Dormitory Night Talk: Don't Mess with Xu Huxiao

Innate divine strength!

After watching Xu Huxiao's final exclusive soul duel, those four words rose in everyone's minds.

The exclusive soul duel was over, but the process was not. After announcing Xu Huxiao's victory, the presiding teacher handed him a form.

According to the assessment requirements, the winner had to evaluate the loser, and that evaluation was also one of the bases for the teacher's grading.

Xu Huxiao looked at the question on the form. "How do you assess your opponent's strength?"

Without a second thought, he picked up his pen and wrote two words:

"Very weak."

The presiding teacher frowned at the evaluation on the form. "Student Xu Huxiao, what is the basis for your assessment?"

Xu Huxiao put down his pen. "First, too much nonsense. Second, overconfidence. Third, poor mastery of Soul Skills. He gave his opponent no combat experience whatsoever."

With that, Xu Huxiao strode away from the field.

There was still time in the afternoon. He could go to the Martial Soul Mimicry Training Ground to practice Multiplication control. At present, he had only mastered Triple Amplification and Fivefold Amplification of his Multiplication Soul Skill, but after several days of practice, he felt he would soon master Double Amplification as well.

Mastering a Soul Skill did not merely allow for minute control over its power. More importantly, it reduced the activation time of his Soul Skill.

But it was still not enough. Xu Huxiao wanted to reach the point of instant activation in battle. Only then could he maximize its integration with the palm techniques of his Essence Intent Realm and double its power.

Xu Huxiao went off to train his Soul Skills, but the discussions about him on the field only grew more heated.

Part of it was due to the shock brought by his innate divine strength, but an even greater part was because of his cold personality and his two-word evaluation of Xue Long.

That was right. The victor's evaluation in a soul duel assessment would be publicly displayed throughout the academy.

Not every evaluation would be posted, however. The teachers would first review them, and only those confirmed not to be nonsense would be made public.

And Xu Huxiao's evaluation of Xue Long happened to be posted.

There were only two words:

"Very weak."

A level-twenty quasi-Soul Grandmaster faced a level-thirteen first-year student and lasted less than three seconds before the soul duel ended. If that was not very weak, then what was?

The teacher who posted the evaluation also wanted to use it to provoke Xue Long into training even harder.

But the result...

When Xue Long saw the words "very weak" on the notice board, along with his unprecedentedly low assessment score of only twenty points, his face immediately turned red. What made it worse was the many people around him whispering about his evaluation.

"I never thought Xue Long would be so big yet unable to beat even a first-year student. He's disgracing us upperclassmen."

"Looks like you boys just aren't good enough. You don't even have as much strength as a first-year little brother. Hehehe~"

"Exactly. He usually acts so arrogant, but at the crucial moment he couldn't even last three seconds. That 'very weak' evaluation really fits."

"Hey, what do you mean, us boys? Xue Long being weak has nothing to do with us. Don't drag us into it."

"How is that dragging you into it? He's a three-second man! Hahaha~"

Xue Long's face alternated between green and white. He wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

"Fuck, that brat actually humiliated me like this. Just wait, Xu Huxiao. I, Xue Long, will make you pay!"

After loudly throwing out that threat, Xue Long turned around, shoved through the crowd, and quickly left.

That night.

Second floor of the boys' dormitory, Xue Long's room.

"Brother Long, listen to your brother's advice. Endure for a moment and the winds will calm; take a step back and the sea will widen. Losing once is nothing. Find the problem and win next time."

"Hmph, I just can't swallow this. That bastard made me lose face in front of everyone in the academy. How can I just let it go?"

"Xue Long, Li Wei is right. Victory and defeat are common in battle. The key now is to improve your strength. Besides, you can't even beat him, so how are you going to cause him trouble?"

"How can I not beat him? I was only careless for a moment. Give me another chance, and I can beat that bastard so badly he won't recognize his own father!"

"Li Wei, Hou Xiaoming, are you even my brothers? Why are you both helping an outsider?"

"..."

"Speaking of fathers, A-Long, as the dorm leader, I, Wang Ming, advise you to put away those crooked thoughts. This Xu Huxiao has backing. He isn't someone you can provoke."

Xue Long was still unconvinced and muttered, "What kind of backing could he have? Spirit Hall Academy is directly managed by Bishop Huo Qi of the Spirit Hall City Temple. Could his father possibly be more powerful than a bishop?"

"Exactly, dorm leader. What background does Xu Huxiao have? Isn't your father, Wang Zhong, the captain of the Hall Guards? Why are you so afraid of him?"

Wang Ming smiled and did not keep them guessing. "Because Xu Huxiao is the son of a Spirit Hall Elder."

Hiss~

The others in the dormitory all sucked in a breath of cold air at that news.

