First Friends, Then Little Sister, and Finally a Little Darling!

"Nana, is this the one personally chosen by His Holiness the Pope?"

"Three Lives Martial Soul? He doesn't look like much."

"Show it to us. Let your brothers have a look."

Xiao Xuan had barely approached when a figure stepped in front of him.

The fiery red bumps on his face and that unmistakable punk hairstyle made him easy to recognize.

It was Yan, one of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation and one of the three great prodigies of the future.

Besides, if Xiao Xuan remembered correctly,

this guy had also been Hu Liena's devoted simp in the original story.

Was he picking a fight because he had noticed Xiao Xuan looking at the goddess he admired?

Hey, hey, I'm only six years old. At least, that's what I look like on the surface.

And he's already hostile toward me? Isn't he being a little too petty?

"That's right. What are you standing around for?"

"Show it. Do you need your big brothers to teach you how to summon a Martial Soul?"

"Tch, so he's just some greenhouse-raised kid."

"Remember this: joining the Spirit Hall Battle Team isn't as simple as having good talent and a high starting point."

Seeing Yan deliberately provoke him, the bystanders nearby immediately joined in.

Xiao Xuan could not be bothered to acknowledge them at all.

From the perspective of future teammates, introducing their Martial Souls to one another was indeed standard procedure.

But clearly, the atmosphere was completely wrong right now.

And the one making the request should have set an example first.

If Yan had revealed his Martial Soul first, Xiao Xuan would not have minded explaining his.

But with things like this, he could go screw himself!

I'm a transmigrator. Why should I put up with this crap from you?

Too lazy to waste words, Xiao Xuan curled his lip and merely gave him a look that said, Those who get it, get it.

"You!"

"Enough. Xiao Xuan is someone Master has taken a liking to."

"If you want to make trouble, you'd better have a legitimate reason. Otherwise, even I won't be able to protect you."

Noticing Xiao Xuan's disdain, Yan's expression immediately darkened.

Before he could flare up, Hu Liena let out a cold snort and swept her icy gaze around the group.

At once, no one dared to utter another word.

That included Xie Yue, who had just risen to come over and smooth things over.

"Xiao Xuan, don't mind them."

"They're all grown men, yet their hearts are tiny."

"Be good and listen to Sister. I'll protect you."

After speaking, Hu Liena turned back to look at Xiao Xuan.

The smile returned to her face, utterly different from the coldness she had shown moments earlier.

Now, not only Yan, the goddess's simp, was unhappy.

Even her brother Xie Yue could not help furrowing his brow.

Little sis, what's with that tone? Even I've never been treated like that.

"Sister Nana, when are we going to hunt Soul Beasts?"

Xiao Xuan was also slightly surprised by Hu Liena's attitude.

Of course, he did not read too much into it.

Girls usually had at least a little maternal instinct to protect others.

Her behavior had nothing to do with romance.

She was simply displeased that the others were targeting him after seeing his cute little-boy looks.

"They're jealous! They're all just jealous!"

"Is it my fault that I'm handsome? Is it my fault that I'm talented?"

Xiao Xuan quickly came to that conclusion, and the disdain on his face deepened.

Rather than disliking Hu Liena's inexplicable fondness for him,

they felt more threatened by him.

According to the laws of Martial Souls, even twin Martial Souls carried the risk of body explosion. In theory, three Martial Souls had an even higher chance of being fatal.

But at least before that problem emerged, Xiao Xuan's talent was enough to say, "Everyone here is trash."

Boys all had a competitive streak.

Besides, they were all just brats right now, with the oldest only twelve or thirteen.

Too lazy to lower himself to their level, Xiao Xuan took the initiative to suggest hunting Soul Beasts, giving Hu Liena a faint smile while he was at it.

Well, Tang San had already proven with facts

that the theory of picking up girls was genuinely feasible, far more reliable than Master's theories.

First friends, then little sister, and finally a little darling.

Given the age gap between Hu Liena and Xiao Xuan, she definitely could not become his little sister.

Settling for the next best thing, having an older sister as a transition was not bad either.

As for acting cute,

before transmigrating, Xiao Xuan had been an old shut-in.

The creator of that neighboring "Detective Conan" series had long since demonstrated it in practice.

He already had a cute little-boy face, and his age was right there for all to see.

There was no need to pretend at all. He only needed to act normally.

"Indeed, business comes first."

"Brother, you all stay at the camp and wait for us to return."

"Elder Ju said this mission was for me to complete alone."

"Let's go. What attribute is your Martial Soul?"

Hu Liena nodded, casually took Xiao Xuan's hand, and headed deeper into the forest.

Though it was merely an unconscious gesture, with no special meaning behind it,

it was truly hard for Yan and Xie Yue to watch.

The goddess was holding an outsider's hand, and his little sister was being so nice to a cute boy. There was no love left!

"Hmm... It would be best to find a lightning-attribute or wind-attribute one."

"If that's really not possible, dark-attribute and earth-attribute ones would also work."

According to the original story, twin Martial Souls had a cultivation technique.

That was, while one's level was still low, Soul Rings would only be attached to one Martial Soul.

Then, once the body was capable of withstanding ten-thousand-year Soul Rings,

one could hunt high-age Soul Beasts and have the second Martial Soul start with black rings.

Although Xiao Xuan had the system and did not have to worry about that,

since he had joined Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong would definitely arrange things that way.

Therefore, this time, Hu Liena helping him hunt a Soul Beast

would most likely stop after the first one, giving him only a single chance.

In that case, Xiao Xuan would have to unlock the remaining two Soul Skills himself.

Naturally, his highest priority was the offensive Soul Skill Thunder Summon, followed by the enhancement-type Soul Skill Divine Strength Enhancement.

"Don't worry. Big Sister will definitely find you a good Soul Ring."

"Three Lives Martial Soul... I wonder how far it can grow?"

Hu Liena nodded in agreement, a trace of gentleness in her beautiful eyes.

At the same time, they were filled with even more curiosity.

This was her first time meeting Xiao Xuan, so naturally, they did not share any deep bond.

A small part of her fondness for him came from her weakness for cute boys, but most of it was because of his Three Lives Martial Soul.

As long as Xiao Xuan was a member of Spirit Hall, a genius like him naturally had to be well cared for!

As she thought this, the two had already ventured some distance deeper.

The Spirit Hall Battle Team's camp was originally located in the middle section of the Soul Hunting Forest, where Soul Beasts over a hundred years old roamed.

Now that they had gone even deeper, Soul Beasts two and three hundred years old became increasingly common.

Unfortunately, none of them met Xiao Xuan's requirements.

"One-Horned Lizard? There are three black rings on its tail, so it's over three hundred years old. Too bad it doesn't have a fourth ring yet."

"That Mars Ladybug is large enough, and the markings on its back indicate it's around four hundred years old."

"A fire-attribute Soul Beast. Its compatibility is too low, so we won't consider it for now."

"It's fine. Let's keep looking..."

Hu Liena patiently helped Xiao Xuan learn about Soul Beasts along the way.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from beside them.

It sounded as though some enormous creature was rapidly crawling across the ground, drawing ever closer to them.

"Luo luo, luo luo, luo luo..."

An urgent, strange cry rang out, accompanied by the spreading scent of blood.

Then, a cold gleam flashed before Xiao Xuan's eyes.

A massive python with an enormous head and a dark green body coiled around them, encircling the two.

Most importantly... why did it look somewhat familiar?!

(End of Chapter)