The rain kept falling, gathering into waves with surging undercurrents in Sea God Lake.
The hazy curtain of rain completely obscured the view of those beneath the umbrellas, and they could not see what was happening on the other side.
"Big Brother Bei, just leave it at that. Some answers have to be found on your own," Huo Yuhao said.
Bei Bei clutched his wrist. The umbrella in his hand had long since fallen to the ground, and the rain instantly drenched him, leaving him utterly bedraggled.
Bei Bei gritted his teeth and shouted viciously, "Huo Yuhao, get out of my way! Who do you think you are? This has nothing to do with you."
Zhang Lexuan stepped forward, her cool eyes gazing at the distant curtain of rain. "Bei Bei, you should know that your great-great-grandfather told me long ago that I no longer had to be your child bride. Your great-great-grandfather told me that himself. I'm not your fiancée anymore. You'd better conduct yourself properly..."
Looking at Bei Bei, who was like a mad dog before him, Huo Yuhao could not be bothered with him. He took Zhang Lexuan along and walked toward the place where their gathering was being held.
"Stop right there!"
Violent thunder exploded amid the rain. Falling raindrops were shattered by lightning, filling the air with countless wisps of water vapor, and scales covered Bei Bei's right hand in the blink of an eye.
A net of lightning surged toward Huo Yuhao, carrying rainwater with it.
Huo Yuhao stepped out with his right foot, shifted his center of gravity, twisted around, and seized the sword hilt with his right hand.
Click! The short sword instantly lengthened.
Shing!
The longsword left its sheath. Clear raindrops kept falling onto the blade, reflecting its cold gleam. Sharp sword Qi soared skyward, and the falling raindrops inexplicably began spinning around the blade, forming a vortex around it.
Without the slightest hesitation, Huo Yuhao thrust the longsword in his hand toward the lightning net. The moment its tip touched the net, the swirling vortex of droplets pulled it along. With the sword tip as its center, the entire net spun clockwise and shrank uncontrollably, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
The longsword in his hand turned again, and the water on it scattered under the tremendous force. A snowy-white, cold gleam flashed across the blade, actually severing the falling streams of rain and creating a gap!
At that moment, under Huo Yuhao's sword strike, all the raindrops in that space seemed to have frozen, suspended in midair.
Bei Bei stared at the sight, utterly dumbfounded. When had Huo Yuhao become so strong?!
Swish!
Huo Yuhao sheathed his longsword in one fluid motion. The raindrops slowly fell, breaking the stillness of that space.
"Huo Yuhao! You-"
The lightning on the dragon claw of Bei Bei's hand erupted with golden light as he prepared to unleash another Soul Skill.
Like a phantom, Huo Yuhao rushed straight up to Bei Bei. His longsword turned, and its hilt slammed hard into Bei Bei's abdomen.
Bei Bei grunted, his eyes widening. The intense pain in his abdomen caused the lightning gathered in his hand to dissipate in the rain.
Huo Yuhao gave him no chance. Following through, he drove the hilt upward, and the tremendous force sent Bei Bei flying into the air.
He turned once more, his kicking leg like a phantom as it struck Bei Bei squarely.
In an instant, Bei Bei scraped across the wet ground, flying a full fifty meters before slowly coming to a stop.
Who am I? Where am I?
The constantly falling rain drenched Bei Bei's face and blurred his eyes. Silent tears slowly flowed out, and his soaked hair lay in disarray, leaving him utterly wretched.
He still had not recovered from Huo Yuhao's assault.
He clenched his fists tightly and turned his head. As he watched the two blurred figures in the distance slowly embrace, his pupils abruptly contracted!
His clenched fist smashed hard into the ground, and blood slowly stained the soil red.
Great-great-grandfather, why? Why did it turn out like this?
Despair? Helplessness? Pain kept flooding his mind, and hatred completely shrouded it.
Bei Bei stared blankly at the sky from which raindrops kept falling, and a wisp of dark flame began taking root and sprouting deep in his heart.
Damn it!
Damn Zhang Lexuan! Damn Huo Yuhao!
I'll make you pay!
You pair of scum made me look like a clown. I'll tear you into ten thousand pieces!
Bei Bei climbed up from the ground, staring fixedly in the direction the two had left. A streak of dark-black lightning flashed across his body, and he walked away in the opposite direction, step by step.
"Shadow, should we have someone place this Bei Bei under control when the time comes? I noticed a trace of divinity in his body."
Hugging Huo Yuhao's arm with a blissful expression, Zhang Lexuan voiced her thoughts.
"Have someone get him under control first. If anything goes wrong, eliminate him outright. Don't hold back. The gods have been interfering in the mortal world all along, secretly plotting to make people believe in them without realizing it..." Huo Yuhao said after thinking for a moment.
"I understand. The gods have long since influenced the people of the world. Our mission is to cut them off completely, so they can never influence the mortal world again."
"And there's only one way to accomplish that... slay the gods!"
Zhang Lexuan's gaze turned fierce as she looked at the boundless sky, Soul Power surging within her.
"All right, make the arrangements when the time comes. Shadow Garden needs to build up its strength." Huo Yuhao wiped the water from the ends of her hair and walked back with Zhang Lexuan.
"Sister Lexuan, what took you so long?! The grilled fish is about to burn..."
There was a black smudge on Tang Ya's nose, and the grilled fish in her hand was already charred black. She looked utterly pitiful.
"Xiao Ya, with your fish-grilling skills, you'd be better off just eating," Ma Xiaotao added, twisting the knife.
"Hmph!"
Huo Yuhao walked over, disposed of the grilled fish, and once again took up the role of skewer-grilling master.
The downpour had lasted for who knew how long. The enormous pit in Sea God Lake was now filled with rainwater, forming a small lake.
Huo Yuhao lay quietly in a chair, holding a teacup and leisurely sipping his tea.
Almost everyone else had already gone back. Only Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er remained.
"Yuhao, shouldn't we familiarize ourselves with each other's skills so we can coordinate better in tomorrow's freshman assessment? After all, our goal is first place!" Wang Dong'er said proudly.
Xiao Xiao nodded beside her as well.
"You have a point. My Martial Soul is Spirit Eyes, which means my eyes. As for my first Soul Skill, it's actually Spiritual Detection and Sharing. Through spiritual power, I can perform Mental Interference."
Huo Yuhao sat up and pointed at his eyes with a soft chuckle.
"Huh? Wait, you only told Teacher Zhou about Mental Interference. Why was that?" Wang Dong'er asked curiously.
Xiao Xiao blinked her large eyes and also looked curiously at Huo Yuhao, wanting to know the answer.
"Huh? I only know Mental Interference!" Huo Yuhao said in surprise.
Hearing this, Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao were both completely bewildered. Hadn't Huo Yuhao just said he knew other skills too?
Huo Yuhao reached out and lightly tapped Wang Dong'er's forehead. "Wang Dong, this is a trump card. To fool your enemies, you must first fool yourself." He then patted Xiao Xiao's head, smiling happily.
"As long as even you think it's true, how would anyone else know it's false?"