Huo Yuhao said, “He probably went back to do more closed-door cultivation, I"ll remind him later. Actually, he really should change his fighting style. He is powerful enough in this aspect, but he needs to choose when he should unleash his power. For example, if he can immobilize his opponent at the start of the fight, or even cause them to lose their ability to move, and then acc.u.mulate and release his energy, I believe the effects will be vastly different. A mere second or two of acc.u.mulation would greatly injure his opponent.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er said, “Don"t you think he needs a partner? For example, if he partners with you, he can start acc.u.mulating energy from the start. Then, you"ll be in charge of pinning the enemy down and preventing him from running away. When he acc.u.mulates enough energy, you can use your Spiritual Shock to make your opponent lose control. Doing so will ensure that Ji Juechen"s Solitary Domain will become deadly.”
When he heard what w.a.n.g Dong"er had said, Huo Yuhao was stunned. Then, his eyes lit up and he jumped up. He rushed toward w.a.n.g Dong"er and hugged her tightly as he spun her around.
w.a.n.g Dong"er gasped in shock. She blushed as she tapped his shoulder and asked, “What are you doing?”
Huo Yuhao put her down and said excitedly, “The bystander has the best perspective! You are right! I am a control-type soul master, and his style of attacking is extremely offensive and even deadly. If we can work together, we can fight those who are above our level. I can complement his weakness, is that what you"re saying?”
w.a.n.g Dong"er nodded.
Huo Yuhao wrung his hands and said, “I have always viewed him as an opponent, but I have never imagined that we could cooperate like this. With his sure-kill attack, we can even incorporate him into our team. He"ll be in charge of delivering the killing blow while we can help to control our opponent from the start. With his Solitary Domain as our coup de grâce, there are so many different ways to attack. For example, the moment he starts to acc.u.mulate energy, but before he has enough to release it, Third Senior can use his Mysterious Underworld Displacement to transport our most powerful enemy over. Then, he can unleash his deadly attack. Hehe.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er"s pupils shone brightly as she said, “Right, this can work too. However, he is overage. If not, he could have joined us for this Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament.”
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “This is fine, he"s now part of the Tang Sect. After all, a compet.i.tion is just a compet.i.tion. What is more important is the future of our Tang Sect. Looking at it now, it isn"t a bad thing for him and Jing Ziyan to tag along. Come, Dong"er, let"s take the time to cultivate. You all are six-ringed, and I need to get my sixth ring as fast as I can.”
With that, he took off his shoes and climbed onto his bed. He sat cross-legged and waited for w.a.n.g Dong"er to join him.
w.a.n.g Dong"er"s face turned sullen as she stood by the bed and asked, “Wait, I haven"t had the chance to ask you something yet. Yesterday, why did w.a.n.g Qiu"er look for you? How do you plan to split the soul bones with her after you return to the inner courtyard? Why do I feel that there"s something off about the way she treats you!?”
Huo Yuhao was stunned. He smiled bitterly and asked, “What"s wrong?”
w.a.n.g Dong"er snorted and said, “We are both women, and I can tell that when she looks at others, her gaze is icy cold. However, when she looks at you, her gaze will become gentle. If you don"t believe me, you can ask Elder Brother and the rest. They all noticed it too. I think w.a.n.g Qiu"er likes you.”
Cough cough! Huo Yuhao put on an angelic expression and said with a smile, “My dear Dong"er, don"t you believe me? I only have you in my heart.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er snorted and said, “I believe you. However, I still need to remind you. After all, she"s so pretty, and after a while, you"ll develop feelings for her. To prevent something like this from happening, you should avoid her as much as you can in the future. Give her the three soul bones so she won"t have a reason to keep looking for you.”
Huo Yuhao said with a smile, “Why do I feel that you are cute when you get jealous? Furthermore, there"s no reason for you to get jealous.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er"s face turned red, and she tugged her ear as she said, “Who"s the one getting jealous?! Is there a reason for me to get jealous?”
“I"m in the wrong!” Huo Yuhao said with a bitter look on his face. “Let"s cultivate, if not, I"ll sleep.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er snorted, and only then did she take off her shoes and climb onto the bed. After she sat down, she noticed that Huo Yuhao"s ears were turning red. While keeping a poker face, she leaned over to give his ear a rub.
Huo Yuhao chuckled bitterly. “Trouble comes to find me.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er said, “You have to promise me to interact with her less.”
“Yes, yes, I"ll interact with her less,” Huo Yuhao replied without hesitation.
“Are you lying to me?” w.a.n.g Dong"er asked suspiciously.
