When Furina brought Gu Qiuer to Jianan Academy, Huo Yuhao and his group were chatting in the rest area. A fierce sparring session had just ended, and their faces still bore the flush of exercise, with fine beads of sweat visible on their foreheads.
This was mainly because Ye Guyi and the others were going to represent Jianan Academy in the competition, so they naturally needed to find powerful enough opponents to hone their combat skills.
The students within Jianan Academy were simply not on the same level as them. They either had to go to the Soul Arena for over-level challenges or spar with experts like the teachers and the four great protectors, such as Feng Chuixue, to make any progress.
Aside from Ye Guyi, the Soul Power of Huo Yuhao and the others wasn't much different from Xiao Huohuo's group, but they were superior in actual combat. This was primarily because Huo Yuhao's support and control abilities were far too strong, not even in the same league as an ordinary Spirit Master.
Secondly, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could perform the 100% compatible Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road. Its power was far beyond everyone's imagination and on a different level from any Martial Soul Fusion Skill they had seen before.
It was also during these few days of sparring that Wang Dong and the others witnessed the true effect of Huo Yuhao's Second Soul Skill, "Simulate." It could mimic anything, even changing the color of spirit rings.
When he first demonstrated it, Huo Yuhao equipped himself with three 100,000-year red soul rings, which gave everyone present a huge fright. The main reason was that the aura was far too realistic; it was impossible to tell truth from fiction.
Tang Ya still found it hard to believe. She looked at Huo Yuhao, her eyes full of wonder. "Yuhao, your Spirit Ability is just too amazing! To be able to Simulate even 100,000-year spirit rings—that's just too powerful!"
Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said modestly, "It's alright. It's probably mainly because my mental force is strong enough, and the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul itself has an advantage in this area."
Bei Bei nodded in affirmation, his expression serious. "Indeed. A Body Martial Soul is truly far beyond ordinary people in certain aspects. Even Shrek Academy's research into Body Martial Souls isn't particularly deep."
He paused and added, "If it were the rumored Body Sect, they would likely have a much greater understanding of this."
Tang Ya immediately picked up the conversation, saying with a giggle, "But I reckon even the Body Sect couldn't be as wealthy as the Axis Cult, right? With so many Cultivation Techniques and all those Spirit Bones!"
Bei Bei gave a wry smile at her words. "That's true; they might not necessarily be able to compete with that. Speaking of which, Xiao Ya, you've really become a person of the Axis Cult now."
Tang Ya blinked, her tone full of pride. "Of course! It's because the Axis Cult offered too much! My Tang Sect has now officially become an affiliated Sect of the Axis Cult, essentially a department!"
She stretched and lamented half-jokingly, "I'm finally no longer a one-man army. It feels great."
Bei Bei looked at her with eyes full of doting affection and said softly, "Congratulations."
Tang Ya immediately leaned in, tugging at his sleeve with a hint of coquettishness in her voice. "Then you must continue to assist me! I'm not very good at the management side of things."
Bei Bei nodded with a helpless smile, his tone gentle yet firm. "Yes, yes, yes, no problem, Xiao Ya."
Wang Dong, watching the two of them being all lovey-dovey, couldn't help but roll his eyes and grumbled sourly, "Hey, hey, hey, can you stop feeding me dog food right in front of my face? If I'd known, I would have left with Xiao Huohuo and the others!"
Xiao Xiao chuckled and teased him on purpose, "They went to class; what would you go for? You don't even know the curriculum at Jianan Academy. What, are you planning to betray Shrek and defect to Jianan Academy?"
She knew Wang Dong wouldn't do such a thing; she was just joking.
Although she also admired the atmosphere of Jianan Academy, it was impossible for her to actually transfer. Shrek was, after all, the number one academy on the continent. Her family had put so much effort into sending her there; she couldn't let them down.
Wang Dong curled his lip and said crossly, "Hmph, as if! I just don't want to eat dog food here. Do you want to?"
Xiao Xiao shook her head and said solemnly, "Of course not. But I just close my eyes and pretend I don't see it. I just focus my attention elsewhere."
She added silently in her heart: *Like brainstorming my novel with you and Huo Yuhao as the protagonists.*
Wang Dong naturally didn't know her little secret and just snorted. "Fine, fine, you're the boss."
She sighed with a hint of regret. "Speaking of which, the vacation is almost over. What a pity. I wanted to take you guys to see my home, but we lost track of time while playing, and now it's too late."
Huo Yuhao comforted him gently, "It's fine, we can go next time."
Before he could finish, his gaze suddenly paused, landing not far away.
"Eh? Sister Furina is here." Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly. "There seems to be a blonde girl next to her... she looks a bit like Wang Dong."
