Silence fell instantly.
Wang Feng let out a resigned sigh. "Forget it, let's just think about this tomorrow. Whether we get scolded or not, the most important thing right now is that Yuhao is okay."
Wang Dong nodded slowly, though his expression was still tense. "You're right. But… I still can't calm down," he muttered, glancing toward the still-sleeping Huo Yuhao.
Wang Feng walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, relax. Teacher Zhou might get mad, but he'll understand that we were worried about Yuhao. Besides…"
"Besides what?" Wang Dong looked at him curiously.
"Besides, we can ask Yuhao to help explain things tomorrow. He wouldn't just stand by and let us get punished for watching over him, right?" Wang Feng grinned, trying to ease the tension.
Wang Dong finally let out a breath. "Hmph, at least you're being logical for once."
Wang Feng nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, alright. Let's get in some training before bed. It might help relieve some stress."
"Training? Now?" Wang Dong frowned.
"Yeah. Rather than keep worrying about tomorrow's punishment, we should focus on improving ourselves."
"You're right, let's train."
Without saying much more, the two of them began training together on the same bed.
Night had already fallen when Huo Yuhao woke up. The exhaustion that had enveloped him vanished as if it was never there. His mental strength had fully recovered as well.
But there was something that felt off. Huo Yuhao noticed that the clothes on his body were different from before. He wanted to know who had helped him change. If it was Wang Dong, then it was fine—they were both "boys," after all. But if it was Wang Feng...
Huo Yuhao blushed at the thought of Wang Feng being the one who changed his clothes, though, oddly enough, part of him hoped that was the case.
He then turned his gaze toward the bed beside him. He saw Wang Feng and Wang Dong sitting on it, training together.
They were sitting cross-legged, facing each other on the same bed, with their palms pressed together. A stream of faint spiritual energy flowed between them, forming interweaving patterns of blue and gold light.
But for some reason, Huo Yuhao felt like the blue energy was a lamb that had entered a wolf's den, only to be devoured without a single bone left behind. He also noticed that Wang Dong's face was slightly flushed, as if he had just finished an intense workout. His breathing was a bit ragged—Huo Yuhao could even hear it.
Huo Yuhao blushed as well and unconsciously moved closer to see more clearly.
Suddenly, their training stopped. When Wang Dong opened his eyes, he was startled to find Huo Yuhao's face just inches away from his!
"Ah?!" Wang Dong yelped in surprise, his body jerking back—he nearly fell off the bed.
But Wang Feng reacted quickly. His hand shot out and grabbed Wang Dong firmly, saving him from falling.
But the pull was too strong.
In an instant, their positions became very... ambiguous.
Wang Dong's head ended up pressed against Wang Feng's chest, his face buried there. His breathing grew even more ragged, while Wang Feng remained silent, still holding onto him tightly.
Huo Yuhao, witnessing the scene, could only freeze in place.
The atmosphere turned silent—too silent.
Huo Yuhao stood frozen like a statue, eyes wide open. What… what just happened?
Wang Feng was the first to regain composure. Calmly, he released Wang Dong and said, "Yuhao, you're awake? How are you feeling?" He looked as if nothing had happened—if not for the fact that his ears were visibly red.
Wang Dong immediately pulled away from Wang Feng, his face bright red. "Y-You! Don't sneak up on people like that!" he snapped at Huo Yuhao, though his tone sounded more awkward than angry.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to do it on purpose," Huo Yuhao said, then added deliberately, "It's just… when you two were training, I noticed Wang Dong's face looked a little strange, so I got closer to take a better look."
"Strange how? We were just doing a Martial Soul Fusion training. But since you fainted, we did it with just the two of us. Isn't that normal? The only difference was the number of people."
"Wang Dong's face was flushed and his breathing was ragged, like he had just finished an intense workout," Huo Yuhao replied innocently, though in his heart he felt something about their training was... unusual.
Wang Dong bit his lower lip, then quickly retorted, "T-That's because our spiritual energies were unbalanced! Wang Feng is too strong, so I had to work extra hard to balance it!"
Wang Feng nodded with a serious expression. "That's true. Now that I think about it, training one-on-one with Wang Dong felt different than when it's the three of us. It felt like…" He paused for a moment, "Like toying with a butterfly in my hand."
Wang Dong flinched. "Who are you calling a butterfly?! And it's your fault for not controlling your spirit power properly!"
Huo Yuhao, listening to their banter, could only give a wry smile. A strange feeling stirred in his chest as he watched their closeness. "So… your training was very intense, huh?" he asked teasingly.
"It's not what you think!" Wang Dong immediately defended himself.
Wang Feng simply laughed heartily. "Yuhao, don't be jealous. Tomorrow, we can train as a trio again." He casually slung an arm over Wang Dong's shoulder, who instantly tried to shake it off.
"Let go! You two are so—!"
The previously tense atmosphere in the room had now turned lively with their teasing. Huo Yuhao sighed, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
"It's already late," Huo Yuhao finally said. "We should rest. Tomorrow we still have to face Teacher Zhou."
At the mention of Teacher Zhou, Wang Dong and Wang Feng instantly fell silent. Their faces turned pale.
"We're dead," they muttered in unison.
Huo Yuhao could only shake his head with a smile.
The next morning, the three of them were on their way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Since Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had become core disciples, the academy now treated them differently. For instance, they were allowed to eat the best food available in the cafeteria. These meals were carefully prepared with proper nutrition and even provided a slight boost to their cultivation.
As for Wang Feng, of course he had already been receiving such food since he became an inner courtyard student. In fact, the food he got was even better than what core disciples received—specially prepared by chefs personally selected by Yan Shaoze.
Since classes would start in another hour, the three of them decided to return to the dorm after lunch for a short training session.
After training, they headed to class.
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