Huo Yuhao bellowed instantly, “May heaven be my witness as I swear this to you from the bottom of my heart. If not, I"ll…”
“Fine, I believe you.” w.a.n.g Dong"er placed her hand over his mouth.
Huo Yuhao instantly pulled her hand off and pulled her into his embrace. Having w.a.n.g Dong"er, with her light fragrance, in his arms was too comfortable. This even made his blood go wild.
Huo Yuhao"s promise to interact less with w.a.n.g Qiu"er was genuine. How could he not know how special w.a.n.g Dong"er was to him? While he could not be certain that w.a.n.g Qiu"er liked him, his heart was already full of Dong"er. Regardless of how similar the two of them were, they were still separate people. Huo Yuhao would never hurt his beloved Dong"er.
“Dong"er,” Huo Yuhao said quietly.
“Eh?” w.a.n.g Dong"er replied.
Huo Yuhao said, “I suddenly feel that Third Senior is right. Today"s weather is fine. Why don"t we pull the curtains open and sleep for a while? Didn"t you say that it"s fine for us to relax too? I"ll hug you to sleep, and I promise I won"t touch anywhere I"m not supposed to, alright?”
“No!” w.a.n.g Dong"er wriggled free from Huo Yuhao"s embrace, blushing. She raised her hands and said, “Let"s cultivate!”
While she was willing to lie in his embrace, they were not yet married! It was fine if they cultivated together in the day, but if they fell asleep together and were discovered, it would be very embarra.s.sing! Furthermore, the last time they fell asleep together was because they were drowsy. She was still unwilling to sleep with Huo Yuhao. After all, she was just a seventeen year-old girl. Her sense of restraint and shame was more than enough to let her rational side take over.
Huo Yuhao looked at her face, which was both blushing and filled with determination, and was stunned. “Dong"er, you are so pretty.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er did not give him anymore chances as she said, “Cultivate! Look at you, your eyes are red.”
“Alright, let"s cultivate.” Haplessly, Huo Yuhao raised his hands.
Their palms came into contact with each other as they closed their eyes. The Haodong Power flowed through both of them.
Light-type soul energy entered them and started to flow like a great river. This energy made all the pores in Huo Yuhao"s body open up. It was extremely comforting.
He still felt the best next to w.a.n.g Dong"er! He could not help but think about the time when he fused his martial soul with w.a.n.g Qiu"er. Perhaps that fusion could increase his powers to a greater extent, but w.a.n.g Qiu"er"s forceful cultivation would make their fused martial souls extremely violent. Not only would they injure their opponents, but they would also injure themselves.
As their soul power flowed and the Haodong Power kicked in, Huo Yuhao was able to catch some of the subtler changes. After the challenge of the Great Star Dou Forest, his overall strength had increased, including his control over his soul power. As the pressure increased, a soul master would be more be motivated to improve too.
A day pa.s.sed by quickly, and the Tang Sect became busier. Xuan Ziwen"s inclusion changed the dynamics of the sect. Under his guidance, the Soul Tool Hall was becoming more efficient. Of course, money was spent like water. While Xuan Ziwen personally made many exquisite tools for making soul tools, materials were still required. Huo Yuhao had brought many types of precious metals back, but they lacked ordinary metals, which had to be bought.
Xuan Ziwen was the go-to guy for making soul tools. However, he was no master of economics. After a single day, Bei Bei seemed extremely worn-out and fl.u.s.tered. Even so, he tried to fulfill all of Xuan Ziwen"s requests. If the Tang Sect wanted to continue bettering itself, the Soul Tool Hall had to get its act together. This was not the time to save money. To purchase enough materials, he had to borrow a lot of money from the main businesses of Shrek City.
They would never doubt the honor of the Tang Sect, as Bei Bei also brought with him the guarantee from Shrek Academy. Hence, the Tang Sect"s Soul Tool Hall was finally able to take off. According to Xuan Ziwen"s plan, the Soul Tool Hall"s next step was expansion. Only by getting enough s.p.a.ce could they continue to recruit people. Of course, they had to recruit experienced soul engineers! Only then could the Soul Tool Hall of the Tang Sect really take off!
As for this point, thanks to the communication between Bei Bei and He Caitou, the path for Xuan Ziwen to teach at Shrek Academy"s Soul Tool Department was cleared. While others might not know how powerful Xuan Ziwen was, how could Fan Yu and He Caitou, both of whom had visited the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall, not know? As a Cla.s.s 8 soul engineer, Fan Yu was clear about the difference between Xuan Ziwen and himself. If not for the fact that Xuan Ziwen"s cultivation was not yet at the level of a t.i.tled Douluo, he would have long since ascended to the level of a Rank 9 soul engineer. For him to instruct the Soul Tool Department was a privilege that money could not buy!