Chapter 7: Hu Liena
"Sao fox? Who's that?"
Qian Ningshuang lowered her hands from her head, curiosity piqued.
"Right—you spend all day shuttling between the library and training grounds, and when you do go out, it's just around Spirit Hall City. You've never been to the Spirit Hall Academy," Tian Yue explained. "This 'sao fox' is Hu Liena—martial soul: Demon Fox. She's a year below me."
At the name, Qian Ningshuang inwardly winced. Had she been so distracted by cuddling with Qian Renxue these past days that she missed something this obvious?
A fox in Spirit Hall City? Who else could it be? Hu Liena—one of the famed "Three Beauties of Spirit Hall," and a must-romance character for countless transmigrators.
But Qian Ningshuang had zero interest in her. Two reasons: first, she belonged firmly to the Elders' faction—no need to grovel before the Papal Hall. Second—and most importantly—Hu Liena simply wasn't her type.
Still, Tian Yue's bitterness was palpable. Given the usual rivalry between the Elders' and Papal factions, some tension was expected—but this level of animosity among juniors? Unusual.
"From your tone, Yue-jie, you really hate this Hu Liena," Qian Ningshuang pressed. "But with your easygoing nature, that's surprising."
"It's not 'seems like'—I *do* hate her! And what does my personality have to do with it?"
"Details, details!" Qian Ningshuang waved her off, eyes sparkling. "What did she do that was so unforgivable? We're bored—spill!"
Ignoring Tian Yue's glare, she leaned in like an eager gossip.
Qian Renxue watched with quiet amusement. From Qian Ningshuang's letters, she knew Tian Yue wasn't as carefree as her sister—but still, someone riling her up this badly was rare.
"At first, she wasn't so bad," Tian Yue began. "Her and her brother had decent talent. I even invited them into our circle—geniuses should stick together, right? We couldn't exactly bond with kids who barely scraped past five先天 soul power."
"But they flat-out refused! Do I look like I don't care about my dignity?"
Qian Ningshuang nodded inwardly. She knew that "circle" well—it wasn't really about talent. It was a clique of heirs: grandchildren of Hall Guardians, children of high-ranking Elders' faction officials. Almost everyone inside was someone she knew. The weakest among them had at least 8先天 soul power.
No wonder Hu Liena declined. As the Pope's disciple, joining an Elders' faction inner circle would've sabotaged her standing in the Papal Hall.
Sure enough, Tian Yue confirmed it: "Later, we found out Hu Liena had been taken in by the Pope herself. Fine—we'd stay out of each other's way. But then she started strutting around like she owned the academy, ordering everyone around like her servants. So I beat her and her brother so badly they were bedridden for half a month. That's how our feud started."
*That weak?* Qian Ningshuang frowned. Tian Yue was strong—full先天 soul power plus the super-tier Golden Crocodile King. But Hu Liena and Xie Yue were part of the "Golden Generation"! Losing to Tian Yue was understandable, but getting hospitalized for weeks? That seemed excessive.
"How bad were they?" Qian Ningshuang asked. "If they're this weak, why did you even consider them? And the Pope isn't *that* blind, is she?"
"It's not that simple," Tian Yue huffed. "Hu Liena's a rare spirit-type control Soul Master. Her brother Xie Yue's an agile assault type. But my martial soul? Unless they had another super-tier martial soul or vastly higher soul power, their control and speed were useless against me. Their martial souls are just top-tier—not super-tier—and their levels were lower. So yeah, they got wrecked."
"Against anyone else, they'd be formidable. Plus, they have a martial soul fusion skill. In team battles, if my teammates suck, I lose for sure."
"The Pope has good eyes," Qian Renxue mused. "But what happened next to make you this furious?"
"After healing up, Xie Yue had the sense to avoid me. But that sao fox? Every ten days or so, she'd challenge me again. Lose, get injured, heal, repeat—like clockwork. At first, I didn't mind—free sparring! But then I noticed: she'd walk through the academy all bruised, looking tragically beautiful, and the boys would swarm her like moths to a flame. Once they learned I was the one who beat her, they'd glare at me like I'd murdered their mothers. Soon, everyone except Nimo's crew treated me like a villain!"
"The worst part? Yan—that guy I thought showed promise—suddenly apologized to me and started trailing after her like a lovesick puppy! I don't care if *he* wants to be a dog, but he was *our* guy! What does that make our whole circle look like?"
"Pfft!" Qian Ningshuang burst out laughing. "Maybe Yan was moved by her 'never give up' spirit?"
"That's not spirit—that's brainless!" Tian Yue snapped. "The gap in martial soul and level was obvious! Instead of training to close it, she just kept throwing herself at me! Since when does getting beaten up speed up cultivation?"
"I see," Qian Renxue said, stroking Qian Ningshuang's hair with a smile. "But Yue, what does your feud with this 'fox' have to do with Xiao Shuang enrolling? Planning to gang up on her?"