"Are you crazy?! You're taking this way too far!"
Xu Sanshi couldn't believe his ears. What was going on today? What exactly was this group trying to do?!
"Are you chickening out?"
Bei Bei didn't care about any of that and immediately taunted him.
"Chicken out my ass! I'm in!!"
The taunt set Xu Sanshi's temper ablaze. He stopped caring whether the stakes were equal or whether Bei Bei and the others could actually pay up, and accepted the bet on the spot.
"But you have to be the referee. You can't favor either side!!"
"Fine."
Bei Bei readily agreed.
"Then let's begin, Senior. You'd better be careful."
Once everything had been settled, Huo Yuhao turned to Xu Sanshi.
"Come on, quit stalling."
Xu Sanshi pursed his lips.
All four of them were watching Huo Yuhao now, curious to see what he would do next.
But Huo Yuhao simply stood there, quietly turning the grilled fish over. He didn't seem to be doing anything at all.
Time passed little by little. The fish in Huo Yuhao's hands gradually turned golden-brown and crispy, but he still showed no sign of making a move. The others began to grow anxious on his behalf.
Tang Ya narrowed her eyes and silently slipped a hand to her waist.
They hadn't said she couldn't make a move, had they?
But Xu Sanshi, who'd been on guard, immediately caught her little movement. In fact, he'd been watching her this whole time!
He knew Tang Ya had some Hidden Weapons with terrifying power.
"Referee! Referee! Look at her!!"
Xu Sanshi immediately pointed at Tang Ya.
That was one of the main reasons he'd insisted Bei Bei act as the referee.
Now that things had come to this, he couldn't just pretend not to see it, could he?
Xu Sanshi looked toward the referee.
And then...
The referee closed his eyes.
Damn!!
A stampede of ten thousand mud horses galloped through Xu Sanshi's mind.
He shouldn't have trusted those two!!
But there was no going back now. He could only grit his teeth and take it. He refused to believe he couldn't handle even one of Tang Ya's Hidden Weapons!
Just then, Ma Xiaotao, who was closest to Huo Yuhao, noticed something was wrong.
Was Yu Hao controlling his emotions?
In the next instant, she suddenly felt all the emotions of her junior schoolmate disappear. They had all gathered together, leaving behind nothing but the purest killing intent.
That killing intent seemed to solidify as it surged toward Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi's back turned cold. It was as if someone had their eyes on him, and his limbs gradually grew cold and stiff.
This was the result of Huo Yuhao's killing intent seeping into him. It had actually affected him.
He's finally making a move.
Xu Sanshi sneered inwardly. Did he think he could scare me off with killing intent?
That was laughable.
But he soon changed his mind.
Xu Sanshi was surprised to discover
that using his killing intent to wear him down was only Huo Yuhao's first move.
In his perception, even more killing intent was rapidly gathering in front of him, gradually taking the shape of an extremely sharp silver needle aimed at his head.
The Killing Intent Silver Needle hadn't even reached him, yet Xu Sanshi already felt a sense of danger.
If I don't use my Martial Soul, I might not be able to withstand this.
Bei Bei's junior apprentice really does have something up his sleeve.
Xu Sanshi couldn't help praising him, but he remained confident.
Unfortunately, his cultivation was too low. No matter how much killing intent he gathered, once Xu Sanshi used his Martial Soul, that needle wouldn't be able to break through his defenses.
He quickly made his judgment.
At the same time, Xu Sanshi finally grew serious. He narrowed his eyes, watching the silver needle's every movement as he silently resolved himself.
If things went badly, he'd use his Martial Soul and take the hit. At worst, Bei Bei and the others would look down on him a little. But he'd still have won a thousand Gold Soul Coins fair and square.
Xu Sanshi already felt victory was in his grasp.
The next instant, just as he'd expected, the needle formed from killing intent shot toward his head.
Xu Sanshi rapidly mobilized his Soul Power, concentrating it around his head. The shadow of a Mystic Water Turtle flashed past.
He was confident he could withstand this attack.
This time, he was the winner!
Bei Bei and Tang Ya cursed him for being shameless.
He was using his Martial Soul against Yu Hao, who'd only just enrolled!
Didn't he have any shame?!
The two of them had already resigned themselves to Yu Hao losing this match.
But right at that moment,
only Ma Xiaotao, who was standing closest, noticed the faint, subtle curve at the corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth.
You're not afraid of a strike to the head. What about down below?
Under his control, the needle abruptly changed direction just before it struck Xu Sanshi, hurtling toward the middle of his lower body.
By then, Xu Sanshi had no time to mobilize his Soul Power and protect his precious family jewels.
Damn!!
That was dirty!!
There was no time to think. Xu Sanshi acted entirely on instinct!
Between the Mystic Water Pill and his future happiness, he decisively chose the latter.
He didn't dare take the chance!!
Who would dare take that chance?!!
Even a scrape would hurt like hell!!!
To protect his future happiness, Xu Sanshi immediately abandoned his original position and dodged to the side without a shred of dignity. Only then did he barely evade Huo Yuhao's attack.
Xu Sanshi lay on the ground, his forehead covered in cold sweat, one hand clamped tightly over his crotch.
