Xie Yue heard his sister's complaint and couldn't help but laugh bitterly to himself. He found Yan's behavior just as irritating. The guy was like a piece of sticky candy, always clinging to his sister and shamelessly calling Xie Yue his "brother-in-law." He had worn out not only his sister, but Xie Yue, too!
But he didn't dare offend the young master too much. Unlike him and Hu Liena, who were both orphans, Yan's grandfather was Spirit Hall's Great Elder: Flame Demon Douluo Yan Kui, a powerful Soul Master at rank ninety-five! He was also one of his godmother's strongest supporters—Pope Bibi Dong!
The Great Elder's status in all of Spirit Hall was second only to the Pope and the Seven Enshrined Elders. That was why so few people at Spirit Hall Academy dared to provoke Yan. Otherwise, with behavior like his, he would have been expelled long ago!
Seeing that her brother could only stand there awkwardly in silence, Hu Liena knew he was in a difficult position. He really couldn't afford to fall out with Yan. So, no matter how much anger she felt, she had no choice but to swallow it. After all, Yan's grandfather was her teacher's strongest supporter.
If she truly broke with Yan, she would be the one to suffer. So she could only scold him, not actually do anything to him. But the more things went this way, the more fiercely Hu Liena yearned for power and status! If she became Bibi Dong's officially recognized disciple, or even Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, would Yan still dare make things difficult for her?
Before Yan could say anything more, his group of "lackeys" seemed unable to hold back. A male student from Elite Class immediately stepped forward. But he didn't dare say anything against Hu Liena; he didn't have Yan's background.
Instead, he pointed at Xu Mochen and shouted, "You're a man! What kind of ability is it to hide behind a woman? Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Qin Ze, a rank-forty-two Soul Ancestor! Do you dare fight me one-on-one? Don't worry! Since you're younger than me, I won't bully you. I'll suppress my Soul Power to your level and use only the corresponding number of Soul Rings! Do you dare fight me at the practice grounds?"
"A provocation?" Xu Mochen sneered inwardly. He didn't want to get involved in Spirit Hall's internal squabbles, but Hu Liena had earned some goodwill from him, and this matter involved him to some extent. If the other side insisted on pushing his luck and picking a fight, then for the sake of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, he wouldn't back down. Besides, this was a good chance to learn how strong Spirit Hall's young geniuses were and to sharpen his own combat skills!
He wasn't like Shrek, with its "those who don't dare cause trouble are useless" attitude, but he wasn't a pushover, either! He simply replied, "As you wish. Tomorrow, I'll challenge you. Don't disappoint me."
"You...!" Qin Ze was clearly furious, but then he laughed in anger. "Fine! I'll be waiting! Why don't we make a wager in front of everyone? Whoever loses gets down on their knees and barks like a dog! How about it?" His arrogant words immediately drew a burst of laughter from Yan's "lackeys." They could already picture the young kid kneeling on the ground, barking like a dog!
Qin Ze dared make such a wager because he had thought it through. As far as he knew, none of the elders' or enshrined elders' children in Spirit Hall looked anything like Xu Mochen. Hu Liena had said the Pope had asked him to accompany her, but perhaps that was because Xu Mochen was the son of some great noble from a country on Douluo Continent.
So what? His own background wasn't bad, either. His grandfather might not be an elder, but he was a Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall and a powerful Soul Douluo at rank eighty-six! Qin Ze had nothing to fear.
Hu Liena's heart lurched when she heard this. She was just about to rebuke Qin Ze when Xu Mochen actually nodded and said, "Good! It's a deal!" Then he said no more. He wasn't worried that Qin Ze would break his promise. If he tried, Xu Mochen would make sure he regretted it for the rest of his life!
Hearing Xu Mochen accept the challenge, Hu Liena panicked. She didn't think Xu Mochen would lose to Qin Ze with his Soul Power suppressed, but you could never be too careful. What if Xu Mochen lost? Would she really let this great figure kneel down and bark like a dog? If the Sun Moon Empire found out, it might truly declare war on Spirit Hall!
Just as Hu Liena was at a loss, she happened to meet Xu Mochen's eyes. He gave her a reassuring yet resolute look, but Hu Liena still couldn't put her mind at ease!
No! She had to tell her teacher later. She couldn't let this wager stand! Hu Liena didn't want to take even a one-in-ten-thousand chance.
After hearing the wager, the others merely gave Xu Mochen a sympathetic glance before returning to their rooms, each with their own thoughts. Yan, who had been fuming moments before, was now gloating. He gave Xu Mochen a sinister smile and left, leaving behind a calm and composed Xu Mochen, an anxious Hu Liena, and a completely bewildered Xie Yue.
"Um, little brother Xu, go back to your room first. Sister Nana has something to take care of. I'll come find you later, okay?" Hu Liena hurriedly said, then dashed away from the dormitory entrance. Xie Yue called after her, but she didn't answer, leaving him standing there in confusion.
