That Saturday night.
Huo Yuhao finally returned to his faithful single dorm room.
Although he intended to look into a soul tool sniper rifle that fired physical rounds, there was no rushing something like that. He had to join the project team first, then study it at his leisure.
The most pressing matter now was improving his cultivation.
It had been almost twenty days since he enrolled, and he only returned to his dorm to shower and change. His bedroom had gone so long without ventilation that it had developed a strange smell.
After opening the window, Huo Yuhao sat on his bed, took out a small porcelain bottle, and tipped the pill inside into his palm.
A wisp of mist hovered over the pill. He sniffed gently, catching the fragrance of vegetation deep within a forest, refreshing his heart and mind.
It was the Spirit-Nurturing Pill he had stopped to redeem on his way back.
This pill strengthened one's foundations and nourished one's vitality. Its medicinal properties were mild and did not damage one's essence; otherwise, the requirements for obtaining it would not have been so stringent.
After merging with the Ice Empress's Soul Ring a month ago, his Soul Power had naturally reached rank twenty-three. By now, he had already made considerable progress within that rank.
He could try using the Spirit-Nurturing Pill's medicinal power to break through to rank twenty-five Soul Power.
Huo Yuhao settled into a cross-legged position and tossed the Spirit-Nurturing Pill into his mouth.
An abundance of medicinal power roamed through his limbs and bones, merging into his meridians and driving his Soul Power surging through them.
But an even greater portion transformed into pale green life force that nourished his entire body.
After a night of meditation, his Soul Power broke through to rank twenty-five!
Huo Yuhao felt the considerably stronger Soul Power within him. If he faced those previous ten rounds of combat in his current condition, they would probably be much easier.
Huo Yuhao had intended to study at Quiet Heart Studio, but Feng Yu informed him of a last-minute cancellation: an unexpected situation had arisen in the project Jing Hongchen was overseeing, and they were working overtime to deal with it.
Feng Yu also told Huo Yuhao to find him at his new laboratory next Wednesday.
With his plans disrupted, Huo Yuhao simply dismantled the Class 3 Laminar Flow Output Soul Tool Feng Yu had given him and studied it thoroughly.
Once he had roughly worked out the technical approach and organized his findings, he put it aside.
It really was quite an interesting little gadget.
On Sunday evening, Huo Yuhao sat in the library after dinner, lost in thought:
Senior Brother Feng, a peak Level 7 Soul Engineer, can take a Class 8 Super Piercing Cannon as his research project.
Then what sort of project would Teacher have on his hands, as one of the best Level 9 Soul Engineers?
After indulging in a little imagination and anticipation, Huo Yuhao was just about to get to work when he suddenly noticed that someone had been watching him for a long time.
It was none other than Wang Shaojie!
Over ten days ago, Wang Shaojie had planned to make a last-minute scramble at the library and cram the theoretical knowledge required of a Level 4 Soul Engineer.
But after Hu Mei's close friend brought up Huo Yuhao, and he heard Huo Yuhao say, "Simp to the end, and you'll have everything," he had spent several days fawning furiously over Hu Mei.
As a result, his Level 4 Soul Engineer certification exam had naturally gone down the drain.
He had failed to earn his certification and annoyed Hu Mei with his fawning, so naturally, she had no kind looks for him.
Having suffered defeat in both his career and his love life, he now sat in his seat, staring at Huo Yuhao.
It had now dawned on him: could Huo Yuhao have made all that up to goad him into being a simp?
And then laughed at him behind his back?!
After all, there was no faking Huo Yuhao's fanatical dedication to studying.
Where would he find the time to fawn over so many people and accumulate those supposed bibles of romance?
But Wang Shaojie had no evidence, and Huo Yuhao was making a name for himself at the academy. He also seemed to have heard that Teacher Feng took good care of him.
Wang Shaojie could not lay a hand on him.
All he could do was creepily watch Huo Yuhao, trying to find evidence that Huo Yuhao had tricked him into becoming a simp!
He had already bombed this exam anyway, could not absorb a word he read, and Hu Mei was sick of him. Watching Huo Yuhao study seemed rather interesting.
He watched for an entire day.
