First in the Bracket

That night, Wang Xiao treated the other three to a lavish meal on the second floor of the cafeteria to celebrate their first victory.

Huo Yuhao had never been to the cafeteria's second floor before. Only tonight did he see the restaurant's upscale layout. The meal definitely wasn't cheap.

He immediately called Brother Wang rich and generous.

"Um... Brother Wang, isn't this a restaurant for couples?" Xiao Xiao carefully looked at Wang Xiao, wearing an obedient, well-behaved expression.

Wang Xiao smiled. "Couples come in pairs, while there are four of us. Besides, they have private rooms here, so there's nothing to worry about."

He patiently explained. This little loli really was impossible to dislike.

"Oh, all right." Xiao Xiao tilted her little head to one side, looking adorably confused.

"You're the smart one, aren't you!"

Wang Dong'er snorted and abandoned the other three, entering the private room first.

Huo Yuhao looked utterly baffled. Who had offended this fierce woman again?

At the same time, he deliberately stood between the two of them. When he looked at Wang Xiao again, a trace of wariness appeared in his eyes.

"Wang Dong has gone in. We should hurry inside too." Xiao Xiao spoke in a soft, adorable voice, then trotted toward the private room.

That night, the four of them ate happily, enjoying top-tier service and ingredients.

Huo Yuhao in particular had suffered for more than a decade. He had finally tasted delicacies from the mountains and sea, and he was so moved that he trusted Wang Xiao even more.

The only flaw was that one grilled fish dish had not tasted very good. The cook's skill was inferior to his.

"Brother Wang, thank you for treating us to such a feast."

Xiao Xiao gave a slight bow, gratitude filling her childish face.

Wang Xiao quickly helped her up. It was only a meal; there was no need for this.

This angered Wang Dong'er beside them so much that she clenched her fists tightly, her beautiful eyes nearly spitting fire.

Damn green tea! she cursed through gritted teeth.

Xiao Xiao looked at Wang Xiao with clear, curious eyes. "Um... Brother Wang, why aren't you celebrating with your teammates?"

Wang Xiao took her words to heart. He really had been a little unfair to Ning Tian and Wufeng.

"What are you chatting for? There's still an assessment tomorrow, so hurry back and rest!" Wang Dong'er crossed her arms and snorted. She passed between them and strode straight out of the cafeteria.

Confusion hung on Xiao Xiao's childish face. "Class monitor, what's wrong with Wang Dong?"

"Ignore him. He's a grown man who always likes acting cool." Huo Yuhao grumbled unhappily.

Wang Xiao shrugged. He could only say goodbye to Xiao Xiao and go back to coax the tsundere Dong'er.

When he returned to the dormitory, Wang Dong'er was already sleeping soundly. He just did not know whether she was pretending to sleep.

Wang Xiao said several kind words, but she turned a deaf ear. She rolled over without replying, clearly sulking.

"Xiao Xiao and I only met today. What kind of relationship could we possibly have?"

"Why are you explaining yourself to me? Be close to whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me."

Wang Dong'er's muffled voice came from beneath the blanket.

Faced with such a hopeless tsundere, Wang Xiao had no solution. He wanted their relationship to go further, but he had no opportunity.

She clearly cared deeply, yet she refused to return to living as a girl. What could he do?

If Wang Xiao exposed her first, living separately would be the least of his concerns. The real issue was that she might dig up all their previous close physical contact and fight him to the death.

If Wang Dong'er exposed herself, then the nature of it would naturally be different.

"Damn tsundere."

Wang Xiao muttered, then prepared to sleep as well, lying down on the other side of the bed.

Their two beds had long since been firmly joined together. Forcibly separating them might cause serious damage, so for the past three months, they had slept together in the same bed.

Wang Xiao dared not expose her identity either. What if she killed him in the middle of the night?

"Don't cross this line in the middle, or I'll make you regret it!" Wang Dong'er pointed at the seam between the beds and warned him.

Wang Xiao copied her, pointing toward the door. "You can go back to your own dorm too. You each have your own bed there, so you'll never have to worry about me crossing the line again."

"You stinking Wang Xiao, what do you mean? Are you driving me away?"

Wang Dong'er kicked the stinking man beside her and said unhappily, "Huo Yuhao is so sloppy and smells all over. I don't want to share a dormitory with him."

After saying that, she fell deeply asleep. A day of assessments had truly exhausted her.

The night passed without incident. When they awoke, it was already the next day.

The round-robin matches would last three days, and they still had assessments today.

Wang Xiao arrived at Zone Twenty-Six, where Ning Tian and Wufeng had already been waiting for him for a long time.

"If we keep our winning streak going today, we'll finish as the top team in the zone."

The two beauties stopped Wang Xiao from taking action, saying that he lacked restraint and might cause another incident like yesterday's.

