Douluo Dalu 2: Reincarnated as the Auspicious Beast

Huo Yuqing appeared to be reading, but in reality, she had been secretly listening to Wang Rui and Ning Tian's conversation.

Their topics changed quickly, and there was always something left unsaid, a hidden implication in their words. The more Huo Yuqing listened, the more confused she became, struggling to keep up with their pace.

But Wang Rui was truly impressive...

At that moment, she suddenly heard the girl behind Ning Tian speak to her.

"Hey, are you Huo Yuhao? I'm Wu Feng."

Huo Yuqing turned around. She had some resistance to Ning Tian and Wu Feng, given that jealousy didn't really make sense to her.

However, the expression on Wu Feng's face made Huo Yuqing feel a strange sense of sympathy, as if they shared a common struggle.

So, she nodded calmly. "I'm Huo Yuhao. Nice to meet you."

"What are you reading?" Seeing that Huo Yuqing's attitude was friendly, Wu Feng casually sat down on the seat in front of her, turned her body, and leaned over, resting her arms on the desk, looking quite unrefined.

Wu Feng was quite tall, and when she leaned over, her head tilted, resting on her arm. Her chest, which had already developed, was pressing against Huo Yuqing's desk, and the loose collar of her shirt exposed tight inner clothing with a deep cleavage.

Huo Yuqing thought about her own figure...

Damn it, we're the same age.

Suddenly, Wu Feng furrowed her brows, a look of confusion on her face. "Can I see your pendant?"

"Hmm?" Huo Yuqing hesitated for a moment. Then she remembered what Wang Rui had said, thinking it wasn't a big deal. She tugged at the chain and took out the examination reward pendant given to her by Lu Mingyou.

The pendant was a jade-like droplet-shaped soul guide with the icon of a golden tree carved on it. It was small and understated.

"Ah, this is a storage soul guide from Emerald Pavilion?" Wu Feng's gaze changed as she seemed to confirm something. "I heard this kind of soul guide is only given as packaging when you spend a lot. Each batch is slightly different."

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect purchased pills from Emerald Pavilion, so they certainly didn't lack these kinds of soul guides... Elders who managed logistics even collected them as a hobby.

It wasn't particularly useful compared to regular storage soul guides, but it did carry a certain status.

If Huo Yuqing was wearing this, it suggested she was probably from a hidden family, not just a free-spirited soul master.

At that thought, Wu Feng unconsciously relaxed.

"So, what's your background?" Wu Feng curiously craned her neck to look at Huo Yuqing's book. The girl cooperatively flipped the book's cover to show her.

"Principles of Medicinal Combinations?" Wu Feng read aloud, bewildered. "Why are you reading this?"

"Hmm, our family runs a pharmacy," Huo Yuqing replied vaguely.

"Oh, I see," Wu Feng nodded, her expression lighting up with understanding.

She must be doing business with Emerald Pavilion, then.

After asking that, Wu Feng didn't have much more to say. She wasn't like Ning Tian, who had been trained in family diplomacy and could talk about anything with ease.

A bit of awkwardness began to settle between her and Huo Yuqing. Wu Feng turned her head, gazing at Ning Tian, who was chatting with Wang Rui.

Huo Yuqing noticed something soft and beautiful in her eyes.

"She likes her, but she doesn't realize it, heh, heh, heh." Tianmeng Iceworm twisted like a grub in Huo Yuqing's mind, having developed a fondness for gossip and shipping characters ever since it started with Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing. It was gradually becoming hopelessly obsessed with fanfiction.

"Is that so... she likes her..." Huo Yuqing looked at Wu Feng.

Then what about her own gaze when looking at Wang Rui?

"...This year, in the freshman class, besides you, there are three Soul Kings," Ning Tian's voice reached her ears. "They are me, Xie Huanyue, from a noble family in Dou Ling, and Dai Huabin, the son of the Duke of the Star Luo Empire."

Huo Yuqing's eyes narrowed, and she suddenly grabbed Wang Rui's arm.

