Isn't this just bullying an honest man?!

Meanwhile, as Tang San was undergoing Qian Renxue's test...

Elsewhere, Ma Hongjun had finished his Soul Fighting match and was spending time with the Black Rose Mercenary Group again.

Since the two people back home were both busy handling matters, and Ma Hongjun knew he was no help with planning, he simply ate, drank, and trained as usual.

"Little chubby, let me tell you, our deputy leader is such a coward. She's obviously interested in that Li Zhanya kid, but she just won't make a move."

"Our leader is the same. She got into a spat with her fiancé and ran off to become a mercenary right after graduation. She's really dragged all of us sisters into this."

"And Luo Yao is such a bookworm. She's put your teacher through plenty of trouble. Who would've thought she'd have a taste for that? Let me-hic!-apologize to you on her behalf."

"An Ruosu is just as bad. She's no fun at all, practicing her sword all day and saying she'll become the second Sword Douluo. At this rate, she'll only become a Widow Douluo."

"Ahh~ when is romance finally going to come knocking at my door?"

At the table, Xiao Ruoxue was once again using her drunkenness as an excuse to complain about her companions.

Everyone was already used to it.

The members of the Black Rose Mercenary Group had all graduated from the Plant Academy.

They had only been mercenaries for a few years, and all of them had participated in the Elite Soul Master Tournament.

Their results back then had not been outstanding. The only noteworthy participants had been the captain and vice-captain, the sisters Chu Xiyao and Chu Qingyan. Their Martial Souls were plant types, but they had mutated.

The Black Rose Lance and the Crimson Blood Thorn Spear were genuine plant Martial Souls, despite having weapon names. They had merely condensed into the shape of spears.

Despite being plant Martial Souls, they possessed powerful offensive capabilities.

Besides those two, An Ruosu was the same. Her Martial Soul was a sword formed from plum blossoms.

"Xiao Ruoxue, you'd better sober up right now, or I'll dock your pay," Chu Xiyao told her coldly.

"Will you shut that gossiping mouth of yours? Otherwise, I'll drug you and lock you in a room with little chubby."

"Hey, hey, Qingyan, don't let the fish in the moat get caught in the fire! I haven't done anything to offend you."

Ma Hongjun hurriedly waved his hands. He had experience with women and had even cast his net far and wide before.

But now that he could control his Evil Fire, he was really just a normal man who liked to run his mouth.

Someone like Xiao Ruoxue was more than he could handle.

"Hey, hey, hey! Are you looking down on me, fatty... hehehe~ you're a fine-looking young fellow. Want me to find you a good match at our academy, little chubby?"

Xiao Ruoxue's face was flushed, and her words were slurred and incoherent. It seemed she was truly drunk this time.

"Sigh~ forget it. Hongjun, sorry for the trouble."

Luo Yao pressed a hand to her forehead and asked Ma Hongjun to take Xiao Ruoxue home first. The rest of them had not drunk their fill yet.

After all, without Soul Fighting matches or mercenary assignments, this was the only entertainment their group of single women had left.

As for going out to hook a rich man, they still had their pride. One had a fiancé, two already had someone in their hearts, and another had nothing in her heart but the way of the sword.

That left Xiao Ruoxue, whom no one dared to take.

Ma Hongjun found the whole affair utterly unremarkable. He had seen it plenty of times lately.

"I'll head out first, then. Enjoy your drinks, ladies."

Then Ma Hongjun hoisted Xiao Ruoxue onto his shoulder and went to the counter to pay the Black Rose group's tab.

He also helped Tang San forge items and earned wages for his work.

It was late, but the city's nightlife had only just begun. Tonight, however, the atmosphere was not as relaxed as usual.

Ma Hongjun guessed it was because of the situation in the Hundred Flowers Mountains. When he had returned to the shop that afternoon, Tang San had mentioned it.

"It's getting cold~ better put on more clothes and keep warm."

