Today's Cause, When's the Effect? (Seeking Collection, Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Are you insane?!! Going this big!"

Xu Sanshi could not believe his ears. What was going on today? What on earth were these people trying to do?!

"Are you chickening out?"

Bei Bei did not care about any of that and went straight for the taunt.

"I'm not chickening out, damn it! You're on!!"

Xu Sanshi was provoked into a rage by the taunt. He stopped caring whether the stakes were equal or if Bei Bei and his group could even afford such a sum, agreeing to it immediately.

"But you have to act as the referee, and you aren't allowed to favor either side!!"

"Fine."

Bei Bei agreed without hesitation.

"Then let's begin. Senior, you'd better be careful."

Once everything was settled, Huo Yuhao spoke to Xu Sanshi.

"Come on, stop stalling."

Xu Sanshi curled his lip at these words.

At this moment, all four people present were watching Huo Yuhao, curious to see what he would do next.

But Huo Yuhao just stood there silently turning the grilled fish, seemingly doing nothing at all.

Time ticked away, and the grilled fish in Huo Yuhao's hands gradually turned golden and crispy, yet he showed no signs of making a move, which made the others start to feel anxious for him.

Tang Ya narrowed her eyes and silently reached into her waist.

They hadn't said she couldn't make a move, right?

But her subtle movements were immediately caught by the wary Xu Sanshi; in fact, one could say that Xu Sanshi had been guarding against her the entire time!

He knew that Tang Ya possessed some terrifying hidden weapons.

"Referee! Referee! Look at her!!"

Xu Sanshi immediately reached out and pointed at Tang Ya.

This was one of the main reasons he had demanded that Bei Bei act as the referee.

With things as they were, surely he couldn't just turn a blind eye and lie?

Xu Sanshi looked toward the referee.

And then...

The referee closed his eyes.

Damn it!!

Ten thousand grass mud horses galloped through Xu Sanshi's mind at that moment.

He shouldn't have trusted those two!!

But since things had reached this point, he could only grit his teeth and endure. He refused to believe that he couldn't even block a single hidden weapon from Tang Ya.

It was at this moment that Ma Xiaotao, who was closest to Huo Yuhao, noticed something wrong.

Is Yuhao trying to control his emotions?

The next moment, she suddenly felt all of her little junior's emotions vanish, converging into nothing but pure, concentrated killing intent.

That killing intent seemed to condense into a physical form, surging toward Xu Sanshi.

Xu Sanshi suddenly felt a chill run down his back, as if he were being hunted, and his limbs gradually grew cold and stiff.

This was the result of Huo Yuhao's killing intent eroding him; it was actually affecting him.

Finally making a move.

Xu Sanshi sneered inwardly. Trying to scare me off with killing intent?

That's far too laughable.

But he soon changed his mind.

Xu Sanshi was somewhat surprised to discover that Huo Yuhao using killing intent to erode him was only the first part.

In his perception, more killing intent was rapidly condensing in front of him, gradually forming the shape of an extremely sharp silver needle, aimed directly at his head.

Before the Killing Intent Silver Needle even drew near, Xu Sanshi already felt a sense of danger.

If I don't activate my martial soul, I might not be able to withstand this.

Bei Bei's little junior brother really has some tricks up his sleeve.

Xu Sanshi couldn't help but offer a compliment, yet he remained extremely confident.

It's a pity his cultivation is too low. No matter how much killing intent he condenses, as long as I activate my martial soul, this needle won't be able to break my defense.

He made his judgment quickly.

At the same time, Xu Sanshi finally grew serious. He narrowed his eyes, keeping a close watch on the movement of that silver needle, and made a secret resolution in his heart.

If all else failed, he would activate his martial soul and take the hit head-on. At worst, he would be looked down upon by Bei Bei and the others, but he had still won a solid one thousand Gold Soul Coin.

Xu Sanshi already felt that victory was within his grasp.

The next moment, that silver needle, condensed from killing intent, shot toward his head just as he had anticipated.

Xu Sanshi rapidly mobilized his soul power, concentrating it in his head, and the shadow of the Mystic Water Turtle flashed across his face and vanished.

He was confident he could withstand this blow.

This time, he was the winner!

Seeing this, Bei Bei and Tang Ya cursed him for being shameless!

To activate his martial soul in a contest against a newly enrolled Huo Yuhao!

How embarrassing!!

At the same time, they both assumed in their hearts that Huo Yuhao had lost this match.

But right at that moment, Only Ma Xiaotao, who was standing closest, saw a subtle arc lift the corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth.

You aren't afraid of the head above, but what about the one below?

Under his control, the moment the silver needle was about to strike Xu Sanshi, it suddenly changed direction abruptly, aiming straight for the center of Xu Sanshi's lower body.

By this time, it was too late for Xu Sanshi to mobilize his soul power to protect his precious lifeline.

Damn it!!

So underhanded!!

With no time to think, student Xu Sanshi acted purely on instinct!

Between the Mystic Water Pill and the happiness of his future life, he decisively chose the latter.

He didn't dare to gamble!!

Who would dare to gamble on this?!!

Even a graze would be incredibly painful!!!

To protect the happiness of his future life, Xu Sanshi decisively abandoned his previous position, disregarding his image as he dodged to the side, only just managing to evade Huo Yuhao's attack.