Hearing this, Xiao Xiao immediately perked up and asked curiously, "Really? They look that much alike?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, his tone certain. "Of course. Don't you trust my eyesight?"},{
As the owner of the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, his vision far exceeded that of ordinary people even without using any Spirit Abilitys. He could see through the water to fish at a glance, so he could naturally see the approaching people clearly without any effort.
Xiao Xiao responded and craned her neck to look in that direction as well.
Wang Dong, however, became instantly alert. She stood up and looked in that direction with a serious expression.
Sure enough, Furina was walking toward them with a blonde girl. And that girl...
Wang Dong's pupils constricted slightly.
The girl's eyes, face shape, and the contours of her features were almost identical to her own. If she had long hair as well, the two of them would be like they were cast from the same mold, except for their hair and eye colors.
The moment she saw her, an inexplicable sense of unease and an indescribable feeling of crisis welled up in Wang Dong's heart.
Furina approached and waved to everyone, her tone light. "Hi, everyone's here! Let me introduce a new friend to you all."
She stepped aside to reveal the blonde girl behind her and introduced, "This is Gu Qiuer. Her father is a friend of mine and asked me to look after her for a while."
Gu Qiuer took a step forward and nodded slightly to the group. Her movements carried a natural elegance, yet they were also tinged with a slight awkwardness, as if she had only recently learned human etiquette.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Gu Qiuer," she said word by word, her tone serious yet slightly naive. "I'm very happy to meet you all. You people... uh, how do you say that phrase? Please take care of me? Yes, please take care of me."
Halfway through, she clearly realized she had almost said the wrong thing and corrected herself in time.
Xiao Xiao couldn't help but cry out, "Wow! She's really beautiful! And she really does look like a female version of Wang Dong! If her hair and eye colors were a bit more similar, they'd practically be twin sisters!"
She turned to Wang Dong and asked curiously, "Wang Dong, do you have some long-lost distant sister or something?"
Wang Dong shook her head repeatedly, but her gaze never left Gu Qiuer. She looked the girl, who was so strikingly similar to her, up and down, her brow furrowed slightly.
"How is that possible? How would I not know?" she said with a hint of confusion. "I don't know her either. But... seeing her, I do have an inexplicable sense of familiarity."
She couldn't describe the feeling, but it was as if this person was supposed to have some kind of connection with her.
Gu Qiuer was also sizing up Wang Dong.
Her gaze was unshielded, falling directly on Wang Dong, looking her over from head to toe and back again.
Finally, she tilted her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of regret. "So you're the person Sister Furina mentioned who looks like me? You do look a bit like me, and you're quite good-looking, and you have a nice scent..."
She paused, her tone suddenly becoming pitying. "Pity he's a guy."
Wang Dong: "..."
What do you mean, "Pity he's a guy"?!
Xiao Xiao couldn't help but burst out laughing. Bei Bei and Tang Ya also held back their laughter, their shoulders trembling slightly. Huo Yuhao coughed lightly and looked away, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
Wang Dong took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure, but the corners of her mouth still twitched slightly.
She secretly clenched her fists and ranted wildly in her heart: *A guy? A guy?! Dammit! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!?*
On the surface, however, she just forced a stiff smile and said word by word, "Well, then I'm. Truly. Sorry. About. That."
Gu Qiuer blinked, seemingly completely unaware that she had said something outrageous. Instead, she comforted her earnestly, "It's fine, as long as you're good-looking. There's nothing wrong with being a guy."
Wang Dong: "..."
Enough, seriously, enough.
Watching this scene, the corners of Furina's lips curled up slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Interesting.
This first meeting between the two was even more spectacular than she had anticipated.
"Alright, alright," she stepped in to smooth things over at the right time. "Qiuer has just arrived and isn't very good at interacting with strangers. Everyone, please be patient with her."
She looked at Gu Qiuer and said softly, "Qiuer, this is Wang Dong. You can spend more time together in the future. You might even have some unexpected gains."
Gu Qiuer nodded, her gaze falling on Wang Dong again, her eyes filled with curiosity and an indescribable emotion.
"Sure," she replied readily, then added, "Wang Dong, please take care of me from now on! Even though you're a guy, I think we should be able to become friends!"
Wang Dong's mouth twitched, and she finally sighed, nodding helplessly.
"...Fine, please take care of me too."
She couldn't say anything else; she couldn't exactly reveal her identity on the spot, could she?
Xiao Xiao struggled to hold back her laughter and whispered into Huo Yuhao's ear, "These two are really interesting..."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, his gaze shifting between Wang Dong and Gu Qiuer, lost in thought.
He always felt that there seemed to be an indescribable connection between the two of them.
As if... they were originally one.
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