"You should save those strange abilities of yours for the elimination rounds." Wufeng looked at him disdainfully.

What could Wang Xiao say? He was going to be protected behind two women again.

At the female referee's command, the assessment began.

Wufeng charged ahead, activating her Red Dragon Martial Soul and rushing into the enemy's encirclement, taking on three opponents by herself.

With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's buffs, her strength and speed increased by forty percent. She was incomparably fierce. Even Second-Ring Soul Grandmasters were no match for her and fled in panic after being beaten.

This made many students fear her, declaring that she was a fiery female dragon.

Wang Xiao was speechless. He had become a decorative vase again.

In other people's eyes, advancing while lying down and even taking first place was the kind of teammate countless people dreamed of having.

But Wang Xiao did not care for it. Ever since he activated the purest Uchiha Bloodline three months ago, he had gradually become more battle-hungry.

Right now, all he wanted was a satisfying one-against-three fight.

It was not until the afternoon, when Wufeng and Ning Tian had exhausted their Soul Power, that they asked Wang Xiao to act. Otherwise, their winning streak might end.

You ignored me this morning, but this afternoon, I'm beyond your reach.

If he had not been worried about damaging their bond, he would have loved to say that.

As time passed, two days went by quickly, and the Freshman Assessment round-robin matches finally ended.

With the final assessment over, the list of first-place teams from every zone was released.

Wang Xiao's group successfully advanced, and they had claimed first place in Zone Twenty-Six on the second day.

In Zone Thirty-Three, first place was unsurprisingly claimed by Huo Yuhao's group.

With two possessors of Twin Martial Souls, if they could not take first place, they might as well retire early.

Tang Ya was thrilled to learn that Wang Xiao and Huo Yuhao had successfully advanced. With a grand wave of her hand, the little rich woman arranged a celebration feast for all six of them.

Ning Tian and Wufeng did not know the others and were somewhat reluctant to join in. But since it was their team's first celebration, they agreed.

This time, Tang Ya did not choose a fancy hotel. Instead, she bought over a hundred pounds of premium ingredients and took everyone camping in the wilderness for a barbecue picnic.

In her words, feeling the breeze, eating Little Yuhao's grilled fish, and chatting together was the true mood of it all.

With the food covered, Wang Xiao handled the drinks. He bought more than a dozen kinds of fruit and made various fruit slushes and iced beverages.

"You're wasting a treasure! You actually use your second Martial Soul to make ice cubes!" Wufeng was first stunned, then looked at him as though she hated iron for not becoming steel, calling Wang Xiao a madman.

Ning Tian stared at the fruit slush in front of her, completely stunned. Was that how an ice ability was supposed to be used?

She came from a great sect and had been impeccably cultivated since childhood, yet she could not help cursing aloud. "Madman!"

"Xiaoya, why isn't Brother Bei coming again this time?"

At that moment, Huo Yuhao came over carrying grilled fish and placed one on each person's plate, while Xiao Xiao received two grilled fish.

"Th-this..." Tang Ya's eyes shifted evasively, and she felt a little guilty. She could not exactly admit that she was afraid Wang Xiao and Bei Bei appearing together would expose her relationship with little Wang Xiao.

Her mind raced, and suddenly inspiration struck. "Oh, I remember now. Bei Bei said he wanted to cultivate diligently recently, so I didn't invite him."

"Brother Bei is so talented and still works this hard. He's my role model!" Huo Yuhao said with a face full of admiration.

Ning Tian lowered her head, her gaze falling on the golden-brown grilled fish. Her lips twitched slightly.

She had been pampered since childhood, and her diet had always been strictly monitored. She had never eaten this kind of street food.

"Eat it. Huo Yuhao's grilled fish tastes pretty good," Wang Xiao said.

Ning Tian opened her mouth and nervously took a bite of fish, chewing it continuously.

Then her eyes instantly lit up. A charred fragrance exploded in her mouth. She had never eaten anything so delicious, not even the finest delicacies from mountain and sea could compare.

"If... if only I could eat grilled fish like this every day."

Wang Xiao's expression turned strange. He noticed that the way Ning Tian looked at Huo Yuhao had changed, now carrying a hint of possessiveness.

He quickly realized that Huo Yuhao's grilled fish seemed to possess some kind of girl-charming trait. Every girl who ate it could not help developing a favorable impression of him.

He had thought it had stopped working, but apparently Tang Ya, Wang Dong'er, and Jiang Nannan simply had exceptionally high resistance.

"If Ning Tian falls for Huo Yuhao..." Wang Xiao shuddered at once. Just thinking about it was disturbing.

If Ning Tian turned into a shemale in the future and still ended up with Huo Yuhao, the sight would be far too painful to witness.

Lovers becoming brothers—it was simply unbearable to look at!