Since he couldn"t find anyone, he figured he might as well go to the canteen, where he might run into someone, as well as grab a bite to eat.
Huo Yuhao walked out from the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion and rushed straight to the canteen in the inner courtyard.
It was meal time. When he went into the canteen, he saw many familiar faces. Furthermore, the food in the inner courtyard had been prepared. Some people were queuing up, while some were already eating.
“Hey, isn"t this Huo Yuhao? What a rare guest! How does he have time to come to the inner courtyard?” some unfriendly voices spoke up. When Huo Yuhao turned his head, he immediately saw a familiar face. It was Wu Feng, the person who had opposed him when he first came into the Academy.
It had been a long time since he had met her. Wu Feng appeared less sinister than she had in the past. Her body was much more slender, and she was also much more voluptuous. She looked a little bit like Ma Xiaotao back then.
Ning Tian was seated beside Wu Feng. When he saw Huo Yuhao, his expression also turned slightly weird.
They had gone through the Love Querying test in the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley. Finally, Ning Tian had managed to change her gender, from a "she" to a "he".
When she returned, Ning Tian spent a long time trying to adapt. It was only because of Wu Feng"s help that she managed to gradually adapt to becoming a guy. At the same time, she fell in love with her male ident.i.ty. After all, she could now openly be together with Wu Feng after she became a man. She could also become the true heir to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect.
After that, the two of them cultivated together in the inner courtyard. Due to their compatibility, they improved very quickly. They thought Huo Yuhao wouldn"t be able to catch up to their cultivation speed, as he was too busy outside. Perhaps their gap had already been reduced significantly.
“Wu Feng, how are you?” Huo Yuhao greeted Wu Feng. At the same time, he nodded at Ning Tian. Naturally, he wouldn"t comment much on her gender change.
It wasn"t just Wu Feng and Ning Tian who were there. After hearing their conversation, a few familiar faces came over. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were among them, along with Xie Huanyue.
They were once rising figures in the outer courtyard. Many years had pa.s.sed since then. Right now, Wu Feng, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu had become the elite disciples of the inner courtyard.
As they developed, the older generation of disciples, led by Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming, had already graduated. They were now involved in some enterprises related to Shrek City. Although they hadn"t left the Academy, they were no longer part of the inner courtyard. Among the new generation of disciples, Dai Huabin was currently the strongest. He was now close to becoming a Soul Sage. Although some of the more experienced inner courtyard disciples were stronger than him, it didn"t change the fact that he was one of the leading figures in the younger generation of disciples.
When Dai Huabin saw Huo Yuhao, he was not as indifferent and hostile as he was before. However, he didn"t appear overly friendly, either. He nodded back before pulling Zhu Lu away to get their food.
Wu Feng snorted and replied, “I was doing well, but I don"t think you"re that well. Why are you here? Are you still an inner courtyard disciple? I"ve never seen you cultivating in the inner courtyard.”
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly. “Of course I am. I"ve not officially graduated. I"m here today to take the graduation test.”
Wu Feng"s eyes brightened. “Graduation test? It seems like you"re confident. Our graduation test is very difficult.”
Huo Yuhao said, “Let me try then. If I can"t, I"ll continue working hard. Take a seat, I"ll go get something to eat.” As he spoke, he turned around and went to get some food. He really was quite hungry by now.
---
The food in the inner courtyard was as scrumptious as ever. Huo Yuhao got a big portion of emerald sea cuc.u.mber and another portion of stewed dragon meat, as well as some hibiscus crystal rice. He found a corner and started eating.
The inner courtyard disciples in the canteen weren"t just people that Huo Yuhao was familiar with. There were some who he didn"t recognize. There were other guys and ladies who were curious when they saw Wu Feng talking to him. They were all inner courtyard disciples, but they had never seen Huo Yuhao before. Naturally, they were curious.
Although Huo Yuhao wasn"t particularly handsome, he had a very special aura. Even in a canteen full of elites, he became the focus of everyone"s attention when he entered.
---
Wu Feng twisted her lips and whispered to Ning Tian, “Brother Tian, what do you think Huo Yuhao"s cultivation is at right now? Do you think he"s a Soul Sage yet?”
Ning Tian replied, “I guess so. He"s been a member of the Sea G.o.d"s Pavilion since some time ago. He enjoys much greater privileges compared to the rest of us. Although I don"t know what he"s been busy with all this while, it feels like he"s much stronger than he was before.”
