At Ma Hongjun's unbearably arrogant words, Dugu Yan bristled on the spot.
Her emerald-green eyes practically spat fire.
"You damn fatty! It's bad enough that you're ugly, but are you blind, too?"
Dugu Yan pointed at Ma Hongjun's nose and gave him an unrelenting tongue-lashing.
"With a face like that, you're not fit to carry Tian Yu's shoes, yet you dare spout such nonsense here!"
Ice Empress folded her arms across her chest and stood calmly to the side.
A playful smile tugged at her delicate features.
She had no interest in wasting a single move on a guy who was beneath even an ant.
She was simply waiting on the sidelines to enjoy the show.
Ning Rongrong, on Shrek's side, couldn't take it anymore either.
She stepped forward, one hand on her slender, serpentine waist.
"Fatty, fooling around at the academy is one thing."
"But you're in public now. Could you at least try to show some manners?"
Ning Rongrong's pretty face turned cold, her expression full of contempt for Ma Hongjun.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, who was usually cool and reserved, gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"He really is ill-mannered."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard her clearly.
When Dai Mubai saw the two beauties on his team siding with that white-clad youth, his face darkened at once.
He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked.
"He's just a little brat who hasn't even grown his first hair."
Dai Mubai sneered, deeply displeased.
"Besides a pretty face that can fool women, what else has he got?"
After Dugu Yan and the girls on his own side had taken turns dressing him down, Ma Hongjun couldn't save face.
A scorching ball of Evil Fire surged straight to his head.
"Fine!"
"Since all of you are protecting that pretty boy, then I, Fatty, am going to make sure he gets a lesson he'll remember for the rest of his life!"
Ma Hongjun roared, and a dazzling purple-red flame suddenly blazed up around him.
The blazing heat distorted the air around them in an instant.
Two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
Without hesitation, the First Soul Ring around Ma Hongjun lit up with a dazzling glow.
"Phoenix Fire Line!"
A purple-red column of flame as thick as an arm, trailing waves of scorching heat, blasted straight toward Xue Tianyu's face.
Ning Rongrong stomped her foot in anger, but as a support-type Soul Master, she was helpless.
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu both felt their hearts tighten at the sight.
In their eyes, the white-clad youth across from them looked even younger than they were.
Against Ma Hongjun's highly destructive Power Attack System Soul Skill, he was surely in grave danger.
Deep worry showed in the girls' eyes.
Yet.
Faced with the searing waves rushing toward him, Xue Tianyu didn't even raise an eyelid.
He still had one hand in his pocket, his posture as upright as a pine.
Just as the Phoenix Fire Line was about to touch his hair,
Xue Tianyu casually raised his free hand.
He swept it out in a careless backhanded slap.
He didn't release his Martial Soul, much less use a Soul Ring.
It was nothing but the purest physical strength, carrying the faintest trace of Frost Sword Qi.
"Smack!"
The crisp, ringing slap echoed across the streets of Heaven Dou City.
The seemingly ferocious Phoenix Fire Line couldn't withstand that single slap for even half a second. It shattered into a shower of Fire Sparks.
Then the back of Xue Tianyu's hand landed squarely on the fleshy side of Ma Hongjun's face.
Ma Hongjun's round body shot away like a cannonball.
With a string of piercing screams, he flew sideways through the air.
He slammed into a stone wall more than ten meters away.
The wall instantly filled with a web of cracks, and dust billowed everywhere.
On the broad street, the air fell utterly silent.
Not a single person dared even breathe too loudly.
Dai Mubai's sinister eyes bulged, his pupils contracting violently.
He stood rooted to the spot as though someone had cast a spell on him.
Ma Hongjun might have been a bad person, but he was undeniably a Soul Grandmaster at rank twenty-seven!
With his mutated Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, even Dai Mubai would have had to work hard to beat him.
But this youth, who looked several years younger than them—
He hadn't even activated his Martial Soul, yet he'd knocked Fatty out with one slap?
What kind of monstrous strength was that?
Ning Rongrong was stunned, her small mouth forming an adorable "O."
She stared blankly at Xue Tianyu as he calmly lowered his hand.
His white robes were whiter than snow, untouched by a speck of dust.
A powerful wave of infatuation swept over her.
He was so handsome!
Even Zhu Zhuqing's usually placid heart was now stirred by wave after wave of emotion.
She secretly clenched her small fists, her gaze fixed on Xue Tianyu.
In this world, where strength was revered, Xue Tianyu's display had plucked a string deep within her heart.
Xiao Wu, too, was captivated by Xue Tianyu's crisp, decisive movements.
Her bright eyes sparkled with wonder.
But a moment later, Xiao Wu's brows furrowed without her realizing it.
To her great surprise, whenever she got close to this youth, she felt an intense sense of oppression rise within her.
It came from the depths of her soul—the purest bloodline suppression!
Xiao Wu was filled with curiosity.
Who was he? Why did he make her feel so strangely?
Seeing Ma Hongjun's miserable state, sprawled there like a dead dog,
Dugu Yan put her hands on her hips and burst into undisguised laughter, her face alight with schadenfreude.
"Weren't you just acting tough? How come one slap put you down for the count?"
Standing behind them, Qian Renxue gently waved her folding fan.
Her gaze remained fixed on Xue Tianyu as she waited to see what would happen next.
Ice Empress, meanwhile, looked utterly contemptuous.
"What a pathetic fool. He doesn't know his own limits."
Ma Hongjun was sprawled among the rubble, groaning in pain.
Every bone in his body felt as if it had come apart, while his internal organs churned violently.
Even more terrifying was the shock in his heart, which he couldn't suppress.
He possessed a top-tier Martial Soul with the bloodline of the Evil Fire Phoenix.
Yet he couldn't even block a casual strike from his opponent!
He hadn't even seen how the other man had attacked.
Tang San, who had been silently standing behind them, had already clenched both fists tightly.
He, too, had been shaken by the terrifying strength Xue Tianyu had displayed.
But that wasn't what upset him most.
Tang San had keenly noticed Xiao Wu's expression.
As he watched Xiao Wu's captivated gaze fixed on Xue Tianyu, a nameless jealousy raged through his chest.
He was furious.
Xiao Wu was the little sister he'd claimed as his own. How could she look at another man like that?
He'd wanted an excuse to teach this white-clad youth, who'd stolen the spotlight, a lesson for a while now.
Now that Ma Hongjun had been beaten, the perfect excuse had landed right in his lap.
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