"Why are you still so shy?"
After teasing her lightly, Lin Chuan still reminded her,
"You'll need to rest for a few days now. It's best not to make any big movements."
Hu Liena's face immediately flushed red.
Seeing her reaction, Lin Chuan felt the urge to tease her again. He leaned closer and asked,
"You look like you can barely move. Want me to help you get dressed?"
Teased like that, Hu Liena blushed even harder.
Though she was now a woman, she still had a girl's heart.
Pouting, she gave him a reproachful look.
"Last night... it was all for your sake."
Lin Chuan chuckled twice. After laying her back down, he pulled the covers over her.
"Just rest here. If there's anything you want to eat, I'll go buy it for you."
Hu Liena buried her head in the blanket, breathing in Lin Chuan's lingering scent. Her heart felt sweet as she mumbled,
"Congee, and the Dragon Beard Candy you bought for me before."
Before they knew it, a week had slipped by.
Hu Liena's soreness had already gone away by the third day, but she'd grown rather fond of being cared for, so she let him pamper her for a few more days.
In the room.
Looking at Hu Liena clinging tightly to him in his arms, Lin Chuan gently poked her cheek and said,
"You're all better now, so you need to focus on your cultivation."
"Otherwise, the gap between us will get even bigger, and you'll have an even harder time taking it."
He hadn't forgotten Bibi Dong's assignment. He still needed to get to know the other team members and work with them.
Hu Liena gave Lin Chuan a coquettish glare, then reluctantly slipped out of his embrace. They walked side by side out of the room and headed toward Spirit City.
Spirit City.
The streets were crowded with people coming and going, most of them Soul Masters. Most of the goods for sale were related to Soul Masters, too.
There were few street stalls along the sides. Most of the buildings were inns, and the shops were extravagantly luxurious.
Lin Chuan wandered around without any particular destination, looking this way and that. Worried he might get lost, Hu Liena shyly took his hand and led him along.
Inside a certain residence.
Xie Yue, Yan, and four other students had gathered around the stone table in the courtyard.
One close-cropped boy lay listlessly across the stone table, bored out of his mind. He asked lazily,
"Captain, who is this new captain? He gets made captain right away, and he's showing up this late, too."
Xie Yue folded his arms and leaned against a short-necked tree nearby. His pale, otherworldly face gave him a fragile, almost broken air.
When Lin Chuan's identity came up, Xie Yue recalled what the guy had said to him a few days earlier. It still made his teeth ache with anger.
He glanced at Yan beside him, then hesitated.
Yan had grown up with him, after all. Xie Yue could tell that Yan liked Nana, and Yan must also know that Nana liked Lin Chuan.
But how was he supposed to bring it up, as her brother and his friend?
What if he worded it badly and hurt his good friend?
Just then, the courtyard gate creaked open.
Everyone turned to look and saw a man and a woman walk in.
The man wore black, his dark hair tied high. He had a straight nose, handsome features, and an extraordinary bearing.
The woman was alluring, her foxlike eyes smiling with a unique charm that stole the heart.
Her tight-fitting battle clothes couldn't conceal her stunning figure. Tall boots hid her pale, shapely legs, but their long, straight outlines still made it clear she had a beautiful pair.
At the sight of them, Yan smiled and stepped forward.
"Nana, Lin Chuan, you're finally here."
Xie Yue and Yan went up to greet them, and after a brief exchange, Xie Yue looked at his sister, whose eyes were now full of Lin Chuan, with heartache.
My dear little sister, how did you give yourself away the moment you confessed? And now that you've given yourself away, you're already so devoted to him!
It wasn't that he looked down on Lin Chuan. His heart was simply breaking.
His adorable little sister!!!
Lin Chuan naturally noticed Xie Yue acting strangely. He could only give a helpless smile.
He understood how Xie Yue felt.
His sister, whom he'd lived with day and night for over a decade and cherished dearly, had just been swept off her feet by another guy.
If he were in Xie Yue's shoes, he'd be furious enough to beat the guy up.
The only reason Xie Yue wasn't beating him up was that he couldn't win.
But if Xie Yue was going to get over it, Lin Chuan would need to give him something nice—or treat Hu Liena even better in front of him.
After greeting everyone, Lin Chuan got straight to the point.
"As you've probably heard, I'll be the team's new captain from now on, while Xie Yue will become vice-captain."
"I don't have much time to train with you. I'm mainly here this time to meet you and introduce myself."
"Lin Chuan. Beast Martial Soul, level sixty-five, Spirit Emperor."
After introducing himself, Lin Chuan looked at the others, who were exchanging bewildered glances or staring at him in disbelief, and sighed.
As the four watched in shock, six Spirit Rings rose in order from beneath his feet and hovered at his sides.
"You four, introduce yourselves. That's not really why I came here, though."
"You can think of me as just dropping in to make an appearance and let you get familiar with me. I'll be joining you for the upcoming Elite Tournament."
"But until then, I need to be a mysterious team member who's disappeared from the scene."
He'd put it plainly, but not unpleasantly.
The four across from him came to their senses and quickly put aside their contempt, their expressions turning respectful.
Lin Chuan was around their age, yet his strength was worlds apart from theirs.
They were still hovering between Soul Elder and Soul Ancestor, while he was already a Spirit Emperor!
There were four of them: three boys and one girl.
The stocky, close-cropped boy was named Tuo Hao. He was sixteen, with a Rock Armor Mad Rhino Martial Soul, and a level-thirty-three attack-type Battle Soul Elder. His Spirit Rings were yellow, yellow, and purple.
Another boy, with a gentle bearing, was named Xu Yu. He was sixteen, with a Bright Gold Scepter Martial Soul, and a level-thirty-one support-type Tool Soul Elder. His Spirit Rings were yellow, yellow, and purple.
The last boy had a gloomy air. He was named Sun Chuantao, seventeen, with a Full Moon Giant Blade Martial Soul, and a level-thirty-five attack-type Battle Soul Elder. His Spirit Rings were yellow, yellow, and purple.
The last was a graceful, nimble-looking girl named Bai He. She was fifteen, with a Phoenix Tail Swift Martial Soul, and a level-thirty-three agility-attack-type Battle Soul Elder. Her Spirit Rings were yellow, yellow, and purple.
Their Spirit Rings were all standard, and the team's formation was fairly well balanced, with indispensable support and agility-attack Soul Masters.
It was clear that all four were talented.
What made Lin Chuan curious was Bai He, and the reason was her Martial Soul:
A Phoenix Tail Swift?
Why did that sound so familiar? Her surname was Bai, and she had an agility-attack-type swift as her Martial Soul.
Wasn't that connected to the Speed Clan, abandoned by the Clear Sky Sect?
Thinking about it, that did seem right.
Lin Chuan vaguely remembered that after the Clear Sky Sect abandoned the four clans, the Speed Clan had the most miserable time of them all.
Some of its members couldn't even afford food. It was only natural that they'd leave.
Joining Spirit Hall wasn't out of the question, either.
After all, Spirit Hall's benefits spoke for themselves. As long as they cast off the label of being enemies, they could make peace.
The Phoenix Tail Swift might be a branch of the Sharp Tail Swift Soul Beast. The two were a little different, but neither was slow.
Since the young woman before him clearly knew how to read the situation, Lin Chuan didn't question her further. He went straight to the task at hand: getting used to fighting together.