Wu Feng snorted and said, “So what if he"s stronger? We"ve been working so hard recently. We"ll be able to close the gap. He bloomed early. But if he doesn"t work hard, he"ll soon be overtaken. When we"re t.i.tled Douluo, we don"t know who will be stronger.”
Ning Tian shook his head as he chuckled. He didn"t say anything. In fact, both he and Wu Feng knew that they couldn"t compare to Huo Yuhao in terms of talent. Wu Feng wouldn"t admit it only because of her own pride. They all knew that Huo Yuhao had long since transcended their level.
They had always treated Huo Yuhao as their target. As for whether they could catch up to him, it was unknown.
They weren"t the only ones who treated Huo Yuhao as a target. Xie Huanyue and the rest whispered at this moment, “I think it"s going to be difficult to catch up to him! He even established the Spirit PaG.o.da. When all of you are at seven rings, are you going to choose to fuse with Spirits?”
After hearing Xie Huanyue"s words, Wu Feng and Ning Tian looked at one another, and couldn"t hide their desire.
They had seen how effective Spirits were. Right now, everyone knew that Spirits greatly enhanced the abilities of soul masters. If a Spirit was used well, it could be far more powerful than soul rings. To most soul masters, fusing with a strong Spirit to be their origin Spirit was the best. At least up until now, no one had fused with two Spirits as Huo Yuhao had.
Xie Huanyue lowered her voice, “If you want to fuse with a Spirit, it"s best not to offend him. He holds an important position in the Spirit PaG.o.da. Even the elders in the Spirit PaG.o.da respect his opinions. If he comes up with any tricks, we"ll be unable to do anything.”
Wu Feng was petrified, and retracted some of her initial hostility. To genius soul masters like them, their future abilities and cultivation couldn"t be taken lightly!
Ning Tian laughed as he shook his head and said, “If Huo Yuhao was so petty, he wouldn"t be so successful now. You don"t have to worry about this. However, I don"t think he"s simply back for the graduation test.”
Wu Feng was stunned as she asked, “Don"t tell me you"re talking about the Sea G.o.d"s Fated Blind Date tonight?”
Ning Tian nodded and said, “He might partic.i.p.ate. Otherwise, why did he come back within these two days to take the test? w.a.n.g Dong"er is missing, and he hasn"t graduated. He"s also single. According to the rules of the inner courtyard, he has to partic.i.p.ate!”
Wu Feng"s expression turned weird as she looked at Ning Tian.
Ning Tian turned red and asked, “Why are you looking at me? It"s all in the past.”
Wu Feng coughed and said, “Nothing, I"ll keep a close watch on you! Let"s go and watch tonight.”
Ning Tian nodded and said, “Let"s go. We can watch from the boat.”
---
As they were discussing things, Huo Yuhao was having a good time with his meal. The food didn"t disappoint him. As he ate, he felt a warm feeling in his belly, which slowly flowed out to his arms. He was feeling extremely relaxed.
Even though he had the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence in his body, and didn"t need to eat since he could get his nutrients from the ice essence, it was much more satisfying to gain his strength through eating. Who would not want delicacies? Huo Yuhao was often starving when he was a child. He treasured and enjoyed food a lot.
He gobbled up all his food and left nothing at all on his plate.
Just as he was finished eating, someone knocked on his table.
Huo Yuhao ate his last mouthful of rice, puzzled as he lifted his head. Being disturbed while eating wasn"t very proper. Initially, he thought it was Wu Feng or Dai Huabin. However, he discovered it was a middle-aged man he didn"t know when he lifted his head.
This man looked as if he was thirty-some years old. He appeared very solemn, and asked coldly, “Who asked you to eat in the inner courtyard canteen? Who are you? Tell me your name!”
“What?” Huo Yuhao was stunned. “I"m a disciple of the inner courtyard. Why can"t I eat in the inner courtyard?”
The middle-aged man snorted, “Do we have such a disciple? Not even wearing your uniform?”
“This…” Huo Yuhao was a little awkward. “I"m sorry! You must be a teacher in the inner courtyard. I"ve not been in the inner courtyard for some time, and my uniform no longer fit me. That is why I"m dressed in something else. Look, this is my badge.”
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao quickly removed his badge from his chest and pa.s.sed it over.