She was none other than one of the pillars of the Spirit Hall Academy team — the only female among Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, the Enchantress Fox, Hu Liena.
Why is she here? That was the first thought that crossed Tang San's mind. His gaze involuntarily settled on Hu Liena.
Perhaps it was because Tang San's gaze was too sharp, or perhaps it was because he stood out so starkly from the world around him — Hu Liena, short sword in hand, spotted him at a single glance.
Their eyes met. Hu Liena froze for a moment, and Tang San was equally surprised.
Hu Liena naturally could not recognize Tang San, whose appearance had changed so drastically. The thought that arose in her mind was: in this wretched place, could there actually be a normal person?
But Tang San's surprise stemmed from the chilling killing intent radiating from Hu Liena at this moment. Like him, her aura was distinctly different from that of the degenerates who populated the City of Slaughter — her killing intent was the kind that kept others at arm's length.
Even the seductive charm that once lingered in her eyes had vanished.
At that very moment, Tang San suddenly felt a surge of cold air hurtling toward him from the side, while Hu Liena directly in front of him also moved — short sword in hand, she charged toward him with startling speed.
A chill ran through his heart. Tang San knew that Hu Liena's Soul Power should still exceed his own. Under Spirit Hall's meticulous nurturing, even if her physical attributes fell short of his, the gap would not be significant.
And the cold strike hurtling at him from the side was no weak attack either.
Attacked from two directions at once, Tang San's quick thinking showed. He took a rapid step backward, his body twisting halfway around, and a silent streak of dark light shot out toward the flank.
A crisp clink rang out. To Tang San's surprise, Hu Liena's sword thrust was not aimed at him — it had swept to the side of where he had just been standing, intercepting a gleaming curved blade.
The man who had ambushed him from the side was short and dressed in black. At this moment, his entire body was frozen rigid, completely motionless. At the center of his forehead, a single drop of blood slowly slid down.
It appeared as though the man had been killed in a joint strike by Tang San and Hu Liena. As an observer, the girl in the black gauze veil had witnessed the entire sequence.
Hu Liena's killing intent had locked onto the curved-blade wielder, her single sword strike jolting his body, and the dark light from Tang San's hand had finished him off.
It turned out that when Tang San had seen Hu Liena stop, his distance from the girl in the black veil had exceeded ten meters.
The ambusher crashed to the ground. Hu Liena turned to look at Tang San, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. Tang San had already come to his senses — his altered appearance meant Hu Liena clearly had not recognized him.
Two years had passed, and Hu Liena had not changed much. Two years ago, she had already been over twenty, while Tang San had been only fourteen. In those two years, Tang San's appearance had been altered not only by the Blue Silver Grass but his entire bearing had undergone a complete transformation.
If Tang San two years ago had been brimming with sharp, youthful vigor — a rising elite of the Soul Master world — then the Tang San of two years later had completely concealed his aura within. If he did not say so himself, no one would guess that he was only just seventeen.
At the same time, Tang San had grown taller and more imposing. Combined with the change in his bearing — never mind Hu Liena, even if Xiao Wu were to suddenly encounter him, she might not recognize him.
"Thank you." Tang San nodded to Hu Liena. Despite his deep hostility toward Spirit Hall, the current version of him knew far better how to conceal himself. Since she had not recognized him, he would certainly not be foolish enough to reveal any clue that might give him away.
Hu Liena looked at the girl in the black gauze who had walked over to Tang San's side, a faint smile gracing her features. Her beauty had to be acknowledged — she was in no way inferior to Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, or Xiao Wu. If anything, she possessed a maturity and seductive charm that they lacked.
"You're new here?"
Tang San nodded.
A subtle shift flickered through Hu Liena's eyes. "Every step here is a potential death sentence. You'd best be careful. Judging by your appearance, you don't seem like one of the degenerates." Having said this, she gave Tang San one more lingering look before turning and disappearing into the darkness at the far end of the street.
"If you want to stay alive, you'd better keep your distance from that woman." The voice of the girl in the black gauze drifted to Tang San's ear, her words carrying unmistakable hostility toward Hu Liena.
"Why is that?" Tang San was equally eager to learn why Hu Liena was here and what her situation was. For him, the greatest rivals among his generation were undoubtedly the trio of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.