Crisis Sense

Back in the Rest Area, Bei Bei and Jie Chu immediately came over to high-five Huo Yuhao. Although Huo Yuhao stressed that the second round had ended in a draw, anyone with eyes could see that even if Xu Sanshi had insisted on continuing, his chances of winning would have been extremely slim.

"I've gained a little respect for Xu Sanshi."

Jie Chu and Bei Bei, seated in the Rest Area, had seen every move Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi made on the stage. When Xu Sanshi willingly admitted that he had lost the match, Jie Chu's impression of him changed somewhat.

"Even if it was a draw, Xu Sanshi can't weasel out of those Mystic Water Pills, so don't worry. If that guy doesn't obediently hand over your three Mystic Water Pills, you won't need to go up to the Soul Duel Stage again. Brother Jie Chu and I will make sure he's properly dealt with."

Bei Bei grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. He truly had not expected that the timid-looking nine-year-old boy he had seen at the academy gates just a few months ago would perform so outstandingly on the Soul Duel Stage.

Just as the group was chatting enthusiastically, a middle-aged man and an old man dressed in a tattered robe approached them.

"Teacher Wang Yan, Elder Xuan."

Bei Bei was the first to stand and bow to them. Jie Chu had friends all over Shrek Academy and beyond, so naturally he recognized the two men before him and bowed alongside Bei Bei.

Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, was somewhat unsure what to do. After all, he was not yet officially a student of Shrek Academy.

The middle-aged man called Wang Yan lightly adjusted the bridge of his glasses and smiled warmly. He stepped forward, extended his hand, and shook Huo Yuhao's, nodding to him in greeting. With great consideration, he helped Huo Yuhao out of the awkward situation.

"Hello, you must be Huo Yuhao. My name is Wang Yan, and I'm a teacher at Shrek Academy. You can call me Teacher Wang, just like Bei Bei and the others do."

It had to be said that Wang Yan exuded an air that made people feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze. Huo Yuhao clearly knew that Teacher Wang and the old man beside him had most likely come because they were interested in his performance, yet interacting with him still felt remarkably comfortable.

After introducing himself to Huo Yuhao, Wang Yan turned his gaze toward Bei Bei. "Bei Bei, congratulations. You ranked first in this year's Second Grade Promotion Exam. Not bad. Keep it up."

Bei Bei scratched his head and chuckled. There were quite a few strong students in his grade, but compared to those monstrous grades packed with formidable talents, the competition was not yet that intense. He had simply been lucky, and with his own strength to back it up, he had managed to take first place.

After all, Jie Chu's cultivation of Rank 41 Soul Ancestor was already exceptionally rare among Fourth Grade students. Yet even he had been pushed out of the top ten in the Promotion Exam three months ago.

"Jie Chu, Jie Chu, and you still have the nerve to laugh along with Bei Bei? Do you know your theory score nearly failed? If you still can't raise your theory score this term and drag your overall score down that badly again, just see how I deal with you."

Wang Yan's gaze swept over like a blade and fixed on Jie Chu, who was giving an awkward laugh alongside Bei Bei. Jie Chu was so frightened that he immediately fell silent and lowered his head like a quail, as though hoping everyone would forget he existed.

So it was his terrible theory score that had dragged his ranking down and kept him out of the top ten?

Bei Bei looked helplessly at Jie Chu, who scratched his head in embarrassment.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the two of them, Wang Yan finally turned his attention back to Huo Yuhao.

"Yuhao, may I call you that?"

Wang Yan smiled kindly as he looked at Huo Yuhao and asked.

"Of course, Teacher Wang."

Huo Yuhao smiled shyly, like the warm sun of winter. For a moment, Wang Yan even had the illusion that the child before him was not the same person as the cold, humanoid machine that had operated at maximum efficiency on the Soul Duel Stage.

On the Soul Duel Stage, Huo Yuhao had seemed as though even if the sky collapsed, his expression would not change in the slightest. Yet once he came down from the stage, he had become a living, breathing child again.

He was practically a Killing Machine born for battle.

A strange thought suddenly flashed through Wang Yan's mind.

"Yuhao, let me introduce you. This is Elder Xuan. He watched your Soul Duel today and is very interested in you, so he wanted to ask you a few questions. Would that be convenient?"

Wang Yan's words immediately made Huo Yuhao perk up. When he had heard Bei Bei greet them earlier, he had already noticed the drunk-looking, seemingly half-asleep old man behind Wang Yan—this old man known as Elder Xuan.

According to Huo Yuhao's intelligence, this Elder Xuan was likely extraordinarily powerful. After all, he was someone even Old Man Du Busi had mentioned. He also loved to eat. If Huo Yuhao could cater to his tastes and turn Elder Xuan into someone he could rely on...

Suddenly, though he had merely entertained the thought, Huo Yuhao felt an enormous character for "danger" appear above his head. The character was scarlet as blood, radiating an incomparably immense sense of crisis.

Huo Yuhao's mind trembled at the sight of that character. He had only considered relying on this man, yet it had triggered such an intense warning of danger. What kind of secret did this old man possess?

This automatic warning in the face of danger was an innate ability Huo Yuhao had possessed in the Ashina world. If an enemy he was fighting suddenly changed tactics and launched an extremely difficult-to-defend Thrust or sweeping low attack, this danger-sensing ability would activate in advance, allowing him to guard more carefully against the enemy's change in moves.

Among the many opponents Huo Yuhao had faced, even Sword Saint Ashina Isshin had triggered this ability whenever he launched a Thrust or a low attack. It had never been wrong, which was why Huo Yuhao trusted this ability so deeply.

In the Soul Duel he had just finished with Xu Sanshi, when Xu Sanshi attempted to use Mystic Tremor in the first round to launch a low attack and stun Huo Yuhao, it had also triggered this innate talent. But even all the "danger" warnings Huo Yuhao had ever triggered combined could not compare to the crisis he had felt just now.

The blood-red character for "danger" above Huo Yuhao's head seemed to be shouting at him, warning him that he absolutely must not regard the other party as someone trustworthy. Otherwise, he would die!

And not only would he die. If he blindly trusted the other party's strength and regarded him as a dependable trump card and protector, it might even lead to an even greater crisis—one death taking countless others with it.