Are You Good at Fighting?

"What?!"

Little Girl's eyes widened as she stared at the Vague Man who had appeared before her at some unknown moment.

Then she looked at the vivid red flower in his hand.

Her little head buzzed.

"You... how did you..."

She pointed at him, stammering for a long while without managing a complete sentence.

The Vague Man looked at the panting, utterly incredulous Little Girl before him and chuckled.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry."

He waved the flower before Little Girl's eyes, his tone lazy. "Looks like I won."

Little Girl stood there blankly. She had given it everything she had, and had even taken off early! Yet she had still lost...

The Vague Man continued with a smile, "What? Stunned?"

"Who was it that said she was the genius of the Speed Clan?"

Bai Chenxiang's little face flushed scarlet.

How humiliating!

"I... I just didn't perform well!"

Bai Chenxiang's face turned red as she twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands, tracing circles on the ground with her toes. None of her earlier arrogance remained.

"Oh~ You didn't perform well."

The Vague Man drawled the words out, then leaned closer, his tone turning teasing.

"Then should our bet still count?"

"Someone said she'd call me something if she lost. What was it again?"

At those words, even Little Girl's neck turned red.

She bit her lip and stared fixedly at the ground, torn with conflict.

But the Speed Clan's upbringing reminded her that one could not go back on one's word.

"I... I..."

Bai Chenxiang held it in for a moment, then finally shut her eyes and steeled herself.

In a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, she forced out, "...Brother."

The Vague Man dug at his ear. "What? The wind's too loud. I can't hear you."

"Ugh! Brother! Brother! Is that enough?!"

Little Girl cried out in embarrassment and frustration, shouting it several more times as she stomped her foot.

"Hmph! A bet is a bet. This Miss can afford to lose!"

"I didn't even see you fly! You must have used some trick to teleport over!"

Faced with the little girl's furious outburst, the Vague Man merely smiled and casually tucked the red flower behind her ear.

"Flying fast doesn't mean flying well."

His deep, magnetic voice rang out clearly amid the howling mountain wind.

"Only by following the wind can you command it."

Little Girl froze. She reached up and touched the flower by her ear, just about to throw away this humiliating thing.

But after hearing what he said, she hesitated and ultimately could not bear to discard it.

Taking the chance, the Vague Man reached out and ruffled her little head again. "Good girl."

Then, yawning, he gradually walked away.

Little Girl made a face at the Vague Man's retreating back. "Bleh!"

The scene began to shift, as fleeting as a galloping white horse.

The setting was still Chaotic Wind Canyon, but the seasons changed and time marched onward.

Every time the Vague Man appeared, he was either sunbathing or sleeping atop that Big Green Rock.

And every time, Little Girl would come skipping over to challenge him.

"Lazy Brother, I got stronger again! I'll definitely beat you this time!"

"Let's race again. If I lose, I'll call you Brother for another month!"

"Please... I'll definitely win this time!"

Yet the result remained the same.

Thud!

Little Girl lay sprawled on the ground, covered in dust and grime.

The Vague Man sat beside her, smiling as he commented on her performance this time.

"Too slow."

"Your posture is wrong."

"Isn't your Martial Soul a swallow? Why are you flying like an eagle? Don't use so much force."

As time passed, the little girl who always pestered the Vague Man for races gradually grew up as well.

She blossomed from a tiny unopened bud into a graceful young maiden.

Her figure became delicate and shapely, her legs long and straight, and her face even more exquisite.

And the way she looked at the Vague Man changed from initial defiance, to anticipation, then delight.

On the road to Heaven Dou City.

Ma Hongjun watched this scene, practically drooling. "Is this what they call raising a girl from childhood?"

"Why do I feel like this Arena Master always runs into such top-tier girls?"

Dai Mubai rubbed his chin as well. "He's practically a master flower scout!"

The scene shifted.

The setting was no longer a cliff, but a bustling market.

Yet the atmosphere was far from harmonious.

A group of burly Big Men clad in heavy armor surrounded several frail figures.

They were members of the Speed Clan, selling medicinal herbs in exchange for daily necessities.

Ever since they had left the Clear Sky Sect, their lives had grown difficult as well.

The Strength Clan excelled at blacksmithing, the Defense Clan at construction, and the Breaking Clan at poisons and medicine refining. All of them had trades to make a living.

Their Speed Clan, aside from being fast, had little offensive power and no real means of earning a livelihood.

"What do you want?!"

"We gathered these herbs through hard work. Why should we sell them to you at such a low price?"

Bai Chenxiang gritted her teeth and glared angrily at the men before her.

The leading mercenary Big Man sneered, idly playing with an herb still stained with a trace of dirt.

Then, as if tossing away trash, he threw it to the ground and viciously ground it under his foot twice.

"Hah? Why?"

"Because I feel like it! Got a problem? Then bite me!"

The mercenary Big Man burst into laughter, his eyes brazenly sweeping over Bai Chenxiang's not-yet-fully-developed but already quite promising figure.

"What? Want to fight?"

"Are you good at fighting?"

As he spoke, he stretched out a thick finger and arrogantly jabbed it at Bai Chenxiang.

"Little brat, go play somewhere else. Otherwise, I'll drag you back with me. I just happen to need a maid to warm my bed."

Quite a few people watched from the sidelines, pointing and whispering. But once they sensed the bloody aura and Soul Power fluctuations from these mercenaries, none of them dared say a word.

Humiliated in public, Bai Chenxiang trembled from head to toe with rage.

"You dare look down on me?!"

She gave a sharp cry, and two yellow Soul Rings lit up beneath her feet.

Her entire body instantly turned into an afterimage, moving so fast that she stirred up a gust of wind. Borrowing that momentum, she viciously kicked the burly man.

Clang!

A dull sound rang out, as though she had kicked a thick iron plate.

The burly man did not budge in the slightest, not even swaying once.

Instead, Bai Chenxiang felt piercing pain shoot through her ankle. The recoil sent her staggering backward, and she nearly fell to the ground.

"Hahaha, didn't you eat? You're just scratching an itch for me!"

The burly man suddenly stepped forward half a pace, making the ground tremble with him.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black!

Five Soul Rings emerged beneath his feet. Behind him appeared the phantom of a gigantic gray elephant, making his already massive body swell another size.

First Soul Skill: Elephant Trunk Bind!

The burly man's nose suddenly became thick and long, covered in gray wrinkles. Like an agile giant python, it rapidly lashed toward Bai Chenxiang.

But with Bai Chenxiang's speed, she could easily evade such a cumbersome attack.

She pushed off with the tip of her foot, just about to dodge sideways.

But from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the younger brothers and sisters from her clan behind her, their faces deathly pale with fear.

A cruel grin appeared on the burly man's face. "Dodge, then? If you dare dodge, I'll grab those little brats behind you!"

Despicable!

Just that moment of hesitation.

The rough elephant trunk instantly wrapped around Bai Chenxiang's waist and tightened fiercely.

"Hmph! Now that you're in my hands, let's see where you can run!"

"Ah—!"

The elephant trunk slowly constricted. The immense force sent agonizing pain through her waist, and Bai Chenxiang could not help letting out a miserable scream.

Fear engulfed her heart.

They had come out to sell medicine this time without any clan elders accompanying them. No one could save her now.

The burly man raised his fan-like hand toward Bai Chenxiang's collar, laughing wildly.

"Hehe, let this master see how well you've developed..."

Just then.

Whoosh—

A chaotic gust of wind swept past.

There was no violent Soul Power fluctuation, nor any flashy Soul Skill.

Only the burly man's outstretched hand stopped in midair.