It wasnât a good feeling, but Huo Yuhao could clearly sense his improvement.
The reason that he was able to last longer and longer against his opponent wasnât because his abilities had risen to a level where he could rival his opponent. Rather, it was because his opponentâs abilities seemed to become weaker as time passed. Naturally, this enabled him to last longer.
The longer he lasted, the greater the beatings he suffered. As time passed, he even felt that it would be better to be killed in one hitâat least the pain would only last an instant. That, and heâd only have to suffer the pain of death, rather than suffering the inhumane torture that he was currently being subjected to.
Slowly, he was beginning to collapse, and became extremely weak and confused. The only thought left was that he knew he had to charge towards his opponent with all his strength. He had to attack, fight, and go all-out.
After some time, he was on the verge of collapse. He fainted, but his opponent didnât kill him this time.
In this strange place, injuries healed at a miraculous speed. Huo Yuhao was able to clearly feel his crushed bones reassembled, his broken passageways re-connected, and his blood begin to circulate through his body once again. Heâd already slowly gotten used to the terrifying pain the longer he fought.
Itâs so comfortable to just lie down! Why hasnât he killed me yet?
When he finally crawled up from the ground once again, everything around him was empty, replaced by an omni-present golden light. The bluish-gold figure had disappeared.
Did I pass, or not?
Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he wondered this. Going through that unforgettable experience should be enough for me to pass, right? If he had to go through it again, he might really lose his mind.
However, was the abuse that heâd gone through really all the test was about? It didnât feel like things would be so simple.
At this point, his surroundings turned into a light fog that rose from the ground. The fog then started to form layers, before distorting.
Huo Yuhao focused his gaze. At this point, heâd already fully recovered. Although he didnât know if there would be any more tests for him or if everything had ended, he felt extremely confident. Not only did he not possess any fear, he was instead eager.
The brutal torture that heâd experienced hadnât been for nothing. His abilities and mental resilience had both improved significantly.
A light flashed, turning the ground into a huge hexagonal projection. Countless esoteric symbols flit about and transformed within it.
Everything here was unrestrained, unlike before. Huo Yuhao sensed that his soul power was still circulating properly, and that his spiritual power was no longer suppressed.
The only depressing thing was that his lower limbs had been frozen once again. The earlier neutralization of the origin energy of Ultimate Ice had lost its effect. Furthermore, he couldnât connect with his ring in order to unleash his human-shaped soul tool to carry his body. As a result, he could only sit on the ground, using his arms to steady himself.
At this point, two beams of golden light shone vertically not far in front of him. Two figures slowly became clear and appeared in front of him.
These two figures were supporting each other. Their entire bodies were stained with blood as they appeared. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao was familiar with them, he wouldnât have recognized them.
âDai Huabin, Zhu Lu?â Huo Yuhao exclaimed in shock.
Dai Huabin also saw him. He lifted his head and struggled to nod. After Huo Yuhao had helped his father the previous time, he was no longer hostile towards him. However, there was a sorrowful look in his eyes at this moment.
Dai Huabin was heavily wounded; it was as if heâd just climbed out of a dye vatâhis entire body was stained with blood. However, he still remained standing, and was supporting Zhu Lu in his arms. Zhu Luâs body was convulsing, and she groaned from time to time.
Huo Yuhao could immediately tell that something was wrong with her using his Spirit Eyes.
When he focused on Zhu Luâs body, he was extremely shocked to find out what was happening to her.
Zhu Lu was in a tragic state: Her entire right arm had been bent out of shape. As for her face, it was only possible to see half of it, as it was covered in blood and wounds; only half of her nose and one ear remained. The remaining side of her face was extremely pale.
âDai Huabin, Zhu Lu, whatâs going on?â Huo Yuhao couldnât help but ask. It was very difficult for him to move right now, thus he could only sit where he was and question the two of them.
Dai Huabin struggled to speak. âSheâs been poisoned. To save herâ¦â
Huo Yuhao understood what was going on. As he looked at the wounds all over Dai Huabinâs body, he suddenly felt that his hatred towards him had slightly diminished.
No, no! I canât forget my hatred towards him. He was the one who hurt mom, who caused her toâ¦
However, why didnât mom let me take revenge, and instead tell me that it was destiny?
Huo Yuhao felt slightly tormented, and shut his eyes. To Dai Huabin, he had a commiserating expression on his face.
