Have I been too nice to you?
Long Yaochen rose directly to his feet and walked up to Huo Yuhao.
Looking at this "Child of Destiny," who stood half a head shorter than him, Long Yaochen unleashed his abyssal, prison-like aura upon Huo Yuhao without restraint.
The pressure leaking out alone made the surrounding students' expressions change. Without prior agreement, the same thought arose in all their minds.
Is this really a Soul Elder?
You've got to be kidding.
No one would doubt it even if they said this was the pressure of a Soul King.
Beads of sweat the size of beans slid down Huo Yuhao's forehead. Fortunately, Old Tang in his Sea of Spirit gave him some support.
Otherwise...
"Yaochen." Zhang Lexuan's calm voice rang out, interrupting Long Yaochen's pressure.
Long Yaochen froze for a moment, then reluctantly withdrew his aura.
"I don't know who gave you that confidence, but when you've fought your way in front of me, I'll show you what qualification really means." Long Yaochen lightly patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder.
The palm looked incomparably light, but when it landed on Huo Yuhao, it felt like Mount Tai crashing down on him.
Bang—
Huo Yuhao landed on the floor on his backside. Even the stool beneath him failed to hold, shattering along with him in an instant.
Long Yaochen looked at Huo Yuhao, who was gritting his teeth and struggling to get up, a trace of confusion rising in his heart.
Why did this kid feel so familiar?
"That's enough." Zhang Lexuan lightly tapped the lectern with her knuckles. Her voice was not loud, yet it quieted the classroom. She looked at Long Yaochen. "This is a classroom, not the Soul Fighting Arena. If there's a next time, you'll be punished too."
Only then did she turn to the others. "Dismissed. Go coordinate with your teams on the field."
Her gaze swept across the room, lingering on Huo Yuhao a few times, intentionally or otherwise. "If anyone can't even squeeze into the finals, there's no need to worry about the 'three against one' matter."
She had originally thought quite highly of this hardworking student, but now he seemed like an entirely different person.
Zhang Lexuan's words instantly eased the oppressive atmosphere in the classroom.
The crowd quickly streamed toward the training field, gathering in groups of two or three as they whispered among themselves.
Long Yaochen did not bother with Huo Yuhao again. Since he did not have any teammates anyway, he might as well head back to the dorm and sleep.
The moment he took a step, Wang Dong followed him almost reflexively.
Following Long Yaochen was better than staying with those two strangers.
"Wait—Wang Dong!"
Hearing someone call her, Wang Dong paused and turned around, only to meet Huo Yuhao's gaze as he stared at her after getting to his feet.
"You're in the first group." Huo Yuhao spoke word by word. "Aren't you staying to discuss tactics?"
Wang Dong's delicate brows instinctively furrowed.
She glanced back at the figure who had already gone far away, then looked back and coolly tossed out three words. "Not interested."
After saying that, she did not spare Huo Yuhao another glance before turning to chase after the figure at the door.
Leaving Huo Yuhao standing there alone, stiff as stone.
The surrounding whispers now drilled into his ears, especially grating.
His face turned from red to white, then from white to a sickly green.
Why was everyone... taking that person's side?
Why?
It had to be because that person had stolen everything that was supposed to belong to him!
Huo Yuhao slowly lowered his eyes, clenching his fists tightly, yet he could not utter even a single harsh word.
"Do you see it?" That gentle voice echoed faintly from the depths of his mind.
"This... is what it feels like to have your destiny stolen.
So, Yuhao... you must win."
Huo Yuhao stared fixedly at the two figures walking away side by side, the ruthlessness in his eyes deepening further.
On the path from the teaching building back to the dorms.
"Why didn't you stay and discuss tactics?" Long Yaochen glanced at Wang Dong beside him.
"Tch. So what if I win? I'll still have to fight you in the end. What's the point?" Wang Dong said listlessly, then seemed to recall something.
"How did you offend that... Huo Yuhao? I've always felt like he was hostile toward you.
"And I feel like he has a very familiar aura. Like I've met him in a dream before."
Wang Dong's words made Long Yaochen stop in his tracks.
