Bella listened to her friend's words, thought of that Evan Yang, and muttered, "How could it possibly be him?"
"What? Did he bully you too?" the girl laughed.
"Not really, but he's pretty arrogant. When I tried to talk to him, he barely bothered to respond," Bella said.
"I bet it's just your way of talking. Otherwise, he's either not your friend or secretly likes you," the girl laughed.
"Who says so!" Bella snapped, angry at the suggestion.
"Did I say anything wrong?" the girl laughed.
"Wrong, all wrong!" Bella said, fuming.
"Then tell me, why won't he talk to you? Everyone else kept sneaking glances at you even during class," the girl chuckled.
Bella stomped her foot angrily. "That's not true! I'll make him talk to me properly!"
"That's going to be tough—unless you change genders," the girl laughed.
"You—you can't know for sure! You're not him," Bella snapped.
"Alright, I'm not going to argue with you. Play however you want, I don't have time to keep you company. See you next month," the girl said, then vanished with a flicker.
Bella, still fuming, headed back the way she came to the Newcomer Palace to look for Evan Yang. But Evan Yang's door was tightly shut. Here, doors can only be opened from inside; if you force them, it's considered damaging Soul-Heaven Palace property and you'll be punished.
"Damn it, I'll kick it down!" Bella had finally tracked down Evan Yang's room, only to be met with this situation. She was furious.
Evan Yang, who had been cultivating inside, opened his eyes. Hearing the commotion outside and recognizing the little girl's voice, he frowned and muttered, "What is she doing here?"
Outside, a crowd of newcomers gathered. Many were drawn by Bella's beauty, each trying to flatter her. Some even offered, "Miss, do you need any help?"
"No need. Get lost," Bella snapped. Just then, the official in charge arrived, frowned at the scene, and asked, "What's going on here?"
Bella saw the official and snorted coldly. "Make him open the door."
"Whether he opens the door or not is up to him. You're breaking the rules," the official said coldly.
"I said open it, so open it! Are you not listening?" Bella said angrily.
"You little brat, you've got quite the attitude. Let me teach you a lesson," the official snorted, then grabbed Bella and hauled her away.
Bella kept shouting, "I won't let you get away with this!"
"Is she crazy?" Evan Yang and the others heard this and thought the girl was pretty gutsy.
Soon, things quieted down outside Evan Yang's door. "Hmph, that girl really doesn't know her place," he muttered, then closed his eyes again to continue cultivating Chaotic Soul-Force.
Bella was taken to a room, where the official tied her to a chair and said with a smile, "You've got guts. Now, tell me which tribe brought you here so I can contact them."
"None of your business," Bella snapped.
"Fine, then you'll just stay tied up here until you talk," the official said with a smile, though he wondered to himself, "Which tribe is she from with such a temper?"
So Bella kept refusing to say anything—partly out of pride, partly out of fear of being mocked if people found out. After three whole days, she finally couldn't take it anymore and said, "Alright, I'll talk."
"Oh? Finally willing to talk?" the official said with a smile.
"Li Tribe," Bella said.
"Li Tribe? So you're from one of the Four Great Tribes. But you're way too arrogant. I'll have them take you back to recuperate for a few years before you come again," the official said, then left to summon her people.
A short while later, an elderly woman arrived, dressed similarly to Hank Huang. Seeing Bella tied up, she was shocked. "My little princess, what happened to you?"
"She tied me up," Bella said, aggrieved.
The official listened to their conversation. Hearing 'little princess', he grew curious—since when did the Li Tribe have a little princess?
"Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and untie her!" Madam Li said, furious.
"You haven't given me an explanation yet," the official said unhappily, inwardly cursing, "Are all tribe managers this arrogant now, ignoring Soul-Heaven Palace officials like me?"
If it had been anyone else tied up, Madam Li wouldn't have dared act so boldly. But for Bella, even risking her life, she would speak up.
"Just untie her or face the consequences," Madam Li said angrily.
"Face the consequences? That's my line. She broke the Newcomer Palace rules. I have the right to deal with her—even kick her out if I want. I don't need to answer to you. Who are you, anyway?" The official grew angry at Madam Li's attitude.
Seeing the official refusing to act, Madam Li tried to untie Bella herself, but was stopped. "If you want to take her out, apply to leave Soul-Heaven Palace first. She's not welcome here," the official said.
"I don't want to leave!" Bella shouted angrily.
"Little princess, don't be impatient. Let me handle this," Madam Li said, inwardly cursing, "This is the only way."
