Made Public?

Mu Xuanheng never took the field during the Soul Fighting Tournament.

Even in the most troublesome two-two-three team battle, Bei Bei and Gongyang Mo secured one victory, while Gu Yuena swept her opponents with ease and claimed another.

Her peerless beauty and monstrous talent had made her wildly popular.

Every time she appeared, the stands erupted in cheers.

As for Mu Xuanheng, people had started calling him a pretty boy.

"He's handsome, sure, but that doesn't make him good enough for our goddess Gu Yuena." That had become the consensus.

Mu Xuanheng sat beside Gu Yuena, and the two attended another auction.

He bid on quite a few items, though most of them were food. "Why are you only buying food?"

"Nothing else is important. Wouldn't it be nice to cook something?"

In the original story, the auction's most important lots were a Soul Bone and the Snow Empress.

The Soul Bone's Ice Explosion skill was rather lackluster. Gu Yuena's control over the elements was already enough to perform skills like Ice Explosion, and Mu Xuanheng believed he could do the same.

He had also asked the Ice Empress and Snow Empress for their opinions. The Ice Empress thought it was important and could deal a great deal of damage; the Snow Empress thought it was nothing special. He already had skills that could mow down enemies by the dozen, and against stronger foes, they were no match for the Three Ultimates of the Snow Empress.

Given all that, he was only attending the auction for appearances. He wanted a closer look at the Star Luo Emperor, and beyond that, he was there to find food.

He didn't want the Soul Bone, but someone else wanted him to have it.

Yan Shaozhe, who had come with them, was eager to buy it. But Mu Xuanheng looked utterly indifferent. Yan Shaozhe couldn't very well take matters into his own hands. After all, he was a light-type Soul Master; when it came to ice, he could never know more than the Snow Empress.

The auction followed the original story's sequence of events. The final lot was still a Level 9 Soul Tool, though it wasn't the God Sealing Platform.

Wang Yan was in charge of the auction, and the Star Luo Emperor approached them as well.

"How about I present this Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone to you as a reward after the tournament?"

He made no effort to hide his desire to recruit them, and was also showing off his wealth.

"What makes you think we can win? We don't even have a single Soul Emperor."

The Star Luo Emperor replied, "It's simply a wish, though I do believe in your team." His gaze naturally settled on Mu Xuanheng. "You haven't competed yet, young man, have you?"

Mu Xuanheng shrugged. "Your Majesty, I'm only a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor."

"Never mind that. I look forward to seeing what you can do."

As expected, the Star Luo Emperor rigged the draw against them, and they ended up in a team battle.

Facing the Dou Spirit Team's five Soul Kings, he stepped onto the arena for the first time.

"The pretty boy's finally on the field?"

"How dare he stand beside our goddess!"

Roars and jeers filled the arena, all of them protesting Mu Xuanheng's place at Gu Yuena's side.

"Wow, you're popular."

Gu Yuena said, "It doesn't matter. Once you use your Martial Soul, they'll realize you're a genius too."

But Mu Xuanheng had never been the first to make a move. He was only there as a safety net.

With Gu Yuena's overwhelming strength, he didn't even need to step in.

Gongyang Mo reached level 60 during the battle. Although he hadn't obtained his Sixth Soul Ring, the effects of his Soul Skills had still improved.

Gu Yuena drove the opposing Battle Soul Master with the defensive specialization out of the arena, whipping up a fierce wind and setting it ablaze.

Their captain, Gu Zhu Jian, was relentlessly struck by lightning.

Defeating a five-ring opponent with four rings was as easy for her as plucking leaves from a forest or drawing water from a river.

She had practically defeated the entire team on her own.

Her terrifying strength once again set off a frenzy in the stands.

It also prompted a wave of hostility toward Mu Xuanheng.

"He's a freeloader, and the only reason he made it to the semifinals is the goddess. What good is that useless guy?"

"What right does he have to stand beside her?"

Mu Xuanheng was getting a little heated. He decided to take a small bit of revenge.

