Goodbye Xie Xie, the arrogant Light Dragon?

Yao Chuan looked at the Xie Xie who had suddenly popped up, feeling a bit surprised.

After all, he and Xie Xie really had no prior connection.

Strictly speaking, this was at most their second time meeting.

The first time was just seeing him from afar on the day of the Martial Soul awakening.

He was surprised by this.

Xie Xie, however, was very excited.

It was obvious that he was also very curious about the astonishing level of Yao Chuan's Martial Soul back when they were at the Spirit Pagoda for the awakening.

So, he took the initiative to suggest a spar with Yao Chuan, wanting to see who exactly was stronger between the two of them.

As he spoke, Xie Xie rubbed his hands together, eager for a fight.

As for the result...

It was naturally ignored by Yao Chuan directly.

Yao Chuan couldn't muster the slightest bit of interest in this kind of child's play.

If he had that kind of free time, he felt it would be more practical to eat a few more bowls of clay pot beef.

Seeing this attitude, Xie Xie was naturally very unhappy.

But he couldn't do anything about Yao Chuan.

He felt that Yao Chuan was afraid to spar with him and was just running away.

Mu Xi, standing to the side, got a bit angry when she heard him say that.

She stepped forward, just about to open her mouth to help Yao Chuan retort.

Yao Chuan, however, gave a light wave of his hand, stopping her directly.

"No need," Yao Chuan said in a rather flat tone. "Why bother lowering yourself to the level of a brat?"

Hearing the term "brat," Xie Xie's face turned black instantly.

He was just about to lash out.

Fortunately, the owner of the clay pot beef shop came out in time to smooth things over.

The matter was thus temporarily put to rest.

Xie Xie, still pouting, found a seat and ordered a bowl of braised clay pot beef.

After sitting down, he still felt unconvinced.

He secretly made up his mind to compete with Yao Chuan to see who could eat more.

And the result?

That thought was quickly extinguished.

The appetite displayed by both Yao Chuan and Na'er left him completely dumbfounded.

They were simply like two bottomless pits!

Xie Xie watched, stunned, forgetting even to eat the fragrant clay pot beef in front of him.

It wasn't until Yao Chuan and the others had eaten their fill and left the small shop that he finally came back to his senses.

He looked down and poked at his own bowl of beef, which had barely been touched.

He picked up a chopstick full and put it into his mouth.

"Mmm... the taste is actually quite good..."

Mu Xi followed Yao Chuan and the others out of the shop.

Recalling the silly look on Xie Xie's face when he was stunned by their appetite, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Pfft... he really is just a brat," she teased, imitating Yao Chuan's tone. "Even when eating, he has to compare everything."

After saying this, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at Yao Chuan beside her.

Her eyes held a bit more appreciation and affection.

This was exactly what she liked most about Yao Chuan.

It wasn't just because he was exceptionally good-looking.

It was more because, even though he was only six years old, he always had a sense of steadiness and maturity in his actions and speech that far exceeded his age.

He wasn't rash or impulsive at all.

And besides... Mu Xi calculated secretly in her heart.

Six and ten might sound like a big gap.

But by the time they were eighteen and twenty-two, wouldn't it sound about the same?

She thought to herself, feeling quite pleased.

Her gaze stole a glance at Yao Chuan, whose height was already catching up to her own.

He had already begun to imagine the two of them growing up together, walking side by side into the future.

But this beautiful reverie didn't even last for a few seconds.

It was interrupted by a sudden commotion coming from behind.

"Get lost! Cut the damn chatter!"

"Hand over the money!"

Several rough roars accompanied the sound of objects shattering on the ground, sounding particularly jarring.

Yao Chuan and the others stopped in their tracks simultaneously, turning to look toward the source of the noise.

They saw that trouble had broken out at the entrance of the shop where they had just eaten the clay pot beef.

The stove had been overturned.

Clay pots of all sizes lay smashed across the floor, with steaming beef broth flowing everywhere, leaving the place in a complete mess.

A bald, burly man with two fierce-looking henchmen was surrounding the shop owner, Uncle Li.

The bald leader had a crooked dragon tattoo on his arm and was shirtless despite the chilly early autumn breeze; one look was enough to tell he was no good.

It was none other than the thug leader who collected protection money in the original story, Guang Long.

