"Of course the bigger fist makes the rules!" Wang Dong glared indignantly at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao asked coldly, "Then if my fist is bigger than yours, why won't you accept it?"
"I didn't lose to you!" Wang Dong protested. "I just let my guard down this time. Once I've recovered, we'll fight again!"
She still had a young person's stubbornness and pride. Even though circumstances had forced her to concede earlier, her defiance had flared up again.
"You think you can beat me if you use your martial soul? Do you even understand what it really means for the strong to devour the weak?"
Huo Yuhao planted a foot on Wang Dong's chest. He didn't put any strength into it, merely knocking her to the ground.
Wang Dong gritted her teeth and looked up at Huo Yuhao. Twilight was drawing to a close, and those blue eyes stood out sharply in the gathering darkness.
Huo Yuhao said in a low voice, "Your self-righteousness, your arrogance, your carelessness-all of them are part of your strength! Whatever your actual strength is, the final result reflects it. Do you think a high soul power level alone makes you strong?"
"Strength in one area isn't strength as a whole. Strength for a moment isn't strength forever. The strong and the weak can trade places at any time. Going around saying the bigger fist makes the rules only shows a half-baked understanding of the fairest law under heaven: the strong devour the weak!"
"If you aren't prepared to be torn apart by someone stronger, if you won't accept defeat after taking the gamble, then don't use 'the bigger fist makes the rules' as an excuse to bully the weak. If I'd wanted your life, you'd have died ten times over by now!"
Wang Dong sat on the ground with a blank stare, even forgetting the pain in her left knee. Huo Yuhao's words had shaken her profoundly.
Only after a long while did she come back to her senses. She looked around, only to discover that Huo Yuhao had already returned to their room.
"Wh... what was that all about? That guy..."
Feeling that her left knee had eased a little, Wang Dong wiped away her tears, pushed herself up, and limped toward the dormitory. Her originally handsome face looked rather bedraggled.
Yet she kept muttering defiantly, "I... I'll definitely win next time..."
Just then, an aged voice sounded beside her. "Child, there's nothing strange about your loss. The gap between you is too great. No matter how many times you fight, the result will be the same."
"Why?" Wang Dong looked at the old man who had watched the entire fight and stubbornly argued, "He only has one ring, and I have two. Once I've recovered, he definitely won't be a match for me."
The old man sighed, pointed at his own chest, and said, "You both have proud, scornful eyes. But your scorn is directed at the weak, while his is directed at the strong. He has a heart that scorns the powerful."
"Think carefully about what he said. Even I learned a great deal from it."
Wang Dong fell silent for a moment, then bowed to the old man. "Old Grandfather, thank you for your guidance."
With that, she limped into the dormitory building.
After Wang Dong left, the old man murmured to himself, "Is he really only eleven or twelve?"
Room 108.
The window stood wide open, and a simple little stove had been set up in front of the windowsill, flames rising from it.
Huo Yuhao stood before the stove, holding two large black carp on wooden skewers, thinking as he grilled them.
To be honest, he had let a little personal resentment color his treatment of Wang Dong.
His soul power rose slowly, so nothing irritated him more than people with high soul power flaunting it in his face...
That was why he'd struck a little harder than necessary. The kick to Wang Dong's knee had gone straight for the joint's weak point.
Still, he had controlled his strength. Otherwise, a full-force kick could have snapped Wang Dong's leg outright.
Wang Dong had already picked up bad habits at such a young age. Clearly, her family had spoiled her rotten instead of bringing her up properly. Brother Hao would just have to discipline her on their behalf.
Under the expertly controlled flames, the black carp gradually changed color, giving off a rich aroma that drifted far beyond the window.
Wang Dong limped back to the room and was instantly drawn in by the aroma, her nose twitching repeatedly.
"What's that smell? It smells so good!"
She opened the door and saw Huo Yuhao grilling fish. Surprise filled her face. "You... how can you use a stove in the room?"
