A sudden knock interrupted their thoughts. Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao both looked toward the door. Xiao Xiao got up to open it, and when the door swung open, both of them froze.
A girl with delicate, lovely features stood outside, her long hair draped over her shoulders and her bearing gentle and graceful. It was Jiang Nannan.
Huo Yuhao sounded a little surprised. "Senior Jiang Nannan?"
Jiang Nannan wore a strange expression. She looked at Huo Yuhao, then at Xiao Xiao, before speaking. "Someone asked me to come get you. He said he'd wait for you downstairs."
Huo Yuhao paused. "Who?"
The corner of Jiang Nannan's mouth twitched slightly. "Wang Dong."
Huo Yuhao practically blurted out, "I'll be right down!"
He nearly failed to get his shoes on properly. Hastily slipping them on, he rushed outside. Xiao Xiao called "Yuhao!" after him, but he didn't even hear her.
He jogged all the way downstairs and, sure enough, found Wang Dong standing beneath a streetlamp outside the dormitory. Warm yellow light spilled over him, making his long pink-and-blue hair shimmer with flowing color.
Wang Dong was idly kicking a pebble by his feet. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, and his eyes lit up when he saw Huo Yuhao.
Their eyes met. Neither said a word, but they fell into step beside each other and headed deeper into campus with unspoken understanding. Only after they had walked some distance did Huo Yuhao ask, "What did you want with me this late?"
Wang Dong stopped, turned toward him, and blurted out, "You smell so nice... bro... no, Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao's face instantly flushed. Only then did he realize that he had just bathed and still carried the fresh scent of soap pods. He lowered his head and muttered, "Y-you called me out just to say that?"
Wang Dong also realized that his words had been rather abrupt. He gave a dry cough to cover his embarrassment. "No, I mean... there's a fragrance on you. It smells pretty nice."
Huo Yuhao blushed even harder, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Wang Dong hurriedly changed the subject. "Come on. I'll take you somewhere. There's something I need you for."
As he spoke, he suddenly took Huo Yuhao's hand and headed deeper into campus. With his hand held in Wang Dong's, Huo Yuhao's heartbeat abruptly quickened, and his mind went completely blank.
Wang Dong pulled him along a narrow path and into Little Woods. Moonlight spilled through gaps in the leaves, casting hazy shadows. The atmosphere was so intimate that it set his heart fluttering.
Huo Yuhao's mind was a complete blank. Th-this was moving way too fast, wasn't it? They'd only known each other for two days! He was flustered and confused, wanting to say something but unable to get a single word out.
Wang Dong, however, saw nothing wrong. He released Huo Yuhao's hand, sat cross-legged on a patch of grass, and patted the spot beside him. "Come on, sit down."
Huo Yuhao stood rooted to the spot, at a loss for what to do. "W-what exactly are you trying to do?"
Wang Dong looked utterly innocent. "Cultivate, obviously. Have you forgotten our Martial Soul Fusion? Haodong Power doubles our cultivation speed. Didn't we say earlier today that we'd study it properly?"
Only then did Huo Yuhao understand. Wang Dong had brought him here to cultivate.
He breathed a sigh of relief, only to feel even more embarrassed. He had misunderstood everything. Blushing, he sat down beside Wang Dong. They pressed their palms together and began circulating their soul power.
After a while, however, Huo Yuhao blushed again. Wang Dong had suddenly shifted his position, turning sideways instead of facing him. He rested one hand on Huo Yuhao's shoulder and held his hand with the other, almost gathering him into a half embrace.
Huo Yuhao could feel Wang Dong's warmth through their clothes, and his heart pounded fiercely.
"I-is this really cultivation?" Huo Yuhao's voice carried a faint tremor.
Wang Dong didn't seem embarrassed at all. He checked the speed at which their soul power circulated and said quite seriously, "I'm testing whether we can cultivate a little faster like this... doesn't seem to make much difference."
As he spoke, he let go and returned to sitting cross-legged, facing Huo Yuhao. "Then let's stick to touching both hands."
Blushing, Huo Yuhao lowered his head, not daring to look at him. They resumed cultivating, their soul power merging as Haodong Power circulated through their bodies. That warm, soothing sensation gradually calmed Huo Yuhao down.