He gently pulled Gu Yuena into his arms and held her tight.

The gesture sent the whole arena into an uproar. "Take your hands off her, you bastard!"

The shouts were deafening, drowning out even the referee announcing the winner.

The other five members on the field tactfully moved away from the two of them.

Gu Yuena struggled slightly. "Trying to make them mad? Want me to kiss you?"

A pure temptation.

He'd take the sweet part of the sugar-coated bullet first. "Sure. Can I kiss you back?"

He had only just let go when Gu Yuena turned and nestled against him. "Why not just kiss me yourself?"

She smiled radiantly, her face shy. The spectators were utterly bewildered. Was this really Gu Yuena—the Gu Yuena who controlled countless elements on the arena and had easily beaten Soul Kings as a Soul Ancestor?

Some of the spectators fell silent, while others shouted even louder.

Her lack of resistance—and even her主动 closeness—only made the crowd angrier.

A few voices stood out. "Are these two a ship we can get behind?"

They were immediately drowned out by the crowd's disapproval.

This was what happened when he didn't fight.

Gu Yuena saw that she had stirred things up enough and decided to leave Mu Xuanheng some room to back down.

But after things had gone this far, Mu Xuanheng wasn't about to stop.

He seized Gu Yuena just as she tried to leave and turned her to face him. In front of countless spectators, amid the crowd's angry words and stares, Mu Xuanheng lowered his head and kissed her.

Not on the cheek. Not on the forehead. On the lips.

He shouted, "I'm Mu Xuanheng, Gu Yuena's boyfriend!"

Claiming her? Making their relationship public? He was simply adding fuel to the fire.

The goddess, adored by everyone, had been stolen by some pig? That was all the spectators could think about.

Even the Shrek team members were stunned. They had indeed thought Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena were a couple, but who could have expected him to pull this at a time like this?

"Mu Xuanheng!" Water swirled around Gu Yuena. Its unsteady flow reflected her unsettled state of mind.

A voice suddenly spoke in his Spiritual Sea. "Strike while the iron is hot. Make it official."

Mu Xuanheng immediately reached out and dispersed the water, then swept Gu Yuena into his arms in a bridal carry.

The whole arena fell silent as they watched him carry Gu Yuena off the field.

Once they were out of sight, Gu Yuena hopped down on her own and rested a finger against Mu Xuanheng's lips. "That was pretty cool. Want me to call you 'husband' right now?"

"We're still young. You can call me that later."

The blush on her cheeks deepened until her face was scarlet. Gu Yuena shouted furiously, "Mu Xuanheng!"

The surrounding elements went haywire, forming balls that hurtled toward Mu Xuanheng.

When they faced Zhengtian Academy in the quarterfinals, Mu Xuanheng was still below the arena recovering. Even a superficial injury was an injury.

"Well, she's certainly going easy on you. I'd say she's already taken a liking to you." In his Spiritual Sea, Electrolux continued analyzing the situation. "You're better than this old man. Back in my day, I fell into traps without knowing it. You're jumping in with your eyes wide open. It looks like your feelings are mutual, but don't let it come to a fight to the death."

"Elder Yi, if it really comes down to life and death, wouldn't it be better to make her fall in love with me?" His answer was utterly calculating, yet touched with a hint of feeling.

"Would you treat everyone else the same way?"

Mu Xuanheng clearly sensed a chill behind him. "Definitely not. Absolutely not. She's the only one in this situation."

Electrolux said, "You're in for some hard times."

Mu Xuanheng nodded. He was already suffering.

Snow fell from time to time in his Spiritual Sea, while outside, the crowd roared, eager to take him down.

"Come out, Mu Xuanheng! Stop hiding behind others and coasting on their success!"

The shouts came one after another, all filled with hatred for him.

Gu Yuena kept drawing more hostility his way, raising his profile. "Xuanheng will be competing in the semifinals. Please keep an eye out for him."

"Take him down!"

"Why does the goddess call him by his name so affectionately?"