Should You Struggle a Little?

"Buy a storage soul tool."

Xia Liang reminded him. The box he had given Huo Yuhao was unsuitable; if others investigated it, they would easily notice something was off. This was a good chance to replace it with something ordinary.

"Okay, Brother Xia Liang."

Obediently, Huo Yuhao went to the soul tool section of the Nine Treasures Pavilion and bought a bracelet-type storage soul tool for one thousand gold soul coins.

It contained two storage spaces, each fifteen cubic meters in size—enough for most items.

Afterward, Huo Yuhao bought quite a few cultivation materials, spending another thousand gold soul coins in one go. After spending it, he was truly heartbroken. Though he still had nine thousand left, it still hurt.

"What are you feeling bad about? There's still so much gold left unused. It's only because you're not strong enough—otherwise, would you even lack money?"

Xia Liang said helplessly. He had merely used a little gold, yet Huo Yuhao was acting like this.

After that, Huo Yuhao went to the bookstore and bought quite a few books on soul tools. Once he returned to the dormitory, he began studying them.

Electrolux needed to develop a method for training his body; otherwise, the training would not be very effective. Huo Yuhao spent the rest of his time cultivating and reading.

The biggest news in class these days was that Wang Dong had become the class monitor. Other than that, it was all running and attending lessons.

Then, one evening, Bei Bei came to invite Huo Yuhao to have barbecue by Sea God Lake.

Huo Yuhao had always had a good impression of Bei Bei. This was what a Shrek student should be like in his mind.

"Sure."

His cultivation had been especially dull these past few days. After receiving Tianmeng and Xia Liang's approval, he planned to relax that night.

"Great. Xiaoya has been craving your grilled fish and meat for ages."

"Then I'll make sure to grill plenty for Sister Xiaoya tonight."

"Bei Bei, why are you sneaking out here to eat without inviting your brother?"

That night, a young man dressed in black walked over to Bei Bei and threw an arm around his shoulders. It was obvious that the two were quite close.

"Get lost."

With a blank expression, Bei Bei told Xu Sanshi beside him to get lost.

This guy was always causing trouble.

Xu Sanshi sat down on the ground and, without any courtesy, ate Bei Bei's portion. They were brothers—what was wrong with eating a little?

"Is this a junior? Munch... The grilled meat is pretty good. Grill a few more portions for me."

After tasting how delicious the meat was, Xu Sanshi took out some gold soul coins from his pocket and handed them to Huo Yuhao.

"No need. This isn't a business deal. Since you know Brother Bei Bei, I'll grill you another portion later."

Huo Yuhao waved the grilled meat in his hand and refused. This gathering was among friends to begin with; money did not matter. Besides, he was not short on money now.

"Straightforward. Junior, my name is Xu Sanshi. This Thunderbolt Bei Bei and I are known as the Outer Court's Twin Stars. If anything happens in the future, just mention my name. I guarantee you'll be fine."

"Thank you, Brother Xu."

Huo Yuhao handed over several skewers of meat he had just finished grilling.

"You're welcome, you're welcome."

Xu Sanshi did not stand on ceremony either. He took them and began eating. Bei Bei, standing nearby, sensed that something was wrong. Why had this guy appeared here for no reason?

Wait!

Bei Bei realized what was going on and quickly shoved Xu Sanshi away. "Get lost, you bastard!"

"Bei Bei, I brought Nannan over."

Tang Ya's voice came from nearby. At her side stood an exceptionally beautiful girl with long golden hair.

"Wait, Xu Sanshi? Why are you here?!"

The five stood silently in an open clearing, all because of that uninvited guest.

Jiang Nannan stood at Tang Ya's side, her amber eyes calmly sweeping over Xu Sanshi. Her gaze was not particularly cold, yet it made Xu Sanshi's back stiffen. The thick-skinned man who had been grinning moments ago could no longer keep it up. He held a meat skewer in midair, unable to decide whether to eat it or put it down.

"Nannan, have this. It's delicious."

Xu Sanshi was thick-skinned after all, and directly called out to her. Watching the atmosphere between them, Huo Yuhao said nothing and simply continued grilling meat obediently at the side.

There was obviously some drama here.

