"Brother?"
Huo Yuhao stood amid the bustling crowd, his gaze passing over the sea of bobbing heads and settling on the figure at the very front of the Star Crown Sect's contingent.
After years apart, Dai Youheng had changed so much that Huo Yuhao almost failed to recognize him. The bootlicker who had spent all his days at Shrek Academy fawning over others now exuded an aura as steady as a mountain.
He wore the Star Crown Sect's specially made Twinkling Star Robe, his presence so imposing that Huo Yuhao felt an inexplicable hint of pressure.
"He's... changed so much," Huo Yuhao murmured, a jumble of emotions stirring in his heart. The Dai Youheng he remembered had grown assertive later on, but whenever he faced Huo Yuhao, a trace of the boy who had offered him warmth in the Duke's Mansion's back courtyard still remained. He had even been willing to help Huo Yuhao stand against Dai Huabin and stake his own Soul Bone on his behalf.
Yet the man before him was more reserved, more unfathomable, as though every emotion lay concealed beneath a tranquil exterior.
At some point, Cai Mei'er had walked up beside Huo Yuhao. Following his gaze, she sighed softly. "The Star Luo Empire has certainly worked out a clever scheme this time."
As Shrek Academy's supervising teacher for this tournament, she saw the matter more clearly. "Dai Youheng did, after all, once win the championship on Shrek's behalf. If he openly transferred to the Star Luo National Academy afterward, it would be indefensible on every count and inevitably give people something to criticize. Competing under the Star Crown Sect's name neatly sidesteps that criticism while allowing them to make the fullest use of his strength. The Xu siblings really are shrewd."
Her gaze passed over