Douluo 2: Check-In Douluo Dalu

Suddenly, Huo Yuhao's consciousness was flung into his spiritual sea. In front of him appeared Tianmeng's startled face and his Spirit Eye, undergoing a mysterious transformation.

"What's happening, Sister Tianmeng?!" Huo Yuhao cried out in panic. "Is something wrong with my Spirit Eye?"

Tianmeng, who was observing the changes closely, turned toward him. "Oh, Yuhao, you're here," she said, still sounding amazed. "Yes, as you can see for yourself, your Spirit Eye seems to be undergoing a minor mutation." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "By the way, where did that sudden burst of energy come from just now? When your Spirit Eye absorbed it, the mutation process sped up dramatically—even more than when it absorbed my mental energy."

Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows, then suddenly remembered something. "It must've been Wang Feng's energy," he muttered softly, unconsciously touching his forehead where Wang Feng had made contact earlier.

"That makes sense. Since this mutation is tied to that boy, maybe your Spirit Eye could fully mutate even faster if you absorb more of his energy."

Huo Yuhao nodded slowly, his eyes shining with newfound determination. "Then I need to find a way to get more of Wang Feng's energy," he said, voice trembling with anticipation.

Without being noticed by Huo Yuhao or Tianmeng, a gray-colored orb hidden deep within Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness slowly began to move. A faint light started to shine more brightly from it, as if awakening from a long slumber.

Back in the real world, Wang Feng, still standing beside Huo Yuhao, suddenly felt a strange tremor from his friend's body. His brow furrowed as he noticed a subtle change in Huo Yuhao's pupils—a faint golden hue pulsing in rhythm with his breath.

"Yuhao?" Wang Feng gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Huo Yuhao blinked hard, his awareness returning in full. "I-I…" he murmured, touching his temple. Suddenly, his vision had become sharper, clearer—almost as if the world around him had peeled back to reveal hidden layers he had never noticed before.

Wang Dong, seeing the strange scene, immediately stepped forward. "Hey! What are you doing?!" His voice almost squeaked. He was suspicious of how close Wang Feng was getting to Huo Yuhao. It had already happened twice—if the first time could be chalked up to coincidence, the second was definitely not.

Wang Feng realized the misunderstanding a moment too late. Quickly stepping back, he scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh. "Sorry, sorry! I was just giving him some support energy."

Wang Dong placed himself squarely between them and laid a protective hand on Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "Yuhao, that pervert didn't do anything weird to you, right?"

Still adjusting to his newly sharpened senses, Huo Yuhao nodded absentmindedly in response to Wang Dong's question.

"Wang Feng! What did you do to Yuhao?!"

"I didn't do anything, I swear."

Realizing he'd answered wrong, Huo Yuhao quickly spoke up to calm Wang Dong down. "Wait, Wang Dong. Wang Feng didn't do anything weird. But when I received his energy just now, there was a slight change in my Martial Soul."

"I'll let it slide this time."

"Why are you so mad? Are you jealous?" Wang Feng suddenly leaned in and whispered in a voice low enough that only Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao could hear. "Too bad—I don't like guys. But if a 'guy' turned out to be something else, I might reconsider."

Wang Dong froze on the spot, face turning red with a mix of anger and embarrassment after hearing Wang Feng's teasing whisper. "You—!" His fist clenched, and Huo Yuhao, who overheard it too, couldn't help but blush again.

Wang Feng took a step back with an innocent smile, both hands raised in surrender. "Kidding! Just kidding! I'm still a normal guy and definitely into girls."

Suddenly, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stepped forward and simultaneously pinched Wang Feng's soft sides.

"Aaagh! You two are really—!" Wang Feng winced in pain as the two pairs of hands dug into him. His protest was cut short by a pained, bitter smile.

Huo Yuhao instinctively loosened his grip. "S-sorry! That was a reflex…"

Wang Dong was still firmly pinching Wang Feng's arm, his eyes blazing. "This is your lesson, you shameless flirt!"

Meanwhile, behind them…

Xiao Xiao was trembling with excitement. Her notebook was wide open with large scribbles: "NEW FANFIC MATERIAL! Ménage à trois scene! Deeply meaningful pinching!" Her other hand clutched a spirit camera, ready to capture the precious moment.

Wang Yan let out a long sigh, massaging his temples. "Are you three done playing around…?" His voice was soft, but it carried an underlying threat.

The trio immediately separated like children caught misbehaving. Huo Yuhao cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry, Teacher Wang, we're ready."

Wu Feng sneered from across the arena. "What a bunch of weirdos! Don't think your little comedy act will save you in the arena!"

Wang Feng rubbed the sore spot on his arm, putting on a dramatically pained expression. "You guys are so cruel~" he whined, casting a mischievous glance at Huo Yuhao, whose ears were still flushed red.

Wang Dong smirked. "Sounds like I didn't pinch hard enough."

Suddenly, Xiao Xiao sneezed loudly. "Achoo!" Several sketch pages of Wang Feng and Huo Yuhao scattered from her notebook.

Wang Yan, watching all of this unfold, could only sigh. "Alright, break's over. The duel is about to begin. Huo Yuhao, Wu Feng – to the arena!"

Still blushing, Huo Yuhao walked toward the stage, while Wang Dong kept glaring suspiciously at Wang Feng. On the other side, Wu Feng looked even more agitated, seeing all of this as yet another insult.

"Place your bets, place your bets! I'm the bookie! Anyone want to wager?" Zhou Sichen shouted, standing up excitedly. "Odds for Huo Yuhao are 10 to 1, Wu Feng 1 to 10!"

"I'll bet one hundred gold coins on Wu Feng," Dai Huabin was the first to approach, handing over a heavy pouch of coins.

Zhou Sichen's face twitched violently. You didn't have to go that hard…

Dai Huabin scoffed, "If you want to be the bookie, you have to be brave enough to take risks. If not, keep your thoughts to yourself."

Provoked by Dai Huabin's arrogance, Zhou Sichen spat angrily, "Fine! I'll take it! I just hope you won't cry if you lose. Even if you win, I'll only owe you ten gold soul coins. I'll accept any bet!"

But Zhou Sichen wanted to cry after what happened next. A large group of students rushed over to him, and almost all of them bet on Wu Feng. The difference in strength between the two sides was too large; no one had much hope for Huo Yuhao. Betting on him offered high returns, but no one dared to take the risk.

Zhou Sichen's expression grew uglier by the second, but it was too late to take back his words. His face darkened like the bottom of a burnt pot.

At that moment, a voice that brought Zhou Sichen immense joy rang out, "I'll bet one thousand gold soul coins on Huo Yuhao."

The one walking over and handing him a beautifully crafted gold note was Wang Dong.

Right after Wang Dong placed his bet, Xiao Xiao pulled out another gold note. "I'll bet a thousand too."

Walking with them, Wang Feng casually pulled out ten golden notes. "I'll bet ten thousand on Huo Yuhao's victory."