Elegant Crushing: Reading, Bird-Walking, and Beating Huo Wu

Those noble students who used to gossip behind his back now bow at a ninety-degree angle to Xue Yao, even from eighty feet away.

Xue Yao, meanwhile, is happy to enjoy the peace. Every day, aside from accepting the top-tier supplements sent by the royal family, he spends his time strolling around the academy with his Little Griffin or reading books.

This afternoon.

The sun is bright, and the breeze is gentle.

Beside the highest-spec open-air Martial Arts Arena at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Xue Yao is lying comfortably on a soft chair draped in ermine fur.

Just as this peaceful moment unfolds, the gates of the Martial Arts Arena are suddenly kicked open with brute force!

"Who is Xue Yao?! Get out here!"

Accompanied by a haughty, angry shout, a wave of scorching heat instantly sweeps across the entire Martial Arts Arena.

The Heaven Dou students who were sparring inside are startled and turn their heads in unison.

Standing at the entrance of the Martial Arts Arena is a girl of about nine years old, her short, fire-red hair as dazzling as a raging flame.

She wears a dark red combat outfit that outlines a budding, well-proportioned figure, and her delicate, pretty face is filled with unruliness and a burning competitive spirit.

The daughter of the Blazing Fire Academy dean, Huo Wu!

"Why did that girl named Huo Wu come here?"

"Hiss... I heard she just broke through to level eighteen a few days ago. She's a rare genius of the Blazing Fire Academy, and she has a fiery temper!"

"What is she doing looking for Viscount Xue Yao? Challenging him?!"

The surrounding Heaven Dou students immediately begin to whisper.

Huo Wu strides into the Martial Arts Arena, her sharp almond eyes scanning the area, and she quickly locks onto Xue Yao, who is lying on the soft chair reading.

There is no helping it; in an atmosphere where everyone else is tense, this six-year-old kid lying there reading and "walking his bird" is simply too eye-catching.

"Hey! Are you that Xue Yao who rose to level fifteen in three months?!"

Huo Wu walks up to Xue Yao and points at him from a condescending height.

Her chin is slightly raised, and her eyes are full of defiance.

"I heard from my dad that you're the number one genius of the Heaven Dou Empire? This girl doesn't believe it! You're just a six-year-old brat, what right do you have to be more famous than me? Get up and fight me!"

Facing Huo Wu's aggressive provocation, Xue Yao doesn't even lift his eyelids.

He simply turns a page of the ancient book in his hands and says indifferently, "You're blocking my light. Move two steps to the left."

"You--!!"

When in her life has Huo Wu ever been ignored like this?!

"This girl is officially challenging you to a Spirit Master duel! Do you have any respect for your opponent at all?!" Huo Wu is so angry her pretty face turns red, and she stomps her foot hard.

"Boom!"

A bright yellow century-level spirit ring rises from beneath her feet, and scorching flames suddenly condense behind her, transforming into a fire-red shadow that closely resembles her own figure—her mutated martial soul, Fire Shadow!

The surrounding temperature spikes instantly, and the air itself seems to distort from the intense heat.

Feeling this scorching aura, Xue Yao finally frowns.

He closes the book in his hands, sighs, and lazily sweeps his gaze over the furious Huo Wu.

"First, I don't have time to play house with a little girl; second, your fire is too weak. You aren't qualified to make me move."

The Heaven Dou students in the arena gasp. That is the apple of the Blazing Fire Academy's eye! Xue Yao's tongue is truly more poisonous than his sword!

Huo Wu's eyes turn red instantly, fueled by her rage.

"How dare you! I see you're just a cowardly turtle with an empty reputation! Take this!"

Huo Wu lets out a sharp cry, and the first spirit ring on her body suddenly glows brightly.

"First Spirit Skill! Repulsive Fire Ring!"

A ring of intensely scorching flames slams toward Xue Yao on the soft chair like a tidal wave!

At this critical moment.

Instead of getting up, Xue Yao picks up the fruit wine beside him and takes a sip.

He doesn't even release his martial soul; he just gives the Little Griffin playing nearby a gentle nudge with his toe.

"Xiao Bai, go. Drive this noisy little sparrow away. Don't let her burn my book."

"Screech--!!"

Hearing its master's command, the Little Griffin, which had looked so simple and cute, instantly turns its gaze sharp!

It spreads its wings wide.

"Boom!"

A terrifying wind pressure erupts from the Little Griffin's body!

It doesn't dodge the incoming Repulsive Fire Ring at all, but instead crashes straight into it!

A scene of extreme humiliation unfolds.

Huo Wu's first soul skill, which she took such pride in, couldn't even hold up for a single second when it made contact with the violent cyan wind pressure surrounding the Little Griffin!

"Hiss—!"

It is often said that wind aids fire, but when the wind pressure reaches a certain intensity and creates a localized vacuum, flames are extinguished in an instant!

