The Wager with Qin Ze

Xie Yue heard his sister's complaints and couldn't help but secretly offer a bitter smile. He felt just as repulsed by Yan's behavior! After all, this guy was like a piece of sticky candy, always pestering his sister without end. Not only that, but he would shamelessly call him "brother-in-law" at every turn. It wasn't just his sister who was annoyed; he was fed up with it too!

However, he didn't dare to offend this young master too much. Unlike him and Hu Liena, who were orphans, Yan's grandfather was the Great Elder of Martial Soul Hall! He was the Flame Demon Douluo Yan Kui, a powerhouse with ninety-five levels of cultivation! Furthermore, he was the strongest supporter of his half-godmother: Pope Bibi Dong!

One had to know that this Great Elder held a status in all of Martial Soul Hall second only to the Pope and the seven Elders! This was the reason why few people in the Spirit Hall Academy dared to provoke him; otherwise, given his behavior, he would have been expelled from the academy long ago!

When Hu Liena saw her brother standing there awkwardly and unable to speak, she knew he had his own difficulties and truly couldn't afford to fall out with Yan. Thus, no matter how much rage burned in her heart, she had no way to vent it and could only endure. After all, no matter how one looked at it, Yan's grandfather was her teacher's strongest supporter.

If she were to truly break things off with Yan, she would be the only one to suffer, so she could only scold him but couldn't actually do anything about him. However, the more this happened, the more intense Hu Liena's longing for strength and status became! If she truly became the recognized disciple of Bibi Dong, or even the Holy Maiden of Martial Soul Hall, would this Yan still have the guts to make things so difficult for her?

At this moment, before Yan could continue, his group of "lackeys" seemed unable to sit still! A male student from the elite class jumped out instantly, though he didn't dare say anything to Hu Liena, as he lacked Yan's background.

He simply pointed at Xu Mochen and loudly rebuked him: "You, a man! What kind of skill is it to hide behind a woman? Let me ask you! My name is Qin Ze! A level forty-two Soul Ancestor! Do you dare to challenge me to a duel? Don't worry! Since you are younger than me, I will never bully the small with the big! I can suppress my soul power to the same realm as yours and use only the corresponding number of soul rings! Do you dare to go to the training grounds and have a match with me?"

Provocation? Xu Mochen sneered inwardly. Although he didn't want to get involved in the internal mess of Martial Soul Hall, Hu Liena still had some favor with him, and this matter concerned him as well. If the other party insisted on climbing over his head to provoke him, then for the sake of the Sun Moon Empire's royal dignity, he would never back down. Coincidentally, this was also an opportunity to understand the strength of Martial Soul Hall's young geniuses and train his own combat abilities!

While he wasn't the type from Shrek who believed "not causing trouble is for the mediocre," he was definitely no pushover! He replied lightly: "As you wish. Tomorrow, I will take the initiative to challenge you. Don't let me down when the time comes."

"You...!" Qin Ze was clearly infuriated, but he laughed out of extreme anger: "Fine! I'll be waiting! Why don't we make a bet in front of everyone! Whoever loses! Kneels down! And barks like a dog! How about that?" This arrogant remark immediately drew a burst of laughter from Yan's "lackeys"! They seemed to already see this young brat kneeling on the ground, barking like a dog!

Qin Ze dared to do this naturally because he had his own considerations. Clearly, based on his knowledge of the internal personnel of Martial Soul Hall, no elder or high-ranking official had a child who looked like Xu Mochen. Although Hu Liena said this little guy was accompanied at the request of the Pope, it was possible that Xu Mochen was the son of some great noble from a country on the Douluo Continent.

But so what? His own background wasn't low either. Although his grandfather wasn't an elder, he was a Platinum Bishop of Martial Soul Hall! An eighty-sixth level Soul Douluo powerhouse! Naturally, he had nothing to fear.

When Hu Liena heard this, her heart sank with anxiety. She wanted to scold Qin Ze, but she didn't expect Xu Mochen to actually nod and say: "Fine! It's a deal!" He then said no more. He wasn't worried that this guy wouldn't keep his word; if he really tried to back out, he would ensure the man regretted it for the rest of his life!

Hu Liena panicked upon hearing Xu Mochen accept the challenge. Although she didn't believe in her heart that Xu Mochen would be inferior to a Qin Ze who had suppressed his strength, one could never be too careful. What if Xu Mochen lost? Would he really have to let this great god kneel and bark like a dog? If the Sun Moon Empire found out, they might truly declare war on Martial Soul Hall!

Just as Hu Liena was at a loss, she inadvertently locked eyes with Xu Mochen. He gave her a reassuring and firm look, but Hu Liena simply couldn't set her heart at ease!

No! She had to tell her teacher later! She couldn't let this bet actually happen! Even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance of risk, Hu Liena didn't want to take it.

The others, having heard the bet, merely cast sympathetic glances before returning to rest with their own thoughts. Yan, who had been furious, turned to gloating. He gave Xu Mochen a sinister smile before leaving, leaving behind a calm Xu Mochen, an anxious Hu Liena, and a bewildered Xie Yue.

"Um, little brother Mochen, you go back to the dormitory first. Sister Nana has something to attend to, I'll come find you later, okay?" Hu Liena finished speaking in a rush and sprinted away from the entrance of the dormitory area. She didn't even respond when Xie Yue called out to her, leaving him standing there in a daze.

