Chapter 32: The Hauling Brigade

The breeze in the valley drifted softly, brushing away the last wisp of blue smoke from the incense stick.

The incense had not yet burned out. Not even halfway.

Outside the circle, the members of the Purple Lightning family were petrified. The expressions on their faces had frozen into a vivid gallery of portraits titled, "Who am I, where am I, and what did I just witness?"

Their Third Young Master, one of the family’s future hopes, had been tripped by a six-year-old girl using a maneuver akin to a street urchin’s brawl. And it was a total defeat.

Zi Dianxiong’s body trembled slightly. It was not from anger, nor from fear. He was in shock. This was no humiliation, nor was it a demonstration of power. This was a lesson. A lesson in combat, vivid and cruel, taught by a six-year-old soul master with monstrous talent to these frogs in a well who dared to call themselves elites.

Strength does not mean everything. Rank does not mean everything. When technique and wisdom are pushed to their limits, one can turn the ordinary into the miraculous and the impossible into reality. Looking at the girl standing quietly in the field, her small face devoid of sorrow or joy, a feeling of awe surged within him.

As for Bai He, he had gone completely numb. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to maintain his dignity as an elder—perhaps something like, "Child, you should watch your strength"—but he found he couldn't utter a word. In his mind, all that remained were his granddaughter’s ghostly movements, those five lifelike afterimages, and that final, divine, and exquisite trip.

He suddenly felt that his eighty-second rank soul power and his collection of ten-thousand-year soul rings were nothing to boast about. Having studied speed his entire life, he was, in the end, not even as clever as his six-year-old granddaughter. His worldview was being shattered by this little girl in a way he couldn't comprehend but was forced to accept, only to be pieced back together in a new form.

Bai He looked at Zi Dianchen, who was sprawled on the ground, his body twitching from humiliation and exhaustion, and then at the nearby Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf that had died with its eyes wide open. A truly absurd thought crossed his mind: Are my granddaughter and I some kind of professional "tripping" family? One trips soul beasts, the other trips soul masters. Our scope of business is quite broad. For a moment, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Zi Dianchen lay on the ground, motionless. It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but he no longer had the strength, nor the face, to stand up. The physical exhaustion was secondary; the complete collapse of his spirit was the fatal blow. All the pride and self-confidence he had built since he began training at age six had been ground into dust by that small figure in those few short moments, leaving not even a speck of grit behind. He had lost. Lost completely, without a shadow of a doubt. The opponent hadn't even used a single true soul skill. This feeling was ten thousand times worse than being killed by a single punch.

The deathly silence of the valley was broken by a soft cough.

Bai He finally snapped out of his complex mixture of pride, shock, and self-doubt. He took two steps forward to the edge of the circle, his gaze sweeping over the prostrate Zi Dianchen before landing on the Soul King, Zi Dianxiong, whose face looked worse than stagnant swamp mud.

"Sigh." Bai He let out a long, heavy sigh, his face wearing an expression of pained concern, as if to say, "My child is too ignorant and has caused you trouble."

"Young people, such fiery tempers."

"I said a friendly exchange, just a friendly exchange; how did it escalate to such a genuine battle?" He shook his head as he spoke, his demeanor that of a benevolent elder lecturing a wayward junior.

But to Zi Dianxiong, these words were more grating than the most venomous curse. *What do you mean, genuine battle? From start to finish, it was your little monster unilaterally toying with our child! We didn't even touch a single hair on her!*

Zi Dianxiong felt as if his lungs were about to explode with rage, but he had to force a smile that looked even worse than weeping. "Senior, your reprimand is justified." He bowed deeply, lowering his posture to the extreme. "It is my failure in discipline that allowed this incompetent fool to make a mockery of himself before you and this young lady."

"Children playing around, winning and losing is perfectly normal," Bai He waved a hand, appearing utterly indifferent and magnanimous. "However..." His tone shifted, a trace of playfulness entering his voice. "We country folk have an unwritten rule."