Dai Huabin helped Zhu Lu to the ground as he sat down next her. He lowered his head and let her lie on his thighs. Right now, he didnât appear nearly as fierce as before. There was only a gentle look in his eyes as he examined Zhu Luâs injuries. Tears also started to stream down uncontrollably from his eyes.
âLulu, donât worry. When I decided to chop off your arm, Iâd already decided that Iâd love you and wed you as my wife no matter what became of you. Youâll always be the most beautiful in my eyes. Iâll kill whoever calls you ugly. Iâll take care of you well. Even if I die, Iâll make sure you donât come to any harm.â
Dai Huabin was sobbing. Tears fell from his eyes with every word he said. All the promises in the world couldnât compare to a real-life experience. As he braved life and death with Zhu Lu, heâd only managed to pass his Sincerity Adventure round after a few close brushes with death. He finally understood his own heart, and what the most important thing to him was.
At this point, another two beams of golden light shone.
Huo Yuhao quickly turned his attention to these two beams of light. While he was in low spirits because of Dai Huabin and Zhu Luâs condition, he knew thatâwith the appearance of these two beams of lightâit signified that Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had successfully passed their rounds. This meant that they should be able to leave this place alive. What about the rest of them? The remaining few people were all closely connected to him. They were either his good friends or his seniors. Most importantly, there was also his lover!
The two beams of golden light that had just appeared became clear. This time, the two people whoâd appeared were in a completely different state than tragicness that had befallen Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.
They were still close together, but they were embracing each other.
Xu Sanshi seemed very delighted, and was in high spirits.
The ravishing Jiang Nannan was leaning against him in his arms with a blush on her face. She hugged one of his arms and wore a satisfied smile. Although there were tear stains next to her eyes, the two of them exuded a blissful aura.
âThird senior, fourth senior, are the two of you fine?â Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked.
âIâm great. Iâm feeling extremely great! Hahahaha!â Xu Sanshi looked at Huo Yuhao and immediately broke out in delighted laughter. However, he soon saw both Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, and furrowed his brow. He shot an enquiring look at Huo Yuhao afterwards.
Huo Yuhao pursed his lip and said, âTheyâre critically hurt. Zhu Luâ¦â
Xu Sanshi could see everything for himself even though he didnât finish his words. He was extremely shocked by the condition Zhu Lu was in.
No matter what, they were still from the same academy. He didnât gloat over their misfortune, and quickly went over to the both of them before squatting down. He slowly released his gentle Xuanwu soul power.
Behind him, the projection of a turtle-snake appeared . It was no longer flawed, and didnât need to be activated with force. It was a pure Xuanwu!
The gentle power of water quickly cleansed Dai Huabin and Zhu Luâs wounds. Not only did it remove the bloodstains, but it also cleaned up their wounds.
Although Xu Sanshi didnât know how to perform any medical treatment, the pure water element from his Xuanwu martial soul was very beneficial towards healing their wounds. At the very least, it would be able to remove the remaining poison in their bodies.
Dai Huabin lifted his head, his eyes filled with gratitude as he nodded towards Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi sighed and said, âIf we can leave this place alive, we can return to the academy and find someone to treat her. Thereâs a healing and auxiliary-type teacher whoâs a Titled Douluo in the inner courtyard. Perhaps she can help heal her.â
âOkay.â Dai Huabin seemed to be slightly disinterested, choosing only to hug Zhu Lu tighter.
Another beam of golden light shone. This time there was only one beam.
âEldest senior sister?â When they saw Zhang Lexuan, Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan couldnât help but call out to her. Another person had returned, which proved that another person had passed their test. It was a good thing to them.
Zhang Lexuan smiled and nodded at them. After that, she also saw Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu and immediately rushed over. However, she didnât know how to treat them, and could only comfort them.
Huo Yuhao watched from the side, and was stunned to realize that Zhang Lexuan seemed to have become different. In the past, she rarely smiled. However, she now seemed to be casually grinning. Even though sheâd furrowed her brow after seeing Zhu Luâs critical injuries, the resentment that was normally there was gone. She seemed more approachable, and her eyes were brighter too. She was different!
It seems like everyone has experienced different things in their Sincerity Adventure test. Itâs also the same with third and fourth seniors.
However, what exactly happened to these two? Dongâer, when will you return? Qiuâer isnât here yet either. Howâs she doing?â