All eyes turned toward the source of the voice. Two figures strode out from the main hall of the Medicine Hall. The young man was handsome and dashing, the woman devastatingly beautiful, leaving everyone present in a bit of a daze.
"Young Friend Shen, Lady Ya, what are you two doing out here!" Hall Master Hong couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing the pair.
"Hall Master Hong, they've already come right to our door. How could we possibly hide?" Shen Haoran said, waving his hand gently to signal for the Hall Master to relax before turning to sneer at Bai Hong.
The corner of Hall Master Hong's mouth twitched as he saw Shen Haoran's casual expression. He quickly leaned in and whispered, "Young Friend Shen, you don't understand the Bai Family's standing in White Fox City. If you'd stayed hidden in the Medicine Hall, they probably wouldn't have dared to cause trouble. But now that you're out here, the Bai Family will surely capture you. When that happens, I won't be able to help you even if I wanted to!"
"Capture me? Let's see if Bai Hong even has what it takes!" Shen Haoran snorted upon hearing the Hall Master's words. The Spiritual Power within him surged, and a tyrannical gale erupted around his body.
"Your Spiritual Power..." Hall Master Hong was stunned by the force of the gale. Only now did he realize that Shen Haoran's body was fluctuating with Spiritual Power—a power as vast and turbulent as the ocean. Even Hall Master Hong, who had reached the Tier Nine Spirit Aspect, felt a pang of fear.
"That's right. My strength... it's finally recovered!" Shen Haoran clenched his fists as an immense, surging power welled up inside him, making him feel incredibly refreshed. This time, not only had his injuries completely healed, but with the help of the Rebirth Pill, he had broken through to the Spirit Aspect Stage. Now, Shen Haoran could finally count himself among the ranks of the powerful.
"Hmph. Shen Haoran, you bewitched a member of my Fox Race into stealing our Supreme Treasure," Bai Hong said coldly, looking at the high-spirited young man. "Today, on behalf of the Fox Race, I will take you into custody. You'd best not resist, or you will suffer the consequences!"
"Oh? Stole your Fox Race's Supreme Treasure?" Shen Haoran sneered at the baseless accusation. "And what might this Supreme Treasure be?"
"The Supreme Treasure is on Lady Ya, right beside you," Bai Hong snorted, pointing at her. "You stole it, and you're pretending not to know?"
Hearing this, Lady Ya's expression changed, and she began frantically patting herself down. A moment later, she pulled an exquisite jade stone from her waist. The character for "Bai" was clearly carved upon it.
"This... When did this get here!" Lady Ya's face grew flustered as she stared at the exquisite jade. She had never known she possessed such an item; she hadn't noticed it at all over the past three days.
"Look, it's really there! They actually stole something from the Bai Family!"
"Yeah! She's so beautiful, I was just thinking of her as my goddess. To think she's just a common thief!"
"Sigh, you really can't judge a book by its cover. To have such a beautiful face yet do something so despicable... How shameful!"
Staring at the exquisite jade in Lady Ya's hand, the surrounding Martial Artists began to whisper among themselves. A stream of vile words reached her ears.
"I didn't steal it! This isn't mine!" Lady Ya pleaded, looking helplessly at the surrounding Martial Artists. But against their gazes, full of scorn and suspicion, her defense seemed utterly powerless. The Bai Family had been rooted in White Fox City for hundreds of years; of course, the crowd would believe Bai Hong.
'Hmph.' Seeing her reaction, Bai Hong sneered inwardly. 'To arrest Shen Haoran and Lady Ya, one needs a proper justification. Only with a just cause can one act with confidence. That's why I planted this on Lady Ya earlier. And now, it's paying off perfectly.'
"Shut up!" Just as Bai Hong was reveling in his success, a thunderous roar erupted from Shen Haoran. The powerful soundwave, amplified by the spiritual pressure of his Sixth Grade Alchemist's Spiritual Thought, instantly filled every corner of the hall. The gossiping Martial Artists immediately fell silent, their faces filled with terror as they stared at him. For a moment, it was as if they had just witnessed a great beast from the Primordial Chaos.
Once the crowd fell silent, Shen Haoran gently patted Lady Ya's shoulder, giving her a reassuring look. He then took the jade stone from her hand and began to toy with it casually.
"You claim this belongs to the Bai Family? What's your proof?" Shen Haoran asked indifferently, his eyes fixed on Bai Hong.
"Of course I can prove it," Bai Hong sneered. He had anticipated this question and had already prepared his response. "All items belonging to the Bai Family have a special mark, and only someone with the purest Bai Family bloodline can activate it. This particular jade stone is a precious heirloom left by the former Clan Leader. Proving it is ours will be incredibly simple!"
"Oh, is that so?" Shen Haoran said, seeing the confidence on Bai Hong's face. He held out his hand. "Then go on. Prove it."
"Fine, then! I'll make sure you understand just how cornered you are!" Bai Hong sneered and began forming a Seal Technique.
As Bai Hong performed the Seal Technique, the exquisite jade in Shen Haoran's hand began to stir. A searing heat radiated from his palm; it seemed the jade was responding to Bai Hong's summons and about to resonate with his power.
Feeling the searing heat from the jade, a faint, unreadable smile touched Shen Haoran's lips. A terrifying surge of Spiritual Thought erupted from his Sea of Consciousness, instantly enveloping the stone and cutting it off from Bai Hong's aura. The Spiritual Thought of a Sixth Grade Alchemist was immensely powerful; unable to sense Bai Hong's presence, the jade in his hand slowly fell silent.
A moment later, Bai Hong completed the Seal Technique, but the jade stone in Shen Haoran's hand remained perfectly still.
"Impossible!" Bai Hong's face darkened as he stared at the inert stone. He immediately began performing the Seal Technique again, but no matter how he tried to summon a response, the jade remained completely still.
"It seems this doesn't belong to the Bai Family after all," Shen Haoran said coolly, looking at Bai Hong's grim face. "You've accused the wrong person."
'How is that possible!' Bai Hong's gaze was fixed on the jade in Shen Haoran's hand. 'I put it on Lady Ya myself! How could there be no reaction at all!'
'He must have done something to it!' Bai Hong's gaze darkened as he stared at Shen Haoran. 'The jade is fine; I put it on Lady Ya myself. The problem must be him.'
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