Shrek Academy, freshman dormitory.
By the time Huo Yuhao had taken care of everything, it was already very late.
He pushed open the door and saw Wang Dong sitting on a little stool, glaring at him furiously.
"Why are you still up so late?"
Huo Yuhao was a little surprised. After all these days, he had realized that Wang Dong was a hopeless perfectionist in the terminal stages.
She had strict requirements not only for how things were arranged, but even for her daily routine.
Why was she breaking the rules today?
"You have some nerve asking me that!"
Seeing how unconcerned Huo Yuhao looked, Wang Dong was so angry her teeth ached. She stood up and demanded,
"Do you know what time it is? You're only getting back now?! Tell me! Which woman were you fooling around with this time?!!"
Huo Yuhao shook his head.
Seeing him shake his head, Wang Dong looked a little relieved.
"You weren't fooling around?"
Huo Yuhao continued shaking his head and corrected her.
"More than one."
"!!?"
At that, Wang Dong got even angrier and stomped her feet.
She didn't know what was wrong with her, but whenever she heard or saw Huo Yuhao hanging around with other women, she got inexplicably furious.
"Besides, if I don't hang out with women when I go out, should I hang out with men?"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes at her and sat down on his bed.
Wang Dong froze for a moment, at a loss for words.
That... kind of made sense.
No, what the hell was she thinking? It made no sense at all!
Just as Wang Dong was about to argue back and explain to Huo Yuhao that walking around at night was dangerous for men too, Huo Yuhao tossed her a bottle of pills and said,
"Here. It's yours."
Wang Dong instinctively spun the pill bottle in her hand and read the label.
Mystic Water Pill.
She cried out in shock.
"Is this a Mystic Water Pill?! Where did you get it?!"
Wang Dong knew how valuable a Mystic Water Pill was.
It wasn't that she had never seen pills better than this. To be honest, every pill she had ever seen in her life had been more precious than a Mystic Water Pill.
But she had never imagined that Huo Yuhao would have one, let alone hand it over to her so casually.
She unconsciously twisted off the cap to check whether the Mystic Water Pill was genuine and what quality it was.
It was actually real?
"Don't worry about that. Just tell me, do you want it or not?"
Huo Yuhao waved a hand, not particularly concerned.
The Ghost Killing Art had already optimized and transformed all the meridians in his body, and his overall meridian strength would continue to improve as he cultivated. So Huo Yuhao didn't really need this Mystic Water Pill.
Bei Bei had only thought Huo Yuhao still had the same fragile body as before because she hadn't kept up with the latest information. She'd assumed he needed the Mystic Water Pill to cleanse and strengthen his body.
With Huo Yuhao's current physical strength, the Mystic Water Pill could at most make up for about a week of cultivating the Ghost Killing Art.
It was practically nothing.
But as the saying went, why turn down something that was free?
So Huo Yuhao hadn't stopped Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi from making their bet.
Even if he couldn't use it himself, he could still use it to win some goodwill.
After all, that was just how Gala Geimu worked.
"You're giving me something this valuable?"
Wang Dong asked again, as if she couldn't believe it.
An item's value differed from person to person.
Take her, for example. She had grown up eating all kinds of rare natural treasures, and she wouldn't even touch pills refined after the fact.
She'd look at this sort of thing, but she wouldn't take it.
But for a poor kid like Huo Yuhao, this thing was worth ten lives.
And he was just going to give it to her?
On the bed opposite her, Huo Yuhao nodded again.
"..."
Wang Dong fell silent. She set the "extremely precious" Mystic Water Pill on the table, then turned her head away.
"I don't want it."
"I've been gifted since I was a child. I don't need this. Keep it for yourself."
Huo Yuhao glanced at her, amused.
Oh, she was a tsundere.
He didn't reach out to take the Mystic Water Pill back. Instead, he lay leisurely on his bed, closed his eyes, and said,
"If you don't want it, I'll give it to Ning Tian tomorrow."
"I'm sure she'd be happy to accept it."
"You wouldn't dare!!!"
The moment she heard Ning Tian's name, Wang Dong bristled and sprang to her feet.
"Do you really not know how precious this is, or are you pretending? Are you messing with me on purpose?!"
"Who's messing with you?"
Huo Yuhao looked at her in surprise and said plainly,
"Just tell me if you want it. If you don't, I'll give it to someone else."
"I refuse to believe people can't give away a Mystic Water Pill these days."
"I want it! Who said I didn't?!"
Seeing that Huo Yuhao really meant to give such a precious thing to someone else, Wang Dong had no choice but to grit her teeth and decide.
She snatched up the Mystic Water Pill, tucked it against her chest, and shouted at Huo Yuhao,
"Starting today, this is mine!"
"From now on, no one can take it from me! And don't even think about asking for it back!"
"Sure, sure..."
Huo Yuhao waved a hand from his bed, mumbling drowsily.
He was genuinely a little tired today.
Before long, his breathing evened out. He had clearly fallen asleep.
Wang Dong watched Huo Yuhao's sleeping face. Moonlight fell across him, and every one of his long eyelashes could be seen clearly.
