Sunset Forest.
Su Chen watched Ye Lingling take his hand and couldn't help asking, "What is it?"
Ye Lingling smiled and said casually, "Nothing. The Sunset Forest is pretty dangerous, so you'll need to protect me properly."
"Of course!"
Su Chen nodded and tightened his grip on Ye Lingling's small hand. It was soft and boneless, and felt wonderful.
[Since we have some time on the road, let's talk about Hu Liena, the lovesick fool and ungrateful wretch! Of course, I mean what would happen if I hadn't shown up. After meeting me, her life will naturally change.]
[Like Bibi Dong, Hu Liena was an orphan. The Martial Soul Hall Pope took her in as a disciple, and her status soared overnight. Bibi Dong even gave Hu Liena all the motherly love she'd denied Qian Renxue.]
[In fact, Bibi Dong had sighed more than once, "Nana, if only you were my biological daughter." Let me speak for Qian Renxue here—how disgusting!]
Crown Prince Mansion.
When Qian Renxue read this, she really wanted to give Su Chen a big thumbs-up.
You're absolutely right.
Actually,
in her younger years, Qian Renxue had been intensely jealous of Hu Liena because of Bibi Dong's favoritism.
She couldn't understand why her own daughter was treated so coldly, while Bibi Dong doted on her disciple.
Of course, that jealousy didn't turn Qian Renxue evil. She and Hu Liena still had a very good relationship.
For instance, this time, she'd given the reward to Hu Liena without hesitation.
[Hu Liena cared deeply about Spirit Hall's honor. Spirit Hall had raised her and her older brother, trained them, and given them everything they had. So on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, she swore she would devote her life to Spirit Hall.]
[And she didn't disappoint Bibi Dong. At fifteen, she reached fortieth-level Soul Power. At twenty, she broke through to level fifty. After obtaining her fifth Soul Ring, Bibi Dong personally awarded her the Purple Record Medal of Spirit Hall. She set a record for Spirit Hall and, alongside Xie Yue and Yan, became known as the Spirit Hall Golden Generation.]
[Sigh! Why do I keep saying this is the Love Continent? Just look at Hu Liena, whose future had seemed limitless. A man—the Little Scumbag—showed up, and everything fell apart.]
[At the Soul Master Tournament a little over two years from now, Bibi Dong originally planned to award three Soul Bones directly to the Golden Generation, but the Elder Hall opposed her. So she made the three Soul Bones the prize for the champions, and Tang San ended up getting them.]
[That's right! A team from Spirit Hall, all of them above level fifty, lost to the Little Scumbag, who had the protagonist's halo. Uh... the reason Shrek won was that they ate Immortal Herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, causing their Martial Souls to evolve. I'm going there now to pick the herbs clean, so they shouldn't get the chance.]
Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong had been wondering how Tang San and his companions could possibly be so powerful.
Even if Tang San was a transmigrator, the others weren't. How could they beat the Spirit Hall Golden Generation? So they'd eaten Immortal Herbs and evolved their Martial Souls!
Good!
Excellent!
Su Chen, oh Su Chen, I have to say, you've finally done something worthwhile.
When Bibi Dong saw that Su Chen intended to seize Tang San and the others' opportunity, she couldn't have been happier.
Spirit Branch Hall.
Hu Liena finally understood what Su Chen meant whenever he wrote about picking herbs clean.
Immortal Herbs.
Martial Soul Evolution?
Such a miraculous thing actually existed.
Ahem.
I hope he goes easy on me from now on. I can't take too much of that.
[After losing the Soul Master Tournament, Hu Liena went to train in Slaughter City, where she met Tang San. By then, Tang San was no longer the little dark-skinned boy he'd once been.]
[As we mentioned before, his mother was the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor. Afterward, his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor, changing his appearance. He also took the alias Tang Yin.]
[The two trained in Slaughter City and worked together to pass through Hell Road. During that time, Hu Liena's lovesick side kicked in.]
[Later, Hu Liena was appointed Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall by Bibi Dong. During the operation to capture Xiao Wu in the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San used Hu Liena's feelings for him to rescue Xiao Wu. Of course, they didn't escape unscathed. In the end, Xiao Wu sacrificed herself for Tang San.]
[Here, Hu Liena caused Bibi Dong to lose her first Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring... A word from our sponsor—come back to life, my love!]
[Because of Tang San's "eating meat with the bowl in hand, cursing his mother after putting down the chopsticks" behavior, he destroyed Slaughter City when he left after obtaining Divine Slaughter's Domain, prompting the King of Slaughter to pursue them.]
[Later, when the King of Slaughter was chasing Hu Liena, Tang San happened to save her. Hu Liena still had feelings for him, so she revealed that Bibi Dong was in the Star Dou Great Forest, hunting the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python.]
[And because Hu Liena let the secret slip, the two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings that should have been easy pickings for Bibi Dong were intercepted by Tang San along the way.]
[Here, Hu Liena caused Bibi Dong to lose two more Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings. I remember saying a long time ago: those lovesick master-and-disciple pairs in Spirit Hall never disappoint!]
[All right, that's enough of today's story. I want to give Master Bi special praise. You can say Bibi Dong wronged anyone in her life, but she absolutely treated Hu Liena right. She genuinely saw Hu Liena as her own daughter, and treated her far better than her biological daughter, Qian Renxue!]
Heaven Dou City Branch Hall.
Hu Liena felt like her whole world had fallen apart.
Su Chen, oh Su Chen, considering our relationship, you really couldn't leave me even a scrap of dignity?
It's over!
Can I even go back to Spirit Hall now?
Hu Liena rubbed her forehead in anguish. She truly had no idea how she could face Bibi Dong again.
She'd caused her teacher to lose three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, and Tang San had ended up with every one of them.
Damn it!
That wretched Tang San! If I don't kill you, I'll have no face to face my teacher.
And you, Su Chen, you scoundrel! You didn't hold back at all—you exposed me completely. Just wait until you come back. I'll strip you bare and bite you to death!
I'm so mad! So mad!
Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong was speechless for a moment.
Nana?
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So the reason she'd taken such a liking to Nana and treated her like her own daughter was that Nana was so much like her!
Bibi Dong gave a bitter laugh. "You really are my disciple, Hu Liena. You're just as foolish as your teacher, and just as blind!"
"Our master-and-disciple pair has been completely ruined by theirs."
Still,
Bibi Dong reconsidered. That was what would have happened without Su Chen. Now that he'd gotten involved, none of that would happen.
Besides... Nana was with Su Chen now, which had indirectly bound him to Spirit Hall. That should make dealing with Tang San much easier.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong couldn't help feeling relieved. She didn't take Tang San seriously, but everything about the situation was so strange that she had no choice but to remain cautious.