A Spirit Hall Elder was a truly all-powerful figure!

"Dorm leader, which Elder is he?"

"Who else could it be? Xu Huxiao's surname is Xu. He's the son of Lord Demon Bear."

"I know Lord Demon Bear. He's that ruthless man who fought two opponents alone more than a month ago. My dad admires him so much."

Wang Ming glanced at the silent Xue Long. "So, A-Long, I advise you not to cause trouble."

Xue Long felt awful hearing that. Though he looked honest and rough on the surface, he was actually quite petty.

After suffering such a huge humiliation today, letting it go like this would hurt him more than killing him.

But his roommates had already said this much, so he could only give a noncommittal grunt before pulling the blanket over his head and going to sleep.

There was no way he would let it go. He would make everyone understand that Xue Long was not someone to be messed with.

And he definitely was not some three-second man!

So what if Xu Huxiao was an Elder's son? Someone would be able to deal with that brat.

Meanwhile, the first-year girls' dormitory was also discussing the soul duel assessments from the first day of school.

Girls' Dormitory 602.

"Big Sis, after watching the upperclassmen's soul duels today, I'm really looking forward to my first Soul Ring. I wonder what the first Soul Skill of my Red-Scaled Whip will be like?"

Orleans, who was called Big Sis, did not answer. Instead, she looked at Yun Ji, who had long pink-and-blue hair.

"Hey, Yun Ji, you already seem to have your own first Soul Ring, right?"

Yun Ji, who was writing her reflections on the soul duel, heard Big Sis call her name and replied, "Mm-hmm, I do. My Martial Soul is a Mermaid, and my first Soul Skill is Healing Bubble."

"A healing-type Soul Skill? Are you going to become a support-type Soul Master? Then what do you want for your second Soul Skill?"

"I don't know." Yun Ji's large eyes were full of confusion. Weren't everyone's Soul Skills fixed?

Oh, right!

Human Soul Masters could choose and combine their own Soul Skills. She was different.

"Nana, I remember you said your Martial Soul was some kind of Sky Fox. Foxes are somewhat similar to my Ghost Leopard. Do you want to become an agility attack-type Soul Master?"

Hu Liena, who was also bent over her reflections, raised her head, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "The Soul Master textbooks say that Control-Type Soul Masters are the strongest, so I want to become a Control-Type Soul Master."

"Tch, everything in textbooks is just theory. Agility attack-type Soul Masters are the strongest. Strike unexpectedly and kill in one blow!"

As she spoke, Orleans lay on her bed with her little hand shaped into a claw, excitedly mimicking an attack.

Hu Liena smiled and did not argue. She continued writing her reflections. Today's soul duel assessment had given her much to think about.

"...The person who left the deepest impression on me during today's soul duel assessment was Student Xu Huxiao. Although he is also a first-year student like us, he..."

"Ah~ Yun Ji, why are you peeking at what I wrote and reading it out so loudly~"

Yun Ji laughed as she dodged Hu Liena's tickling hands, looking utterly innocent. "I wasn't peeking. I was looking openly, hahaha~"

"Ah~ You're still saying that."

"I didn't expect you wrote about Brother Huxiao too. So did I."

"I didn't. I just... Ah, forget it, I'm not talking to you anymore. Huh? Where's my notebook?"

Hu Liena returned to her little desk and found that the notebook that had been there moments ago had disappeared.

"...But he is very strong, truly very strong. I think his courage inspired me. I hope that I'll have the chance to train with him in the future and learn from Student Xu Huxiao."

"Oh my, Nana, it seems you kind of like this Xu Huxiao~"

Li Chunmei, the other girl in the dormitory, sat on her bed holding Hu Liena's notebook, teasing her with a gossipy expression.

Hearing that, Hu Liena's little face instantly turned red. She snatched back her notebook.

"I don't. I just... Ah, I'm not talking to you all anymore~"

When Orleans heard Xu Huxiao's name, she looked unconvinced. What was so great about that brat from the Xu Family?

But she was too embarrassed to say anything, because he still held a bet over her.

Three months later.

Ever since passing the exclusive assessment on the first day of school, Xu Huxiao no longer needed to attend classes, according to the requirements set before the assessment.

Now, every day of his time was arranged entirely according to his own training plan.

After three months of training, his physical fitness and body had strengthened further. He had also completely mastered the onefold through fivefold amplification of his first Soul Skill, Multiplication: Gluttonous Grip.

His Soul Skill could now be activated instantly. Combined with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, its instantaneous explosive power was extremely impressive.

Over these three months, aside from his physical fitness and Soul Skills, his Soul Power had also risen by one level. The pace was decent.

It had to be known that his Soul Power reserves were far more abundant than those of ordinary Soul Masters at the same level, nearly more than twice as much. Such a rate of advancement was already very fast.

