A Blurred Girl in a Dream—Bearing the Overlapping Forms of Dong'er and Qiu'er?

Ever since that kiss by the corridor, the relationship between Huo Yuhao and Dong'er had quietly crossed that hazy boundary. Qiu'er had merely stumbled upon it by accident. No one had gone after her to explain, and she had not asked further. The next day, the atmosphere among the three became even more subtle and heavy.

In the quiet chamber that afternoon, the Destiny Record continued.

This was already the third day. Xuan Lao had broken down their task: Huo Yuhao was to turn the soul beast unrest outside the city, the corridor runes, and Wang Qiu'er's aura reactions into data; He Caitou had helped him improve two versions of the sensing stone base. Wang Dong'er had been assigned to purification coordination training with Xiao Xiao and Jiang Nannan, while Qiu'er practiced breaking formations head-on with Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

That night, Huo Yuhao fell into an extraordinarily strange dream.

There was no Shrek in the dream, nor was there Sea God Lake. There was only an endless sea of golden mist. Dong'er stood to the left, reaching out to him. She wore that familiar academy coat, its collar slightly open to reveal her delicate collarbones and soft curves. A gentle smile rested at the corner of her lips, as though she were waiting for him to return with her after yet another battle side by side. The lingering warmth of their first kiss seemed to remain—soft, moist lips, slightly hurried breaths, and the warm sensation against his chest when she pressed close, all of it sending a rush of heat through Huo Yuhao's heart.

Qiu'er stood to the right, silently watching him. She was not smiling, but within those eyes identical to Dong'er's burned a wild, blazing desire. In the mist, her clothes were outlined by golden light, half-transparent as they revealed her long, powerful waist and taut legs. Her fingertips lightly brushed Huo Yuhao's arm, carrying the scent of grass and wood along with a scorching warmth. The touch was unfamiliar, yet alluring, as though it held a primal possessiveness.

Huo Yuhao wanted to walk toward them, but three flickering lines of destiny appeared beneath his feet. One led to Dong'er, one led to Qiu'er, and the third extended from between them into the depths of the mist—where a blurred silhouette of a girl stood.

She turned back, her voice as soft as a sigh.

"Will you forget them?"

All at once, the mist churned. Dong'er's body pressed against his, carrying her familiar sweet fragrance; Qiu'er approached from the other side, her wild, powerful arm wrapping around his waist, her burning palm pressed to his back. The breaths of all three tangled together in an instant. Huo Yuhao felt his blood surge as a powerful impulse roiled in his chest. He reached out to pull them close, only to discover that the two figures were slowly overlapping, merging into a silhouette he could not see clearly, yet could not look away from.

"Dong'er!"

Huo Yuhao jolted awake. Day had already broken. He sat upright, his forehead covered in fine cold sweat, while some part of his body still retained that difficult-to-suppress emotion from the dream. Within his spiritual sea, both Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress remained silent, clearly having sensed the dream's abnormality as well.

"It wasn't an ordinary dream," Huo Yuhao said quietly.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm sighed. "Little Yuhao, the Eye of Destiny has been stirring too frequently lately. These two lines, Dong'er's and Qiu'er's, may run far deeper than we imagined."

The Ice Empress said coldly, "If this keeps going, something will happen sooner or later."

Huo Yuhao fell silent.

But if he avoided them, would everything really be fine?

After morning lessons, Xuan Lao once again arranged for the three of them to enter the quiet chamber. Seeing Huo Yuhao's pale face, Dong'er immediately asked with concern, "Didn't sleep well last night?"

Huo Yuhao did not hide it. "I had a dream..."

"Was it related to us?" Dong'er asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Qiu'er also turned her gaze toward him. Yuhao did not answer, his face full of worry. Dong'er did not press him, merely saying softly, "Then don't force yourself today."

Qiu'er, however, said, "The stronger the reaction, the more we need to understand it."

Dong'er frowned. "Can't you let him rest?"

"Rest won't make destiny stop," Wang Qiu'er answered calmly.

Xuan Lao said in a deep voice, "Today, we will only conduct the most basic resonance. None of you are allowed to overexert yourselves."

The three stood before the sensing stones. Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eyes' Spirit Detection, Wang Dong'er released her Radiant Butterfly Goddess Martial Soul, and Wang Qiu'er released the golden aura of the Emperor Auspicious Beast. At first, the formation remained stable, and the sensing stones glowed with a gentle light. Huo Yuhao deliberately suppressed the Eye of Destiny, refusing to peer into those blurred future lines. Yet the moment Wang Dong'er's and Wang Qiu'er's auras met, a sudden change erupted.

