liena, the Legend of the Rose?

Bang!

Xie Yue shoved open a dormitory door and pointed inside at Wang Xiao beside him. "Kid, this is our dorm."

"Who are you calling a kid?" Wang Xiao gave Xie Yue a knock on the head and let him ponder it himself.

Yan and Hu Liena, standing nearby, watched him snap at Xie Yue but dared not speak up in anger.

They had just seen Wang Xiao's fifth Soul Ring in the Papal Palace. It had been a Hundred-Thousand-Year red ring.

He was barely over six years old, yet he could absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. None of the three dared provoke him.

Besides, they had only absorbed their second Soul Rings and were merely Soul Grand Masters in their twenties. How could they dare offend a Soul King at Level Fifty Plus?

Xie Yue also swallowed his anger. He led Wang Xiao inside and quickly changed his tune. "Brother Xiao Xiao, you can sleep between Nana and me!"

Hu Liena's pretty face immediately reddened.

Yan's expression turned wonderfully complicated. Everyone in the dorm knew he liked Nana, but what could he do about it?

He was only a Soul Grandmaster, while Wang Xiao was a bona fide Soul King. How could Yan afford to provoke him?

Besides, Nana's big brother had arranged it. What could he possibly say?

Not wanting to make a fool of himself, Yan could only turn around and leave dejectedly.

Yan naturally understood the law of the Douluo Continent: the strong were revered.

Not to mention elsewhere, even Spirit Hall Academy—the highest-ranking academy established by Spirit Hall in Spirit City—was a place where the strong prevailed and the weak were eliminated.

Here, it was commonplace for students to fight ruthlessly among themselves.

The competition was unimaginably fierce.

This survival-of-the-fittest training system was something no other academy possessed.

To squeeze every last bit of potential from its students, Spirit Hall spared no effort.

Wang Xiao walked inside and swept his gaze around the dormitory. It was fairly spacious.

It was bright and sunny, and against the wall to the left stood a large communal bed where boys and girls slept together.

The bed could accommodate roughly ten people.

The other nine spots all had blankets. Only one had no blanket, and that spot was empty.

Wang Xiao happened to be taking that one.

"Fine." Wang Xiao nodded, immediately took off his shoes, coat, and pants, then lay down on the bed.

Only then did he notice that his spot had no blanket. Seeing blankets on both sides, he casually pulled one over, covering himself from head to toe.

After days of exhausting travel and poor sleep in the carriage, Wang Xiao simply wanted a good rest.

Xie Yue shook his head, glanced back at his sister, then turned and left the dormitory.

"Give me back my blanket!"

Just as Wang Xiao was about to close his eyes and sleep comfortably, Hu Liena shrieked. Someone was tugging at the blanket over him.

What did this little firecracker want now?

Wang Xiao immediately grabbed the blanket, exposing only his head as he looked at the golden-haired girl. "Nana, I need to rest. Could you not disturb me?"

Hu Liena was both furious and anxious. "You... that blanket is mine. You can't use it!"

No wonder the blanket had such a distinctive fragrance. So that was it. I thought this little girl was looking for trouble.

"What else can I do? I just got here and don't have a blanket. You can't expect me to sleep outside, can you?"

As Wang Xiao spoke, he looked Hu Liena up and down. Though she looked only eleven or twelve, the little girl was bewitchingly pretty, and her nearly perfect proportions were already beginning to show.

In another two or three years, she would definitely stand out from the crowd. She could...

According to the plot of the original Douluo Dalu book, the adult Hu Liena was indeed even more enchanting and alluring.

Especially once her fox martial soul matured, every inch of her would exude feminine charm.

Wang Xiao had three main purposes for coming to Spirit City this time.

The first was to see Bibi Dong's true appearance and then cling to her thigh, and so on...

The second was Hu Liena. He had to win her over.

Of course, it was still a little early for that. He could start by building goodwill first.

"I don't care. Either way, you can't use my blanket!" Hu Liena refused to compromise and continued trying to snatch it back.

Fine, you forced my hand!

Wang Xiao simply let go, and Hu Liena successfully reclaimed her blanket.

Hugging her blanket happily as she headed for her bed, Hu Liena suddenly felt her foot grow heavy. Startled, she looked down and saw a pair of hands.

Then she looked at their owner. Wang Xiao had somehow gotten behind her and was hugging one of her legs. "Y-you, let go of me!"

"Nana, I... I can't take it anymore!" Wang Xiao suddenly began trembling, foam spilling from his mouth.

Hu Liena was badly frightened. He had been fine just a moment ago, so how had this suddenly happened? "Wang Xiao, what's wrong with you?"

