The Bed Collapsed

In the first-year, Class One classroom, Zhou Yi's trademark hoarse voice brought their first year to a close.

"You have a month off. But that doesn't mean you get to spend the whole month playing!" Zhou Yi's cold gaze swept across the room. "The upgrade assessment is right after the break. If you fail, pack your things and leave. Shrek doesn't keep dead weight. Dismissed!"

As Zhou Yi walked out of the classroom, the oppressive atmosphere vanished in an instant, replaced by the excitement of the coming holiday.

By Sea God Lake, the coals glowed red, and the scent of grilled fish filled the air.

It was the last meal Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao would share before the break.

The fish was still crisp on the outside and tender within, its aroma tempting, but the mood between the three of them was rather subdued.

"Yuhao, you really won't come home with me?" Wang Dong held a grilled fish but had little appetite. Her big pink-and-blue eyes were full of hope. "Aren't you even curious what the Clear Sky Sect is like?"

Huo Yuhao's heart gave a jolt.

Go to the Clear Sky Sect? Not a chance!

That place had two Limit Douluo lurking there: the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python. They were Tang San's lapdogs.

Over the past year, Huo Yuhao had bullied Wang Dong plenty while trying to rack up Anger Points. He had even made the haughty little princess act as his servant.

If he went to the Clear Sky Sect, wouldn't those two old beasts skin him alive?

What's more, the Clear Sky Sect was practically Tang San's territory. Tang San might not dare go too far elsewhere, but if he pulled something at the Clear Sky Sect, even the God of Destruction or the God Realm Committee would find it difficult to interfere.

"I'm not going." Huo Yuhao refused without hesitation. He then flicked Wang Dong hard on her smooth forehead, producing a crisp thunk.

"Ow!" Wang Dong clutched her forehead and glared at Huo Yuhao with tearful eyes. "Why did you hit me?"

"Because you're stupid." Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. "I'm all alone. Why wouldn't I stay at the academy and cultivate? What would I go to your home for? I suspect you've got designs on me."

Wang Dong blushed and was just about to retort when Huo Yuhao turned to Xiao Xiao, his expression instantly as warm as a spring breeze.

"Xiao Xiao, be careful on your way home. Don't spend the whole month playing. If you fall behind in Soul Power, I'll check on you when school starts." Huo Yuhao reached out and gently ruffled Xiao Xiao's hair, giving her a textbook head pat.

Xiao Xiao closed her eyes contentedly, like a kitten being stroked. "I know, Class Monitor. I'll miss you!"

Watching this, Wang Dong's jealousy boiled over.

Why?

Why was he so gentle with Xiao Xiao, but so mean to her? He'd even flicked her forehead!

"Huo Yuhao, you're such a hypocrite!" Wang Dong shouted indignantly.

"So what if I am?" Huo Yuhao glanced at her, looking disgusted. "Xiao Xiao's so well-behaved. Look at you—every day you're acting all fussy, like some girl."

"I..." Wang Dong was so furious she nearly blurted out, I am a girl.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she forced them back down.

Looking at Huo Yuhao's infuriating expression, Wang Dong felt terribly wronged. Idiot Huo Yuhao, you big idiot! We've been together for almost a year, and you still haven't figured out I'm a girl. You deserve to be single forever!

In truth, Huo Yuhao knew perfectly well.

He knew Wang Dong was a girl, and he also knew that part of Tang Wutong's divine consciousness existed within her. But he didn't want to expose her.

The Wang Dong of today was haughty, adorable, and very much her own person.

As for Tang Wutong, that high-and-mighty little princess of the Divine Realm, she wasn't worth a damn in Huo Yuhao's eyes.

In the original story, as soon as Tang Wutong appeared, Wang Dong and Qiu'er's personalities were erased. Huo Yuhao could never accept that.

To keep your consciousness from being erased, and to prevent that pretentious patchwork mess, Tang Wutong, from being born, I'll have to make you suffer a little first, Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao thought. Besides, if you don't reveal your gender, I can bully you without feeling guilty. That makes racking up Anger Points so much more fun.

However, when Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong again, he saw that her eyes were red, her pretty pink-and-blue eyes brimming with tears. She looked as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment, like a puppy abandoned by its owner.

Huo Yuhao's heart softened.

They had been roommates for a year. Although he was trying to defy fate, sometimes he had bullied her a little too harshly.

"All right, all right. Don't look so miserable. It's not like we're never going to see each other again."

