Yan's Frustration

The next morning, Lin Yichen slept more soundly than he ever had before.

There was none of Notting's bustle here, nor were there any mission assignments.

At least, not today.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

"Still sleeping? The sun's already shining on your butt!"

It was Hu Liena's voice, carrying a hint of urgency.

Lin Yichen rubbed his temples and sat up.

He was still in his pajamas, looking dazed from having just woken up.

"Coming, Senior Sister."

Lin Yichen opened the door. Hu Liena had already changed into Spirit Hall's standard robe, her purple-black hair tied up to reveal her fair neck.

Unlike the lazy air she had in her sleepwear last night, she now carried a sharper, more capable aura.

Now this was what a candidate for the Holy Maiden should look like!

Hu Liena reached out and straightened Lin Yichen's cuff.

"Look at you. What kind of state is this? Hurry and get ready. We still have to meet my brother and the others."

Lin Yichen followed Hu Liena through the corridor. Comrade Hu Liena the "tour guide" carefully introduced him to Spirit Hall's situation and the things he needed to watch out for.

Though most of it was gossip about the disciples in training.

"Yan may have a sharp tongue, but he's actually a good person. Still, he might give you a hard time!"

Hu Liena walked ahead of Lin Yichen, speaking as she skipped along.

That left a good impression on Lin Yichen. She had no airs and was easy to get along with.

Not bad.

"Why do you say that, Senior Sister?"

Hu Liena did not stop, but her steps noticeably slowed, and her voice gradually lowered.

"Well... you'll find out when the time comes!"

But her quiet voice only lasted a second before it faded away.

Lin Yichen had some recollection as well.

In the original story, Hu Liena had shown the same bright, lively childishness around Tang San in Slaughter City.

It was just that Tang San had not appreciated it. Xiao Wu was the only one in his heart.

But Xiao Wu is mine.

The two passed through the corridor and arrived at an open space.

Lin Yichen was still slightly sleepy, and the sunlight today was rather dazzling.

So the moment he stepped out of the corridor, he could only squint.

Then he ran straight into an enormous figure.

It was a tall man.

The man stood more than half a head taller than Lin Yichen, with broad shoulders.

His short crimson hair resembled burning flames, while an unconcealed pride lingered between his brows.

And Lin Yichen could tell.

This man seemed somewhat unconvinced by him!

The disdain in his eyes was obvious.

The instant he saw Lin Yichen, his steps paused. His gaze swept him from head to toe before finally settling on Lin Yichen's cuff.

"New here?"

His tone was not particularly friendly.

"This must be Yan."

"Why is he so tall?"

Lin Yichen had thought his height of 1.8 meters was already exceptional, yet this guy was so much taller than him.

"My name is Yan. I'm sixteen, and my martial soul is the Flame Lord. I'm a level forty-two Assault-type Soul Ancestor."

Revealing his rank right away. He sure was confident in himself.

"Then I'm a little older than you. I'm eighteen."

Lin Yichen smiled.

He naturally had to be a little more magnanimous toward his future companion.

"Eighteen? If you can join our Golden Generation, your rank clearly isn't low. Do you have five rings?"

It seemed Bibi Dong and Hu Liena had not told them Lin Yichen's exact information.

And Yan asked himself honestly—there was absolutely no way he could have broken through to five rings at eighteen.

So what if he was part of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation? Could he rise eight levels in two years?

He merely wanted to put Lin Yichen in his place.

"Level sixty-three Agility-control-type Soul Emperor."

Lin Yichen's tone was calm, though unless one looked carefully, it was hard to notice the mischief in his eyes.

After all, to suppress a prideful person, one had to thoroughly crush them in the area they were most proud of.

Yan's expression froze. The air fell silent for two seconds.

"Six... sixty-three?"

Yan's voice rose an octave, and the disdain in his eyes was instantly replaced by shock.

Hu Liena covered her mouth and giggled beside them, clearly having expected this reaction.

"You're an eighteen-year-old Soul Emperor?!"

Lin Yichen nodded, still saying nothing.

Yan's lips twitched. He wanted to say something, but swallowed it back. All he could do was cough twice and clear his throat.

He clenched his fists, then finally forced out a cold "Hmph" through his nose and stepped aside.

"Xie Yue is waiting for you at the training ground."

With that, he left without looking back.

"He's pretty cute. Does he like you, Senior Sister?"

Lin Yichen tilted his head as he watched Yan's departing back.

He looked more than a little... aggrieved.

Hu Liena's gaze flickered away.

"Who knows about him."

Then she leaned close to Lin Yichen's ear and spoke softly.

"See? I told you he would make things difficult for you. But he got slapped in the face faster than I expected."

Lin Yichen nodded and continued following Hu Liena toward the training ground.

More and more Spirit Hall disciples had begun coming out to move about along the way, each one looking energetic.

They would greet Hu Liena whenever they saw her.

He lowered his head and glanced at his cuff, the place Yan had been staring at earlier.

"Yan is quite observant. He actually figured out in a second that this spot had been tidied up by Senior Sister."

"He just picked the wrong person to intimidate."

Lin Yichen shook his head and sighed inwardly.

The training ground was on the other side of the back mountain, and it was even larger than Lin Yichen had imagined.

He had thought that being three times the size of Notting's training ground would already be impressive.

But he had clearly underestimated Spirit Hall's strength.

The training ground was a full ten times larger than Notting's!

All kinds of traces left behind by soul skills remained on the bluestone-paved field.

Scorch marks, frost trails, craters—layer upon layer. It was obvious that many fierce sparring matches had taken place here.

At that moment, most of the disciples had gathered in the center to watch an exciting duel.

Yan versus Xie Yue.

Xie Yue resembled Hu Liena by about seventy percent, though his features were more angular.

Hu Liena helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead and explained their fight to Lin Yichen.

"Neither of them accepts the other. They fight every day, especially Yan. He loses more than he wins, but he still keeps pestering my brother to spar with him."

Lin Yichen quietly watched the two spar, but he could clearly sense that Yan was angry.

He showed no mercy with any of his moves. It seemed that he was still fuming after being humiliated by Lin Yichen earlier and had found someone to vent on?

Still, he had not picked on an ordinary disciple. That did surprise Lin Yichen somewhat.

But as for the situation in the arena...

Yan's Flame Lord martial soul possessed him. Rock armor covered his body as blazing flames surged around him, and he threw a punch that unleashed Molten Impact.

Xie Yue's expression was solemn. His crescent blades gleamed with cold light as he nimbly avoided the waves of fire, using blade winds to restrain his opponent.

"Yan, why are you so irritable today?"

Enraged by being dodged again and again, Yan's third soul skill, Hellfire, erupted with a thunderous blast. Scorching flames swept across the entire field.

Yan did not answer, responding to Xie Yue with an even more powerful move instead.

Xie Yue spun and slashed sideways with his crescent blades, shattering the falling lava. Their soul skills collided violently, and heatwaves scattered outward, forcing the surrounding spectators to retreat.

"Brother! Stop fighting! Lin Yichen is here!"

But neither of them heard clearly.

Lin Yichen shook his head. Still, it was indeed time for him to show off.

"Third Soul Skill, Frost!"

In an instant, the heatwaves in the training ground were covered by a layer of frost, and the temperature plummeted.

The strongest concentration of soul power was beneath Xie Yue and Yan's feet, leaving them unable to move.

"You two, stop fighting!"