Splash—!
With a rush of water, three figures scrambled ashore from the river, looking worse for wear.
They were Huo Yuhao, Huo Yu, and Huo Hao.
"Phew... phew..."
Huo Yuhao gasped for breath and looked back at the calm river with lingering fear.
That had been close!
If Huo Hao hadn't acted decisively and used his strange binding ability to buy them a fraction of a second, all three of them might have been caught and dragged back by that furious old geezer.
"That old guy didn't follow us, did he?"
Huo Yu wiped the water from himself and warily scanned their surroundings.
Huo Hao's face was grim. He said nothing, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar surroundings as his brow furrowed.
The vegetation here, and the fluctuations of Soul Power in the air, were completely different from those in the familiar Star Dou Great Forest.
Just as the three brothers began to relax, an amused voice came from nearby.
"Oh? Where did you three come from? You look... pretty miserable."
The three of them started and looked up sharply.
A group of people stood a short distance ahead.
At the front were a young man and a young woman.
The young man had dazzling silver-white hair and a handsome face. A faint smile played on his lips, and his eyes—one blue, one green—were full of confidence and defiance. He wore well-tailored noble attire and carried himself with distinction.
The girl beside him was even more eye-catching.
Her smooth silver-white hair fell over her shoulders, and her skin was fair as snow. Her features were so delicate she looked like a doll, and she bore a resemblance to the young man. Her eyes, however, were a deep blue. She gazed at the three brothers with unbridled curiosity, blinking as she studied them.
Behind them stood a squad of soldiers in uniform armor. Their auras were steady and composed; they were clearly elite Soul Masters.
This was no ordinary gathering.
The young man had been the one to speak.
He regarded the three brothers, soaked from head to toe, with interest. Amusement glinted in his eyes, though he showed no particular malice.
"Tell me, who are you? Why did you suddenly come out of this river?"
The silver-haired girl beside him tilted her head, her large eyes moving from Huo Yuhao to Huo Yu and then to Huo Hao.
They... were all so handsome!
One was gentle and refined, one sunny and cheerful, and the last cool and striking. They were three top-tier heartthrobs with completely different styles! Meng Hongchen felt a little flutter in her heart.
Faced with this unexpected questioning, the three brothers exchanged glances.
Huo Yu remained wary and silent. Huo Yuhao was about to speak, but Huo Hao stopped him with a look.
As the eldest of the three brothers, Huo Hao stepped forward. He straightened his clothes and answered calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.
"I'm Huo Hao. These two are my brothers, Huo Yu and Huo Yuhao."
He gestured toward the two behind him.
Then he briefly recounted what had happened: Xuan Zi had chased them, and in desperation they'd jumped into a strange river in the Star Dou Great Forest, only to inexplicably end up here.
After hearing Huo Yuhao's account, the golden-haired young man—Xiao Hongchen—looked even more amused.
It sounded like something out of the Arabian Nights, and he couldn't help chuckling.
"Hahaha, that's interesting."
"You jumped into a river in the Star Dou Great Forest and ended up here?"
He shrugged and turned to his younger sister, Meng Hongchen.
"Did you hear that, little sister? They say they came here from a little river in the Star Dou Great Forest. But as I recall, we're currently near the outskirts of Mingdu, on the border of the Sun Moon Empire."
"From the Star Dou Great Forest to Mingdu is tens of thousands of miles. To get here just by jumping into a river? That's quite a story."
His voice was full of undisguised mockery and disbelief.
"And you say you escaped from Taotie Douluo?"
Xiao Hongchen looked the three brothers up and down, sensing their faint Soul Power. The smile at the corner of his mouth widened.
"As far as I know, Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi is a Super Douluo. You three little Soul Masters wouldn't stand a chance against him. Even an ordinary Titled Douluo couldn't last a single move in front of him."
"If you're going to make up a story, at least make it believable."
If these three hadn't seemed so pathetically weak—and therefore unlikely to be spies—Xiao Hongchen would probably have had his men seize them and interrogate them by now.
Faced with Xiao Hongchen's skepticism, Huo Yuhao felt helpless.
The truth was so absurd that even he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't experienced it himself.
Just then, Huo Yu, who had been silent all this time, turned his gaze to the river behind them.
He sensed it carefully. This river seemed to give him exactly the same feeling as the one in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Could it be...
"This river seems just like the one we jumped into. Maybe... it has the same effect."
"What effect?"
Meng Hongchen looked at Huo Yu, who had spoken.
"That river's magical. If someone jumps in, one person turns into three. That's how the three of us came to be."
Huo Yuhao timidly tried to explain.
"Pfft!"
Meng Hongchen couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.
She covered her mouth and looked at Huo Yuhao, finding the boy utterly amusing.
"One person turns into three? Do you take us for three-year-olds?"
Meng Hongchen laughed so hard her body swayed.
"You're obviously three brothers who look alike. Why make up such an outrageous excuse?"
She thought the three might have a strange story behind them, but they didn't seem like bad people. In fact... they were quite interesting.
Seeing that the other side didn't believe them at all, Huo Hao spoke up.
"You can try it."
"Just have someone jump in and see if they turn into three. Then you'll know."
Huo Yu's words brought an instant hush over the group.
The smile vanished from Xiao Hongchen's face. His eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized the three brothers.
They'd been calm from beginning to end, and they were unusually certain about the claim that one person could become three. Could it... be true?
The thought had barely occurred to him when he dismissed it.
Impossible!
What an absurd joke!
"Fine!"
Xiao Hongchen grinned. He decided to play along with these overconfident boys.
He stepped forward, speaking with a hint of menace.
"Let's do it your way!"
"If someone really can jump in and turn into three, then we'll let this go. I'll spare you."
His tone shifted, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"But if... nothing happens, and you're playing me for a fool..."
"Then don't blame me for having you three arrested and sent to the imperial prison to learn your lesson!"
With that, he turned and ordered one of the soldiers behind him.
"You. Get in."
"Yes, young master!"
The soldier answered without hesitation and strode to the riverbank. Without the slightest pause, he jumped into the water with a splash.
The river's surface rippled faintly.
Xiao Hongchen wore a cold smile, as if to say, "Let's see how you get out of this," and prepared to watch the three brothers make fools of themselves.
Then, without warning, a figure appeared on the calm river.
He was still holding a fishing rod, and the same lazy smile still hung on his face.
Lin Feng had appeared again.
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