Cocooning

In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the room. Huo Yuhao sat silently by the bed. Since returning from outside last night, he had remained seated there. Perhaps even Huo Yuhao himself couldn't explain why he was like this. But the sun still rose, and Huo Yuhao opened the door.

"Yuhao, did you sleep well?" Dugu Yan came out of her bedroom and saw Huo Yuhao.

"Pretty well, Sister Yanzi."

The two of them went to the Dining Hall, where a sumptuous breakfast had already been prepared. Dugu Bo came downstairs as well. Dugu Yan and Huo Yuhao greeted him, and Dugu Bo replied with a smile. When Huo Yuhao's eyes met Dugu Bo's, he knew that Dugu Bo knew what had happened last night. Then again, how could Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, not know what had happened in the Manor? He had always known.

Huo Yuhao kept his word from the day before and said nothing about it. After breakfast, Dugu Yan pulled Huo Yuhao along to keep playing.

After midday, Dugu Bo finished lunch and handed Huo Yuhao a sheet of paper. "I got those three guys to write you this proof. When you go to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, no one will stop you."

"Thank you for your help, Senior Dugu." Huo Yuhao took it and thanked him.

"When are you planning to go? Do you want me to take you there?" Dugu Bo asked.

"Tomorrow. I need to go back and check on things today."

"What? Yuhao, you're leaving today?" Dugu Yan asked.

"Yanzi, don't you have to go back to school too?" Dugu Bo reminded her.

"All right, I know." Dugu Yan answered with some helplessness, then turned to Huo Yuhao and said, "Remember to come find me at the academy tomorrow."

"Okay, Sister Yanzi."

After lunch, Dugu Bo hired a carriage to take Huo Yuhao back. The carriage brought Huo Yuhao out of Heaven Dou City, and then he returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well on his own.

Huo Yuhao passed through the Poison Miasma and went inside, where he saw a white cocoon standing beside the Cold Spring.

"What is this? And where's Brother Sky Dream?" Huo Yuhao asked, looking around.

"This is the big worm." Evil Lord pointed at the white cocoon.

"This is Brother Sky Dream?" Huo Yuhao hurried over to check. Only after using his spiritual power to confirm that Brother Sky Dream was still alive did Huo Yuhao breathe a sigh of relief. Then he asked, "What exactly happened?"

Raven, standing nearby, said, "He went and soaked in the Cold Spring himself, and this happened."

"Um, I'd better tell you about this." A-Tai said.

Back when Huo Yuhao had just gone to Heaven Dou City, A-Tai and Xiao Bai were still soaking in the Cold Spring at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and Tian Meng had just woken from a nap.

"Why are there so few people?" Tian Meng asked in confusion, looking around.

"They're all in Heaven Dou City," A Ling replied.

Tian Meng glanced around again, then cheered, "Really? That's great! Ice Empress isn't here today, so no one will nag me to cultivate. At last, I can go a whole day without listening to her lectures."

"I heard what you just said. When Ice Empress comes back, I'll tell her," A-Tai said with a sly grin.

"Y-you're talking nonsense! I didn't say anything just now," Tian Meng immediately retorted.

"Oh, don't listen to A-Tai. He's actually even more afraid of Ice Empress than you are. I still remember when Ice Empress scolded A-Tai in the cave." After Raven spoke, the Wolf King beside her nodded too.

"So it's not just me, huh? I didn't know you were like that too." Tian Meng grinned slyly at A-Tai.

A-Tai immediately retorted, "No, that was just an accident." But the more A-Tai denied it, the louder Tian Meng laughed.

"But speaking of which, why does Tian Meng love sleeping so much?" Xiao Bai interrupted their bickering and asked.

"Because it's comfortable," Tian Meng said bluntly.

After hearing that, Xiao Bai and Li Ya could only marvel that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm really hadn't changed at all, whether in the past or now. Everyone else was left speechless. They all worked hard at cultivation, while he was the only one who worked hard at sleeping.

"Wait, if you love sleeping so much, how did you get to the Star Dou Great Forest? The Far North is a long way from Star Dou, and you had to pass through the human world on the way," A Ling asked, puzzled.

