Absorbing Soul Bones

Hui Ye entered the dormitory, shut the door tightly, and took out three Soul Bones. He laid them out on the bed one by one, displaying his spoils.

Besides the Soul Bones, he also had 100,000 Gold Soul Coins, enough for him to squander for a long time.

"Hehe!"

Hui Ye released his first Soul Skill and restored his severed right arm. Then he picked up a Soul Bone, rubbed it up and down, and carefully examined the colored patterns on it.

This was the Right Leg Soul Bone Fan Yu had given him as compensation, and the finest of the three.

Hui Ye circulated a little Soul Power, and the Soul Bone seemed eager to merge with his body.

Click!

Huo Yuhao pushed the door open and entered the dormitory. Seeing that Hui Ye's right arm had long since recovered and that he was stroking the Soul Bone as though it were his precious wife, he twitched at the corners of his mouth.

"Aren't you afraid of being exposed?"

Hui Ye turned to look at him with an unfriendly gaze. "Exposed for what? Are you going to report that I can regenerate severed limbs?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"I definitely won't blab. I don't much like that teacher Zhou Yi either. She really can be unreasonable in the way she does things.

"You can fool other people about your severed arm, but Tang Ya and Bei Bei both know the truth.

"Word of what happened today is bound to get out. I don't need to tell you what your relationship with those two is like, do I?"

"Tang Ya? Don't worry, she won't tell anyone."

That was the conclusion Hui Ye had reached from observing Tang Ya yesterday.

Yesterday, Hui Ye had given Tang Ya a choice, and her silence said a great deal.

Did she really want to revive the Tang Sect, deep down?

She was only fooling herself. When all was said and done, she wanted to grow stronger, using the Tang Sect's power to do it. She thought it was a shortcut, but in reality, it was nothing of the sort.

If Tang Ya truly wanted to revive the Tang Sect, she would not have chosen to remain silent in response to Hui Ye's answer.

"All right, even if Tang Ya is willing to keep your secret, what about Bei Bei?"

Huo Yuhao knew all too well about Bei Bei's attempt to assassinate Hui Ye a few days ago.

Bei Bei would never miss such a golden opportunity to wipe away his humiliation.

Hui Ye's brow furrowed more gravely. "That is a problem."

"Even if we take another step back and assume Bei Bei doesn't expose your secret, how long can you keep your first Soul Skill hidden?" Huo Yuhao continued analyzing the situation for him.

Hui Ye let out a long sigh, as though he had resigned himself to his fate.

"Alas, it's too hard. I just wanted to earn a few Gold Soul Coins to spend. Why does it have to be so hard?"

Seeing this uncharacteristically negative attitude from him,

Huo Yuhao knitted his brows, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

"Alas, Yuhao, you're too naive," Tian Meng sighed.

Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and understood at once.

Hui Ye didn't care about the consequences at all. What kind of person was he? So what if he was exposed?

At worst, he could just run away. He had never intended to stay at Shrek Academy for real anyway.

Huo Yuhao covered his forehead, feeling inferior.

What did his extortion of a thousand Gold Soul Coins from Wang Dong amount to?

Hui Ye's move was a textbook example of what it meant to knock open the bones and suck out the marrow.

Huo Yuhao said helplessly, "Bei Bei and Tang Ya went to hunt Soul Beasts. They won't be back anytime soon."

"Mm-hmm," Hui Ye replied perfunctorily.

Huo Yuhao: ...

Hui Ye had no time to pay Huo Yuhao any attention. He sat cross-legged on the bed and circulated his Soul Power, adjusting himself to his peak condition before slapping the Soul Bone onto his right leg.

Countless threads of Soul Power poured into his right leg, wrapped tightly around the Soul Bone, and pulled it into his body.

One minute later, the Soul Bone had finished merging with him.

The Soul Bone had resisted during the process, but Hui Ye had suppressed it with reckless disregard for his life and forced the fusion.

He didn't care about pain anyway, so the fusion was naturally incredibly fast.

Huo Yuhao swallowed, his throat a little dry. When he saw Hui Ye open his eyes, he asked cautiously:

"How did it feel?"

Hui Ye glanced at him with a meaningful smile.

"Very moist!"

Huo Yuhao's face instantly turned red.

"I thought you were a good kid, but it turns out you're a black-hearted sesame dumpling too." Hui Ye rubbed his chin, a teasing look in his eyes.

Huo Yuhao was at a loss for words. He retorted, "What do you mean, 'too'? You're obviously the blackest-hearted one here.

