Chen Xiaojun shook his head and said with a faint smile, "You're too modest, Miss Hu."
"With your reputation as the Spirit Fox Fairy and your standing at twenty-first on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking, dealing with them was well within your abilities."
Hu Qian Ning froze for a moment before replying, "Surely my paltry skills could hardly catch the discerning eye of the Peerless Young Master?"
Chen Xiaojun raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you so certain I'm the Peerless Young Master?"
Hu Qian Ning answered confidently, "You remained unruffled in the face of danger, calm and composed. Every gesture revealed your exceptional bearing."
"Among Chang'an City's younger generation, who besides the Peerless Young Master could possess such grace?"
The corners of Chen Xiaojun's mouth lifted. "You underestimate the outstanding young talents of Chang'an City's great families, Miss Hu."
Hu Qian Ning smiled charmingly. "But I haven't guessed wrong, have I?"
Chen Xiaojun smiled calmly and said softly, "Miss Hu, for now, you should deal with the aftermath before you."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the patrol guards who had transformed into low-grade martial souls such as lone wolves, gray rabbits, hawks, and black dogs. Carrying standard-issue Ding'an Sabers, they had already drawn near.
A brief explanation was in order: apart from special-category martial souls, top-tier martial souls generally started with three attributes, high-grade ones had two, and mid-grade ones had one.
Low-grade martial souls fell below the grading threshold and had no further subdivisions. They possessed no attributes.
In other words, the soul power cultivated by soul masters with these martial souls lacked distinct elemental characteristics, carrying only traces of unformed true intent.
It merely reflected certain traits of the martial souls themselves, such as a rabbit's agility, a hawk's ability to fly, or a wolf's sharp claws.