Zi Dianxiong’s heart skipped a beat; he knew the real matter was at hand. This old monster had paved the way for so long, showing off his strength and his granddaughter, and now, the dagger was finally coming out of the bag.

"Please speak, Senior. We are all ears." He lowered his posture even further.

"A bet, you see, should always have a stake; otherwise, what’s the fun in it?" Bai He said with a smile. "Look, my granddaughter won, and she didn't ask for anything of yours. But if you had—just hypothetically, mind you—if you had luckily won?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Zi Dianxiong was so terrified he nearly jumped, shaking his head like a rattle-drum. "We have no such intentions! The young lady is a heaven-sent genius; Chen-er admits his defeat wholeheartedly!" *Are you kidding? Luckily won? Even if that little monster stood still and let him hit her, he’d be afraid that one punch would get him torn apart on the spot by this old monster.*

"Ah, you can't say it like that." Bai He pressed his hand down, signaling him to stay calm. "A bet is a bet; there must be give and take. Since you didn't prepare a stake, we can't let our win go for nothing."

"How about this?" Bai He pondered for a moment, as if considering a very serious problem. "I am not an unreasonable man. Seeing as you’ve traveled such a long way and even lost men, it hasn't been easy for you."

He pointed to the massive carcass of the Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf. "This thing is quite heavy. The two of us, one old and one young, would have a hard time carrying it back. You have many people."

Bai He’s gaze swept back and forth between Zi Dianxiong and the six tribesmen behind him, who were trying their best to bury their heads in the dirt.

"Trouble yourselves to lend a hand and help us deliver this wolf to... well, to a place in the south of Tiandou City called Min Hall."

"Be careful on the road; don't ruin the fur, and don't chip the claws. These are top-tier materials; my granddaughter is waiting to make a new outfit and forge a pair of small blades."

Bai He spoke as casually as if he were asking a neighbor to help move a bag of rice. But to everyone in the Purple Lightning family, these words felt like a thunderbolt from the heavens, blasting them until they were charred and their souls were scattered.

*Make us your porters? Make our Purple Lightning family—a distinguished branch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect—have a Soul King and six Soul Sects/Ancestors carry the corpse of a soul beast for you? And deliver it to your door?*

Zi Dianxiong’s body shook uncontrollably. His vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot. *Killing a man is just a matter of a nod; this old monster is putting our family’s dignity on a fire to roast, flipping it over and over, and sprinkling it with cumin and chili powder!*

He could imagine it: the seven of them, disheveled and covered in dust, carrying a giant wolf corpse across half of the Sunset Forest, entering Tiandou City, and marching all the way to the south of the city—what a grand spectacle that would be. From then on, the Purple Lightning family would become the laughingstock of the entire Tiandou soul master world.

"What?" Bai He narrowed his eyes at the expression on his face, which looked like someone who had been constipated for half a month, and a faint, imperceptible killing intent began to permeate the air. "Unwilling?"

That cold killing intent, like a basin of bone-chilling ice water, instantly woke Zi Dianxiong up. Dignity? Face? In the face of his own life, these things were worth nothing!

"Willing! Willing! We are very willing!" Zi Dianxiong jumped, shouting the words as if his life depended on it, terrified that if he were a second late, his head would be separated from his body. "Serving you, Senior, is our honor! The greatest of honors!"

As he shouted, he glared back at his clansmen who were still standing there in a daze. "What are you all still standing there for! Didn't you hear the Senior's order? Quick! Give a hand!"

"Lift the Wolf King... oh, no, lift the Senior's trophy!"

"Be careful! Handle with care! If anyone breaks a single hair, I'll skin you alive!"

The six disciples of the Purple Lightning family awoke from their trance, scrambling over to study how to lift the thousands-of-pounds behemoth. As for Zi Dianchen, who was still sprawled on the ground, he was kicked in the backside by Zi Dianxiong, forced to stand up, and joined the porter brigade.