Meanwhile, elsewhere, Xiao Xiao froze for a moment when she saw Huo Yuhao.
Then she took the initiative to walk up to him with a smile and say hello.
"Huo Yuhao, long time no see."
Seeing Xiao Xiao approach him, Huo Yuhao paused for a moment, then nodded lightly.
"Long time no see. By the way, you actually joined the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy?"
At that, Xiao Xiao reflected on the past and told him what had happened.
To be precise, after she went home that time, Huo Yuhao's words had begun to shake her resolve. Was Shrek Academy really an academy she absolutely had to join?
Afterward, Xiao Xiao had looked into it, but most of what she found was positive, and Shrek did indeed represent absolute glory for the past ten thousand years.
Xiao Xiao had finally managed to find a way to break the deadlock: Zhou Yi.
She expelled students on a whim, even those with outstanding talent.
Although Xiao Xiao was highly talented herself, she still presented the example.
And she put it very plainly.
"Since Shrek Academy isn't as good as we imagined, why can't I try something else?"
Those words had silenced the entire Xiao Family.
As for how she came into contact with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, that had also been thanks to a chance encounter.
Or perhaps Xiao Xiao had already been considering her own path by then.
She had already acquired her Soul Rings in advance. And although one of her Martial Souls, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, leaned toward control, while the other, the Nine Phoenix Worshipping Flute, leaned toward support, she herself didn't want to stand at the very back.
Then, by chance, she learned about the Sun Moon Empire's tactics and its performance in the previous tournament.
Xiao Xiao chose to look into it and discovered that, with the help of Soul Tools, even support-type Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire could possess combat abilities of their own.
At that moment, Xiao Xiao's heart was stirred. After a long struggle with her family, they finally agreed to let her join the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
After joining, Xiao Xiao had relied on her exceptional talent to become one of the reserve talents the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy focused on nurturing in her generation.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao looked somewhat moved.
That was right. At Shrek, Xiao Xiao had chosen the team of her own accord and become a so-called offensive support.
With the help of Soul Tools, she had found the path that truly belonged to her.
For Xiao Xiao, perhaps that was the best outcome.
At that moment, Xiao Xiao spoke up enthusiastically.
"I've now become our first defensive counterattack-type, battlefield-control Soul Engineer."
Hearing "defensive counterattack-type,"
Huo Yuhao rubbed his chin. Come to think of it, it really did suit her.
The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron could defend and control, while the Nine Phoenix Worshipping Flute provided support.
Combined with Soul Tool Turret tactics,
Xiao Xiao really could become a central figure on the battlefield.
With the help of Soul Tools, Xiao Xiao had also begun to display her own true brilliance and talent.
He reflected on that for a moment, and even thought of Shrek's so-called Ultimate Individual Soldier.
Xiao Xiao had taken the opposite path: a warfare type with absolute battlefield control.
As the two chatted briefly and reflected,
a white-haired boy and girl walked over.
"I heard you're the psychological mentor who saved Xiao Xiao's life and made her want to figure out what she wanted for her future, right? I'm Xiao Hongchen, captain of the Sun Moon Empire's reserve team. For that, when we fight, I, this genius, will make your exit as dignified as possible."
Listening to Xiao Hongchen's somewhat chuuni declaration,
Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised.
How could someone hailed as the Sun Moon Empire's foremost publicly acknowledged native genius not have his own pride?
And although Xiao Hongchen had ultimately taken the wrong path in order to defeat the former original owner of this body,
under those circumstances, he had also felt that he bore the glory of the entire empire.
Relatively speaking, he was hardly unforgivably wicked.
"My name is Meng Hongchen. Hello."
Meng Hongchen nodded lightly and spoke politely.
Huo Yuhao gave a slight nod in return, and their conversation ended. There was no particular hostility between the two sides.
After all, although they were facing each other, for the Sun Moon Empire, their ultimate opponent had always been Shrek.
As they parted ways, Meng Hongchen whispered to Xiao Xiao.
"Xiao Xiao, he's pretty good-looking. He'd be quite a match for you."
Xiao Xiao's cheeks instinctively flushed at those words, and she hurriedly protested.
"Senior Sister Meng, you... don't joke about that. I just think of him as my benefactor, and he also helped me find my own path, so I'm only a little grateful..."
"Oh~ A little grateful, and then you think about meeting him again, only to find that you can never erase his image from your mind... What a shippable scenario..."
Meng Hongchen looked like she was shipping the pair.
But before Meng Hongchen could continue, Xiao Xiao, her face bright red, could only force herself onto tiptoe and clamp a hand over Meng Hongchen's mouth.
Xiao Xiao shot Meng Hongchen a fierce glare and muttered,
"Senior Sister Meng, when you find someone you like someday, I'll tease you the same way."
Hearing that, Meng Hongchen raised an eyebrow and spoke rather openly.
"Oh, what's there to be afraid of? The person I like has to be very handsome and strong, too."
"Xiao Meng, are you saying you want to find a copy of your brother?"
Xiao Hongchen spoke with a hint of self-satisfaction, but Meng Hongchen shot him an annoyed glare.
"Brother, please don't ruin the image of the man of my dreams. You're strong enough, but your looks..."
"Hey, Xiao Meng, you..."
Amid the playful bickering, Xiao Xiao glanced back one last time in the direction Huo Yuhao had disappeared.
Now, she found him even harder to forget. She still thought it might be gratitude, coupled with the fact that Huo Yuhao had made her take that step of her own accord and with courage.
But Xiao Xiao couldn't quite put that feeling into words...
Elsewhere, the people from the Sun Moon Empire were momentarily dumbfounded when those from Shrek Academy arrived.
They had seen Tang Yuhao, and Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen had even pressed Xiao Xiao to ask whether Huo Yuhao had a brother or something.
After a moment of surprise, Xiao Xiao was quite certain that he shouldn't have one, right?
After pondering briefly, Xiao Xiao sought Tang Yuhao out in private and couldn't help asking softly,
"Hello, do you have an older brother named Huo Yuhao?"
Tang Yuhao's mind instantly went blank. He shook his head almost instinctively; after all, in his present memories, he had no older brother.
But then he suddenly remembered that figure who looked somewhat like him.
Could it be that he had forgotten something?
So Tang Yuhao instinctively asked in return,
"Huo Yuhao... where is he?"
Thinking back on their similar names and even their somewhat similar looks,
Tang Yuhao wanted all the more to see Huo Yuhao again and get to the bottom of that strange feeling.