Wang Dongâer nodded and said, âAs long as you remember who you are.â
Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, âYouâre everything that I am. Iâm hungry, dear.â
âLetâs go grab a bite to eat.â
Wang Dongâer pushed Huo Yuhao into the canteen. When they entered the canteen, Huo Yuhao was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar figure.
Bei Beiâs face was still a little pale, but he was nonetheless sitting alongside everyone else. Huo Yuhao immediately exclaimed excitedly when he saw him, âEldest senior brother!â
Bei Bei smiled and said, âHow are you feeling? You must be quite exhausted from yesterday. From what I hear, you havenât even had breakfast yet.â
Wang Dongâer pushed Huo Yuhao next to Bei Bei and then sat down next to him.
Huo Yuhao asked, âHow are your wounds, eldest senior brother?â
Bei Bei answered, âBoth the aura and darkness energy have finally been completely expelled. I should be alright once I recover some of my vitality.â
âThatâs fantastic!â Huo Yuhao said animatedly, âI can finally heave a sigh of relief. Iâll be a lot more relaxed with you around to lead our company of eight.â
Bei Bei smiled faintly and said, âIâm afraid that itâll be quite difficult for you to relax. Weâll be facing off against Shrek Academyâs team tomorrow. What do you have in mind?â
Huo Yuhao pondered momentarily, before saying, âI was just about to discuss this with everyone. Weâre stronger than they are when it comes to overall fighting strength, but I want to let them come out on top as we enter the next round just in case. If we do that, their opponents in the quarterfinals will be relatively weaker.â
There would be four different matches in the quarter-finals. Even though the matchups in the quarter-finals had yet to be determined. However, all it took to decide them was a simple lottery, and all four quarter-final matches would consist of the number-one of one group against the number-two of the second group. This also meant that, if the Tang Sect progressed as the second-place team in their group, theyâd be matched against a team that had topped the table in their group. Following this reasoning, there was a one-in-three chance that the Tang Sect would come up against the Holy Ghost Sect in the quarter-finals.
However, if Shrek Academy topped the table and entered the quarterfinals, theyâd be up against a second-placed team from another group, which would greatly reduce their burden.
Bei Bei turned to his companions and said, âTell me what you guys think.â
Jiang Nannan was the first to speak. âI stand by my words. We belong to Shrek, thus weâre all part of their team. No matter how far we go this time, weâve already gained the glory and honor that we deserve. However, Shrek Academyâs team has to reach the finals to keep their glory and honor. I agree with Huo Yuhaoâs suggestion.â
She turned around to face Xu Sanshi after her comment.
Xu Sanshi felt a little helpless. âWhyâre you looking at me? Am I not from Shrek Academy as well? I agree with you.â
âAgreed.â He Caitouâs answer was a lot simpler.
âI agree.â Xiao Xiao was a little louder than usual, but she fully displayed her determination.
Wang Dongâer nodded and chimed in, âI agree.â
Bei Bei smiled and said, âAlright, itâs settled then. We shall take these few days to adjust our conditions, especially you, Yuhao. Even if I take part in the battle, youâre still the core of the team, as well as Shrekâs Seven Monstersâ mastermind.â
âAlright.â Huo Yuhao nodded.
âLetâs dig in.â Bei Bei continued with a smile on his face, as their sumptuous meals were already laid out on the dining table.
------
With Bei Bei finally feeling better, everybody was in a good mood today. This meal was especially enjoyable for everyone.
Bei Bei called Huo Yuhao into his room after the meal.
âHowâs it going with the soul engineerâs tournament, Yuhao?â Bei Bei inquired.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Wang Dongâer beside him before briefly recounting their participation in the soul engineerâs tournament. Bei Bei listened quietly to his description; he didnât even interrupt when Huo Yuhao mentioned necromancy.
âYou want to go undercover?â Bei Bei asked doubtfully.
