"Hmph, quit talking nonsense."
Huo Wu rolled her eyes at him, then pursed her lips with rare embarrassment.
"I really did almost fail just now... but I broke through at the last moment!"
As she spoke, she thrust out her chest and looked around proudly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Qian Renxue slowly approaching from the other side of the arena.
"I'm a level-forty Soul Ancestor now!"
Huo Wu deliberately raised her voice a little louder.
She even released her Soul Power, still unsteady after her breakthrough, to show off.
"Our vice-captain is amazing!" Huo Yu exclaimed in shock.
"She broke through even before the captain!"
Huo Wushuang didn't seem embarrassed at all. He simply patted his sister on the shoulder, his voice full of concern.
"Don't take such risks again. This time, you were just lucky..."
"Hmph, next time? Even if there is a next time, I still won't regret it!"
Huo Wu shook off his hand and lifted her chin, casting a sidelong glance at Qian Renxue across a row of seats.
"I can't stand people who walk around with their noses in the air. I'll beat them up every time I see them!"
"Too bad I've broken through to Soul Ancestor now. I won't get another chance!"
Hearing the little firecracker's taunting tone, Qian Renxue gritted her teeth in secret.
That was downright rubbing salt in the wound.
Even someone as magnanimous as her had to make a mental note of this.
Huo Wu lifted her chin.
Yet she kept sneaking glances at Qian Renxue, waiting for her to snap—or at least give some kind of reaction.
She hadn't expected Qian Renxue to completely ignore her and walk straight past...
Huo Wu was so enraged by that dismissive attitude that her small chest heaved violently.
To be honest, she did admire that guy.
He was a little too arrogant, sure,
but he really did have the strength to back it up. She'd almost lost to him.
So she'd planned to take him down a peg and give him a chance to mend his ways.
If he'd lowered his head, apologized, and made amends,
she wouldn't have minded welcoming him into Blazing Fire Academy and giving him a brighter future.
"That wretched guy has no idea what's good for him. He's wasted this young lady's goodwill!"
Huo Wu snorted and turned away angrily.
But the next moment,
a shout from one of her teammates pulled her attention back.
"Holy crap! That guy—am I seeing things?"
Huo Yun's eyes widened.
"He's heading back to the registration desk! Is he going to challenge someone to another Wager Match?"
"Has he gone mad?"
In the Candidates' Hall,
the Soul Master competitors who had been chatting among themselves
looked up and saw another Wager Match notice appear on the big screen.
Their jaws dropped for a moment.
Then their fury erupted.
"Again and again! He's rubbing our faces in the dirt!"
"We can't back down! He's got money, doesn't he? He wants to wager? Then let's give him what he wants!"
"Sign up! Everyone, sign up! If we don't beat this brat so badly that he never dares set foot in the Soul Fighting Arena again, I'll write my surname backward!"
In an instant, the people in the Candidates' Hall surged toward the registration desk once more.
The members of Blazing Fire Team fell silent, unsure what to do.
"What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and sign up!"
Huo Wu snapped angrily.
"Go beat the crap out of him! He's way too arrogant!"
"Damn it, why did I have to break through all of a sudden?"
"Otherwise, I'd go up there and beat him again myself!"
But this time,
the others didn't listen to Huo Wu. Instead, they all turned to look at Huo Wushuang.
After all, that guy's behavior was just too bizarre.
Besides, they'd already heard from Feng Xiaotian that he seemed to be honing a Self-Created Soul Skill.
"Go ahead," Huo Wushuang said after a moment's thought.
"If you want to go, then go. Treat it like an ordinary spar!"
He paused, his gaze meaningful.
"And while you're at it... sound out what this guy's really like!"
"If he's young and hasn't joined another academy,"
"we must recruit him into Blazing Fire Academy."
With his abilities, he was sure to shine at the Soul Master Tournament.
Winning the championship didn't seem out of reach!
Tonight's Soul Fighting Arena was destined to be unforgettable.
An unknown young Soul Master had put up a wager of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins
and openly challenged every competitor without using his Martial Soul or Soul Skills.
Six matches in all, for a total of six hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
He'd only won the first match, but it had still caused an uproar, and the news quickly spread across Heaven Dou City.
"Hey, you don't have to take it too much to heart."
"You just had bad luck in the later matches. I've seen how much you've improved!"
Qian Renxue walked dejectedly down the street, with Ling Xiao beside her, offering comfort.
After losing a match to Huo Wu, she'd continued challenging people.
But the opponents she faced afterward, though they weren't geniuses—some were even in their seventies or eighties and still only Soul Elders—
were all seasoned veterans.
They'd fought in the Soul Fighting Arena for years. Some even made their living hunting Soul Beasts for others to obtain Soul Rings.
They used every underhanded trick imaginable and had an almost beastlike instinct for danger.
These were things she, the young mistress of Spirit Hall, had never encountered before.
And, unfortunately,
she'd lost to them one after another!
Seeing his own disciple lose until she was nearly driven mad, Ling Xiao quickly called a halt and ended the remaining matches.
"Mm. I know."
Qian Renxue nodded glumly.
She understood all the sensible arguments, but she just couldn't get past this.
Huo Wu had broken through while fighting her. Not only had she beaten her, she'd even gone out of her way to show off in front of her.
Then the ordinary Soul Masters she wouldn't have spared a second glance before
had defeated her one after another.
Was she really that useless?
Had she disappointed her teacher?
Suddenly,
a sweet fragrance drifted into her nose.
She raised her head without thinking. A gleaming red candied hawthorn skewer was right in front of her.
The hawthorn berries were round and plump, their sugar coating shining like amber.
"Life is always bitter, but you have to learn to find yourself a little sweetness."
Ling Xiao held the candied hawthorn out to her again.
"You worked hard all day. Here's your reward!"
"No!" Qian Renxue turned her head away. "I'm not a child anymore. Why would I eat something like that?"
"Are you sure you don't want it?"
"I don't!"
"Then I'll eat it myself."
Without another word, Ling Xiao bit into one.
"Ah—sweet and sour. Now that's good!"
He narrowed his eyes and smacked his lips with satisfaction.
But the repeated smacking drew her gaze back against her will.
She stared at the bright-red fruit in Ling Xiao's hand and discreetly swallowed.
She secretly swallowed again.
"Oh dear, how did I forget I bought one too many?
What should I do? I can't finish them... Maybe I should just throw it away!"
Ling Xiao said with a mischievous grin.
The next moment, the candied hawthorn skewer was snatched from his hand.
"Food is heaven to the people. How can a teacher waste food?"
Keeping a straight face, Qian Renxue snatched the skewer away.
When she was little, she'd seen other parents buy candied hawthorn for their children. They'd eaten it with such delight, and the whole scene had seemed so warm. She'd wanted to try one, too.
But she was the young mistress of Spirit Hall, the Crown Prince of Heaven Dou.
How could such lowly commoner food ever appear on her menu?
Before you continue