A platinum-white light burst from Huo Yuhao's brow, and the Eye of Destiny opened fully beyond his control. Every soul-tool rune in the quiet chamber shuddered at once, while the three sensing stones exploded into fragments. Huo Yuhao felt as though enormous waves had overturned his spiritual sea, and his vision was instantly swallowed by golden mist.

"Yuhao!"

Dong'er and Qiu'er lunged forward at the same time, supporting him from either side. The instant they touched him, the heartbeats of all three seemed to be forcibly pulled into the same rhythm. Once, twice, three times... Huo Yuhao heard not only his own heartbeat, but also Dong'er's panic, Qiu'er's worry, and—far away—the sigh of that blurred girl from the future. The scene unfolded again, clearer this time: Dong'er smiled within the light. "Yuhao, don't forget me." Qiu'er stared stubbornly from within the golden mist. "And don't only remember her." The two figures slowly drew close, overlapping—

Her again! That girl from the dream again.

Huo Yuhao's heart tightened abruptly. "No!"

He violently broke free from the vision. The Eye of Destiny erupted with light. Xuan Lao's expression changed drastically as he immediately moved to suppress the formation. "Steady yourselves!"

Huo Yuhao trembled all over, gasping for breath. Wang Dong'er clutched his arm tightly, her voice trembling with the edge of tears. "Yuhao, what did you see?" Qiu'er's hand rested on his shoulder, and for the first time, hesitation appeared on her face. Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, looking first at Dong'er, then at Qiu'er—the terror of nearly losing them had yet to fade.

"What exactly did you see?" Dong'er asked softly.

Huo Yuhao remained silent. He could not speak of the image of them merging, much less the tangled sensations from the dream. Yet Wang Qiu'er seemed to read something from his eyes. "Was it related to the two of us again?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Will it make me leave?" Qiu'er asked.

Dong'er's expression changed slightly. "What do you mean, leave?"

"I saw it too, vaguely," Wang Qiu'er murmured. "She and I... won't always be standing by your side like this."

Xuan Lao said in a deep voice, "We'll stop here for today. The destiny lines of you three have become completely entangled. If you force yourselves to peer further, you will only drag the future toward you ahead of time."

Dong'er tightened her grip on Huo Yuhao's hand. "Then what do we do?"

"Become stronger." Xuan Lao sighed and looked at Huo Yuhao. "Become strong enough that even if destiny tries to drag you away, you can beat it back."

He raised one finger. "First, spiritual endurance. Your spiritual power is strong enough, but the things touched by the Eye of Destiny are too heavy. Right now, you're like someone trying to pull a mountain with a thin thread. No matter how sharp the thread is, it will still break."

A second finger rose. "Second, destiny resistance. Being able to see fragments of the future is both a gift and a danger. From now on, during every training session, you may only look for an instant, then immediately use Ultimate Ice to seal your spiritual sea. Train until the visions can no longer drag you in."

A third finger rose. "Third, tactical conversion. Don't treat the Eye of Destiny as merely an eye that sees. You were able to shift Qiu'er's attack by half an inch on the training ground, which means it can also interfere with judgment for an extremely brief instant. Master it, and it will become one of your killing moves."

"But all this training will require the two of them to coordinate with you using their respective martial souls and auras."

Huo Yuhao looked at Dong'er and Qiu'er, his gaze gradually firming. The relationship among the three of them could no longer be merely a jealous "Shura field." They had to begin cultivating side by side in the truest sense. He feared that future, but fear was useless. If destiny wanted to take Dong'er and Qiu'er away, then he would grow stronger—strong enough that even destiny could not choose for him.

"Yuhao," Dong'er said softly, "no matter what you saw, I won't let you bear it alone."

Qiu'er spoke as well. "I don't like this feeling of being unable to control my own destiny."

Huo Yuhao took Dong'er's hand, then looked at Qiu'er. His voice was low, but filled with unshakable resolve.

"I won't let destiny take you away."

Outside the quiet chamber, sunlight spilled across the threshold. The shadows of the three overlapped. Huo Yuhao did not know who the girl in his dream was, but he knew that from this moment onward, he had to protect not only the present, but also the future that was drawing ever closer.