The Strange Hu Liena

Hu Liena heard him and pressed her lips together.

The pair of fox ears atop her head twitched back and forth. They really were adorable. She thought it over, then lightly pointed her index finger at her cheek and said:

"I think I quite like your first Martial Soul, Candy. It's sweet and refreshing, but you're so cold. How about Ice Heart Candy?"

Han Bing thought it was still not as good as his Ice Man nickname, but he said nothing.

Hu Liena gave an awkward little smile. She looked at Han Bing's deep blue eyes, as vast and handsome as the azure sky.

Seeing that he didn't react, Hu Liena said:

"I was just saying! Um, do you want to know my nickname?"

Hu Liena spoke bashfully. For the past few years, Han Bing had either been cultivating or staying in the Worship Hall. He never went out.

It was hard to find a chance to be alone with him, and Hu Liena, who had admired him for a long time, had finally found one.

Han Bing was astonishingly strong and exceptionally handsome, especially with those deep blue eyes. So Hu Liena searched for topics to bring them closer.

She thought, I'm pretty good-looking myself. No matter what, today I'll melt that frozen heart of yours a little.

She pressed her lips together, thinking up a sneaky plan.

Hearing her, Han Bing played along and asked:

"Hu Liena, what nickname did you come up with?"

Hu Liena perked up her fox ears and gazed straight at him with her mesmerizing eyes.

She pressed her lips into a smile, raised both hands in a V sign, and lifted her brows. She looked incredibly cute!

She gazed deeply at Han Bing, thinking, I refuse to believe you won't be moved at all by my beauty.

Then she slowly moved closer to Han Bing and said playfully:

"I'm Little Fox!"

Seeing Hu Liena act so strangely, Han Bing swallowed.

What's gotten into this girl today?

Han Bing was stunned for a moment. His face remained expressionless, and after a brief pause, he said blandly:

"Pretty good!"

Seeing that he hadn't reacted at all, Hu Liena immediately lowered her hands. It was obvious she hadn't managed to move Han Bing.

She clenched her fists to herself. Han Bing, you really didn't react at all. But you're still young, so I suppose that's normal. I'll wait for you. I'll wait until you're a little older.

I'm the Pope's disciple, and you're the personal disciple of the Fifth Elder of the Worship Hall. We're practically made for each other.

She secretly fantasized about their happy life together.

By then, Han Bing had already strode off. He wanted to get to the Soto Soul Fighting Arena early and take a look around.

When she saw Han Bing quicken his pace, Hu Liena hurried after him.

"Han Bing, wait for me!"

A thrilling duel was underway in the ring at the Soto Soul Fighting Arena.

The stands were packed with spectators. The crowd roared, their blood boiling as they watched the duel and cheered on their favorite team.

Han Bing looked around. In one of the two-on-two arenas, he spotted a familiar pair.

Their team was called the Three-Five Combo.

With superb teamwork, they defeated their opponents and won the applause of the entire arena.

"That team's pretty good. They look quite young, too, though they're still no match for Han Bing."

Hu Liena had caught up and happened to see the Three-Five Combo's match.

Han Bing nodded. He and Hu Liena watched quite a few matches at the Soul Fighting Arena.

It was already late. Han Bing planned to head home and prepare for the next day's duels.

Behind him, Hu Liena was fidgeting, seemingly unsure what to do.

She worked up her courage and called out loudly to Han Bing:

"Han Bing!"

Han Bing stopped and turned to look at Hu Liena. "What is it, Hu Liena?"

Hu Liena pressed her lips together and said bashfully:

"Um, could you stop calling me Hu Liena from now on? Could you call me Nana instead?"

"That's all?"

Hu Liena nodded, like a child who'd done something wrong.

Han Bing sighed slightly. What was with her today? Wasn't he used to calling people by their names?

So he nodded. "All right, Nana. Let's go home. The duels start tomorrow."

Hu Liena nodded. At last, she'd succeeded with the first step. She'd started with what they called each other.

She blinked, her fox ears twitching gently, and a bewitching smile appeared on her face.

Moonlight fell over her, making her look like a celestial fox from the moon.

She drew close to Han Bing and lowered her voice:

"Then I don't want to call you Han Bing, either. Calling you by your full name doesn't feel right, since we've known each other for so long. How about I call you... Bingbing from now on?"

Han Bing stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brows. A trace of helplessness passed through his deep blue eyes.

After a moment of silence, he finally replied blandly:

"Whatever you want."

Hu Liena beamed and hurried up to walk beside Han Bing.

Moonlight spilled across the streets of Suotuo City, stretching their shadows long.

She stole a glance at Han Bing's sharply defined profile, secretly delighted. At least today, he agreed to let me change what I call him.

Then the two of them went back to their respective rooms.

Back in his room, Han Bing thought over Hu Liena's behavior that day. Although he was only twelve, he was a transmigrator.

He couldn't help shaking his head.

"This Little Fox sure has plenty of tricks!"

He stretched and didn't dwell on it, resting quietly for the night.

The next day!

Teacher Gao Lan gathered everyone. In the morning, she guided them in cultivating Soul Power; in the afternoon, they had team training and physical conditioning.

After dinner, it was time for the day's main event: the Soto Soul Fighting Arena.

Everyone arrived at the arena.

"Wow! There are so many people, and the arena's huge. This place is way more impressive than the academy."

Sun Haoran spoke as Gao Lan handed them clothes and different masks.

"Put these on. Don't reveal your identities, especially you, Han Bing. Understand?"

"Go sign up at the far left for the team battles. Once you've finished your one-on-one and two-on-two matches, I'll sign you up!"

Everyone nodded and first signed up for individual matches.

Han Bing wore black from head to toe and covered his face, leaving only his deep blue eyes visible.

The others wore different things, some masks and some veils.

Hu Liena wore a pink veil that covered half her face, making her even more bewitching.

Dressed like this, no one would think they were together.

The contestants wore all sorts of outfits, so they wouldn't attract attention. Plenty of people had their heads and faces covered.

Before long, everyone had signed up.

Since Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena were Soul Elders at level forty, while the others were all in the thirties, they naturally weren't placed in the same group.

Hu Liena was scheduled much later, so she wasn't in a hurry. She stayed to watch Han Bing's match.

Han Bing was quickly called up. The host shouted from the stage:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the fierce one-on-one duels are about to begin! Up next is a battle between Soul Elders!"

"Please welcome the level-thirty-seven Soul Elder Evil-Eyed White Tiger, facing off against the level-thirty-nine Soul Elder Ice Heart Candy! Let's hear it for them!"

Amid the thunderous applause, the two slowly stepped onto the stage.

When Hu Liena heard that Han Bing was using the name she'd come up with, she was delighted and covered her mouth with a smile.

Then the battle onstage was about to begin.