Meng Hongchen left, leaving only the two of them standing there, dumbfounded.
"Um, um... I didn't see a thing..."
Ye Guyi immediately turned into a robotic angel and hurried away with an awkward, mismatched gait.
So those two were already in that kind of relationship!!?
Gasp!!
Th-then the girl with the emerald hair was, too... She had to be!!
They all lived together! That girl even often asked me to run errands for her...
Though she never paid me, and told me to ask Xu Qing for the money...
But it was fine. I could never repay my benefactor's kindness. How could I begrudge a few errands?
Still... how could my benefactor date two girls at once?
No matter how I looked at it, that just wasn't right... Forget it. I'd better stay out of other people's private lives...
And that was a Soul Bone, right? It had to be!!
Waaah, so rich, so jealous, I want one so badly...
"Thud—!"
Ice Empress, who had been secretly watching with her spiritual power from the second floor, was so startled by Meng Hongchen's actions that she nearly fell off her stool.
"Haah~!!!"
More than ten days later, at the Royal Soul Master Academy.
Today was the day the academy selected its participants for the Continental Soul Master Tournament.
The fifth- and sixth-year students were all eager for a fight, determined to show their best selves under the gaze of the academy's teachers and the upper echelons of the royal family.
Even if they didn't make the team, simply stepping onto the stage would earn them a free set of special cultivation supplies: the potions Mingde Hall had bought from the Body Sect!
Of course, it was only a trial pack. But it was free—what more could you ask for?
"Tell me, Miss Angel, when did you become a student at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?"
Xu Qing sat in the stands, looking in confusion at Ye Guyi beside him, who was dressed in a school uniform.
"Shh—!! Don't say it so loudly!"
Ye Guyi almost reached over to cover Xu Qing's mouth. This guy had no sense of volume. Couldn't he keep his voice down?
"I'm on an important mission!! Xu Qing, will you keep it a secret for me?"
Ye Guyi clasped her hands in front of her chest and stared at Xu Qing with her bright golden eyes, not even blinking.
"Do you remember when we worked together to root out evil last time? My target is that Evil Soul Master who got away!"
As she spoke, she glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she leaned closer and lowered her voice, dead serious.
"You might not know this, but she's a fifth-year student in Grade 5 Class 3 at the Royal Soul Master Academy!"
"We wiped out the heads of Ming Capital's criminal underworld, but there are still a few fish that slipped through the net!"
"As an envoy of justice, I have to uproot the remnants of their forces, but..."
"So you came to the academy all by yourself, and even picked a day when everyone would be watching? Planning to show off in front of the entire student body and faculty?"
Xu Qing held out a finger and pushed the girl, who was sitting far too close, away.
"And now you're planning to recruit me?"
"No, no, no!"
Ye Guyi shook her head, trying to dislodge the finger pressed against her forehead.
"I found her a long time ago! But the Evil Soul Master aura on her suddenly disappeared. Xu Qing, isn't that strange?"
I'm curious! I want to know! This could really help us wipe out the Evil Soul Masters!
Once we figure out how Evil Soul Masters hide their auras and work out how to undo it, seeing through their disguises will be twice as easy!
Xu Qing used the Flick Finger Divine Skill, leaving his mark on that holy forehead: a clear red imprint.
"Ow..."
"Disguising yourself as an academy student is a serious crime. You'll be thrown in prison, and you might even get locked in a secret chamber by evil guards!" Xu Qing warned her.
"Besides, Nana isn't an Evil Soul Master."
"What prison? What secret chamber? You're always trying to scare me! And... her name is Nana? So you know her!?"
"Classmate, she's in Class 3, and I'm in Class 1." Xu Qing propped his chin on one hand, watching the first-round contestants fight onstage while stealing a glance at the nameplate on Little Angel's chest.
"Oh? So you're a first-year freshman? Tsk, tsk, I haven't even asked you yet—where'd you get that fake identity?"
Before Ye Guyi could answer, a loudspeaker announcement rang out across the arena, drowning out the commotion.
"The draw for the third match of the first round is complete. Fifth-year Class 1's Xu Qing and fifth-year Class 3's Nana, please proceed to Arena Seven."
"I repeat: please proceed to... Arena Seven."
"Brother Xu! Over here!!"
Down below, Meng Hongchen cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted up at Xu Qing:
"Good luck, Brother Xu!"
"Tsk, little sister, why didn't I hear you cheering for your big brother just now?"
Xiao Hongchen, standing beside her, was disgruntled. The main thing was, she'd cheered for Xu Qing before him!!
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!"
Xiao Hongchen threw his head back and laughed!!
"My dear friend!! It's time to let our peers feel the full force of our dominance!!!"
His voice was deafening, even drowning out the loudspeaker! It was so loud that Meng Hongchen covered her ears and ran off in disgust.
"What an immature little brat. You, first-year freshman, step aside for your dear senior, then watch and learn from his heroic bearing."
Xu Qing waved a hand and leaped down.
At the same time, a mental transmission entered Ye Guyi's mind.
'Whether she's an Evil Soul Master or not, you'll know for sure when this fight is over.'
"Contestants, please enter the arena," called the referee, who hovered in the air with a pair of Soul Guidance wings on his back.
Nana rose from the contestants' seats. At over 1.8 meters tall, her figure looked especially long and lean beneath her close-fitting battle suit. Her face was spirited, with no unnecessary expression.
She walked to the center of the arena and stopped.
Across from her, Xu Qing strolled over from the other side with his hands in his pockets.
"Nana, fifth-year Real-time Control Soul Guidance Department. Please enlighten me."
"Xu Qing. Please enlighten me."
This transfer student is so arrogant, Nana thought.
I even told him what Soul Guidance field I specialize in, and he doesn't say anything about his?
Heh, the students have all been talking about how you used your looks to cozy up to the Hongchen Family and become a connected nobody.
This is a free win! Hee-hee, things really couldn't get any better!
Not only had good people destroyed the Holy Spirit Cult and freed her parents' souls, but now she'd gotten a free win and could advance straight to the next round.
The corner of Nana's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
Double the injections, here I come!
"Begin—"
"BOOM—!!!"
Without any warning, without the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power!
A solid-looking white fist wind appeared out of nowhere!!
With a "bang," it sounded as if something had gone from utter stillness to explosive motion, the air shoved aside by immense force roaring like thunder on a clear day!
The sound shook the entire arena!!
Its power rivaled the Ten Thousand Ton King, crashing mercilessly into Nana and slamming her against the arena's protective barrier!
An eggshell trying to trip a road roller. Heh...
Before you continue