Feeling the unexpected "gift" gradually warm against her body, Wang Dong found herself thinking for the first time,
This silly boy was actually pretty handsome.
The next day.
Inside the Freshman Class 9 classroom.
After a night's rest, Huo Yuhao had completely recovered.
Perhaps because he'd been so exhausted, he'd slept unusually well the night before.
Though halfway through the night, he'd felt as if someone was staring at him.
Strange.
Could that old Ghost Demon Venerable be up to something again?
Huo Yuhao couldn't figure it out.
He had just sat down at his desk when Ning Tian appeared beside him like a ghost, smiling brightly as she greeted him.
"Good morning, Yu Hao."
Then she naturally sat down beside him.
After two days of getting used to it, Huo Yuhao had grown accustomed to this. He smiled back.
"Good morning."
Wang Dong, sitting beside Ning Tian, still had a dark look on her face when she saw Huo Yuhao.
Just then, Wang Dong walked into the classroom humming a tune and happened to see Ning Tian approaching Huo Yuhao.
Ning Tian's heart tightened. She immediately became wary of Wang Dong, afraid she might suddenly do something to target her again.
But to everyone's surprise, this time Wang Dong didn't pick a fight with Ning Tian. She simply ignored her and calmly sat down on Huo Yuhao's other side.
Everyone else, waiting for some drama, was baffled. They had no idea what had happened.
Only Huo Yuhao had an inkling.
It was probably because of that Mystic Water Pill. He'd made the right choice, and Wang Dong's opinion of him had improved.
Gala Geimu really was right!!
Ning Tian, meanwhile, felt a little suspicious. For some reason, the way Wang Dong looked at her made her very uncomfortable.
It was as if her smug triumph carried just a hint of pity.
Pity?
What did she pity her for?
There was only one possibility...
After thinking about it for a long time, Ning Tian could only lower her head and look at her own chest. She flew into a rage.
Seriously! Someone with nothing there was pitying her?!
So what if she was a little small? She could still grow!!
Naturally, she couldn't say any of that out loud. She could only keep it to herself and wait for a chance to get even.
Classes then proceeded as usual.
While teaching, Mu Jin also announced the election for class monitor.
Huo Yuhao wasn't interested in the slightest.
Class monitor? What was that? Could you eat it? Could it beat the Ghost Demon Venerable?
No?
Then get out of my way!
He had plenty to do!
In the end, after the class voted, Ning Tian and Wang Dong tied for first place in popularity, leaving everyone else far behind.
Interestingly, most of Wang Dong's supporters were girls.
After all, Wang Dong was beautiful, and girls that age were the most likely to get crushes.
But Mu Jin wasn't going to favor Wang Dong for that.
In the end, Ning Tian became class monitor because her Soul Power Level was higher, while Wang Dong became vice monitor.
After the election, Ning Tian thought she had finally beaten Wang Dong and let out a sigh of relief. She smugly looked over at her.
But she saw no special emotion in Wang Dong's eyes. She still looked just as smug, with that same hint of pity.
Wang Dong thought, I have a gift. Do you? Poor thing.
The day's classes ended quickly. Wang Dong seemed especially attached to Huo Yuhao today, and at her insistent request, the two of them walked back to the dormitory together.
But along a remote path on the way back, Huo Yuhao saw an unexpected figure.
Wu Feng.
Her eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao.
Was she here for him?
Huo Yuhao frowned, unsure what she was planning.
Wu Feng blocked their way and walked right up to Huo Yuhao, warning him bluntly,
"You'd better stay away from Ning Tian!"
"Her status is beyond the likes of you!"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes at her.
That was it? He'd thought it was something serious.
So petty.
What a waste of time.
He kept walking and replied,
"Then could you ask her to stay away from me first?"
"I'm not interested in her at all."
"Exactly!"
Hearing Huo Yuhao say he wasn't interested in Ning Tian, Wang Dong was delighted. She nodded and even made a face at Wu Feng.
Wu Feng thought her warning had worked and sneered.
"Good. At least you know your place."
"Ning Tian isn't someone a 'lowborn wretch' like you can lay a finger on!"
Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks.
"Not satisfied?"
Seeing him suddenly stop, Wu Feng still hadn't realized how serious things were. She kept provoking him.
She'd already learned that this guy in front of her was a special-admission student who'd gotten in through the back door. In truth, he was only a One-Ring Soul Master, and his First Soul Ring was a useless ten-year ring!!
How could someone like him possibly deserve to be by Ning Tian's side?!
It was fine if Ning Tian had been momentarily confused. Wu Feng would make sure she saw this guy's true colors!!
Wu Feng hadn't realized how serious things were, but Wang Dong had.
She'd wanted to charge over and beat the other girl up to vent Huo Yuhao's anger for him, but the moment the thought crossed her mind, she suddenly sensed the killing intent radiating from Huo Yuhao.
The killing intent was so intense that even she felt afraid!
Huo Yuhao slowly turned around and looked Wu Feng directly in the eye for the first time. As he stretched his limbs, his joints cracked all over.
"I remember..."
"I already gave you a chance to save face."
Before you continue