"Hahaha, hahaha..."
After Tang Mo withdrew his hand, an extraordinarily radiant smile suddenly blossomed across Hu Liena's face, followed by peals of somewhat frenzied laughter spilling from her mouth.
Hu Liena had a distinctive voice, husky with a touch of magnetism. Even at her young age, it already showed a hint of soul-stealing allure.
But as she began laughing at the top of her lungs, that allure vanished without a trace, replaced by a frenzy that was hard to describe. She sounded a little like a certain dark fairy, Xiaoyue, who preferred not to disclose her name. The three-part laugh paired with that husky little voice was simply something else.
Tang Mo raised a hand and picked at his ear, shutting out as much of Hu Liena's mental pollution as possible.
The little trick he had used on Hu Liena resembled pressure-point striking, but she was not laughing uncontrollably because Tang Mo had struck her laughter point. It was because he had left some of his soul power inside her.
His soul power was like a multitude of invisible hands, constantly stimulating Hu Liena's ticklish spots. Under those circumstances, it would have been a miracle if she could have held back her laughter.
"Hahaha, my dear junior brother, hahaha, I was wrong, hahaha, let me off, hahaha, pretty please? Hahaha..."
Watching Hu Liena use her three-part laughter as punctuation, Tang Mo did not soften in the slightest. He understood human nature's deep-rooted flaws all too well. Unless he let Hu Liena experience true suffering, she would never learn restraint, and there was no telling what other mischief she might stir up later.
Even when Hu Liena pleaded with Tang Mo in a wheedling manner she considered quite charming, he remained completely unmoved.
"It's not that you know you were wrong. You just can't stand laughing anymore." Tang Mo shot Hu Liena an exasperated glance, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure. "Today, a small punishment will serve as a stern warning. Once an incense stick's worth of time has passed, you'll stop on your own."
"Hahaha, my dear junior brother, hahaha, I really know I was wrong, hahaha..." Seeing that Tang Mo remained unmoved, Hu Liena turned a pleading gaze toward Yue Guan.
Seeing this, Yue Guan chose to turn his head away, pretending he had not seen Hu Liena's plea for help.
Hu Liena's eyes reddened slightly as a result, but she did not shed tears, nor did she seek help from Bibi Dong inside Pope Hall.
She suddenly realized that Yue Guan was turning a blind eye for her own good. Ever since she had embarked on the path of a soul master, everything had gone too smoothly.
Her considerable innate soul power had earned her Bibi Dong's appreciation. After becoming Bibi Dong's disciple, the unusual nature of her charm ability had left her with few rivals among her peers.
Although she did not understand that what was too rigid would easily snap, Yue Guan usually treated her very well, practically regarding her as his own granddaughter.
She did not understand why Yue Guan refused to help her, but she knew he would not harm her, so she endured the suffering.
In silence, Yue Guan led Tang Mo around to familiarize him with Pope Hall's layout. Pope Hall was vast. Aside from Elder Hall and Bibi Dong's workplace, there were various other palaces scattered throughout.
Apart from the palaces that were occupied or served specific purposes, quite a few stood empty.
As the Saintess, Hu Liena naturally had a small palace of her own. Tang Mo received much the same resources as she did, so of course he could have an equivalent small palace to live in.
As for Xie Yue and Yan, who belonged to the Golden Generation alongside Hu Liena, they lived at the foot of the mountain. Only when it was time for class could they come up the mountain to attend lessons with Hu Liena in one of the palaces within Pope Hall.
Nominally, all three were students of Spirit Hall Academy, but they did not attend classes alongside the other students.
The more talented the student, the stronger the teacher. This was common understanding on the Douluo Continent.
Spirit Hall Academy was divided into junior, intermediate, and advanced levels, with graduation requirements of One-Ring Soul Master, Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, and Three-Ring Soul Elder respectively.
Generally speaking, anyone teaching at an advanced academy had to be at least a Five-Ring Soul King.
Under such circumstances, the fact that the teachers instructing Spirit Hall Academy's other students were Six-Ring Soul Emperors was ample evidence of the strength of its teaching staff.
Meanwhile, the teachers instructing Hu Liena and the other two were at least Seven-Ring Soul Sages. Even Eight-Ring Soul Douluos and Nine-Ring Titled Douluos occasionally made guest appearances as teachers.
By the time Yue Guan had shown Tang Mo some of the routes through Pope Hall, Hu Liena had stopped laughing hysterically.
She followed behind Tang Mo until they reached a row of detached palaces. The place looked deserted. Despite the number of palaces, only one showed signs of someone living there.
Clearly, that palace belonged to Hu Liena, and from that moment onward, Tang Mo officially became her neighbor.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
Early the next morning, knocking that was neither too loud nor too soft sounded at Tang Mo's residence. Seated upright on the eaves in meditation, Tang Mo slowly opened his eyes.
After Tang Mo had explained his martial soul's circumstances to Bibi Dong the previous day, she had mobilized Spirit Hall's personnel to begin searching for a suitable sea soul beast for him.
Since Tang Mo needed a water-attribute soul beast for his second soul ring, Spirit Hall's personnel naturally had to search the sea for a suitable sea soul beast.
Searching for a water-attribute soul beast on land was no easier than searching for a small oasis deep in a desert. It was not that oases did not exist in the depths of a desert, but that they were difficult to find.
Thus, until a suitable soul beast was found, Tang Mo could only remain in Pope Hall and familiarize himself with the school life ahead alongside Hu Liena.
"Stop knocking. Look up."
As Hu Liena knocked on the door, Tang Mo's voice suddenly came from above.
Hearing him, Hu Liena stepped back a few paces and tilted her head up to look at Tang Mo.
"You're up so early." Looking at Tang Mo, who seemed to have spent some time on the roof already, Hu Liena could not help remarking.
"Still better than you staying up all night." As he spoke, Tang Mo leaped from the roof, drifting gracefully down like willow fluff on the wind.
The instant Tang Mo's feet touched the ground, they actually made no sound of impact. At least, Hu Liena did not hear the slightest noise.
Seeing Tang Mo's graceful movement, Hu Liena instinctively wanted to applaud and cheer. But remembering how she had nearly laughed herself breathless under Tang Mo's small punishment and stern warning yesterday, she did not dare act too freely in front of him and felt rather constrained.
"If you want to clap, then clap. If you want to cheer, then cheer. I taught you a lesson not because your nature annoyed me, but because your behavior displeased me," Tang Mo said calmly as he passed Hu Liena.
Then he strode toward the palace used as a classroom. This was his first class, and he was very curious about what would be taught.
People across the Douluo Continent maintained healthy routines, going to bed early and rising early. Some soul masters even replaced sleep with cultivation.
So he had not risen particularly early. Excluding the time spent washing up and eating breakfast, he had spent only an hour on the roof, all told.
Spirit Hall-or rather, Bibi Dong-had assigned dedicated attendants to look after his daily needs, and someone had delivered breakfast very early.
Having eaten early and with little else to do, he could only pass the time cultivating.
Hu Liena's situation was much the same. Otherwise, she would not have had the spare time to come over specifically to remind Tang Mo to attend class.
Compared with Hu Liena's unhurried ease, Xie Yue and Yan were in quite a rush. Both lived in Spirit Hall Academy's dormitories, which were a considerable distance from the classroom near Pope Hall.
Thus, if the two failed to manage their time properly, they could only race all the way toward the mountainside at a hundred-meter sprint.
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