Here are some methods to support me:
PAYEER: P1134728698
Skrill : [email protected]
Webmoney (WMZ Purse): Z820148229030
Your support would mean the world to me, and I genuinely appreciate any help you can offer.
Chapter 101 — Dai Family's Secret
"As for that punch, you can rest assured. I've never heard of Elder Mu ever passing on his unique techniques to anyone. The fact that he managed to independently discover this path, and refine it to such a degree… that boy truly is a prodigy."
"But after all, Sovereign's Descent is a spirit skill that Elder Mu spent countless years perfecting. It's not something a child under twelve could fully comprehend. What he executed shouldn't be considered the true Sovereign's Descent, so it won't produce the sort of results you're worried about."
Xuan Zi paused for a moment, his tone calm and measured as he continued.
"One cannot become strong without facing hardship. For a genius, this is even more true. Experiencing appropriate failures doesn't diminish their confidence—it accelerates their growth. This incident will ultimately be beneficial for Tang San. Let's not interfere for now; let him reflect on it himself."
"As a precaution, that Ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone should not be given to him. During the holidays, I'll take him to the Star Dou Great Forest to see if we can acquire the Eight-Spider Lances belonging to Ancestor Tang San."
"Yes, Elder Xuan!"
Seeing Xuan Zi arrange everything so thoroughly, Yan Shaozhe felt a surge of emotion in his chest.
On the path to growth, having a senior like this guiding you… How could one not become a formidable cultivator?
Reassured in his confidence toward his gifted disciple, Yan Shaozhe was about to leave when a figure in a fiery red academy uniform appeared in his line of sight.
"Xiaotao? What brings you here?"
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's voice, Ma Xiaotao, who had been glancing around, instinctively looked over and smiled as she explained.
"It's been a while, Teacher. I am here to look for a student named Huo Yuhao. I heard he has an assessment today, so I came to cheer him on."
She didn't notice Yan Shaozhe's stunned expression at her words. As she spoke, her gaze swept the assessment area below, curiosity slowly giving way to confusion.
"Could it already be over? But the assessment just started not long ago… That means Yuhao's opponents weren't much of a challenge! Already dealt with so quickly? Teacher, did you watch the match just now? Was Yuhao's fight already—"
After scanning the area and failing to spot the figure she sought, Ma Xiaotao turned to Yan Shaozhe for an explanation. Seeing the deep blackness in his expression, she froze for a moment, instinctively asking,
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," Yan Shaozhe said, coughing lightly and waving his hands repeatedly. "His match has indeed concluded. He should be on his way back now."
For some reason, seeing his disciple—whom he had neglected for months after taking Tang San as a disciple—Yan Shaozhe felt an increasing sense of unease.
"Then I'll go find Yuhao first," Ma Xiaotao said, nodding before leaving without lingering, heading straight for the area outside the assessment zone.
Only after watching Ma Xiaotao disappear from view did Du Weilun, sensing something amiss, finally speak.
"Dean, I feel that when Zhang Lexuan personally recruited Huo Yuhao, it wasn't just because she discovered the abnormal spirit ring of his first Martial Spirit; she might have also known about him possessing a second Martial Spirit…"
"I know," Yan Shaozhe said with a slight nod, recalling Ma Xiaotao's earlier demeanor. His fist, hidden beneath his sleeve, clenched instinctively.
No need to speculate: for Ma Xiaotao, who had long resided in the Inner Academy, how else could she have met Huo Yuhao without Zhang Lexuan's guidance?
Moreover, her eyes and overall demeanor made it clear that, compared to three months ago, the evil fire within her had been significantly suppressed.
Thinking of Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice Martial Spirit displayed during the assessment, Yan Shaozhe's irritation surged.
So, after months of neglect, his disciple had already been… stolen? And only now was he discovering Huo Yuhao possessed a second Martial Spirit of Ultimate Ice?!
The more he thought, the angrier he became!
Zhang Lexuan aside, if Ma Xiaotao had informed him sooner, how could his Battle Spirit Department have lost such a prodigy?
A web of dissatisfaction spread through his heart, forcing Yan Shaozhe to take a deep breath before letting out a long sigh.
"Old Du, let's go check on Tang San."
"Ah?"
Du Weilun hesitated. "Dean, what about Ma Xiaotao—"
"Let her be. She's grown; she has her own thoughts now…"
Yan Shaozhe's voice carried a hint of weariness.
"Compared to that, Tang San just lost a match. As his teacher, I must at least comfort him."
"…Understood."
"Um…"
On the way back to the dormitory, Zhu Lu kept glancing at Huo Yuhao. Her lips moved several times before she finally mustered the courage to ask,
"Are you still planning to take action against the Duchess?"