The Repulsive Fire Ring was like crashing into an invisible Wall of Sighs; with a light flap of the Little Griffin's wings, it shattered on the spot, transforming into a sky full of sparks!

"What?!" Huo Wu's pupils constricted violently, her heart seized with terror.

This little bird, which looked like a mere pet, had actually broken her soul skill in an instant?!

However, before she could even react, the Little Griffin had already utilized its terrifying speed to appear directly above Huo Wu's head.

"Skree!"

A hint of playfulness flashed in the Little Griffin's eyes as it abruptly crossed its wings in mid-air.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three crescent-shaped cyan wind blades locked onto Huo Wu from tricky angles!

Huo Wu's face paled in fright, and she desperately channeled her soul power, trying to dodge.

But how could a nine-year-old soul master possibly be faster than a century-old wind-type spirit beast renowned for its speed?

"Rip—"

The first wind blade precisely severed a lock of red hair at Huo Wu's temple.

The second wind blade grazed her cheek, shredding the cuffs of her expensive dark red combat outfit.

The third wind blade was the most insidious, exploding directly at Huo Wu's feet!

"Bang!"

Violent gusts of wind mixed with the dust from the Martial Arts Arena, like a miniature mudslide, coating Huo Wu's entire body without a single blind spot!

"Ah—!"

Huo Wu let out a shriek, her legs went weak, and she was flipped over by the impact of the wind blade explosion, landing squarely on her backside in the dust-covered ground.

The battle, from start to finish, took less than three seconds.

The entire Martial Arts Arena was deathly silent.

Everyone had their mouths agape, staring blankly at the scene in the center of the field.

That genius "Little Chili" of Blazing Fire Academy, known as a once-in-a-century talent, was currently sitting on the ground, her meticulously styled red hair a tangled mess like a bird's nest, her expensive clothes torn with several holes, and her fair, delicate face covered in a thick layer of soot, looking just like a little beggar who had just crawled out of a coal mine.

Directly in front of her, the Little Griffin circled the air twice with extreme arrogance before landing steadily back beside Xue Yao's recliner, even rubbing its head against Xue Yao's thigh as if asking for a reward.

From beginning to end.

Xue Yao hadn't even shifted his position, and he had only turned two pages of the book in his hand.

Elegant, simply too elegant.

"Are you done? If you're done, get going; don't delay my deduction of the airflow model."

Xue Yao didn't even lift his head, his tone as flat as if he were shooing away a buzzing fly.

This extremely perfunctory sentence became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Huo Wu sat on the ground, staring blankly at her shredded sleeves, then looked at Xue Yao, who hadn't even spared her a glance.

Extreme grievance and humiliation surged into her heart.

"Wuu..."

Huo Wu's eye sockets quickly turned red, and large tears fell like beads from a broken string, plop, plop, onto the ground.

She was held in the palm of everyone's hand at Blazing Fire Academy; who would dare to bully her like this?!

"Waaa—!"

The next second, this proud Little Chili couldn't hold it together anymore and sat on the ground, wailing loudly.

As she cried, she wiped her tears with her dust-covered hands, only to smear her already blackened face until she looked like a little tabby cat.

The surrounding Tiandou students looked at each other, wanting to laugh but not daring to, holding it in with great difficulty.

"You... you're a bully! Waaaaah!"

Huo Wu pointed at Xue Yao, sobbing until she was out of breath.

Xue Yao finally put down his book and rubbed his temples in resignation.

"Can we be reasonable? You were the one who kicked the door down to fight. I didn't even retaliate, so how does that make me a bully?"

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening! You are a bully! You used a bird to humiliate me!"

Huo Wu scrambled up from the ground, wiping the mud and tears from her face in a chaotic mess.

Although she was crying miserably, the tsundere nature in her bones clearly didn't allow her to admit defeat just like that.

She glared fiercely at Xue Yao, and with a thick, tearful voice, she shouted that classic line:

"I... I don't care at all! I just wasn't prepared to deal with a bird this time!!"

"Just you wait! Xue Yao, you big jerk! Once I go back into closed-door cultivation and break through to become a Soul Grand Master, I'm definitely coming back to pluck every single feather off your stupid bird! Waaaaah—"

After hurling her threats, Huo Wu wiped away her tears and bolted out of the Martial Arts Arena like a frightened rabbit, sobbing as she ran.

Watching Huo Wu's disheveled, fleeing figure, the entire arena remained deathly silent.

A long moment passed.

Xue Yao shook his head lightly, picked up his fruit wine for a sip, and let out a sigh that sounded far older than his years.

"Sigh, the brats these days really have such fragile mental fortitude."

As he spoke, he reopened his book and casually fed a piece of jerky to the Little Griffin.

"Well done. Next time someone starts screaming and shouting like that again, keep slapping her."