Wu Feng's Admiration

"What terrifying flames!"

The instant Wu Feng, whose Martial Soul was the fire-attributed Red Dragon, saw those two white wisps, she almost screamed. Her pretty face turned as pale as paper!

Before those seemingly harmless white flames, the Pure Yang Fierce Dragon Blood she took such pride in let out a whimper like a mouse spotting a cat!

The two young women tried to channel their Soul Power and dodge, but under the pressure of the Demon Flame, as though a god had descended, they could not move so much as a little finger.

Hiss!

Meeting no resistance at all, the two milky-white wisps drifted into the seas of consciousness between Ning Tian's and Wu Feng's brows.

The next second, a clear, resonant peal like a great temple bell rang through both their minds.

Every trace of wariness, rejection, anger, and defiance toward the black-clad youth vanished beneath the Purification Divine Flame. So pure was its fire that those thoughts failed to last even the blink of an eye before they were burned away into nothingness!

"What's happening... Why... why don't I want to run anymore?!"

Wu Feng's pupils widened. The rage and ferocity that had filled her disappeared without a trace, leaving a haze of docile confusion in her beautiful eyes. Every cell deep within her body clamored for her to bow and submit to the young man before her.

Beside her, Ning Tian was just as shaken. Her lovely face was filled with awe and horror beyond words.

A heaven-defying method that erased defiance at the level of the soul and made someone submit completely—she could search every rare ancient text in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and across the Douluo Continent's ten thousand years of history and still find nothing like it!

"Good. That saves this young master some trouble."

Seeing the hostility swiftly fade from their eyes, replaced by complete docility and obedience, Xiao Dong nodded in satisfaction. With a sweep of his sleeve, he sent a sheet of paper floating into Ning Tian's delicate hand.

"I have a task for you two. Take the list of herbs on that paper and use the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's influence here to buy every last one for me. If anything goes wrong, you two will answer for it."

His cold voice was still echoing through the woods when Xiao Dong bent his body slightly.

Boom!

A savage gale exploded from where he stood, and a sonic boom tore at their eardrums. Xiao Dong had already become a streak of black lightning across the sky. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the boundless heights, heading straight for the Star Dou Great Forest!

Only after the young man's figure had disappeared did the wild winds along the tree-lined path slowly subside.

"Phew..."

Ning Tian and Wu Feng let out long breaths as though all their strength had drained away. They looked down at the sheet of paper in Ning Tian's palm, packed with herb names, their beautiful eyes full of confusion.

"Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, Bone-Washing Flower, Flesh-Regenerating Vine... Young Sect Master, what does he want with these ordinary—or downright strange—herbs? Surely, on top of those heaven-defying abilities, he can't also be an extraordinarily rare Alchemy Grandmaster?!"

Wu Feng scratched her striking short red hair, staring blankly as she muttered in bewilderment.

On the Douluo Continent today, Soul Tools were everywhere, while herbs were generally used in the crudest ways. Masters who truly understood how to blend their properties and refine miraculous pills were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, revered like gods by the great empires.

Ning Tian shook her head too. Turning her clear eyes toward Zhou Yi, who stood silently nearby, she asked softly, her respectful voice thick with curiosity.

"Teacher Zhou Yi, that Young Master Xiao Dong... who on earth is he? What is his real identity?"

At Ning Tian's question, helplessness and bitterness crossed Zhou Yi's beautiful face beneath her ugly, old-bark mask. She shook her head and sighed.

"I know nothing about him either. The only person he specifically asked me about was a new student named Huo Yuhao."

"Huo Yuhao? Who's that?"

The two young women exchanged glances, their confusion deepening. They could not fathom why an invincible youth who seemed like a god or demon descended to earth would take a special interest in an unknown newcomer.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi stood beside them, her delicate hand quietly clenching inside the wide sleeve of her white robe. Her eyes lowered, and her beautiful face showed a rare trace of a secluded lover's resentment at being neglected.

That overbearing little bastard had only just won me over, yet he couldn't even spare me another glance. He'd rushed off as soon as his business was done and left me here alone again.

How could such a subtle, resentful change escape the keen-eyed Ning Tian?

Ning Tian's gaze swept over Zhou Yi's faintly reddened ears and rising chest. Her heart gave a sudden jolt, and waves of astonishment surged through her.

Teacher Zhou Yi, the infamous tyrant of the Outer Academy who had never shown any man a kind face... Could that black-clad youth have already taken her to bed?!

That mysterious young man, who looked even younger than the two of us, could stomach even this fierce, harsh, withered old woman of the Outer Academy?!

As Ning Tian struggled to comprehend Xiao Dong's peculiar tastes, Wu Feng, her head slightly lowered, happened to glance beneath the faintly lifted hem of Zhou Yi's white robe.

In the next instant, Wu Feng looked as though divine lightning from the ninth heaven had struck her head-on. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

At the edge of that somewhat loose white robe, a tantalizing glimpse of black against pale skin showed through.

It was unmistakably a sheer black lace stocking, stretched taut over a long, shapely leg!

Hiss...

Wu Feng drew a sharp breath inward. An indescribable mix of revulsion and awe shot from her tailbone to the crown of her head!

Wu Feng had no idea Zhou Yi wore a human-skin mask. As far as she knew, Zhou Yi was a vicious old woman with a face as wrinkled as tree bark, a shriveled figure, and a sinister gaze!

An evil old woman with one foot in the grave was wearing such scandalous, shamelessly seductive black stockings under her robe—and that mysterious young man not only didn't mind, he had even taken the old hag for himself?!

An absolute monster... Damn it, now that's what you call an absolute monster!

Wu Feng shuddered from head to toe. In her heart, she admired the black-clad youth's extreme tastes so much she could have prostrated herself before him.

Yet amid her revulsion, the red-haired girl could not help raising a hand to pat her full, taut chest, its plunging cleavage accentuated by her tight clothes. Still shaken, she let out a long breath of relief.

If that mysterious, ruthless bastard had such unusual tastes and preferred a stale old woman, didn't that mean young, unripe peaches like me and Young Sect Master Ning Tian were safe for now?!