Douluo Dalu 2: Reincarnated as the Auspicious Beast

The Skydream Iceworm whimpered pitifully in Huo Yuqing's sea of consciousness.

Since Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing had a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, her sea of consciousness was naturally unguarded against him. Plus, Wang Rui himself had an exceptionally powerful spiritual attribute, so taking a stroll in her sea of consciousness was no big deal for him.

Now, Wang Rui finally understood how Huo Yuqing had managed to keep this secret from him—it turned out that this mischievous bug had directly given her a simulation-type soul skill!

The Iceworm's simulation ability was ridiculously overpowered. Even someone at Wang Rui's level of spiritual power couldn't see through it.

As an aside, Wang Rui had long suspected that this bugged-out simulation ability hid some secret beyond the limits of the Douluo world, possibly even something related to a god's inheritance.

Unfortunately, Skydream himself was clueless about it. Wang Rui had even asked his old man, the Golden Dragon King, who was sealed in the God Realm, but the latter had no recollection of any god associated with simulation or ice worms. So, he could only drop the matter for now.

As a result, Huo Yuqing had actually been using her simulation skill all this time. Even when taking a bath, she would keep it activated, altering her facial features and going straight into the female bathhouse.

And as for the big feline who loved fire baths, he never liked squeezing into a crowded bathhouse with four hundred others—no wonder he hadn't noticed a thing.

Oh, Skydream Iceworm, what a mischievous little bug you are. But as the saying goes, if you don't have real skills, don't try to be a trickster. Congratulations, Skydream bro, you've earned yourself a beating from the Emperor Auspicious Beast.

Even though he was hiding in Huo Yuqing's sea of consciousness, his soul essence hadn't been fully absorbed yet, right? Wang Rui could still beat him up just fine.

"Why are you crying?" A freshly woken-up Huo Yuqing was startled by the intermittent weeping sounds in her sea of consciousness.

After all, the Skydream Iceworm usually loved making those eerie 'Jie Jie Jie' laughs. Why was he suddenly crying now?

Having a creature sobbing inside your sea of consciousness first thing in the morning was seriously creepy.

"N-Nothing…" Skydream, under threat, let out a sob, "I just… I just witnessed real love. I'm so happy… that I started crying… sob."

Huo Yuqing: …Alright then.

Yesterday's confession didn't seem to have any major impact on Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing's relationship. They left together as usual, but both of them knew that something had changed.

For example…

Huo Yuqing boldly reached out to hold Wang Rui's hand to merge their soul power, but Wang Rui instinctively dodged.

Could he not dodge? He felt guilty, of course. Even though he hadn't been human for many years, that didn't mean he could keep taking advantage of Huo Yuqing after knowing her true age and gender.

It had to be said that the moral boundaries of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were quite… flexible.

And when he dodged, both of them froze.

Huo Yuqing didn't say anything—just looked at him with a pitiful expression.

Who knew if she was genuinely feeling wronged or not, but Wang Rui couldn't handle it either way. Without a word, he obediently offered her his hand.

Huo Yuqing beamed and intertwined her fingers with his, and just like that, they walked hand in hand to the cafeteria.

At the cafeteria entrance, they happened to run into Ning Tian and Wu Feng.

Seeing the two of them holding hands, the corner of Ning Tian's mouth twitched.

After so many matches together, their group had gotten quite close. With a teasing tone, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's young master quipped, "Everyone knows you two have a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, but could you at least be a little more subtle? The girls in our class are saying you two are a couple and are even betting on who's the top and who's the bottom… If you really are together, just tell me the right answer so I can place my bet."

[T/N: Lmao]

The girls from Class Nine all joined in, stirring things up.

Wang Rui: …

Who told this girl to be so convincing in her male disguise?!

"Oh, come on, don't tease him!" Huo Yuqing giggled, then pointed to the brand-new sky-blue badge on her chest. "Look at this."

"A Level-One Soul Engineer? But you're only a first-year!" Ning Tian's eyes widened. "That's amazing!"

The girls gathered around to admire Huo Yuqing's Soul Engineer badge.

Meanwhile, someone pulled Wang Rui aside and asked in a hushed tone, "Everyone's been talking about this… You wouldn't really be into that male human, would you?"

Wang Rui shot An Wen a glare.

"What are you looking at me for?" An Wen pouted. This must be what humans call having good intentions mistaken for bad ones. She couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. "You should worry about how to get past Di Tian first. You'll all be heading to the Extreme North after the holidays. What if he notices something? If you really are, uh, what humans call… gay… Di Tian will beat the crap out of you."

Wang Rui smiled ominously. "Forget everything else—what's the difference between human males and females? How many times have I told you, and you still don't get it?"

An Wen… took off running. "Misplaced anger! This is pure misplaced anger! You're hitting me just because I said you might be gay?! Everyone's thinking it—"

"Shut up, you!"

… And so, their morning passed in a chaotic, chicken-flying-dog-chasing manner. A joyous occasion, truly.

During class, all the first-years who had passed the assessment and remained at Shrek Academy gathered in the square for their new class assignments.

Soon, Martial Soul Department Dean Yan Shaozhe arrived with over ten teachers.

Zhou Yi wasn't among them, which meant she had indeed been dealt with. Xian Lin'er really did get things done.

