Huo Yuhao wore a blank, innocent expression as he replied, "Did something strange happen around here just now? I don't know either. I was meditating and cultivating nearby, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As for this baboon, I killed it. It tried to attack me just now, so I had no choice but to kill it."
Tang Ya furrowed her brows. "That's strange. I clearly saw an unusual phenomenon in the sky around here just now. It even seemed like thunder was roaring. Could I have heard wrong?"
Beibei noticed that there was no Spirit Ring above the Wind Baboon's corpse. Frowning, he looked at Huo Yuhao in confusion. "Little Brother Yuhao, d-did you absorb this ten-year Wind Baboon Spirit Beast's Spirit Ring?"
Huo Yuhao obviously couldn't reveal anything about the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm or Electrolux, so he nodded. "Yes. After I killed the baboon, a white ring suddenly appeared around it. I'd heard that when your Soul Power reaches a certain bottleneck, you need to absorb a Spirit Ring before you can keep cultivating, so I tried absorbing it."
At that, Beibei and Tang Ya exchanged a glance.
Tang Ya looked at the Wind Baboon's corpse beside them and said with distaste, "Yuhao, why did you absorb such a trash Spirit Ring? It'll do you no good at all as you grow stronger."
"Ahem." Beibei coughed softly and shot Tang Ya a look. "Little Brother Yuhao, what Xiaoya means is that you could have absorbed a much better Spirit Ring. It's a shame you absorbed one of such low quality."
Only then did Tang Ya realize she'd said the wrong thing. She gave Huo Yuhao an apologetic look. "Little Yuhao, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."
She even stuck out her tongue.
Huo Yuhao was already used to Tang Ya's lack of tact and didn't hold it against her.
To make the act more convincing, Huo Yuhao put on the appearance of someone who had just finished fusing with a Spirit Ring and completing his meditation.
He rose to his feet, and a lustrous white Spirit Ring spiraled up from beneath them, slowly pulsing beside him.
"It really is a ten-year Spirit Ring. But why does it feel so different from the others? Am I imagining it?"
Seeing the Spirit Ring around Huo Yuhao, Beibei and Tang Ya both wondered the same thing. But the thought vanished as quickly as it came. After all, it was common knowledge on the Douluo Continent that ten-year Spirit Rings were white. There was nothing unusual about that.
Seeing that neither of them looked suspicious, Huo Yuhao put the Spirit Ring away and asked in confusion, "I think I heard you calling out to me while I was half-asleep just now. Did you come looking for me? Was there something you needed?"
"Little Yuhao, we came looking for you partly because we were worried. The Star Dou Great Forest is full of danger, and you don't seem to know your way around, so we were afraid something might happen to you. We did have something to discuss with you, too." Tang Ya had finally remembered why they'd come and spoke earnestly.
Warmth stirred in Huo Yuhao's heart. Though there were plenty of outrageous characters in the second Douluo novel, from his perspective these two treated him pretty well. They seemed like decent people.
Good person points +2
Beibei picked up the conversation. "Yuhao, now that you're officially a Soul Master, have you decided what you'll do next? Where's your home?"
"Home?"
The Duchess's vile face rose in Huo Yuhao's mind, along with the abuse he'd suffered all these years at the Duke Mansion and Huo Yun'er's final words to him before she died.
"An eye for an eye, blood for blood."
Huo Yuhao also remembered what Elder Yi had told him before falling asleep.
Now that he had become Huo Yuhao, he would never again let those who had bullied him and his mother get away with it.
His first target could be the White Tiger Duke Mansion. Revenge would start there!
At the thought, he clenched his fists and said calmly, "Sister Xiaoya, Big Brother Beibei, I'm an orphan. I don't have any family left. My goal now is to become a powerful Soul Master."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, delight spread across Tang Ya's face.
"Yuhao, do you know about the Tang Sect?" Tang Ya immediately launched into an eager pitch for the sect.
