"Just now, did you say you wanted him dead?"
Liu Erlong's face was frosty. Her cold gaze swept over the five men before settling on the scarred man. She spoke icily.
Under the pressure of Liu Erlong's Soul Power, the scarred man's already badly injured body was dealt another blow. Blood kept seeping from the corner of his mouth, and his face was as pale as paper.
Before he could reply, his battered body was sent flying more than ten meters again. He crashed heavily to the ground and passed out on the spot.
Judging by the cracks in the ground, it looked like he wouldn't be getting out of bed for at least half a year.
Liu Erlong's attack had been so quick that no one present had seen how she struck. The remaining four members of the squad trembled like leaves in the wind. They all tucked their heads down, terrified of provoking the powerful woman before them.
Liu Erlong's anger had yet to subside. Her murderous gaze fell on the remaining men. She had been waiting in place after seeing Mo Li walk away, but nothing that happened here had escaped her eyes.
Just as she was about to give in to her urge to kill, a hand gently took hers.
Liu Erlong glanced back at Mo Li. He gave her a warm smile, and the killing intent in her heart faded considerably.
She had always hated evil with a passion, and just looking at scum like these men annoyed her. The only reason she hadn't slapped them to death was that Mo Li was by her side. In the past, with her temper, she would have killed them with a single blow.
But these days, she kept her violent impulses much more in check.
"You deal with the rest."
She left the decision to Mo Li.
Mo Li turned his gaze to Ye Lingling across from him. After what had happened, she had stopped trying to remove her veil, but her eyes remained exceptionally cool.
Mo Li smiled warmly at Ye Lingling, then looked toward the four men standing beside her, too frightened to make a sound.
"Since you were the ones who started harassing this young lady, you'd better give her a proper apology."
Cold sweat streamed down the remaining four men's faces. Though their heads were bowed, they could still sense the thick killing intent Liu Erlong had just unleashed. They repeatedly bowed and apologized.
"I don't think you're being sincere enough," Mo Li said mildly.
At his words, the four men hesitated, then gritted their teeth and began slapping themselves. The sound of "smack, smack" rang out without end.
Ye Lingling turned her face slightly aside, unwilling to watch.
Once Mo Li felt they had been punished enough, he gestured for them to stop. After giving them a few warnings, he let them carry off their captain, whose life or death was still uncertain.
Only after Mo Li had finished dealing with things did Liu Erlong step forward. Her willow-like brows drew together slightly as she asked in her clear voice, "What kind of fighting style was that?"
"Your strength was already far below your opponent's, yet you chose to meet him head-on. Even if you won in the end, you still got hurt."
Earlier, when Mo Li had seriously wounded the Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster with a single punch, he had overpowered him through sheer force, but the recoil had also injured his hand. Liu Erlong had naturally seen it all.
Though Ye Lingling had already healed the injury, Liu Erlong hadn't overlooked it. She continued to criticize Mo Li's fighting style with a frown.
"If all you know how to do is use brute force, how are you any different from that brainless fool?"
Mo Li listened as Sister Erlong went on and on, then readily gave her his answer. "Of course it's because it looks cool."
"What?" Liu Erlong blinked.
"Sister Erlong, think back carefully. Wasn't I cool when I took down my enemy head-on just now?" Mo Li said smugly.
Liu Erlong looked at Mo Li as if he were an idiot. Her dark eyes were full of disbelief. She pressed her right hand to her forehead and, after a long pause, sighed.
"When you go out from now on, don't say I taught you."
"Don't worry, Sister Erlong. I'll definitely only mention your name," Mo Li said with a grin.
Liu Erlong: "...Get lost!"
As they talked, Mo Li suddenly remembered that Ye Lingling was still standing nearby.
He turned to look at her, thinking about how best to start, but Ye Lingling spoke first and thanked him.
"Thank you."
Her voice was still cool and ethereal, as if it held not the slightest trace of emotion.
"Hello, I'm Mo Li, and this is Sister Erlong."
Mo Li smiled brightly. "It was nothing. I can't stand that kind of despicable behavior either."
"My name is Ye Lingling."
Mo Li had already introduced himself, and she wasn't someone who lacked manners. Her gaze passed over him and lingered on Liu Erlong. She was a little curious about their relationship.
Meeting Ye Lingling's gaze, Erlong gave a slight nod. She had been curious about Mo Li's behavior, but now she could see that the girl before them truly had an extraordinary air about her.
Mo Li had no idea what Liu Erlong was thinking. His mind was entirely occupied with how to lure Ye Lingling into their academy.
"Lingling, are you waiting for someone? Why didn't you fight back just now?"
"My Martial Soul can't fight," Ye Lingling replied softly.
