"I can't take you as my disciple," Yu Xiaogang said, pulling his hand back with a cold, restrained expression.
Bai Xian'er stood there, her small hand still reaching out, her pale silver hair swaying lightly. Her innocent green eyes stared at him in confusion. "But… why?" she asked softly, almost pleading.
Yu Xiaogang didn't look her in the eyes. "You only have level 2 innate soul power. You're not worthy of being my disciple," he said flatly.
Those words struck her like a blade.
For a moment, Bai Xian'er stood frozen. And then, the anger began to rise. Her chest burned—not just from the sting of rejection, but from the sharp clarity that followed.
She was finally seeing Yu Xiaogang's true face.
Back then, the man she had met seemed different. He had spoken gently, carried himself like a sage—kind, intelligent, compassionate. She had admired him. Even looked up to him.
But now… it all felt like a lie.
All that talk about how no one should be judged by their innate soul power… how spirit masters with weak talent still deserved a future… how he had once been cast aside for having low talent and vowed to help others rise.
Empty words.
In the end, when she stood before him—offering nothing but her heart and willingness to learn—he rejected her just like those who once rejected him.
The truth was bitter.
Yu Xiaogang wasn't the man who uplifted the weak. This was his true face—just as the pink screen had said. He was using her to gain the knowledge of Spirit Hall.
He hadn't seen her as a person. Only as potential. And when she didn't fit into his narrow vision of talent, he cast her aside like trash.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. Instead, she clenched her fists.
"Now I understand what the 'pink screen' meant…" Bai Xian'er whispered bitterly to herself. "How I was used. Discarded."
Yu Xiaogang glanced at her with an indifferent expression. Her eyes shimmered with tears she refused to shed. He scoffed and turned away.
"Don't sully my name by crying here," he said coldly. "People might think I made a little girl weep."
And with that, he walked off—heartless, distant, and blind to what he had just broken.
Bai Xian'er stood still for a moment, trembling. Then she inhaled deeply, steadying the storm inside her.
"I don't need you," she said quietly, but her words struck with the weight of finality. "You never deserved someone like me. I was just a gullible fool who fell in love with a mask."
Her voice didn't crack—but her resolve hardened.
I trusted you.
I believed in you.
And you spat on all of it.
She turned her back to him, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
"Not just you… but your entire clan."
Her whisper was a vow—cold and furious.
"I will destroy everything you hold dear."
Without another word, Bai Xian'er strode away, her steps calm, but every one of them driven by a dark fire rising in her soul. She made her way straight to the Spirit Hall, holding tightly the fake Spirit Hall certificate she had prepared. Her eyes were now colder than ever.
"Let's see if you're different, Li Shen…" Bai Xian'er thought to herself as she stepped into the Spirit Hall. Her eyes scanned the great corridor, its oppressive grandeur doing little to mask the weight in her chest. "He's here?" she wondered.
A voice echoed faintly in her mind—
["Yes, he is. The adopted son of Master Nuo—the Hall Master of this Spirit Hall branch."]
Bai Xian'er exhaled quietly. Her fists were clenched at her sides as a guard approached.
"Kid, this place isn't open for sightseeing," the guard said coldly.
"I'm here to meet Li Shen," Bai Xian'er replied with a steady voice.
The guard raised an eyebrow. "Are you from the Spirit Academy?"
She nodded silently.
"Alright then," the guard said, stepping aside and gesturing toward the entrance of the Spirit Hall. "Go on in."
He let her through under the assumption that she was a friend of Li Shen. Bai Xian'er said nothing, her heart pounding louder with every step she took. The polished marble floor beneath her feet echoed her uncertainty.
What are they doing here? she thought sharply, pausing at the threshold of the room Li Shen had been assigned.
She had expected to see him alone. Instead, she found herself facing two powerful figures—Ling Yuan and the Golden Crocodile Douluo.
The air grew heavier.
They both turned at once, their expressions shifting from calm discussion to quiet wariness.
A memory surged to the forefront of her mind—
["Though it's being kept quiet, he's already known… as the 'Holy Son' of Spirit Hall."]
The words struck her like lightning. "Holy Son…" she repeated inwardly.
Golden Core Douluo stepped forward. "Who are you, girl?"
The room fell quiet.
Golden Core Douluo studied her for a long moment, his sharp eyes unreadable.
"My name is Bai Xian and I am here to meet someone named Li Shen" She said as Golden Crocodile just nodded thinking she is friend of Li Shen, but Ling Yuan at side frowned.
Ling Yuan, standing at his side, furrowed her brows. "How do you know him?" she asked, stepping forward, her tone sharp with suspicion. "I have also never seen you before."
Bai Xian'er met her gaze without flinching. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but paused. Her lips trembled slightly… just for a moment.
Then came the voice again in her mind.
["Just say it. A voice once told you: you would meet him."]
Say… his voice and yours are tied, and when they meet, fate will stir.
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again—clear, unwavering.
"…I heard his voice," she said softly. "Long ago. I didn't understand it at the time… but I knew. One day, I'd meet him."
Ling Yuan stiffened slightly. Her eyes narrowed. "…His voice?"
The Golden Core Douluo turned toward her, murmuring under his breath, "Could she be…"
"…Another God Inheritor?" he asked, glancing at Ling Yuan.
Ling Yuan didn't answer at first. Her gaze remained locked on Bai Xian'er.
"…I don't know," she replied slowly. "But I feel like I've seen her… or sensed her… somewhere before."
The air shifted—subtle, but unmistakable.
Bai Xian'er said nothing more.
It was no coincidence she was here.
****
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