The Pigheaded Brothers

"If possible, please give me a Retainer Mark."

Xu Xiaonian was surprised at first, then thought it over carefully before asking, "Xiaotang, do you want to grow stronger as quickly as possible so you can improve Mom's constitution?"

"Yes." Xu Xiaotang's expression was frank.

"But Xiaotang, I told you: although the mark can increase a retainer's cultivation speed, even I can't remove it."

Xu Xiaonian frowned. "Besides, to tell you the truth, I already have a way to improve Mom's constitution. It'll just take a few years."

"You have your methods, and I have my own choices and efforts." Xu Xiaotang looked resolute as she said:

"Besides, you still haven't found a retainer to offer a sacrifice so your first soul ring can take shape, have you? As your older sister, there's no one more suitable than me."

Xu Xiaonian wanted to keep persuading her, but one look at her expression told him that he wouldn't be able to change her mind.

"Since you've made up your mind, I can't be stingy with my quota of marks."

"Come on, make it quick." Xu Xiaotang closed her eyes, looking ready to face death without flinching.

"..." Xu Xiaonian was speechless for a moment. "With that look on your face, anyone who didn't know better would think I was forcing you!"

"Hehe!" A mischievous gleam appeared on Xu Xiaotang's face. "Enough talking. Come on, come on."

Xu Xiaonian said no more. He summoned his Dark Demon Evil God Tiger martial soul and let it possess him.

Then he activated the Evil God Mark Method, sending a mark imbued with his soul's aura and soul power into Xu Xiaotang's body.

Dark purple soul power shone and swirled around the girl, sending ripples through the surrounding space.

Soon, a faint hum sounded from within her.

A dark purple, begonia-shaped pattern appeared on the girl's smooth forehead, symbolizing her bond as a retainer to a certain "Evil God."

The "Evil God" himself stood in the room, looking at Xu Xiaotang with mild surprise. So everyone's mark has a different shape. I thought it would be a succubus crest like Bibi Dong's...

Also, this mark took longer to form than Bibi Dong's. Could it be a matter of martial soul compatibility?

That makes sense. Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor and Death Spider Emperor sound pretty evil, just like Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

Xu Xiaotang walked over to the full-length mirror and touched the begonia mark, most of which was hidden beneath her bangs. "I didn't expect it to look so pretty," she said in surprise.

Then she circulated her soul power to check how her cultivation speed had changed.

The next moment.

Shock and disbelief appeared on Xu Xiaotang's face. "This... my cultivation speed went up by twenty percent!"

"Why? I haven't upgraded the mark through a sacrifice yet, have I? This is only an unranked Retainer Mark. If it had a rank, wouldn't it defy the heavens?"

"That's normal." Xu Xiaonian had anticipated this and said calmly:

"Even Bibi Dong's cultivation speed increased by ten percent. Your talent is undoubtedly much lower than hers, so a twenty-percent increase is reasonable."

"Bibi Dong? Her Holiness the Pope?" Xu Xiaotang's pretty eyes widened. "You're saying Her Holiness is your retainer? How is that possible?"

"It really was an accident. Here's what happened..."

After hearing Xu Xiaonian's explanation, Xu Xiaotang's expression shifted for a while. Finally, she looked at him with utter seriousness and said:

"Xiaonian, you must never let Her Holiness find out the true nature of this matter. You have to remember that. And don't even think about making Her Holiness your retainer. It's too dangerous."

"I understand."

In a quiet grove at the Spirit City Junior Soul Master Academy.

An angry roar shattered the peace.

"What?! Damn you, Li Kai!!! And Sun Chuantao!!!"

"What the hell did you two do?!"

Yan stared ferociously at the Campus Bulletin in his hands. Prominent red lettering clearly read:

"Scoop! Scoop! Yan's loyal lackeys, Li Kai and Sun Chuantao, actually admitted they were gay!! Even their boss, Yan, was no exception!"

"Was this the collapse of morality, or..."

Rip! Rip!

The newspaper in his hands was torn to shreds.

"Damn it! Damn you!" Yan's face was as dark as storm clouds. He looked at Li Kai and Sun Chuantao, who cowered and trembled before him, and demanded:

"What exactly happened?! I gave you a precious century-old spirit herb. With the power to break past your limits, you should've been stronger than Nana."

Li Kai stammered, "I-it was that brat named Xu Xiaonian. Who knows what immortal herb or miraculous pill he ate? He actually had three thousand kilograms of brute strength."

Smack!

"You bastard!" Yan shook his slightly reddened hand and snapped:

"You even came up with such an absurd excuse to shirk responsibility! How could someone who just awakened his martial soul have three thousand kilograms of strength? Do you think I'm a three-year-old you can fool that easily?"

"Boohoo... I'm tellin' da troof... boohoo..." With his chubby face swollen, Li Kai wanted to cry but had no tears left. "If ya don' believe me, ya can ashk Shun Chuantao."

Yan frowned. He had only made out the name "Sun Chuantao," so he turned to ask him:

"You tell me. What exactly happened?"

"Li Kai's telling the truth..."

Smack! Smack!

Yan flew into a rage. "Damn it! You actually cooked up your story beforehand to shirk responsibility, didn't you?"

After taking two slaps, Sun Chuantao's face was swollen enough to rival Li Kai's. He said miserably, "It's da troof! Boohoo..."

After another long while, Yan finally got the facts straight.

It really had been that brat Xu Xiaonian who turned the tables!

Three thousand kilograms of strength, with one hand?

Even with his martial soul and soul skills boosting him, Yan could probably only just reach that level.

Yan's face darkened. Even now, he still found it hard to believe. Were all members of the Holy Angel Family such freaks?

Director Qian was perfectly ordinary, so why was Xu Xiaonian so different?

His Flame Lord martial soul was already one of the very best, yet when he first awakened it, even three hundred kilograms of strength had been difficult to achieve.

Just what kind of monstrous martial soul had that brat awakened?!

Damn it! This incident had only helped Xu Xiaonian look more impressive in front of Nana. He couldn't swallow this humiliation!

"You two, hurry up and think of a way to knock that brat down a peg." Yan wore a stern expression as he looked at these two "pigheaded teammates."

A gleam flashed through Li Kai's eyes, which had swollen into slits. Pighead Number One said:

"Bosh Yan, ash far ash I know, Xu Xiaonian joined Zhang Ping'sh team. We can target him during da graduation exam. Ideally... we can cripple him!"

Pighead Number Two, Sun Chuantao, agreed:

"Even if that brat has three thousand kilograms of brute strength, he's still only just awakened his martial soul. By the team matches, he'll have at most one soul skill. With such limited ways to attack, you should be able to handle him however you like, Boss Yan, given your combat experience."

After giving it serious thought, Yan decided the plan was feasible.

He had absolute confidence in himself. A Soul Master with only one soul skill—or very possibly none at all—was nothing to worry about, even if his brute strength was close to Yan's own.

Fists and feet had no eyes in a match. Even if he accidentally crippled that brat, he believed Her Holiness the Pope would understand.

After all, Xu Xiaonian wasn't Her Holiness's personal disciple. She hadn't even allocated many extra resources to him, so presumably she didn't think much of him, did she?