Damn it, this guy spent the whole day reading, then sat on a cushion cultivating Soul Power at night. Forget girls-he barely interacted with anyone at all!
Grumbling inwardly, Wang Shaojie twisted his aching back after sitting all day. Just as he was about to leave, a dazzling presence suddenly opened the study room door.
It was a girl in a white dress.
Her white hair seemed to glow. She had the flawless face of the most idealized first love, with watery blue eyes that made hearts flutter and eyelashes that fluttered like little brushes.
Seeing so many people look over, Meng Hongchen thought she had disturbed their studies. She blinked with a hint of playfulness and nodded apologetically.
Looking at Meng Hongchen's smile, Wang Shaojie felt like a vampire who had spent ages huddled in a dark room without seeing daylight, suddenly bathed in brilliant sunshine.
He had been purified.
He had to admit that he liked beautiful women.
But he knew his own limits. He would only fawn over-no, pursue-girls like Hu Mei, who were relatively well-known within a single year.
As for a beautiful girl like Meng Hongchen, whose looks and talent were both top-tier, he felt he was only worthy of hiding in a shadowy corner and watching from afar.
Hmph!
Wang Shaojie glanced at Huo Yuhao, who still had his head buried in his studies. What good is burying yourself in books?
If you don't even know how to appreciate beauty, what use are all that knowledge and cultivation?
Suddenly, Wang Shaojie's expression froze. He saw Meng Hongchen actually walk toward Huo Yuhao.
He had a bad feeling!
Meng Hongchen stood prettily behind Huo Yuhao. When he reached a stopping point in his studies, she patted his shoulder:
"Still studying? I've come to see you!"
To Meng Hongchen, there was really nothing to this. Huo Yuhao was her junior brother. What was the big deal about patting his shoulder?
But through Wang Shaojie's thick filter of her as an icy beauty, it felt as though the sky had collapsed.
He had never heard of Meng Hongchen being so familiar with any boy other than her brother.
Huo Yuhao turned his head, paused slightly, and spoke naturally:
"Meng, Miss Meng. Oh! We had an appointment."
Meng Hongchen gave a huff:
"Hmph, looks like you probably would've forgotten if I hadn't come to find you myself. Come with me!"
Wang Shaojie could only watch as Meng Hongchen led Huo Yuhao away.
He stared at their retreating backs, his face filled with shock.
He understood!
So the rumors circulating in the academy about Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen being close were true!
A flash of admiration crossed Wang Shaojie's eyes.
So it was not that Huo Yuhao did not simp. He had long since moved beyond fawning over lots of people and chosen the highest-difficulty target instead.
He automatically ruled out the possibility that Meng Hongchen was taking the initiative. In his view, if Meng Hongchen liked someone, wouldn't she only need to crook her finger?
So Huo Yuhao must have been fawning over Meng Hongchen!
As expected of a man who could compile so many bibles of romance. No wonder he could teach him how to please Hu Mei with such certainty.
It looks like my mastery is too low, my cultivation too shallow. My fawning hasn't been up to par.
Wang Shaojie felt he had found a new direction. He was no longer dispirited or lost.
He was ready to rally his forces and continue being Hu Mei's simp!
But before that, he wanted to tail Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen to see how far Huo Yuhao had gotten with his great art of simping.
In the dormitory area, Meng Hongchen and Huo Yuhao walked side by side along the path. Meng Hongchen asked in confusion:
"Junior Brother, why was that person following us, and why did he stop afterward?"
Huo Yuhao could not make heads or tails of it either, so he gave her a complete account of how Wang Shaojie had come looking for trouble and how he had then toyed with him.
Meng Hongchen's eyes widened:
"Junior Brother, aren't you being a little too mean?"
Mean? Then why do you look so excited?
Huo Yuhao considered himself someone who had met countless people, having sold grilled fish and read people's hearts in Shrek City.
But without relying on his Spectator abilities, he really could not tell what Meng Hongchen was thinking!
"Forget it, we're at the dorm. Let's leave him alone."
"Come inside with me, Junior Brother. I'll show you something interesting."
Meng Hongchen smiled a little sheepishly:
"I really can't do this without your Spiritual Detection."
Before you continue