The elimination tournament was nearing its end. After the morning's contests, the top eight teams had emerged.
After helping Xiao Xiao recover, Lin Mo went to the ward next door to help Huo Yuhao recover too.
Wang Dong'er sat cross-legged on her hospital bed, her arms folded as she glared sulkily at the two sitting back-to-back on the opposite bed, meditating and cultivating together.
Why was it that she and Lin Mo were the ones without a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?!
The good news, however, was that after giving her all that morning, coupled with diligently cultivating lately under the influence of those two grind kings, Lin Mo and Huo Yuhao, her Soul Power had broken through to rank twenty-six in one go.
That afternoon.
In this quarterfinal match, Huo Yuhao's team finally avoided drawing another team with a Soul Elder.
Their opponents consisted of three Soul Grandmasters.
With Huo Yuhao and the other two working together, they easily won the match.
After this match ended, Lin Mo's team had officially entered the top four of the elimination tournament. In other words, as long as they won one more match, they were guaranteed a reward.
And winning two more would make them the freshman champions.
After returning to the dorm, Lin Mo and Huo Yuhao continued cultivating as usual. The night passed without conversation.
Early the next morning, in the assessment area.
"Hello, junior brothers and sisters. I'm Zhang Lexuan, the inner court's eldest senior sister."
Holding the drawing box in her left hand with her right hand behind her back, Zhang Lexuan introduced herself to all the freshmen present with a gentle smile.
The words "inner court" stirred excitement in quite a few students.
Lin Mo could feel Zhang Lexuan's gaze lingering on him, whether intentionally or otherwise, and felt rather numb. Huo Yuhao haunting him like a vengeful ghost was bad enough. Why was she clinging to him like a ghost too?
Ever since he had unconsciously called her "Sister Lexuan" in the library last time, Lin Mo had realized that he had never let go at all.
A relationship that had seemed on the verge of working out had abruptly ended for no apparent reason. No one would be willing to accept that.
He was no exception.
He had finally found a normal person on this unhinged continent and finally fallen for someone, only for what? The ending had been as slapdash as a novel whose author had rushed out a botched finale overnight.
When he had first been reborn, Lin Mo had made up his mind to move on completely.
Let bygones be bygones.
But fucking...
How the fuck was he supposed to withstand Zhang Lexuan constantly hovering before his eyes for these past three months?!
How was this any different from deciding to lose weight, only for your good friend to leisurely parade around in front of you every day holding hot pot, fried chicken, barbecue...?!
Wasn't this purely a test of human nature?!
Lin Mo didn't consider himself some lovesick fool, but he was still a person with normal feelings!
Every day, he watched the crush who had once made his heart flutter move back and forth before him, stirring up those dust-covered, beautiful memories again and again. Yet this crush had no memories of their previous life and didn't remember him at all.
To Lin Mo, this was nothing short of death by a thousand cuts!
The kind where a dull blade slowly sliced away his flesh!
Lin Mo took a deep breath and forcibly tore his gaze away from the figure before him, lowering his eyes to stare at the ground as he clenched his teeth until they ached.
Bear with it.
Just bear with it a little longer, and it'll pass.
He kept brainwashing himself:
Once I get through the freshman assessment, I'll quit the library job. Then I'll have less contact with Zhang Lexuan, and once enough time passes...
"First group, Lin Mo's team."
A clear, gentle voice suddenly sounded above his head, as though wrapped in the breeze of March.
Lin Mo froze. Little by little, he raised his head, meeting Zhang Lexuan's smiling eyes and the drawing box she gently waved at him.
"Junior brother, you're the first to draw."
Zhang Lexuan smiled, the curve at the corners of her eyes excessively tender.
Lin Mo: "..."
Fuck, death by a thousand cuts wasn't enough? You had to hand over the damn knife yourself too?!
Lin Mo hadn't wanted to go.
But with Huo Yuhao and the other two pushing him, he still braced himself and walked up to Zhang Lexuan.
What Lin Mo expected even less, however, was for Zhang Lexuan to actually raise her hand and pat his head in full public view, encouraging him gently, "Good luck. I hope you and your team get good results."
Lin Mo stiffened.
Feeling the warmth on top of his head, he suddenly felt his face growing faintly hot.
Lin Mo hurriedly shook his head, grabbed a slip of paper from the drawing box, and darted back into his team at top speed.
It was rare to see Lin Mo so bashful and flustered. The corners of Zhang Lexuan's lips couldn't help curling a little higher. Only after silently watching him return to his team did she announce:
"Freshman Class One, Lin Mo's team, number two."
Upon returning to his team, the first thing Lin Mo did was rub his face.
However, he had only just returned when a sudden burst of earth-shaking killing intent startled him.
Turning to look, he saw Huo Yuhao beside him with a gloomy face and lightless eyes, surrounded by all sorts of scarlet visual effects as he stared fixedly at the blond drawing lots not far away.
Because the abnormality was far too obvious, Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao on the other side were startled too, both turning their gazes toward Huo Yuhao.
Lin Mo followed Huo Yuhao's gaze.
Well, well, wasn't that the blond kid from yesterday with the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul?
Then he looked again at the rage and killing intent above Huo Yuhao's head, which had already gone completely off the charts.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Lin Mo clicked his tongue a couple of times. If this followed the usual plot formula, this little blond had either killed Huo Yuhao's mother or killed his father, leading to some "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river" business before he finally went back for revenge.
Huo Yuhao really lived up to being someone with the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul. He was exceedingly rational, able to hold back from attacking even with his enemy standing right before him.
Soon, the semifinals began.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, and Xiao Xiao coordinated seamlessly and easily secured victory.
To ensure both finalist teams had ample time to prepare, the final was scheduled for tomorrow.
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao went to rest in the girls' dorm; the two of them were roommates to begin with. Lin Mo followed the silent Huo Yuhao, whose entire body radiated a gloomy pressure, back to the boys' dorm.
After closing the door, Lin Mo turned around and immediately saw Huo Yuhao standing by the window with his back to him.
"Enduring in silence" again.
Had this skill already become standard equipment for trash-to-genius protagonists?
If it were those colleagues of his from the Holy Spirit Church instead...
Holy Spirit Church follower: You and I have a grudge. If you don't die today, my Dao heart won't be at peace! In short, you have to die today! Evil arts! Sacrifice! Self-detonation! Even if help arrives, you're still going to die!!
"Lin Mo, did you know?"
Lin Mo immediately pricked up his ears. Here it comes, here it comes. The protagonist's about to tell the story of his tragic life.
"White Tiger Duke Dai Hao is my father. And that person just now is called Dai Huabin, my older half-brother. We share the same father."
"Pff-!"
Lin Mo sprayed out the entire mouthful of the drink he had just taken.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Choking, Lin Mo bent over and coughed nonstop, one hand fumbling blindly around for tissues.
Yet the instant he raised his eyes, he discovered that Huo Yuhao had somehow already appeared before him, silent as a wisp of cold wind seeping in through the window.
Immediately afterward, a pair of slightly cool hands gently cupped his face.
Lin Mo's entire body instantly stiffened.