"Is it a healing-type Martial Soul?"
Ye Lingling raised her eyes slightly to look at Mo Li. He seemed genuinely curious. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "You saw it just now. My Martial Soul is the Nine Heart Begonia."
At that, Liu Erlong looked deeply at Ye Lingling. She had been some distance away, but she had seen nearly everything that happened. Still, she said nothing.
Mo Li, meanwhile, pretended he knew nothing at all.
"Lingling, your Martial Soul has a nice name. Mine is the Nine Nether Sparrow."
Though Ye Lingling had never heard of this Martial Soul, she politely gave a slight nod.
"Um... Lingling, would you like to join our Blue Tyrant Academy? Our academy is great."
At those words, Ye Lingling and Liu Erlong both froze. Liu Erlong couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. "Is that how you make conversation?"
"I thought Lingling was on her own. Wouldn't it be nice if she came to our Blue Tyrant Academy?"
Mo Li glanced helplessly at Liu Erlong, who was smiling broadly.
Sister Erlong was still laughing. He was doing this for the academy, after all.
He still didn't know whether Ye Lingling had joined Heaven Dou Royal Academy yet. If she hadn't, he had to at least try to recruit her.
Beneath her veil, the corners of Ye Lingling's lips lifted. The boy before her was so straightforward that he was almost adorable. Rather than feeling any distaste, she found herself liking him more.
She had heard of Blue Tyrant Academy, though only in passing. She shook her head gently. "I can't. I'm a student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
Mo Li sighed. As expected, he was too late. Ye Lingling was at most twelve or thirteen, yet Heaven Dou Royal Academy had already recruited her.
"All right, Lingling. Pretend I never brought it up."
He quickly got over it and continued, "Still, if you have time, you can come visit me at Blue Tyrant Academy."
"Sister Erlong is the dean of Blue Tyrant Academy."
Ye Lingling paused. She hadn't expected the black-dressed woman before her to be the head of an academy. After a moment's hesitation, she turned to Liu Erlong and offered a quiet greeting. "Thank you, Dean Liu."
Liu Erlong waved a hand casually, without the slightest air of authority. She had always been straightforward, and she knew just how precious and powerful the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul was. She held no contempt for Ye Lingling.
It was naturally a good thing that Mo Li had made a friend of her. It was just a shame Ye Lingling had already joined Heaven Dou Royal Academy; otherwise, Liu Erlong would have wanted to recruit her herself.
"Mo Li's right."
Liu Erlong nodded slightly and smiled. "You're welcome to visit Blue Tyrant Academy."
The three of them chatted briefly again, then Mo Li and Liu Erlong said their farewells and went into Heaven Dou City.
Before long, a girl with deep purple hair came briskly out of Heaven Dou City.
When she spotted Ye Lingling waiting quietly by the roadside, she immediately skipped over and affectionately linked arms with her.
"Sorry, Lingling. I made you wait."
The girl had short, deep-purple hair and striking, slightly heroic features. Her emerald eyes held a bewitching charm.
Faced with Dugu Yan's sweet apology, Ye Lingling quickly lost the cool expression on her face. Clearly, she couldn't withstand Dugu Yan's advances.
"Why didn't you come even later?" Ye Lingling said helplessly.
"Ah! What happened?"
Hearing the change in her tone, Dugu Yan hurriedly pressed her for details. Ye Lingling's Martial Soul had no combat ability, so it would be awful if she had run into trouble.
Ye Lingling briefly told her what had just happened.
"Where are those scum? I'll poison them to death!"
After hearing Ye Lingling's account, Dugu Yan's pretty face instantly turned cold, and the green in her eyes grew ever deeper.
Ye Lingling gently patted the back of Dugu Yan's hand, and only then did she begin to calm down.
After that, Ye Lingling briefly recounted what had happened, but didn't mention Mo Li trying to recruit her or that the two of them were from Blue Tyrant Academy. Only when she spoke of Mo Li did her usually cool voice carry a rare, barely perceptible tremor.
"That boy was really that powerful? He beat a Soul Grandmaster with the strength of a Soul Master?" Dugu Yan asked, unable to believe it.
From Ye Lingling's description, the boy who had helped her out was far younger than they were, yet his fighting ability had been astonishing.
"Why would I lie to you? If he hadn't been there, I'd have been in trouble." Ye Lingling shook her head gently, a faint smile appearing beneath her veil.
"Lingling, what's gotten into you?"
Dugu Yan keenly caught the subtle change. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
According to Ye Lingling, Mo Li was only six or seven years old. They were twelve or thirteen.
"I'm fine."
Ye Lingling paused at her words, then gently shook her head.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the direction the two had left. The faint trembling of her black veil still betrayed the ripples in her heart.