Grassroots Hero She Xian! Medusa Queen: Before You Beat a Dog, Look at Its Owner!

"Grassroots Hero?"

Deep within his sea of consciousness, Little White's voice was so soft it seemed as though water could be squeezed from it, though it also carried a hint of confusion.

"Hubby, why does this alias sound so strange?"

"When I read it, I always feel there's some odd meaning hidden in it."

Before She Xian could respond, Medusa Queen's cold, haughty snort rang out.

"Hmph, what an ignorant little brat."

"Your feathers haven't even grown in yet, and you dare call yourself a hero?"

She Xian leaned against the wooden railing at the Great Soul Arena registration desk, the corner of his mouth twitching beneath his mask.

Just moments ago, he had chosen the Great Soul Arena alias "Grassroots Hero" for himself.

The alias had caught Little White and Medusa Queen's attention.

He couldn't exactly explain to the two snake demons inside him that the alias he had originally wanted to register was "Grass Python Hero," could he?

In the tale of the Legend of the White Snake, Xu Xian had risen to fame in a single battle, opening the way for communication between humans and the snake clan. He could be called the true founding pioneer.

Now that he possessed two snake demon Martial Souls, what was wrong with inheriting Senior Xu's will and aspiring to become a "Grass Python Hero"?

Still, the name was somewhat indecent.

So he settled for the homophonous "Grassroots Hero."

Naturally, he absolutely could not let Little White and Medusa Queen know about this joke concerning a man's secret aspirations.

"Little White, this is called style."

She Xian spun a random explanation in his mind. "A grassroots hero is someone who walks the wild roads of the martial world."

"It sounds ordinary, but the real deal shows when you fight."

"So that was Hubby's profound intention. I understand now." Little White suddenly realized, her voice sweet enough to cloy.

Medusa Queen sneered repeatedly. "Silver-tongued nonsense. Every word is absurd."

She Xian could not be bothered arguing with the haughty queen.

He slipped both hands into his pockets, his eyes roaming beneath the mask as he examined the layout of Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

The dome was immensely high, and the circular stands surrounding it were packed to the brim.

Frenzied cheers, the clatter of wagers being thrown down, and the bloody stench mingling in the air all sent dopamine surging.

Fully armed Soul Masters filled every corner.

Some looked vicious, while others wore faces as pale as vegetables.

Behind the curtains of a second-floor private box, Qian Renxue, changed back into Xue Qinghe's attire, sat upright and looked down at the scene below.

At her side, She Long and Ci Xue concealed their auras.

"Young Mistress, are you really letting Xian'er enter Soul Battles at such a young age?" Ci Xue asked in a low voice.

"Elder Ci Xue, you worry too much."

Qian Renxue stroked her golden cuff, her eyes resting on the small figure below as a trace of indulgence appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Xian'er may be young, but he's clever. He has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone. It's already a good thing if he doesn't go looking for trouble with others."

"Next match, Arena Thirteen of the Divided Soul Arena!"

"The newly registered Soul Master, [Grassroots Hero], will face [Poison Emperor], who has won three matches in a row!"

"Both contestants, take the stage immediately!"

"Alright, time to get to work!" She Xian stretched lazily, his bones cracking in succession.

He leisurely passed through the narrow, dark corridor and stepped onto the Soul Battle arena.

On the other side of the ring, a tall, thin figure had long been waiting.

The man wore a sickly green demon mask and stood with his arms crossed, looking extremely arrogant.

She Xian gave him a once-over and nearly laughed.

Because of his two soul rings.

One was ghastly white, while the other was pale yellow.

White: a ten-year soul ring.

Yellow: a hundred-year soul ring.

A level twenty-one, two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

"Level twenty-one... a weakling with one white and one yellow?"

She Xian curled his lip beneath his mask, nearly bursting into laughter. "With a lineup like that, you still dare give yourself the grand title of 'Poison Emperor'?"

Even that old poison freak Dugu Bo was not this arrogant.

The "Poison Emperor" opposite him looked down at little She Xian, who did not even reach his shoulder, his eyes full of disdain.

"Hey, you milk-scented brat, which family did you wander off from?"

Poison Emperor mocked him in a coarse voice, drawing waves of laughter from the stands.

"The Great Soul Arena isn't a place for little brats like you to play house in the mud!"

"Before I even get serious, get on your knees and kowtow to surrender. Otherwise, my poison will torture you soon enough!"

Poison Emperor crossed his arms and raised his chin high.

Many spectators in the stands joined in the jeering.

"Hahaha! Where did this kid come from? Is the Great Soul Arena out of people?"

"Poison Emperor, cripple him in one move! I bet five thousand Gold Soul Coins on you!"

"Hurry home and find your mother for milk! This isn't a place for you!"

Mockery and ridicule filled his ears.

Faced with such shouting, She Xian did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.

He had witnessed the pressure of level ninety-four She Long, and he had endured Qian Renxue's angelic presence.

To him, the clamoring of this minor character did not even count as a wild dog barking.

He did not care, but the two inside him could not tolerate it.

"What a thing that doesn't know life from death, humiliating Hubby like this!" Little White's voice carried a rare chill and fury.

"Hubby, let me out. I'll tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

"Impudent! Before you beat a dog, you should at least look at its owner!" Medusa Queen's voice was even colder as she rebuked him in She Xian's mind.

She Xian rolled his eyes so hard they nearly reached the sky, inwardly complaining in exasperation.

"Your Majesty, it's great that you're standing up for me, but isn't 'before you beat a dog, look at its owner' a rather poor choice of words?"

"So in your eyes, I'm your dog?"

"Hmph, at least you have some self-awareness." Medusa Queen snorted.

She Xian sighed, pulled his hands from his pockets, and shook his wrists.

"Alright, alright. You two sisters can rest."

"Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? I could pin this kind of trash down with my eyes closed."

The referee raised his right hand, his voice like thunder. "Soul Battle—begin!"

The instant the shout fell, Poison Emperor roared.

As the ghastly white and pale yellow soul rings lit up, thick green mist poured from his body.

His eyes turned into narrow, cold vertical pupils, while a layer of fine blue-black scales surfaced across his skin.

He looked like a venomous snake poised to strike, giving off a pungent, fishy stench.

"Brat, behold my powerful Martial Soul!"

Poison Emperor laughed wildly as the phantom behind him gradually became clear.

"This is an exceptionally rare venomous snake Martial Soul—the Mandala Snake!"

"Tremble before my poison!"

Dense green mist drifted around him, making him look genuinely frightening.

"Mandala Snake?"

She Xian's eyes brightened slightly.

In the original story, Tang San's first soul ring had come from one of these.

He had not expected to run into a Soul Master with a Mandala Snake Martial Soul today.

This really was walking right into the gun barrel.

A bold idea suddenly sprang into She Xian's mind.

His Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils could absolutely control all snake-type creatures.

It could even freeze a seventy-thousand-year Azure-Scaled Giant Python in place.

Then...

What if the target was not a pure snake soul beast, but a human Soul Master undergoing Martial Soul Possession with a snake-type Martial Soul?

Could the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' control pass through the connection between the Martial Soul and the soul, directly seize control of the opponent's body, and even manipulate the opponent's Martial Soul into devouring its own host?

Once the thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds.

A curve rose at the corner of his lips. "A little white mouse delivered right to my door..."

Deep beneath the mask, his originally pitch-black eyes glowed with an eerie green light.

Three green petals slowly bloomed in the depths of his pupils, radiating a pressure that stood above all snakes in the world.

"Poison Emperor, was it?"

She Xian crooked a finger, his tone light and calm. "Come. Look over here at me."