"No need to be shy. Lift your head, Nana."
Looking at Hu Liena below the dais, her pretty face faintly flushed, Yao Xuan smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Master!"
At Yao Xuan's words, Hu Liena nodded bashfully, then stole a look at him.
"Just call me Brother Xuan from now on."
Looking at Hu Liena before him, Yao Xuan smiled.
Hearing his words, Hu Liena raised her head and stole another glance at him.
With that glance, her heart skipped another beat.
His face was almost excessively handsome, but what truly unsettled Hu Liena were his eyes.
When those eyes looked at her, there was not a trace of aggression in them, yet they seemed to see straight through her.
Growing up, Hu Liena had seen far too many ways people looked at her.
Some gazes held greed, some reverence, and others envy.
Yet no one had ever looked at her with such calm.
It was as though she, the foremost member of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, was nothing more than an ordinary little object in his eyes.
The more this was so, the more something she could not quite name stirred within Hu Liena.
In all her years, this was the first time anyone had looked at her like that.
There was not the slightest flattery in that gaze, nor the slightest frivolity.
Yet that very gaze made her inexplicably flustered.
She hurriedly lowered her head, but her cheeks had already turned completely red.
Yao Xuan saw all of it.
He looked her up and down.
A slender figure, long legs, and a pair of fox ears that swayed gently with her movements.
He had to admit, this girl really was exceptionally beautiful.
Yao Xuan had always felt that one should love the realm, but love beauties even more.
He was no block of wood to begin with.
Since he had encountered beauties like Qian Renxue and Hu Liena, naturally, he could not let a single one slip away.
As for Bibi Dong?
She still needed to be tested.
He did not like women who were too vicious.
With that thought, Yao Xuan withdrew his gaze and spoke mildly.
"I hear you're Bibi Dong's most prized disciple?"
"Y-yes, Brother Xuan."
Hu Liena answered softly, her head lowered.
"Release your Martial Soul. Let me take a look."
"Yes."
Hearing this, Hu Liena dared not delay.
She drew a deep breath and formed hand seals.
The next moment, a pink fox phantom slowly emerged behind her.
As soon as the fox phantom appeared, the temperature throughout the hall seemed to drop a little.
Yao Xuan's gaze swept over the fox phantom before settling on Hu Liena again.
He could clearly see the circulation of Soul Power inside her.
Although she was already exceptionally outstanding among her peers.
In Yao Xuan's eyes, however, it was still very crude.
Still...
Strength and the like did not matter. What he valued more was Hu Liena herself.
"Mm, not bad."
Yao Xuan nodded casually. "From this day onward, you are Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden."
His voice was not loud, but it carried a weight that allowed no questioning.
At those words, the hall instantly fell silent.
Holy Maiden?
This was a position Spirit Hall had never established in all its years.
Not only Hu Liena, but even Bibi Dong, kneeling to one side, could not help raising her head.
She opened her mouth, intending to say something, but when she met Yao Xuan's gaze, she swallowed the words back down.
"Thank you... Brother Xuan."
At Yao Xuan's words, Hu Liena's heart inexplicably eased a little.
Then she froze for quite some time before coming to her senses.
She dropped to her knees with a thud, unconcealable delight in her voice.
"This is a small reward for you. Cultivate diligently, and don't disgrace the title of Holy Maiden."
As his words fell, Yao Xuan extended a finger and lightly pointed.
A streak of light entered the space between Hu Liena's brows.
It was a cultivation technique he had casually rewritten, tailored specifically for fox-type Martial Souls.
Its name was the "Heavenly Fox Technique."
The instant the technique entered her body, Hu Liena felt warmth spread through her.
The slightly impure Soul Power within her actually began flowing much more smoothly all at once.
"This..."
Her eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
"Practice diligently."
Yao Xuan withdrew his hand, his tone even. "Once you've mastered it, I have other rewards for you."
"Yes, Brother Xuan!"
Hu Liena kowtowed deeply, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude and admiration.
"Oh, right. I hear Spirit Hall also has a Worship Hall?"
After sending Hu Liena away, Yao Xuan turned his head and glanced at Bibi Dong, who was still kneeling on the floor.
If he was to become the master of Spirit Hall, naturally, subduing Bibi Dong alone would not suffice.
The same went for Qian Daoliu.
"Yes... Seven Enshrined are cultivating in seclusion within the Worship Hall."
"Besides them, Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu, is there as well. He is one of only three Peerless Douluo in the world today."
Not daring to conceal anything, Bibi Dong hurriedly answered.
"A mere Peerless Douluo is nothing but an ant. Keep kneeling here and wait."
Hearing this, Yao Xuan scoffed and gave the instruction mildly.
Bibi Dong dared not disobey and could only remain obediently kneeling where she was.
"Na'er, Xiao Wu, let's go."
As his words fell, Yao Xuan waved a hand.
The next moment, the three of them appeared inside the Worship Hall.
At that very moment.
Within the Worship Hall, seven figures opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
Every one of them had an unfathomable aura; even the weakest had the cultivation of a Titled Douluo.
Those seven gazes fixed on the three of them in unison like seven knives.
Yet Yao Xuan and his two companions showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Who are you!"
"How dare you trespass in the Worship Hall!"
Just then, an aged, commanding voice rang out from the deepest part of the hall.
Along with that voice, a figure slowly stood.
Clad in white-and-gold robes, his hair and beard entirely white, he nevertheless bore a terrifying aura.
He was none other than Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined-Qian Daoliu.
"Insolence! Do you know what this place is!"
One of the Enshrined also shouted sternly.
Looking at those seven menacing figures, Yao Xuan merely smiled.
"Na'er, I'll leave this to you."
He turned his head and casually instructed Gu Yuena beside him.
"Yes, Brother Xuan!"
Hearing Yao Xuan's words, Gu Yuena nodded slightly.
She merely raised her hand.
That single movement.
A surge of seven-colored elemental power appeared out of thin air, sweeping through the entire hall in an instant like a vast ocean.
Humm-
The expressions of the seven Enshrined changed drastically at almost the same moment.
Before this power, the Soul Power within them, as vast as mountains and seas, was actually like ice and snow meeting a branding iron.
In an instant, it was completely suppressed, leaving them unable to mobilize even the slightest trace.
Qian Daoliu's eyes flew wide open.
In his entire life, he had never seen or even heard of such power.
With nothing more than a raised hand.
All seven Titled Douluo-level Enshrined were forced to their knees on the floor.
Some did not even have time to utter a word before they were crushed flat against the ground.
In an instant.
The entire Worship Hall fell so silent that not even a crow or sparrow could be heard!
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