...
The touching atmosphere of the long-awaited reunion, which had been carefully prepared, was instantly shattered.
Hu Liena's lips twitched twice, she shook off his hand, and rolled her eyes in annoyance:
"I knew it! You little ingrate, you just came out and instead of asking how your senior sister has been doing these past two weeks, all you talk about is money, money, money!"
Are you obsessed with money?
"Senior sister, this is my hard-earned money! It's my pillar of support!"
Xuan Hao said matter-of-factly.
"Tell me quickly, is the money still there?
Has someone stolen it?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I'm scared of you!"
Hu Liena sighed helplessly, raised her right hand, and the storage bracelet on her wrist flashed.
"Thump!"
The heavy ironwood chest appeared out of nowhere and slammed heavily onto the corridor floor with a dull thud.
"After the teacher took you away that day, I saw that no one dared to touch this box, so I put it away for you."
Hu Liena crossed her arms and snorted, "I didn't touch a single penny of your money.
But you left in such a hurry that day that there were still more than half the people behind you who didn't have time to pay, and the line broke up."
"So there are probably only a little over a thousand gold soul coins in this box."
"More than a thousand?"
Xuan Hao squatted down and opened the box.
In an instant, the golden light blinded him.
He casually grabbed a handful of gold soul coins, and listening to the crisp, melodious clinking sound, a lecherous smile appeared on his face.
"It smells so good..."
Although it was only a third of what he had expected, the heavy feel of it was enough to soothe the "mental torment" he had suffered over the past two weeks.
"Alright, stop embarrassing yourself here. You're practically drooling."
Hu Liena kicked the box in disgust. "Hurry up and put it away. In the past two weeks you've been gone, there have been all sorts of rumors in the academy.
Many people say that you were expelled from the sect by His Holiness the Pope because you were too arrogant, and some even say that you were thrown into the Lost Canyon to be fed to the soul beasts."
"Those who paid the money are now regretting it. If they saw you like this, they would probably make fun of you."
"regret?"
Xuan Hao deftly put the large box into the purple storage bracelet that Bibi Dong had given him, stood up, clapped his hands, and the lecherous smile on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by a chillingly playful smile.
"Once the goods are sold, there are no returns or exchanges. Once you've paid, you're a member; there's no reason to regret it."
He turned to look at Hu Liena, a dangerous glint in his eyes:
"Senior sister, you just said... there are still more than half of the people who haven't had time to pay, right?"
Hu Liena looked at his expression and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"What...what do you want to do?"
Hu Liena looked at him warily.
"The teacher just released you! Have you forgotten the teacher's warning? Don't go causing trouble again!"
"Don't worry, senior sister, I'll be very obedient," Xuan Hao said.
"The teacher told me not to eat too messily, but she didn't say I couldn't eat at all."
"Moreover, the most important things in doing business are integrity and fairness."
"The first few hundred people have already paid. If the next few hundred people don't pay, wouldn't that be unfair to those who paid in the first place?
I'm doing this to uphold fairness and justice in the college!"
At this point, Xuan Hao stretched his neck, producing a series of crackling sounds.
"I haven't done anything for half a month, my bones are practically rusting."
"Perfect timing, let's go help those students who haven't had a chance to register yet, and give them some extra lessons."
"Senior, see you at the cafeteria at noon. I'll treat you to the most expensive set meal!"
After saying that, Xuan Hao didn't wait for Hu Liena to stop him.
He turned around and rushed towards the junior division.
His back view was quite cheerful and full of murderous intent.
Hu Liena stood there, watching the small figure that seemed about to "rob" someone, and helplessly rubbed her forehead.
"Aren't you afraid of getting locked up by the teacher again...?"
...
In less than half a day, amidst the teeth-grinding cracking of bones and the even more heartbreaking clanging of gold coins, the school-wide "make-up classes" successfully came to an end.
The first month's "Peace and Mutual Aid Association membership fee," along with the previous fees, totaled 3,200 gold soul coins, all of which went into Xuan Hao's pocket without missing a single one.
Of course, as a leader who values "brotherhood and honor," Xuan Hao did not keep this huge sum of money for himself.
That very evening, he summoned Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan—three of the most prominent figures at the Martial Soul Academy, who were now his "left and right protectors and personal henchmen"—to his dormitory.
"Here, take it."
Xuan Hao generously pulled out three large handfuls of gold soul coins and stuffed them into the hands of the three people.
He even thoughtfully prepared an exquisite little money bag for each of them.
