The relationship between the Upper Three Sects and Spirit Hall had always been complicated. They were all smiles in public, but behind closed doors, they clashed at every turn.
As Spirit Hall's pope's disciple, Hu Liena naturally had no fondness for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Ling Xiao's gaze fell on their group.
The steps at the hotel entrance were rather high.
One girl in their group lost her footing and nearly fell. A boy nearby quietly reached out and steadied her.
Once she was back on her feet, she didn't thank him. Instead, she shook his hand off in disgust.
She frowned and muttered a curse.
"Stay away from me, trash!"
The boy's hand froze in midair for a moment before he silently drew it back. He lowered his head and kept walking.
He seemed used to being treated this way.
That brief moment caught Ling Xiao's attention.
Just then, a tall collateral disciple deliberately bumped into the boy.
The boy stumbled, and the bundle in his hands fell to the ground.
"Yu Xuan, don't you watch where you're going?"
The disciple crossed his arms and looked down at him, his face full of mockery.
"What is it? Awakening a Trash Martial Soul means you can't even walk straight now?"
"You couldn't even awaken the clan's inherited Martial Soul, and you still think you're fit to enter the Star Dou Forest with us? You're an embarrassment to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
The boys and girls around them burst into laughter.
Their gazes toward Yu Xuan were full of disdain and scorn.
"Exactly. What good is innate Soul Power of rank eight? He awakened some worthless rock Martial Soul, and he's only at rank nine Soul Power now. Utterly useless."
"If the elder hadn't taken pity on him and given him a chance to come along and gain experience, he'd spend his whole life as an ordinary person."
"Stay away from him. Don't let that trash's bad luck rub off on you and mess up our hunt for Soul Rings."
One cutting insult after another rang out.
Yu Xuan simply crouched down and quietly picked up each item that had fallen from his bundle, putting them back inside.
He didn't argue or get angry.
It was as if those taunts had nothing to do with him.
The Soul Douluo elder leading the group frowned and barked, "What's all this noise? Quiet down and get into the hotel!"
The disciples finally reined themselves in. They surrounded the elder and went inside.
Yu Xuan was left alone, silently trailing behind them.
As he passed Ling Xiao, he seemed to notice Ling Xiao watching him. Their eyes met for a moment, then he lowered his head and continued inside.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's people don't just throw their weight around outside. They bully their own, too."
Hu Liena frowned and curled her lip in disdain.
Ling Xiao said nothing.
He simply watched Yu Xuan's retreating figure, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
Innate Soul Power of rank eight, a Trash Martial Soul, a collateral member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan...
"Interesting."
Ling Xiao murmured, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Junior Brother, what did you say?"
Hu Liena looked at him in confusion.
"Nothing."
Ling Xiao withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly.
"Come on. Let's go inside and get settled first."
He stepped into the hotel ahead of them.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Hu Liena followed right behind him.
After they entered their room and shut the door, Hu Liena dropped her bundle on the table and stretched mightily.
"Finally, a chance to rest! We've been riding in that carriage all day. My bones are practically falling apart!"
Ling Xiao walked to the window and looked down into the courtyard.
As it happened, he saw Yu Xuan alone in a corner, practicing the basic forms of spear technique with a long spear.
His clothes were soaked through with sweat, but he didn't stop.
Morning.
A chorus of hoofbeats sounded outside the hotel.
Two groups preparing to set out ran into each other in front of the entrance.
On one side was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's party.
More than ten disciples in blue uniforms surrounded their Soul Douluo elder, holding the reins of several fine black horses.
They all held their heads high, pride and sharpness in their eyes.
On the other side were only Ling Xiao, Hu Liena, and Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Ling Xiao held a long spear in his hand, standing tall and straight.
The morning breeze stirred his black hair. His brows were sharp, and his eyes bright.
Hu Liena stood beside him in a fiery red outfit, beautiful and radiant, her natural grace impossible to hide.
The two groups met at the hotel entrance.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's people mounted their horses and led the way toward the Star Dou Forest outside town.
"Let's go, too," Ling Xiao said calmly.
They were now close to the Star Dou Forest, and traveling by carriage was inconvenient, so they switched to riding horses.
The three followed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's party at an unhurried pace.
Beyond Falling Star Town lay the forest road leading to the Star Dou Forest.
Ancient trees towered on both sides, their branches and leaves blotting out the sky. Morning mist drifted through the woods.
The concentration of Primordial Power in the air gradually grew stronger.
From time to time, the distant growls of Soul Beasts carried through the forest, full of primal savagery and danger.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's party rode ahead at a leisurely pace, clearly alert to movement in the woods.
Ling Xiao and the others followed at an easy pace, keeping a distance of a hundred meters or so and leaving each other undisturbed.
Several collateral disciples near the back of the group kept glancing over their shoulders.
Their eyes lingered on Hu Liena, filled with admiration and leering interest.
They huddled together and whispered.
"Hey, look at that red-clothed beauty behind us. She's gorgeous! That face, that figure!"
"She's prettier than any of the girls in our clan. Wonder where she's from. She's only got one guard with her, and the two of them still dare to come to the Star Dou Forest. They've got guts, I'll give them that."
"They're just a couple of brats who haven't even grown their first hairs. That boy looks seven or eight, and he's carrying a spear like he knows how to use it. Probably some minor noble's young master and young lady, out to see the world."
"Heh, why don't we wait and go talk to her? A beauty like that—we'd make this trip worthwhile just getting to know her."
"Relax. Once we're in the forest, we'll have plenty of chances. Maybe they'll run into trouble and have to beg us for help. Then we can call the shots."
The more they talked, the more brazen they became, their lewd and disrespectful tone plain as day.
They assumed their voices were low enough that no one could hear them.
Hu Liena was already a level-thirty Soul Elder, and her Demon Fox Martial Soul greatly enhanced her senses.
At this distance, there was no way their whispers could escape her ears.
Hu Liena's face darkened instantly.
She had grown up surrounded by adoring attention.
Apart from her master, Bibi Dong, and Ling Xiao, who would dare disrespect her?
Their lewd, filthy remarks made her furious.
"Hyah!"
Hu Liena yanked the reins. Her horse reared up with a whinny.
She charged straight to the side of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's group.
Her almond-shaped eyes widened as she pointed at the disciples who had been gossiping and shouted, "You lot! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?! Have the guts to say it to my face!"
Their entire group came to a stop.
The collateral disciples were taken aback.
Hu Liena was only a young girl, and the only ones with her were Ling Xiao and an "ordinary guard."
Relying on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's name, they felt emboldened.
"Sharp ears, little beauty."
The tall disciple in the lead crossed his arms as he sat astride his horse, looking down at Hu Liena with a leering grin.
"What we say is none of your business. The road belongs to everyone. We say what we want, and you can go on your way. You can't possibly think you get to police our conversations."
"I can't?"
Hu Liena laughed in anger.
"You used filthy language to talk about me, and you still say it's none of my business?"
"Is this how the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan teaches its disciples to gossip about women behind their backs?"
"And you call yourselves one of the Upper Three Sects? Bah!"
The collateral disciples' faces changed.
"So what if we said a few things? So what if we looked at you? You're pretty, aren't you? What, we're not allowed to look?"
"You're asking for death!"
Hu Liena trembled with rage, ready to teach the foul-mouthed men a lesson.
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