Chapter 134: Cross-dressing as a Man

The one who came was naturally Tang Wulin.

Though the absorption of the fourth seal encountered no mishap, the time it took far exceeded his expectations.

He had only just woken up in his room five minutes ago, and as soon as he woke up he realized it was already time for the match to start; he rushed out of the Star Emperor Hotel, not even having time to put on his clothes properly.

Wang Yan gestured toward the stage and said:

"We drew the 2-2-3 match format; we lost the first round, this is the second, and Huo Yutong is currently leading Wang Dong, the Lonely Bamboo Sword, and the Embracing Feather against the opponent, and the outcome will be decided shortly."

"Is that so…"

Tang Wulin momentarily didn't know whether he should relax for finally catching up to the match, or be nervous for Huo Yutong's battle.

Before he could adjust his mood, Bei Bei came to his side, bowed, and sincerely said: "Wulin, although I don't know if Yutong can defeat the opponent, nor whether I'll have a chance to fight alongside you in this match, I first want to apologize for what happened the past two days; I hope you can forgive me and give me a chance to win together with you."

Tang Wulin blinked, then instinctively said: "Senior Brother, I never disliked you in the first place—why bother talking about forgiving or not forgiving?"

As Tang Wulin said, he actually didn't dislike Bei Bei at all.

One thing at a time, separating the matter from the person—Bei Bei's words and the viewpoint he expressed two days ago indeed aroused Tang Wulin's resentment, but it's impossible for two people in the world to have completely identical values; if one bears a grudge against someone with whom they'd gotten along well for a year just because of one incident, then that person simply doesn't deserve to have friends.

Shilake Academy was introduced to him by Bei Bei, Mu En was introduced by Bei Bei, and over the past year Bei Bei has helped him a great deal; if he were to dislike Bei Bei merely because Bei Bei agreed to support cheating, that would be excessively ungrateful.

"Wulin..." Bei Bei's eyes widened suddenly, then he smiled with relief: "Indeed, I was measuring a gentleman's heart with my own petty mind. Thank you, Wulin."

Just as they finished speaking, the blizzard on the stage suddenly dispersed, revealing several figures.

Wang Dong supported Huo Yutong as they stood on the stage, and not far ahead of them, the Lonely Bamboo Sword and the Embracing Feather had already turned into two ice sculptures.

"!"

Everyone subconsciously widened their eyes.

They weren't surprised that Huo Yutong had actually won; they were surprised by her current condition.

The previously invincible Huo Yutong showed weakness for the first time, even needing Wang Dong's support; it was obvious that her duel with the two Soul Kings had pushed her to her limit.

Instantly, the spirits of everyone from the academies were lifted.

Those six red rings of hers were indeed fake—Huo Yutong was not invincible! Yet after the morale boost, everyone soon sank back into despair.

The Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy, being both a former top-eight contender and the number one academy of the Dou Ling Empire, possessed five Soul Kings, allowing it to send two to deal with Huo Yutong.

Where could these little academies find five Soul Kings? They probably couldn't even gather the two needed to besiege Huo Yutong.

Unlike the people from other academies, those from Shilake Academy all breathed a sigh of relief.

They knew Huo Yutong's background well—let alone being a six-ring Soul Emperor, she didn't even have six rings; she was merely a Soul Elder with exceptionally strong cross-rank combat ability.

That she could actually defeat two Soul Kings working together had already exceeded everyone's expectations.

They finally had hope of victory.

On stage, Wang Dong supported Huo Yutong, frowning as he said:

"You actually went head-to-head with the fifth soul skill of two Soul Kings—aren't you being reckless?"

Just inside the blizzard, when the Lonely Bamboo Sword and the Embracing Feather's first strike failed, they both unleashed their fifth soul skill, hoping to overwhelm Huo Yutong with brute force.

The threat posed by Huo Yutong's sword dance and domain was so great that they dared not hold back in the slightest.

At that moment, Wang Dong even wanted to shout surrender, but he didn't expect two phantom images to suddenly appear behind Huo Yutong, followed by an immensely powerful strike that not only blocked both Soul Kings' fifth soul skills entirely, but also froze them in place.

At that moment, the extreme chill emanating from her was enough to almost freeze even Wang Dong, let alone the two opposing Soul Kings; the power of that strike might rival a Soul Emperor's full-force sixth soul skill—just what kind of soul skill could be this powerful?

Huo Yutong lightly shrugged and replied nonchalantly: "Isn't this a win?"

Wang Dong said somewhat angrily: "You've exhausted yourself too—never mind the soul power drain, you're completely spent!"

He was supporting Huo Yutong's body, so he felt it most directly—she had no strength left in her body; without his support, she would collapse to the ground and be unable to get up.

Huo Yutong gave a light smile, didn't answer his question, but suddenly asked back: "Wang Dong, you're a girl, right?"

"???"

Wang Dong's eyes widened instantly, his large pink-blue eyes revealing a hint of panic.

"Y-you, what are you saying?"

Huo Yutong closed her eyes, somewhat pleased, and said:

"Alright, stop pretending—I was only suspicious before, but now that we've had physical contact, how could you possibly keep it hidden? If you want to deny what I'm saying, then go back to the hotel, strip naked, and show Wulin."

"I—I..."

Wang Dong was instantly at a loss for words.

She was speechless for a while, and finally sighed helplessly.

"Alright, alright, I admit it—please, don't tell anyone else..."

"Hehe, I wouldn't do that."

Huo Yutong chuckled lightly and said kindly: "Just, when you go back, you'd better explain to me why you initially shared a dorm with Wulin, Wang Dong, little sister?"

".... is."

Wang Dong's expression suddenly stiffened.

Oh no, Huo Yutong is jealous.

She immediately began a brainstorm, thinking about how to explain herself to get a lenient judgment.

Those offstage didn't know what the two were whispering, only seeing that after Huo Yutong closed her eyes and spoke, Wang Dong's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Tang Wulin hurriedly went to meet them.

"You've worked hard, sorry I'm late."

Huo Yutong opened her eyes, shook her head, and said gently:

"It's fine, Wulin, keep going—from now on it's up to you."

"Mm, rest assured and leave it to me."

Tang Wulin nodded firmly and said to Bei Bei and Zhou Sichen:

"Senior Brother, Zhou Sichen, let's go—let's end this match."

The three of them walked up to the competition stage together, preparing to face the final and most important match against the Fighting Spirit Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy.

By the way, in the original work, Dong's male outfit highlights an abstraction; besides Lao Huo, everyone can see it.

(End of chapter)