"This is your salary for this month, one hundred gold soul coins each."
Xuan Hao clapped his hands, looking every bit the big boss.
"If you work for me, I won't treat you badly. As long as our cooperative grows bigger and stronger, your salaries will increase in the future."
Looking at the heavy gold soul coins in her hand, Hu Liena was alright.
After all, he was her junior brother. Although she thought he was greedy, she was used to it.
Yan scratched his red hair, looking at the money with a bit of a daze, clearly not yet used to the role of "the one being blackmailed" and "the one receiving dividends".
Only Xie Yue, looking at the money in his hand, frowned deeply and finally couldn't hold back any longer and exploded.
"Xuanhao, are you really obsessed with money?"
Xie Yue slammed the money pouch heavily on the table, his handsome face filled with exasperated anger.
"We are Soul Masters!
We are the future elites carefully cultivated by the Spirit Hall! Our goal is to reach the pinnacle of Soul Masters, to become Title Douluo!"
"Is money, such a mundane thing, important to us?"
Xie Yue pointed to the majestic Papal Palace outside the window, his tone impassioned: "As long as we cultivate diligently and demonstrate sufficient talent, will the Spirit Hall lack our food, clothing, and other necessities?
If we become Title Douluos in the future, won't we have as many gold spirit coins as we want?"
"Even Elder Yueguan praised Nana and me, saying we have the potential to be granted titles.
Since we have such a bright future, why bother with these petty gains that we can squeeze from the weak?
Why make ourselves look like street thugs that everyone wants to beat?"
"Furthermore..." Xie Yue took a deep breath, his tone becoming more serious, "You are now representing His Holiness the Pope.
By doing this, you are damaging His Holiness the Pope's dignity!"
Faced with Xie Yue's questioning, Xuan Hao's smile slowly faded.
He wasn't angry; he simply sat calmly in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the table, making crisp sounds.
"Are you done talking?"
Xuan Hao asked calmly.
Xie Yue snorted coldly and turned her head away.
"Senior Brother Xieyue, you've made a mistake."
Xuan Hao stood up. "If it's from the Spirit Hall, it belongs to the Spirit Hall.
If it's from someone else, it belongs to them."
"This money is something I earned through my own hard work, one punch and one kick.
It's the fruit of my labor. I feel at ease spending it without having to worry about anyone else's opinion or any psychological burden."
"I don't like owing people things, and I especially don't like owing favors."
Xuan Hao walked up to Xie Yue and looked him straight in the eye.
"In this world, problems that money can solve are not problems. The hardest debts to repay are those of human kindness."
Xuanhao grabbed the money pouch again and forcefully shoved it back into Xieyue's hand.
"This money is my payment for your services. Take it. Our relationship is purely cooperative, or perhaps based on brotherhood, without any of those messy personal favors."
Seeing that Xie Yue was still trying to refuse, Xuan Hao's eyes turned cold, and his tone instantly became dangerous:
"I'm a person of principle. Once I've given away money, there's no reason for me to take it back."
"Whether you want to take it or not, you have to take it."
Xuan Hao cracked his wrists, producing a sickening popping sound, and a "kind" smile curled at the corner of his mouth:
"Unless... Senior Brother Xieyue wants to go practice on the playground right now?
Or, let me think, do you prefer the infirmary on the east side or the one on the west side?"
"you--!"
Xie Yue looked at Xuan Hao's "I'm a rogue, who am I afraid of?" attitude, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
But in the end, he didn't dare throw the money bag back.
Because he knew very well... he really couldn't beat this monster!
Ever since he was beaten up by Xuan Hao after his soul power was suppressed, Xie Yue had secretly thought about getting revenge.
As a weapon spirit master, his martial spirit "Moon Blade" is a top-tier offensive martial spirit, known for its sharpness and unpredictable attacks.
However, all of this failed when facing Xuan Hao.
As long as Xuan Hao activates that damned first soul skill "Golden Dragon Body", his entire body will be covered with an indestructible layer of golden dragon scales.
When his moon blade struck it, it only sent up a string of sparks, leaving not even a white mark!
That guy's defense is even more terrifying than those great soul masters in the Holy Dragon Sect who specialize in defense!
What's even more despairing is that this thing not only has high defense and high health, but also ridiculously fast speed and strength like a savage behemoth.
High attack, high defense, high agility.
This guy is a perfect all-rounder with no weaknesses!
Read 50+ chapters ahead at Patreon
patreon.com/TaroYamato
patreon.com/TaroYamato