"Hah. Wang Dong... Please, listen to me." Huo Yuhao let out deep sigh as he turned to his friend when they left the classroom
Wang Dong continued to ignore him, opting to head towards the plaza to heed Zhou Yi's punishment.
'Why are you being so difficult?!' Huo Yuhao's eye twitched and with incredible speed and agility, he already caught up to Wang Dong from behind and grabbed his right hand.
Although he had heavy bracelets on, only affecting his body and not anything else or he would always create a hole on the ground everytime he walked, he was still faster than an ordinary person.
He was now getting used to the weights, which meant it was time to readjust them once more and he was thinking on 200 kilograms this time.
But that thought was for later, right now he wanted to talk to Wang Dong.
In the instant Huo Yuhao grabbed on Wang Dong's hand however, Wang Dong was immediately stunned. Huo Yuhao's eyes went wide as well.
Both then shared a look with the same amount of shock and simultaneously yelled, "What the heck?!"
A strange thing had happened to the two. When Huo Yuhao's hand touched Wang Dong's, it seemed like the two had been connected. Huo Yuhao's soul power had flowed into Wang Dong'ss body in a very natural manner, while Wang Dong's soul power had slowly flowed back. It was as if the two had formed a complete whole and created some kind of cycle of connection.
Their issue was forgotten at the moment, instead, they got curious of this connection that they had.
Wanting to find out more, Huo Yuhao held out his other hand and silently urges Wang Dong to place his.
Wang Dong bit his lips, obviously hesitant, but in the end, he reluctantly gives out his other hand and placed it on top of Huo Yuhao's.
The moment he did, the soul power from Huo Yuhao's Mysterious Heaven Technique started moving. It flowed rapidly from his right hand into Wang Dong's left hand. Then, his left hand generated what seemed to be an absorption force that absorbed Wang Dong's soul power into his body. The soul power of the two rapidly circulated, and the speed of this circulation was at least double the speed of Huo Yuhao's previous circulation speed.
Wang Dong was educated with far more advanced knowledge so he immediately realized what had happened.
"Try controlling it for a bit. Try and pour it into your body." As he spoke, he pulled back his left hand.
Immediately, Huo Yuhao felt that his soul power was explosively increasing at a astonishing rate; an unprecedented feeling of power filled his entire body.
The soul power that had laid dormant for months seems to have awakened, surging through his veins with a newfound intensity. Unfortunately however, since he was at rank 20 and without a second soul ring, it was like a dam that was about to burst. The surge of soul power was overwhelming, causing Huo Yuhao's body to tremble uncontrollably.
Although it didn't increase his soul power rank, the surge of soul power began to slowly strengthen his internal vessels, muscles and bones.
The two shared a deep look at each other, and Huo Yuhao sighed. "Wang Dong, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, y'know, but it's a natural reaction for every boy in the morning. I get that you're pissed but I'm honest when I said that I only like women, especially the busty ones. Like senior Ma for example."
Wang Dong's eye twitched.
"But the point is, Wang Dong, I don't want to ruin our friendship because of this accident. I value our bond more than anything. Can't we just forget about it and move on?" Huo Yuhao pleaded, his voice filled with sincerity.
Wang Dong remained silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and grinned. "Fine, you cheeky bastard. I won't be mad anymore."
Huo Yuhao's face lit up.
"However! I still won't forgive you..." Huo Yuhao's face fell again, making Wang Dong inwardly giggle. "unless you make me some roasted fish and ramen."
"Alright, alright. As many as you want. I'll feed you until you can't eat anymore," Huo Yuhao said, relieved that their friendship was intact.
Right at this moment, an angry voice rang out from the window of the teaching building, "Why aren't you two wearing your chainmail and running?! Stop flirting with each other and start running!"
Startled, the two hurriedly let go of each other, then ran back towards their dorm rooms.
Though not before they tripped when they heard someone else yell,
"Gaaaay!"
'...Whoever that was, you have forfeited your life.' Huo Yuhao twitched, his Sharingan in full display.
They had already been running with chainmail for three months, so doing it now was a walk in the park for them. The two diligently ran till the bell rang, and only when Xiao Xiao came to the field to find them did they stop.
"So, how was it? Did teacher Zhao gave any other punishment for us?" Huo Yuhao asked, with a more physical fit body than his peers, was only slightly out of breath.
Xiao Xiao didn't reply immediately. She was out of daze for a moment, staring blankly below Huo Yuhao's collarbone; admiring the well-toned muscles seen through his soaked white t-shirt he was wearing after he took off his chainmail, showcasing his muscular physique.
'Abs...'
'Xiao Xiao, I understand how you feel right now but don't be so obvious!' Wang Dong inwardly reprimanded, though he himself was also admiring Huo Yuhao's well-toned body.
She hurriedly shook her head, her face turning red. "N-no, there were no extra punishments. She just cheered everyone up and gave us some encouragement. After that, she analysed the situation of our opponents. It's going to be... a bit difficult for us to become champions."
Wang Dong softly coughed, "How so? You've seen just one overpowered ability of Yuhao, you still haven't seen his ninja skills and firebreathing."
Huo Yuhao facepalmed, Xiao Xiao was stunned.
"Wait, what?! Huo Yuhao can do that? Since when!?"
"From the very start," Huo Yuhao replied, glaring at a sheepish looking Wang Dong. "sorry for not telling you. I wanted it to be a surprise later on when we fight for championship."
"Now I'm really looking forward to our future matches." Xiao Xiao vibrated, looking excited. Just how strong was Huo Yuhao?!
'This is the man that I crushed on!'
