The Little Fox's Little Tricks

"This is the Tianhu Ziling Flower, an Immortal Herb born from the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. While it doesn't reach the rank of a true Immortal Grade, it is the most compatible with you; the effects you gain from consuming it will far exceed those of an ordinary Immortal Herb."

"Consume it quickly. I will guard you. To refine this Immortal Herb, you only need to ingest the petals."

Shang An brought Hu Liena to the back hall, which was the place where the Pope usually rested.

"Thank you, Shang An."

"You are my little fox; there is no need for such thanks between us."

Under Shang An's protection, Hu Liena sat cross-legged and consumed the petals.

The time it took for Hu Liena to refine the flower was not long; she finished around noon. There was no such thing as the popular trope of clothes exploding, which left Shang An feeling somewhat disappointed.

However, after Hu Liena absorbed the Immortal Herb, her figure became even more graceful, and her face grew more stunning. Furthermore, he sensed the emergence of a power similar to his own mind power, though it was much weaker.

"Nana, how do you feel?"

Hu Liena looked deeply at Shang An, as if she wanted to imprint his entire being into her eyes.

"Shang An, thank you."

This flower had helped her immensely.

She had originally thought it was just an ordinary spirit herb, but this flower was nothing short of a peerless divine medicine. It had completely remade her, giving her potential a qualitative leap. She didn't know how she could ever repay this debt.

"Do we really need to say such things between us?" Shang An stroked Hu Liena's head, and the serious atmosphere instantly turned tender.

Hu Liena thoroughly enjoyed Shang An's caress. If she couldn't repay him, then so be it; she was his, body and soul, anyway.

"Release your martial soul." Shang An also wanted to see exactly how much Hu Liena had gained.

Hu Liena obediently released her martial soul. A fire-red phantom of a small fox appeared over her, making her charm even more astonishing, and that sense of mental connection became even more pronounced.

"My martial soul seems to have evolved two ultimate attributes: one is the ultimate spirit attribute, and the other is the ultimate fire attribute. Moreover, my martial soul seems capable of truly controlling others."

Control? It couldn't compare to his mind power. Perhaps this could be called the power of emotion.

Shang An hadn't expected Hu Liena's gains to be so great. Before, it could barely be called a top-tier martial soul, but now it definitely ranked among the best of the super martial souls.

The ultimate spirit attribute was understandable, as Hu Liena's martial soul was already focused on mental power, but this ultimate fire was perhaps just a stroke of good luck for her.

Suddenly, Shang An felt a surge of emotional power strike him. He smiled inwardly and remained calm, deliberately pretending to be caught in her trap. Sure enough, seeing Shang An fall into a dazed state, Hu Liena's face lit up with joy, and she couldn't wait to pinch Shang An's cheeks.

Looking at Shang An's dazed, beautiful face, Hu Liena's eyes filled with obsession as her face slowly leaned in.

She touched him. She touched him! Hu Liena became even more excited; she didn't miss a single spot—eyes, nose, mouth.

Seeing that Shang An still didn't react, she became even bolder. Her hand accidentally slipped into Shang An's clothes, feeling that warm, firm skin. She tried her best to suppress her infatuated expression, but her face grew increasingly flushed and alluring; she was clearly moved.

Just as Shang An was hesitating whether to suddenly wake up and give her a big surprise, Hu Liena suddenly stopped her wandering hand, though she didn't pull it back, leaving it right there inside his clothes.

She raised her head to look at Shang An, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Shang An, who is the woman you love the most?"

"The... woman... I... love... the... most... is..." Shang An spoke slowly with a dazed expression, but the final few words simply wouldn't come out.

"Who is it?"

"It... is... the... Spirit... Hall's..."

"Oh, you're killing me! Just hurry up and say it."

Hearing Shang An mention the Spirit Hall, Hu Liena's heart soared, but his delay in saying the name made her impatient.

"Say your head!"

Shang An flicked her forehead.

"Ah, that hurts! You weren't controlled at all!" Hu Liena covered her forehead.

Shang An looked at her with amusement. He was the ancestor of this kind of power; Hu Liena's ability was at most mental manipulation, yet she actually tried to control him.

"No explanation?"

Seeing Shang An's burning gaze, Hu Liena felt a wave of guilt. He hadn't been controlled, which meant everything she had just done to him had been seen by him.

Ahhh, how embarrassing!

Hu Liena truly wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or that a meteor would fall from the sky and strike her dead so she wouldn't have to wait here for her execution.

"How about... how about I let you touch me back?"

Thump!

Another flick to the forehead. Hu Liena felt too guilty to dodge and could only take it.

"Forget it, I'll let you off this time." Shang An didn't pursue it further. This little girl didn't actually have any bad intentions; she was just a bit obsessed with his looks.

