The Body Sect Appears Early

Lang Ya pointed toward Huo Yuhao, a gentle smile on his face. He looked just like a kindly uncle.

But Huo Yuhao happened to know this man named Lang Ya.

Lang Ya belonged to the Body Sect. In fact, he was the first member of the Body Sect Huo Yuhao had ever seen in his memories.

In his previous life, when Huo Yuhao first took part in the Advanced Spirit Master Tournament, he and the others encountered people from the Body Sect after finishing a match.

One of those two men had been Lang Ya, the man standing before him now.

"How could you be here?" Huo Yuhao really wanted to ask him outright, but he couldn't. After all, he wasn't supposed to know anything about the Body Sect.

"Tsk... Lang Ya, right? You said you're from the Body Sect?" Seeing that her attacks couldn't hit him, Zhou Yi had no choice but to give up on attacking for the moment and face off against him instead.

The Body Sect... Was this the sect that had been unearthed a thousand years ago?

The most mysterious sect on the entire continent, second only to the completely vanished Clear Sky Sect. Every member of the sect possessed a Body Martial Soul, and supposedly, they even had an Awakening Secret Technique specifically for awakening Body Martial Souls.

It was an ancient sect that even Pope Chen Mo had failed to discover back then.

"Indeed. Teacher, there's no need to be so tense. I only brought the students here to get that little friend's attention."

"I'm a teacher in the Body Sect myself, so of course I understand that children should be cared for. As you can see, I haven't done anything to them at all, have I?"

Lang Ya pointed toward the students on the other side. Zhou Yi followed his gesture and saw that, although they stood there at a loss, none of them showed any signs of injury. That let her breathe a real sigh of relief.

If the students had actually been hurt, she wouldn't have merely cursed out the school's security guards. She would have started a real fight.

"So, you Body Sect people, what are you doing at Spirit Soul Academy? The Spirit Hall hasn't made a move against you for a thousand years, and now you think you can take them on? You've even got the nerve to come right to our door and snatch someone?"

"Don't forget, your former sect master challenged us to a match back then, only to flee in disarray at the hands of our dean. What, have you already forgotten the pain now that your wounds have healed?"

Zhou Yi made no attempt to hold back. She had already sent word, and the others at the school would be here soon.

She knew full well that this man was definitely powerful—powerful enough to defeat her with ease. Even so, judging from his tone, he seemed supremely confident in his own strength and rather frivolous.

A suitably sharp tongue could provoke someone like that into talking, making it a good way to buy time.

Hearing her words, Lang Ya's expression didn't change in the slightest. He only pinched his chin and thought for a moment before continuing:

"Provoking me just enough to stall for time... Mm, that's a pretty good way to buy time, if I do say so myself. You've already sent out a message, haven't you, Teacher?"

"But unfortunately, ever since you stepped into this Spirit Fighting Arena, you've been within the range of my eighth Spirit Skill."

Lang Ya pointed to his forehead. Zhou Yi suddenly realized that the black pattern there was actually the manifestation of his Soul Ring. From it, she could feel a distinct fluctuation of Soul Power.

"Within the range of my Spirit Skill, all thoughts are drawn into a mental realm. It's quite different from a true domain, but it's more than enough to trap Soul Masters below the Soul Emperor rank."

"The message you sent was nothing more than an illusion created by my Spirit Skill. In reality... barely one ten-thousandth of a second has passed."

"We have plenty of time to face off against each other, Teacher." Lang Ya smiled easily. Even if they spent several hours inside his Spirit Skill, it would amount to no more than a moment's daze in the real world.

No one could notice what he was doing right now. Of course, that old Black Dragon probably could—but the fact that he hadn't noticed at all was a wonderful surprise to Lang Ya.

"So, for now, let's have a proper talk. Back to the point: my goal is simple. I want that little friend, Huo Yuhao." Lang Ya slowly approached, but Zhou Yi's expression immediately turned fierce.

"All right, all right. I'll stay right here." Lang Ya helplessly raised his hands, then continued:

"You possess an Innate Full Soul Power Body Martial Soul. In the Body Sect, we usually call that... Never mind, that's confidential."

"To put it simply, geniuses like little Huo Yuhao are incredibly rare in the Body Sect. He already qualifies for the second tier."

"And being in the second tier means his standing in the Body Sect is second only to our sect master. The resources he'd receive... would be no less than the sect master's."

"Of course, his food, clothing, housing, and transportation would all be held to the highest standards." As he spoke, Lang Ya slowly shifted his position, circling around Huo Yuhao.

"Of course, our sect master specifically reminded me that these conditions are nothing to Spirit Soul Academy. After all, it was founded by the Spirit Hall, which controls fifty-one percent of all the cultivation resources on the Douluo Continent. These conditions surely couldn't tempt a genius student from Spirit Soul Academy."

"So... our sect master gave me another plan as well. It might be a little... less cost-effective, though."

In the blink of an eye, Lang Ya appeared beside the group of children on the other side of the Spirit Fighting Arena. Strangely, not one of them reacted. They just stood there, frozen.

He put a hand on one child's head, ignoring Zhou Yi's murderous glare and the stream of curses spilling from her mouth.

"Little Huo Yuhao, please fight one of the disciples from my Body Sect. If you can win, that proves you can receive an education at Spirit Soul Academy that's no worse than what the Body Sect offers. We'll call it even and leave you alone."

"But if you can't... I'll use my Spirit Skill to implant a small anchor in everyone's mind. Your thoughts will slow down. To put it crudely... you'll all become complete invalids."

The smile gradually vanished from Lang Ya's face. He looked toward Zhou Yi and continued:

"After all, it would mean a genius with a Body Martial Soul like Huo Yuhao is just wasting his time at your school. If you can't even educate a genius, how could you possibly teach these ordinary children?"

"Rather than letting them receive your incompetent education, it would be better to turn them into invalids outright. At least that might save the Spirit Hall and their families some resources and money."

Lang Ya turned toward Huo Yuhao.

"Children without talent have no need to keep growing. That was the former sect master's teaching. The Body Sect used to be like that, wasting too many resources on pointless education. That went on until the former sect master—the strongest person in the Body Sect—actually lost to you."

"But Huo Yuhao is different. He's a chosen genius and should keep growing. Win or lose, Huo Yuhao, you can keep growing, and you'll surely receive an even better education. So, what do you think? It's a pretty good deal, isn't it, little Huo Yuhao?"

"Haha, but you're only six, so it's fine if you can't understand. All you need to do is fight. That's all there is to it."