Change

Huo Yuhao's eyes were filled with sorrow, as if he had returned to that period of his youth when he was powerless to change anything, forced only to watch his seniors die before his eyes.

"Is this really a dream you had? It's too realistic..."

"Who knows? Perhaps it really happened somewhere. I just wanted to tell you that while you can certainly stay in your comfort zone, please consider whether you could change things if such a situation occurred. Could you accept the outcome? Perhaps when you acknowledge the people around you and truly treat them as your companions, you will want to do something for them."

Huo Yuhao offered a strained smile. "Keep at it. I have twice as many laps as you, so I'll be heading off first."

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips, her gaze dazed as she watched his figure grow smaller in the distance.

Having adapted to the weight after running several laps, Huo Yuhao began to gradually increase the number of rings.

By the time he finished his task in the evening, the weight on his body had reached one hundred and fifty kilograms.

Returning to the training ground, he was exhausted. Seeing everyone waiting for him, he gave a slight nod of greeting, walked into the formation, stood still, and looked toward Flender.

Before long, Ning Rongrong also finished her twenty laps and returned to the formation. Drenched in sweat and looking quite disheveled, she left everyone—except for Flender—stunned.

Xiao Wu tugged gently at his sleeve. "Yuhao... what happened to Ning Rongrong? She feels different..."

Huo Yuhao chuckled. "People grow."

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Huo Yuhao, lost in thought.

Flender nodded with satisfaction. Although he didn't know what had happened, he had been secretly watching Ning Rongrong persist until she finished the entire course, and his shock was no less than anyone else's.

"Alright! Everyone is here. No one violated my orders this time. Let's move out!"

The group headed to the soul fighting arena once more. This time, it wasn't just Huo Yuhao competing. To that end, Flender had given them a graduation standard: reach the Silver level of the Soul Fighting Badge, which meant one thousand points.

Given that Huo Yuhao had only earned one point from his match yesterday, it was clear how daunting this goal was.

With yesterday's experience, the group registered and began waiting for the pairings. The results were released quickly.

Everyone had been assigned to the Twelfth Soul Fighting Arena.

Because of Huo Yuhao's clean and efficient match yesterday, he had gained some fame. The officials recognized the potential of this newcomer and scheduled his match for last.

This way, they could leverage his popularity to have the audience, who came specifically for him, watch the preceding matches, effectively driving traffic to his opponents.

"The first match is Xiao Wu versus Tang San? What a coincidence..."

The group was stunned to see the results, not expecting the first match to be an internal one.

Xiao Wu turned to lock eyes with Tang San, her eyes filled with excitement. They had frequently sparred back at Notting Academy.

There was no helping it; whenever they teamed up against Huo Yuhao, they lost. Over time, they had been beaten so thoroughly they lost all temper, so they found it better to fight each other—winning and losing helped them maintain a balanced mindset.

Naturally, Xiao Wu lost more than she won, and with this ready-made opportunity before them, both were filled with fighting spirit.

Xiao Wu waved her fists. "Hmph, Xiao San, let's see who is stronger. I won't go easy on you this time."

"I wonder who loses more often," Tang San retorted with a smile.

Once the two stepped onto the arena, the match began rapidly. Their soul power was similar, and they knew each other's skills and habits inside and out, making it difficult to determine a winner.

The audience was fully engaged by the intense back-and-forth battle. While one-sided crushing was exciting, this kind of evenly matched fight was what the audience loved most.

Finally, Tang San defeated the slowing Xiao Wu by relying on the paralyzing toxin inherent in his vines, knocking her out of the ring.

"Damn it, Xiao San, your toxin is way too helpful for endurance fights! It's practically cheating!"

Back in the lounge, Xiao Wu remained unconvinced. There was no helping it; Tang San's soul skills were a hard counter to a soul master like her who relied on physical techniques.

"I won't lose next time!"

Xiao Wu pouted, her eyes darting around before landing on Huo Yuhao.

"Yuhao~ teach me how to deal with Xiao San."

"..." Huo Yuhao began to think seriously, but after a long while, he couldn't come up with a good solution.

Either make a targeted choice for poison resistance in her soul rings, or, like him, rely on extreme speed so that Tang San's soul skills couldn't touch her.

