Meng Yiran had been spoiled rotten by her grandparents, and had grown up with a spoiled, willful temperament.
She'd just seen that even Zhao Wuji, a Soul Saint, had treated her grandmother with courtesy, so naturally, she wasn't afraid of some nobody without a sect or backing.
Seeing Meng Yiran dare to speak to Ye Xuan that way, Zhao Wuji immediately felt reassured.
As long as Ye Xuan made a move, so what if the Dragon Duke showed up?
Zhao Wuji didn't say anything, though. He waited for Ye Xuan to handle it himself.
"What gives me the right to act so arrogantly? The fact that you're no match for us. Old Zhao, tell them to leave. Why are you wasting so much time talking to them when you're a Soul Saint?" Ye Xuan said calmly.
Ye Xuan couldn't be bothered to fight at a time like this. If Zhao Wuji and the others could handle things themselves, why should he act as their hired muscle?
At his words, Zhao Wuji immediately said to Chao Tianxiang, "Sister Chao, please leave. We killed this Soul Beast, so we can't give it to you."
"A Soul Saint bullying others with his strength—how impressive. Fine. You can have this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, but first, Immovable Wisdom King, tell me which of your students wants it. Does he dare fight my granddaughter?" Chao Tianxiang said angrily.
"Well, would you look at that. She still wants a match?" Ye Xuan hadn't expected things to go this way even after he'd tried to interrupt.
Hearing Chao Tianxiang's words, Zhao Wuji immediately refused. "I'm afraid I can't grant your wish, Sister Chao. The student who needs it is an auxiliary Soul Master. How could he fight your granddaughter?"
Just then, Tang San spoke up of his own accord.
"Teacher, why not let me do it? I'm level 29. If I fight in Oscar's place, I won't be taking advantage of her."
"Well... all right!"
Zhao Wuji hesitated, but still agreed.
After all, he knew Tang San's identity.
Ye Xuan might not care about Tang San's face, but Zhao Wuji had to.
He couldn't afford to offend that Clear Sky Douluo. The memory of being beaten still haunted him.
"Level 29? Fine. Whoever wins gets the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent," Chao Tianxiang said.
"Fine!"
Zhao Wuji agreed without hesitation.
He knew Tang San was sure to win.
After all, he'd been in charge of training the students lately. He'd seen Tang San's strength for himself, and Meng Yiran was no match for him.
Once Zhao Wuji agreed, the fight began as planned.
The result was exactly the same as before.
Tang San won, and Meng Yiran and Chao Tianxiang left in a huff.
Before leaving, Meng Yiran shot Ye Xuan a vicious glare. Her eyes seemed to say, Just you wait.
Ye Xuan naturally didn't care about someone so insignificant.
Afterward, Oscar absorbed the Martial Soul, while Tang San sat down to meditate.
When he finished, he told Zhao Wuji that he'd broken through to level 30.
So the group decided to venture deeper into the forest to find a Soul Ring for Tang San.
Looks like it's almost time to run into the Titan Giant Ape, Ye Xuan thought with a sigh.
He had an idea about what was going to happen next.
They continued deeper into the forest, rested there for the night, then set off again the next day.
They searched the forest for several days.
That day, Zhao Wuji hurriedly shouted, "Everyone, get out of your tents at once!"
At his words, everyone rushed outside.
As they emerged, they immediately saw Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape who had come looking for Xiao Wu.
Er Ming stood on all fours, looking down at everyone.
"It's the King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape!"
Tang San was the first to identify it, then briefly explained to the others just how powerful the Titan Giant Ape was.
Zhao Wuji spoke up. "Get out of here at once. I'll hold off the Titan Giant Ape."
Just as Tang San and the others were about to say something, Ye Xuan said with a smile, "Old Zhao, did you forget about me? Take them and get out of here. Leave this one to me!"
"Ye Xuan, are you sure you can handle it?" Zhao Wuji asked gravely.
Although he couldn't tell that Er Ming was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he could feel that the pressure this Titan Giant Ape exerted was no weaker than that of a Titled Douluo.
He had no idea what level of Titled Douluo it might be equivalent to.
"Don't worry. I'm confident," Ye Xuan said.
"Fine. I'll leave it to you." Zhao Wuji turned to Tang San and the others. "Let's go!"
"Big Brother Ye, be careful. Don't let anything happen to you." Zhu Zhuqing gazed at Ye Xuan and spoke softly.
"Don't worry. This big fellow can't hurt me," Ye Xuan said with a confident smile.
"Ye Xuan, you can leave first once you get the chance," Zhao Wuji warned him, then led the others away at a swift pace.
When Er Ming saw that Xiao Wu was leaving with the others, he flew into a rage. It roared at the sky, then charged after Zhao Wuji and the others.
But Ye Xuan stamped his foot against the ground, leaped into the air, and blocked its path.
Ye Xuan gathered his true energy. Countless leaves swept in from the surrounding trees, swirling around him, each one as sharp as a sword.
Ye Xuan pointed ahead, and countless leaves shot toward Er Ming.
Only then did Er Ming realize in alarm that this tiny human was incredibly dangerous.
The leaves, which should have been soft and harmless, had become terrifying.
It had no choice but to fight with all its might, blasting away the leaves that came at it in waves.
As he fought, Ye Xuan kept observing it.
As Xiao Wu and the others got farther away, a notification suddenly appeared before Ye Xuan.
[You successfully helped Ning Rongrong escape danger. You obtained the Second Soul Ring and unlocked the Second Soul Skill.] [Second Soul Skill: Pseudo-Ning Rongrong] [Soul Ring age: The combined age of all of Ning Rongrong's Soul Rings] [Soul Skill effect: Creates a simulated Ning Rongrong who inherits Ning Rongrong's level and Soul Skills. With the Hundred Beauties Scroll's enhancement, the Soul Skill's effect is increased threefold.]
Hearing the notification, Ye Xuan was surprised. He hadn't expected an unexpected bonus.
He wasn't surprised that Xiao Wu wasn't included.
Er Ming had come looking for Xiao Wu, so she obviously wasn't in any danger.
But Ning Rongrong was another matter.
Ye Xuan knew the system only judged whether danger was possible; it didn't mean that danger was certain.
For instance, when he'd met Zhu Zhuqing, even if Ye Xuan hadn't intervened and events had followed the original story, Zhu Zhuqing still would have reached the Heaven Dou Empire safely.
It was the same here. If he hadn't intervened, none of them would have come to harm.
But because the danger had been extremely high and he'd stepped in, the system had credited him with saving them.
Ye Xuan had made a new gain and was in high spirits, but Er Ming was anything but pleased.
It had sensed the aura of its big sister and come out to find her and play. It hadn't expected someone to intercept it. How could it not be furious?
Still, Ye Xuan was able to fend off all of Er Ming's attacks with ease.
Watching Er Ming, Ye Xuan suddenly said playfully, "You want to see your big sister, don't you? If you do, I can help you."
At those words, Er Ming really did stop attacking.
It watched Ye Xuan with suspicion.
Just as I thought, I can still reason with him, Ye Xuan thought. Then he told Er Ming, "Pretend to cry out in pain, then fall down and act injured. Your big sister should come to see you."
Before you continue