Xiao Xiao: Could Wang Dong Like Me?

"Old Kong is absolutely right!" Jing Hongchen immediately flattered him.

Kong Deming said gravely, "Remember this: under no circumstances should we force his growth. Never give Huo Yuhao any pills that damage his potential, or I'll hold you accountable! My disciple Xuan Ziwen used too many pills, which is why he is still only a Soul Douluo to this day.

"If Ziwen were a Titled Douluo, then with his talent in the field of Soul Tools, he would already be a Rank 9 Soul Engineer."

"Old Kong, don't worry. I'll definitely keep a close watch over Yuhao in this regard!" Jing Hongchen immediately assured Kong Deming.

"Mm." Kong Deming's expression eased somewhat. Then he said, "Remember, if Yuhao needs any resources in the future, satisfy his needs as much as possible. As for his usual expenses, let Mingde Hall reimburse them. If he needs to hunt soul beasts, you are to assist him personally! From today onward, he is the most important student of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!"

Although the Sun Moon Empire lacked powerful soul masters and had fewer soul beast resources than the Douluo Three Kingdoms, it could sell powerful Soul Tools. Therefore, in terms of financial power, the Sun Moon Empire absolutely crushed the Douluo Three Kingdoms.

"Old Kong, there is one more matter. Under my arrangements, Yuhao has already become a reserve member of our academy's team for the Pan-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament. Since he now possesses Ultimate Ice, can he withdraw from this tournament? In my opinion, he only needs to focus on cultivation," Jing Hongchen asked.

This year's Pan-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament would be held in Star Luo City rather than Mingdu. If Huo Yuhao revealed his talent, the Star Luo Empire might very well attempt to assassinate him.

Kong Deming pondered for a moment before saying, "Let him compete. Participating in the Soul Duel Tournament is also a rare experience and will help cultivate his sense of teamwork. His First Soul Skill, Mental Detection Sharing, is actually highly suited for coordinating with Soul Engineers and Soul Engineer Legions. Yuhao is a natural team leader!"

"However, to prevent outsiders from coveting him, there is no need for Huo Yuhao to reveal his Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. Of course, we know too little about ultimate martial souls, so we do not know whether Shrek Academy has methods of detecting it.

"So you and Ye Yulin must accompany him when the time comes. If necessary, contact a few more Rank 9 Soul Engineers as well, in case Shrek Academy steps in to snatch him away! Huo Yuhao may become the first Limit Douluo nurtured on the empire's own soil. He is simply too important to the empire."

"But Old Kong, Shrek Academy is the sacred land of soul masters. They shouldn't stoop to snatching people away, should they?" Jing Hongchen hesitated. Like Xu Tianran, he had grown up listening to Shrek Academy's legendary stories, so he viewed Shrek Academy through something of an idolizing lens.

Kong Deming's face darkened when he heard that. Having lived so long, he had naturally encountered people from Shrek Academy before, but some of them had left him with very poor impressions.

He immediately rebuked him, "What do you know? Just do as you're told! You are the Hall Master of Mingde Hall—how can you speak up for outsiders? Are you a Sun Moon person or a Shrek person? If you like Shrek so much, then stop being the Hall Master of Mingde Hall. Go become the Dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department instead!"

"Old Kong, I was wrong. Please don't be angry! I'll do exactly as you say!" After being scolded, Jing Hongchen immediately apologized and did not dare argue.

Old Kong was the foremost among the Sun Moon Empire's Rank 9 Soul Engineers. Even Jing Hongchen himself, before becoming a Rank 9 Soul Engineer, had received Old Kong's guidance due to his considerable talent. Naturally, he held the old man before him in the highest respect.

Shrek Academy.

With the new semester beginning, the students had returned to the academy and resumed classes.

It was currently break time, and quite a few students were taking the opportunity to head for the restrooms. Wang Dong was among them. Since she had failed to find what that consciousness wanted, she had returned to Shrek Academy with Big Daddy's help.

At that moment, she stood outside the restroom, looking troubled.

As everyone knew, Douluo People were not ultimate lifeforms. They still needed to use the restroom.

Even Huo Gua, the wheelchair-bound version from the original story who had attained a certain level of strength, needed help from others to use the restroom. Wang Dong was only a Soul Elder now, so she still had to eat, drink, and answer nature's call.

