Surprise

Beibei's eyes narrowed slightly when he heard "Control System," but the reaction was so subtle that no one noticed. Huo Yuhao hadn't noticed Wang Yi's warning to keep his distance from Beibei, either. It would be awful to create a rift between him and his senior brother over a baseless remark like that. Beibei wasn't that kind of person.

At this point, Huo Yuhao still didn't understand that the world wasn't simply black and white. There were plenty of shades in between. People faced many difficult choices in life, like the trolley problem, a classic moral dilemma. Whatever you chose, you had to bear the weight of that choice—unless you had no morals at all. But the question wasn't meant for people without morals.

A gentleman could be taken advantage of through his own principles, but only if he had principles to begin with. The most relatable example was when two or more girls liked you, and you were close to all of them and didn't want to hurt any of them. What were you supposed to do? There was no way to stump a womanizer with this question; he'd simply date all of them.

The same question could be asked with the genders reversed, in the name of equality. Some people could accept a three-person relationship, like having a harem. We should respect everyone's choices, but they should also accept the responsibilities that came with those choices. Huo Yuhao hadn't grasped that yet.

There was certainly no conflict of interest between Beibei and Huo Yuhao, but the world was never that simple. Everyone had their place in a web of social relationships, and trouble in one relationship was bound to affect the others. Take Tang Ya, for example. If something happened to her, how could Beibei possibly stay out of it? Where would that leave you, Huo Yuhao?

What if the person involved was close to you, Huo Yuhao? In the end, you'd have no way out. As the saying went, even an upright official couldn't judge a family dispute. Even the simplest relationship problems were hard to resolve. How could Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan settle their issues? Whose side would you take in their conflict? Your friend's, or the side of reason?

Unless they resolved the core issue, they could never make up. How could this group of students possibly be capable of resolving it? By the same logic, Huo Yuhao wouldn't be able to resolve the major problem waiting for him in the future, the one he himself had set in motion. Although the problem had always been there, he would certainly blame himself for what happened today.

That was without even considering the social problems Huo Yuhao would face once he entered society. He would encounter a dizzying tangle of conflicts, but until he found the central contradiction running through society and all of history, he wouldn't be able to see things clearly.

Of course, understanding the concept wasn't enough. He also had to apply it to society. The point of mastering anything was to put it to use. Understanding the concepts in a math textbook didn't mean you knew how to solve the problems. Once you truly understood the world, you'd find that the rules governing it were actually quite simple.

You only had to accept one suffocating truth: many people were killing, legally, and had been doing so for years. The number of people killed by serial killers didn't even come close to a fraction of that. A murderer had someone you could hate, but could you withstand the pressure when an entire society came down on you? You wouldn't even know who to take revenge on.

Were the people in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion Huo Yuhao's enemies? Before he set out for revenge, Huo Yuhao had certainly wanted to kill every one of them. But why had he stopped when he had the chance? Because they were all living beings. No matter what evil they had done, as a human being, you were bound to feel reverence for life.

You couldn't bear to kill so many people all at once. Once some people understood this, they cleverly stopped doing the killing themselves. They let the people at the bottom fight and kill one another instead. That way, they didn't have to get their hands dirty. This was what had left Huo Yuhao confused.

This was the pressure of an entire social order. If you resisted, millions of people within that order would turn against you. Then there were your own moral constraints. Society had taught you those morals, and since society was controlled by a portion of the population, the morals you had were the ones they wanted you to have.

If Huo Yuhao couldn't figure this out, he was bound to suffer this loss with Beibei. More losses like it would follow, until he couldn't take it anymore and finally changed things.

When Huo Yuhao introduced Xiao Xiao, he hadn't even noticed that the atmosphere had shifted. It wasn't usually like this. His excitement and inexperience had made him overlook it.

Beibei wasn't going to fall out with Huo Yuhao over this. Still, he couldn't help wondering what Xiao Xiao might think and what the future held. What if? Wouldn't all his efforts have been for nothing?

Tang Ya was the first to break the awkward silence. Huo Yuhao still hadn't realized the mood was off, and even Xu Sanshi, who usually talked the most, had fallen quiet. Before long, though, the atmosphere picked up again.

With one more person, they couldn't have a two-on-two match, so the senior students would train their juniors and help them improve. The task was handed to Xu Sanshi again. He really was the perfect fit for it. He'd probably be given similar tasks in the future, too.

Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao would team up against Xu Sanshi. Off to the side, Tang Ya quietly took Beibei's hand. They exchanged a glance, and everything was understood without a word. Beibei's restless heart settled. If he got anxious over every new person, there'd be even more people to deal with when they formed teams. He couldn't manage them all one by one. He could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

"I won't bully the two of you. Just focus on attacking, and I'll test your power." After speaking, Xu Sanshi remembered something and hurriedly added, "Huo Yuhao, no Mental Attack. One hit from you gives me a splitting headache, and I feel awful for the whole day."

Xu Sanshi was just about to explain his unbeatable tactics to Xiao Xiao when he was stopped. Huo Yuhao felt awkward; he'd already started. Still, he was somewhat relieved. Using Mental Attack also took a toll on his body, so it was better not to use it if he didn't have to.

The match began.

Just as he'd said, Xu Sanshi raised his great shield and waited for them to attack. Xiao Xiao was eager to try. It was rare to get the chance to spar against an expert who was almost her age, especially one who wouldn't fight back—a perfect punching bag.

She went straight for her second Soul Skill. The booming impacts rang out in an unbroken barrage, leaving Huo Yuhao a little dizzy. His body was still too weak. He was even frailer than Xiao Xiao, despite her being a girl. He couldn't compare with the way her Martial Soul strengthened her body. But was the gap really that big?

When Huo Yuhao got a clear look at the situation, he saw that their senior really was a senior. No wonder he was called Eternal Defense. He'd blocked the attack perfectly. Xiao Xiao had just gotten overconfident from beating weaker opponents. Huo Yuhao's Soul Skill boosted her too much, making her think that even a Defense System Soul Master who could only draw with Beibei was someone she could break through.

While Xiao Xiao was distracted, Xu Sanshi let out a mischievous laugh and charged straight at her. She was still too young; she hadn't expected someone to be this shameless. Just as he was about to reach her, Huo Yuhao instinctively attacked, landing a Mental Attack and Purple Demon Eye in one go. Xu Sanshi froze once more, and his defense faltered.

Xiao Xiao came to her senses and sent the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron right over his defense. Just like that, one of them fell to the ground, defeated.