Huo Yuhao was kneeling on the ground, clutching his eyes, while Tang Ya stood nearby with a look of shock. Mo Yuan felt nothing as he watched them.
Having read the Original Work, he knew that after Huo Yuhao got a taste of the benefits of cheating this time, he would cast aside what little morality he had left and gradually align himself with Tang San.
When other people cheated, it was despicable. But they treated their own cheating as perfectly justified and even took pride in doing it again and again.
Before exposing them this time, Mo Yuan had actually thought it over at length. It all came down to weighing the pros and cons of confronting Huo Yuyao, the Son of Heaven's Mandate.
But at the last moment, Mo Yuan had figured it out. So what if he was the Son of Heaven's Mandate? Mo Yuan was a transmigrator! He had come here to take on the Son of Heaven's Mandate!
Upper Auspicious Sign: Mandated by Heaven, may his reign endure forever.
Lower Auspicious Sign: Our fate is ours to shape; my life is mine, not Heaven's!
Forget about fate or destiny. The scorching, venomous Black King's Blood flowing through Mo Yuan's veins would never let him believe in such Ghostly Things! He believed only that people could shape their own fate!
Once Mo Yuan and Han Ruoruo had pointed out that Huo Yuhao was the one who had reported them, the thousands of students who had come to their senses erupted. They pointed at Huo Yuhao and whispered among themselves.
None of them doubted that Mo Yuan and Han Ruoruo were telling the truth.
That red school uniform was proof enough to put any conspiracy theories to rest.
On the Battle Soul Arena.
"Beibei, did your junior really cheat?"
Xu Sanshi's face was dark as he asked Beibei, who stood opposite him looking grave. He still hoped to hear a different answer.
Beibei's expression was complicated. He parted his lips as if to explain, but in the end, all that came out was a helpless sigh.
"Yes..."
"Fine! Fine!"
Seeing Beibei's reaction, Xu Sanshi laughed in anger, his disappointment turning to fury. He put away his Martial Soul, took a jade bottle from his Soul Tool, and tossed it to Beibei.
"I was wrong about you. You cheated in a one-on-one match, and you still thought you could call me your friend? You wanted the Xuan Water Pill, didn't you? Take it. But from now on, we're strangers."
Xu Sanshi turned and strode straight out of the arena without another glance at Beibei, who stood frozen in place.
He was deeply disappointed and furious.
If someone cheated during a one-on-one match, a moment's carelessness could leave their opponent injured. They could even be crippled or killed.
He couldn't believe Beibei and Tang Ya didn't know that. Yet they had still done it...
Xu Sanshi could only feel disappointed.
Looking at the jade bottle in his hand and catching its faint fragrance, Beibei was filled with regret. He knew he had been wrong, but it was too late now.
All they could do was pay for their mistake...
In the stands, fear and panic had completely taken hold of Huo Yuhao as he knelt on the ground. The countless people around him whispering about him were driving him to the brink of collapse.
He wanted to stand up and demand of Mo Yuan and Han Ruoruo, "Why did you expose me? Why did you stick your noses into this? Are you closer to Xu Sanshi than you are to us?!"
But Huo Yuhao didn't dare. The scarlet blood on his hand reflected a sight that terrified him to the depths of his soul.
Beneath a pitch-black, lightless sky, he stood at the foot of a black mountain that towered into the clouds. The icy wind made him tremble uncontrollably.
In front of him, a dazzling golden light flashed through the darkness. Then he saw something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A dragon!
A black dragon!
A beautiful yet sinister black dragon, its wings draped in skulls, its body blotting out the sky!
The terrifying image vanished in a flash. Then an overwhelming Dragon's Might surged into the Sea of Consciousness! If Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hadn't reacted in time,
Huo Yuhao wouldn't still be kneeling here. He'd be lying on the ground, ready for the full funeral-and-burial package.
Mo Yuan glanced at Huo Yuhao, still kneeling with his face covered as if he could escape reality that way, and gave a slight shake of his head.