After seeing the situation clearly, Yao Chuan frowned.

He felt quite surprised.

Wasn't this a plot point that Tang Wulin was only supposed to encounter in three years?

How could it be happening so much earlier?

While he was still puzzled, inside the shop, Xie Xie—who had just been stunned by the appetite of Yao Chuan and his group—saw this scene, and his eyes immediately turned red.

He sprang up from his seat with a "thump."

Without a word, he charged straight at Guang Long, who was blocking the doorway.

"Stop! What are you doing!" Xie Xie shouted, trying to push Guang Long aside to protect Uncle Li.

But how old was he right now?

Even in the original story three years later, he was no match for Guang Long.

Let alone now, when he was just a little kid who had awakened his Martial Soul not long ago.

Guang Long was busy pointing at Uncle Li and cursing; hearing the noise, he turned his head impatiently.

Seeing a half-grown child charging at him, a look of contemptuous, savage laughter appeared on his face.

"Where did this little brat come from? Get lost!"

He couldn't even be bothered to use his Martial Soul; he simply raised his leg and delivered a kick, fast and vicious.

"Bang!"

Xie Xie didn't react in time and took a heavy blow to the stomach.

The intense pain made him grunt, his body arching like a shrimp as he flew backward, landing with a "thud" on the greasy floor and getting covered in broth.

"Damn it, you little rabbit, tired of living, are you?" Guang Long spat, then strode over to Xie Xie, who was curled up on the ground, looking down at him. "You dare meddle in my business?"

He pointed at Xie Xie's nose and cursed.

"Today, I'll teach you a lesson for your mother, so you know what the rules are!"

The word "mother" was like a red-hot needle, piercing deeply into the most painful part of Xie Xie's heart.

He jerked his head up.

Those dark green eyes were instantly bloodshot, filled with bone-deep hatred and madness.

"Don't you dare mention my mother!!" Xie Xie's voice cracked as he screamed.

Intense anger and humiliation instantly shattered his reason.

Forgetting even the pain, he instinctively channeled his soul power.

"Light Dragon Dagger!"

He let out a low growl, his right hand snapping upward.

A faint light flashed, and a small, exquisite golden dagger appeared in his palm out of thin air.

Using all his strength, he gripped the dagger and slashed fiercely at the hand Guang Long was reaching toward him!

The incident happened too suddenly.

Guang Long hadn't taken this child seriously at all, completely unprepared for him to have soul power, let alone expecting him to dare use a blade.

"Slish—!"

A soft sound rang out.

A shallow but distinct bloody gash instantly appeared on the wrist Guang Long had extended.

A bead of blood immediately welled up.

Although the wound was not deep, the sharp pain and the humiliation of being injured by a small child sent Guang Long into a complete rage.

"You little bastard! How dare you?!" Guang Long hissed in pain, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot like an enraged bull.

He was thoroughly provoked.

All rules about not hitting children were cast to the back of his mind.

His massive, fan-like palm was raised high, and with a whistling gust of wind, he swung it down viciously toward the small face of Xie Xie, which was flushed red with anger!

If this slap landed, given Guang Long's strength, Xie Xie would be left dead or severely injured.

Uncle Li, standing nearby, was frozen in shock and let out a cry: "Don't hit the child!"

Mu Xi and Na'er, standing a little further away, nervously covered their mouths.

Just at this critical moment.

A figure appeared between Guang Long and Xie Xie like a ghost, silent and soundless.

It was Yao Chuan.

His movements were so fast they were almost impossible to track; he simply raised a hand in a casual gesture.

That fair, small hand steadily and effortlessly caught Guang Long's thick, muscular wrist as it descended with the force of a gale.

Guang Long's powerful, heavy slap was brought to a dead stop in mid-air.

It did not budge an inch.

It was as if he had slammed into an invisible wall.

Guang Long was stunned, looking on in disbelief that he had been blocked by a child who looked even younger than the one on the ground.

He tried his best to pull his hand back or force it down.

Yet he discovered that the small hand was like an iron clamp, possessing such astonishing strength that he could not move at all.

Yao Chuan raised his eyes, looking calmly at Guang Long, who was several heads taller than him and had a face full of flab.

His tone was as flat as if he were discussing the weather.

"A grown man like you, picking on a little kid?"

"Aren't you ashamed?"