"It's you?"
Unexpectedly, the first person to speak was Wang Dong again!
She signaled with her eyes for him to leave quickly and stay out of these muddy waters. Fortunately, only the two of them could see the exchange. Xiao Zi chose to ignore her outright.
How could he let a wager slip away when it was such a perfect chance to fleece someone?
He walked between the two groups and addressed Dai Huabin first. "It's been so long since the freshman assessment. That soul bone must have been absorbed by now. Why not change the stakes?"
Dai Huabin had long since been enslaved, and Xiao Zi did not care what his soul slave thought. Those words were meant for the people on the other side.
Sure enough, Huo Yuhao and the others were deeply touched. The contrast with his identity as Dai Huabin's lackey made their goodwill toward him rise several notches higher than it normally would have.
Upon receiving his instructions, Dai Huabin tilted his nose toward the sky. "I'll do you this favor. Tell me what you want to replace it with. But let me warn you... ordinary things won't catch my eye!"
Xiao Zi feigned reluctance. Sweeping his right hand over the Storage Soul Tool at his waist, he took out a left arm bone wreathed in ice elements. It was one of the treasures Qian Renxue had collected over the years.
"I have a twenty-thousand-year Left Arm Soul Bone here. Why don't we use it instead?"
Huo Yuhao and the others were even more astonished. This time, Wang Dong stopped signaling with her eyes and spoke outright. "This has nothing to do with you. You don't need to worry about us!"
With things having come this far and his plan about to succeed, how could Xiao Zi possibly give up?
Still, he could not abandon the persona he needed to maintain. He smiled at Wang Dong before continuing, "Since this is a wager, both sides have to put up stakes. I've offered a soul bone, so the second young master needs to offer something of equal value. We can't disgrace the Duke's Mansion."
They had entered their second academic year and were about to face another advancement assessment. With the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's ultimate ice, Huo Yuhao was guaranteed to win. Even if some unexpected mishap spoiled his performance, given Shrek's usual ways, they would still award him a high score and lavishly promote the academy's chosen number-one genius.
Xiao Zi had always wanted to see the depth of the Duke's Mansion's reserves, but he had lacked a suitable opportunity to make his move. A wager gave him a perfectly respectable pretext. He refused to believe they would welsh on it.
"Fine, what do you want..." Dai Huabin was about to agree when he suddenly realized that he was supposed to be the master in public. He immediately changed his tune. "Li Lezi, whose lackey are you, anyway? Why are you bending your elbow outward to help outsiders? So what if Huo Yuhao is talented? I'm not necessarily any worse than him!"
Those words instantly dispelled everyone's doubts. Huo Yuhao and the others had been wondering how "Li Lezi," a mere study companion, had turned the heavens upside down and started calling the shots!
Everything was unfolding just as expected. Xiao Zi offered no explanation. "Urgent circumstances call for flexibility. Second young master, if you don't want to make the wager, shall we leave now?"
Dai Huabin was "enraged" and ground his teeth. "Fine, I'll take that wager! The White Tiger Duke's Mansion may lack all sorts of things, but soul bones aren't one of them!"
After speaking, he sought instructions with his eyes. Once he saw that his master had no intention of leaving, he departed with Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie in tow, "seething with anger."
The deliberately manufactured disturbance appeared to have subsided.
Huo Yuhao wanted to step forward and thank him, but someone beat him to it... Wang Dong.
"Li Lezi, thank you for helping us. This won't cause you any trouble, will it?"
Completely unaware of who had caused all this, everyone thought he was quite a good fellow. He had risked trouble to help them out of a tight spot. Such a fearless spirit truly made him a model for them all!
Huo Yuhao merely thought his roommate had moved too quickly and noticed nothing else amiss. He thanked Xiao Zi sincerely. "Wang Dong told me that Dai Huabin gave you a hard time on your very first day. That's just the sort of person he is. Don't take it to heart. If you run into trouble in the future, feel free to come to us!"
The bullying Huo Yuhao had suffered at the Duke's Mansion since childhood had left him sensitive and burdened with an inferiority complex. Those he loved, he wished to live; those he hated, he wished to die. Dai Huabin, whom he loathed to the bone, and Li Lezi, who had helped them so "selflessly," were perfect examples of those extremes of love and hatred.
He had already made up his mind. Regardless of who won or lost this time, Dai Huabin could not be allowed to benefit from the soul bone. If necessary, he would ask their homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi, to intervene and kick up another fuss... no, go to the Academic Affairs Office and argue their case on solid grounds. They could simply have the wager canceled.
Back when Bei Bei had competed against Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya had pushed him into helping cheat with his spiritual power. Now that his enemy Dai Huabin was involved, he was even less inclined to let the other party have an easy time.
Having achieved his aim, Xiao Zi kept that gentle mask on his face and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder with feigned warmth. "Don't worry. Since I'm willing to offer a soul bone, I have a way to get myself out of trouble. Give it your best, Yuhao. Don't lose the wager!"
The first part was merely lip service, but his final words were sincere. Even his tone grew solemn.
Rarely had anyone placed such importance on him. Huo Yuhao felt as though a thousand-pound burden had settled on his shoulders. He nodded vigorously and gave his assurance in a tone ten times more solemn than Xiao Zi's.
Wang Dong took everything in. This time, her attention was no longer focused solely on Huo Yuhao; it included someone else as well. "We're in Class One. Come visit whenever you have time. You're always welcome!"
Huo Yuhao added, "Wang Dong's right. Compared with Class Two, Class One has more resources and better teachers. And there isn't anyone like Dai Huabin harassing people from time to time. If you're interested, I'll talk to Teacher Zhou."
Xiao Zi thought, Your Teacher Zhou is the biggest source of instability of all. She's ten times more terrifying than Dai Huabin.
Still, Huo Yuhao seemed decent enough at this stage. He had not yet been trained into a dog in the Qiankun Asking Love Valley. At most, he had a few minor flaws in his character. Overall, he was fairly warmhearted and would consider things from the other person's perspective.
Xiao Xiao, another member of the group, also stepped forward to thank Xiao Zi. "Li Lezi, thank you for offering a soul bone to help us out. Otherwise, the stake would have been my left leg bone!"
She was petite and lovely, with a delicate face that grew more pleasing the longer one looked at it. Her glossy black hair was as smooth as silk, and her carefully arranged braid brimmed with youthful energy. Together with her lively eyes, it was enough to send certain lovers of little girls into ecstasy.
Compared with Wang Dong, who was being manipulated, and Huo Yuhao, whose character was difficult to judge, Xiao Zi felt much greater affection for a girl so pure and free of any taint. He was more willing to talk with her, and even his smile gained genuine warmth.
"It was no more than lifting a hand. There's no need to mention it."
In Douluo II, Xiao Xiao had been a genius with twin martial souls, yet Shrek had failed to teach her properly. For the sake of a single freshman assessment, she had attached a hundred-year soul ring to her second martial soul, sacrificing her future prospects merely to secure a good ranking.
Even if she joined the protagonist's group and bore the title of one of the Shrek Seven Devils, what did it matter? Her ending was no different from anyone else's.
As a Supreme God King in his previous life, Xiao Zi had cherished talent. That was the true reason he had expanded the Divine Realm: so that no genius would be buried, left like a pearl gathering dust and burdened with lifelong regret.
He had once doubted himself. Only after meeting beautiful girls like Ling Luochеn, the Lan Sisters, and Xiao Xiao had he understood that it had all been worthwhile.
Xiao Zi wanted to say something more, but suddenly found himself speechless...
Wang Dong had come over.