Martial Peak
chapter-5236

Although the kids had stopped calling her that, the name had spread to other places.

The hunters in the neighbouring villages were aware that there was a girl who never grew in size here. Despite her petite figure, she was skilful in hunting and could always get more prey than many of the experienced hunters.

When Xiao Xiao and her Father came across other hunters from the other villages, they would look at her with curious glances; however, only this deplorable guy would call her a Spirit right to her face.

The person, whom the hunter called Uncle Wen Yuan, was a fair-skinned and tall young man. He was clad in a green robe, and standing beside the young man, the rough-looking hunter looked like a chicken beside a swan.

From the looks alone, the hunter appeared to be the older one, but in reality, the young man was his Elder.

As a cultivator, the young-looking man was constantly nurtured by World Energy, so he didn’t age at the same rate as a mortal would.

He swept a glance over Xiao Xiao and shook his head.

Although the young girl in front of him was adorable, she didn’t exude any Evil Qi. It was obvious that she wasn’t a Spirit. He was confident in his ability to make such a judgement; after all, he was fairly powerful now after years of cultivating.

Seeing that the young man shook his head, the hunter said anxiously, “Uncle Wen Yuan, don’t be fooled by her appearance. Although she looks like she’s three years old, she already looked like this 10 years ago. No one knows how old she really is! Perhaps she’s a very old Spirit. It’s said that powerful Spirits are able to assume Human forms.”

Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but bare her teeth at the hunter. The moment she was called an old Spirit, she was furious for some reason. She had the urge to tear his mouth apart. It wasn’t certain why, but she seemed sensitive to the word ‘old’.

“Oh?” Wen Yuan arched his brow, “She already looked like this 10 years ago?”

“It’s true.” The hunter nodded repeatedly, “Everyone around this area knows this. You can ask around.”

Wen Yuan stroked his chin, “That’s interesting.”

When he heard his Nephew say that there was a Spirit in this place, he decided to come over to have a look as he had a duty to kill off harmful beings that might disrupt the world. If there was really a Spirit, he could just kill her with his sword; however, the moment he saw the little girl, he knew that she wasn’t a Spirit.

Even the most successful Spirit couldn’t perfectly conceal their Evil Qi, unless their power vastly exceeded his own.

He was now an Origin King, so a Spirit would need to be in the Dao Source Realm, at the very least, to deceive him.

Such Spirits were incredibly rare across the entire Void Continent, so how was it possible that there was one in this remote village?

With that said, when he learned that the little girl had remained the same for the past 10 years, he grew curious.

Just when he was about to ask the little girl if he could examine her, he felt a shadow engulfing him from behind.

When he turned around, he saw a stout woman with a chubby face who was glaring at him.

Behind the stout woman stood over 10 hunters and their Wives with bows and farm tools in their hands. They didn’t look very friendly.

It was a small village, so they could easily see that a hunter from another village had brought a young man with him as they stood in front of the classroom door. It was apparent that they were up to no good.

No one had to shout to inform everyone about it. The moment the adults from this village saw it, they came over in a hurry.

The hunter from the other village felt timid when he saw so many people glaring at him, but as he recalled that he had a powerful backer with him, he straightened up and stared back provocatively at them.

“Is something the matter, Madam?” Wen Yuan asked curiously as he gazed at the furious stout woman.

With a grim expression, the stout woman landed a slap on his shoulder and replied, “Nothing is wrong. I just want to know what you’re doing here.”

Although she had exerted a lot of force with her hand, she realised that the thin-looking young man was completely unfazed. There wasn’t even a look of pain on his face.

She was confident that she could have broken a piece of wood with such strength.

Suddenly realising something, she glanced at the young man with a solemn expression as she decided to push him away instead. The young man played along by stepping aside.

The stout woman stepped into the classroom and turned around. Her burly figure was like a tower that fended off all the rain and wind from her Daughter.

Behind her, Xiao Xiao stuck out her head and pointed at the hunter, “Mother, that guy called me a Spirit.”

The stout woman glowered at the hunter and snapped, “You’re a bastard, Zhang Gen! Are you sick of living? What right do you have to call my Daughter a Spirit? I think you and your family members are the actual Spirits instead!”

The hunter named Zhang Gen said smugly, “How dare a peasant like you make a scene in front of a senior expert from Water Moon Pavilion! My Uncle will find out if she’s a Spirit.”

“He’s from Water Moon Pavilion?” The stout woman turned to look at Wen Yuan. Earlier, she had speculated that the person was a cultivator, and now it seemed to be the case. Regardless, she couldn’t appear to be weak as she said grimly, “So what if he’s a senior expert from Water Moon Pavilion? That doesn’t mean you can defame my daughter.”

Cultivation wasn’t a secret to the common man on the Void Continent, and although no one in this village had cultivated before, they had at least heard about it.

Therefore, the stout woman wasn’t afraid even though someone from Water Moon Pavilion was right in front of her.

Wen Yuan put on a helpless smile, “Please calm down, Madam. I’ve never said that this child is a Spirit.”

The stout woman glared at him, “What are you doing here, then?”

Wen Yuan was rendered speechless. The reason he was here was that he had to be cautious by ascertaining if the girl was a Spirit. Now, it was hard for him to explain himself.