Huo Yuhao sighed, stepped forward, opened his arms, and pulled Wang Dong into a hug.

Wang Dong stiffened, then relaxed against him.

The boy's embrace was warm and broad, with a faint scent of mint.

Wang Dong's near-crumbling emotions were soothed in an instant. Tears welled in her eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to let them fall.

Holding Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao felt the softness of her body, unmistakably different from a boy's, and caught a faint, delicate fragrance. He couldn't help thinking, So she really is a girl. She's so soft...

Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.

Tang San was watching the lower realm through a water mirror. When he saw the scene, he was so furious he nearly snapped the Seagod Trident in his hand.

"You little brat! How dare you take advantage of my daughter! Where do you think you're putting your hands?!" Tang San flew into a rage, and the entire Sea God Hall shook with his fury.

Over the past year, Huo Yuhao had made Wang Dong do all sorts of things, but he had always kept physical contact within bounds. This was the first time he had given her a proper hug.

The old father's heart shattered on the spot.

Down in the lower realm, by Sea God Lake.

"Have you hugged enough? Two boys holding each other for so long—aren't you worried people will get the wrong idea?" Xiao Xiao teased from the side, her eyes red, trying to break the awkward, bittersweet mood.

Only then did Wang Dong snap out of it. She hurriedly pushed Huo Yuhao away, her face red as a ripe apple as she lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

Although Huo Yuhao's earlier remark about her being fussy had made her furious, that hug made it feel as though all the grievances she had endured over the past year had vanished.

Hmph. At least you have a little conscience, Wang Dong thought, her heart glowing with happiness.

"Class Monitor, I want one too!" Xiao Xiao gathered her courage and threw herself at him.

Huo Yuhao caught her with a smile and gave her a gentle hug. "All right, off you go. See you when school starts."

After seeing off the two reluctant girls, Huo Yuhao stood by the lake and watched their figures disappear. The smile on his face gradually faded.

"What's wrong? Can't bear to part with your two little girlfriends?"

A teasing voice came from behind him.

Huo Yuhao turned around and saw Ma Xiaotao leaning against a willow tree in a fiery red dress, watching him with a half-smile.

Her mature, fiery figure was a stark contrast to the two green young girls from earlier.

Huo Yuhao's lips curled into a smile. He walked over and casually wrapped an arm around Ma Xiaotao's slender waist.

"They're my friends. You're my girlfriend."

Ma Xiaotao's pretty face reddened. She was usually hot-tempered, but even she found it hard to resist such a straightforward declaration.

She rolled her eyes at Huo Yuhao, but inside she was delighted.

"You're pretty good with words," Ma Xiaotao said, poking him in the chest. "Now that they've left, you're mine for the next month."

"Just what I was hoping for," Huo Yuhao said with a raised brow.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Ma Xiaotao grew serious. "I mean cultivation. The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament is next year. My goal is to break through to Spirit Saint before the tournament, and you have to reach Soul Ancestor!"

"Yes, senior."

Over the next month, Huo Yuhao lived through a period of both agony and bliss.

The "special training" Ma Xiaotao had in mind was so intense it was practically inhuman.

The days were filled with high-intensity combat practice, while the nights brought... even more intense "dual cultivation" assistance.

To replenish their strength, Yan Shaozhe waved his hand and sent rare medicinal ingredients their way as if they cost nothing.

They were served a nourishing tonic every day, until Huo Yuhao was getting nosebleeds.

The bed in Ma Xiaotao's dormitory also endured more pressure than its age should have allowed. It collapsed three times in a single month, and in the end Huo Yuhao had to reinforce it with metal.

At last, just as the holiday was about to end, a tremendous wave of Soul Power surged skyward from Sea God Island.

Ma Xiaotao had broken through the level-seventy bottleneck—she was now a Quasi-Spirit Saint!

Right after that, another wave erupted: slightly weaker, but infused with extremely pure, ultimate cold.

Huo Yuhao had broken through the level-forty bottleneck—he was now a Quasi-Soul Ancestor!

Yan Shaozhe looked at his two monster-like students, grinning so broadly that every wrinkle on his face spread out.

"Good! Good! Good!" Yan Shaozhe said three times. "Now that you've both broken through, there's no time to waste. I've made all the arrangements. Tomorrow morning, we'll head to the Star Dou Great Forest and hunt down the most suitable Soul Rings for you!"