After staring at her for several seconds, realization flashed through his eyes.
No wonder the aura filling that void had seemed so familiar.
Now that Wang Dong mentioned it, it did seem somewhat similar to the Sea God aura on her!
Damn it! Did Little Scoundrel really descend to the lower realm to deal with him?
No... in the current Douluo Plane, there was no way he could come down.
It was probably just one of his backup measures.
Honestly, Long Yaochen kept using the [Mark of Sun Chasing] to wear down Wang Dong's Sea God Mark.
It would be stranger if he did not react...
"Hey, why are you spacing out again?"
Only after walking some distance did Wang Dong realize Long Yaochen had not moved. She ran back and spoke irritably.
"It's nothing." Long Yaochen shook his head, then mused, "Tell me, if I really lured you away, would your father die of rage on the spot?"
My father?
Wang Dong froze.
She did not really have much feeling for that title. The first people who came to mind were instead the two unreliable fathers back home.
But with Big Uncle and Second Uncle's personalities...
Wait, who was getting lured away by you?!
"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Wang Dong pushed Long Yaochen forward. The waves of heat rising to her face made her too embarrassed to even lift her head.
"See? Getting worked up again." Long Yaochen shook his head with a smile.
The two laughed and bickered all the way toward the dormitory building.
After returning to the dorm, Wang Dong plopped down beside her bed, growing more irritated the more she thought about it.
She had originally planned to bulldoze her way through the Freshman Assessment and take the chance to see Long Yaochen's surprised expression.
But now look at this.
She had been thrown together with a Huo Yuhao who seemed increasingly strange.
And in the end, she would still have to stand opposite Long Yaochen and take a beating.
What kind of nonsense was this?
"Hey, you're not really going to go all out on me, are you?" Wang Dong looked up at Long Yaochen, who was pouring water, her tone carrying a hint of wariness.
"Don't worry." Long Yaochen took a sip of water and casually replied, "At most, I'll beat you so badly you can't get out of bed for three days."
"Go die!"
Wang Dong grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him.
Long Yaochen caught it casually. Just as he was about to continue teasing her, his movements suddenly paused.
Wang Dong froze as well.
A faint burning sensation suddenly came from her forehead, as though something had briefly awakened.
The light before her eyes flickered for an instant.
A sea-blue radiance rippled through her mind.
Vaguely, an extremely distant voice seemed to be softly calling to her.
Xiao Qi...
Wang Dong frowned instinctively.
Who?
Just as she wanted to hear more clearly, the voice seemed to be forcibly cut off by something.
The next moment, a golden blazing sun emerged from the depths of her consciousness.
The instant the sea-blue radiance drew near, it was burned into fragments by that blazing sun.
Wang Dong's body swayed slightly. She braced herself against the edge of the bed, her face inexplicably turning several shades paler.
"What's wrong?" Long Yaochen walked over to her.
"Nothing." Wang Dong rubbed her forehead and said irritably, "You probably just pissed me off."
Long Yaochen looked at her, but the amusement in his eyes faded somewhat.
Wang Dong did not understand, but he had seen it clearly: the Sea God Mark on her forehead had flashed and vanished.
It seemed...
It had been stirred by whatever was inside Huo Yuhao.
Tsk.
Little Scoundrel really would not give up.
It was one thing to plant something in Huo Yuhao, but Wang Dong's side was starting to react too.
It seemed he had been using the [Mark of Sun Chasing] too frequently these past few months.
He needed to rein it in a little. Otherwise, if he truly provoked the one above one day, even if that person could not descend, he could probably still throw down a whole pile of dog chains.
At that thought, Long Yaochen suddenly laughed.
Wang Dong looked at him in confusion. "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing." Long Yaochen tossed the pillow back into her arms. "I just suddenly realized you're quite a troublesome person."
"You're the troublesome one!" Wang Dong glared at him, hugging the pillow as she rolled over and lay down, unwilling to pay him any more attention.
Long Yaochen did not tease her again. He walked to the window, looking toward the distant training field as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Huo Yuhao..."
He softly repeated the name.
"What kind of surprise can you give me?"
Before you continue