Feeling the chill in the air, Ma Hongjun circulated his Flame Phoenix Astral Energy Soul Power to warm himself, driving the cold from Xiao Ruoxue as well.

"Hey! You, fatty! Put that woman down!"

Suddenly, Ma Hongjun heard a girl's sharp shout.

He looked toward the voice and saw a cute girl with a scorpion braid staring at him with righteous indignation.

"Are you talking to me?" Ma Hongjun asked the girl.

"Of course! Who else on this street is a sneaky fatty carrying a woman off to do something bad?"

Xiao Wu held her chin high and crossed her arms, secretly delighted that she had done another good deed.

"Huh? Are you blind? I'm sturdy, not fat!"

Ma Hongjun only allowed people close to him to call him fatty or little chubby.

"So you're admitting you were going to do something bad."

Xiao Wu looked smug, as though she had guessed correctly.

"Bullshit! Are you crazy? Ruoxue had too much to drink. I'm taking her home."

"If you don't believe me, I'll go back to the Honeycomb Tavern with you, and you can ask Xiyao yourself."

Seeing how confidently Ma Hongjun spoke, even Xiao Wu, who had thought victory was already in her grasp, began to feel uncertain.

Could I really have gotten it wrong?

Impossible!

She had successfully found the bad guy every single time.

How could she have made a mistake this time?

Refusing to accept it, Xiao Wu decided to test the fatty again.

She activated Martial Soul Possession, and three Soul Rings appeared around her: two yellow and one purple.

Ma Hongjun immediately grew wary as well. He set Xiao Ruoxue down beside him, then activated his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul Possession. Was this crazy woman going to resort to force because she couldn't win the argument?

"Mmm~ Hongjun, what's wrong?" Xiao Ruoxue stirred, half asleep. She wanted to say something, but Xiao Wu's laughter interrupted her.

"Hahaha, why is your head so pointy?"

Xiao Wu mocked the mohawk Ma Hongjun sported after his Martial Soul Possession.

"You little-!"

Second Soul Skill, Charm!

Seizing the moment when Ma Hongjun's emotions surged, Xiao Wu unleashed her second Soul Skill, hoping to make him tell the truth.

"Gwah!"

But Ma Hongjun resisted far more fiercely than Xiao Wu had expected.

He had been constantly tempering his mental state to control his Evil Fire, but Xiao Wu's interference caused that control to falter.

His lack of experience dealing with mental Soul Skills was partly to blame.

But the main cause was still Xiao Wu's reckless behavior.

"What happened to you?!"

Seeing that something was wrong, Xiao Wu felt a little frightened and wanted to check on Ma Hongjun. Suddenly, however, a wave of killing intent appeared, filling her with instinctive terror.

She froze for a moment.

"Hongjun, are you all right?" Tang San had arrived without anyone noticing. He used his Blue Silver Creation Soul Power to help Ma Hongjun control his Evil Fire and restore his mental equilibrium.

"Tang San?! Is Hongjun all right?" Everything had happened too quickly, but Xiao Ruoxue still shook off her drunkenness, stood beside Tang San, and summoned her Martial Soul as she asked anxiously about Ma Hongjun.

"Nothing serious. Look after him."

Tang San then turned to Xiao Wu and said evenly, "Xiao Wu, it's been a few years. It seems life in Spirit Hall hasn't made you any more mature."

Broadening one's horizons did not mean elevating one's thinking. The mindset rooted in her Soul Beast nature was a chasm Xiao Wu struggled to cross.

Xiao Wu recognized Tang San as well, but she could not get a single word out.

She felt as though she had returned to the time before she had gained intelligence, suffocating beneath the watchful eyes of beasts surrounding her.

"Hu Liena, what did you think?"

"...That Tang San is a monster with limitless potential. I have to admit it."

Recalling their clash of spiritual power just now, Hu Liena spoke with lingering fear.