"So what makes you say that this was going to become a bit difficult for us?" Huo Yuhao asked.
Xiao Xiao curled her lips and said, "Teacher Zhou told us that out of the five teams which achieved complete victories, three had three-ringed Soul Elders. How confident are you againsts three-ringed soul masters?"
"Soul Elders?!" Wang Dong was stunned.
It was widely known that it was rare enough for someone to reach Soul Grandmaster at the age of 12, but Soul Elder? Their talent practically equalled people like Tang San from the original Shrek Seven Monsters!
Though of course, Wang Dong himself could have became a Soul Elder as well if he wasn't so lazy...
"Eh, in a fair one v one? About 50-60% of victory, depending on what their martial souls and skills are." Huo Yuhao shrugged. "But if I went all out and used my usual fighting style? Complete victory."
Both turned towards him in shock.
Huo Yuhao didn't care about their reaction and said, "Also, we only have two soul elders as potential opponents. The third one should be Ning Tian. I've already had several spars with her and Wu Feng in the past."
His lips curled, "So if they learned anything from them, they wouldn't fight us."
"Oh, right. I completely forgot about that..." Wang Dong muttered, having witnessed their spars in the past.
If there's ever a time he'd be friendly to Wu Feng, it was when he tried comforting her with Ning Tian after she got beaten badly by Huo Yuhao.
Xiao Xiao pursed her lips, "But we still have two Soul Elders as opponents, and their teammates are possibly even Soul Grandmasters. Are you really sure...?"
Huo Yuhao grinned, raised his thumb up, and pointed it at his heart.
"Yeah. We got this!"
Xiao Xiao's eyes flashed with determination as she nodded. "Alright, let's do our best then. We may be at a disadvantage, but with your skills, Huo Yuhao, I believe we can still win."
Wang Dong smirked. "Of course we can. We have the most formidable team in the entire first year, after all."
With their confidence renewed, the three friends shared smiles with each other.
*Grumble~*
Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong blinked. They then looked down at their stomachs and remembered that they haven't eaten anything yet.
"Pfft. Wanna go eat?" Xiao Xiao giggled.
"Yeah."
"I'm so hungry..."
The two nodded in agreement.
....
The next day.
The rules of the knock-out tournament were very simple; there would be one match in the morning and one match in the afternoon every day, and eliminated teams would have to return to class, while victorious teams would continue to compete. After three days, the top three teams would be decided.
After the lots were drawn, the round of sixty-four immediately started, and thirty-two matches were simultaneously held. This way, they could shorten the time used for the tournament and give victorious students ample time to rest for their afternoon match.
This time, Huo Yuhao's team was sent to the 15th area; their proctor had been changed as well. This time, the proctor in charge of them was a thirty-or-so-year-old female teacher who looked extremely good-natured.
"Hm?" Huo Yuhao blinked his eyes, recognizing his opponents.
They were his classmates!
But that wasn't all.
The guy in front leading them? Huo Yuhao's eyes turn icy cold, glaring down at the now sweating boy; trying to get behind his teammates but was forcefully pushed back. They knew the former very well after all, and they wouldn't want to get caught in the crossfire!
He was the guy who yelled out Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as gay.
Huo Yuhao relayed this information to Wang Dong through Spiritual Sharing and the two immediately zoned in on the boy.
'Fuck!' Their classmate inwardly cursed. He'd experienced the strength of Wang Dong before and Huo Yuhao's terrifying illusions so he knew he had no chance of winning.
As the proctor called out for the match to begin, the boy was already planning to give up. His teammates would understand.
Unfortunately however, he still underestimated how petty Huo Yuhao could be when he's angry.
"We–!"
The boy didn't managed to finish what he was about to say when rubber ball hit straight at his face, stunning him.
His teammates were so surprised that they didn't notice Huo Yuhao appearing between them and behind their leader, knees lowered.
And before anyone could react, Huo Yuhao clasped his hands together, curled his fingers in and leaving only his index and middle fingers extended.
"Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand of Death!"
Huo Yuhao swiftly struck his fingers into the one of the most vulnerable spot on anyone, whether they be male or female–his ass.
The reaction was obvious.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The boy let out an ear-piercing scream, as he comically leaped to the air, clutching his behind and falling to the ground in agony. His teammates stood there in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened.
Huo Yuhao calmly stepped back, a smug grin on his face. "That's what you get for calling us gay. Now," the boy's teammates flinched as Huo Yuhao turned to stare at them, menacingly. "what are you two going to do now?"
"We surrender!" They didn't hesitate.
'....What?' The people who were observing the match; classmates, schoolmates, teachers and the proctor shared the same thought as they watched this scene.
"..." Zhou Yi covered her face, completely embarrassed as she saw Huo Yuhao and his teammates being all happy and proud.
'I'm so going to hit that bastard's face.'
In another stage, a certain red haired girl shivered.
Due to that, she was punched in the face by her opponent but she was fortunately saved by her teammate and both of them retreated towards their leader.
"Wu Feng, what are you doing? Why did you froze up like that?" Ning Tian asked, brows furrowed.
"I..." Wu Feng trembled, she looked down at her hands and felt a strange feeling from her but that she unconsciously clenched them soft buns together. "I don't know why...but it feels as though I feel a great disturbance."
"Huh?" Ning Tian and their teammate were stunned. What the hell is she talking about?
'This feeling... I can't be wrong, I have only felt this sort of feeling from that one time.' Wu Feng turned towards the direction where she had felt that uneasy feeling.
'Huo Yuhao, did you used that forbidden technique once more?'
.....
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