Huo Yuhao Joins the Tang Sect, Tang Ya's Regret

Zhu Lu kept her head down, kicking at small pebbles while her hand gripped the corner of Dai Huabin's robe tightly.

That lingering sense of insecurity refused to fade away.

"Huabin, are you really... not going to change back?" She couldn't help but ask again, her voice laced with a humble plea.

Dai Huabin stopped in his tracks.

He turned around to look at this silly girl.

"I am Dai Huabin."

Dai Huabin raised his hand, gently smoothing the stray locks of hair the wind had blown across her temple.

"My word is gold. Besides..."

He leaned down, moving close to Zhu Lu's ear, his tone turning playful.

"Besides, I've discovered that the compatibility of our Hell White Tiger has a lot to do with the depth of our feelings for each other. If we want to walk tall in the academy from now on, shouldn't we deepen this bond even further?"

Zhu Lu's face flushed red in an instant.

"You... you're still just thinking about cultivation!"

She shot Dai Huabin a reproachful glare, but the corners of her eyes and brows couldn't hide her smile.

As long as he cared, what did the reason matter?

"Cultivation and loving you aren't mutually exclusive."

Dai Huabin said with a thick skin, "Let's go, back to the dormitory. We'll be sorted into classes in a few days, and I hear there are quite a few monsters among this year's freshmen. We need to be well-rested."

"Monsters?"

Zhu Lu let out a disdainful huff, regaining some of her usual arrogance.

"How monstrous can they be compared to our Hell White Tiger? We can already perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

"That goes without saying."

Dai Huabin smiled, though a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

Monsters?

Of course there were.

There was Huo Yuhao, the child of destiny whose fortune he had intercepted.

And Wang Dong, who was disguised as a boy.

However, Dai Huabin wouldn't let Wang Dong stay disguised as a boy for long.

If Wang Dong didn't share a dorm with Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao's cultivation speed, which relied on their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, would slow down.

Dai Huabin wouldn't just let that happen.

"Oh, right, Lulu."

"Hmm?"

"The dorm buildings are separated by gender, but I noticed the caretaker doesn't seem to pay much attention. Should I come find you later?"

"Huabin! That's a restricted area for boys!"

"I'm not just any boy; I'm your fiancé."

"That's still not allowed! We'll get expelled!"

The sounds of their playful bickering faded into the night.

After parting ways with Zhu Lu, Dai Huabin returned to the freshman dormitory building alone.

Although he was the young master of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, at Shrek Academy, even the King of Heaven himself would have to obediently stay in the dorms.

It gave him a sense of nostalgia for his long-lost college life.

Dai Huabin clutched the copper key engraved with "103," his footsteps faltering as he walked down the hallway.

His gaze landed on the tightly shut dark brown wooden door diagonally across from his.

Room number: 108.

That was the dormitory of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong from the original story.

"Still unoccupied."

Dai Huabin glanced at the thin layer of dust on the doorknob, and his heart was clear.

It seemed Huo Yuhao was still on his way.

If things had followed the original trajectory, Huo Yuhao would probably have already joined the Tang Sect by now.

Dai Huabin chuckled softly and turned the key to open his own door.

At the same time.

Hundreds of miles away, beside a campfire on the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The aroma of cumin mixed with rendered fat permeated the woods.

The fish roasting over the fire sizzled as oil bubbled, their skin turning a crispy, golden brown.

"So fragrant! Little Yuhao, I never would have guessed you had this kind of skill!"

Tang Ya squatted by the fire with zero regard for her image, her large eyes locked onto the fish, a suspicious trail of crystal-clear liquid sliding from the corner of her mouth.

She was still clutching a twig she had just finished gnawing clean, clearly having been unable to wait any longer.

Huo Yuhao, sitting opposite her, turned the wooden skewers with a shy expression, the firelight reflecting off his youthful face and making him appear exceptionally earnest.

"Teacher Xiaoya, Senior Brother, we still need to wait a moment longer. It tastes best when it's roasted through."

"Gulp."

Tang Ya swallowed a mouthful of saliva quite ungracefully, then, as if remembering some sorrowful matter, she plopped down onto the grass and let out a long sigh.

"Sigh... as fragrant as this fish is, the moment I think about that top-tier junior who ran off, the meat in my mouth doesn't taste like anything anymore."

Bei Bei, who was holding a water flask, shook his head helplessly, set the flask down, and said:

"Xiaoya, don't be so obsessed. After all, he is from the Duke Mansion; how could he possibly look favorably upon the current Tang Sect?"

"Call me Teacher Xiaoya! Hmph, so what if he's from the Duke Mansion!"

Tang Ya huffed twice, pulled a weed from the ground in defiance, and added, "Our Tang Sect was the number one sect on the continent ten thousand years ago, you know!

Besides, even if that Dai Huabin has a foul temper and is a bit arrogant, he is an eleven-year-old three-ring Soul Elder! Three rings!

Even in the Shrek inner courtyard, that kind of talent is at the monster level, right?"

Huo Yuhao, who was focused on sprinkling seasoning, felt his hand jerk violently.

A pinch of chili powder fell too heavily, landing on the charcoal and kicking up a cloud of choking smoke.

"Cough, cough..." Huo Yuhao coughed twice, keeping his head down to use the smoke to mask his instantly stiffened expression.

That name was like a red-hot steel nail, driving itself fiercely into his ears.

Dai! Huabin!

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, struggling to make his voice sound calm: "Senior Brother, Teacher Xiaoya, the person you were just talking about... is he from the White Tiger Duke Mansion?"

"That's right."

Bei Bei nodded, took a skewer of fish from Huo Yuhao, and spoke with a hint of admiration in his tone, "We ran into him in the forest this afternoon.

His name is Dai Huabin; he looks about the same age as you, but his soul power is already at level thirty-two.

Furthermore, his martial soul is the top-tier White Tiger, and his combat awareness is incredibly sharp. Both Teacher Xiaoya and I feel that his future is limitless; he has the potential to become a Titled Douluo."

"Snap."

A dry branch in Huo Yuhao's hand was accidentally snapped in two.

Level thirty-two.

Also eleven years old.

The son of that man—that second young master who had lived in luxury and looked down on everyone since childhood—was already a three-ring Soul Elder.

And what about himself?

Huo Yuhao glanced at his own somewhat rough hands.

Innate Soul Power of level one; after eleven years of training with his life on the line, enduring every cold look and humiliation, he had only just barely reached level eleven today.

If he hadn't been lucky enough to meet Tian Meng, he likely would have died at the hands of that Wind Baboon long ago.

That immense sense of disparity felt like a mountain, pressing down on Huo Yuhao until he could barely breathe.

Was it jealousy?

It was more than just jealousy.

It was a deep-seated hatred and unwillingness that had seeped into his very marrow.

Why!

Why should the son of the woman who killed his mother be allowed to possess all of this?

Huo Yuhao lowered his eyes, clenching his teeth so hard that the taste of blood filled his mouth.

"Yuhao? Yuhao, what's wrong?"

Tang Ya noticed that the child seemed a bit off, and with the fish meat still in her mouth, she asked indistinctly, "Did you get choked by the smoke?"