Huo Yuhao nodded and said calmly, "I've heard of it. It used to be a famous sect a thousand years ago, but I heard it's fallen into decline. They say the Tang Sect these days is like a stray dog on the roadside—anyone can come along and kick it. What's wrong, Sister Xiaoya? Is something the matter with the Tang Sect?"
Tang Ya's face flushed red. She didn't know what to say.
That stray dog on the roadside... is he talking about me?
Seeing Tang Ya's expression, Beibei smiled warmly at Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, they say that meeting is fate. In fact, Sister Xiaoya and I both come from the Tang Sect, and we're students at Shrek Academy as well. If you're willing, why not join our Tang Sect? Once you do, we'll be your family. And as a member of the Tang Sect, you'll be able to use our admission waiver to study at Shrek. You know Shrek, right? It's the number one academy on the continent."
At the mention of Shrek, Tang Ya perked up again, her face full of pride. "That's right! And I'm the current sect master of the Tang Sect. Little Yuhao, don't worry. If you join us, I'll look after you. No one at Shrek Academy will dare bully you."
They both looked at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.
But Huo Yuhao merely clasped his hands in a salute and said calmly, "Stray Dog Sister—no, Sister Xiaoya, Big Brother Beibei, thank you for the offer, but I'll pass on joining the Tang Sect."
"Huh?"
That was a rejection, quick and decisive?
Tang Ya looked baffled, then said unwillingly, "I understand, Little Yuhao. You must not know much about our Tang Sect. Don't rush to turn us down. Let me tell you about our history first. The Tang Sect was once the greatest sect on the continent..."
Tang Ya was about to launch into a rundown of the Tang Sect's glorious history when Huo Yuhao waved a hand and cut her off again. "No need, Sister Xiaoya. I'm not joining the Tang Sect."
"Wait, Yuhao. If I'm not mistaken, you're a mental-type Soul Master, right? Do you know that mental-type Soul Masters are already rare on the continent, but our Tang Sect has a cultivation technique that's perfectly suited to them? If you join us, it'll make your future cultivation twice as effective." Tang Ya chuckled smugly.
Huo Yuhao sneered inwardly. Heh, the Purple Demon Eye, right? What garbage. Even a dog wouldn't learn it. With the God Forging Technique Elder Yi passed down to me, why would I need that trash technique?
His expression remained impassive as he said, "Sorry, Sister Xiaoya, but I really don't need it. If there's nothing urgent, let's part ways here."
"Yuhao, you..."
Tang Ya looked agitated and tried to stop Huo Yuhao so she could say more.
Beibei stopped her, then clasped his hands and smiled. "Yuhao, in that case, we won't hold you up any longer. Xiaoya and I have something important to do, so let's go our separate ways here."
Huo Yuhao nodded and gave a quiet "Mm" before heading toward the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
After Huo Yuhao left, Tang Ya looked aggrievedly at Beibei. "Beibei, why? Is our Tang Sect really that worthless? Even a stray dog on the roadside can be kicked."
Beibei sighed helplessly inside. Worthless is an understatement. It's a burden. Xiaoya, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gone against my grandfather's wishes and joined the Tang Sect either. The Tang Sect doesn't even have a proper front gate anymore, so how could it possibly be revived?
Though that was what he thought, he still smiled and said, "From the look in Yuhao's eyes, I can tell he has a story of his own. Everyone has their own path, Xiaoya. Believe me, once we've both grown stronger, the Tang Sect will be revived one day."
Tang Ya pushed down her frustration. She had a vague feeling that she'd missed out on a mission of great importance in her life.
Meanwhile, far away in the Divine Realm, a certain God King grew increasingly furious, the veins at his temples throbbing.
"Why? Why hasn't the Tang Sect's fortune improved significantly? Something's wrong. The Child of Destiny should have raised the Tang Sect's fortune for me by now."
"Damn it!"
Before you continue