I'm a Hooligan, Who Am I Afraid Of?

The heartfelt atmosphere of a long-awaited reunion that had been building up shattered in an instant.

Hu Liena's lips twitched twice. She flung his hand away and rolled her eyes at him irritably.

"I knew it! You little ingrate, you've just gotten out and instead of asking how your Senior Martial Sister has been these past two weeks, the first thing out of your mouth is money, money, money!"

"Did you fall into a money pit or something?"

"Senior Martial Sister, this is my hard-earned money! My emotional pillar!" Xuan Hao said righteously. "Tell me quickly, is the money still there? Nobody made off with it, right?"

"It's there, it's there! You win!"

Hu Liena sighed helplessly and raised her right hand. The Storage Bracelet on her wrist flashed.

Boom!

That heavy Ironwood chest appeared out of thin air and crashed heavily onto the corridor floor with a dull thud.

"After Teacher took you away that day, I saw that nobody dared touch this chest, so I put it away for you first."

Hu Liena crossed her arms and huffed. "I didn't touch a single one of the coins inside. But you left too suddenly that day. More than half the people still hadn't had time to pay before the crowd dispersed."

"So there are probably only a little over a thousand Gold Soul Coins in this chest."

"A little over a thousand?"

Xuan Hao immediately crouched down and opened the chest.

In an instant, the glittering golden light nearly blinded him.

He casually grabbed a handful of Gold Soul Coins, listening to their crisp, pleasant clinking as an idiotically blissful smile spread across his face.

"Smells so good..."

Though it was only a third of what he had expected, that satisfying weight in his hands was already enough to soothe the "mental torment" he had endured over the past two weeks.

"Alright, stop embarrassing yourself here. Your drool is practically about to spill out."

Hu Liena kicked the chest disdainfully. "Hurry up and put it away. While you were gone these past two weeks, rumors were flying all over the academy. Lots of people said His Holiness the Pope expelled you because you were too arrogant. Some even said you'd been thrown into Mizong Grand Canyon to feed the Soul Beasts."

"Those people who already paid are regretting it now. If they see you like this, who knows what else they'll make up about you."

"Regretting it?"

Xuan Hao swiftly placed the large chest into the purple Storage Bracelet Bibi Dong had given him. He stood up and clapped his hands, the foolish smile on his face instantly vanishing and replaced by a chillingly playful grin.

"Goods sold are neither returned nor exchanged. Once they've paid, they've joined the Society. What right do they have to regret it?"

He turned to Hu Liena, danger glinting in his eyes.

"Senior Martial Sister, you said... more than half of them didn't have time to pay yet, right?"

Seeing his expression, Hu Liena's heart skipped a beat.

"You... what are you planning?"

Hu Liena watched him warily. "Teacher only just let you out! Have you forgotten Teacher's warning? Don't go causing trouble again!"

"Don't worry, Senior Martial Sister. I'm very obedient," Xuan Hao said.

"Teacher said not to make my eating manners too ugly, but she never said I wasn't allowed to eat."

"Besides, business values honesty and fairness above all else."

"The first few hundred people all paid. If the next few hundred don't have to pay, wouldn't that be terribly unfair to the Classmates who paid earlier? I'm doing this to uphold fairness and justice at the academy!"

As he spoke, Xuan Hao rolled his neck, producing a string of crackling sounds.

"I haven't fought in half a month. My bones are practically rusting."

"Perfect. I'll go help the Classmates who haven't registered yet catch up on their lessons."

"Senior Martial Sister, see you at the Canteen at noon. I'll treat you to the most expensive set meal!"

With that, Xuan Hao did not wait for Hu Liena to stop him. He turned and charged toward the Junior Department, his retreating figure both remarkably cheerful and murderous.

Hu Liena stood where she was, watching that little figure who looked as though he was heading off to commit "robbery," and helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Aren't you afraid Teacher will put you under House Arrest again...?"

Before half a day had passed, amid bone-cracking noises that made teeth ache and the even more heartbreaking clinking of coins, the academy-wide "make-up lessons" came to a successful conclusion.

The first month's Peace and Mutual Aid Society membership fees, combined with the money collected earlier, totaled three thousand two hundred Gold Soul Coins—not a single coin short—and all of it landed in Xuan Hao's pocket.

Of course, as an Elder Brother who valued "Jianghu righteousness," Xuan Hao did not keep this enormous fortune all to himself.

That evening, he summoned Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan—the three former prominent figures of Spirit Academy who were now his "right and left protectors and personal enforcers"—to his dormitory.

"Here, take this."

With great generosity, Xuan Hao grabbed three large handfuls of Gold Soul Coins and stuffed them into the hands of the three of them. He had even thoughtfully prepared an exquisite little money pouch for each person.