And Wang Dong currently faced an extremely awkward problem. She really needed to use the restroom, but she was disguised as a boy!

Although Shrek Academy was wealthy, it could not possibly build a private restroom for every student.

That meant Wang Dong had to choose between the men's and women's restrooms in the teaching building. To her, choosing one was an enormous problem.

If she chose the women's restroom, it would match her gender, but not her current identity. The moment she stepped inside, the girls might mistake her for a pervert, beat her up, and drag her off to Du Weilun.

Then her reputation would be utterly ruined. In Wang Dong's view, her male disguise was extremely convincing, and no one should be able to see through it. That meant she would face severe punishment from the academy unless she dropped the disguise. Yet according to Big Daddy and Second Daddy, it was not the right time to stop dressing as a boy.

If she chose the men's restroom, the problem would be just as serious. She was still an unmarried young woman—how could she possibly look at that sort of thing?

"Why did Big Daddy and Second Daddy make me dress as a boy in the first place? It's such a hassle. If I hadn't started out in men's clothes, wouldn't things be so much better? I'm obviously a girl, yet I have to pretend to be a boy!" Wang Dong felt helpless and could not understand the purpose behind Big Daddy and Second Daddy's arrangements.

She planned to wait until everyone had left before slipping into the restroom. That was how she usually handled it, which was why no one had ever encountered Wang Dong in the restroom. As for flying back to the dormitory to use the restroom, she did not think that would work—she might not be able to hold it all the way there.

Honestly, if one examined it closely, this really was a massive plot hole.

At the beginning of Peerless Tang Sect, Huo Gua from the original story became Wang Dong's good brother. Since they were good brothers, they should logically have had experiences of going to the restroom together during breaks.

Wang Dong could not possibly activate her martial soul during every break just to avoid exposing her identity as a girl, secretly fly back to the dormitory to use the restroom, then fly back to the teaching building for class, could she?

Just then, the petite Xiao Xiao walked out of the women's restroom. She was about to return to the classroom when she suddenly froze after spotting the handsome Wang Dong.

"Wang Dong, why are you here? What a coincidence!" Xiao Xiao said in surprise.

Since much of the knowledge soul masters needed could only be taught in the classroom, Zhou Yi did not merely make the students run laps the moment class began.

"It certainly is." Wang Dong's heart skipped a beat. Why did I have to run into someone I know—Xiao Xiao, of all people?

In a situation like this, the people she feared running into most were acquaintances. After all, if an acquaintance saw her acting strangely, they would definitely come over and ask what was going on.

But she could not tell them the truth, which would only lead to a whole series of troubles.

"You've been standing outside the restroom this whole time. Don't tell me you're waiting for someone?"

Xiao Xiao looked at Wang Dong in confusion. She had a good relationship with Wang Dong. Not long ago, she, Wang Dong, and another person had formed a team and taken part in the freshmen assessment together.

However, Wang Dong's team had ultimately been defeated by Dai Huabin's team. Zhou Yi had flown into a rage over it for a simple reason: Dai Huabin and the others were Mu Jin's students, and Mu Jin had a terrible relationship with Zhou Yi.

As Zhou Yi's students, Wang Dong and the others had lost to Mu Jin's students. That had undoubtedly made Zhou Yi lose face.

"That's right. I'm waiting for someone." Wang Dong could only force herself to lie; otherwise, she had no reasonable explanation for her behavior.

"Who are you waiting for?" Xiao Xiao asked curiously.

"I'm waiting for..." Wang Dong began racking her brains. She hesitated. She could not just casually name someone—what if Xiao Xiao checked with them? Wouldn't that make things even harder to explain?

Moreover, since she had been unable to use the restroom for so long, Wang Dong was growing increasingly uncomfortable from holding it in. Her face was becoming more and more flushed.

In Xiao Xiao's impression, Wang Dong was proud and righteous. Even when facing the tall and imposing Dai Huabin, Wang Dong had never backed down.

So under normal circumstances, given Wang Dong's personality, she would never show such a flushed, bashful appearance.

Could Wang Dong like me? Is that why he deliberately waited for me outside? He was just embarrassed to say it after I caught him?

At that thought, Xiao Xiao's breathing grew hurried, and her face instantly turned red.

There was no doubt that she liked Wang Dong. On one hand, Wang Dong was exceptionally handsome. On the other, while Wang Dong had some minor flaws in her personality, she was overall still a very good person.