Huo Yuhao carefully wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth with the pad of his finger, his movements impossibly gentle.
Perhaps the bombshell just now had blown his brain offline, because Lin Mo actually forgot to resist at first. As though someone had cast a paralysis spell on him, he simply stared blankly at Huo Yuhao, who was mere inches away.
Their eyes met.
Outside the window, the sun shone brightly, yet dark undercurrents surged silently in the boy's eyes.
"Lin Mo, they killed my mother."
Huo Yuhao cupped his face, exerting a little pressure with his fingertips to draw him lower, and spoke words that made Lin Mo's hair stand on end in an almost tender tone:
"And in the future, I'll kill them too. One. By. One."
"Until the White Tiger Duke's bloodline is-"
"Completely. And. Utterly. Extinguished."
Lin Mo pressed his back against the door, both hands raised beside his head. Looking at Huo Yuhao, whose pupils held not a glimmer of light and even faintly gleamed blood-red, he did not dare move a muscle.
More terrifying than a protagonist was a protagonist who had gone dark!
"Lin Mo..."
Huo Yuhao lowered his head slightly, gently resting it against his chest.
He was listening.
Listening to the strong, powerful heartbeat in Lin Mo's chest.
"Mom's dead..."
"Now, you're all I have left..."
Huo Yuhao's voice was very soft, but it sent an earthquake through Lin Mo's pupils.
Oh, no, no, no, no-
My dear protagonist, please don't say that!
You still have your future wife, Tang Wutong!!
Lin Mo really was about to cry. Could someone come save him? Save him!!
"Thump, thump, thump..."
Inside Lin Mo's chest, his heart hammered as though its life depended on it.
Huo Yuhao, resting against his chest, seemed to hear something interesting and suddenly chuckled softly. The sound echoed eerily through the silent dorm room, like a demon's murmur.
Lin Mo: "..."
He wanted to go back to the Sun Moon Empire, aaaaah!!!
After lunch, the four met by Sea God's Lake and began discussing their tactics for the finals.
As team captain, Lin Mo would certainly compete. As a dual control-and-support specialist, Xiao Xiao was naturally indispensable for coordination and battlefield control. As for their final contestant...
Lin Mo reached a hand toward Wang Dong'er.
Seeing this, Wang Dong'er's large pinkish-blue eyes instantly lit up. But the moment she leaned closer, Lin Mo's merciless hand pressed against her forehead and unceremoniously pushed her aside.
Completely ignoring her little face, which instantly crumpled with grievance, Lin Mo addressed Huo Yuhao opposite him:
"Huo Yuhao, I plan to have you compete in the finals."
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered.
"But on one condition-" Lin Mo raised a finger, his expression serious. "When you face that blond, you absolutely cannot let hatred cloud your judgment."
Huo Yuhao drew a deep breath, gradually suppressing the darkness churning in his eyes, then nodded firmly:
"I can do that."
"Lin Mo~"
Just then, an aggrieved voice drifted over from beside him.
Lin Mo turned toward the voice. Wang Dong'er tugged at his right arm, gazing pitifully at him with her large, watery eyes:
"Why won't you let me compete? They have a Soul Elder and two Soul Grandmasters. If I compete, our fighting strength will match theirs, so wouldn't our chances of winning be even-mmph!"
However, before she could finish speaking...
Lin Mo had already expertly pulled a piece of cake from inside his clothes and stuffed it into her mouth.
Immediately afterward, he reached to the side, casually plucked a few blades of grass, and wove a lifelike little butterfly in a few deft moves before stuffing it into her hand.
"Here, take it. Go play by yourself."
With that, he lifted her aside without hesitation.
Dumped to one side, Wang Dong'er blinked, her cheeks still working away as she chewed the cake.
Naturally, Lin Mo had thought long and hard before choosing Huo Yuhao to compete.
First, he could perform Martial Soul Fusion Skills with both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao. Two Martial Soul Fusion Skills meant two genuine trump cards.
Moreover, fusing his Soul Power with each of theirs had produced two entirely new kinds of Soul Power, which Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao had respectively named the "power of Mo Yu" and the "power of Xiao Mo."
These two new kinds of Soul Power could both reduce the three's Soul Power consumption and amplify the might of their soul skills. Their teamfight buffs were practically maxed out.
Second, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing was absolutely a cheat in combat, especially paired with his Spirit Eyes, with their dirty mechanics and high stats, and his treasure pouch, which held who knew how many hidden weapons.
His contribution to a teamfight absolutely outweighed Wang Dong'er's, who could only tie down a single opponent.
And finally...
According to the formula, although a protagonist was weak early on, when faced with the predicament of being suppressed by an enemy, there was an extremely high chance he would burst out with power and turn defeat into victory.
The villain suppressed and mocked him, and the protagonist burst out with power and slapped faces.
Off to the side, after finishing her cake, Wang Dong'er saw that Lin Mo had no intention of paying her any more attention and pursed her lips in displeasure.
But before that little trace of discontent could rise in her heart, the little grass butterfly in her hand caught her attention.
She gently teased it a few times with her fingertips, and the little thing's wings actually fluttered tremulously. It was utterly adorable.
Wang Dong'er's eyes lit up again, and she really did start playing by herself.
Partway through, Lin Mo still glanced over, not quite reassured.
Only to discover that Wang Dong'er was having a wonderful time entertaining herself. He could not stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
She really was a silly roe deer.
After discussing their tactics, the three rehearsed them once more. Once they confirmed there were no problems, they returned to their respective dorm rooms to begin preparing for tomorrow's finals.
On the day of the finals, at the assessment area's spectator platform.
On the spectator platform, Zhang Lexuan was speaking quietly with Du Weilun when she suddenly caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. She could not help feeling a little surprised. "Senior brother? You're out of seclusion?"
The newcomer was none other than Yan Shaozhe.
He looked exceptionally well today, his brow relaxed, his whole person seemingly shrouded in a faint glow. Even his steps were a little lighter than usual.
Hearing her question, Yan Shaozhe smiled and nodded:
"Although I didn't break through, well, I've at least got half a foot in the ranks of Super Douluo."
At that, Zhang Lexuan and Du Weilun both smiled and congratulated him.
Yan Shaozhe straightened his sleeves, his head practically tilted toward the heavens, while repeatedly offering humble words: "Oh, not at all. Just luck, just luck."
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily settled on Lin Mo below. That look was like a man who had been a bachelor for decades encountering a peerless beauty, and it made Zhang Lexuan's eyelids twitch.
For some reason, Zhang Lexuan suddenly recalled her senior brother's "player" nature:
He fell for everyone he met and parted with everyone he loved.
His specialty was passing through a myriad of flowers and coming out covered in petals and leaves.
She was even beginning to suspect something.
...Surely not?
Could her unreliable senior brother be interested in the person she had her eye on?!
"Achoo!"
Below the platform, Lin Mo suddenly sneezed without warning. His nose itched, and he raised a hand to rub it.
What was going on?
He turned suspiciously to look at the three behind him. Huo Yuhao was resting with his eyes closed, Wang Dong'er was playing with her grass butterfly, and Xiao Xiao gave him a sweet smile.
Strange. Nobody was secretly cursing him, was there?