The next day

Huo Lingling changed her appearance, making herself uglier, carried a backpack, and walked into Soul King Village.

After entering the village, Huo Lingling discovered that there were more survivors in Soul King Village than local villagers, with every survivor pestering the villagers, wanting to learn martial arts.

'Are the villagers really this tolerant?' Huo Lingling found it strange. Could it be that Shui Lanlan's family was an exception, and Soul King Village was actually simple and kind-hearted?

Huo Lingling quietly observed and finally discovered the problem.

The people staying in Soul King Village were either robust men or young women. The villagers who took them in either had sons or daughters, or the villagers themselves were very young.

There wasn't a single older survivor in the village, and she also noticed that female survivors who had given birth were more popular. Two families had even fought over a woman who had previously given birth.

Huo Lingling watched until the victorious side took the woman away, then quietly left.

Suddenly, a villager stopped Huo Lingling. He was very young and not very tall. "Do you want to come to my house? I'll teach you martial arts after one year."

The villager seemed afraid Huo Lingling would misunderstand and quickly added:

"I'm not saying I'll marry you. You're too ugly. My mother is bedridden with paralysis and needs a maid to take care of her. If you serve my mother for one year, I'll teach you martial arts. My family's ancestral martial arts can be cultivated to the Eighth Grade."

"If you serve for one year, I'll teach you the body tempering section. If you serve for ten years, I'll teach you the Ninth Grade section. After my mother dies, I'll teach you the Eighth Grade section."

His family was among the poorest in Soul King Village, with no graded martial artists in the household, so they could only live in a thatched cottage.

In the past, if he didn't reach a grade, he wouldn't be able to marry at all and would remain single his whole life.

But now it was different. There were plenty of beautiful women from outside who all wanted to marry into Soul King Village. Yesterday he picked a beautiful young woman, and today he picked another woman with average looks but who had given birth before.

Unfortunately, neither was a virgin, but he didn't care. Having a wife was enough.

As for women like Huo Lingling who were somewhat ugly, he already looked down on them.

Huo Lingling shook her head. "I came here to learn martial arts."

The young villager frowned deeply, his expression turning ugly after being rejected.

How dare such an ugly woman refuse him?

Allowing her to learn martial arts was already an act of mercy.

Of course, he never believed Huo Lingling could achieve anything from the start. Her bones were already set, and it was too late for her to practice martial arts now.

The earlier one practiced martial arts, the better. During training, bones would gradually adapt to the practiced martial arts. Only then could one progress faster after bones were set, with higher future potential.

"Outsiders who want to learn martial arts must marry into Soul King Village. You're ugly, and no one wants you. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another chance to learn martial arts. Kneel and beg me now, and I'll still give you one chance. Serve my mother for five years, and I'll teach you martial arts."

The young villager spoke while lifting his chin, his eyes filled with contempt.

Huo Lingling spoke two words: "Step aside."

The young villager flew into a rage, feeling like everyone around was watching and mocking him. His pride was already fragile, and Huo Lingling's refusal tore through his thin face. He raised his fist, gritting his teeth. "If you're unwilling! I'll beat you until you're willing!"

The young villager threw a punch, but the scene he imagined of Huo Lingling being knocked down with one punch didn't happen.

The next second

Huo Lingling caught the young villager's fist and frowned slightly. "So weak."

Crack~

Huo Lingling exerted force, breaking the young villager's arm, then casually flung him away. The young villager's body flew backward and heavily crashed to the ground.

The young villager clutched his deformed arm, his forehead covered in sweat, emitting painful groans. "My hand! How dare you, an outsider, break my hand!"

Huo Lingling pondered. Were all people in Soul King Village as foolish as this young villager?

Not necessarily, but it was certain that people in Soul King Village hadn't experienced the cunning of apocalypse survivors. Soul King villagers were stronger than survivors, but when it came to wits, it was completely the opposite. How many fools could survive until now?

It seemed like Soul King villagers had control over the survivors, but who was the prey and who was the hunter wasn't certain yet.

Good hunters disguise themselves as prey!

The more pleased the villagers were, the happier the survivors became. This could be seen from the young villager—the survivors had almost coaxed the villagers into becoming fools.

How many of these survivors wanted to deceive their way into learning martial arts, then run back to Blue Star?

The surrounding villagers who saw this scene began discussing among themselves.

"No traces of qi and blood, relying purely on strength."

"What an impressive girl. Does she have a special physique?" one villager said.

Hearing this, many villagers' eyes lit up. Just as some villagers were about to make a move, a cough sounded.

The villagers looked toward the sound and discovered it was the Village Chief, extinguishing their thoughts.

Village Chief Hun Mie walked out from the crowd, passing by the young villager without pausing.

The young villager was still groaning. "Village Chief, she injured someone from Soul King Village. Kill her quickly!"

Village Chief Hun Mie glanced at the young villager from the corner of his eye, plucked a leaf, and flicked it with his finger.

The leaf shot out swiftly, piercing through the young villager's forehead.

The young villager's head fell weakly, his eyes still retaining anger, having thought the Village Chief would avenge him.

Village Chief Hun Mie snorted coldly. "Trash. After practicing martial arts for over ten years, you can't even defeat a young girl who's never practiced martial arts. And you have the face to complain to me."

The villagers were very calm, no one pleading for the young villager.

Wasn't it normal for the Village Chief to kill villagers?

If you couldn't kill villagers, why become Village Chief?

Village Chief Hun Mie walked up to Huo Lingling. "Your physique isn't bad. You most likely have a special physique. Are you willing to practice martial arts with me?"

Huo Lingling clasped her hands. "This disciple is willing."

Village Chief Hun Mie laughed. "Good, good, good. I never thought Hun Mie would be able to accept a disciple with a special physique in his lifetime. If our ancestors knew about this, they'd probably crawl out of their graves from envy."

Then, Village Chief Hun Mie brought Huo Lingling back to the courtyard house and took her to the main hall.

There were two other people inside, precisely Li Dalong and the Village Chief's daughter Hun Xiaoyan.

"Father, who is this?"

Village Chief Hun Mie didn't know Huo Lingling's name either and remained silent.

"Yan Shuangling." Huo Lingling said.

Village Chief Hun Mie added one sentence. "She has a special physique and is excellent material for martial arts. Unlike you, even though her bones are already set, it doesn't affect her martial arts practice."

Li Dalong smiled bitterly without speaking, while Hun Xiaoyan grew anxious. "Father, Dalong is excellent! Don't speak badly of Dalong!"

Hmph!

Village Chief Hun Mie snorted coldly, sat in the main seat, and knocked on the table. "I know your goal is to learn martial arts. I can teach you, but before that, I have questions to ask."

He stared at Huo Lingling. "Where is your companion who can transform into a giant beast? Why didn't he come?"

"I don't know any giant beast transformer." Huo Lingling said.

"Then who is the person in your backpack?"