"Let's go, senior sister. There's nothing worth watching in this match anymore."
"Okay."
Han Ruoruo looked at Beibei, who had been left utterly dejected in the arena, then at Tang Ya, who seemed completely stunned and at a loss. She sighed inwardly and followed Mo Yuan.
She didn't have much to say about Tang Ya. They weren't close, after all. The only thing that bothered her was that Beibei had stooped to something as despicable as cheating in a one-on-one match.
As one of Zhang Lexuan's closest friends, she knew all about what was going on between Zhang Lexuan and Beibei. She had felt sorry for Zhang Lexuan and wanted to help her senior sister.
Now, it seemed she ought to advise Zhang Lexuan to let go of those feelings.
As Mo Yuan and Han Ruoruo left the Battle Soul Arena, someone stopped them at the entrance.
"Big brother, senior sister Han, thank you for helping expose Huo Yuhao just now. You stopped Beibei and the others from making a terrible mistake."
Xu Sanshi bowed deeply to Mo Yuan and Han Ruoruo, sincerely thanking them. Then he held out two bottles of pills to them.
"These are two bottles of Xuan Water Pills. Please accept them as a token of my gratitude. And I hope you won't hold Beibei's mistake against him. He just... just had a moment of stupidity. That's not who he really is."
Mo Yuan couldn't help sighing.
It was no wonder they had been close friends for years. Even after Beibei had betrayed him, Xu Sanshi was still thinking of him, despite his disappointment and anger...
Neither Mo Yuan nor Han Ruoruo refused the gift. After taking the Xuan Water Pills, Mo Yuan patted Xu Sanshi's broad shoulder before leaving.
"Whether Beibei deserves your forgiveness is up to you, the person he hurt, not us. We don't have time to concern ourselves with it."
Xu Sanshi visibly relaxed at those words. Then Mo Yuan continued,
"Kid, sometimes, giving endlessly doesn't get you anything in return. The more you give, the more you care. And the more you give someone, the harder it becomes to leave them.
"But then you should take a good look at yourself and ask: do you really like her, or are you just holding on because of all the time and effort you've already invested?"
"There's a saying that's popular back home: 'A simp ends up with nothing.' It's harsh, but it's true."
Without another word, Mo Yuan left Xu Sanshi standing there, lost in thought. He had said all that because he thought Xu Sanshi was a decent person.
He was loyal and righteous. Out of guilt over what he had done to Jiang Nannan when they were young, he was willing to devote his life to her and had continued to look after her mother. He was one of the few characters in Soul Land II whom Mo Yuan thought highly of.
Whether Xu Sanshi would come to his senses was up to him.
As they walked along the broad paths of Shrek Academy, the gentle light of the Soul Guide Lamps fell upon Mo Yuan and Han Ruoruo, casting two shadows that clung tightly together behind them.
Han Ruoruo glanced at Mo Yuan, a flicker of something strange crossing her eyes. Her smile faded, and she put on a serious expression.
"Junior, I'm starting to wonder if you lied to me."
"What?" Mo Yuan asked, puzzled. "What did I lie about?"
"You told me before that you'd never been in a relationship. But after hearing what you just said to Xu Sanshi, there's no way I can believe that someone who'd never been in love would say those things."
Mo Yuan laughed. "You're accusing me unfairly, senior sister. A person caught up in something can't see it clearly, but an outsider can. Sometimes you have to be outside the situation to see things more clearly, don't you? Feelings work the same way."
"Is that so?"
Han Ruoruo suddenly leaned a little closer to Mo Yuan, close enough for him to see her long lashes tremble, close enough that he was the only one reflected in her eyes.
Looking at his exquisitely handsome, almost bewitching face, she pressed her moist red lips together, then curved them into a perfect smile.
Han Ruoruo pointed a slender finger at Mo Yuan and said with a playful smile,
"Don't lie to me, junior. I may be innocent, but I hate being lied to."
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