After leaving the arena, Lin Xi found a random excuse to send Wang Dong away, then took Huo Yutong to a restaurant.
Xu Sanshi had already been waiting there for quite some time.
"Junior, what took you so long today?"
Lin Xi smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, senior. We had the freshman assessment today."
"Huh? The freshman assessment?" Xu Sanshi froze, then sighed. "Should I feel sorry for your opponents?"
He had, after all, seen the tip of the iceberg of Lin Xi's strength.
With this guy taking part in the freshman assessment, unless every student in the year attacked together, they wouldn't stand a chance, would they?
His understanding of Lin Xi's strength was still mistaken. In fact, even if every student in the year fought Lin Xi alone, he would easily wipe them all out.
No matter how many ants there were, they were still only ants.
Lin Xi smiled faintly, glossed over the subject, and asked:
"So, senior, how are things going on your end with our deal?"
"Haha! Do you even need to ask? Of course I called you over to share some good news."
Xu Sanshi's face lit up with excitement.
Some time ago, Lin Xi had offered him a low-priced trade deal and asked whether he wanted to accept it.
When he saw it, he nearly spat out the food in his mouth and hurriedly submitted it to his family.
The deal concerned a batch of Soul Tools, priced so cheaply that Xu Sanshi could scarcely believe his eyes.
He had long heard that Unlimited Blade Works sold Soul Tools at absurd prices, but he hadn't expected them to go even lower.
What he didn't know was that Lin Xi had given him a friends' discount as a small token of compensation.
Although copying the Mystic Water Pill was down to Lin Xi's own abilities, he still felt a little embarrassed about it.
He believed in repaying every kindness. The Mystic Water Pill Xu Sanshi had given him had been a great help in recruiting people, so naturally, he wanted to give him a discreet helping hand.
In the end, the Mysterious Nether Sect had happily agreed to this business partnership. Xu Sanshi had invited Lin Xi here to discuss the follow-up arrangements on behalf of his family.
With any luck, his standing within the family would become even firmer, and the position of next family head would be his for certain.
His luck, however, didn't seem particularly good.
Before the two could begin their discussion, the restaurant door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure with an overwhelming presence slowly walked in.
At the sight of the newcomer, Xu Sanshi's face instantly turned white.
Fiery red hair, a tall figure, and a proud expression-the newcomer was none other than Ma Xiaotao.
Without a doubt, she had come to find Xu Sanshi to suppress her Evil Fire.
Xu Sanshi hurriedly put on an ingratiating smile:
"Oh, Sister Xiaotao, you're here. Could you wait a little today? I have something important to handle."
Bitterness welled up inside him.
Ma Xiaotao couldn't have picked a worse time. Why did she have to come right when he was about to discuss business?
It didn't matter if he suffered a little. The problem was that if he abandoned Lin Xi halfway through and ran off like this, he could probably forget about any future partnership.
After all, that would be far too disrespectful to Lin Xi.
The trouble was, there was absolutely nothing he could do about Ma Xiaotao.
If he could fight back, he would have done so long ago. Why else would he have let her keep pushing him around like this?
Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"
Her words overflowed with menace.
Relying on her Soul Emperor cultivation and her status as Yan Shaozhe's disciple, she had grown used to throwing her weight around in the outer court and had rarely backed down.
Xu Sanshi gave Lin Xi a conflicted glance, then cupped his hands.
"I'm sorry, but I really do have something very important today. Could you come another day-no, just wait a little while?"
He wasn't stupid. He knew how to weigh priorities.
Offending Ma Xiaotao would, at worst, mean a beating.
Offending Lin Xi would be much more serious.
"Hmph."
Seeing how firm he was, Ma Xiaotao was somewhat surprised.
Since when had that turtle hiding in its shell become so brave?
She walked up to Lin Xi.
"Little Xu has something to discuss with you, right? What is it? If it's a question of money, I can cover it for now."
As she spoke, she examined Lin Xi closely.
She was very curious about just what sort of person could make Xu Sanshi dare speak to her like that.
Lin Xi looked at her with a frown.
It seemed she still didn't know that he had been the one to stop her back then.
That made sense. In the original story, if Huo Yuhao hadn't possessed an ice attribute that could suppress her Evil Fire, she wouldn't have gone to see him at all.
She hadn't even apologized to someone she had nearly killed. Lin Xi found it difficult to feel any goodwill toward such a person.
He gave her a polite smile and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, senior, but what's between Brother Xu and me isn't something you can meddle in."
Beside them, the terrified Xu Sanshi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. Lin Xi was still willing to call him Brother Xu, which meant he wasn't angry with Xu Sanshi.
Ma Xiaotao frowned in displeasure.
"Junior, do you know who I am?"
Something she couldn't meddle in?
She didn't believe anyone in the outer court would dare speak like that if they knew who she was.
Lin Xi shrugged.
"Of course I do. Senior Ma Xiaotao, you're an inner court student, Dean Yan's disciple, the bearer of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, and a genius who became a Soul Emperor at such a young age. Very impressive indeed... but what the hell does that have to do with me?"
"You..."
Ma Xiaotao's eyes widened in astonishment.
Lin Xi had sounded so polite at first that the sudden final remark left her brain momentarily short-circuiting.
Lin Xi's expression turned cold.
"Senior Xiaotao, I show you respect by calling you senior, and I hope you can act like one. Your junior has already made it clear that he has important business, yet you keep pestering him. Is this how Dean Yan's disciple was brought up?"
"Don't you dare insult my teacher!"
Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao instinctively reached out to teach Lin Xi a lesson.
He could insult her, but he absolutely could not insult the teacher who had worked so hard to raise her!
Yet before her hand could touch Lin Xi, a sharp pain stabbed through her mind.
Beside him, a terrifying golden light shone in Huo Yutong's eyes.
Who gave you permission to attack Brother Lin Xi right in front of me?
Under that agonizing pain, Ma Xiaotao briefly lost control of her body, and Lin Xi seized her outstretched hand.
"Going to attack me? An inner court disciple attacking a first-year freshman? Ma Xiaotao, you've really thrown away every scrap of the academy's dignity."
Lin Xi's words dripped with mockery.
In truth, he didn't care in the slightest about the academy's dignity, but he was curious how Ma Xiaotao would react to those words.
After all, in the original story, she was the one who cared most about Shrek's so-called glory.
"You...!" Just as expected, Ma Xiaotao grew agitated. "Who do you think I am?!"
She struggled to pull her hand free, only to discover in shock that Lin Xi's strength was no less than hers. For the moment, she couldn't break free at all.
Maintaining Reinforcement Magecraft to strengthen his body, Lin Xi looked at Ma Xiaotao with a cold smile.
"Oh, getting worked up?"
Ma Xiaotao's eyes reddened slightly.
A burst of flame suddenly erupted from her hand, and only then did Lin Xi release her.
She clenched her teeth and looked at Lin Xi with an uncertain expression.
"Could it be... you're Lin Xi?"