In the Divine Realm, at the heart of the Sea God Temple, clouds and mist swirled.
Tang San sat on his divine throne, brows furrowed and face dark as he watched the situation on the Douluo Continent.
"Something's wrong... terribly wrong."
Tang San irritably rubbed his brow, his fingertips tapping unconsciously against the armrest of his throne.
That new star he had observed earlier seemed to be slipping out of his control!
He had long since noticed a massive deviation in the threads of fate, but he hadn't expected it to be this great!
"No. I absolutely can't let my plan fail!"
Tang San's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Huo Yuhao must become my successor. Wang Dong'er is the best bargaining chip to bind him, so now I can only start with her."
He raised a hand and waved. A faint strand of golden divine power pierced the barriers of the Divine Realm and shot toward Shrek Academy on the Douluo Continent.
"Want to speed up your cultivation? I have a way..."
A gentle voice suddenly sounded beside Wang Dong'er's ear. Her whole body stiffened, and she abruptly raised her head, warily scanning the room.
The classroom was still noisy, with the other students gathered around Huo Yuhao, chatting and laughing.
"Who? Who's speaking?!"
Wang Dong'er lowered her voice and clenched her fists, Soul Power surging through her in an instant.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help."
Tang San's voice sounded again, gentle and warm, almost familiar.
"You can communicate with me by thinking."
For some reason, when Wang Dong'er heard him, she couldn't muster the slightest wariness. She only asked in confusion:
"Who are you? Why do you want to help me?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. I'm helping you because you were born to be a favored daughter of heaven. You shouldn't have to fall behind anyone."
Tang San patiently coaxed her.
Wang Dong'er was taken aback, then immediately looked proud.
"Hmph, at least you know how to talk!"
Tang San: ...
Tang San sighed and continued gently:
"Are you worried that your classmates, after taking Life Crystals, will cultivate faster than you? You don't actually need to take any of those things. You have a better way."
Wang Dong'er's heart skipped a beat, and she asked without thinking:
"What way?"
"Rely on Huo Yuhao."
As Tang San's words fell, Wang Dong'er's brows instantly knitted together, her face full of resistance.
"What can you do? How am I supposed to rely on him?!"
Tang San chuckled and patiently explained.
"You and he have a natural resonance between your Soul Powers, and your Martial Souls are a perfect match—one hundred percent compatible.
"If you cultivate together, the speed of your Soul Power cultivation will increase tremendously."
That, too, was one of his arrangements.
To keep this new star tethered, Tang San believed he had prepared for everything!
"One hundred percent compatibility?"
Wang Dong'er froze, her face full of shock.
"I didn't even know that. How do you know?"
Tang San smiled.
"You don't need to worry about how I know. You only need to know that I'm not lying to you."
Wang Dong'er pondered for two seconds, then shook her head.
"I refuse!"
Tang San was taken aback and asked in confusion:
"Why?"
This was clearly beneficial to her cultivation. Why refuse?
Didn't this girl want to improve her cultivation speed?
Wang Dong'er glanced at Huo Yuhao beside her and grumbled in her mind:
"No reason. I don't want to rely on Huo Yuhao. I want to surpass him through my own efforts!"
Wang Dong'er didn't want to rely on Huo Yuhao to achieve her goal. What would be the point of surpassing him that way?
Tang San frowned. Why was this girl so stubborn?
He could only try another approach:
"This isn't relying on him. If you cultivate together, both your cultivation speeds will increase. It's more like a mutually beneficial partnership."
A partnership?
Wang Dong'er bit her lip, caught in a fierce struggle.
On one hand, the pride in her bones made her refuse to lower herself and ask Huo Yuhao for help.
On the other, watching her classmates make rapid progress one after another made her sense of crisis grow stronger by the moment.
If she really could improve her cultivation speed, she might not fall behind—and could even leave everyone else far behind.
"This really isn't relying on him? It's just a deal?"
Wang Dong'er asked hesitantly.
"Of course."
Tang San's voice was full of temptation.
"You help him cultivate faster, and he helps you. You each get what you need. Don't you want to prove that even if you cultivate together, you can still be stronger than him?"
Those words struck right at Wang Dong'er's competitive streak. She abruptly raised her head, her gaze turning resolute.
"Fine! I agree! I'll give it a try! But it's settled—this is only a deal. I absolutely will not rely on him!"
The Divine Realm, Sea God Temple.
Hearing Wang Dong'er's answer, Tang San finally breathed a sigh of relief. The tension in his lips eased into a faint smile.
"Good thing. This girl may be stubborn, but she knows what's good for her."
He leaned back against his throne, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.
"With Dong'er's looks, that new star couldn't possibly refuse!
"Once they start cultivating together, Huo Yuhao will sooner or later become devoted to her. Then I can pull him back onto the path I laid out for him!"
Watching Wang Dong'er get to her feet in the classroom and walk toward Huo Yuhao's seat, he was pleased to see everything returning to his control.
Wang Dong'er clutched the hem of her clothes and shuffled over to Huo Yuhao's seat, her pink-and-blue hair falling to hide her flushed cheeks.
She took a deep breath, as though gathering all the courage she had, and spoke quickly, in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Huo Yuhao, our Soul Powers can fuse. If we cultivate together, we'll get faster... Let's cultivate together."
After saying that, she abruptly raised her head. Her gaze darted away, but she tried to sound firm as she added:
"It's not that I'm desperate to rely on you! This is a partnership that benefits us both!"
Huo Yuhao was looking down at his textbook. Hearing her, he raised his head in confusion and blinked, momentarily at a loss.
Why was this girl suddenly asking him to cultivate together?
But he was only stunned for a second before shaking his head and answering briskly:
"I refuse."
Zhao Ze had already told him to stay away from Wang Dong'er. Besides, Huo Yuhao didn't like her, so it was better to keep his distance.
"Huh?"
The blush on Wang Dong'er's face froze, and she was completely dumbfounded.
She stared at Huo Yuhao as though she'd heard something unbelievable, then instinctively raised her voice. "Why?!"
She had put aside all her pride and come to him of her own accord, and he'd actually refused?!
Huo Yuhao pointed at himself and said matter-of-factly:
"I have the Life Crystal to help me, so my cultivation is already progressing very quickly. I don't need to cultivate with anyone else.
"Besides, I have classes in the Soul Guidance Department. I don't have time."
With that, he lowered his head and went back to reading, as if he'd just turned down some trivial request.
Wang Dong'er stood frozen in place, trembling with anger.
Hmph,
I can cultivate on my own, even without you!
Watching Huo Yuhao's indifferent profile, a nameless fire flared in her chest. She bit her lip, turned around, and ran back to her seat.
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