At this rate, he would reach level twenty and obtain his second Soul Ring in a little over a year.

At dusk, inside the academy's physical training hall.

Xu Huxiao, dressed in a white training uniform, was doing one-armed handstand push-ups. Beads of sweat dripped from his golden hair onto the floor.

Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.

Whew~

He had completed two sets of one hundred handstand push-ups with each arm. The muscles in his Twin Arms were now engorged with blood and had swollen by nearly a full circle, stretching his loose training uniform tight.

Today's extra physical training was over. Xu Huxiao touched the Dark Gold Twin Dragon Ring on his left ear, sent in some Soul Power, and took out a water pouch from the Storage Soul Tool, taking small sips to replenish his fluids.

Since he had fully mastered his Soul Skill, he had allocated more of his afternoons to physical training, while using the rest of his time to continue practicing the fusion of his palm techniques and Soul Skills.

After showering in the hall and changing into a clean, refreshing academy uniform, Xu Huxiao was already starving.

It was the perfect time to head to the cafeteria and replenish himself properly.

"Brother Huxiao~"

"Brother Huxiao~"

Before Xu Huxiao had even left the training hall, two sweet voices reached his ears.

They belonged to Bao Jingjing and Yun Ji. The two girls came to the hall every day on time to wait for him and eat together. Over time, they had become good friends.

Seeing that Xu Huxiao had finished training, Bao Jingjing handed over the small food box in her hands.

"Brother Huxiao, you must be tired. Here~"

"Thank you, Jingjing."

Xu Huxiao smiled and expertly opened the food box. An enticing, rich aroma wafted out. Inside were four Black Crystal Abalones that restored stamina.

After eating several abalones, the fatigue and weakness in his body were swept away.

Black Crystal Abalone could not only quickly replenish physical strength, but also had a certain invigorating effect on the mind. Eating it after high-intensity training allowed the body to recover better.

Of course, it could only temporarily satisfy his hunger.

Xu Huxiao's daily cafeteria meals of high-grade ingredients were still indispensable. Those were the main source of energy replenishment for his body.

Compared to Bao Jingjing's thoughtfulness, Yun Ji beside her clearly had not considered such things. She had come to find Xu Huxiao purely because she thought it was fun.

Although her Holy Knight was always cold toward her, Yun Ji felt an inexplicable sense of safety as long as she was by his side.

And through their time together these days, Yun Ji had discovered that Xu Huxiao did not seem to be cold all the time.

For example, when he was eating, especially when faced with delicious food.

So Yun Ji decided to learn how to make... Well, cooking was impossible. She would never cook in this life, because she was most afraid of fire.

Then she would become an... excellent meal companion.

"Mmm, Jingjing, Yun Ji wants some too."

"I know. Here, I'll make it for you right now. Twinkle, twinkle, little Jingjing, Black Crystal Abalone, appear."

Bao Jingjing summoned her Martial Soul, and her Soul Ring lit up. A Black Crystal Abalone appeared in her hand, which she directly fed to the little Mermaid.

However, the freshly made Black Crystal Abalone was slightly different from the abalone Bao Jingjing gave Xu Huxiao. The main difference was the flavor. She knew Xu Huxiao liked delicious food, so she had been seriously researching cuisine these past few days.

After creating Black Crystal Abalone with her Soul Skill, Bao Jingjing would further process it and upgrade its flavor, ensuring that Xu Huxiao could eat abalone with a different taste every time.

Savory and juicy, lightly fragrant and tender, rich and aromatic...

There was every kind of flavor.

Now that it had aroma and taste, Bao Jingjing planned to change the appearance of her abalone next and put more effort into its presentation, creating even more varieties.

And thanks to her research into food, Bao Jingjing discovered that her Soul Power cultivation speed had unknowingly increased considerably.

In just three short months, her Soul Power had risen by one level as well, reaching level twelve.

This made Bao Jingjing very happy, because she had not only made delicious food for Brother Huxiao, but had also taken another step toward her dream of becoming a powerful Soul Master.

It was simply killing two birds with one stone.

After finishing the abalone, the three left the physical training hall. Just as they were about to head for the cafeteria, seven upperclassmen approaching from the opposite direction blocked their way.

Among them was Xue Long, Xu Huxiao's opponent in the exclusive assessment on the first day of school.

But the leader was not him. It was a boy with an arrogant bearing, Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji's black hair stood straight up, streaked with several purple highlights. He looked like a delinquent.

When he saw Xu Huxiao, Xue Long whispered into Xiao Ji's ear:

"Young Master Xiao, that's the brat."

After speaking, Xue Long looked at Xu Huxiao with intense provocation and a desire for revenge in his eyes. He truly could not afford to provoke the son of a Title Elder.

But someone else could.