"It's not some high-powered electrical appliance. What's wrong with using it? Besides, the school rules don't forbid it, do they?" Judging the fish nearly done, Huo Yuhao clamped the grilled fish in his right hand between his teeth, skewer and all, then took another skewered black carp from his belt to continue grilling. With his left hand, he held the other cooked fish out behind him.
"Want some grilled fish?"
"Who... who wants your..."
Wang Dong had just been about to refuse when her stomach gave a quiet but unmistakable growl.
Looking a little embarrassed, she kept scratching her cheek with her right index finger.
Their fight had taken place in the afternoon. Now it was almost completely dark, and Wang Dong was feeling a little hungry.
But she had her pride and refused to take the grilled fish. It felt like accepting charity from Huo Yuhao.
But...
It really smells so good...
How can it smell this good?
The rich, tantalizing aroma kept wafting over, making Wang Dong swallow again and again.
Hmph! Who wants to eat that jerk's food?
She turned her head away, trying to escape the grilled fish's temptation, but her large pinkish-blue eyes still couldn't resist stealing glances at it.
"Eat," Huo Yuhao said calmly. "When you're hungry, you need to eat. When it comes to eating, there's no difference between a Titled Douluo and an ordinary person."
"Then... then I'll help myself."
Unable to hold back any longer, Wang Dong snatched the grilled fish from Huo Yuhao's hand and bit into it.
"Delicious!"
The crisp, browned skin and tender, juicy flesh lent each other flavor through fragrant, non-greasy fat, while a rich, complex blend of pungent spices kept bombarding Wang Dong's taste buds.
Abandoning all concern for appearances, Wang Dong devoured the large grilled fish in a few bites. Still craving more, she wanted another few fish, but felt too embarrassed to ask.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked haltingly, "Um... could you please give me another one?"
Huo Yuhao obliged and handed her another grilled fish. Overjoyed, Wang Dong took it and ate in great mouthfuls.
Only then did Huo Yuhao speak. "See? You do know how to speak politely."
Wang Dong felt her face burning. She slowed down, lowered her head, and chewed carefully, her face flushed red.
After a long while, she finally spoke shyly. "I'm sorry. I went too far this afternoon. I shouldn't have been so overbearing. I'll clean the room."
Having eaten his food, she could hardly keep snapping at him. Besides, Wang Dong had realized she was in the wrong, so she apologized of her own accord.
But Huo Yuhao said, "No need. The room is a shared space. Keeping it clean should be something we do together."
"Oh, all right..." Seeing that Huo Yuhao wasn't blaming her, Wang Dong felt embarrassed, and a little of her arrogance faded.
As she ate the grilled fish, she asked, "How are you so good at fighting? Were you using a soul skill just now?"
Huo Yuhao answered frankly, "I didn't use any soul skills. A little fist technique was enough to deal with you."
Startled, Wang Dong pressed him. "What fist technique?"
"The Huo Family Fist."
"What kind of fist technique is that?"
"It was created by Huo Yuanjia, a senior of my Dragon Tiger Sect. It focuses on leg techniques, seizing the right moment to defeat the enemy in a single move."
Wang Dong looked bewildered.
What sect is this Dragon Tiger Sect? How come I've never heard of it?
"But aside from that kick to my knee, you didn't use any leg techniques just now."
"The Huo Family Fist's forms and moves are flexible."
"..."
Of course, there was no Huo Yuanjia or Huo Family Fist on the Douluo Continent. Huo Yuhao was making it all up...
As they ate and chatted, the two youngsters who had just fought grew considerably closer.
Huo Yuhao felt rather helpless.
Kids this age really are easy to get along with. They might be arrogant, melodramatic, rebellious, reckless, and all the rest, but there's no real malice in their hearts. Even after a fight, sharing a barbecue is enough to put the whole grudge behind them.
"All right. From now on, we're roommates."
"Mm. But from now on, you can't say... say those crude things in the room anymore..."
Outside the dormitory building, an old man with narrowed eyes kept muttering.
"What smells so good?"