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**
Currently twelve years old—the same age as Ling Xiao—Hu Liena's cultivation was slightly higher, having reached Rank 34.
Although she had embarked on a cultivation path different from the original timeline, choosing the "Dual-Fusion Stream"—the most difficult of the many cultivation schools—she was still only in the preliminary stages of forming her style.
Nevertheless, her strength remained impressive.
Seeing that it was Hu Liena, the solemnity on Ling Xiao's face gradually faded. He couldn't help but smile as he leaped down from the arena and walked toward her, asking curiously, "Nana, why are you here?"
Hu Liena gave a soft laugh, her expression relaxed and easy.
"And why shouldn't I be here?"
Her voice was playful and pleasant, tugging at the heartstrings of anyone who heard it.
Ling Xiao smiled without replying, simply watching her.
Under his gaze, Hu Liena met his eyes directly; her bright eyes seemed capable of speaking on their own. After a long moment, Hu Liena suddenly burst into laughter and couldn't help but say, "Alright, actually, I knew you were finishing your trial and returning to the academy today.
"And I happened to know that Yan knew this news as well. So, I guessed that Yan would definitely be unable to restrain his temper and would intercept you on your way back to the dormitory tonight for a true sparring match."
"After all, he's been wanting to fight you ever since you reached the rank of Soul Elder. Sure enough, my prediction was correct. I got to see quite a good show—it was a very exciting battle."
Hu Liena spoke with a serious face.
But by the end, she looked at Ling Xiao with a look of genuine praise.
Upon hearing this, Ling Xiao chuckled, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. However, his expression soon stiffened, and the smile faded as he looked at Hu Liena solemnly.
"So that means, Nana, you've been here for a long time, haven't you?"
"Um..." Hu Liena's voice faltered.
Her eyes flickered slightly as she pursed her lips, holding out her hand with her thumb and index finger nearly touching.
"Only a tiny, tiny bit earlier than Yan."
Ling Xiao didn't overthink Hu Liena's words; his focus was elsewhere.
"So you were right beside us the whole time, yet neither I nor Yan noticed you," Ling Xiao said, his gaze fixed intently on her.
"Oh... that! Perhaps it's because you and Yan put too much focus on each other, so you didn't notice me." Hearing that Ling Xiao wasn't thinking about anything else, Hu Liena's expression relaxed, and she spoke as if it were nothing.
Shaking his head, Ling Xiao said seriously, "You're right that in the battle just now, both Yan and I were extremely invested."
"But that doesn't mean we relaxed our guard toward our surroundings. In class, the teachers have reminded us more than once: no matter where we are or what we are doing, we cannot relax our attention on the environment."
"Once we enter the world of Soul Masters in the future, if our vigilance is insufficient, it will be incredibly easy for someone to ambush us. I assume you must have used a mental interference ability on both me and Yan, deliberately causing us to overlook your presence."
"Thus, even though you were standing not far from us, neither of us noticed you from start to finish. If you hadn't actively revealed yourself at the end, even I would have been completely fooled by you."
Listening to Ling Xiao's explanation, the corners of Hu Liena's mouth unknowingly curved upward. With a smile-filled face, she said, "It seems I can't hide it from you. You're right; I did make a move just now."
"It's just a little bit of application of mental power. Well? Pretty impressive, right!"
Hu Liena raised her chin slightly, her face full of pride.
Although it was a question, her triumphant look clearly signaled that she wanted to be praised.
"It is indeed very impressive. Mental-system Soul Masters are truly eerie," Ling Xiao nodded and said admiringly. In his heart, he once again lamented how difficult it was to deal with a mental-system specialist.
Now that Hu Liena had reached the level of a three-ring Soul Elder—even though her strength wasn't fully formed because she followed the Dual-Fusion Stream and focused primarily on the mental-system—her direct destructive power couldn't compare to his, Yan's, or Xie Yue's.
However, in a way, she was the most troublesome.
His and his friends' strength could be seen with the naked eye, but Hu Liena's mental abilities were invisible. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Ling Xiao, and he asked with a serious expression, "Nana, your interference just now... was that all?"
Hu Liena tilted her head, looked at Ling Xiao, and immediately understood his concern. She tucked away the smile she had been wearing and said softly, "Don't worry. Although I made a move, it was only to make you both overlook my existence."
"Other than that, I didn't intervene, and I certainly didn't interfere in your duel with Yan. I know that defeating Yan is something you've looked forward to for a long time. If you had defeated him because of my secret assistance, it would be a disgrace to you, and I wouldn't stoop to such things."
Hearing Hu Liena's words, Ling Xiao gave a faint smile.
"Thank you, Nana."
Hu Liena shook her head slightly, that playful smile reappearing on her face.
The two smiled at each other and simultaneously began walking toward the dormitory area. On the way, although both wore smiles, they didn't speak a word. The atmosphere gradually became a bit stiff.
Looking at the girl beside him, who had already grown to be extremely beautiful, Ling Xiao thought for a moment and was the first to speak.
"How have you been these past few months?"
"Mm, not bad. But it's mostly the same old thing. Attending classes, meditating and cultivating, or going back to the Pope Hall to receive guidance from Teacher."
Hearing Ling Xiao's question, Hu Liena replied with a smile.
She thought for a moment, her eyes darting around, and then asked, "What about you, Ling Xiao? During this time you left the academy to train in the Soul Hunting Forest, it must have been much more interesting than the academy, right?"
"Can you tell me about it?"
"Sure."
Under the night sky, illuminated by the moonlight, the two shadows stretched long and merged together. As Ling Xiao recounted the interesting things he encountered in the Soul Hunting Forest, bell-like laughter rang out on the academy path from time to time, crisp and pleasant to the ear.
Gradually, time flew by, and the two arrived at the junction between the male and female dormitory areas. Both instinctively restrained themselves and stopped talking. Ling Xiao turned to Hu Liena and said, "See you tomorrow."
Hu Liena's eyes shone with a smile as she said softly, "Mm, see you tomorrow."
At this moment, in front of the small wooden hut at the back of the Spirit Hall Academy, an old man was watching everything that had just happened in the academy.
It was the Academy Dean, Mu Chen.
With his cultivation, what could happen in the academy that he wouldn't know?
It was also he who, by utilizing his mastery of space power, had sealed off the space in the competitive zone. Otherwise, the noise from Ling Xiao and Yan's battle would have likely woken many people.
Thinking about what had just occurred, Mu Chen couldn't help but smile.
Seeing Ling Xiao, he couldn't help but think of himself in his younger days.
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday