Why Did He Feel Like He Was Looking at His Family's Old Yellow Dog Whenever He Looked at Huo Yuhao?

Wang Dong leaned over the back of the chair beside Tang Wulin, craning her neck to peek around. A few strands of blue-pink hair hung over her forehead, obscuring half her brows and eyes. Too lazy to brush them aside, she simply tilted her head and stared at Tang Wulin.

When that string of golden soul rings formed from blood essence had lit up on the arena earlier, she had already felt that something was off.

Could martial souls be used like that?

"Hey, what was that thing you used just now?" Wang Dong lowered her voice, unable to conceal her curiosity and confusion. "Were those golden soul rings a martial soul fusion skill? But don't you have twin martial souls, Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer? How do you have another martial soul?"

Her gaze swept over Tang Wulin's face twice, her tone carrying the certainty of someone who knew he had to be hiding some huge secret.

Tang Wulin turned his head slightly and met her eyes, which practically screamed, "Tell me already." A faint smile touched his lips as he slowly raised a finger to them in a shushing gesture.

The motion of pressing his fingertip to his lips was light, carrying the impish mystery unique to a young man. Sunlight filtered down from overhead, casting a pale golden sheen over his slightly curved lashes.

"It's a secret." His voice lowered as well, carrying a playfully solemn note. "It'll be exposed sooner or later, but not now. If you're that curious, why not go up and fight a few rounds? Maybe I'll tell you after you're done."

Wang Dong was left itching with curiosity by his teasing evasiveness, but she did not press him further.

In the end, she snorted and turned her gaze back to the arena, the eagerness in her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

She looked back at the lingering ripples of aura slowly dispersing over the arena, then at Tang Wulin beside her. The competitive spirit in her heart was completely stirred up.

"Fine, you're right. What's the point of just watching other people fight?" Wang Dong sprang up from her seat and patted the nonexistent dust from her robes. "I'll give it a try."

Just as she was about to step forward, she paused and turned to Tang Wulin. Rare caution and hesitation appeared on her face. "You challenged a fifth-year student just now... I don't think I'm as ridiculous as you. What grade do you think I should challenge?"

Tang Wulin leaned against the back of his chair with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He looked her up and down, then said casually, "Third year or below. Most fourth- and fifth-year students have already reached three rings, and not the kind who just broke through. They've been there for a while and are nearly at four rings. You've only been enrolled for a few days, after all. You can't become fat in one bite. Pick someone about your level first, get some practice in, and figure out your limits."

After hearing that, Wang Dong bit her lip as though rapidly weighing it over in her mind, then nodded heavily. "Fine. Third years it is."

With that, she turned around and copied Tang Wulin's earlier move, leaping onto the arena.

Standing in the center of the arena, she lifted her chin slightly and called toward the referee, "Teacher, first-year Wang Dong challenges a third-year senior!"

Several third-year students beneath the stage exchanged glances. A medium-built boy with a dark blue ponytail chuckled, then jumped down from the stands and landed on the other side of the arena. He clasped his hands toward Wang Dong. "Third year, Li Yang. Please enlighten me."

Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze from the arena, his peripheral vision catching Gu Yuena sitting quietly beside him.

After thinking for a moment, he shifted closer to her and naturally extended his right hand, gently taking the hand resting on her knee.

Gu Yuena's fingers were cool, curling slightly when he took hold of them before relaxing again.

Her palm was warm and soft, though her fingertips retained a faint coolness. Pressed against his warm palm, they fit together like two puzzle pieces locking perfectly into place.

The instant their palms touched, the dormant Golden Dragon King bloodline within Tang Wulin gave a faint pulse.

At the same time, a silver-white gleam flashed deep within Gu Yuena's body. The two lights met at their clasped hands, silently colliding and merging into an incredibly faint nine-colored halo.

Gu Yuena's fingertips trembled slightly. She lowered her head and looked at their intertwined hands, a shrewd glint passing through her eyes.

She raised her head again and smiled at Tang Wulin, her eyes curving gently. Her smile was bright and pure, carrying an instinctive sense of closeness and dependence.

Tang Wulin smiled too. He did not let go, merely holding her fingers gently as he turned his attention back to the arena.

Huo Yuhao sat in the back row, silently watching everything.

He lowered his eyes slightly as his Spirit Eyes martial soul began operating without a sound. A nearly imperceptible ripple of spiritual power spread from his forehead like an invisible fine net, taking in the movements on the arena and the emotions in the stands.

He then withdrew it, lowered his head, and seemed to be pondering something.

Just as he was lost in thought, Tang Wulin suddenly turned around and gave the back of his head a light slap.

Huo Yuhao jerked his head up, meeting Tang Wulin's smiling eyes.

"Yuhao," Tang Wulin said in a natural, casual tone, like an older brother speaking to a younger one, "I know your first soul ring is special, and your first soul skill is special too."

"Brother Tang, please tell me." Huo Yuhao's voice carried a trace of nervousness along with barely concealed anticipation. His back straightened unconsciously.

In that instant, looking at Huo Yuhao's bright, sparkling eyes, Tang Wulin felt as though he were seeing the big yellow dog back in his family courtyard, wagging its tail as it waited to be fed.

He suppressed the smile at the corner of his lips and gently rubbed Huo Yuhao's head twice. The touch was light and carried the familiarity of an older brother. "Your Spirit Eyes are well suited for certain things. For example, observing an opponent's weaknesses, predicting their movements, or... in certain situations, providing others with information they were never supposed to see."

Huo Yuhao froze. The tips of his ears turned slightly red as he opened his mouth, his voice soft. "Brother Tang, you mean... I can use my soul skill to help Wang Dong..."

"No." Tang Wulin interrupted him, his tone calm but certain. "I'm not telling you this so you can help someone cheat."

He withdrew his hand from Huo Yuhao's head and sat upright. His gaze fell on Wang Dong, who was trading blows with the third-year senior on the arena. His voice became deeper, carrying a rare seriousness.

"Winning or losing may be important, but the foundation of a person's character has never been how many matches they win. It is how many principles they uphold. Anyone who asks you to cheat in order to win is belittling you. And anyone who uses the bigger picture to pressure you, saying you're selfish and don't care about the greater good, probably wants you to sacrifice your own interests to benefit someone else."

He paused, turning his head slightly to look into Huo Yuhao's clear eyes. His tone softened, as though he were speaking of something he had only come to understand after pondering it for a long time.