"Alright, you can't be blamed for this."
You Chen gave Yan a reassuring look. With a surge of wind power, he stepped forward to Hu Liena, covering her mouth with one hand to stop her from speaking further.
As she glared and struggled, he used the power of wind to transmit a secret message: "Hu Liena, don't you realize that your antics here are disgracing your teacher? Look at how others are viewing you! You wouldn't want your actions to lower your teacher's esteem in everyone's eyes, would you?"
Hearing this, Hu Liena glanced at the guests' slightly disdainful expressions, her body trembled, and she ceased her struggle.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some matters to attend to temporarily. Please excuse me."
You Chen gave an apologetic smile to everyone and then instructed Grace, "Bring out my cherished wine and that precious batch of ten-thousand-year spirit beast meat as compensation for disturbing everyone's enjoyment."
He added quietly, "Hu Liena has just broken through to become a Spirit Elder and returned after obtaining her third spirit ring. She also has a brother, Xie Yue, who is even stronger than her. It's normal you couldn't stop them. This exceeds your current capabilities, so don't feel guilty. I wouldn't blame you unreasonably for this."
Grace's expression eased slightly. She bowed to You Chen and said, "As you wish."
After completing these instructions, You Chen gave Xie Yue a look and led the trio away from the banquet hall to a reception room.
"Are you plotting some evil scheme again?"
As soon as they sat down, Hu Liena glared at You Chen, demanding answers.
"Don't be so hasty! How about some candy?"
Once out of the guests' sight, You Chen dropped his stern demeanor, speaking calmly to reassure Hu Liena. Then, he produced a dish of candies in multicolored packaging from somewhere.
Hu Liena eyed the offered candies warily, shrinking back, "No such thing as a free lunch! Are you really being kind? What if you drugged the candy? I won't eat anything you offer!"
"Nana!"
Yan, looking pained, rebuked loudly, "Even though you've now become the Pope's disciple, that doesn't erase the past teachings of Teacher You Chen! He's never treated us poorly. How can you make such groundless accusations against him!?"
You Chen blinked. Sorry, Yan, but these candies are indeed "drugged."
Those candies were from the box labeled "Friendly High-Grade Candy."
After testing them over time, You Chen found these seemingly ordinary modern candies had a special effect.
Children, teenagers, and even young adults who ate them exhibited a mild hypnotic friendliness towards him. The younger and less rational they were, the stronger the effect.
Hu Liena, with her emotional and irrational nature, could very well become a planted agent within Bibi Dong's ranks after eating his candies.
As Yan mentioned, You Chen was once the teacher of the trio.
Unlike Qian Renxue's private tutor, back then, he was a teacher at the Spirit Hall Academy.
In earlier years, before becoming a complete marginal figure within the Spirit Hall, he taught martial spirit theory to the young students.
Given You Chen's education level, his classes were a revelation for those in the Douluo world.
His lessons were always well-received. Even at the lively ages of six and seven, when students typically struggled to focus on theory, his story-integrated teaching style kept most of them engaged.
Especially after his lessons were reduced, the students increasingly noticed the difference.
Thus, many of the new generation of Spirit Hall spirit masters admired You Chen.
Perhaps seeing this, Bibi Dong belatedly sought to downplay his influence, though it backfired, inadvertently contrasting him favorably against others.
Bibi Dong officially took Hu Liena as a disciple around that time.
Even at a young age, the trio was already outstanding among their peers.
Their inherent closeness from childhood made them a formidable group.
For reasons understood by those in the know, Bibi Dong had no intention of taking male disciples, thus only taking Hu Liena under her wing.
However, within the trio, Hu Liena was arguably the weakest in potential.
The Enchantress Fox martial spirit, while top-tier, rated as follows in You Chen's system:
[Martial Spirit]: Enchantress Fox (Top-Tier)
[Strength]: 2 (With equal spirit rings, it struggles to break the defense of high-level defensive spirit masters at the same rank)
[Speed]: 4 (Top-tier, especially in reflexes and dynamic vision)
[Toughness]: 3 (Strong performance)
[Endurance]: 4 (Low soul power and physical consumption, moderate physical activity enhancement)
[Energy]: 4 (Top-tier mental energy, standard top-tier spirit power quality)
[Special Ability]: 3 (Charm, a mental ability, extremely effective against spirit masters with weaker mental strength)
[Total Score]: 17 (+3)
Her overall score was on par with You Chen's current Star Skeleton Dragon...
A top-tier martial spirit scoring within the range of high-level spirits? Even at the peak of high-level spirits, it seemed somewhat lacking!
Of course, according to Bibi Dong's training plan, Hu Liena's strength lay primarily in her "Charm" ability, with those three bonus points being her true combat strength.
Hence, Hu Liena's martial spirit strength was not something a high-level spirit could match.
However, compared to her brother and companion Yan, the Enchantress Fox fell short.
Yan's Flame Lord was undoubtedly the trio's most superior martial spirit.
[Martial Spirit]: Flame Lord (Top-Tier)
[Strength]: 4.5 (Near-superior performance)
[Speed]: 3 (Strong performance; speed is Flame Lord's weak point)
[Toughness]: 4 (Top-tier performance)
[Endurance]: 3 (High soul power consumption, low physical consumption, high physical activity enhancement)
[Energy]: 5 (Superior fire energy, top-tier earth energy, near-superior spirit power quality)
[Special Ability]: 3 (Fire and rock control, especially potent over solidified energy formed from fire and earth mixtures)
[Total Score]: 19.5 (+3)
In You Chen's assessment, this was a martial spirit with a high chance of breaking into the super domain at the Soul Sage stage if developed correctly.
Far superior to the "mediocre" Enchantress Fox.
Damn Pope Bibi Dong, what terrible judgment.
Choosing not to seriously train the most talented, instead focusing on a child easily countered and reckless?
With a serene smile, You Chen silently mocked and ridiculed inwardly.