"What's wrong with Nana today? She's usually so calm?" Scratching his head, Xie Yue inadvertently looked at Xu Mochen, who was also looking at him. He immediately put on a smile and reached out to Xu Mochen: "Sorry, I don't know what happened to my sister just now, leaving you here. Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Xie Yue, a level forty-one Soul Ancestor, Hu Liena's brother, and a student in the elite class. May I ask your name, little brother?"

Seeing Xie Yue being so polite, Xu Mochen naturally wouldn't be rude. He reached out to shake Xie Yue's hand: "Thank you for your concern, big brother. My name is Xu Mochen, from the Sun Moon Empire, a level twenty-four Soul Grand Master. Don't worry, I live with you all. I just enrolled today, and Nana was showing me around the campus."

Xie Yue didn't react at first, then laughed: "Xu Mochen? That's a nice name. You said you're from the Sun Moon Empire... wait? The Sun Moon Empire? What country is that? I've never heard of it?" Xie Yue suddenly realized and asked with a puzzled expression.

In fact, due to the almost closed-off teaching environment of the Spirit Hall Academy, combined with the poor communication and slow information spread on the Douluo Continent due to backward technology, basically no students in the entire academy knew of the Sun Moon Empire's existence, let alone Xu Mochen's name or his enrollment in the academy!

In reality, Hu Liena had only been told about the Sun Moon Empire by Bibi Dong two days ago, and students of Martial Soul Hall were under closed-off management year-round, so they naturally couldn't gather much information from the outside world.

Xu Mochen waved his hand to brush it off: "Just an ordinary country, don't worry about it. Right, I have things to do, I'll head back now. Goodbye."

Before Xie Yue could react, Xu Mochen had already slipped away, leaving Xie Yue standing in the wind, full of question marks. Unable to figure it out, he simply assumed Xu Mochen was being evasive about his identity.

Xu Mochen wouldn't tell Xie Yue everything about himself. Although his identity would be exposed sooner or later, it wasn't the time yet. Explaining a bunch of things to Xie Yue now would not only be time-consuming and exhausting but also risk alerting the enemy.

He had assumed that as Hu Liena's brother, Xie Yue would have at least heard of the Sun Moon Empire, but it seemed not. He had to admit that Hu Liena was truly principled; she wouldn't even reveal important mission information to her own brother.

But this was fine. Aside from stealing the Angel Divinity and Rakshasa Divinity, his main purpose for coming to the Spirit Hall Academy was to personally witness the strength of the students. If these students knew his identity and didn't dare to spar, or held back during spars, then the subsequent tempering would lose much of its meaning.

Just like that, Xu Mochen returned to his dormitory and began to cultivate earnestly, completely undisturbed by external factors. However, outside the dormitory door, Yan was listening to a report from a student: "Boss, I heard the conversation between Xu Mochen and Hu Liena in the cafeteria just now. Xu Mochen seems particularly good at telling fairy tales about heroes, and Hu Liena seems to enjoy listening to them. Maybe Boss can start from Hu Liena's interests!"

Upon hearing this, Yan was overjoyed. He patted the student on the shoulder and said: "I see! You've done well! If I successfully win over Hu Liena later, I will never forget your contribution!"

"Not at all, it is my honor to work for you, Boss." The student bowed and scraped before leaving in high spirits. A smile that was hard to detect appeared on the corner of Yan's mouth.

Who would have thought, Hu Liena, that you'd be interested in fairy tales about heroes! Yan muttered to himself. It seemed he would have to spend some time finding some hero fairy tales! If he really couldn't find any, he could just make them up! With that, Yan stopped delaying and returned to his dormitory, feeling satisfied.

And so, the night passed...

Early the next morning, Xu Mochen, who had just finished a night of cultivation, was drawn by a rapid knocking on his door. He went to open it and saw Hu Liena standing there.

Her expression toward Xu Mochen was a bit complex, but she told him: "Hurry, there's not much time left. Classes start in an hour, and if we're any slower, we won't even have time for breakfast."

Xu Mochen listened and obeyed, going inside to tidy up, including putting on his new school uniform. He then followed Hu Liena to the cafeteria. After a whirlwind breakfast, they immediately headed to the training ground where the elite class held their classes.

When Hu Liena and Xu Mochen arrived at the training ground, they only saw a stern-looking middle-aged man and a group of elite students already lined up: it seemed that apart from Hu Liena, the other elite students had already arrived.

When they saw Hu Liena and Xu Mochen arrive together, their expressions turned strange. It wasn't that they thought there was a problem with them arriving together (they already knew about that yesterday), but rather that at Xu Mochen's age, he shouldn't be an elite student! Unless Xu Mochen told them he was already a Soul Ancestor at twelve! But that was completely unrealistic.

"Report! Elite class student Hu Liena, bringing the newly enrolled student Xu Mochen to participate in the special promotion assessment for the elite class!" Before the middle-aged man could speak, Hu Liena took the lead to report. This sentence was like a soul-guided bomb going off, immediately causing an uproar among the majority of the elite students!

Everyone looked at Xu Mochen in disbelief, secretly astonished: No way! Could this little guy's talent be as monstrous as Hu Liena's and those few others? Please, no! There are already enough monsters in this elite class!