Coordination and the Quota System

The trouble was resolved immediately, but a new one arose. How to continue the conversation? For Huo Yuhao, who rarely interacted with outsiders, this was a difficult problem. Without contact, there was no experience. Huo Yuhao hadn't made many friends in the days since school started, and the only one, Xu Sanshi, had been introduced by Bei Bei.

It wasn't that such behavior was bad; every action has its own pros and cons. We must look at the suitability of an action within its environment, analyze specific problems specifically, and only by finding the right key for the right lock can we find the most suitable behavior. However, this is built on a premise: you must know how to do it.

Whether to do it is one question, and whether one can is another. The priority of "can" comes before "do." You can choose not to do something, but you cannot lack the ability to do it. Huo Yuhao lacked this ability, which was why he was now facing this predicament. The silence between his words was suffocating, and that feeling of being completely out of his element made Huo Yuhao reach out for help.

Wang Yi, who was reading a historical novel, thought something had happened and was startled, only to be annoyed when he realized it was such a trivial matter. "Get as far away as you can. Don't you and Xu Sanshi talk just fine?"

"You called me over for something this small? How are you going to face people in the future? You've completely lost the ability to function in daily life."

With no other choice, Huo Yuhao could only continue the awkward conversation. He felt it was awkward anyway, but at least he didn't have to find topics; they were all proposed by the other party, and he only needed to answer normally and politely ask a few follow-up questions.

It is well known that if a person is interested in you or wants to have a better relationship with you, they will take the initiative to communicate with you. The opposite is also true. The most typical example is that when you meet someone you like, you will involuntarily want to get closer to them. Even communicating is a joy.

However, there must be a limit to this. If it doesn't exceed that limit, it's called love; if it does, it has a specific term. In this era, it's called a "lick-dog." Who knows the difference between deep affection and being a "lick-dog" anyway? So, if a girl never takes the initiative to speak to you once, you should give up on the idea of love. Being good friends is also a great ending, isn't it?

Wang Yi recalled the glorious years of the past, feeling as if it were a lifetime ago. Watching Huo Yuhao's green, awkward responses, he suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted. Everyone goes through this stage, perhaps. Maybe there really are some people with extraordinary talent. If so, they are outside the scope of this discussion; let's exclude them from the category of "people," and then the theory won't have many flaws.

"Little Yuhao, stop the awkward chatting. Why don't you suggest going to train? Find Bei Bei—wait, never mind, don't find him. Xiao Xiao is a Control System soul master."

Huo Yuhao didn't understand what the connection was, but it did provide a way to solve his current problem. Without waiting to ask, he suggested to Xiao Xiao that they go train.

Xiao Xiao was surprised by Huo Yuhao's change of topic. She hadn't expected someone who was so at a loss just a moment ago to suddenly be able to propose a topic. However, it was clearly a flash of inspiration, not fully thought through.

"You have to register with the teacher before forming a team, did you forget?" Xiao Xiao chuckled.

Huo Yuhao, who hadn't thought of this, felt his face flush. But he could move now; he didn't have to stand there and chat awkwardly. After registering, he walked out of the classroom to wait for Xiao Xiao. The cool breeze outside blew onto Huo Yuhao, causing the sweat on his body to evaporate rapidly, making him shiver. He had sweated so much in such a short time.

But now, the sea was wide for fish to leap, and the sky was high for birds to fly. Once Xiao Xiao finished writing her answers, she came out to meet Huo Yuhao, and they set off for the Martial Arts Arena.

Even now, Huo Yuhao was still a bit dazed, not understanding why Xiao Xiao had asked him to form a team. He already knew he had offended Dai Huabin, yet she still sought him out? What was he worth? Numerous questions emerged as his rationality returned, but he was too embarrassed to ask now. Since he hadn't asked at the beginning, it was hard to bring it up later.

In fact, Huo Yuhao hadn't shifted his mindset yet; his upbringing was essentially that of a servant. His environment had limited his perspective. The Evil Eye White Tiger was a very powerful family, but there were many such families; they just weren't as famous as them. One of the benefits of having major historical figures is exactly this.

Although Xiao Xiao's family wasn't considered powerful, the great affairs of a nation lie in sacrifice and warfare. As long as order exists, rituals will not disappear; this is the root of the legitimacy of political power, and family politics only deepens this importance. Even if the ability of those performing the rituals isn't the absolute peak, they are among the highest in terms of nominal rules.

As an important vessel of the state, the cauldron represents orthodoxy. You don't need to care whether it is truly orthodox; this process must be followed. The process itself isn't important; as long as you stabilize, you are in line with the process. This is where the function of this martial soul comes in: bring it out, go through the motions, and fill in what was previously missing.

The family and the state are bound together. Even without much real power, no one can shake their status. If you move against them, you are moving against the foundation of the royal family. Are you trying to rebel?

Therefore, Xiao Xiao was completely unafraid of the families behind people like Dai Huabin. The only person she couldn't afford to offend at this stage was her homeroom teacher. If she were expelled, no one could save her. So, you see, one cannot just look at one's own efforts; one must also consider the progress of history. Do others not work hard? Some are definitely no worse than Huo Yuhao. Can Xiao Xiao's family background and resources compare to those big families? Not really.

But Xiao Xiao just had a good eye, or perhaps it could be attributed to luck. She and Huo Yuhao were arranged in the entrance exam, and then they ended up in the same class. That was how what happened behind the scenes came to be. Just like every team of participants, it's impossible for every position to be without controversy. In the end, it depends on personal connections; whoever has a good relationship with the already-determined members will surely follow their preferences. Thus, the gears of fate began to turn.

In reality, Xiao Xiao was definitely a dragon among men, while Huo Yuhao hadn't yet broken out of his cocoon to become a butterfly, though he would be fine in the future. Now, on the training ground, the two of them were sweeping through their opponents, already on a winning streak. It made Xiao Xiao very happy, but it was tough on Huo Yuhao; the long-term use of Spiritual Detection Sharing was truly exhausting.

The biggest pain point of Xiao Xiao's Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron was its somewhat slow speed; she had to predict movements to maintain her attack hit rate. Huo Yuhao's soul skill truly satisfied all her needs and made up for her shortcomings. Her second soul skill, Cauldron Ripple, definitely had enough single-target damage, but it was slow. Now that the limitation was gone, Xiao Xiao was very happy.

When Xiao Xiao knocked her opponent off the competition platform once again, Huo Yuhao finally suggested taking a break. Xiao Xiao had clearly forgotten that Huo Yuhao was still only a one-ring soul master.

When Xiao Xiao realized this, she apologized immediately. However, Huo Yuhao wouldn't develop a rift with her over such a small matter.

Neither of them took these few rounds of opponents to heart. Xiao Xiao took it for granted, while Huo Yuhao didn't realize that his current strength was actually not weak; he just hadn't realized it yet. The battles he had participated in these past few days had all been too high-level.

During the break, Xiao Xiao asked Huo Yuhao if he had any thoughts about participating in the end-of-term competition. The prizes every year were quite substantial.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao remembered the issue regarding the spots for the end-of-term tournament.