Tang Hao, the Ungrateful Wretch! Lu Xuan: Big Sister! Leng Yaozhu: Who Dares Bully Him?!

The heavy wooden door of the Spirit Hall Branch creaked open.

Old Jack, who had been waiting outside for a long time, leaned on his walking stick and immediately shuffled forward to meet them.

His cloudy eyes brimmed with hope as he stared at Su Yuntao's conflicted expression and asked in a trembling voice:

"Deacon, how did the children do? Did any of them have the talent to become a Soul Master?"

Su Yuntao stopped and glanced back at Lu Xuan, who was following behind him.

Then he turned back to Old Jack and let out a long sigh, his voice steeped in regret:

"Yes! Not only that, his innate soul power exceeded even the innate full soul power a Soul Master could possess. Such talent is simply unheard of!"

Old Jack trembled all over. Before wild joy could spread across his face, Su Yuntao's next words doused him like a bucket of cold water.

"But he refuses to join Spirit Hall." Su Yuntao shook his head in anguish, then looked earnestly at Old Jack.

"Village chief, I hope you can persuade him. His talent mustn't go to waste!"

"With him here, perhaps in the near future, your Holy Soul Village could change its name to Titled Village!"

With that, Su Yuntao hurried away, his heart full of regret and frustration.

He still had to head to the next village to perform the martial soul awakening ceremony.

Hopefully, the next village will have a child with decent talent too!

In the square.

The other children, disappointed, were picked up by their parents one after another.

The noisy gathering place soon fell quiet.

Only Old Jack and Lu Xuan remained standing there, one old and one young.

Old Jack lowered his head and gently rested his calloused hand on Lu Xuan's shoulder.

"Little Xuan, you're the child the deacon was talking about, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Lu Xuan nodded without hiding anything.

Old Jack smiled with relief, then softened his tone. "Then what are your thoughts? Why did you turn the deacon down?"

"Grandpa Jack, it's because I don't want to go to Spirit Hall!" Lu Xuan said, his eyes clear and innocent.

"All right! If you don't want to go, we won't." Rather than blame him in the slightest, Old Jack laughed heartily.

"With our Little Xuan's talent, you'll succeed wherever you go, even without relying on Spirit Hall!"

"I'll make the decision myself and give you the village's only work-study spot this year. When school starts in two months, go register at the Nuoding City Junior Academy!"

The old man and the boy headed home, chatting and laughing.

But just as they reached a corner, something suddenly went wrong.

Old Jack's steps, light with happiness only a moment before, faltered, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

Then his eyes rolled back, and his thin, withered body toppled straight backward as though all his strength had been drained away.

"Grandpa Jack!"

Lu Xuan's pupils contracted sharply. Reacting with lightning speed, he lunged forward and cushioned the old man's head with both hands as the back of it reached the ground.

"Boy, you should be glad you didn't join Spirit Hall. Otherwise, you wouldn't survive today!"

A low, hoarse voice, tinged with arrogance, drifted eerily out of the shadows.

"Who's there?!" Lu Xuan shielded the unconscious Old Jack behind him and scanned his surroundings warily.

Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a tall, brawny figure resembling an iron tower slowly emerged from the shade of the trees ahead.

The man wore coarse cloth clothes that were utterly tattered.

His hair was as messy as a bird's nest.

A sour stench wafted from his body, but the eyes concealed beneath his disheveled hair were especially terrifying.

"Tang Hao!" Lu Xuan's eyes widened as towering waves surged through his heart. He had never expected it to be him!

What does Tang Hao want with me? Has he taken a fancy to my talent?

Tang Hao looked down at Lu Xuan from above, undisguised greed flickering in his eyes. "Boy, come with me. I'll train you. What do you say?"

"No thanks!" Lu Xuan sneered, meeting Tang Hao's oppressive gaze without backing down an inch.

"You think an ungrateful wretch like you is qualified? Grandpa Jack saw you and your son living in utter poverty and kindly took you both in. Is this how you repay him?"

"And a scumbag like you, who spends every day drinking in the smithy, drowning his life in a drunken stupor and neglecting his own child, thinks he can train me?"

"Get lost! If you don't leave right now, I'll shout!"

Lu Xuan wasn't afraid of Tang Hao in the slightest. He had something to rely on!

After being spoken to like that by a child like Lu Xuan,

Tang Hao's expression instantly darkened to the extreme.

Stung where it hurt, he laughed in his fury, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

"Go ahead. Even if you shout your throat raw, no one will come to save you!"

"Throat Raw..."

Ahem, wrong channel.

Without hesitation, Lu Xuan tilted his head back and shouted toward the sky with every ounce of strength he had:

"Big sister, help me!!!"

"Who dares bully him?!"

Before his voice had faded, a clear, proud female shout, brimming with boundless authority, rang out from the highest heavens.

Then the space ahead was forcibly torn apart like a piece of cloth.

A graceful figure slowly floated down from the rift in the void, like the Mystic Lady of the Nine Heavens descending to the mortal realm, and stood in front of Lu Xuan.

She was tall and slender, with breathtaking curves.

Her complexion was warm and flawless, like the finest mutton-fat jade.

Her features were exquisitely delicate, a beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms.

Her entire bearing blazed like fire, just like the attribute of her martial soul.

She was ardent yet enchanting, brimming with the sun's vitality.

Heavenly Phoenix Douluo—Leng Yaozhu.

Pay your respects!

"So beautiful..." Even Tang Hao, who had seen a beauty like Ah Yin, couldn't help his pupils trembling slightly as he unconsciously murmured those words.

"Big sister, beat him up! Just don't kill him!"

Lu Xuan poked half his head out from behind Leng Yaozhu and pointed at Tang Hao, shouting.

His experience online in his previous life had taught him that whenever he saw a beautiful woman, regardless of her age, he should always call her big sister!

"All right!"

Leng Yaozhu turned her head slightly, gave Lu Xuan an exceptionally gentle smile, and nodded lightly.

Although she had no idea why, when she had clearly been at the Spirit Pagoda,

she had suddenly appeared in a separate space.

And stranger still, when she looked through that space and saw this child she had never met before,

an inexplicable sense of trust welled up in her heart, along with a powerful urge to shelter him beneath her wings.

She even wondered whether she was getting older and simply couldn't help overflowing with maternal affection at the sight of an adorable child.

When Leng Yaozhu saw Tang Hao corner Lu Xuan, she could only remain in that separate space, worrying alone.

But for some unknown reason, the space lifted its restrictions on her, allowing her to come out.

When Leng Yaozhu turned back to look at Tang Hao,

the tenderness in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a chill like ice frozen for ten thousand years.

Boom!

The terrifying pressure of a level 99 Limit Douluo surged like an ocean bursting through its banks.

It poured out without the slightest restraint, becoming a near-tangible storm that swept madly toward Tang Hao!

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The surrounding air was set ablaze by the terrifying heat!

Crimson flames rose to fill the sky, gathering around Leng Yaozhu at their center. She was as dazzling as a goddess of flame who commanded every fire in the world!

Before she had even manifested her martial soul, merely releasing her aura was enough to transform the surrounding world!

Her strength was terrifying beyond belief!