"Hehe." Hu Liena gave a sheepish laugh, secretly rejoicing in her heart for escaping unscathed, unaware that Shang An had already decided how to 'punish' her.

"What is the name of your martial soul? Is it still the Tianhu?"

Hu Liena's current martial soul should belong to a beneficial mutation. Such a martial soul had never appeared in history; a similar, albeit negative, example was that fellow Master's Luo Sanpao.

"I don't know. Why don't you help me name it?" Hu Liena looked at Shang An with anticipation.

Shang An pondered carefully. A fox, spirit and fire, the power of emotion... this was actually quite similar to that person.

"Let's call it Heart Moon Fox."

"Heart Moon Fox, that's great, that's great! Hehe, Heart Moon Fox, that's a lovely name."

He observed Hu Liena's spirit once more before telling her to retract it.

"Alright, go and fetch Elder Gui and Elder Ju for me," Shang An instructed Hu Liena.

Having just committed a major blunder, the little fox dared not resist. She was eager to escape, so she readily agreed.

The Title Douluo of Spirit Hall all resided in the inner city of Spirit City, so it took only a moment for the two stalwarts to arrive at the Pope Palace. The little fox did not return with them, perhaps still feeling a bit guilty.

"Greetings, His Holiness the Holy Son."

The two elders knelt on one knee after entering the hall. This was not the standard etiquette for meeting the Holy Son, but these two had become firm followers of Shang An.

"Please, rise quickly, Elders."

Shang An made a gesture to help them up, and both men stood.

Shang An first inquired about the elders' daily lives and work as was his custom, before saying:

"The two of you have worked diligently for the development of our Spirit Hall over these years. Your contributions are immense!"

The two immediately pledged their loyalty: "We would die a thousand deaths to serve Spirit Hall and the Holy Son."

"Good, good, good. I see the loyalty of both elders clearly." Shang An produced two jade boxes. "I always reward merit. You two have been stuck at level 95 for many years now, haven't you?"

Ju and Gui exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes. Did the Holy Son mean he intended to help them break through to level 96?

Could these jade boxes contain spirit bones?

It was no wonder they thought so. For a Title Douluo, every level was a world of its own, and the gap between level 95 and 96 was like heaven and earth. To help them break through, only a spirit bone of over 50,000 years with perfectly compatible attributes would suffice.

As for Immortal Herbs, the two did not even consider them. Immortal Herbs were rarer than 100,000-year Spirit Beasts; few people on the Douluo Continent had even heard of them. Even Chrysanthemum Douluo, who came from a family of herb experts, had never found a trace of one in his entire life.

Shang An handed the jade boxes to them.

"Elders, open them and see."

The two did not doubt him.

"This... this is a Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum!"

Seeing the chrysanthemum inside that resembled his own spirit, Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression changed drastically. His hands holding the jade box trembled. This was the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum his ancestors had sought for generations, and the very thing he had spent his life searching for.

Ghost Douluo did not know much about flowers and plants. He had no interest in them and did not recognize the needle-like plant in his hand, but seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo's reaction, he knew that whatever His Holiness the Holy Son had given them must be exceptionally precious.

"His Holiness the Holy Son, words cannot express my gratitude." It took a long while for Chrysanthemum Douluo to compose himself. He knew he had nothing to repay this with, only his lifelong loyalty to the Holy Son.

Ghost Douluo followed suit, expressing his loyalty as well.

Seeing that their loyalty had reached 90, Shang An was quite satisfied.

Although they were advanced in age and would not benefit from the Immortal Herbs as much as a young person would, Chrysanthemum Douluo's spirit was the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum. Given his compatibility with the herb, he might even unlock further potential.

The Ghost Needle Pine given to Ghost Douluo was also highly compatible, making his breakthrough to level 96 a certainty.

"Elders, go quickly and absorb the Immortal Herbs. The sooner you break through, the sooner you can contribute to our Spirit Hall."

"Yes!"

The two bowed and retreated.

After bestowing the Immortal Herbs upon the two, Shang An did not distribute any more. There were only so many Immortal Herbs, and he felt he had too few even for his own people, so he decided to keep the rest for now.

He turned his gaze toward the direction of the sleeping quarters, thinking that his teacher must be finishing her absorption soon.

"BOOM!"

Everyone in Spirit City felt as if a divine might had descended. Their internal spirit power stagnated for a brief moment before returning to normal. Most low-to-mid-level spirit masters were confused, but all high-level spirit masters wore grave expressions.

Inside the Elder Hall, Qian Daoliu's face was heavy. "She actually reached this realm."

After a long while, he felt a sense of relief: "I am an old man who will die sooner or later; why should I care so much?"