"I..." Wang Xiao slurred, his whole body continuing to shake as foam continued to spill from his mouth. With this trick, there's no way she won't give in. "Nana, you don't know this, but cold energy entered my body when I was little. Whenever I catch a chill, it acts up!"

"Maybe because you took my blanket just now, I caught cold for a moment, and that's why it flared up again."

"Nana, I don't blame you. If anyone is to blame, it's my miserable fate. I'm so young, yet I'm already like this. How am I supposed to live in the future..."

"Cold... so... cold!"

Little Xiao was so pitiful!

It was just one blanket. What would it matter if she let him use it?

Hu Liena immediately withdrew her hand and returned her blanket to Wang Xiao's spot. "Xiao Xiao, it was all my fault just now. I made your old illness flare up. I'm sorry!"

This girl looked arrogant and unapproachable on the surface, but she was actually quite kind-hearted.

She was simply too demanding. Ordinary men really could not catch her eye.

If he had not activated his cheat, he probably would not even have had the chance to meet her, much less attend the same academy, stay in the same dormitory, sleep on the same bed, have the same teacher, and even share the same blanket.

Now that he had the chance, how could he let it slip away?

How could that be?

Aah, aah, aah!

Wang Xiao suddenly let out several miserable cries. His hands slid down from her thigh, and he fell flat onto the floor, his body stretched straight as he convulsed all over. Foam poured from his mouth even more severely.

"What do I do?"

Hu Liena was so anxious that tears nearly welled up in her eyes. She quickly reached out with her slender, fair hands, grabbed Wang Xiao's shoulders, and shook him a few times. "Xiao Xiao, don't scare me, okay? Wake up, hurry and wake up!"

Finally took the bait!

Wang Xiao found it amusing inside, but kept a pained look on his face. He slowly opened his eyes and said weakly, "I'm fine, Nana. It's an old problem. As long as I warm up for a while, I'll be okay."

"Can you still move?" she asked worriedly.

"I can, but I'm afraid I'll have to move according to the chart!" With that, Wang Xiao kicked his legs on the floor, spun in place, and rolled around in circles.

Hu Liena was speechless. She could only do it herself, immediately using all her strength to help him up from the floor. It took great effort before she got him back onto the bed.

Then she picked up her blanket, covered him with it, and asked softly, "Do you feel any better?"

"How could it be that fast? At the very least, it'll take two hours, perhaps even longer."

"It's all my fault!"

Hu Liena suddenly bent down, took off her shoes and outer clothes, leaving only... Then she dove beneath the blanket and hugged him. "Brother Xiao Xiao, this way you'll warm up sooner."

Well...

Wang Xiao's eyes widened. He had only faked his illness for her blanket. Who would have thought it would backfire? It was one thing that she believed him, but why did she...

This really was beyond his expectations!

Yet he could not bear to refuse her. He could only make do with it; there was no other way.

Mmm...

At that moment, a thumb-sized plant no more than an inch long floated in through the door and slipped beneath the quilt.

Wang Xiao sensed it immediately and looked inward. Beside the Chicken Blood Vine martial soul at the center of his Dantian, there was now a green plant. Could this be the Rose Martial Soul the system gave me for successfully checking in at the Papal Palace?

"Ding! Your Rose Martial Soul has arrived. Please collect it!"

The System's loli voice said.

Wang Xiao asked, "System Sister, what's the use of this Rose Martial Soul? I already have a Plant Martial Soul. There's no need for another one, right?"

"Heh. Since the system gave it to you, naturally it has its uses."

"What use? Go on, tell me."

"Ding! Legend says that when roses encounter love, they grow wildly. Their thorny stems will entangle everyone present until they suffocate."

"Ding! They are also the most fragile of flowers. If anyone says they are not beautiful, they will instantly wither."

"Ding! Their most beautiful moment is when they bloom in fury until the seventh night..."

"Ding! The Rose Goddess delights in tormenting mortals. With its petals, she created two eternal names: one was Bai Weiliang, and the other was Bai Weilian."

Wang Xiao nodded upon hearing this. "So it represents the beginning and end of love?"

"Ding! Mm, but there are exceptions. After all, legends are just legends."

Rustle, rustle, rustle~

But at that moment, the green rose grew out from his body and began absorbing the Soul Power within him, rapidly growing. Its thorny stems and leaves wrapped around his entire body before extending toward Hu Liena beside him.

Hu Liena struggled a few times, then suffocated and passed out, lying there motionless.

"Th-this legend... could it be true?"

Wang Xiao stared at the scene before him in disbelief. Could it really grow on its own and seek out love?

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