What was going on?
Was that old Ghostly Soul cursing me in the Sea of Consciousness again?
Huo Yuhao couldn't make heads or tails of it. After thinking it over, he decided to let it go.
He'd better figure out how to approach those two later.
The God King had probably prepared a big bundle of surprises for him.
But before he could think of a reasonable way to get close to Niu Tian and Tai Tan, a somewhat unfamiliar figure stepped into his path.
Holding his tray, Huo Yuhao looked up at the red-clad figure blocking his way.
Another one?
He couldn't help grumbling to himself. Did these Inner Academy seniors have nothing better to do all day?
They were always running over to the Outer Academy.
Ma Xiaotao was one thing. She was at least more or less a decent person, so there was nothing wrong with raising her favorability a little.
That idiot Dai Yueheng had come looking for a beating.
What did this one want?
Huo Yuhao looked the girl over.
She wore the Inner Academy's red uniform. Tall and slender, she had long, ice-blue hair draped casually over her shoulders, making her already cool, aloof features seem even more otherworldly.
Ling Luochen.
Huo Yuhao immediately recognized her.
He hadn't paid much attention to the stands that day in the Soul Fighting Zone, but he remembered these core disciples of the Inner Academy.
He just hadn't expected her to come looking for him.
Ling Luochen was sizing Huo Yuhao up, too.
She simply stood there in silence, watching him with her ice-blue eyes as if trying to find something unusual in his face.
She was actually quite conflicted.
Seeing Ling Luochen standing there, looking as if she wanted to speak but couldn't—as though she had some unspoken difficulty—Huo Yuhao had a pretty good idea what was going on.
Does she need something from me?
Huo Yuhao was starting to wonder if Ma Xiaotao had been telling everyone that he'd cured her Evil Fire.
Considering her carefree personality, he thought there was a good chance.
Otherwise, why would Inner Academy students be coming to find him one after another?
Was he really already that famous in the Inner Academy?
Huo Yuhao was a little exasperated.
What are the Inner Academy teachers and the people in the Sea God Pavilion even doing?
Keep your students in line! If there's a problem, hurry up and solve it!
Why do they keep coming to a new student from the Outer Academy?
Ling Luochen stood there, feeling a little nervous herself.
She wasn't the sort to approach people on her own.
Much less a junior who was younger than her.
Most importantly, this junior's attitude toward the Inner Academy seniors was a complete mystery.
What if she spoke up and he didn't want to answer her? Ling Luochen wasn't Dai Yueheng. She couldn't bring herself to use Soul Power to intimidate someone.
Students milled through the cafeteria, and quite a few were already sneaking glances their way.
After all, Huo Yuhao was something of a celebrity in the Outer Academy now.
Huo Yuhao didn't want to become the center of attention. After waiting for her to speak for a long while, he finally broke the silence.
"Is something the matter, senior sister?"
His voice was calm, giving nothing away.
Ling Luochen came back to herself at his question. A flicker of awkwardness crossed her cool features.
She took a deep breath and decided to get straight to the point.
"My name is Ling Luochen. I'm a student of the Inner Academy."
"That day in the Soul Fighting Zone, I sensed a... very unusual aura."
She paused, fixing Huo Yuhao with her ice-blue eyes, and asked slowly, one word at a time:
"That was Ultimate Ice, wasn't it?"
So that's what this is about.
The moment she mentioned Ultimate Ice, Huo Yuhao understood more or less what was going on.
She must have sensed Tian Meng's aura, which was why she'd come to find him.
After all, Ling Luochen's Martial Soul was ice elemental. Her longing for Ultimate Ice was no less intense than Ma Xiaotao's, who was being consumed by Evil Fire.
As expected of a Soul Master specializing in ice. She had a keen nose.
But there was no way he could admit it.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was one of his biggest trump cards, and the Second Martial Soul, the Ice Empress, hadn't even come into being yet. Exposing them now would be no different from digging his own grave.