"Black inside and out, with a layer of white sugar coating on the surface."

Hui Ye picked up another Soul Bone from the bed and casually tossed it to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao hurriedly caught the Soul Bone as it spun through the air like a top. "Be careful! What if it breaks?"

"Can your Soul Bones break from a fall?"

Hui Ye rolled his eyes, then waggled his eyebrows at Huo Yuhao.

"Want it?"

Huo Yuhao hugged the Soul Bone, hardly daring to breathe. Its brilliant colored light dazzled him so much he could barely open his eyes.

"You're really giving it to me?" Huo Yuhao stared at Hui Ye in disbelief.

A smile tugged at Hui Ye's lips. "Really! Truer than real gold!"

Huo Yuhao's hands began to tremble, for fear that he might accidentally drop the Soul Bone on the floor.

"Yuhao, is that all you've got?" Tian Meng said disdainfully.

"But this is a Soul Bone!" Huo Yuhao exclaimed excitedly in his mind.

"I can't blame you, though. You've never seen anything good since you were little."

Tian Meng said bluntly, "Even a Thousand-Year Soul Bone is worth a lot.

"Think about it. Could this guy really be kind enough to give it to you?

"Do you think you're some kind of great beauty?"

"Uh."

As if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, Huo Yuhao calmed down. A little less confidently, he probed, "You're really giving it to me?"

Hui Ye narrowed his eyes. "You really believed me?"

"!"

Huo Yuhao secretly pinched his own thigh.

"Just have a sniff and be satisfied. Don't get any ideas."

Hui Ye pulled the Soul Bone from Huo Yuhao's hands, adding as he did so, "Keep pinching and it'll turn purple."

Huo Yuhao plunged headfirst under his blanket.

How embarrassing!

It was so damn embarrassing.

"No way, no way. Surely nobody actually believes someone would give away a Soul Bone for free?"

"Shut up!"

Huo Yuhao felt like a clown.

"Kukuku!"

Hui Ye teased Huo Yuhao a few more times, then absorbed the remaining two Soul Bones one by one.

After sensing the changes in his body, he couldn't help swearing aloud.

"Damn, only half a level? Thousand-Year Soul Bones are way too lame.

"If they were Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones, my Soul Power would have risen by at least one level."

Huo Yuhao lifted the blanket, his tone sour. "You got a bargain and still have to act smug about it. They were free, and you're still picking and choosing."

"What do you mean, free? This was compensation. I traded an arm for it, understand?"

Hui Ye spoke with righteous conviction, sunlight falling on his face and giving him a divine radiance.

What difference was there between an arm and something free to him?

What a disgusting face.

Huo Yuhao grumbled about him in secret and lay on his bed, being emo by himself.

That afternoon, Fan Yu sent He Caitou to deliver the mechanical arm.

To avoid exposing himself too soon, Hui Ye could only cut off his left arm to receive the new mechanical one.

Huo Yuhao witnessed the entire process of Hui Ye mutilating himself, and his heart pounded with fear.

A ruthless man. He really was a ruthless man.

Didn't it hurt?

Thinking of how Hui Ye had genuinely bled and had traded his arm for the Soul Bones, Huo Yuhao felt at ease.

He deserved to get those Soul Bones.

How many people could match that ruthlessness?

The next day, the class welcomed a new teacher.

Wang Yan stood at the lectern in a spotless white shirt. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and swept his gaze over the students, finally pausing on Hui Ye for a moment. After giving him a slight nod, he said in a ringing voice:

"Hello, students. My name is Wang Yan, and from now on, I'll be your homeroom teacher.

"I've already heard about what happened in class yesterday.

"As a teacher, I don't want anything like that to happen in our class again.

"I hope that teachers and students alike can treat one another with solidarity and friendship, and make progress together."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Applause and cheers rang out below.

Wang Yan raised a hand and pressed it down in the air, signaling for quiet.

"You're still freshmen and haven't yet been formally assigned to classes. You'll study together for a while before the specific class assignments are made.

"Now I'd like to choose a class monitor. If you have any ideas, you can bring them up now."

Everyone looked at one another.

Wang Dong was the first to stand.

"Student Wang Dong, what do you have in mind?"

Wang Yan was already thoroughly familiar with every student and could call them by name without even looking at the roster.

"Teacher, I suggest an arena tournament. Whoever wins becomes class monitor."

With that, Wang Dong turned to look at Hui Ye, a challenge in her eyes.

"Dare to fight? Don't worry, I'll let you have the use of one hand."