The words of that frail, cold boy from five years ago had left a lasting impression on her mind. Even now, the memory remained vivid.
Later, she had investigated Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er's circumstances. Forget about the Duchess; probably the entire Dai family had likely already been added to Huo Yuhao's list.
Although Huo Yuhao hadn't acted against Dai Huabin in the academy, Zhu Lu doubted that he would let the Duchess off so easily.
Originally, she only thought Huo Yuhao's talent was extraordinary, but the day he could truly enact vengeance still seemed distant.
Yet, after witnessing his overwhelming strength just now, she suddenly realized that for this boy, achieving it might no longer be so difficult.
"Ah."
Seeming surprised by Zhu Lu's question, Huo Yuhao nodded calmly.
"What's the matter? Does it affect you?"
There was no reason to hide anything. Zhu Lu had already heard his words back then; if she wanted to inform her elders, it would have happened long ago. And currently, he sensed no malice in her.
"No, not at all," Zhu Lu said softly, organizing her thoughts. "As a Star Luo Empire's noble family, the Zhu family has many internal factions after ten thousand years of development. My mother and the Duchess do not belong to the same faction, so their relationship has always been neutral."
"Even though the Zhu family has internal rivalries, they maintain a generally close stance toward the Dai family. After all, both families share a stable Martial Spirit Fusion Technique. If their relationship were strained, it could seriously impact their standing in the Star Luo Empire. Thus, in each generation, the most gifted among them are often married to maintain this bond."
Seeing Huo Yuhao nod in understanding, Zhu Lu pursed her lips and continued in a quiet tone.
"The Duchess married the current White Tiger Duke under these circumstances. But after the incident five years ago, I investigated and discovered some irregularities."
"The current White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, wasn't the most talented among his peers. Instead, he carved his own path, enlisting in the army around twelve or thirteen, which led him to where he is today."
"Because his early talent was unremarkable compared to his brothers, and he joined the army at a young age, he shouldn't have had contact with the Duchess at all."
Huo Yuhao immediately grasped what Zhu Lu meant.
If his early talent wasn't exceptional, why would the Zhu family invest in him and not his brothers?
Moreover, since Dai Hao only emerged from the army later, the relationship between the Duchess and Dai Hao was clearly not like that of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu in his previous life, where they grew up together; it was arranged afterward.
"So I specifically investigated the Duchess's situation," Zhu Lu continued, a strange expression appearing on her face.
"At first, I found nothing. But after my parents realized my curiosity, they revealed some information to me."
"White Tiger Duke Dai Hao once had a younger brother. Although his talent was slightly more outstanding than Dai Hao's, the difference wasn't particularly large. So, the faction the Duchess belonged to was hesitant and allowed the Duchess to interact with both brothers, primarily to foster good relations."
"But because Dai Hao actively chose to join the army, for a long time, the Duchess was interacting with Dai Hao's younger brother. My parents said that their relationship… well, it was very intimate. However, later, when Dai Hao made a name for himself in the military camp, her faction turned and chose Dai Hao."
"Although her own faction chose Dai Hao, the feelings developed over so many years of interaction couldn't just be severed. So, the Duchess and the Duke's younger brother secretly maintained a subtle connection."
"Later, I heard that Dai Hao's younger brother was unwilling to just hand over the Duke's position, so he also chose to join the army. And then, about nine years ago, he died on the battlefield."
"..."
Huo Yuhao blinked, his expression equally strange.
"Very intimate," indeed… how intimate exactly?
From his memory, the Duchess's suppression of his mother and him began when he was two or three years old, which coincided with the timeline.
Huo Yuhao used to wonder about this.
If it was to prevent his mother from threatening the Duchess's position after having him, then the other party could have started the suppression the moment Huo Yun'er was found to be pregnant. Why wait until he was two years old to start… So, was the other party doing these things because of Dai Hao's younger brother's death?
Since Dai Hao caused it, she wanted revenge? Then shouldn't she target Dai Hao? Or was there something else he didn't understand?
Impossible… Dai Yaoheng and Dai Huabin are not illegitimate, ...right?
Wait!
A sudden insight flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind. He remembered that the Duchess's children, Dai Huabin and Dai Yaoheng, both possessed Evil Eyed White Tiger Martial Spirit, but his and Dai Luoli's Martial Spirits had both undergone mutation.
While mutations are possible, the fact that only his and Dai Luoli's Martial Spirit changed, while the Duchess's two children remained normal, struck Huo Yuhao as unusually coincidental.
Could it be that he had correctly guessed the truth?
(End of Chapter)