"Brother Xu! Brother Xu, it's them!"
A flurry of footsteps mixed with noisy voices came from behind them.
The four people eating grilled fish looked bewildered. The voices grew louder as they approached, heading straight for them.
Chu Mo turned around and saw a good-looking man behaving rather sleazily. He pointed at them and spoke to the men behind him.
The man at the front, whom everyone called Brother Xu, stepped forward. His gaze swept over Chu Mo and the others before settling on Tang Ya.
"Heh, Tang Ya. I knew you were using Bei Bei. Your true colors are showing now, aren't they?"
"?"
Tang Ya was dumbfounded. What was this guy on about? He'd come straight over to pick on her. She'd known Xu Sanshi had a problem with her, but was eating grilled fish a crime now?
She'd decided to keep her distance from Bei Bei, but that only meant not getting any closer. They were still friends.
"Xu Sanshi! Why are you slandering me and saying I've been exposed?"
Chu Mo ate his grilled fish and quietly watched the scene unfold. Hearing Tang Ya's words, he raised an eyebrow. So this was the legendary Mystic Water Pill deliveryman?
"Hmph. You know what you did."
After speaking, Xu Sanshi glanced at everyone else, then fixed his gaze on Chu Mo. He was the only man there.
"You're that pretty boy, right? Come with me to the Duel Arena. I'm going to avenge Bei Bei and make you face reality!"
Chu Mo stiffened at those words. What a deliveryman, all right. Why had he dragged Chu Mo into this now? And what was this about being a pretty boy?
What language was he speaking? Douluo Language? Why couldn't Chu Mo understand him?
"Xu Sanshi, you're here to cause trouble, aren't you? What gives you the right to talk about Chu Mo like that? You want to challenge an auxiliary Soul Master? You've got some nerve! If you're so tough, fight me!"
It had taken Tang Ya long enough to find someone she cared about. How could she let anyone talk about him like that? She exploded!
"Heh. With your strength, even two of you couldn't beat me."
Xu Sanshi laughed aloud at Tang Ya's words.
"You!"
There was no point in saying more. Tang Ya summoned her Blue Silver Grass.
"Calm down, calm down."
Chu Mo hurriedly raised a hand to stop her. Xu Sanshi was being downright provocative, but Tang Ya would be at a real disadvantage in a fight against him—not just in Soul Power Level, but in the quality of their Martial Souls, too.
"What, pretty boy? You want to accept the challenge?"
Xu Sanshi didn't mind if Tang Ya backed down. If he really did beat her, Bei Bei might come after him.
"Heh. Why should I accept?"
Chu Mo wasn't afraid. But since Xu Sanshi had come bearing a Mystic Water Pill, Chu Mo might as well get something out of him. Otherwise, what would've been the point of him showing up?
"Not to mention, I'm an auxiliary Soul Master. I'd be at a huge disadvantage in a duel with you. Besides, we don't even know each other. Why should I accept?"
"Hahahaha!"
Hearing the obvious refusal, Xu Sanshi threw his head back and laughed.
Chu Mo thought the man was out of his mind and could only chuckle helplessly. But the moment he laughed, Xu Sanshi stopped smiling. Eyes wide and teeth clenched, he snapped,
"Heh. You're scared!"
"Bullshit!"
Chu Mo wasn't exactly known for his temper. He'd tried to be polite, and Xu Sanshi had taken it as an invitation to run his mouth.
"Heh. A duel alone is boring. Let's add a wager. This is a pill passed down in my family. Take it, and it'll speed up your cultivation. The higher your Innate Soul Power, the more pronounced the effect. It doubles your cultivation speed, and one pill lasts three hours. Any residue is breathed out, so in short, it has no side effects."
Hearing that the pill had no side effects and could speed up cultivation, quite a few of the onlookers behind Xu Sanshi were tempted. Their excited chatter soon grew into a commotion.
"Whoa, this pill sounds great. If I had one, I might even get into the inner court."
"Definitely. I wonder how much it costs. Can we even afford it?"
"Get real. Nobody's ever heard of this thing. What if it's fake?"
Some doubted it was genuine, but that didn't matter. The pill Chu Mo had his eye on was the Mystic Water Pill.
"Good! You've got guts. I'll take that bet."
Seeing how confident Chu Mo was—even in front of all these people—Xu Sanshi couldn't back down. He tossed out a Mystic Water Pill in an exquisite box.
"This is a Mystic Water Pill. I don't need to explain what it does, do I? Come on, let's go to the Duel Arena and hand it over to the referee. Whoever wins gets it."
After speaking, Xu Sanshi motioned for the onlookers to hurry aside. He kept his eyes fixed on Chu Mo, as though afraid he'd run away.
Watching this, Chu Mo sighed helplessly.
"Wait. You don't seem to understand. I'm an auxiliary Soul Master, so I need to choose a teammate."
"Fine, pick whoever you want. I'm Level 37. Just make sure they're not above that."
Xu Sanshi believed that no one in the outer court except Bei Bei could beat him. What difference would one more auxiliary Soul Master make?
Besides, according to what he'd heard, Chu Mo was a brand-new student. How could he possibly know any powerful fighters?
Chu Mo nodded as if it were nothing. Three or four levels' difference wasn't much. Then he turned gently toward the nervous Tang Ya beside him.
"Heh, let's not waste time. Sister Tang Ya, come with me."
Tang Ya looked troubled, still worried.
"Huh?"
"It's fine. Trust me. I'm not itching to get beaten up."
Chu Mo stepped forward and took Tang Ya's cool hand, giving her confidence.
Even with their hands joined, he could still sense her worry. He opened the chat interface.
[Chu Mo: @Ya, Xiao Lu can attack or support, and she also has a mental attack. Have some confidence in me. If anything happens, I'll stand in front of you.]
The chat message wasn't just visible to Tang Ya; the other group members saw it, too. Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er finally relaxed. They'd both been about to go find a teacher, but it seemed there was no need now.
Seeing this, Tang Ya understood that Chu Mo was setting Xu Sanshi up.
[Ya: Mm.]
Xu Sanshi watched Chu Mo and Tang Ya holding hands and rolled his eyes again and again.
"Tch. There it is, your true colors."
"I thought you'd be smarter. You could've found someone whose Martial Soul was about as good as mine, but instead you picked some little weakling with Blue Silver Grass. Heh. You're that confident? Fine, I'll give you an advantage. You can use those so-called Tang Sect Hidden Weapons."
Chu Mo could feel Tang Ya trembling.
Soul Power and Martial Souls were the last things Tang Ya wanted to talk about. She was already sixteen, yet her Soul Power Level was only a little over thirty.
Tang Ya's agitation brought a chill to Chu Mo's gaze, too. He'd originally planned to take Xu Sanshi out in one blow and let Xiao Lu study the Mystic Water Pill as soon as possible, but for now, he'd focus on supporting Tang Ya.
He'd let her vent. If there was a grudge to settle, it had to be settled on the spot.
Shrek Academy Duel Arena.
"Two people barely over Level 30 challenging someone at Level 37, and they're even placing a bet?"
After hearing their details, the staff member responsible for registration looked troubled.
He'd thought this was just a friendly spar, but with a wager involved, it was another matter. If things ended badly, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle it.
"Heh, of course."
"Enough. Hurry up and register us."
Both participants had agreed, so there was no point in arguing with them.
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