Unfortunately, Xiao Wu couldn't achieve either method.

"I've got it. Take this."

Huo Yuhao smiled and handed a shield-shaped patch to Xiao Wu.

"What is this?" Everyone was focused on their conversation, looking at the patch in Xiao Wu's hand with curiosity.

"Do you remember the golden barrier from when I fought Teacher Zhao?"

"Of course I remember. Are you saying that barrier is this little thing?"

Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile.

"This is called a Soul Guidance Shield. The one I used before was a Level 4; the one in Xiao Wu's hand is a Level 3. The defensive power will be slightly lower because the level corresponds to the stage of the soul master. It is difficult for low-level soul masters to drive high-level Soul Tool items. This Level 3 shield is just right for Xiao Wu, who is about to reach the level of a Soul Elder."

After explaining how to use it, he nodded at Tang San. "Xiao San, try using your vines to Entangle Xiao Wu again."

Tang San nodded. With a flash of light, the Blue Silver Grass appeared in his hand. Immediately after, everyone saw Xiao Wu channel her soul power into the metal patch, and a golden barrier enveloped her body.

When Xiao San's vines tried to Entangle her, they were blocked by the Soul Guidance Shield, and no matter what he tried, he couldn't harm the Xiao Wu inside.

"This! This is too miraculous. Doesn't this mean a Power Attack System Spirit Master could possess defensive skills!?"

Tang San gave a bitter smile. "This shield is simply fatal for a Control System Spirit Master like me who lacks offensive means."

His spirit skills relied primarily on controlling opponents, and his lethality was insufficient; it could be said he was restrained to death by such a barrier.

Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and nodded.

"This is the charm of a Soul Tool. Support System Spirit Masters can possess offensive means, while offensive Spirit Masters can better protect themselves."

Seeing the envious gazes everyone directed toward Xiao Wu, Huo Yuhao smiled slightly, brushed his hand across his belt, and a stack of iron plates appeared in his palm.

"These are all Level 3 barriers. They are very suitable for you all right now. Everyone take one; consider it a gift."

The group was slightly stunned, opening their mouths but unable to find the words to refuse. If it were an ordinary item, it would be one thing, but something like this clearly had a high production cost while being incredibly helpful to them.

Oscar was the first to step forward, took a piece, and said with a grin, "We're all classmates, so I won't stand on ceremony with you. Many thanks, Huo Yuhao."

Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile and held the remaining iron plates out to the others.

With someone leading the way, the others no longer hesitated and each took one. Soon, only Ning Rongrong remained standing there with her head bowed.

Seeing this, the others didn't know what to say. Their relationships with Ning Rongrong could be described as poor, and even her roommate, Xiao Wu, had distanced herself from Ning Rongrong due to Huo Yuhao's attitude during their run earlier.

Huo Yuhao was usually so good to her; she didn't want to make him unhappy.

Feeling the needle-like gazes of the others, Ning Rongrong buried her head even lower, biting her lip hard until her eyes turned red.

"Come, this is yours." A gentle voice rang out beside her ear.

Looking at the iron plate held out before her, Ning Rongrong jerked her head up and saw Huo Yuhao crouching in front of her, the smile on his face like the warm sun breaking through winter clouds.

"Don't be angry anymore, okay? Take this so you can better protect yourself in the future."

The hand holding the iron plate pushed it a little closer to her.

Ning Rongrong reached out with a trembling hand.

She accepted the gift named growth.

Tears could no longer be held back, sliding in large drops from the corners of her eyes as Ning Rongrong suddenly lunged at Huo Yuhao, hugging him tightly.

Her sobbing reached Huo Yuhao's ears, echoing through the lounge and drawing the attention of onlookers.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been so willful... I was wrong..." Intermittent words were mixed with her cries.

Huo Yuhao gently patted her back. "You are still a child; you have the right to make mistakes... Alright, alright, start working hard from today on, okay?"

"...Mm... Mm."

The sobbing was mixed with the young girl's firm response as she nodded forcefully.

Dai Mubai scratched his head and whispered to Ma Hongjun beside him, "Why do I feel like Huo Yuhao is acting like a parent..."

Ma Hongjun nodded in agreement.