Qian Renxue!

Hu Liena had initially felt some warmth toward the other girl because she was so pretty.

At those words, her little face instantly fell. Planting both hands on her hips, she glared at her and said:

"You're so rude! I don't like you. Hurry up and leave! Su Yu and I still have to train!"

The girl's expression barely changed at Hu Liena's words. She showed no anger, only a little more impatience in her voice:

"Hmph, who cares whether you like me? You still haven't answered me. Are you that woman's disciples?"

"What woman?" Hu Liena frowned, looking puzzled.

"You're talking in circles, always saying 'that woman.' How are we supposed to know who you mean?"

She paused, then raised her chin and added defiantly.

"Besides, our names aren't 'hey'! We have names! I'm Hu Liena, and this is Su Yu!"

The girl looked them up and down, her lips curving into a mocking smile:

"Who else could it be? This is the Pope Hall. If you can train here, what else could you be but her disciples?"

The "her" she spoke of clearly referred to Bibi Dong.

"You mean Teacher?"

Hu Liena suddenly understood. Her eyes instantly turned wary, like a little beast that had been provoked.

"You're disrespecting our teacher!"

"That woman is heartless and faithless. So what if I disrespect her?"

The girl gave a derisive snort as she looked at Hu Liena, complicated, unreadable emotions churning in her pale purple eyes.

There was resentment, estrangement, and a trace of barely perceptible jealousy.

"You two are nothing but little brats under her protection."

She swept her gaze over Su Yu and Hu Liena, making no attempt to hide the contempt in her voice.

"That's nonsense!"

Hu Liena's cheeks flushed red with anger, her chest heaving. Even the soul power within her grew somewhat chaotic from her agitation, and a Demon Fox Phantom faintly appeared around her!

"Teacher isn't like that at all! She's very good to us. She teaches us to cultivate and protects us!"

"Hmph, little brats will be little brats." The girl's lips curled disdainfully.

"I wondered how impressive her disciples might be, but now I see you're nothing special. You can't even tell a good person from a bad one."

"You! You're not allowed to disrespect Teacher!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Hu Liena rushed straight up to the girl. Tilting her little face upward, she stared into her eyes and said, enunciating every word:

"I challenge you to a Soul Master battle! I'll show you that Teacher isn't someone you can slander as you please!"

Her voice trembled slightly with anger, yet it was exceptionally firm, as though a stubborn strength lay within her tiny body.

The Demon Fox Phantom behind her gave a low howl, and a yellow soul ring slowly rose beneath her feet.

A flicker of surprise crossed the girl's eyes as she looked at the yellow soul ring beneath Hu Liena's feet.

She seemed not to have expected this little girl to have already absorbed her first soul ring.

But that surprise vanished in an instant, replaced by an even deeper sneer:

"Oh? You've only just obtained a soul ring, and you dare challenge me? Fine. Let me see just how much the disciple she taught is worth."

As she spoke, soul power suddenly surged around her, and an aura several times stronger than Hu Liena's spread outward.

Immediately afterward, three soul rings-yellow, yellow, and purple-rose one after another beneath her feet.

An aura belonging to a Soul Elder spread outward, instantly making even the surrounding air feel heavier.

"A Soul Elder! How is that possible!"

Staring at the three soul rings around the girl, Hu Liena's eyes widened into circles. She was so shocked that she could barely speak.

She instinctively retreated half a step, her little hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes.

This girl looked only two or three years older than her, ten at most. How could she have already cultivated to the Soul Elder level?

Even among Spirit Hall's geniuses, those who reached Soul Elder at twelve or thirteen were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

The talent of the girl before her simply surpassed her understanding!

"Hmph, compared with my talent, yours isn't worth mentioning! Do you still want to challenge me?"

Seeing Hu Liena's shocked expression, the girl's mocking smile deepened:

"What's wrong? Afraid now? Weren't you so brave just a moment ago? Do you still want to challenge me now?"

Hu Liena gritted her teeth. A trace of humiliation crossed her face, but an unyielding stubbornness showed even more strongly.

She took a deep breath and straightened her little body again, her yellow soul ring lighting up once more:

"Even if you're a Soul Elder, I won't back down! You insulted Teacher, and I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

"You don't know your own limits. Remember, my name is Qian Renxue. I'm the one who defeated you!"

The girl snorted coldly, a trace of impatience flashing through her pale purple eyes.

As she spoke, her first yellow soul ring lit up, and the fluctuations of soul power around her abruptly grew fierce.

Clearly, despite her disdain, she had no intention of holding back.

An Angel Phantom had already appeared behind the girl, clad in pure white armor.

The phantom held the Angel Holy Sword. Its indistinct face exuded majesty, and a gentle yet immense golden halo radiated around it.

Then three pairs of pure white wings slowly unfurled behind her, refracting dazzling light beneath the sun.

"First Soul Skill: Angel Assault!"

With a low shout, her first yellow soul ring abruptly lit up, and brilliant golden energy instantly gathered around both fists.

As she activated her soul skill, the wings behind Qian Renxue gave a gentle beat.

The next second, the girl shot toward Hu Liena like an arrow loosed from a bow, moving so fast that she left only a golden afterimage!

"First Soul Skill: Demon Fox Charm!"

Hu Liena gritted her teeth. The Demon Fox Phantom behind her suddenly raised its head and let out a piercing roar.

The yellow soul ring beneath her feet abruptly lit up, radiating dazzling light.

A pink radiance instantly flashed through her eyes as she looked toward the charging Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue was coming at her with a punch when her gaze inadvertently met that purple radiance.

Her mind briefly went blank, and her movements faltered with it-the stunning effect of Demon Fox Charm had taken hold!

Seizing that brief opening of a few seconds, Hu Liena nimbly slid her petite body sideways, narrowly dodging Qian Renxue's punch.

The force of the punch brushed past the hem of her clothes and struck the ground, actually splitting a fine crack in the hard stone slab.

"Not bad. Interesting. So you're a Control System Soul Master. You're stronger than I expected."

She flexed her wrist, golden energy gathering around her fist once more, her tone carrying a hint of provocation:

"But you've only just become a Soul Master. How many times can you use that soul skill? Let's see how you dodge once your soul power runs out."

Hu Liena panted, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead-that move had consumed almost half her soul power:

"None of your business! Even if my soul power runs out, I won't let you slander Teacher as you please!"