The duke's son moved instantly. His hand snapped upward and seized Luo He by the wrist still resting on his shoulder. Twist. Lift. Slam.
Boom!
Stone vibreted beneath Luo He as his body crashed violently against the road. Dust burst outward while nearby stalls rattled from the impact.
Several civilians screamed and stumbled backward. The force was enough to cripple an ordinary man permanently if it struck wrong.
And Luo He saw it all coming. Every movement. Every shift of muscle.
Every ounce of force. To him the attack felt painfully obvious.
There had been enough time to counter.
Enough time to break the man's arm.
Enough time to kill him in a thousand different ways.
Still he resisted that urge. Buried it.
Controlled it.
And so here he was. Flat against broken stone. In a miserable street Infront of everyone.
Luo He immediately curled against the ground and let out a shrill cry.
Luo He:- AHHHH! MY ARM! YOU DAMN BASTARD!
He rolled once through the dust clutching himself dramatically.
Luo He:- MY BACK! YOU BROKE MY BACK!
His voice cracked halfway into a near squeal. Completely shameless. Absolutely pathetic.
One of the duke's companions burst into laughter.
Duke Friend one:- HAH! Listen to him squeal!
Another nearly doubled over.
Duke Friend two:- He sounds like an injured pig!
More laughter followed. Mocking.
Cruel. Confident.
Meanwhile Luo He continued writhing against the ground dramatically.
Luo He:- Somebody help me! I can't feel my legs!
He weakly reached one hand toward Jin Mulan like a dying man in a tragic play.
Luo He:- Wife… avenge me…If I die.
Then he coughed loudly into the dirt for extra effect.
The performance was flawless. Embarrassing. Humiliating. Perfect.
No one watching this scene would ever believe this man was a hidden monster capable of crushing armies with a flick of his wrist. Not after hearing him cry like this.
Not after seeing him squirm in the dirt like a beaten fool. And that miss understanding was priceless. Far more valuable than pride. Far more valuable than dignity.
Because hidden monsters lived longer than obvious ones. But while the crowd saw weakness the women saw something else entirely. And something inside them broke.
Before this they were prepared to win.
But now they were prepared to kill. Heat exploded outward from Jin Mulan's body.
Not slowly. Violently.
A nearby cloth banner ignited instantly while cracks spread beneath her feet from the sheer heat radiating from her body soul essence burning rapidly.
Her spear trembled in her grasp.
Not from fear. From rage.
Jin Mulan:- You dare touched my husband. I am the only one who can lay even a hand on him.
Su Kim's expression lost every trace of softness.
Her whip slowly uncoiled with a metallic hiss as violet soul energy surged through it in waves sharp enough to make nearby guards instinctively retreat.
Su Kim:- That was a grave mistake.
And Jin Su was somehow worse. Because she looked calm. Too calm.
Cold air rolled outward from her body in slow waves as thin layers of frost silently spread across the stone beneath her feet.
Frost crawling farther with every passing second like living ice. The temperature around them dropped sharply. Nearby civilians shivered involuntarily. Even the horses tied near the roadside began stomping nervously.
Then Jin Su slowly raised her blade.
And the moment she did A pale blue glow flickered in her eyes. Across the edge of the steel ice gathered around naturally. Effortlessly.
Luo He still half sprawled dramatically across the ground moments away from 'death' suddenly paused mid-squeal.
He blinked once. Then twice.
Luo He:- Huh?
Even he looked surprised now. Because this was her first time. Jin Su herself froze slightly. Her eyes widened as she stared at the frost spreading around her own hand.
The cold didn't hurt her. It obeyed her.
Naturally. Instinctively.
Jin Su:- I did it.
The ice thickened further across the road. A merchant carrying hot soup nearby screamed as the entire bowl suddenly froze solid in his hands.
Merchant:- MY SOUP?!
Another man slipped on forming ice and crashed directly into a vegetable stand.
Cabbages rolled everywhere.
Meanwhile Jin Su still looked genuinely confused. Because to her this felt absurdly easy. She only knew two elemental users personally. Jin Mulan.
And Luo He.
To her using elements had always looked difficult. Powerful. Complex. Something requiring deep mastery. And yet now Ice answered her thoughts almost naturally.
Jin Su:- Wait this is all elemental users do?