"I swam straight from the Ocean to the edge of Star Dou Forest. Then I went in and got caught," Tian Meng said, a little sadly.

"You can really swim?" Even Li Ya, who knew what Tian Meng had been through, had never believed this. After all, Tian Meng and swimming just didn't go together. Back in the Divine Realm, she had always thought he was bragging.

"Who are you looking down on? There wasn't a single guy in the Ocean who could keep up with my speed," Tian Meng said, greatly offended.

"There's water right here. Come over and show us, then," A-Tai egged him on.

"Then you can all see what I'm capable of." As he spoke, Tian Meng crawled over to the Cold Spring and plunged in headfirst.

After Tian Meng went in, A-Tai and Xiao Bai got out of the Cold Spring. When Tian Meng entered, he splashed up a huge amount of water, soaking Octagonal. At that moment, Octagonal still couldn't speak properly, but really wanted to say to Tian Meng, "I'd like to thank you for that."

Tian Meng never surfaced after going into the Cold Spring. He didn't even show his head. Only after ten minutes did everyone realize something was wrong. A-Tai and Xiao Bai hurriedly jumped in and hauled Tian Meng out. White light radiated from Tian Meng's body, but it wasn't dazzling.

"Seriously, he passed out just like that?" the Wolf King complained when he saw Tian Meng unconscious.

"I don't know what happened either," Xiao Bai said, looking dazed. It was no wonder Xiao Bai said that; none of them had expected Tian Meng to be so bad at soaking.

A Ling said, "Hurry and wake him up."

Li Ya quickly added, "I know about this. I heard that humans who live by the sea blow air into the mouth of someone who's nearly drowned, then press on their chest."

After Li Ya finished speaking, everyone looked at one another. No one wanted to blow air into Tian Meng's mouth. Just then, A-Tai stepped forward. Under everyone's "admiring" gazes, he walked over to Tian Meng, then punched what was probably Tian Meng's chest. After all, no one knew where Tian Meng's chest was. The punch made Tian Meng's tail twitch a little, but he still didn't wake up.

"Why didn't you blow air into his mouth?" Li Ya asked.

"Missing one or two steps shouldn't matter, right?" A-Tai said, scratching his head.

"Then why hasn't Tian Meng woken up?" A Ling asked with concern.

"Should we try slapping Tian Meng's face? I heard people have used that method to wake someone up, too," Li Ya added.

At that, Xiao Bai hurried over, raised a hand, and slapped Tian Meng across the face twice. The force was considerable; even the Wolf King felt a pang just watching. A-Tai thought, This guy hits harder than I do. But Tian Meng still didn't wake up.

"Could he be a goner?" Raven quipped.

The Wolf King replied, "No. No Soul Ring has appeared, which means he's not a goner yet."

Just as everyone was still discussing what to do next, the white light around Tian Meng grew stronger and stronger. At last, after a flash of brilliant light, the spot where Tian Meng had been lying turned into a white cocoon. Everyone was at a loss. Later, Snow Empress and the others returned and had Evil Lord examine it with his spiritual power. They found that Tian Meng's life force was very vigorous, which finally put everyone at ease. But no one knew what had caused it.

After hearing the whole story, Huo Yuhao still couldn't tell what had happened. Although Brother Sky Dream's life force was vigorous, Huo Yuhao was still very worried. So he went to the Sea of Consciousness to ask Elder Yi.

"Elder Yi, what exactly is going on with Brother Sky Dream?"

Elder Yi had heard the story just now too. He now used his divine sense to examine the cocoon again. After a while, he answered Huo Yuhao, "The energy inside the cocoon is immense. This is very likely a process of evolution caused by absorbing the energy of the Cold Spring. According to my examination, he's at least in no danger of dying right now. We shouldn't interfere too much either. It's better to wait and see."

"Okay, Elder Yi."

Huo Yuhao looked at the white cocoon again. Even back in the Divine Realm, Brother Sky Dream had never acted like this. Was it just the energy of the Cold Spring? Huo Yuhao couldn't understand what was behind it either.

"I hope you'll be all right, Brother Sky Dream," Huo Yuhao said softly to the cocoon.