What they didn't know was that, in an inconspicuous pavilion deep within campus, a white-haired old man was quietly watching Little Woods through a window.
Mu En! Shrek Academy's sea-steadying anchor, a powerhouse who stood at the pinnacle of the soul master world.
Ever since he had noticed the aura of a supreme dragon bloodline emanating from Wang Dong, he had been secretly keeping an eye on the boy.
Now, as he watched the two children in Little Woods, his brows drew together slightly. This boy was far too outrageous. How old was he, to already be coaxing a young girl into a secluded grove?
Fortunately, Wang Dong did nothing improper and simply cultivated obediently. Only then did Mu En's expression soften somewhat.
Immediately afterward, however, he sensed the peculiar fluctuations of soul power coming from the pair, and a sharp gleam suddenly flashed through his cloudy old eyes.
Martial Soul Fusion? And with an extremely high degree of compatibility?
Mu En narrowed his eyes as he watched Little Woods, and a meaningful smile slowly curved his lips. These two children were rather interesting.
He had originally been hesitating over whether to give them special attention ahead of time. Now, it seemed they warranted a little more of his notice.
In Little Woods, the two cultivated until midnight. As the moon slanted westward, Wang Dong opened his eyes first. After sensing the fluctuations of soul power within him, his face lit up with delighted surprise. "My soul power... it's reached rank twenty-five!"
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes as well, looking just as astonished. He felt that these few hours of cultivation had equaled an entire day of arduous training before. Haodong Power's effects were truly terrifying!
But it really was getting too late. If they didn't return soon, the dormitories would close. They stood up and brushed the grass from their clothes, agreed to cultivate together every evening, and only then reluctantly parted.
Wang Dong watched until Huo Yuhao disappeared through the dormitory entrance before turning to head back. As he walked, a somewhat wistful thought crossed his mind.
If only we shared a room. Cultivating at night would be so much easier.
He returned to his room and pushed open the door to find Dai Huabin sitting cross-legged on his bed, meditating and cultivating. Wang Dong had been in quite a good mood, but the moment he saw Dai Huabin's face, anger surged through him.
It suddenly occurred to him that, if not for this fellow, Huo Yuhao might have ended up sharing his room.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His eyes shifted, and he strode straight over to Dai Huabin's bedside and yanked away his blanket. "Damn it, did you mess with my bed?"
Dai Huabin was completely baffled by this sudden move. He opened his eyes and stared at Wang Dong in bewilderment. "When did I ever mess with your bed?"
"You tried to screw me over earlier today too, didn't you?" Wang Dong gave him no chance to explain, grabbing him by the collar. "I think you're just begging for a beating!"
Dai Huabin's gaze flickered. "Are you fucking crazy? When did I ever screw you over?"
"You did if I say you did!"
After just a few heated exchanges, the two came to blows. Although Dai Huabin was also a heaven-favored prodigy, Wang Dong had beaten him up only yesterday, and his injuries had yet to fully heal. On top of that, Wang Dong had just broken through to rank twenty-five that day, further increasing his strength.
Within a few exchanges, Wang Dong had pinned Dai Huabin to the bed and given him another beating.
Fuck! Dai Huabin lay facedown beneath his blankets, his eyes reddening as tears of humiliation welled up. He was the Dai Family's heaven-favored prodigy. Since childhood, he had enjoyed fine clothes and exquisite food, adored like the moon surrounded by stars. When had he ever suffered such indignity?
Yet ever since meeting Wang Dong, he had first been sent flying by a hammer blow and now been pinned to his bed and beaten. He had practically become the dorm room's punching bag.
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. At last, he could no longer hold back his tears, and they rolled down his cheeks. Biting his blanket, he began to cry silently.
After beating him up, Wang Dong lay back on his own bed in high spirits, his hands tucked behind his head, feeling comfortable all over. He glanced at Dai Huabin, curled beneath his blankets with his shoulders trembling slightly, and a smile curved his lips.
Consider that beating revenge for Huo Yuhao. Who told you to bully him back then?
Before you continue