Or rather… could it be that Xuan Ziwen was also involved in it?
A sudden chill ran down Huo Yuhao's spine. Previously, he had been thinking of pulling Xuan Ziwen into the Tang Sect, but now that he thought about it, he actually didn't know Xuan Ziwen at all.
A few days ago, after witnessing Xuan Ziwen's research on soul tools, he had impulsively proposed the bet. Looking back at it now, that decision had been far too hasty.
How loyal was Xuan Ziwen to the Sun Moon Empire? What was his attitude toward the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy and the Illustrious Virtue Hall?
He knew nothing about any of these things. Trying to bring Xuan Ziwen into the Tang Sect under such circumstances was probably not something that could be accomplished with just a rare soul tool mechanism.
Moreover, the Death God Messenger's mutterings had not escaped Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection. Just what was the "Holy Sect" he had mentioned?
Could that student just now have been an undercover agent planted inside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy by that "Holy Sect"?
One question after another popped into Huo Yuhao's mind. Even though he was a spirit-attribute soul master, for a moment, his thoughts could not focus on the soul tool in his hands.
"Yuhao, Yuhao?"
"Teacher Xuan?" Huo Yuhao snapped back to reality and saw Xuan Ziwen staring at him.
"You haven't rested enough. I can give you a day off. In your current state, even if you manage to make a soul tool, it won't help you improve at all."
Huo Yuhao paused, forcibly suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his heart.
"I'm fine now, Teacher Xuan."
Xuan Ziwen looked at Huo Yuhao once more. "Alright. If you feel unwell again, you don't have to tell me, just go rest on your own."
"Thank you, Teacher Xuan."
"Heh, so this is all the Shrek Academy exchange student amounts to? Coming to make soul tools without even having slept properly? No wonder you lost to our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy."
Huo Yuhao looked up and only then noticed that several figures had appeared in the laboratory at some point. Besides Ju Zi, there were three unfamiliar faces. The one who had just spoken was a tall, sturdy young man among them.
"Enough, Shaozhe. I also slept very late because of soul tool research," Ju Zi said in a low voice, as if trying to calm Wang Shaozhe beside her. However, when Wang Shaozhe heard Ju Zi speaking up for someone from Shrek Academy, the anger in his heart instantly flared.
He took two large strides forward and looked down condescendingly at Huo Yuhao.
"So what if I say Shrek Academy can't compare to our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy? Could Shrek have won the championship in the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament?"
Ju Zi, who had just spoken, now fell completely silent and simply stood to the side with Ke Ke, quietly observing Huo Yuhao's reaction.
A trace of anger appeared on Huo Yuhao's face, and he was about to speak, but Xuan Ziwen stood up and interrupted him.
"Everyone, stop. I'm still here. What do you think you're doing?"
Seeing the displeasure on Xuan Ziwen's face, Wang Shaozhe glared fiercely at Huo Yuhao once more before taking a step back.
"These are the other students I mentioned to you before. They've been out of the academy on practical training for the past few days and only returned today," Xuan Ziwen explained.
Seeing the situation, Huo Yuhao also slightly restrained his aura and swept his gaze over the three of them.
"So you're the exchange student Ju Zi mentioned on the way here," said a petite girl who was curiously sizing up Huo Yuhao. "I'm Ke Ke, and this is Zimu. What's your name?"
"Huo Yuhao."
"Alright," Xuan Ziwen said, his tone softening. "Yuhao will be staying at the academy for a while longer. During this time, I don't want to see anything like what happened today again."
"You three just got back, come with me to report the data you collected during the practical training. As for Yuhao, you should still take the day off today."
Xuan Ziwen also wanted to ease the tension between Huo Yuhao and the three newcomers. Huo Yuhao no longer insisted. He nodded to Xuan Ziwen and, under everyone's gaze, left the laboratory.
After walking out of the teaching building, he did not immediately return to the dormitory. Instead, he headed toward Illustrious Virtue Hall.
As a member of Shrek's inspection team, and having previously escaped from the hands of that Death God Messenger, there was no way Huo Yuhao could simply let the matter drop.
However, investigating an evil soul master alone in the unfamiliar Bright Capital City of the Sun Moon Empire was far too difficult. Even if he managed to uncover something, he might not be able to handle it by himself. The best option was to have Fan Yu notify the academy.
With these thoughts in mind, Huo Yuhao continued walking uninterrupted toward Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Although Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy allowed Shrek exchange students to take the Illustrious Virtue Hall assessment, even the academy's own students, aside from intern students, could not enter the interior of the Illustrious Virtue Hall before passing the assessment.
Just as Huo Yuhao was standing outside Illustrious Virtue Hall looking left and right, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
"Senior Lin."
Lin Xiao turned his head. When his gaze landed on Huo Yuhao, he revealed a smile. "What's wrong? You look like you're in a hurry. Did something happen?"
"Senior Lin, could you help me call Teacher Fan Yu?" Huo Yuhao did not answer directly.
Lin Xiao glanced back toward Illustrious Virtue Hall, narrowed his eyes slightly, and did not press further.
As the leading teacher from Shrek Academy, Fan Yu naturally received different treatment from the other students. Jing Hongchen was actually quite welcoming of his visiting Illustrious Virtue Hall to observe the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's teaching methods.
Although he didn't know what Huo Yuhao needed Fan Yu for, asking further probably wouldn't yield any answer.
Withdrawing his thoughts, Lin Xiao nodded. "Alright, wait here for a bit. I'll go see if Teacher Fan is inside."
He turned and entered Illustrious Virtue Hall. The elevator beneath his feet carried him downward underground.
Slowly spreading his right hand, a letter appeared in his palm.
This letter had appeared at his dormitory door early this morning. Though he didn't know which disciple had delivered it, the signature "Nangong" at the end already revealed its origin.
It seemed Nangong Wan and the Third Elder had returned from headquarters as well. The letter was an invitation to watch matches at the underground arena and was likely to discuss the final details of the upcoming soul engineer tournament.
"Ding—"
The elevator let out a soft chime. Lin Xiao put the letter away and stepped out.
The moment he walked out of the passage, he saw Fan Yu, accompanied by Lin Jiayi, passing by various experiment tables deep underground in Illustrious Virtue Hall.
"Teacher."
Lin Xiao's voice drew both of their attention. Fan Yu was momentarily stunned, then let out a soft sigh. He was not particularly surprised.
Ever since He Caitou returned to the academy after the soul dueling tournament, he had already guessed Lin Xiao's true identity.
"It's been a long time, Teacher Fan Yu."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 40 early chapters available on Patreon
[email protected]/facficmax10--------(@→a)