Dai Huabin's expression instantly turned ugly. He stared at Dai Youheng, his voice full of anger and disbelief. "Dai Youheng! What kind of bewitching potion has Huo Yuhao fed you? It's bad enough that you lick Xu Jiujiu's boots at home, but now you're licking Huo Yuhao's boots here too? Do you get uncomfortable all over if you go a single day without fawning over someone? We're the ones who belong to the Dai Family!"
He simply could not understand why this son of a concubine always bent his elbow outward, siding with outsiders. Ever since last year, Dai Youheng had shown Huo Yuhao exceptional care and defended him at every turn.
Faced with his interrogation, Dai Youheng merely smiled faintly and repeated, "Why ask so many questions? Just tell me whether you're betting or not."
"I'll bet! Why wouldn't I?" Thoroughly enraged by his attitude, Dai Huabin spoke through gritted teeth. "Just you wait! It's only a Soul Bone. I, Dai Huabin, can afford that!"
With that, he snorted coldly and stormed out of the cafeteria, taking a worried-looking Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie, whose gaze held complicated emotions, with him.
The storm subsided for the moment.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao immediately gathered around.
"Brother, thank you so much for that!" Huo Yuhao thanked him sincerely, gratitude written across his face. Although he could sense that his brother might have ulterior motives for treating him well, Dai Youheng had indeed been one of the few people in the Duke's Mansion to offer him warmth throughout his childhood.
In his heart, this older brother, Dai Youheng, and his younger brother, Dai Luoli, were the only members of the Dai Family he felt any kinship with. Besides, with Dai Youheng stirring things up, this wager had become an incredibly good deal for him.
He had already secured two words-no loss!
If he lost, it would not be his Soul Bone anyway. If he won, although he would not get the Soul Bone, he could at least swindle Dai Huabin out of one. Dai Huabin's misery was his happiness.
Whichever way it went, he stood to gain without losing a thing.
Dai Youheng smiled faintly, trying hard to imitate that bootlicker's habits, and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "Then give it your best. Don't disappoint me."
His tone carried a hint of encouragement, but deep in his eyes lay nothing but calm calculation.
"Don't worry, Brother! I'll definitely win you a new Soul Bone!" Huo Yuhao promised confidently.
"Hmph!" Beside him, Wang Dong gave a disgruntled snort and began complaining. "Yuhao, don't celebrate too soon. This brother of yours has changed! He hasn't brought Xiao Xiao and me breakfast these past few days, and he even said he won't bring us any from now on! Cheapskate!" She was clearly still nursing a grudge over breakfast.
"It's all right, Wang Dong. It's only breakfast. Now that we're in our second year, our coursework is busier, so it's perfectly normal for my brother not to have time. If you want breakfast, I'll take care of it from now on," Huo Yuhao said.
At this point, he had yet to be molded by Tang San, and his character was not bad. At most, he had a little habit of cheating on exams; there was nothing else wrong with his personality. He would not read too much into something as trivial as breakfast, either.
Then Xiao Xiao stepped forward and bowed solemnly to Dai Youheng. "Youheng, thank you so much for helping us out of that situation."
Whenever she thought about how the stake might have become her leg bone if Dai Youheng had not produced a Soul Bone, a wave of lingering fear washed over her.
"Mm." Dai Youheng merely nodded faintly in acknowledgment. Whether these three felt grateful or complained, he had no interest whatsoever.
His fundamental reason for intervening had simply been to catch a white wolf with empty hands-to gain a Soul Bone for nothing.
If Dai Huabin had been the one certain to win this contest, he would have chosen Dai Huabin's side without hesitation.
In a sense, the current Dai Youheng was still a "bootlicker." Only now, he was no longer licking anyone's boots. Instead, he fawned over naked self-interest. Every rule governing his behavior began with maximizing his own gains.
The Ice Arrow Pig Soul Bone in his possession was of roughly thirty-thousand-year quality, which was quite decent. However, its attributes were entirely incompatible with him, and he had no desire to absorb it.
But Soul Bones had always been hard currency. If he could not use one himself, he could trade it for a suitable one, or simply sell it for an enormous sum and use that money to buy the resources he needed. For example, a top-grade Soul Bone better suited to him, or rare metals, might appear at a future auction!
In any case, nobody would ever complain about having too many Soul Bones.
From the shadows, Zhou Yi smiled faintly and quietly left.
In the original story, she had actually stepped out to stop this wager, because back then, Xiao Xiao's leg had been at stake.
This time, however, she merely watched the show.
Her thinking was exactly the same as Huo Yuhao's. Regardless of who won or lost this wager, Huo Yuhao's side would lose nothing.
As for Dai Youheng, although he was also a student in her class, she did not care much about him. In her eyes, someone whose Martial Soul was incompatible with his own body was destined to have little of a future.
The assessment day arrived as scheduled, and a solemn atmosphere hung over Shrek Academy's Beast Arena District. The students lined up by class, the air brimming with tension and anticipation.
Before entering the examination grounds, the bitter rivals Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin once again met on a narrow road. Having learned a surefire method of winning from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Huo Yuhao actually took the initiative to propose raising the stakes.
On top of the Soul Bone Dai Youheng had put up, they would add three resounding kowtows! Whoever lost would have to kneel before the other and knock his forehead against the ground three times in front of everyone!
Proud and arrogant as Dai Huabin was, how could he endure such a challenge? Without a second thought, he agreed with a cold sneer, as though he could already see Huo Yuhao kneeling before him.
Dai Youheng could not have cared less about such things. Which of the two kowtowed to the other had nothing to do with him, so long as his Soul Bone arrived when the time came.
Upon reaching the assessment grounds, Dai Youheng swept his gaze over the viewing platform, and a barely perceptible flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Seated in the principal seats was not Du Weilun, the director of studies mentioned in the original story, but two far more important figures.
One wore a white robe and had a refined, scholarly face. He was none other than Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, a rank ninety-five Super Douluo. His Martial Soul was the bright phoenix.
The other was tall and powerfully built, with a ruddy complexion and eyes full of shrewd calculation. He was Qian Duoduo, dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department, a rank ninety-four Titled Douluo. His Martial Soul was the Black Dragon Shield.
Both of Shrek Academy's deans are personally presiding? It looks like this world leans more toward the animated adaptation. Dai Youheng understood, but did not dwell on it. To him, whether it followed the original novel or the animation, the broad plot and character relationships were similar. There were merely a few fewer characters, and some differences in the details hardly mattered.
The person handling the actual assessment was a burly, dark-skinned old man who radiated a fierce air. His voice rang like a great bell as he announced the assessment rules. He was the man in charge of Shrek Academy's Beast Arena, the rank ninety-two Titled Douluo, Beast King Gong Changlong.
Chapter content is missing or the chapter does not exist.
This chapter may be undergoing repairs or may not have been added yet. Please select another chapter from the table of contents.
Before you continue