Her slender fingers gripped his wrist tightly, her knuckles turning white, and even trembling slightly.

Wang Rui thought for a moment, then calmly pried her fingers open and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Wu Feng blinked subtly, and some instinct told her that Ning Tian's attempt to recruit Wang Rui would not succeed, which strangely eased her hostility toward Wang Rui.

Ning Tian was slightly surprised by Huo Yuqing's reaction but quickly shifted to a caring expression.

"Dai Huabin, the son of the White Tiger Duke, is in the new fifth class, on the far left side of the corridor. He has a fiancée who can use a martial soul fusion technique, named Zhu Lu, and they're in the same class," Ning Tian thoughtfully provided, "Dai Huabin also has an older brother in Shrek's inner academy... the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect isn't afraid of the Star Luo Duke's family and is willing to help its friends."

"The sect is very happy to assist friends," she said, subtly.

But help would never be free.

With that, she gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, stood up, and left with Wu Feng, leaving Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing behind. Ning Tian had chosen a prime seat at the front of the classroom, ideal for top students.

"Dai Huabin... the annoying person you mentioned before?" Wang Rui asked in a low voice.

"Yes." The girl closed her eyes slightly, a bitter expression on her face. "He killed my mother."

"Do you want to kill him? I can help you," Wang Rui tilted his head and asked.

To Wang Rui, Dai Huabin, and even Dai Hao, were just small obstacles on Huo Yuqing's path. They weren't worthy of being her long-term targets.

Revenge could indeed drive someone to grow stronger, but if the wound of hatred wasn't healed quickly, if vengeance wasn't completed or let go of, the person would only be tormented by their obsession, turning into a monster.

He understood the revenge-driven mindset, but that didn't mean he thought it was a good thing. He had seen too many people twist into monsters for the sake of vengeance.

So, even though it was unlikely that Huo Yuqing would want to take revenge through him, Wang Rui still asked. He hoped she could move past the hatred more quickly and find the real motivation to move forward.

But the girl was startled.

Wang Rui had casually mentioned helping Huo Yuqing kill Dai Huabin, as if it were no more difficult than killing a chicken.

He really believed there was no problem with killing Dai Huabin.

"But he's the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Star Luo Empire! And this is Shrek Academy!" Huo Yuqing whispered urgently, "If anything happens, we'll never get away with it."

"So what?" Wang Rui leaned back casually in his chair, "We could just play out a runaway drama... If you want, I'll definitely help you. It's so easy to get away with reasonable killings in Shrek. The academy loves soul fights. If Dai Huabin dies in the arena, the referee is responsible, not us."

It could easily be manipulated, and the blame could be shifted to Shrek. The academy wouldn't back down against the Duke's family... that's called using their tactics against them.

As for killing someone in the arena... there's a big difference between a blood feud and an innocent person, right? Wang Rui's moral compass was very flexible.

What? You want to hold a lion to human standards?

"...Thank you." Huo Yuqing was moved, but she struggled to let go of Wang Rui's suggestion. "I want to defeat him fairly, then make him kneel at my mother's grave and apologize. After that, he can die."

What good would killing Dai Huabin do? Huo Yuqing's vengeance was never just for herself. She could let go of the suffering imposed by the White Tiger Duke's family, but she would never let go of her mother's pain!

Wang Rui smiled.

At that moment, a loud, angry shout came from outside the classroom: "Say that again, I dare you!?"

The voice belonged to an adult woman, not a freshman.

The classroom, which had been buzzing with conversations, immediately fell silent.

Shrek's teaching building was quite old, and the soundproofing was poor. Soul masters weren't known for having bad hearing, so everyone in the classroom clearly heard the shout.

Within moments, more than a hundred students in the classroom all lifted their heads in unison, their eyes lighting up as they eavesdropped.

It was just like a group of swallows squatting in a melon field, their eyes filled with strange light.

So, you see, spectators will always be the worst—watching drama with no care for the consequences.

...But this isn't even our class.