The academy's decision was soon announced: the advancement assessment would be postponed for three days due to unforeseen circumstances, then resume once the soul beasts in the Beast Arena had recovered.
During those three days, most students were not entirely focused on the upcoming assessment. After all, the assessment was only a matter of sooner or later. What truly set the academy's rumor mill ablaze were two major events.
The first, naturally, was the uproar caused by Huo Yuhao.
Rumor had it that Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Martial Soul Department, and Qian Duoduo, dean of the Soul Tool Department, had argued furiously in an office over who would get Huo Yuhao. The dispute had even reached the Sea God Pavilion, directly prompting a Sea God Pavilion Meeting!
A mere second-year student had actually stirred the Sea God Pavilion into action. Such a thing had been exceedingly rare throughout Shrek Academy's history!
Huo Yuhao's potential and importance were instantly elevated to an almost unimaginable level. Along with that came a subtle shift in how everyone viewed Dai Youheng.
Previously, many people had mocked Dai Youheng behind his back as Huo Yuhao's "simp," calling his behavior servile and utterly devoid of dignity. Now, however, public opinion had actually begun to reverse! Quite a few people marveled that Dai Youheng had "an eye for pearls" and "planned far ahead." He had recognized Huo Yuhao's extraordinary qualities long ago, so he had invested early and latched onto this future golden thigh!
Hearing those discussions, Dai Youheng did not know whether to laugh or cry. What was this supposed to be? One man planted the tree, and another enjoyed its shade?
All the rotten things that simp had done had somehow earned him a reputation for "foresight"? It was absurd beyond belief.
The second major event everyone relished discussing was the astonishing wager between Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin, whose stakes kept escalating. Some people had even privately opened a betting pool on their wager, taking bets on which of the two would ultimately win.
Huo Yuhao's recent performances had been astonishing enough to make two deans fight over him, while Dai Huabin was currently the highest-ranked Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder among the second-year students, at least publicly, and his strength could not be underestimated. As a result, the betting odds were surprisingly close, suggesting an evenly matched contest.
When Dai Youheng learned about the betting pool, his eyes immediately lit up. How could he pass up a chance to make money without any risk of losing? He immediately sought out the bookmaker and, without hesitation, wagered one million gold soul coins on Huo Yuhao's victory!
That enormous sum instantly caused a sensation. Once again, everyone marveled at Dai Youheng's support for Huo Yuhao, which had reached the point of practically staking everything on a single throw!
The label of "simp" seemed about to stick once more, but combined with the earlier claims about his eye for talent, the matter became difficult to untangle.
Dai Youheng did not care in the slightest what others said. Why would he not bet on a contest he knew was a guaranteed win?
If he could return to his original world and travel back to before the 2014 World Cup semifinals, he would absolutely stake his entire fortune on Seven to One in the Germany-Brazil Match, with Germany beating Brazil! Even though he did not like Germany, why would he turn down money handed to him for free?
When he finished cultivating that evening and returned to his dormitory door, however, he found Zhou Sichen standing alone outside, looking somewhat uneasy instead of going in.
"Sichen, why aren't you going inside?" Dai Youheng asked.
At the sight of him, Zhou Sichen looked as though he had found his savior. He hurriedly lowered his voice. "Youheng, you're finally back! A senior came by. His presence is overwhelming, and he looks like he's in a terrible mood. I couldn't take it, so I came out for some air."
Dai Youheng raised an eyebrow slightly and pushed the door open.
Inside the dormitory, a tall, handsome young man sat on his bed, his face clouded with gloom and his entire body radiating a stifling anger.
It was none other than his "eldest brother," Dai Yueheng, the White Tiger Duke's eldest legitimate son!
As soon as Dai Yueheng saw Dai Youheng enter, he stood up. His gaze was sharp as a knife, and his voice was icy. "Youheng, you're finally back. Don't you owe me an explanation for your wager with Huabin and everything you did this afternoon?"
He approached step by step, the pressure he exerted far exceeding what Zhou Sichen had felt. "I heard you placed another million gold soul coins on that Huo Yuhao. Who exactly is he? Is he worth you siding with him again and again, even at the expense of our Dai Family's interests and reputation?"
Dai Youheng understood at once. He had come to call me to account.
Clearly, word of Dai Huabin losing his soul bone and kowtowing to Huo Yuhao, as well as Dai Youheng placing another enormous bet on Huo Yuhao, had already reached Dai Yueheng.
In Dai Yueheng's eyes, Dai Huabin belonged to the legitimate line and was one of their own, while Dai Youheng kept turning his elbow outward, helping an outsider slap his own family in the face.
A Thousand-Year Soul Bone and some gold soul coins might not amount to much for the Dai Family. But once this incident spread, what would the other nobles think?
They would think the legitimate and illegitimate children of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion were at odds, brothers fighting within their own walls! It would disgrace the entire Duke's Mansion.
After all, the present-day Dai Family was no longer the clan of ten thousand years ago, which had held the Star Luo Empire's throne and enforced a brutal internal competition like raising venomous creatures in a jar until only one survived.
As the eldest legitimate son, Dai Yueheng placed greater importance on the family's stability and public image. He wanted Dai Youheng to consider the bigger picture, voluntarily return the soul bone to Dai Huabin, and apologize to him, suppressing the turmoil and preserving the Dai Family's outward harmony of "a loving elder brother and a respectful younger brother."
Faced with Dai Yueheng's accusations and implied commands, Dai Youheng merely smiled faintly, undisguised mockery in his expression. "An explanation? What explanation do you want? Discord between the legitimate and illegitimate children? Do we need other people to imagine it? When have the Dai Family's legitimate and illegitimate children ever truly gotten along?"
His gaze calmly met Dai Yueheng's somewhat stunned eyes. "You, Dai Yueheng, barely qualify as having some of an eldest brother's bearing. At least you put on a convincing show. But Dai Huabin? You aren't unaware of how he's always treated Luo Li and me, are you? Does that undisguised contempt and bullying somehow not disgrace the Duke's Mansion?"
"What?" Dai Youheng's voice turned cold. "Now that the filth once hidden in the shadows has been dragged into the open, you find it shameful? But Dai Yueheng, if simply telling the truth makes you lose face, how is that fundamentally different from never having had any face to begin with? It's nothing but self-deception."
"As for making me return the soul bone?" He scoffed. "You don't have that authority yet. Here's some advice: if you have the time to meddle in my affairs, you might as well prepare a few more soul bones for that dear little brother of yours, Dai Huabin. With that powder-keg temper of his, ready to explode at a spark, he can't withstand the slightest provocation. Once the blood rushes to his head, he'll wager anything. Even if you gave him a hundred soul bones today, would you believe he could lose every last one tomorrow on another wager?"
"You...!" Those utterly merciless, downright defiant words left Dai Yueheng livid, his chest heaving violently. He had never imagined that this younger half-brother, who had always been timid and submissive at home-who could even be said to fear him-would actually dare talk back to him like this today!
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