Just then, the restless commotion among the onlookers at the edge of the crowd finally caught the attention of the two people in the center of the grounds.
Dugu Yan, who had been thoroughly irritated by his pestering, turned her head in the direction everyone was looking.
The moment she saw Lin Nuo's fair, beautiful face, as delicate as an exquisite porcelain doll's, her faintly green eyes immediately lit up.
Then she caught snippets of the lovestruck whispers from the female students around her...
This exquisitely featured porcelain doll was actually a junior student who had only just enrolled?
Interesting!
Seeing that the woman he had pursued so desperately had fixed all her attention on some unfamiliar boy merely passing by,
the flames of jealousy in Yu Tianheng's heart shot straight to his head.
At that moment, it was as though the "World-Shocking Wisdom" inherited from his uncle Yu Xiaogang had suddenly possessed him. An utterly self-consistent yet absurd line of reasoning immediately flashed through Yu Tianheng's mind.
The reason his confession had been rejected today was definitely not because Dugu Yan did not like him. It was entirely because this pretty boy had suddenly appeared to steal the spotlight!
"Hey, you brat over there! I challenge you to a Soul Duel!"
With Yu Tianheng's furious shout, the previously noisy atmosphere instantly fell dead silent.
The female students around them, whose maternal instincts had already been overflowing, heard that this lofty young clan master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan intended to vent his Evil Fire on such an adorable junior. Their expressions toward him changed on the spot.
This was simply unforgivable! What kind of ability was it to publicly bully a junior student as the heir to a great sect?
For a moment, contemptuous looks and eye rolls were directed at Yu Tianheng from all around.
Did he want a taste of their iron fists?
Dugu Yan's brows knotted into a tight frown.
She had never expected that one of the famed Blue Lightning Twin Stars of the academy would conduct himself in such a lowly manner.
Looking at Yu Tianheng's face, slightly twisted by jealousy, coupled with his somewhat similar appearance to Gangzi's, Lin Nuo nearly burst out laughing on the spot.
Sure enough, the young masters raised by the great sects of Douluo Continent all had equally bizarre thought processes, as if stamped from the same mold.
Still, to be fair, although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were ridiculous, they at least cared somewhat about their reputation.
Had this been that bunch of competition-grade Tang Clan members from the Clear Sky Sect, they would probably have already charged over with hammers in hand, "eyes bloodshot and panting like bulls."
"A Soul Duel with me? You?"
Lin Nuo crossed his arms over his chest and swept his eyes over Yu Tianheng from head to toe without the slightest courtesy, as though appraising merchandise.
Though he had not deliberately probed the other party's exact Soul Power Level, he could clearly sense that the Soul Power fluctuations from this so-called Blue Lightning Twin Star were barely stronger than his own current level twenty-five.
At twelve or thirteen years old, he had not even broken through to become a level-thirty Soul Elder?
And he had the nerve to call himself a genius?
What a piece of trash.
Feeling Lin Nuo's critical gaze, as though he were looking at garbage, the always proud Yu Tianheng instantly lost his temper.
He took a fierce step forward, his outstretched finger nearly poking Lin Nuo in the nose.
Faced with this close-range provocation, Lin Nuo was not angered in the slightest. Instead, an imperceptible glint of calculation flashed through his eyes.
He had originally been worrying about how to find a legitimate excuse to teach Gangzi's fine nephew a lesson, preferably one harsh enough to force him to pack up and get out of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
But now, just as he was getting sleepy, someone had handed him a pillow. The man had voluntarily presented his face to be slapped.
At the end of the day, the Immortal Herb resources of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well had to—and could only—remain firmly in his own hands.
If they were returned to Spirit Hall, then given Pope Bibi Dong's lovestruck nature, Lin Nuo would wager his head that within a few months, an ultimate Immortal Herb capable of fixing Martial Soul defects would silently find its way into Yu Xiaogang's hands.
Gangzi wanted to break through level thirty?
Lin thought it would be more fitting for Master Yu to stand obediently at the threshold of level twenty-nine.
In the span of a thought, Lin Nuo's expression changed instantly.
He let out a soft sigh, putting on an extremely innocent and helpless look as he spoke loudly.
"Senior Yu Tianheng, although I have no idea where your inexplicable hostility toward me comes from, today is, after all, our first time meeting."
"But... since you insist on taking your anger out on me, a freshman who just enrolled, and insist on sparring with me, then to preserve your dignity, Senior, what harm is there in this junior agreeing to your request?"
With this string of soft yet pointed words, he had taken tea-serving tactics to the absolute limit.
With just a few sentences, Lin Nuo effortlessly seized the moral high ground.
The looks the surrounding spectators gave Yu Tianheng immediately became even more contemptuous.
After getting rejected, he was taking his anger out on an innocent junior passing by. He was simply the model of unreasonable behavior!
"However..." Lin Nuo changed the subject, finally revealing his true intentions.
"Since you were the one who initiated this wager, if you lose, you should at least put up some stakes.
I will not ask for much. Three thousand Gold Soul Coins will do."
Though three thousand Gold Soul Coins would not be a devastating sum to him as the young clan master's heir, it was certainly no small amount either.
But Yu Tianheng, already blinded by rage, agreed without even thinking.
"Fine! If I lose, I will offer up three thousand Gold Soul Coins with both hands. But what if you lose?!"
Yu Tianheng frowned deeply.
However, before Lin Nuo could respond, Dugu Yan stepped forward first.
"Yu Tianheng, are you even a man?!"
Frost covered Dugu Yan's pretty face as she pointed at Yu Tianheng's nose and scolded him without restraint.
"It is one thing to use your status as an upperclassman to bully a junior who just enrolled. But after he was forced to accept your Soul Duel, you still have the nerve to covet his money?
This is utterly outrageous!"
The moment those words came out, Yu Tianheng's face flushed crimson.
Fine, fine, fine! So every mistake was his, Yu Tianheng's, was it?!
Overcome by rage, Yu Tianheng's eyes nearly spat fire as he stared fixedly at Lin Nuo's harmless-looking face, his teeth grinding together.
No matter what price he had to pay today, he had to teach this smooth-talking pretty boy a painful lesson!
Heaven Dou Royal Academy was filled with people and prying eyes, so the speed at which information traveled naturally went without saying.
In only a short while, the cause and course of this farce had been compiled into a detailed report and delivered to the desk at the Crown Prince's Residence.
"Damn Yu Tianheng! Who does he think he is, daring to bully Lin Nuo?!"
Inside the study, Qian Renxue had just finished reading the secret report. Her face had turned livid, and cold light flashed in her eyes.
"Unforgivable!"
Qian Renxue cursed through gritted teeth. Light flashed around her body, and she instantly switched back into the gentle, refined disguise of "Xue Qinghe."
Then she shoved open the study doors and hurried anxiously toward the Soul Duel arena at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Before you continue