He could only feel a chill down below.
If he'd hesitated for even one more second, he'd have had to become sisters with Nannan for the rest of his life.
At the same time, this meant Xu Sanshi had lost the match.
"Huh?"
Xu Sanshi's sudden move left Tang Ya and Bei Bei staring in a daze.
Huo Yuhao had kept his killing intent from spreading, concentrating it on Xu Sanshi alone. He hadn't targeted the two of them, so they couldn't sense precisely what had happened.
From Tang Ya and Bei Bei's perspective, Xu Sanshi had been just about to win. Then, for some unknown reason, he suddenly went berserk, clutched his crotch, and leaped to the side as if dodging something. He'd even landed face-first in the dirt.
But looking at it this way... it seemed Yu Hao had won?
Tang Ya and Bei Bei exchanged glances, both seeing delight in the other's eyes.
By then, Huo Yuhao had also completed the final step of grilling the fish in his hands. A delicious grilled fish was ready.
He handed it to Ma Xiaotao.
"Here, Sister Xiaotao. Try my cooking."
"Oh, okay."
Ma Xiaotao accepted the grilled fish Huo Yuhao handed her, deep in thought.
Compared with Bei Bei and Tang Ya, her strength was greater, and she could sense more. She could roughly guess what had happened just now.
It was just...
Ma Xiaotao watched Huo Yuhao get to his feet and walk toward Xu Sanshi.
Yu Hao could completely suppress his own emotions?
How had he done it?
If he could suppress anything, then could it be possible...
As Ma Xiaotao thought, her mouth unconsciously bit into the grilled fish in her hand.
The fish's aroma immediately scattered her thoughts.
So delicious!!
Huo Yuhao walked over to Xu Sanshi, who was lying on the ground, and held out a hand.
"Thank you for going easy on me, Senior."
"Not bad. You really are cut from the same cloth as Bei Bei. Dirty as hell!!"
Xu Sanshi ground out through clenched teeth.
"What are you saying?!"
Before Huo Yuhao could respond, Tang Ya angrily retorted from the side.
"My Yu Hao is an honest, good kid!! You're not allowed to say that about him!!"
Bei Bei stood to one side and blinked.
Bei Bei: What about me?
Tang Ya's words nearly made Xu Sanshi spit blood.
Honest? A good kid? Him?
What kind of good kid would come up with a move that targeted the family jewels?!
Still, to be fair, the move had worked.
Xu Sanshi wouldn't risk even the slightest injury.
After all, he still had to make Nannan happy in the future.
Not even the tiniest bit of damage was acceptable!
Compared to that, one bottle of Mystic Water Pills? Fine, he'd give them up!!
He could always go pester his old man for more.
Thinking of this, Xu Sanshi suddenly admired Huo Yuhao as well.
No matter what method he used, a win was a win and a loss was a loss. He had no reason to refuse to accept the result.
The heroes of this world truly were as numerous as carp crossing a river.
After sighing inwardly for a while, Xu Sanshi came around.
He grabbed Huo Yuhao's hand, sprang to his feet, and gave Huo Yuhao a hearty pat on the back.
"Kid, you're pretty good. I approve of you!!"
With that, he turned to leave,
but Bei Bei quickly reminded him,
"Ahem, did you forget something?"
At Bei Bei's words, Xu Sanshi's face immediately fell. He knew his attempt to bluff his way out had failed.
There was no helping it. He could only angrily pull a bottle of Mystic Water Pills from his shirt and toss it into Bei Bei's hands.
Watching Xu Sanshi leave with that aggrieved look on his face, Bei Bei couldn't help laughing. He praised Huo Yuhao enthusiastically.
"Nicely done, Yu Hao. I haven't seen that guy take such a beating in ages."
"Even when I beat him last time, he still looked completely unconvinced."
Then he handed the Mystic Water Pills in his hand to Huo Yuhao.
"Here, Yu Hao, take these. They're good stuff. They can help clear the meridians throughout your body and benefit your cultivation."
Huo Yuhao didn't refuse. He accepted them directly.
"Thank you, senior brother."
Bei Bei shook his head.
"Don't mention it. You won them fair and square."
Huo Yuhao said nothing more. Instead, he quietly glanced at Ma Xiaotao, who was sitting by the grill.
By now, Ma Xiaotao had clearly gotten a taste for the grilled fish. Even with her veil partly covering her face, it couldn't stop the fish from disappearing rapidly into her mouth.
Actually, after all that effort, Huo Yuhao's main goal had been to let Ma Xiaotao experience up close how he suppressed his emotions.
He wanted Ma Xiaotao to realize she could use her own will to suppress the Evil Fire, and even overcome it.
Instead of relying on others to suppress it all the time.
Compared with that, the Mystic Water Pills and everything else were unimportant.
As long as Huo Yuhao could quietly set Ma Xiaotao's fate on a different course today, then he could change even more in the future.
Little by little...
Until, in the end, he overturned God King Tang's entire plan!
He gave Ma Xiaotao a long look.
The cause had been planted by his own hand.
Now it was only a matter of when it would take root and bear the fruit he wanted.
Before you continue