"This is your salary for the month: One hundred Gold Soul Coins each."

Xuan Hao clapped his hands, looking every bit the big boss. "Follow me, and I won't treat you poorly. As long as our Mutual Aid Society grows bigger and stronger, your salaries can rise in the future too."

Hu Liena was fine with the heavy Gold Soul Coins in her hands. After all, he was her Junior Martial Brother. Though she thought he was greedy for money, she had grown used to it.

Yan scratched his red hair and stared blankly at the money. Clearly, he had not yet adapted to changing from an "extortion victim" to someone receiving dividends.

Only Xie Yue frowned deeply as he looked at the money in his hand. At last, he could no longer hold back and erupted.

"Xuan Hao, did you really fall into a money pit?"

Xie Yue slammed the money pouch heavily onto the table. His handsome face was filled with angry frustration. "We are Soul Masters! The future elites carefully cultivated by Spirit Hall! Our goal is to pursue the pinnacle of Soul Masters—to become Titled Douluo!"

"Do worldly things like money really matter to us?"

Xie Yue pointed at the majestic Papal Palace outside the window, his tone impassioned. "As long as we cultivate diligently and display enough talent, will Spirit Hall ever deprive us of food, clothing, or resources? If we become Titled Douluo in the future, won't Gold Soul Coins be something we can have as much of as we want?"

"Even Elder Yue Guan has praised Nana and me, saying we possess the bearing of Titled Douluo. With such a bright future ahead of us, why fixate on this tiny profit squeezed out of the weak? Why turn yourself into a street thug everyone despises?"

"And..." Xie Yue took a deep breath, his tone growing heavier. "You now represent His Holiness the Pope's reputation. What you're doing damages His Holiness the Pope's dignity!"

Faced with Xie Yue's questioning, the smile on Xuan Hao's face slowly faded.

He was not angry. He simply sat quietly in his chair, lightly tapping his fingers against the tabletop and producing crisp sounds.

"Finished?" Xuan Hao asked blandly.

Xie Yue snorted coldly and turned his head away.

"Senior Brother Xie Yue, you've got one thing wrong."

Xuan Hao stood up. "What Spirit Hall gives is Spirit Hall's. What others give is theirs."

"But this money was earned through my own ability, punched and kicked out with my own fists and feet. It's the fruit of my own labor. I can spend it with peace of mind, without watching anyone's face or carrying any mental burden."

"I don't like owing people things, and I like owing favors even less."

Xuan Hao walked up to Xie Yue and looked straight into his eyes. "In this world, any problem that money can solve is not a problem. The hardest debts to repay are debts of gratitude."

Xuan Hao picked up the money pouch again and forcefully stuffed it back into Xie Yue's hand.

"This money is payment for your work. Take it, and our relationship is simply one of cooperation—or brotherhood—without any of that messy favor-debt mixed in."

When Xie Yue tried to refuse again, Xuan Hao's gaze turned cold, and his tone instantly became dangerous.

"I have principles when I do things. Money I give away does not come back."

"If you want to take it, you have to take it. If you don't want to take it, you still have to take it."

Xuan Hao rolled his wrist, producing teeth-grinding cracks from his bones. The corners of his mouth curled into a "kind" smile.

"Unless... Senior Brother Xie Yue wants to go practice on the training ground right now? Or let me think—would you prefer the infirmary in the east, or the one in the west?"

"You—!"

Looking at Xuan Hao's posture of I'm a hooligan, who am I afraid of?, the veins on Xie Yue's forehead throbbed wildly.

But in the end, he did not dare throw the money pouch back again.

Because he knew very well... he truly could not beat this freak!

Ever since Xuan Hao had beaten him up while suppressing his Soul Power that time, Xie Yue had considered reclaiming his dignity in private.

As a Tool Soul Master, his Martial Soul, the Moon Blade, was a top-tier Power Attack System Martial Soul renowned for its sharpness and strange attack patterns.

But before Xuan Hao, all of that was useless.

As soon as Xuan Hao activated that damned First Soul Skill, Golden Dragon Body, a layer of indestructible Golden Dragon Scales covered his entire body.

When Xie Yue's Moon Blade struck it, it could do nothing but scatter sparks. It could not even leave behind a white mark!

That guy's defense was even more terrifying than the Soul Grandmasters of Sacred Dragon Sect who specialized in defense!

Even more despairing was that this guy was not only incredibly durable and heavily defended—his speed was absurdly fast, and his strength was like that of a prehistoric beast.

High attack, high defense, high speed.

This was a damn hexagonal warrior with absolutely no weaknesses!