The storm in the Sea of Consciousness gradually subsided. Huo Yuhao gripped the glowing Golden Dragon King Core tightly in his right hand. Dark golden patterns flowed across the surface of the Divine Core, occasionally throwing off tiny arcs of lightning that lit his pale face in flickering flashes.
"This really is... an unexpected windfall!" His voice trembled slightly, and barely restrained excitement flashed in his eyes. "The Golden Dragon King Core actually crossed space and time and was reborn here with me!"
The Red Armillary Sash turned into a streak of crimson light and obediently slipped back into his sleeve.
Huo Yuhao slowly rose to his feet and gazed at the Divine Core in his hand, his eyes churning with both delight and caution. The Divine Core gave off an immense amount of energy. "Its power is far too vast. With my current strength..." he murmured, lightly brushing his fingertips over its surface. "If I force myself to absorb it, I'll only end up bursting apart and dying."
Taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao drew on the full power of his spirit and traced intricate sealing runes in the air. A dim blue light flared, and the runes wrapped around the Divine Core like chains, slowly sinking it into the depths of the Sea of Consciousness. With that, the Golden Dragon King Core became the second source of primordial energy to take up residence in his spiritual world, after the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
At the same time, vast energy surged through his body. Huo Yuhao's Soul Power Level soared, and the light of level seventeen shone around him, making his entire Sea of Consciousness tremble. This was not only the result of what he had accumulated during his fight with Zhou Yi, but also a gift from the Golden Dragon King Core.
Inside the spirit space, Nezha lounged against a wooden stool, a meaningful smile curling his lips. He tipped back his head and drained the wine from his jug, a sharp light flashing in his golden eyes. "I suppose that's only to be expected of one chosen by fate."
"Fate, fate. Bearing fate's mandate also means being bound by it. Naturally, one must defy heaven and change fate, change one's own fate. Even knowing the road ahead is fraught with danger, one must still have the courage to risk one's life. One's own destiny has always been one's own to decide."
"Huo Yuhao, let me see how your story ends."
Elsewhere, the original homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi, had been temporarily replaced because of her fight with Huo Yuhao. Teacher Wang Yan was leading Class One for the time being, and for the same reason, all the other students had qualified to remain in the class.
As a result, Huo Yuhao had also been chosen as the class monitor of Freshman Class One.
But these were merely appetizers. The key to deciding who could stay still lay in the freshman assessment three months later.
Huo Yuhao did not care about any of that. After all, his Soul Power was growing rapidly now, and he had plenty of trump cards. Let alone students at his own level, he would not be afraid even if some senior students came.
As he was now, he was the number one person below level thirty.
This also made his name resound throughout the freshman classes, much to his displeasure. After all, he was a rather cautious person.
That afternoon, sunlight streamed through the classroom windows and fell across the desks. Huo Yuhao was immersed in his Sea of Consciousness, concentrating on how to safely draw on the power of the Golden Dragon King Core. The Golden Dragon King's power was indeed formidable, but Huo Yuhao cultivated the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, and the Third Prince was there beside him. Burst apart? There was no such possibility.
As for the power of the Golden Dragon King's Divine Core, it was nothing more than nourishment to fuel the cultivation of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art.
After class, everyone left the classroom one after another, but Huo Yuhao had yet to emerge from his Sea of Consciousness.
The last rays of the setting sun flowed like molten gold across the classroom's wooden floor, stretching the shadows of the desks and chairs long. The dismissal bell had rung long ago, and the noisy footsteps and chatter gradually faded into the distance. Only Huo Yuhao remained, lying quietly over his desk, his consciousness deep in cultivation within the Sea of Consciousness.
His brows were slightly furrowed, and his eyelashes cast delicate shadows beneath his eyes. He seemed to have become one with the dusk around him.
In the silence, a faint sound suddenly came from the back row. Xiao Xiao, her hair tied in a side ponytail, clutched her skirt so tightly that her nails nearly dug into the soft flesh of her palms. As she watched the absorbed figure ahead of her, her heart felt as though it held a lively, leaping rabbit.
The words she had prepared long ago circled on the tip of her tongue, but she could not bring herself to say them. Remembering how Huo Yuhao had fought calmly beneath Zhou Yi's oppressive pressure in the square that day, she took a deep breath. Her skirt brushed the empty seats as she finally gathered her courage and stepped forward.
"Tap." The soft sound of a leather shoe striking the floor roused Huo Yuhao from his immersion in the Sea of Consciousness. He abruptly came to his senses, a lingering glow of Soul Power still in his blue eyes.
Xiao Xiao stood awkwardly beside his desk. The setting sun edged her profile in a soft golden glow, and the tips of her ears were so red they seemed ready to bleed. Her bright almond-shaped eyes were full of undisguised admiration. "Huo Yuhao, you're amazing! You actually beat Teacher Zhou!"
Her voice was crisp but trembled slightly, its ending rising involuntarily like a startled sparrow.
Huo Yuhao quickly waved his hand, his expression a little unnatural. "I was just lucky. Teacher Zhou had suppressed her cultivation at the time..."
"Can we be friends?" Xiao Xiao suddenly interrupted, clasping her hands before her chest and nervously twisting the bow on her skirt. She lifted her face, the hope in her eyes like stars on a midsummer night, and even her voice trembled. "I-I'll always support you."
Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded, but doubt stirred in his heart. Support me? This plot isn't quite right, is it? In his previous life, Xiao Xiao had clearly been a shy, introverted girl who always followed Wang Dong around. Why was she taking the initiative to befriend him now?
The slanting rays of the setting sun filtered through mottled parasol leaves, casting flecks of light and shadow over Huo Yuhao's sharply defined profile.
The pallor and frailty of his previous life had fallen away, and after his rebirth, he seemed to have been remolded by fate. Cultivating the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art had given him a reserved, steady bearing, and the composure that showed unwittingly in his every movement made him like a piece of uncut jade polished by the years, warm and lustrous yet concealing a sharp edge.
Yet what had truly made Xiao Xiao stop might not have been his outstanding looks. When Zhou Yi's oppressive pressure had shrouded the entire classroom like dark clouds, when the other students had lowered their heads in fear and silence.
The figure who had stepped forward without thinking was like a sharp sword piercing the gloom, leaving an indelible mark on the girl's heart.
For the rather shy Xiao Xiao, that radiance was too dazzling, too enticing. Now, that seemingly unreachable courage had appeared right before her eyes, like a lighthouse in the dark, drawing her closer in spite of herself.
She knew that the flutter in her heart might have come from admiration, and that looking up to him might have been mixed with a projection of her ideal self. But what of it?
Huo Yuhao politely nodded farewell to Xiao Xiao. Beyond the corridor, the evening clouds had set half the sky ablaze, but he had no mind to admire them. His thoughts were filled with the unease flickering in and out of sight deep within his Sea of Consciousness.
His premonition had grown stronger lately; it felt as though something was about to happen.
Returning to the dormitory, he pushed open the door, went straight to his bed, and sat down, sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.
"Though the bell hasn't sounded again..." he murmured. He did not sleep a wink that night, yet he found nothing strange.