Coward

"What's so strange about that?" Oscar continued, his face flushed red. "So many of the women at that beauty salon are nobles. Every day, they pour out endless bitter water—husbands being unfaithful, children lacking talent, husbands' mistresses and illegitimate children fighting... There's too much."

Dai Mubai slurred, "You don't understand... My family is even stricter. Seriously strict." But when it came to exactly how strict, he shut his mouth and said nothing.

"Shen Ranxi, you're the most amazing girl I've ever met. You're really incredible, whether it's your temperament or your talent..." Dai Mubai recalled Shen Ranxi's performance throughout their journey in the Star Dou Great Forest. She had been nothing like an eleven-year-old child. She seemed to know everything—medicine, wilderness survival—and had utterly left him, this young master, in the dust.

This time, the teachers had barely intervened in obtaining their Soul Rings. They only acted when they encountered something too powerful for the students to handle. Shen Ranxi had arranged everything along the way.

She was younger than him, yet far stronger. She surpassed him by far in every respect. Though her body was slender, she gave everyone a sense of reliability.

Shen Ranxi gave a soft snort. "That's only because you've met too few girls. There are many girls like me in this world. It's just that they're given too few opportunities. Otherwise, you'd understand the power of women in this world."

Oscar suddenly stood and raised his cup. "To our meeting!"

"To our meeting!"

"To our meeting!"

"To our meeting!"

The next day, none of them had any memory of how they got back to their dorms.

Dai Mubai woke up after getting himself sorted out in the dormitory. Seeing that Oscar and Ma Hongjun's doors were still tightly shut, he could only wander around by himself first.

As he walked along a small path, Dai Mubai stared in surprise at the figure ahead.

"Shen Ranxi?!" He hurried forward and ran up beside her.

Dai Mubai asked, "Isn't today a rest day?"

Shen Ranxi glanced at him and answered casually, "There's no training at noon. It is a rest day."

"Then what are you..." Dai Mubai looked at the Martial Soul on her back. Shallow marks were left wherever she passed, making its weight obvious. Oscar had previously told him about the unusual nature of Shen Ranxi's Martial Soul.

Shen Ranxi did not stop walking just because she was talking. She adjusted her breathing and said, "This is my own training. It has nothing to do with whether it's a rest day."

Admiration showed in Dai Mubai's eyes. Her talent was already so terrifying, yet she was still so diligent. The last trace of unwillingness in his heart finally vanished, but the competitive spirit at the bottom of his heart surged up as never before, burning like a flame.

Shen Ranxi's actions were like a mirror, reflecting his weakness and cowardice with startling clarity. He had even abandoned the person whose fate was tied to his... Shen Ranxi's resilience reminded him that she was just as unyielding. No matter how great the difficulty, she seemed never to retreat.

After hesitating for a long while, Dai Mubai finally asked, "Little Xi, can I call you that?"

Shen Ranxi smiled. "You don't need to be so polite. We're classmates, and companions who'll be together for a long time."

Dai Mubai laughed heartily. "I'm older than you. You can call me Mubai or Brother Dai. I want to ask you something."

Shen Ranxi tilted her head to look at Dai Mubai, curiosity flashing through her eyes. "Brother Dai, go ahead."

...After spending a short time with him, Shen Ranxi had found Dai Mubai to be very straightforward, without the arrogant airs of a noble. Yet now he was hemming and hawing. She mocked him inwardly.

Dai Mubai lowered his voice. "Little Xi, you're a girl too. Say, hypothetically, you had a fiancé. Your families had intermarried for generations, so your fates were bound together. You had to compete and duel with brothers and sisters much older than yourselves to determine the strongest. Whoever lost would have their Martial Soul crippled and become an outcast. In truth, that wasn't much different from death."

...What a twisted family. Wasn't that just raising venomous insects in a jar? What a bizarre family. Wouldn't it be better for everyone with talent to build the family together? It seemed the unity and harmonious competition of her Previous Life's country had truly seeped into her bones... Shen Ranxi thought.

"Even if no one wanted this, the rules passed down by the family for centuries couldn't be changed. With all the factions in the family, brothers eventually became enemies—enemies to the death." At this point, Dai Mubai gave a bitter laugh, his eyes full of bitterness.

He continued, "Your fiancé's brother has already become a Soul Ancestor. The gap is so huge, and he didn't want to fight his own brother, so he abandoned you and ran away. He went somewhere else to seek opportunities."

Shen Ranxi: "..."

Well, well... Wasn't this cowardice? I won't even mention the harsher things I could say... Shen Ranxi restrained the urge to tear into him.

Dai Mubai asked, "Little Xi, what do you think your reaction would be?"

Mockery flashed through Shen Ranxi's eyes. "Dai—no, your friend is really something. Seeking opportunities? Isn't that just fear and cowardice? Seeking opportunities? That's just an excuse for giving up and running away. An excuse to retreat because he doesn't want to face a cruel future. Even I, a girl, wouldn't retreat. How could a man have the nerve to make excuses?"

A faint light flickered in Dai Mubai's blue eyes. "Little Xi, you're right to scold me. In fact, I'm that coward. I originally came to the Heaven Dou Empire to get away from my family, leave all that behind, and live a carefree life. If I hadn't met all of you, I might have gone on like that. But deep down, I was still unwilling. I didn't want to spend my whole life living incognito like this! That's why I came after discovering this academy that only accepts monsters."

"Only after meeting you did I realize how terribly wrong I was... Not only am I a coward, but I also abandoned the girl whose fate is bound to mine... leaving her alone to face such cruelty..." Regret flashed through Dai Mubai's eyes.

Shen Ranxi felt that he was not beyond saving, so she said, "Brother Dai, if you want to change bad customs, you need to speak with strength. Once you're so strong that no one can defeat you, every word you say will be treated as gospel. Someone will naturally change what you dislike. There's no need to waste your breath. But the cries of the weak are nothing but an irritating buzz in the ears of the strong!"

"When everyone else is climbing upward, even standing still means falling behind. And the most important lesson my master taught me was: 'Never accept your fate.' The prerequisite for becoming a strong expert is having the mindset of one. Never give up when facing difficulties."

Dai Mubai was deeply shaken. Before becoming a strong expert, I need the mindset of one...

"I think even your fiancée is braver than you. At least she has never given up. She already has the potential to become a strong expert." Appreciation flashed through Shen Ranxi's eyes.

Dai Mubai let out a long sigh. "Yes, she's better than I am. She never stopped fighting. When I suddenly ran away this time, I didn't even tell her."

The corner of Shen Ranxi's mouth twitched. "I know I don't mince words, but Brother Dai, you really are a scumbag."

Dai Mubai did not mention his previous self-indulgent thoughts. Otherwise, Shen Ranxi would have verbally torn him to pieces.

"Dai Mubai, you're not only cowardly, you're selfish too. Just from what you've said, I can imagine how suffocating that environment was. She's younger than you, so she must have suffered even more. You left without saying a word—I can imagine all the mockery and ridicule she must have endured." Shen Ranxi's voice unconsciously rose. "You didn't respect her. You didn't treat her as an equal!"

This damned, strange world. Women's status had not improved one bit, and men's minds were full of feudal leftovers!

"Put yourself in her place. If you were the one abandoned, how would you feel? If you want to win her back, take real action and prove to her that you're not a coward!" With that, she quickly ran off, or Shen Ranxi would not be able to restrain her itching hands.