Bonus Chapter. Enjoy!
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Huo Yuhao opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling—a grayish-white stone dome carved with complex patterns that looked like some kind of ancient totem.
Sunlight streamed in through a side window, casting a warm patch of light on the floor.
Where is this?
He blinked, his mind a complete blank.
It wasn't his room.
"Awake?"
Brother Tianmeng's voice echoed in the Sea of Consciousness, sounding somewhat lazy.
Huo Yuhao was slightly startled and hurriedly sat up. A wave of dizziness hit him, and he held his forehead, taking a good while to adjust.
"Brother Tianmeng... where is this?"
"That Teacher Mu Ye of yours brought you here."
Brother Tianmeng let out a yawn.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Body Sect's territory. By the way, you've been unconscious for three days."
Three days?
Huo Yuhao was stunned.
He remembered the last scene was performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Wang Dong'er, then everything went black, and he knew nothing more.
"Brother Tianmeng, I..."
"Fine, fine, I know what you want to say."
Brother Tianmeng waved a hand, a hint of helplessness appearing on his chubby face.
"You brat, you really have some nerve. Daring to force a Martial Soul Fusion Skill in that state—do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"
Huo Yuhao lowered his head, offering no rebuttal.
"Your Mental Force was already overextended back then; that move drained you dry instantly."
"I'm counting on you to take me to the Divine Realm. If anything happens to you, who am I supposed to go crying to?"
Listening to Brother Tianmeng's complaints, a wave of warmth surged in Huo Yuhao's heart.
He knew that Brother Tianmeng was concerned about him.
"Brother Tianmeng, I'm sorry."
He looked up, his eyes filled with apology.
"It won't happen next time."
Brother Tianmeng looked at him, fell silent for a moment, and then smiled.
"Alright, I believe you."
He paused, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.
"By the way, there's some good news. Want to hear it?"
Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback.
"The results of the competition are out?"
He asked with some urgency.
He really wanted to know if his and Wang Dong'er's Martial Soul Fusion Skill had actually defeated Wu Siduo.
"Of course."
Brother Tianmeng smiled triumphantly.
"Look at who chose you. Your Mental Force is quite formidable; you already have a Spirit with mental attributes, so your mental growth is higher than anyone else there. Add to that your Silver-level Spirit Awakening and the Martial Soul Fusion Skill with that girl Wang Dong'er, and dealing with Wu Siduo was naturally a piece of cake."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao let out a long breath.
They won; that was good.
"However..."
Brother Tianmeng suddenly changed the subject.
"Did you notice something, kid?"
"What?"
"The Martial Soul Fusion Skill you released this time was more powerful than when you practiced it before."
Brother Tianmeng's voice held a hint of confusion.
"Logically, neither of you was in good shape, so you shouldn't have been able to exert your full strength. But the result? That one move flattened Wu Siduo."
"I'm wondering, could it be that the more desperate the situation, the more terrifying the power that can explode? And... your Sea of Consciousness has actually become more stable."
Listening to Brother Tianmeng's analysis, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
He also found it strange.
In that situation, he hadn't thought much at all; he just gave it his all, pouring all his Mental Force into that one move.
The result... was stronger than expected. Just like the first time he did the Thunder Pool Body Refinement—he thought he wouldn't make it, but he forced his way through. It really was quite strange.
It felt as if the more danger he was in, the more he could break through his limits.
"Forget it, if we can't figure it out, we won't think about it."
Brother Tianmeng shook his head.
"As long as the outcome is good, that's all that matters."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then asked the question he cared about most.
"Brother Tianmeng, did we get second place?"
Hearing this, Brother Tianmeng smiled without saying a word.
Seeing his mysterious expression, Huo Yuhao's heart sank.
"Could it be... third place?"
A thought flashed through his mind.
They beat Wu Siduo in the semi-finals, but they definitely couldn't beat Tang Wulin in the finals. If they got third, they must have had to fight Xie Xie and the others.
With him out of the match, Wang Dong'er in bad shape, and Xiao Xiao alone...
They might have actually lost.
Seeing his nervous look, Brother Tianmeng finally couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you."
He cleared his throat.
"Second place."
"You guys are in second place."
Huo Yuhao was stunned.
"You obviously couldn't win the finals, but your school didn't hold any losers' bracket or anything; they had already arranged for two third-place spots."
Brother Tianmeng explained.
"The reward for second place is a set of fifty-thousand-year Spirit Bones and two hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points."
At the beginning, Teacher Shen Yi had only told them that the first-place prize included a set of hundred-thousand-year soul bones, without mentioning much about the other rewards.
Well, the second-place rewards were also quite decent.
However... there was still a significant gap from the Life Gold he wanted. Three hundred million Contribution Points—he didn't know when he would ever save up that much.
As expected, he still had to work hard on his side profession. Once he raised his Soul Engineer level, he would have enough Contribution Points.
"The academy's Contribution Points have already been issued to your bracelet. As for the Spirit Bones, you'll need to go collect them yourself. A pity... they're only fifty-thousand-year ones."
As a Million-Year Spirit Beast, Brother Tianmeng looked down on fifty-thousand-year Spirit Bones. In his original plan, Huo Yuhao should have had at least one hundred-thousand-year soul bone.
What a shame.
Huo Yuhao nodded to show he understood. Just as he was about to get up, the door was pushed open.
Mu Ye walked in from outside. Seeing Huo Yuhao awake, he gave a slight nod.
"Awake?"
Huo Yuhao quickly stood up and gave Mu Ye a deep bow.
"Teacher, thank you."
Mu Ye waved his hand.
"No need for thanks. You are my student; it's my duty to look after you."
He walked up to Huo Yuhao, looked him up and down, and nodded with satisfaction.
"You've recovered well."
He paused and added.
"This time, you and that Wulin brat didn't shame the Body Sect."
"One first place, one second place."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao felt a slight sense of relief.
"However..."
Mu Ye's tone shifted, and his gaze became serious.
"You are still very weak. If you had trained your body to the level of Body Integration, that battle of yours definitely wouldn't have been so pathetic."
Listening to Mu Ye's words, Huo Yuhao lowered his head and fell into thought.
Mu Ye was right. If he had Tang Wulin's physical constitution, he might have been able to take Wu Siduo's moves directly without being so heavily injured.
However... compared to Tang Wulin, catching up in physical constitution was incredibly difficult. Tang Wulin had the support of his terrifying Bloodline Power, plus the Body Sect's secret body-forging methods, the school's ingredients, and his own terrifying digestive and absorption abilities. He was being raised as a complete monster.
Of course, Huo Yuhao didn't plan on giving up. He could still become stronger. As long as there was a chance to grow, he would seize it!
"Alright, rest for today. Starting tomorrow, continue your training after school. Also, now that you have Contribution Points, you can choose to go to the Thunder Pool on your own."
Mu Ye said to Huo Yuhao.
"Yes, Teacher, I understand!"
Huo Yuhao's eyes were full of resolve. In this New Student Grand Competition, he hadn't even been able to hold out until he could face Tang Wulin. As expected... he still wasn't working hard enough!
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.