She turned to the official and said, "Come with me."
"If you have something to say, say it here," the official replied.
Madam Li glared at him. "If you want to keep living, come outside."
The official felt uneasy—he was clearly ranked above her, but every word she said was so disrespectful. Frustrated, he walked out, leaving Bella struggling alone in the room.
Once they were alone in another room, Madam Li quietly explained something to him. When he finished listening, his face changed dramatically, looking pale and disbelieving. "You mean she's...?"
"That's right. It's her. She hasn't fully awakened yet, but when she does, and finds out what you did, you'll be wiped out, body and soul," Madam Li said.
Now the official was terrified. "I'll let her go right away," he said hastily.
"Wait. Don't let her notice anything. She doesn't know yet, and if she finds out, she'll start asking questions. Explaining it would be a nightmare," Madam Li warned.
"I understand. I'll take care of it. Please cooperate," the official said, his face changing again.
"Alright, no problem," Madam Li replied.
The two quickly returned to Bella's room. Inside, Bella glared at the official. "Let me go!"
"Hmph, still so arrogant. If you act up again, I'll just send you back," the official said angrily, inwardly cursing, "This is a disaster—now I've played the villain."
Madam Li knew the official didn't mean any harm, so she said, "I'll take her home and discipline her properly."
The official untied the rope. Bella, furious, wanted to teach him a lesson, but Madam Li stopped her. "Little princess, let's go."
"I'm not leaving! I want to teach him a lesson," Bella said angrily.
The official just stood there, not knowing what to say, but cursed inwardly, "Damn it, how did I end up provoking someone like her?"
Only when the voices faded did the official slump into a chair, feeling drained. "Please, don't let me see you again. My god."
On the way out, Bella snorted, "Why did he tie me up? I'm going to teach him a lesson."
"Little princess, this is Soul-Heaven Palace. Don't think you're still in our tribe. Be careful—if someone doesn't know who you are, they could kill you, and even I wouldn't be able to save you in time," Madam Li sighed.
"Who would dare kill me?" Bella said angrily.
"Someone who doesn't know you, of course they could kill you. Isn't that right?" Madam Li replied.
"I don't believe it!" Bella protested, unwilling to accept it.
"Alright, let's drop it. Why didn't you go to class?" Madam Li asked curiously.
"I went, but it was boring. I ran into a 'stone man,' so I wanted to teach him a lesson, but then that damned official dragged me away," Bella said.
"Stone man?" Madam Li was puzzled.
"Someone who totally ignores me, isn't afraid of me, and keeps provoking me," Bella explained.
Madam Li didn't really believe it—she'd raised Bella and knew her temperament inside out.
"You said he's a stone man, so he probably doesn't care about anyone. Don't spend time with people like that. If a real fight breaks out, you'll be in danger," Madam Li said, worried.
"I want to make him acknowledge me," Bella declared.
"Little princess, stop causing trouble. If you keep this up, who will want to be your friend?" Madam Li couldn't help but say.
Hearing the word 'friend,' Bella remembered what her female companion had said earlier and muttered to herself, "Could it really be that I'm just too arrogant?"
Seeing Bella lost in thought, Madam Li said, "Alright, stop worrying. Go and choose which classes you want to attend. After a year, you'll be assessed—if you don't pass, you'll have to return to the tribe, and I won't be able to help you then."
"No, I don't want to go back!" Bella said stubbornly when she heard she might have to return.
Madam Li knew this was the only way to motivate Bella to stay and study, so she said, "We'll see how much you learn. This is only your first day. If you keep messing around and learn nothing, you'll end up a useless nobody."
"I'm not a nobody! I'm going to become a master!" Bella said, then stormed off angrily.
Watching Bella's retreating figure, Madam Li sighed helplessly. "This is the only way to push her."
Walking alone through the palace, Bella thought about her friend's and Madam Li's words. Frustrated, she muttered, "I won't go back to the tribe. I'm going to become a warrior in Soul-Heaven Palace."
She started working hard to choose which classes to attend. Since they're only held once a month, she had to wait for the next session and resolved to listen carefully next time.
Evan Yang also stayed in seclusion for a whole month. His Chaotic Soul-Force had already recovered to the early Shadow-God realm. If he kept going, he'd be able to break through even further. As for whether his physical body would advance along with him, Evan Yang didn't know. Right now, he just wanted to blend into Soul-Heaven Palace and find a way out of the Soul-World.
"This time, I'll try the water class." Evan Yang had attended the fire class last time, and now planned to check out the water one.