Chapter 54: Luminous Mystic Forest, Ping An Inn, Xu Jiujiu (II)

"Ah!"

Zhang Wu's lecherous hands reached out without warning. However, Miss Xu was no ordinary person. Upon hearing She Chong's shout, she reacted swiftly by channeling her spirit power to repel Zhang Wu. Yet, the force pushed her off balance, and with a startled cry, she stumbled toward Ling Bai's table, nearly toppling his fragile table and dinner.

In this critical moment, Miss Xu felt a gentle yet firm palm press against her back, helping her regain her balance and preventing a fall.

"Thank you, young master."

Miss Xu stabilized herself and turned to perform an elegant and graceful bow toward Ling Bai. She looked up to see the face of the person who had lent a helping hand, only to be surprised to discover it was an exceptionally handsome youth who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

Ling Bai withdrew his hand and smiled lightly, "It was just a small gesture. May I have the honor of knowing the young lady's name?"

He was curious if this Miss Xu belonged to one of the original three imperial families of the Douluo Continent. The surname Xu—could she be from the Star Luo Empire?

"I..."

Miss Xu pursed her moist, rosy lips together, about to speak when her guard, She Chong, rushed over and knelt on one knee in apology:

"Your Highness, it was this subordinate's failure to protect you adequately. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

Miss Xu extended a hand to help She Chong up. Her beautiful eyes devoid of any warmth swept over to the still-arrogant Zhang Wu at the adjacent table. She said coldly, "Uncle She, I'll leave this matter to you."

"This subordinate obeys!"

She Chong immediately stood up, his stern face etched with towering rage, looking as if he wished he could flay Zhang Wu alive on the spot!

"What, you got a problem with that?"

Zhang Wu saw She Chong approaching menacingly. He crossed his arms over his chest without showing the slightest intention of backing down. Relying on his status as a Spirit Master and his gang of cronies, he had committed countless acts of bullying men and violating women. They were numerous, and even the lord of their small border town in the Star Luo Empire could do little against them. What could a mere She Chong do?

Most of the patrons in the Ping An Inn were Spirit Masters. There was a saying that only mediocre people were afraid of causing trouble. Noticing that a fight was brewing, no one had any intention of mediating. Instead, they began to egg them on, eager to see a grand spectacle. The innkeeper and waiters were accustomed to such scenes. If anything got damaged, they would just demand compensation from these Spirit Master patrons who weren't short on money.

"Kid, you're quite arrogant."

She Chong tilted his neck side to side. He clenched his fists tightly, producing a series of cracking sounds like firecrackers.

"If I'm arrogant, of course I have the capital to back it up!"

Zhang Wu let out a disdainful laugh. Immediately after, spirit power surged throughout his body, and a cleaver appeared in his hand. The blade gleamed with a chilling light as one white and one yellow spirit ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.

"A Spirit Grandmaster?"

She Chong was momentarily stunned, then laughed angrily, "Good, very good! You're truly the most audacious Spirit Grandmaster I've ever seen! For me to use my Martial Spirit to deal with you would be a reward!"

Before Zhang Wu could react, a black figure flashed before his eyes. In the next second, a fist the size of a bowl slammed into his nose. His entire body bent into a C-shape, spinning two and a half times in the air before landing unconscious on the floor. The blood gushing from his nostrils drew two arcs in the air.

"That's enough!"

Luo Mei slammed the table and led her brothers to surround She Chong. How could the boss sit idly by when the subordinate was being beaten? A terrifying aura emanated from them as white, yellow, and purple spirit rings rose one after another.

Three Spirit Grandmasters, four Spirit Elders, and the only Spirit Ancestor present—Luo Mei herself. This lineup could not be considered weak. At least in the past, they could have dominated a small inn like this!

"Oh, so impressive~"

She Chong ground his heel into Zhang Wu's abdomen as if crushing a piece of garbage. Ignoring the fresh blood gushing from Zhang Wu's seven orifices, he said coldly, "Eight idiots with a meager amount of spirit power, yet you dare to think of violating Her Highness? You're courting death!"

