What had happened?
Wang Dong looked suspiciously at Xiao Xiao, who had suddenly spoken up beside her. What was this about "long time no see"?
"Mm, hello. The last time we met was last time, wasn't it?"
"..."
The air instantly turned awkward. Wang Dong blinked and looked at Huo Yuhao, unsure what to say.
Xiao Xiao gave a few dry laughs. "Ahaha, I forgot to introduce myself last time. My name is Xiao Xiao. Xiao as in 'bleak and desolate.'"
"Hello, I'm Huo Yuhao."
Wang Dong glanced curiously between them. "And how did you two meet?"
First there had been Jiang Nannan, and now there was Xiao Xiao. How had Huo Yuhao gotten to know so many girls outside? Would there be an incredibly beautiful older girl next?
And hadn't Xiao Xiao said she admired her and was her fangirl? Why had she gone straight to Huo Yuhao now?
"Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao did me a huge favor, so I'm very grateful. I just hadn't seen him when school started."
Wang Dong turned to Huo Yuhao and stared hard at him. "Is that really all...?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Yes. Anyway, what exactly are you being so suspicious about?"
"I'm not..."
Wang Dong turned her face away and stubbornly denied it.
Watching the atmosphere between them, Xiao Xiao grew even more suspicious. To test it, she simply said, "All right, all right, let's leave that aside. Let me treat you both to a meal."
The three of them were eating in Shrek City when Xiao Xiao suddenly spoke.
"Um, Wang Dong."
"What is it?"
"Do you like Huo Yuhao?"
"Cough, cough-!!"
Wang Dong choked on her food and abruptly lowered her head, coughing repeatedly. Her whole face flushed scarlet in an instant, all the way to the roots of her ears.
Huo Yuhao's chopstick-holding hand also froze. He looked at Xiao Xiao in astonishment. What are you doing?
Wang Dong coughed for quite some time before hurriedly picking up her glass and gulping down some water. She glared at Xiao Xiao, her voice a little unsteady. "What nonsense are you talking about! How could someone as great as me possibly like him? We're just roommates!"
"Then all those things people said in class..."
"They're all rumors!"
Sitting beside her, Huo Yuhao smiled at the thoroughly embarrassed Wang Dong and added fuel to the fire. "Oh, really? Then who was it sulking in the dorm last time, refusing to talk to me...?"
"Huo Yuhao!"
Wang Dong's cheeks flushed crimson again, and she reached out to cover Huo Yuhao's mouth.
"You're not allowed to talk about that!"
Huo Yuhao leaned aside and easily dodged her. "Okay, okay, I won't."
Watching the two of them fool around like this, Xiao Xiao still felt a little sour with jealousy, but she felt considerably more at ease.
So they were just roommates.
Thank goodness.
Since Shrek did not have too many classes, and students generally met the requirements as long as they completed their teachers' assignments, they had plenty of time to use as they pleased.
In the outskirts beyond Shrek, Xiao Xiao looked at Huo Yuhao and asked, "Huo Yuhao, is there anything else you wanted to say about my second martial soul?"
"No. I just happened to see it at the time. I simply didn't expect such a coincidence."
Twin martial souls?
Wang Dong raised an eyebrow. She had not expected Xiao Xiao to have another trick hidden up her sleeve.
"Really...? Then it seems all my martial soul can do right now is sound nice when I play it."
With a thought, Xiao Xiao summoned her martial soul, the Nine-Phoenix Comes-to-Instrument Flute.
The Nine-Phoenix Comes-to-Instrument Flute was emerald green throughout, its jade translucent and its luster soft. The nine phoenix reliefs along its body had ornate lines, their crests and wings exquisitely carved.
Hum-
A clear, melodious sound rang out of thin air, and gentle sound waves rippled outward in circles.
Huo Yuhao's gaze settled on the Nine-Phoenix Comes-to-Instrument Flute. His spiritual power spread slightly as he carefully sensed the circulating fluctuations of soul power.
Right, didn't he have one of those before...?
With a thought, an Ancient Guqin emerged from Huo Yuhao's storage device and settled in front of him.
Ting-
A cool, clear note spread out and met Xiao Xiao's flute music. The two waves of sound blended together wondrously.
Xiao Xiao paused at first. Then she closed her eyes, concentrated, and continued playing along with Huo Yuhao's guqin.
Watching the two suddenly begin playing a duet before her, Wang Dong unconsciously loosened the arms folded across her chest, an inexplicable sour ache rising in her heart.
The three of us came together, yet you two are having so much fun.
And she could not even play an instrument...
In the Martial Soul Department dean's office, Du Weilun, the department's director of studies, was handing Yan Shaozhe the list of students who had transferred into the Experimental Class over the past few days.
"Dean, here are their personal details."
"Mm, thank you for your hard work, Director Du."
Yan Shaozhe took them and looked them over.
Wang Dong, the Clear Sky Sect's first heir. She could do whatever she wanted; he did not need to concern himself with her anyway.
Xiao Xiao, twin martial souls, and excellent talent too, but she had suddenly taken a liking to soul tools.
"Sigh."
Yan Shaozhe let out a long sigh. Why had they all gone to the Experimental Class? Never mind. They would only know their personal wishes after the Freshman Assessment.
"Dean, that Huo Yuhao in the Experimental Class has two Thousand-Year Soul Rings, and he defeated Xu Sanshi not long ago. Should we...?"
Yan Shaozhe tapped Huo Yuhao's file with a fingertip, his tone calm.
"His martial soul is indeed very good. I've also discussed this child with Xuan Zi. His body martial soul consists of his eyes and brain. It must have undergone some awakening for him to absorb Thousand-Year Soul Rings."
"But in that match against Xu Sanshi, the two barely clashed head-on! Huo Yuhao won by relying on the mental attacks his martial soul possesses."
"Xu Sanshi's intelligence is also cause for concern. He let Huo Yuhao's fighting style waste so much of his soul power before finally confronting him directly."
"So in my opinion, Huo Yuhao cannot compare to Xu Sanshi in sheer strength. His martial soul and fighting style simply happened to counter him somewhat."
Du Weilun nodded as though he understood. "I see. But it is still a top-tier body martial soul. If he's willing to join the Martial Soul Department..."
"That may be true, but I hear Xian Lin'er favors him greatly. She even wants to take him as her disciple. If we want him, the price we'll have to pay will be rather high."
Yan Shaozhe waved a hand lightly, the thought of competing for him already gone from his eyes.
She could have him. She could have him.
"There's no hurry, Director Du. Although he has a body martial soul, mental attribute soul beasts are far too rare. If we later want to equip him with spirit system soul bones or a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, it will be almost as difficult as ascending to heaven."
Yan Shaozhe turned his gaze toward the freshman files farther away and pulled out a few. "Rather than that, we should free up more resources to invest in others. Ning Tian of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and Xie Huanyue with his Rubber Elephant martial soul... these students have all broken through rank thirty now!"
"So we must use our limited resources to invest in as many geniuses as possible. This is my approach to cultivating talent!"
Seeing Yan Shaozhe so confident, Du Weilun felt a little more admiration for him.
"Such wisdom, Dean!"
Before you continue