Huo Yuhao nodded and answered, âI do. But Dongâer thinks that that will be too dangerous, thus she stopped me.â
Bei Bei said, âThatâs for the best, because it is too dangerous. I know that you want to find out and investigate whatâs going on in their inner circle, but the Holy Ghost Church has already displayed strength beyond what we can deal with. Theyâre simply too powerful; we donât stand a chance. Furthermore, mobility is a problem for you, and your wheelchair is too conspicuous. Even if you can put on makeup and change your appearance, it wonât be hard for them to connect the dots if you appear too many times. This is especially true now that weâre likely to fight the Holy Ghost Sectâs team after this. You shouldnât attend the grand finals. Rather, since youâve already raised their suspicions, you should just disappear for now.â
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and said, âI donât think thatâs necessary, eldest senior brother. The Duskwater Alliance still needs me to fight for them in the soul engineer tournament. Furthermore, they want to rope me into their organization as well, so they wonât use force against me unless itâs as a last resort. I shouldnât have any problems finishing the last round of the tournament if I respond correctly and adapt to the circumstances. The final prize is a Class 9 soul tool! Thatâs not something that can be measured with money.â
Bei Bei replied solemnly, âYou canât place your life on the line for money.â
Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head. âI have confidence, eldest senior brother. Second senior brother and Dongâer will come with me when the time comes. Even if I donât consider my life, I still have to take their lives into account, right?â
Bei Bei stared at Huo Yuhao with a surprised expression. âWhere is this confidence of yours coming from, little junior brother?â
Huo Yuhao answered, âEldest senior brother, I mentioned the things that I did when I was recounting yesterdayâs events to you because I donât wish to hide this from you... I obtained a very unique ability through a miraculous encounter. It can be counted as my third martial soul in a sense, and it has bestowed certain special abilities upon me. This special ability doesnât belong to our world, which is why I have the confidence to escape with my life whenever Iâm in danger. I did intend to take a risk when I went undercover before yesterday, but after consolidating these unique abilities last night, I donât think that Iâm taking a risk anymore. Dongâer, I said the same thing to you. If youâre too concerned about me, I can simply take you along with me when I go undercover.â
Wang Dongâer felt a little curious when she heard his words. She knew very well that Huo Yuhao would never mess around whenever her life was concerned, which meant that he must be extremely confident if he could make such an endeavor sound so riskless.
âYou promised me last night!â Wang Dongâerâs pretty eyebrows knitted up as she stared at Huo Yuhao with indignant eyes.
Huo Yuhao grasped her hand and said, âListen to me, Dongâer. I wish to go undercover not just to investigate the Holy Ghost Church, but also to find a way to save teacher Xiao Ya. Nobody but me is more suitable for this job amongst the few of us, and thatâs because Iâm the only one that has the ability to go undercover in the Holy Ghost Church. Only I have absolute confidence in convincing them that Iâm an evil soul master. As for safety, how about thisâIâd like you guys to see something.â
A gloomy and cold aura suddenly erupted from Huo Yuhaoâs body, followed by a peculiar grey soul ring rising from his feet in the next moment.
This was the first time that Bei Bei had seen Huo Yuhao use necromancy, thus he watched closely with widened eyes as he perceived Huo Yuhaoâs soul power undulations.
Huo Yuhaoâs eyes became a faint grey color, and he pointed his right index finger outwards as he drew something in the air. A strange grey hexagram appeared and sparkled as it drifted to the ground. Gray light glowed from it the moment after it touched the ground, after which it consumed Huo Yuhaoâs entire body and he vanished into thin air. Even his wheelchair was gone.
Wang Dongâer was as close as she could be to Huo Yuhao, and she was also incredibly familiar with his abilities. She could immediately tell that Huo Yuhao wasnât using his Imitation or anything else to turn invisibleâheâd actually disappeared for real!
A dense aura of light rose from Wang Dongâerâs body as her Radiant Butterfly Goddessâ wings extended from her back. She flapped her wings gently, and light-type soul power immediately permeated every corner of the room.
She didnât feel anything at all; Huo Yuhao was truly no longer present inside of the room!
How is this possible? Instant Teleportation? Huo Yuhao does have that ability, but thatâs one of his soul boneâs abilities. He mentioned before that he canât use his other soul skills or soul bones when heâs practicing necromancy. How has he done this? Heâs disappeared completely! Itâs been more than ten seconds, and he doesnât look like heâs going to appear yet either.
Just when Bei Bei and Wang Dongâer were beginning to feel more and more dumbfounded, the grey hexagram reappeared on the ground in the same spot. Grey light surged into the air in the next moment, and Huo Yuhao reappeared before the two of them amidst the grey light with a swoosh.
Bei Bei and Wang Dongâer exchanged a look, both of their gazes full of awe and astonishment.
Bei Bei was the first to blurt out, âWhat kind of ability was that?â
Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, âThis ability is a little mystical, but you can consider it something that my otherworldly teacher left behind for me. Eldest senior brother, do you remember the first time I met you and teacher Xiao Ya? I had ventured into the Great Star Dou Forest by myself back then, and when you guys found me, I was unconscious near the roadside. Iâm not sure if you remember, but dark clouds hung over the Great Star Dou Forest during that time, and an intense spiritual presence flashed through the forest.â
Huo Yuhao could tell from Bei Beiâs eyes that he was thinking hard. Bei Bei nodded after a moment and said, âI do remember something like that happening. We immediately followed you when we realized that you were heading towards the Great Star Dou Forest, but you were already unconscious when we found you.â
Huo Yuhao nodded. âYes! Iâd already fainted by then. But before I fainted, someone entered my mind. That person is the teacher that Iâm talking aboutâthe one from another world.â