Jin Mulan nearly choked hearing that.
Su Kim looked speechless. Even several guards stared at her like she had just insulted heaven itself.
One elderly cultivator in the crowd almost fainted from shock.
Old Man:- She awakened an element in battle?!
Another pointed at the spreading frost with trembling fingers.
Civilian:- That's an elemental manifestation! That's real ice essence!
A nearby young martial artist looked ready to cry.
Young Fighter:- I've been meditating for six years!
Meanwhile Luo He slowly pushed himself halfway up from the ground still pretending to be injured. But even he looked impressed now.
Luo He:- Well-done mother you awakened your element by getting angry he said out loud.
Jin Su looked at her own hand again.
Still stunned.
Jin Su:- Is that unusual?
The surrounding cultivators looked personally offended by the question.
One man clutched his chest dramatically.
Cultivator 1:- Unusual?! People spend decades trying to achieve elemental resonance!
Another looked on the verge of tears.
Cultivator 2:- She did it because she got irritated!
Luo He suddenly burst into laughter despite still laying in broken stone.
Luo He:- HAHAHA! That's actually terrifying!
Then he pointed weakly toward the duke's son while still acting injured.
Luo He slowly pushed himself upright from the cracked stone road one hand pressing dramatically against his lower back as though every bone in his body had been shattered.
Then he spat dust from his mouth and pointed accusingly toward the duke's son.
Luo He:- You idiot he coughed once for effect.
Luo He:- Do you realize you just accelerated your own death?
The duke's son's expression changed properly for the first time. Not anger.
Not arrogance. Calculation. Because suddenly this no longer felt amusing at all.
Awakening an element was no small achievement. To martial artists it was the line dividing ordinary fighters from true monsters at least in his sense.
Now what had started as a casual attempt to flirt with three super hot and beautifully presented women protected by a 'useless nobody' and a few noob guards, an opportunity presented just for him had turned into something else entirely.
His gaze shifted toward Jin Mulan first.
Flames coiled around her spear like living serpents heat rippling outward hard enough to distort the air itself.
Then toward Jin Su. Ice spread steadily beneath her feet while pale blue essence gathered around her blade with frightening stability for someone who had only awakened moments ago.
And then Su Kim. She had not revealed an element. But the duke's son still remembered her. Remembered the humiliatingly fierce struggle she once gave him despite the overwhelming difference in strength.
She wasn't weak. Not truly. Just severally outmatched. And now all three women stood together. One flame.
One frost. And one hidden knife smiling softly behind them.
The duke's son instinctively recalculated the situation. His arrogance cooling rapidly.
Duke's Son:- I'm really not in the mood to fight three such stunning beauties today. Especially when even my own companions have already decided they'd rather admire you than make you bleed.
Flames still danced across his arm but his stance shifted subtly now. More cautious. More guarded. In his mind he quickly measured the battlefield.
The fire user was dangerous. The ice user unpredictable. And the whip user troublesome. At least the fire itself wasn't stronger than his own. That thought gave him some comfort. A small amount.
But the real problem was the look in their eyes. They wanted to hurt him. No they wanted to kill him. Killing intent rolled off the three women heavily enough that even nearby civilians felt suffocated by it.
Several of the duke's own companions unconsciously stepped backward. The joking atmosphere from earlier had vanished completely. No one was laughing anymore.
Meanwhile Luo He casually dusted off his robes and limped back toward the women as though nothing significant had happened.
He still exaggerated the injury slightly walking with a faint hunch and an uneven step. Completely shameless.
Luo He:- Ah my poor back.
He groaned dramatically while wiping dust from his sleeve. Then he calmly positioned himself beside the three women again.
Right where he wanted to be. Protected by terrifying monsters pretending to be noble ladies.
Jin Mulan glanced sideways at him.
Jin Mulan:- You look perfectly fine.
Luo He immediately looked offended.
Luo He:- Honey I was nearly murdered.
Su Kim's lips twitched slightly. Even Jin Su almost smiled despite the freezing aura surrounding her.
Luo He leaned slightly toward them while still pretending to stretch his injured back. Then quietly whispered only loud enough for them to hear.
Luo He:- Please don't kill him for today.
A faint grin appeared on his face. Cold.
Amused. Dangerous.
Luo He:- He worked very hard to entertain me today.