A majestic aura erupted suddenly. An invisible shockwave blasted outward. Spirit Masters below the Spirit Elder rank directly felt their legs weaken and knelt on the ground, dazedly searching for the source of the shockwave. To their shock, they realized it was actually She Chong who had released his spirit rings!

Yellow! Yellow! Purple! Purple! Purple! Black! Black! Black!

Eight rings!

A Spirit Douluo!

Luo Mei and her gang stood stupefied, their mouths gaping wide open. Who would have thought that Zhang Wu's harassment of a woman would lead to such misfortune, provoking a Spirit Douluo!

Titled Douluos were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns; the Spirit Douluo She Chong was already the strongest Spirit Master this group had ever laid eyes on in their lives!

"Come, come, come. I'll make sure to 'take good care' of you all!"

She Chong's Martial Spirit was an eight-foot snake lance. In a flash, he skewered Luo Mei and the others through the back of their necks with the lance like candied hawthorns, then began spinning them around crazily!

"Smack! Bang! Ugh! Ah! Oh! Pff! Dad! Mom!"

The wooden floorboards of the inn cracked and splintered under the numerous impacts. Miserable screams echoed one after another. The sight made the Spirit Masters in the shop twitch with dread. They secretly thought how fortunate they were to have not provoked She Chong's wrath. Otherwise, they would have become just another hawthorn impaled on that terrible snake lance.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency! Our small inn can't withstand your guard's rampage!"

The innkeeper and waiters hurriedly rushed out. Crafty as they were, they knew pleading with She Chong was futile, so they decisively threw themselves at the feet of Miss Xu, kowtowing and playing the sympathy card.

"Don't worry, I'll compensate you tenfold!"

Miss Xu was not an unreasonable person. She handed the innkeeper a pouch heavy with spirit gold coins. The innkeeper lightly weighed the money pouch, and the wrinkles on his face bloomed with delighted surprise. His old face was grinning as brightly as a flower as he bowed repeatedly.

"Hehe, this old one has long been displeased with these ruffians. You and your esteemed guard are truly delivering justice on behalf of the heavens!"

She Chong beat them black and blue with a flurry of violent blows. A blood-stained gold-inlaid tooth flew from somewhere, twirling and rolling until it landed at Ling Bai's feet. It wobbled a couple of times before coming to rest. Ling Bai crushed the tooth into powder and said:

"With such a valiant guard, the young lady must be of noble birth. It was truly presumptuous of me to rashly inquire about the young lady's name earlier. I hope the young lady can forgive my rudeness."

Miss Xu's smile was impeccable. She replied softly, "Young master is flattering me. My name is Xu Jiu'er. Allow me to express my gratitude for your aid once again."

Xu Jiu'er?

Ling Bai was no fool. This kind of fake name used to deceive children couldn't insult his intelligence.

There's only one truth, and it points to you, Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire!

The Luminous Mystic Forest's strange phenomenon of half eternal day and half eternal night had given birth to a vast number of light and darkness attribute spirit beasts. Considering that in the Spirit Master Tournament a year later, Xu Jiujiu would possess Spirit King level strength and wield the Star Crown Martial Spirit, Ling Bai deduced that she and She Chong were likely heading to the Eternal Day region to hunt for her fifth spirit ring.

She Chong walked over to Xu Jiujiu, blood splattered all over him after dealing with Luo Mei and his lackeys. He glanced at Ling Bai before saying straightforwardly, "The thugs have been punished. Please proceed to your room, Your Highness. This subordinate will bring up your meal shortly."

"Very well."

With the first floor wrecked beyond recognition, Princess Xu Jiujiu naturally agreed.

Once Xu Jiujiu's figure disappeared upstairs, She Chong fixed his gaze on Ling Bai. After a moment, he tossed out a golden card worth a hundred thousand spirit gold coins and said:

"Thank you for assisting Her Highness. This is your reward. But let me give you a piece of advice. Don't ever, ever... harbor any delusions of riding her coattails to transform from a toad into a phoenix!"