Huo Yuhao's expression didn't change in the slightest. He even managed a suitably puzzled look.
"Ultimate Ice?"
"Senior sister, what's that? Is it a kind of Martial Soul, too?"
His innocent, harmless look left Ling Luochen momentarily stunned.
Had she sensed it wrong?
But that pure sensation, capable of freezing even the soul, couldn't possibly have been mistaken!
Seeing the doubt in Ling Luochen's eyes, Huo Yuhao didn't wait for her to press him further. He revealed his Martial Soul of his own accord.
A white Ten-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, and his originally pitch-black eyes turned brilliant gold in an instant.
"Senior sister, my Martial Soul is Spirit Eye, with the Mental Attribute."
"Maybe my mental fluctuations were a little unusual when I resisted senior Dai's pressure, and that gave you the wrong impression."
After saying that, Huo Yuhao didn't give her time to think. He immediately shared his Spiritual Detection with her.
The next moment, Ling Luochen's body stiffened.
An enormous flood of information poured into her mind.
The entire cafeteria appeared in her senses with unprecedented clarity and depth.
She could make out everyone's position, movements, and Soul Power fluctuations. She could even hear a couple whispering sweet nothings in a distant corner.
This...
Was this Spiritual Detection Sharing?!
Ling Luochen was utterly shocked.
Of course she knew this Soul Skill. It was the signature ability of mental-type Soul Masters.
But how could a Ten-Year Soul Ring possibly grant such wide-ranging, precise Spiritual Detection?
Just how powerful was this kid's spiritual power?!
The way Ling Luochen looked at Huo Yuhao changed completely.
She was starting to believe what Ma Xiaotao had told her.
This junior really was different from the others.
Surely he doesn't have Twin Martial Souls?
If he did, there'd be no reason to hide it from her. In truth, he wouldn't even be able to.
If he really had Ultimate Ice, Ma Xiaotao would have said so at the time. She couldn't keep a secret to save her life.
With that thought, the doubts in Ling Luochen's mind gradually faded.
She withdrew her scrutinizing gaze. The chill in her expression softened, replaced by a complicated curiosity.
"Your spiritual power is very strong."
She praised him sincerely.
Huo Yuhao withdrew his Soul Skill and smiled modestly.
"You're too kind, senior sister."
Looking at him, Ling Luochen suddenly found this junior much more likable.
He was handsome and refined, and seemed levelheaded—not as hypocritical as Dai Yueheng or as frivolous as Gongyang Mo.
Without thinking, she blurted out, "You look quite a bit like my younger brother."
Huo Yuhao: "?"
Ling Luochen seemed not to notice his bewilderment. She reached out and gestured above his head.
"You're about the same height, too."
Huo Yuhao froze completely.
He could feel the onlookers' gazes shifting from curious to downright strange.
Senior sister, please show some restraint!
What are you doing in front of everyone?!
Huo Yuhao grumbled furiously to himself, but all he could do was keep an awkward yet polite smile on his face.
Only then did he finally remember.
There had long been an unconfirmed rumor about Ling Luochen...
She seemed to have a bit of a thing for cute young boys...
Realizing she might have gone a little too far, Ling Luochen gave a light cough and withdrew her hand, looking somewhat embarrassed.
But as an Inner Academy disciple, she quickly collected herself and regained her easy, composed manner.
"Train hard and do your best to enter the Inner Academy as soon as you can."
She took a token from her Soul Tool and handed it to Huo Yuhao.
"This is my identification token. If you run into trouble in the Outer Academy that you can't handle, you can come find me in the Inner Academy."
Without waiting for Huo Yuhao to respond, she turned and hurried out of the cafeteria. The faint redness at the tips of her ears still betrayed her inner turmoil.
Huo Yuhao held the token, still faintly cool to the touch, and stood there, laughing helplessly.
What was all that about?
He shook his head, carried his tray to a corner, and sat down.
Since things had come to this,
he might as well eat first.
Before you continue