Lying on the ground, Xu Sanshi was covered in cold sweat, his hands clutching his crotch tightly.

He felt a chilling sensation in his lower body.

If he had hesitated for even one more second, he feared he would have to become sisters with Nannan for the rest of his life.

At the same time, this meant that Xu Sanshi had lost the match.

"Eh?"

Xu Sanshi's sudden behavior left Tang Ya and Bei Bei stunned.

Because Huo Yuhao had controlled the dissipation of his killing intent, concentrating it solely on Xu Sanshi and not on them, they could not accurately perceive what had happened.

In the eyes of Tang Ya and Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi had been about to win, but for some reason, he suddenly went crazy, jumped to the side while clutching his crotch as if dodging something, and even ended up face-planting into the dirt.

But looking at it this way... it seemed like Huo Yuhao had won the match?

Tang Ya and Bei Bei exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao had just finished the final step of grilling the fish in his hands; a delicious grilled fish was officially ready.

He handed the grilled fish to Ma Xiaotao.

"Sister Xiaotao, try my cooking."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Ma Xiaotao took the grilled fish Huo Yuhao handed her, lost in thought.

Compared to Bei Bei and Tang Ya, she was stronger and could perceive more, allowing her to guess roughly what had just occurred.

However...

Ma Xiaotao watched as Huo Yuhao stood up and walked toward Xu Sanshi.

Could Huo Yuhao truly suppress his own emotions completely?

How did he manage to do that?

If he could suppress everything, then is it possible that...

As Ma Xiaotao pondered, her mouth bit into the grilled fish in her hand involuntarily.

Her train of thought was immediately disrupted by the aroma of the fish.

So delicious!!

Huo Yuhao walked to the side of the Xu Sanshi lying on the ground and reached out his hand.

"Senior, I concede."

"Well played. You and Bei Bei are truly cut from the same cloth—devious enough!"

Xu Sanshi gritted his teeth as he Kaidō.

"How are you talking!"

Before Huo Yuhao could say anything, Tang Ya retorted indignantly from the side.

"My Yuhao is an honest, good boy! You aren't allowed to talk about him like that!"

Bei Bei stood to the side and blinked.

Bei Bei: Then what about me?

Hearing Tang Ya's words, Xu Sanshi nearly coughed up blood from sheer frustration.

Honest? A good boy? Him?

What kind of good boy comes up with a move that attacks the lower three paths!

However, one had to admit, the move was indeed effective.

Even the slightest bit of damage was something Xu Sanshi dared not gamble with.

After all, he still had to provide Nannan with happiness in the future.

He couldn't afford even the slightest damage!

Compared to that, a bottle of Mystic Water Pill was a small price to pay!

At worst, he would just have to go pester his old man again.

Thinking of this, Xu Sanshi suddenly felt a sense of admiration for Huo Yuhao.

Regardless of the methods used, a win was a win and a loss was a loss; he had no reason to go back on his word.

The heroes of this world truly are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river.

After a moment of internal reflection, Xu Sanshi came to terms with it.

He gripped Huo Yuhao's hand, stood up abruptly, and then took the opportunity to pat Huo Yuhao on the back.

"Kid, you're not bad. I acknowledge you!"

Having said that, he turned to leave, but Bei Bei reminded him just in time.

"Ahem, did you forget something?"

Hearing Bei Bei's words, Xu Sanshi's face instantly fell; he knew his plan to play dumb had failed.

With no other choice, he could only indignantly pull a bottle of Mystic Water Pill from his robes and toss it into Bei Bei's hand.

Watching the frustrated look on Xu Sanshi's face as he left, Bei Bei couldn't help but laugh out loud, showering Huo Yuhao with praise.

"Well done, Yuhao. It's been a long time since I've seen this guy look so deflated."

"Even the last time I beat him, he still looked unconvinced."

He then handed the Mystic Water Pill to Huo Yuhao.

"Here, Yuhao, take this. It's a good item; it can help you clear the meridians throughout your body and is beneficial for your cultivation."

Huo Yuhao did not decline and accepted it directly.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Bei Bei shook his head and Kaidō.

"It's nothing. You won this fair and square."

Huo Yuhao didn't say anything more after hearing this, instead quietly glancing at Ma Xiaotao, who was sitting by the grill.

At this moment, Ma Xiaotao had clearly tasted the sweetness of the grilled fish; even with her veil, she couldn't stop the fish from disappearing rapidly into her mouth.

In truth, the main reason Huo Yuhao had gone to such great lengths was to let Ma Xiaotao experience the process of him suppressing his emotions at close range.

He wanted Ma Xiaotao to realize that she could rely on her own will to suppress the Evil Fire, and perhaps even overcome it.

Rather than blindly relying on others to suppress it for her.

Compared to this, the Mystic Water Pill and such were unimportant.

As long as Huo Yuhao could quietly nudge and rewrite the trajectory of Ma Xiaotao's fate today, he could change even more in the future.

Bit by bit...

Until finally, he would overturn the entire plan of God King Tang!

He took one last deep look at Ma Xiaotao.

The cause had already been planted by his own hands.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting for it to take root, sprout, and eventually bear the fruit he desired.