"What's gotten into Nana today? She's usually so composed." Xie Yue scratched his head and glanced at Xu Mochen, who was looking his way at the same time. He immediately put on a smile and held out his hand. "Sorry, my sister seems to have had something come up and left you here. Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Xie Yue, a rank-forty-one Soul Ancestor, Hu Liena's older brother, and a student in Elite Class. What's your name, little brother?"
Seeing how polite Xie Yue was, Xu Mochen returned the courtesy and shook his hand. "Thanks for your concern, big brother. My name is Xu Mochen. I'm from the Sun Moon Empire, and I'm a rank-twenty-four Soul Grandmaster. Don't worry, I live in the same dorm as you. I only enrolled today, and Nana showed me around campus."
At first, Xie Yue didn't react. He simply laughed and said, "Xu Mochen? That's a nice name. So, you're from the Sun Moon Empire... Huh? The Sun Moon Empire? What kind of country is that? I've never heard of it!" He suddenly caught on and asked in confusion.
The truth was, Spirit Hall Academy's almost completely closed-off learning environment, combined with the poor communications caused by Douluo Continent's backward technology, meant that news spread slowly. As a result, hardly any of the academy's students knew the Sun Moon Empire existed, let alone that Xu Mochen was famous or that he had enrolled at Spirit Hall Academy!
In fact, Hu Liena had only learned about the Sun Moon Empire from Bibi Dong two days earlier. The students of Spirit Hall spent the whole year studying under the academy's closed-door management, so naturally they couldn't hear much about what was happening outside.
Xu Mochen waved a hand and brushed the question aside. "It's just an ordinary country. I was just saying it casually, so don't worry about it. Anyway, I have something to do, so I'll head back. See you."
Before Xie Yue could react, Xu Mochen had already dashed off, leaving him standing there windblown and full of questions. In the end, he couldn't make sense of it, so he simply took Xu Mochen's words as an indirect attempt to hide his identity.
Xu Mochen wasn't about to tell Xie Yue everything about himself. His identity would come out sooner or later, but not now. Explaining everything to Xie Yue would take time and effort, and might alert the wrong people.
He'd thought that, as Hu Liena's brother, Xie Yue would at least have heard of the Sun Moon Empire. It seemed he could forget that. Hu Liena really did have principles; she wouldn't reveal important intelligence, not even to her own brother.
Still, this was for the best. His main reasons for coming to Spirit Hall Academy, aside from stealing the Angel Divinity and the Rakshasa Divinity, were to see the students' strength for himself. If the students learned his identity and became afraid to spar with him—or deliberately held back when they did—then his training would be far less useful.
Back in his room, Xu Mochen began training in earnest, completely undisturbed by what had happened outside. But Yan was standing outside the dormitory, listening as a student reported to him: "Boss, I overheard Xu Mochen and Hu Liena talking in the cafeteria. Xu Mochen seems to be especially good at telling fairy tales about heroes, and Hu Liena seems to enjoy listening to them. Maybe you can start by appealing to that interest of hers!"
Yan was overjoyed when he heard this. He patted the student on the shoulder and said, "I see! You did well! If I manage to win Hu Liena over, I won't forget your contribution!"
"Not at all. It's my honor to work for you, boss." The student immediately bowed and scraped before eagerly hurrying away. An almost imperceptible smile played at the corner of Yan's mouth.
"Who would've thought, Hu Liena, that you'd be interested in fairy tales about heroes!" Yan muttered to himself. Looks like he'd have to spend some time finding stories about heroic figures! If he couldn't, he could always make one up! With that, Yan didn't waste any more time and returned to his dorm, thoroughly pleased with himself.
And so, the night passed...
Early the next morning, Xu Mochen had just finished a night of training when a hurried knock at the door caught his attention. He went to open it and found Hu Liena already waiting outside.
She looked at Xu Mochen with a complicated expression, but still told him, "Hurry. There's not much time. Class starts in an hour, and if we're any slower, we might not even have time for breakfast."
Xu Mochen could only obediently do as she said. He went back inside and got ready, including putting on his new uniform. Then he went with Hu Liena to the cafeteria. After wolfing down breakfast, they immediately headed for the practice grounds in the Elite Class teaching area.
When Hu Liena and Xu Mochen hurried onto the practice grounds, they saw a stern-looking middle-aged man and a group of Elite Class students already lined up in formation. It seemed everyone in Elite Class except Hu Liena had already arrived.
When they saw Hu Liena arrive with Xu Mochen, the students' expressions turned strange. It wasn't that they thought there was anything odd about them arriving together; they had already found out yesterday. Rather, Xu Mochen was far too young to belong in Elite Class, wasn't he? Unless he told them he was already a Soul Ancestor at twelve! But that was simply impossible.
"Reporting! I'm Hu Liena, a student in Elite Class. I've brought the newly enrolled student Xu Mochen to take the Elite Class's special advancement assessment!" Before the middle-aged man could speak, Hu Liena reported first. Her words landed like a Spirit Guidance Bomb exploding, and most of the Elite Class students cried out in shock!
Everyone stared at Xu Mochen in disbelief, silently wondering, "No way! Could this kid be as freakishly talented as Hu Liena and the others? Please, no—the Elite Class already has more than enough freaks!"
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