Ling Xiao had been on guard against an ambush all along.
This group of narrow-minded individuals are capable of anything.
So when a pebble came flying, seemingly about to strike his face, he suddenly punched out.
He used the Meteor Fist's Seventh Form—Starfall Rain.
The stone was hit and then flew back in the direction it had come from.
"Ah—!"
A cry of pain could be heard, but Ling Xiao had no time to look; he was within an arm's reach of the fruit and decided to pick it first.
However, having just knocked the pebble away, he now lacked the strength to stay aloft any longer.
At the crucial moment, Ling Xiao didn't give up; using the remaining True Qi, he suddenly punched toward the ground.
Meteor Fist's Eighth Form—Heavenly Fire Raid!
This punch was incredibly powerful and the recoil from the counterattack was just enough for his feet to reach the fruit.
It didn't matter whether he used his hands or feet, plucking the fruit meant victory.
The fruit was kicked by his foot, then fell down; he caught it in his hand and plunged towards the ground.
Just when he was about to make a high-speed collision with the ground, his body forcefully halted about a meter above the ground.
The Qi Recovery Technique worked, sparing him from embarrassment at the last moment, and his movements weren't too awkward either.
"Who was it that just said they would circle the tree and bark like a dog?"
Ling Xiao sneered, squeezing the fruit in his hand and asked.
The ones who were jeering just now had suddenly become mute, each bowing their heads, refusing to speak.
Ling Xiao knew these fellows were cowards who didn't have the guts, so he smirked dismissively without pushing them further and gestured to the physician before heading towards the courtyard.
He figured that should mark the end of the matter.
After all, he wasn't a match for so many people; making a statement and then departing was truly thrilling!
But what he didn't expect was that just after taking a couple of steps, someone else started howling.
"You punk, stop right there! Hit someone and think you can run?"
Ling Xiao turned to look, the one shouting was Ling Fei.
Ling Fei's face was ashen, his eyes spitting fire, as angry as a belligerent rooster.
However, his aura, created by his strength at the Martial Veins Third Layer, still put a huge pressure on the onlookers.
"Hit someone? When did I hit anyone?"
Ling Xiao asked, puzzled.
Although Ling Fei was stronger than him, there was no need to back down when faced with such excessive bullying.
"Still playing dumb!"
Ling Fei snorted coldly, "Isn't his forehead bleeding because of you? He's bleeding like that and you still won't admit it?"
As soon as these words came out, a few of the onlookers felt a bit ashamed, but most were just as shameless as Ling Fei.
"Exactly, an outsider dares to hit a disciple of the Ling Clan Main Family, he must have the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard!"
"Senior Brother Ling, teach him a lesson!"
"Beat up this little beggar! Why should he practice martial arts with us, the Ling Family descendants!"
"Right, he's not qualified!"
The crowd was in an uproar.
Ling Xiao had long known that these Ling Clan Main Family disciples looked down on outsiders like them, but he had not expected them to be so shameless.
He laughed out of sheer rage, "Just now, when I was picking the fruit, someone tried to hit me with a pebble from behind, and I knocked that pebble back. If he got hurt, he deserved it!"
People live for their face, as a tree lives for its bark.
He hadn't been afraid of anyone before he awakened the Mountain and River Martial Soul, and now that he had, was he supposed to cower before these people?
Moreover, it was clear that the other party was deliberately looking for trouble, so even if he cowered, he wouldn't avoid a beating.
Rather than that, it might as well be better to just fight it out!
"Good lad, you even dare to talk back, Senior Brother Ling, what do you say we do?"
Aside from a few in the crowd who felt embarrassed and quietly moved aside, the rest closed in on Ling Xiao.
Obviously, because they had lost face, they were now preparing to gang up on Ling Xiao!
…
"Senior Sister is back!"
Someone shouted, and instantly, the crowd that had been staring at Ling Xiao like hungry hyenas ready to jump him all turned to look in the same direction.
It was a girl in white!
It was as if a Fairy of snow and ice had walked out of a celestial realm.
Her bright eyes and clear features were complemented by skin as white as cream, and though she was merely walking, she bewitched everyone's Divine Soul.
"How can there be such a perfect woman in this world, she's like a goddess created by heaven and earth!"
A young man practically knelt as he finished speaking; his eyes no longer held Ling Xiao, now fully occupied by the figure of the girl in white.
"Ling Yixue, age sixteen, the third-ranked female disciple of Elite Hall, rumored to have already reached the pinnacle of Martial Vein Third Layer, just a hair away from breaking through to the Martial Vein Quadruple Layer!"
Ling Xiao also looked towards Ling Yixue, after all, this woman was also his idea of perfection.
But his reaction was much cooler than the others.
His admiration for Ling Yixue was not solely based on her beauty but also her strength!
Ling Yixue, like him, had entered the Ling Family as an Outer Disciple after passing the major exam, but their circumstances were not alike.
This girl had cultivated to the pinnacle of the Martial Vein Third Layer in just one year, defeating consecutive Elite Hall disciples and smoothly advanced to third place in the Elite Hall.
The resources she had were all obtained through her own efforts, unlike Elite Hall's thirteenth, Ling Feng, who relied on the advantages of the main family.
Genius is probably meant to refer to people like her.
Ling Xiao's goal used to be Ling Yixue.
Because he believed that his talent was definitely not inferior to Ling Yixue's.
Indeed, facts had proven this point, if not for cultivating that incomplete Cultivation Technique, his progress would have likely been even faster, probably not much worse off than Ling Yixue.
But it's often said that a loss may turn out to be a blessing, for although he lost many things, he gained the Mountain and River Martial Soul and that, in fact, proved to be a piece of good fortune.
Before this, he truly didn't dare to even glance at Ling Yixue, because of his inferiority complex. When they first entered the Ling Family, both were highly regarded, but now their situations were as different as winter and summer.
However, today, he didn't care as much.
Ling Yixue was a genius, it's true, but he would catch up with her soon.
When Ling Yixue approached, the disciples of the Ling Family led by Ling Fei went up to greet her, with such eager and warm hospitality.
Seeing this scene, Ling Xiao understood even more clearly that this world truly respected the strong.
If he were powerful enough, Ling Fei would definitely not dare to trouble him, but would instead respect him greatly.
By then, no one would dare call him a little beggar to his face. At most, they would mumble a few words behind his back.
He appreciated Ling Yixue's beauty through the crowd.
And because of her, the Mountain and River Martial Soul began to operate, analyzing Ling Yixue's condition thoroughly.
"Indeed, the True Qi has begun to change, some of it condensing into Gang Qi. When these quantitative changes lead to a qualitative change, that will be the moment Ling Yixue breaks through to the Gang Qi Stage, entering the Martial Vein Quadruple Layer."
Ling Xiao felt some pressure.
But pressure creates drive, right? He'd have to push even harder.
"Just now, I saw you surrounding him, what was the reason?"
What surprised Ling Xiao was that Ling Yixue actually remembered him.