"I was wrong! This has nothing to do with Nannan! If you're going to punish someone, punish me! You can make me do whatever you want!"
Tang Ya said toughly.
Before doing this, Tang Ya had thought it through; she would shoulder the consequences alone. Regardless, the probability of actually dying was low. After all these years, she had more or less figured out Huo Yuhao's personality—as long as it didn't involve fundamental principles, this guy would protect her one way or another.
The worst-case scenario was simply being put into a hundred and eight different "positions" by him afterward to vent his frustration (referring to his experiments). Besides, even if it were that kind of thing, she wouldn't exactly be losing out!
Therefore, she, Tang Ya, remained defiant!
Looking at Tang Ya's act, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't say you were wrong. I'm just giving you a reminder."
Huo Yuhao paused slightly, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes as he spoke calmly:
"Next time you kill someone, aim for the head. Understand?"
Tang Ya: "???"
...
Huo Yuhao had known more or less that Tang Ya wanted to kill Tang San, though he hadn't expected her to strike directly during the Seven Monsters selection trials.
This wasn't bad news; in fact, it served as an excellent "prelude." The more Shrek tried to nurture and protect Tang San, the greater the eventual blow to Shrek would be!
Thus, the news of Tang San stealing Tang Sect secret arts—and Shrek forcibly protecting him—spread throughout Shrek Academy, growing more intense by the day.
However, accompanying these rumors was the awe regarding Tang San's Soul King cultivation. Tang San's information soon landed on the desks of various high-level powers across the Douluo Continent, and a deep investigation into him naturally began.
Three days later, the list for the Shrek Reserve Team was released.
The members were: Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya, Tang San, Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Ning Tian, and Wang Dong'er.
The first three needed no introduction as they were all Soul Kings. Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Ning Tian were all Soul Ancestors with formidable combat strength—Ning Tian herself now possessed impressive personal fighting capabilities.
As for Wang Dong'er, although she was only at the Soul Elder rank and wasn't particularly gifted in soul tool manufacturing, her speed in mastering the use of soul tools was incredibly fast. Equipped with soul tools personally crafted by a certain someone, her strength was powerful and not to be underestimated.
Furthermore, while Wang Dong'er was still angry at a certain someone's "scumbag" behavior, she still trusted him unconditionally. She directly followed his advice and practiced the "Soul Ring Bone Refinement" method, though she was still hesitating between choosing "Body Cultivation" or "Tool Cultivation."
In short, the two of them trusted when they should trust, hugged when they should hug, and bit when they should bite. They looked like an old married couple in the middle of a cold war—squabbling, but life had to go on. The atmosphere was strangely harmonious.
...
In Huo Yuhao's laboratory, Huo Yuhao gently released Dong'er. She felt her body go soft and leaned directly against him.
Clutching the clothes at Huo Yuhao's chest, Dong'er's cheeks were flushed and her breathing was slightly hurried, but her mouth remained as stubborn as ever:
"Hmph... so practiced. You haven't played around with others much, have you?"
I do more than just "play around" with others... Huo Yuhao silently retorted in his mind.
"How is your body adapting? Any discomfort?" Huo Yuhao skillfully changed the subject.
How could Dong'er not see through his intent? She silently rolled her eyes, gave a light snort, and answered:
"It's fine. My physical strength has increased significantly, and there's no discomfort. My First and Second Uncles said my physical strength has already surpassed a Soul Ancestor, so I can try to absorb a ten-thousand-year level ring for my fourth one."
"However..." Wang Dong'er paused, her tone hesitating.
"What is it?"
"Yuhao..." Wang Dong'er looked up, her eyes meeting his. "Can you help me shatter or strip away my Radiant Butterfly Goddess? I don't want this martial soul."
Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned. "Why?"
"I am Wang Dong, I am Wang Dong'er, and I am a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect. Having the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul is no problem. But the Radiant Butterfly Goddess was given to me by him. I don't want it!"
Wang Dong'er's tone was incredibly firm.
The Sea God martial soul had already completely vanished after Huo Yuhao stripped that strand of Tang San's Divine Consciousness from her mind. The Radiant Butterfly Goddess, however, was a gift from Tang San. If she hadn't remembered everything, she wouldn't have felt anything wrong with using it.
But now that she knew the truth, looking at her Radiant Butterfly Goddess made her feel nauseous. It was a gift from that man... and she didn't need it!
As for the remaining Clear Sky Hammer, in a sense, it truly had nothing to do with Tang San. The Clear Sky Hammer was a blessing passed down through the bloodline of the Tang ancestors to Wang Dong'er; Tang San was merely one link in that chain.
Wang Dong'er accepted her identity as a Clear Sky Sect disciple and the fact that she inherited the hammer; she simply refused to acknowledge Tang San as her father! In her eyes, her father had died long ago!
"I see..."
Huo Yuhao lowered his gaze slightly, looking into Dong'er's earnest eyes. He felt a pang of heartache for her. To be stuck with a father like Tang San... sigh.
Reaching out, Huo Yuhao gently pinched Dong'er's soft cheek and gave her a reassuring smile:
"Understood. I'll find a way."
Feeling his unhesitating response, Dong'er's heart felt a bit sore with emotion. She couldn't hold back and bit him again.
The remaining traces of logic flickered through Huo Yuhao's mind as various ideas popped up.
—Topics like "Artificial Martial Souls" and "Martial Soul Remodeling" can be officially started. Besides... it's about time to catch some Evil Soul Masters on the high seas to replenish the material library...
His thoughts stopped as emotional instinct took over his brain.
...
Daily training continued. The official Seven Monsters and the Reserve Team trained together in various combinations, and the relationships between them gradually grew more familiar.
Of course, in such a harmonious scene, one person was completely out of place, even feeling faintly ostracized by the group.
That person was, naturally, Tang San—the "Tang Buddha"!
The Reserve Team went without saying; everyone knew Tang Ya found him repulsive, and by extension, Jiang Nannan and the others kept their distance. In the official team, Dai Yueheng also subtly ostracized him. For a time, Tang San was excluded by both teams.
Huo Yuhao, of course, was completely unaware of this. At the moment, he was in his laboratory at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy, handing a deep blue bracelet to Xiao Hongchen.
"Old Huo... no, Brother Huo, are you sure you're not lying to me?" Xiao Hongchen's hands trembled as he took it, his expression incredibly excited.
"I never lie when it comes to soul tools."
Huo Yuhao nodded with a light smile and said calmly, "Go try it out. While we haven't departed yet, I can still do some fine-tuning."
Hearing this, Xiao Hongchen sprinted toward the soul tool testing grounds, shouting as he ran:
"Old Huo! If this works! You're my biological brother-in-law!"