Within his spiritual sea, Xia Liang looked at Xu Sanshi. Aside from the Mysterious Water Pill, there was nothing good on this person.

"By the way, do you remember those thunderclouds from a few days ago?"

Xu Sanshi suddenly spoke. The topic clearly caught everyone's interest, while Bei Bei gave Huo Yuhao a thoughtful glance.

Though he did not know whether it was connected to Huo Yuhao, very, very few people in the academy could cause such a disturbance.

"I heard those thunderclouds were the legendary tribulation of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast."

Seeing that he had everyone's attention, Xu Sanshi immediately revealed the most exaggerated and eye-catching piece of information.

What could attract more attention than a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?

"A hundred-thousand-year soul beast? How is that possible?"

Tang Ya was the first to question the information's authenticity. Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were not cabbages by the roadside, much less one that had just undergone tribulation.

"It's only something I heard, something I heard. Don't take it seriously."

Xu Sanshi said with an awkward laugh. It sounded fake the moment one heard it. How could a hundred-thousand-year soul beast appear in the human world? Wouldn't that be brainless? Though if a hundred-thousand-year soul beast transformed into a human, its intelligence did seem to become much lower.

With this information to break the ice, the awkward atmosphere faded. Other than Jiang Nannan, who silently ate grilled meat, the others chatted happily.

Past midnight, Huo Yuhao returned to the dormitory.

"Where did you go?"

Wang Dong hugged a pillow as he lay on his bed, looking at Huo Yuhao, who had just entered through the door.

Having just crawled out of bed, his pinkish-blue hair was still a little messy.

Their relationship was no longer as stiff as before. After the running sessions, though Wang Dong never said so aloud, the minor frictions in their daily life had greatly decreased. Huo Yuhao was not that petty either, so the two had gradually gotten along peacefully.

"I went to eat with some friends."

Huo Yuhao answered honestly.

"Mm."

Wang Dong buried his head under the blanket. For some reason, he had recently kept wanting to get close to Huo Yuhao. Why was that?

"A peculiar power is changing this little girl's will."

Electrolux's perception of souls was the sharpest, especially now that he had mostly recovered. Whenever Huo Yuhao approached the little girl called Wang Dong, he discovered that the fluctuations of her soul did not seem human.

"Yes, it is indeed a power from a higher dimension."

Xia Liang had noticed it as well—or rather, he had been the first to know.

Tianmeng, beside them, had not reached the same level as the two, but he could sense that ever since Huo Yuhao ate the Golden Apple and awakened once again, Wang Dong's aura had become extremely similar to Huo Yuhao's. It resembled the aura of the martial soul fusion skills humans possessed.

"Should we tell Yuhao?"

Tianmeng asked doubtfully, but Xia Liang felt there was no need.

"Children should just play properly. As for what comes later, let the adults handle it."

Xia Liang felt this was the safest approach. If they told Huo Yuhao that Wang Dong was a girl, he did not think Huo Yuhao would be able to keep it to himself. There would definitely be slipups in daily life. Rather than that, it was better to let things take their natural course.

"That's true."

After hearing this, Tianmeng also felt it was best to leave it alone. Even if they told Yuhao, it would only give him another worry. They were not pushovers, either.

The next day, enormous steam rose from the surface of Sea God Lake. A crimson streak of light, radiating incomparable heat, shot toward Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

"This is what you called sightseeing?!"

"How was I supposed to know that monster would be here?!"

Wang Dong shouted. At that moment, he was holding Huo Yuhao's hand as he flew with him.

The two had originally planned to relax and enjoy the scenery by Sea God Lake. Who could have known they would encounter this red monster here?

Wang Dong was out of options. Looking at that red figure, he was terrified. How could they be this unlucky? They were not going to die, were they?

"It's catching up!"

Huo Yuhao could already feel that scorching heat nearly burning his backside.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao desperately cried for help in his heart.

"It's fine. You won't die. How about you struggle a little?"

Xia Liang said. He was not worried about Huo Yuhao's safety. He had already placed a safety measure inside Huo Yuhao's body; if danger appeared, it would erect a barrier around him. Even a Titled Douluo could not break that barrier, much less the mere six-ringed Ma Xiaotao.