After giving it a thought, he replied, “Madam, I’m sure that your Daughter has drawn a lot of criticism over the years because she’s thought to be a Spirit; otherwise, you wouldn’t have become so angered today. I am a Deacon from Water Moon Pavilion, and although I’m not among the most powerful cultivators in my Sect, I’m confident in my vision and judgement. I hope that you’ll allow me to examine this child’s body. I’m sure that it will have a positive impact on this child if I can confirm that she’s not a Spirit, and others will stop calling her that. What do you think?”

Initially, the stout woman was displeased with Wen Yuan, but after what he said, her expression turned milder.

Regardless of anything else, this cultivator didn’t try to oppress them with his strength. Instead, he looked like a kind-hearted and reasonable person by offering to help.

She wouldn’t have given in if this person were mannerless; however, since he had spoken politely, she couldn’t just rebuff him.

With that said, she shook her head, “Xiao Xiao is not a Spirit. I’ve been raising her for 10 years, so I’m fully aware of that. She needs no examination.”

[Even if she was a Spirit, who cares? She’s my beloved Daughter, and no one can humiliate her.]

Surprisingly, the moment she finished speaking, Xiao Xiao pulled the stout woman’s clothes and lifted her face, “Mother, I’d like to be examined.”

The stout woman looked down at her and crouched down. With a benevolent expression, she asked, “Why do you want to be examined? You’re the best child in the world.”

Xiao Xiao turned to look at Wen Yuan, “What if anyone still calls me a Spirit after you examine me and confirm that I’m not?”

With a solemn expression, Wen Yuan replied, “I’m sure my judgment will trump all the rumours.”

As an Origin King, he had full confidence in his authority.

Xiao Xiao nodded, “Go ahead, then.”

With a smile, Wen Yuan said, “Show me your hand.”

Xiao Xiao obediently extended her hand. Wen Yuan stuck out two fingers and felt her pulse before circulating his Saint Qi to examine her.

A moment later, a myriad of expressions came over his face.

The stout woman was extremely nervous as she was worried that the young man would say something that might harm her Daughter’s reputation. She secretly decided that if this guy dared to say something unpleasant, she would give him a punch in the face and break his teeth.

It only took Wen Yuan a little effort to examine the little girl, but his expression was somewhat awkward.

With her head lifted, Xiao Xiao asked, “Am I a Spirit?”

Wen Yuan shook his head, “No.”

In an instant, Xiao Xiao stared at the hunter named Zhang Gen, who was standing at the door, “Did you hear that? If you dare call me that again, I’ll shoot you with my arrows!”

An anxious Zhang Gen said, “Uncle, please look carefully. There must be something off about this girl.”

Upon hearing that, Wen Yuan, who was busy with his own thoughts, turned to look at Zhang Gen with a solemn expression and declared, “I have determined she is not a Spirit, so stop slandering her like this from now on.”

Zhang Gen had never expected the helper he had found would clear the annoying little girl’s name instead. At that instant, he could only remain silent in embarrassment. Wen Yuan was his Elder as well as a cultivator, so he couldn’t disobey him.

The stout woman and the hunter outside the classroom breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

“What’s your name, little girl?” Wen Yuan gazed at Xiao Xiao with an amiable expression.

Xiao Xiao replied, “Mother named me Xiao Xiao.”

“Xiao Xiao…” Wen Yuan nodded gently.

Just then, the stout woman said sheepishly, “Sir, since you’re a cultivator, can you tell what’s wrong with Xiao Xiao’s body? Why hasn’t she grown over the years?”

She had asked Doctor Cai about it, but the latter only said that it was due to the illness Xiao Xiao had suffered from when she was younger, so it was incurable. Since Wen Yuan was a powerful cultivator though, perhaps he had a solution.

After pondering on it for a moment, Wen Yuan replied, “There’s nothing wrong with her body. As for why she has never grown in size, I have no idea. However, she might have the aptitude to cultivate.”

“Huh?” The stout woman was astounded.

The hunter outside the classroom appeared agitated.

He had a dream of becoming a cultivator when he was young, and he had taken part in the Disciple Recruitment of Water Moon Pavilion; however, he was eliminated quite early on in the process as he didn’t have the necessary aptitude.

After his dream was crushed, he returned to his hometown and became a hunter.

Upon learning from Wen Yuan that Xiao Xiao might have the aptitude to cultivate, he was naturally excited.

The reason Wen Yuan insisted on examining Xiao Xiao after already confirming that she wasn’t a Spirit was that he felt she might have an extraordinary aptitude.

Nevertheless, he wouldn’t dare to make a quick judgement when it came to this matter, so it required further examination.

Although he had already checked, he still couldn’t confirm if Xiao Xiao had an extraordinary aptitude or not. That was why he said she ‘might’ have the aptitude to become a cultivator. It was because after the examination, he realised that Xiao Xiao’s aptitude was somewhat odd. It seemed that she had an excellent aptitude, but it also felt as if she had a terrible aptitude. He had never come across such a strange situation before.

“Xiao Xiao might have the aptitude to cultivate?” The stout woman was dumbfounded.

Wen Yuan said cautiously, “I can’t make a judgement yet. Perhaps I don’t have good enough insight when it comes to such matters. En, how about I return to my Sect now and ask an Elder to come over and look into it. That way, we’ll be able to come to a conclusion.”

The next instant, he turned around and left the classroom before disappearing into the sky.

He was certainly an efficient and decisive person.