Facing the Fox (Revised)

"My name is Tang Yue, and I'm..." Tang Yue paused, thought for a moment, then said, "Elder Yue Guan's granddaughter."

"Grandpa Chrysanthemum's granddaughter?" Hu Liena looked at Yue Guan. He turned his face away, pretending he had heard nothing. He genuinely wanted to take her as his granddaughter, but even with a hundred times his courage, he would never dare do so without the Great Enshrined's approval.

Hu Liena rarely saw that expression on Yue Guan's face. She frowned slightly, feeling that something was wrong. "If you're Grandpa Chrysanthemum's granddaughter, why have I never seen you before?"

"Because I don't live here," Tang Yue answered truthfully. She lived in Guang Ling Hall.

"..."

For some reason, Hu Liena felt she was being taken for a ride.

"You don't look very old. Have you awakened your martial soul yet?"

She asked.

"Of course I have. Otherwise, how could I come looking for Grandpa Chrysanthemum?"

Tang Yue answered with the ghost of a smile.

Yue Guan: "..."

Hu Liena frowned. "Can I take that as you provoking me?"

"Of course you can." Tang Yue tilted her head up and smiled slightly. There was a considerable difference in their heights, and Hu Liena's soul power level was much higher than hers. If they really fought, Tang Yue might well come out the worse for it.

Yue Guan wanted to stop them, but Hu Liena had already thrown down the gauntlet. "I won't bully you. You should only be a Soul Grandmaster in the twenties right now, correct? How about this: I won't use any soul skills, and we'll have a match. If you win, I won't object to anything you say about me from now on. But if I win, you must apologize!"

Judging by Tang Yue's age, Hu Liena thought that even if she were a prodigy, she could only be in the twenties. As someone in the forties, she couldn't bully someone in the twenties. Even if she won, it would be no honorable victory!

"I'm not a Soul Grandmaster. I'm a Soul Elder."

"What?" Hu Liena was somewhat surprised. "How old are you? How could you already..."

"I'm ten. Can't a ten-year-old be a Soul Elder?" Tang Yue interrupted her. "As far as I know, Spirit Hall's young mistress, Qian Renxue, broke through to Soul Elder at my age, didn't she?"

Qian Renxue?

Hu Liena found it hard to believe. Qian Renxue had reached the thirties at ten because she had a god-bestowed martial soul and innate level-twenty soul power. Otherwise, how could she possibly have reached the thirties at ten?

Could it be...

Hu Liena's eyes flickered. "You..."

Before she could finish, Yue Guan, who stood beside Tang Yue, spoke up to mediate. "Well, Nana, Yueyue, whatever it is, you can talk it out. There's no need to settle it with force. If you two can't stand the sight of each other, just go your separate ways!"

"I don't dislike her. I just want to spar with her," Tang Yue answered calmly.

Hu Liena had never met anyone so arrogant. Her brows knitted tightly, and she had no intention of letting the matter slide so easily. "Fine. If we're sparring, then it has to be fair. I'll give you three moves. How does that sound?"

"It doesn't." Tang Yue folded her arms and looked up. "You don't need to give me a head start. Just use your full strength."

"Hah! How arrogant!"

A Soul Elder in the thirties was actually challenging her, a Soul Ancestor in the forties, and even saying she didn't need a head start. It was infuriating to be looked down on like this!

Hu Liena wasted no more words on Tang Yue. She summoned her martial soul and released her soul power. A yellow, single-tailed fox appeared behind her, reclining with a bell hanging from its neck. A gentle touch sent out a crisp, melodious chime. At the same time, four soul rings abruptly rose from beneath Hu Liena's feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple!

"Hu Liena, level-forty-two Battle Soul Ancestor. Martial soul: demon fox!"

Hu Liena's aura alone far surpassed Tang Yue's, yet Yue Guan, watching from the sidelines, showed no concern at all. Gui Mei found this rather strange. "Aren't you worried about that girl? Nana is a level-forty-two Soul Elder. Even if that girl is level thirty, there's still a gap of more than ten levels between them. Ten levels-that's an entire cultivation rank! Besides, Nana has one more soul ring than she does."

Gui Mei's concern was not unfounded, but Yue Guan remained utterly unconcerned. He gave Gui Mei a reassuring smile, then began admiring his fresh manicure. "Don't worry, Old Ghost. Just watch."

"..."

Gui Mei was speechless.

As a level-forty-two Soul Ancestor, Hu Liena directed the oppressive aura of her soul power straight at Tang Yue.

Tang Yue immediately released her soul power and summoned her martial soul. "Tang Yue, level-thirty-two Battle Soul Elder. Martial soul: nine-petal immortal lotus."

A white nine-petal immortal lotus tinged with red appeared before Tang Yue's chest. In an instant, the pressure Hu Liena had imposed on her dissipated.

Even more striking than Hu Liena's soul power was the third soul ring that rose from beneath Tang Yue's feet!

Yellow, yellow, black!

It was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!

Hu Liena's heart jolted!

How was that possible?

"A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring..."

Gui Mei was shocked as well. He instinctively looked at Yue Guan, only to find him watching as though enjoying a show. It seemed his earlier attempt to stop them had actually been meant to preserve Hu Liena's dignity...

"First soul skill, Foxfire Command!"

A wisp of foxfire appeared in Hu Liena's hand, its flames scorching hot. She hurled it at Tang Yue, intending to seize the initiative.

So what if she had a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? Could a lotus defeat her?

After throwing out one wisp of foxfire, Hu Liena conjured several more in her hands. Foxfire was a single-target attack. Though its offensive power was not particularly strong, a hit would affect the target's mental power. In that respect, it was somewhat similar to Tang Yue's first soul skill.

Tang Yue twisted sideways to dodge, bending at the waist with extraordinary flexibility. When several wisps of foxfire came at her, she had no room left to evade and finally used a soul skill. "Second soul skill, Dancing Butterflies!"

Butterfly wings sprouted from her back, and Tang Yue soared into the air. She circled Hu Liena, whose foxfire kept narrowly missing her. Airborne Soul Masters had always been the bane of landbound Soul Masters. Clearly, with Tang Yue's flight ability, Hu Liena's attacks posed no real threat.

"Third soul skill, Demon Fox Transformation!"

Hu Liena truly had not expected a lotus martial soul to possess a flight skill. Knowing that dragging things out would work against her, she activated her support soul skill.

Pink light radiated from her entire body, and her mental power, speed, and attack power increased more than threefold. Foxfire struck again, but Tang Yue chose to descend!

"First soul skill, Thousand Absolute Ice Prisms!"

Three ice prisms suddenly appeared in her palm. Tang Yue hurled them into Hu Liena's foxfire. One soul skill carried the fire attribute, the other the ice attribute. Fire overcame ice-that was the law of nature. Hu Liena's lips curved into a smile. "Tang Yue, you've lo-"

Whoosh-

In an instant, the ice prisms pierced through the foxfire and shot through the air, striking straight at Hu Liena!

"?!"

Hu Liena failed to react in time and was hit by the ice prisms. Poison spread through her body, paralyzing her completely. Even her thoughts froze at the moment the paralysis took hold!

With wind beneath her feet, Tang Yue charged at Hu Liena and drew a dagger from her Soul Tool. Seeing this, Gui Mei hurriedly shouted to stop her. "Girl! That's enough!"

Just as the dagger was about to reach Hu Liena's neck, an oppressive force descended from above. The dagger abruptly fell from Tang Yue's hand to the ground. Her soul trembled faintly, and every step felt impossibly difficult!