"The Ultimate Soldier Plan will proceed as usual. Shaozhe, select a few core or reserve core students from the Martial Soul Department and transfer them to the Soul Guidance Department."
At the head of the oval table, a calm, gentle voice consoled Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er. "The Martial Soul Department needs cultivation resources, while the Soul Guidance Department needs excellent students. Why not let each get what it needs? Why quibble over a momentary gain or loss?"
"Yes, Teacher." Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er bowed.
Back in the dormitory, Bai Cai spread out the bedding. Wang Dong sat on the soft fur mattress, lost in thought.
The beautiful girl with snow-white hair had turned into scattered points of broken light. Wang Dong had no choice but to accept that she was Bai Cai's Second Martial Soul.
Sister Qingxue, such an affectionate form of address, such an intimate relationship...
Knock, knock, knock. A sudden rap echoed through the dormitory. Bai Cai stopped tidying up and went to open the door.
Outside Dormitory 106, a handsome young man with short dark-blue hair stood at ease, while an ordinary-looking young man with short black hair shrank back timidly.
When the handsome young man with dark-blue hair saw Bai Cai open the door, he froze. "Little Brother Bai?"
The ordinary-looking young man with short black hair instantly took two steps back. "Bai Cai? You weren't..."
"Brother Sky Dream, didn't you say a One-Ring Soul Master couldn't possibly come back alive from the Extreme North?"
"Yuhao, under normal circumstances, that's true."
In Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, the plump, white Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, its ten golden rings faintly visible, rolled over, wriggling like a maggot.
"But what if a million-year Soul Beast sacrificed itself to become a One-Ring Soul Master's Wisdom Soul Ring? Yuhao, do you think that's possible?"
"Brother Sky Dream..."
If not for the events he had personally experienced over the past few months, Huo Yuhao wouldn't have believed it either: a million-year Soul Beast had become his First Soul Ring.
"Senior Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao."
Bai Cai hesitated slightly. Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao had only met him by chance, and besides, he had been missing for nearly five months. Why had they come to see him?
"Bai Cai, we can catch up another time."
Bei Bei stepped forward and looked into the dormitory. "Wang Dong, Yuhao is a fellow disciple of the Tang Sect. You and Xiao Xiao went too far."
"Wasn't cursing a classmate to die in the Extreme North going too far?"
Wang Dong had already reached the dormitory doorway. She looked at Bei Bei with contempt. "So his fellow disciple has come to speak up for him. Hah."
"How about you both apologize to each other?"
Bei Bei was terribly awkward. The classmate Yuhao had once 'cursed' was standing right there, listening. If he kept pressing the matter, he and Yuhao would end up looking like bullies instead.
"Fine."
Wang Dong crossed her arms, disdainful. "He apologizes to Xiao Bai, I apologize to him, and he pays all the medical expenses."
Bei Bei turned to ask, "Yuhao, how does that sound?"
Huo Yuhao's expression darkened. The academy encouraged students to fight among themselves, and Senior Bei Bei had already gone out of his way by intervening. Besides, an apology from the winner to the loser was hardly insincere.
But he couldn't swallow this!
At his mother's grave, he had sworn he would make something of himself and never be inferior to anyone!
Not the White Tiger Duke's Estate, not Wang Dong—no one could bully him. No one!
"Senior Bei Bei, I won't accept."
Huo Yuhao looked up at Wang Dong, his gaze like that of a ferocious tiger ready to devour its prey.
"A three-on-three Soul Fighting match. Whoever loses will kneel and kowtow three times in front of everyone!"
"Little Yuhao." Bei Bei sighed. "Now that you've said that, there's no turning back."
Yuhao had already become a reserve core student. His talent was decent, and he worked hard at cultivation. Aside from his strong self-respect, he had no other shortcomings.
Strong self-respect was a double-edged sword: it hurt others and himself. At this moment, pushing forward meant reaching a dead end; taking a step back would open up a vast sky.
Whichever side lost the Soul Fighting match would have to kneel and kowtow. Afterward, they would have no choice but to transfer classes or leave the academy.
"You don't know what's good for you." Wang Dong was so angry she laughed. "Zhou Yi can't protect you. Just wait to be expelled."
It was no secret that Zhou Yi admired Huo Yuhao. After all, she often used him as an example to spur the other students to cultivate harder.
With both parents dead, poor talent, and a diligent approach to cultivation, he was the model of an outstanding student. Most teachers admired students like him.
But once the rules of a Soul Fighting match were set, no one other than the two sides involved had the right to interfere. Zhou Yi was no exception.
By Sea God Lake, along the lakeside path.
"Senior Bei Bei, I'm sorry. I let you down."
Huo Yuhao bowed in apology, then lifted his head. "That kind of fake apology would be their charity and my cowardice."
"Rather than be a pitiful insect they can summon and dismiss at will, I'd rather bite off a chunk of them in the Soul Fighting Arena, then kneel down and kowtow to my heart's content."
"Yuhao." Bei Bei was exasperated. "There are countless ways to settle a dispute, yet you chose a narrow, treacherous path."
"Never mind. Fortunately, there are no restrictions on teammates."
Bei Bei rubbed his aching forehead. "At this point, San Shi and I will team up with you. That guy has already acquired his Fourth Soul Ring."
"What kind of move is that?" Huo Yuhao asked, stunned. "Would Senior Xiaotao work?"
"No. San Shi and I stepping in would already be exploiting a loophole in the rules."
Bei Bei refused without hesitation. "Xiao Ya and I certainly won't stand by and watch you kneel and kowtow. But if Wang Dong loses, you'll have to apologize immediately and give up all your demands."
"Why?" Huo Yuhao asked, unwilling to accept it. "If I lose, I kneel and kowtow. But if Wang Dong loses, I have to apologize immediately and give up all my demands. Is that fair?"
"What does 'fair' even mean?" Bei Bei retorted. "Wang Dong is a key member of the Freshman Cup champion team and one of the core students. We're not only exploiting a loophole in the rules and using our strength to bully the young, but also humiliating them in public?"
"Yuhao, you're getting a little carried away." Bei Bei patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
Wang Dong sat on the fur mattress while Bai Cai spread a clean sheet over the bed.
The wisteria grew lushly, buds filling every branch. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but Bai Cai had cared for the wisteria for less than four months, while Wang Dong had tended to it for nearly five.
"Xiao Bai, was it cold in the Extreme North?"
Wang Dong picked up a pillow. "Were the Soul Beasts really fierce?"
"Water froze as soon as it dripped."
Bai Cai recalled the legendary journey on the back of a Blizzard Mammoth. "There were plenty of fierce Soul Beasts, but not many gentle ones."
"Xiao Bai, the rations and smoked meat must've tasted awful."
Wang Dong murmured, "Wasn't it lonely living by yourself?"
"They were pretty hard to swallow," Bai Cai answered honestly.
Even heated rations and stewed smoked meat couldn't last three days.
Riding on the back of the Blizzard Mammoth chieftain, stewing smoked meat was out of the question. The warmed rations were so hard they could've been chew toys.
"As for being lonely, maybe."
No matter how heartwarming Ice Empress's stories had been, he still hadn't escaped the fate of being a sacrifice. If he was supposed to be grateful for that, he might as well ask a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
"Xiao Bai, I missed you so much." Wang Dong hugged the pillow tighter, her voice growing fainter.
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