Hu Liena had initially felt some closeness upon seeing the other girl's pretty appearance.
But upon hearing those words, her little face instantly fell. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at the girl and said:
"How rude! I don't like you! Leave quickly! Brother Su Yu and I still need to cultivate!"
The girl showed no expression on her face upon hearing Hu Liena's words, nor did she appear angry, though her tone carried a hint of impatience:
"Hmph, who cares if you like me or not? You still haven't answered me - are you that woman's disciples?"
"What woman?" Hu Liena frowned, looking completely confused.
"You're talking in circles, always saying 'that woman' - how are we supposed to know who you mean?"
She paused, then lifted her chin, adding with a touch of defiance:
"And we're not called 'hey'! We have names! I'm Hu Liena, and this is Brother Su Yu!"
The girl looked them up and down, a mocking curve forming at the corner of her mouth:
"Who else could it be? This is the Papal Hall. If you can cultivate here, you must be her disciples."
The "her" she referred to was clearly Bi Bidong.
"You mean our teacher?"
Hu Liena suddenly understood, her eyes instantly turning wary like a provoked little animal.
"You're disrespecting our teacher!"
"That woman is heartless and ungrateful. So what if I disrespect her?"
The girl looked at Hu Liena with a light sneer, her light purple eyes swirling with complex, hard-to-read emotions.
There was resentment, alienation, and a trace of jealousy that was difficult to detect.
"You two are just little brats sheltered by her."
She glanced at Su Yu and Hu Liena, the disdain in her tone completely unconcealed.
"That's not true!"
Hu Liena's face flushed red with anger, her chest heaving violently. The Soul Power within her became somewhat disordered due to her agitation, and the Fox Spirit Avatar around her began to faintly appear!
"Teacher isn't at all like what you said! She's been very good to us, teaching us cultivation and protecting us!"
"Hmph, little brats will be little brats." The girl curled her lips disdainfully.
"I thought her disciples would be something special, but now I see you're nothing remarkable. You don't even have the discernment to judge people properly."
"You! Don't you dare disrespect our teacher!"
Hu Liena could no longer contain herself. She rushed right up to the girl, lifted her little face, stared hard into her eyes, and said word by word:
"I challenge you to a Soul Master Battle! I'll make you understand that our teacher is not someone you can casually slander!"
Her voice trembled slightly with anger, yet it was exceptionally firm. Her small body seemed to contain a stubborn strength.
The Fox Spirit Avatar behind her let out a light cry, and a yellow Soul Ring slowly rose beneath her feet.
The girl looked at the yellow Soul Ring beneath Hu Liena's feet, a flicker of surprise flashing in her eyes.
She seemed surprised that this little girl had already absorbed her first Soul Ring.
But that surprise vanished in an instant, replaced by an even deeper cold smile:
"Oh? You just obtained your Soul Ring and you dare challenge me? Fine then, let me see exactly how much her disciples are worth."
As she spoke, the Soul Power around her suddenly surged, releasing an aura several times stronger than Hu Liena's.
Immediately after, yellow, yellow, and purple - three Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet in sequence.
An aura belonging to a Soul Grandmaster spread out, making the surrounding air instantly grow several degrees heavier.
"A Soul Grandmaster! How is that possible!"
Hu Liena stared at the three Soul Rings shimmering around the girl, her eyes wide with astonishment, nearly speechless.
She instinctively took half a step back, her small hands clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.
This girl looked only two or three years older than her, at most ten years old—how could she already have cultivated to the Soul Grandmaster level?
Even among the prodigies of Spirit Hall, reaching Soul Grandmaster by twelve or thirteen was exceptionally rare.
The talent displayed by this girl before her eyes simply surpassed her understanding!
"Hmph, compared to my talent, yours is nothing worth mentioning! Still want to challenge me?"
Seeing Hu Liena's shocked expression, the girl's lips curled into an even more mocking smile:
"What? Scared now? Weren't you so brave earlier? Do you still dare to challenge me?"
Hu Liena gritted her teeth, a flicker of humiliation crossing her face, but more prominent was her stubborn refusal to admit defeat.
She took a deep breath, straightened her small frame once more, and the yellow Soul Ring around her feet brightened again:
"Even if you're a Soul Grandmaster, I won't back down! You insulted my teacher—I must teach you a lesson!"
"Overestimating yourself. Remember, my name is Qian Renxue, and I'm the one who defeated you!"
The girl snorted coldly, a trace of impatience flashing in her light purple eyes.
As she spoke, her first yellow Soul Ring lit up, and the Soul Power fluctuations around her suddenly turned sharp and fierce.
Clearly, though she looked down on her opponent, she had no intention of holding back.
Behind the girl, an Angel Avatar had already materialized, clad in pristine white armor.
The avatar wielded an Angel Holy Sword, its features blurred yet exuding authority, surrounded by a gentle but immense golden aura.
Then, three pairs of pure white wings slowly unfurled from her back, refracting dazzling light under the sun.
"First Soul Skill•Angel Assault!"
She shouted softly, her first yellow Soul Ring flaring brightly as brilliant golden energy instantly converged on her fists.
With the activation of the Spirit Ability, Qian Renxue's wings gave a slight flutter.
In the next moment, her figure shot toward Hu Liena like an arrow released from its bow, so fast that only a golden afterimage remained!
"First Soul Skill•Fox Spirit Charm!"
Hu Liena clenched her teeth, the Fox Spirit Avatar behind her abruptly raising its head and emitting a piercing cry.
The yellow Soul Ring at her feet shone intensely, radiating a blinding light.
A pink gleam flashed instantly in her eyes as she fixed her gaze on the charging Qian Renxue.
Just as Qian Renxue was swinging her fist in attack, her vision inadvertently met that purple gleam.
Her mind went blank for a brief moment, and her movements faltered—the dizziness effect of "Fox Spirit Charm" had taken hold!
Seizing this brief window of opportunity, Hu Liena's petite figure nimbly sidestepped, narrowly evading Qian Renxue's punch.
The force of the punch brushed past the edge of her clothes and struck the ground, cracking the hard stone slab with a fine line.
Qian Renxue quickly recovered from the dizziness, her light purple eyes showing a flicker of surprise as she looked at Hu Liena standing safely to the side, followed by a teasing smile:
"Not bad, quite interesting. So you're a Control-type Soul Master—stronger than I expected."
She flexed her wrist, golden energy gathering around her fist once more, her tone laced with provocation:
"But you've only just broken through to become a Soul Master. How many times can you use that Spirit Ability? When your Soul Power runs out, let's see how you'll dodge then."
Hu Liena gasped for breath, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead—that last move had consumed nearly half of her Soul Power:
"Stay out of it! Even if my Soul Power runs dry, I won't let you slander my teacher so casually!"