Wang Dong pointed to a small plaza on the outskirts of Sea God Lake. "See that plaza? Some of the pillars around it are cracked, too."
"Just yesterday, a senior sister from the Inner Academy lost control and caused a scene here. In the end, they took her away."
Huo Yuhao's heart jolted at that. He immediately asked, "What happened? Was that senior sister the one who could breathe fire?"
Wang Dong was puzzled by his question, unsure how Huo Yuhao knew. She replied,
"Yeah. Her Martial Soul was a top-grade Phoenix Martial Soul, and apparently she was a descendant of Ma Hongjun from ten thousand years ago."
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth as he ran.
Just then, Wang Dong continued, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. I'll keep running."
Wang Dong pursed her lips and said no more. She started circling around beside Huo Yuhao.
She activated her Martial Soul, darting back and forth by Huo Yuhao's side like a butterfly.
Huo Yuhao paid her no mind—or rather, he wasn't thinking about any of that right now.
With Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire suppressed, logically, she should have another episode after some time.
But just as Huo Yuhao was thinking this, the system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind again.
"Ding! Random quest triggered."
"Quest theme: Revenge. Target: Dai Huabin."
At the sound, Huo Yuhao immediately looked toward the two figures approaching up ahead.
One of them was Dai Huabin, his face dark with displeasure.
Instinctively, Huo Yuhao felt a nameless rage well up inside him.
Dai Huabin was the Duke's wife's son, born with an arrogant and domineering temperament. He did whatever he pleased.
Huo Yuhao was his younger half-brother, born to Huo Yun'er, an ordinary maid in the Dai Family.
In Dai Huabin's eyes, Huo Yuhao and his mother were insignificant, not even worth a second glance.
That year, Huo Yuhao was only eight.
One day, he was helping his mother, Huo Yun'er, hang the laundry to dry when Dai Huabin happened to pass by with his guards.
Seeing them, Huo Yuhao quickly stepped aside, thinking he could avoid trouble.
But Dai Huabin had no intention of passing up the chance to show off.
He wanted to flaunt his status and strength in front of everyone—and, more importantly, impress his mother, White Tiger Madam, and earn her praise.
So Dai Huabin signaled to his guards. They understood at once and began beating Huo Yuhao.
Seeing her son attacked, Huo Yun'er rushed forward without hesitation to protect him.
But as a frail woman, she stood no chance against those vicious guards. Before long, they had beaten her to the brink of death.
And there was an even darker malice behind this calamity.
The Duke's wife secretly arranged for Huo Yun'er to be denied treatment, leaving her without money to buy medicine.
Not long afterward, Huo Yun'er succumbed to her injuries and died.
At the root of it all, Dai Huabin had been the spark that led to Huo Yun'er's death.
And in the original story, Huo Yuhao had actually chosen to forgive him in the end...
But Huo Yuhao wouldn't do that now.
Beside Dai Huabin stood a young woman dressed in tight leather. Though young, she had a curvy figure. She was Dai Huabin's fiancée, Zhu Lu.
Just then, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu strode over. When they were only three or five meters from Huo Yuhao, Dai Huabin stopped, a mocking smile lifting the corner of his mouth.
"Dai—what was your name again? I never thought I'd run into you. With your status as the son of a lowly maid, you still think you can—"
Before Dai Huabin could finish, Huo Yuhao took a single step forward and unleashed Explosive Step. In an instant, he was right in front of Dai Huabin. He raised his fist.
"Bajibeng!"
There was a loud thud.
Caught completely off guard, Dai Huabin was sent flying seven or eight meters.
Chat? Talk? Not a chance!
He went straight for the attack!
Sharing Huo Yuhao's feelings, he wouldn't ask Dai Huabin why he had come here. There was no point.
The debt for his mother's death had to be repaid. That was his nature.
At the same time...
[The system's voice continued to ring out, but Huo Yuhao still paid it no mind.]
[Ding! Option One: Follow the old path. Seethe inwardly, clench your fists, grit your teeth, and endure.]
[Reward One: 250 points.]
[Reward Two: Obtain a Human-Demon Puppet (incomplete and traitorous version).]
[Reward Three: Obtain the honorary title "Cowering Coward."]
[Option Two: Beat Dai Huabin senseless and dispel the resentment in your heart.]
[Reward One: 30,000 points.]
[Reward Two: One 3,000-year Soul Bone, left leg.]
[Reward Three: Two bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.]
[Option Three: Beat Dai Huabin senseless and humiliate him.]
[Reward: Determined by the degree of humiliation.]
The system spoke one word at a time.
Huo Yuhao ignored it.
He didn't hesitate for a moment. As Dai Huabin flew backward, he leapt into the air and swung a vicious punch at Dai Huabin's throat.
"You're asking for death!"
Zhu Lu reacted first. A shadow of a black Hell Spirit Cat appeared behind her.
In the next instant, she unleashed her first Soul Skill.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!"
As Zhu Lu's voice fell, she appeared in front of Huo Yuhao in a flash. Her sharp claws slashed straight at his throat.
At the same time, Wang Dong showed no mercy. She didn't understand why Huo Yuhao had attacked Dai Huabin.
But Huo Yuhao was her roommate. Acting on instinct—and on the inexplicable urging in her mind—she darted in front of Zhu Lu and kicked her away.
With a thud, Huo Yuhao's fist struck Dai Huabin in the throat.
Dai Huabin spewed a mouthful of blood in midair before crashing to the ground.
"You little bastard, you're asking for death!"
Dai Huabin roared. Soul Power surged around him, two yellow rings and one purple!
"Third Soul Skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
In an instant, Dai Huabin's body expanded several times over.
At the same time, several beams of light appeared behind him, and a fierce, majestic White Tiger phantom emerged with a roar.
Dai Huabin's speed and strength both surged several times over.
Without hesitation, Dai Huabin darted forward and stomped on the ground. The paving stones cracked in an instant, and he appeared in front of Huo Yuhao.
He brought his palm crashing down toward Huo Yuhao's crown.
At the same time,
the White Tiger phantom behind Dai Huabin also reached out its claws to seize Huo Yuhao's crown.
Huo Yuhao didn't sit back and wait for death. He rapidly tapped several points on his body and, in an instant, stripped off all his iron garments.
Then Huo Yuhao took a sharp step toward the front left.
Explosive Step!
In an instant, Huo Yuhao dodged Dai Huabin's attack.
At the same time,
Huo Yuhao took the Heavy Profound Ruler from his system space and appeared behind Dai Huabin in a flash, swinging it viciously at his lower back...
Before you continue