Effort Determines Outcome, Don't Blame Fate (Part 1)

The moment Xu Sanshi saw Moyuan and Han Ruoruo, wearing a red school uniform, by his side, his heart sank. He felt there was nothing more terrifying in the world.

Moyuan patted Xu Sanshi's shoulder and said with a fake smile, "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

"No, no, you don't..."

Xu Sanshi felt like crying, but had no tears. Upon hearing Moyuan's words, he felt a blood-red character appear above his head.

Danger!

On the other side, Jiang Nannan, who had already walked away, stopped upon hearing the commotion. Seeing the usually overbearing Xu Sanshi being completely controlled by Moyuan, a first-year freshman, like a little chick, she couldn't help but become curious and watched.

"I didn't realize, Xu Sanshi, you had such an overbearing side? Why didn't I see you act this way with Ma Xiaotao yesterday?"

"B-big brother, please forgive my transgressions. Just let me go..." Xu Sanshi felt like crying, trying to salvage his fate from being beaten.

"I can let you go, but I'll give you three sentences. If you can convince me, I won't hit you."

Xu Sanshi was stunned for a moment, then his heart leaped with joy. He blurted out, "Really?!"

"One sentence."

Moyuan said calmly, starting to warm up his wrists. If Xu Sanshi couldn't move him, he'd make Xu Sanshi's backside experience Emperor's Flame and Ice Emperor, letting him feel the sensation of ice and fire.

Xu Sanshi exclaimed in disbelief, "Wait, that counts as one sentence?!"

"Two sentences."

Damn it!

Xu Sanshi started to panic. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks. Under pressure, Xu Sanshi unleashed his inner potential, his brain working at lightning speed to find a sliver of hope.

After a while, just as Moyuan was affectionately patting Xu Sanshi's head, contemplating where to start, Xu Sanshi's eyes suddenly lit up.

He swiped his hand across the storage soul tool at his waist, and a crystal-clear, exquisite white jade bottle appeared in his hand. Then, with a fawning smile, Xu Sanshi respectfully presented the jade bottle to Moyuan with both hands.

"Big brother, this is a unique pill from my Xuanming Sect, famous throughout the continent and worth a fortune – the Xuan Water Pill! As your junior, I offer it to you today as a token of respect! I also hope you'll overlook my past mistakes!"

Moyuan looked at the jade bottle presented before him, his eyebrows slightly raised. He recognized the Xuan Water Pill; its effect was to increase a Soul Master's innate soul power by one level, and it was indeed famous on the continent.

Unfortunately, he had innate full soul power, so it was useless to him. Its only use might be to befriend other commoner geniuses.

Moyuan took the jade bottle and pulled out the wooden stopper. Through the opening, a deep blue pill, about the size of a cherry, came into view. The pill's surface was crisscrossed with many white patterns.

The moment the stopper was removed, a refreshing fragrance wafted out, invigorating the senses.

"Very good."

Moyuan glanced at the grilled fish in Xu Sanshi's hand, then turned to Han Ruoruo, who had been watching silently beside him, and said, "Senior sister, do you still want grilled fish?"

Han Ruoruo looked at the grilled fish, which had become a bit cold after all the commotion, and shook her head with some disappointment.

"No, thank you. Eating greasy food at night isn't good for the skin."

Hearing this, Moyuan nodded and stopped bothering with Xu Sanshi. He had finished his "extortion." However, Moyuan didn't leave. Having read the original work, he knew that if his memory served him right, a big show was about to unfold.

Seeing that Moyuan hadn't taken his grilled fish, Xu Sanshi felt a rare sense of relief. He turned to look at Jiang Nannan in the distance, a fawning smile reappearing on his face as he ran towards her.

However, before he could hand the grilled fish to Jiang Nannan, he was stopped by an angry Beibei and Tang Ya.

Beibei cut to the chase, "Xu Sanshi, return the grilled fish to Yuhao! And you bullied my junior brother, so you must give us an explanation!"

Xu Sanshi was annoyed. He frowned and pointed at Huo Yuhao, who was standing nearby, angry but saying nothing. "Is this your Tang Sect disciple?"

"Yes! He's my newly accepted disciple!" Tang Ya stepped forward to defend Huo Yuhao. She sneered at Xu Sanshi, "You're supposed to be one of the Outer Court Twin Stars, on par with Beibei, yet you're robbing a freshman's belongings. Where's your face?!"

"Tang Ya, don't slander me. It's just two grilled fish, and I already paid for them."

Tang Ya angrily retorted, "Yuhao was saving them for me! Beibei, why are you wasting words with him? Beat him until he can't take care of himself, and I'll let you kiss me."

Beibei's face was initially stern, but upon hearing the words of this little devil, Tang Ya, who seemed to revel in chaos, his facial muscles twitched.

"You heard her. Less talk! Let's go to the Battle Soul Arena and fight. If you lose, you'll compensate Yuhao with one Xuan Water Pill!"

Xu Sanshi sneered, "You want a Xuan Water Pill for two grilled fish? But it's been a while since I fought you. Isn't it just going to the Battle Soul Zone? Let's go!"

He had been submissive to Moyuan because he knew how formidable Moyuan was. As for Beibei, they were both Outer Court Twin Stars, and he wasn't afraid of him!

However, fighting aside, Xu Sanshi hadn't forgotten his original objective. He walked up to Jiang Nannan with the grilled fish, his stern expression instantly replaced by tenderness.

"Here, Nannan, the grilled fish you wanted. I'm going to the Battle Soul Arena with Beibei now. Can you come and cheer me on?"

"On what grounds?"

Jiang Nannan said with a cold face. She glanced at the grilled fish being offered, then turned and walked into the crowd without looking back, leaving only her graceful figure for Xu Sanshi.

Xu Sanshi froze. The gentle expression on his face instantly stiffened, and the grilled fish in his hand dropped to the ground.

Then, he roared to the sky, "No!!! Nannan!"

Seeing this, Moyuan suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but smile. A song seemed to play in his ears.

Snowflakes flutter, the north wind howls, the world is vast and desolate, a single plum blossom stands proudly in the snow...

Seeing Moyuan's expression, Han Ruoruo curiously asked, "Senior, what are you smiling about?"

"Nothing, I just suddenly remembered a joke from before," Moyuan said. "Would you like to go watch their soul duels, senior sister?"

"Of course, it's a junior's invitation, how could I refuse?" Han Ruoruo clasped her hands behind her back, smiling warmly at Moyuan.

Hearing this, Moyuan was stunned, a little confused about what Han Ruoruo was thinking.

At this moment, Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao arrived in front of them. Tang Ya thanked Moyuan, "Thank you, junior Moyuan, for standing up for Yuhao just now. Otherwise, Yuhao would have suffered a great loss facing Xu Sanshi."

Huo Yuhao cautiously glanced at Moyuan. He had seen the entire process of Moyuan casually handling Xu Sanshi just now.

He wasn't stupid. Xu Sanshi was a powerhouse on the same level as Beibei. Yet, even so, facing Moyuan, Xu Sanshi had cowered like a real turtle.

And he knew Moyuan's background; he wasn't from a prominent family, so he wouldn't have made Xu Sanshi back down with his background. Therefore, the only possibility was that Moyuan had subdued Xu Sanshi with his strength.

A freshman being stronger than a sixth-year senior sounded incredible, but as the saying goes, once you eliminate all impossibilities, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

This thought inevitably filled Huo Yuhao with a sense of fear stemming from the unknown regarding Moyuan.

"Th-thank you, Brother Mo...yuan."

"It's only right for us freshmen to help each other," Moyuan said in a gentle tone.