In past years, the new class assignments were always announced by the Martial Soul Department's teaching director. But this year, Yan Shaozhe had come personally—probably because Director Du was still bedridden.

Standing among the teachers, Mu Jin looked incredibly pleased with herself. She even smiled and nodded at Huo Yuqing.

After years of scheming, she had finally taken down her rival. Yesterday, she even went to check in on Zhou Yi—turns out, her new job was ladling food in the cafeteria. How could she not be happy?

Meanwhile, Mu Jin had successfully been promoted and, thanks to her class's outstanding performance, had become the new homeroom teacher of Class One. Life was good!

If it weren't for the setting, she'd have loved to rush over and give Wang Rui and the others a big hug.

Yan Shaozhe, holding a folder, swept his gaze over the gathered first-years with a smile.

Following the elimination rounds, only about three hundred students remained—nearly two-thirds of the original class had been cut.

He spoke slowly, "The freshman assessment elimination round has ended, and the final top three have been determined. Although everyone probably already knows who they are, let me officially announce it and the rewards they will receive. The third-place team in the freshman assessment: Zuo Lan's team. The team members are Zuo Lan, Tian Shan, and Yi Xing. Please step forward."

Indeed, Zuo Lan's team, which was defeated by Wang Rui in the semifinals, secured an impressive third-place finish. They had lost to Huo Yuqing's team in the semifinals but managed to win against another team that had been defeated by Dai Huabin's group in the fight for third place.

In fact, whether it was Zuo Lan's locking attack, Tian Shan's group shield, or Yi Xing's mirror crystal package, all were incredibly powerful soul skills. If they hadn't encountered Wang Rui, they might have had a shot at second place.

Led by Zuo Lan, the three stepped forward together and stood before Yan Shaozhe. They were all quite excited—after all, this year's batch had an overwhelming number of strong students, and securing third place was already an outstanding achievement.

The entire first-year cohort erupted into applause.

"Alright, next is the second place," Yan Shaozhe announced cheerfully, glancing subtly at Huo Yuqing's side with a hint of amusement. After investigating yesterday, he had learned about the animosity between Huo Yuqing and Dai Huabin's group.

Conflict was good. The White Tiger Duke's family essentially represented the face of Xingluo. If the Beast Sect and the Xingluo Empire clashed, now that would be interesting.

"Dai Huabin's team. Team members: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Cui Yajie. Please step forward."

Applause rang out again, but as the three of them stepped forward, none of them looked the least bit excited. Dai Huabin, in particular, had dark circles under his eyes and seemed utterly drained, almost dazed.

Zhu Lu also seemed preoccupied with something else, her attention clearly not on the awards ceremony.

Cui Yajie was similarly downcast—after all, she had barely even fought before Huo Yuqing sent her off the stage. It was impossible not to feel dejected.

The second-place team as a whole looked like wilted vegetables after a frost.

Yan Shaozhe paused, waiting for the applause to subside before raising his voice slightly, "Next, please give a warm round of applause to our freshman assessment champions. They are—Wang Rui's team! Team members: Wang Rui, Ning Tian, and Huo Yuhao."

Immediately, the hall erupted in thunderous cheers.

The three of them stepped onto the podium.

Huo Yuqing glanced at Dai Huabin with satisfaction. Although she had relied on Wang Rui's power in their fight and hadn't won purely on her own strength, she had still managed to vent some of her frustration.

However, just as she looked over, Dai Huabin was also staring at her—not with the resentment she had expected, but with a hint of curiosity. He even nodded at her in a seemingly friendly manner.

That disgusted the girl so much that she hurriedly turned her head away.

…Was Dai Huabin out of his mind?

After a long-winded, supposedly inspiring speech (mostly just empty words), Yan Shaozhe finally announced the rewards for the top three teams:

"…All members of the top three teams will receive a unified reward from the academy. Each of them may request assistance from the academy when they need to obtain a soul ring, and the academy will help them acquire the most suitable one."

A gasp swept through the audience.

For most students, this was an incredibly valuable reward.

After all, obtaining a soul ring was a difficult process. The soul beast forests were full of dangers, with high-level soul beasts frequently appearing near the outskirts. Even students from prominent families couldn't guarantee they would always acquire the most suitable soul ring.

As for the special rewards mentioned in the original story… Yan Shaozhe still awarded them on the spot. However, after realizing that Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing might have ties to the Beast Sect, he deliberately avoided giving them soul bones and instead handed out a few cultivation-enhancing elixirs—ones from Cui Dan Xing.

For Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing, this reward was practically meaningless.

"…Next, I will announce the core disciple list," Yan Shaozhe continued, reading from the document. "Wang Rui, Ning Tian, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zuo Lan, Tian Shan, Zhou Sichen, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, An Wen."

He then proceeded to read out a list of substitutes who would temporarily enjoy core disciple status.

However, Huo Yuqing's name, despite being a member of the champion team, was nowhere to be found. Some students began sneaking glances at her and whispering among themselves.

But Huo Yuqing remained unbothered—it was clear that she had already been informed of this in advance.

"…Next, I announce that freshman class nine student Huo Yuhao has officially obtained a level-one soul engineer certification as of yesterday," Yan Shaozhe stated somewhat reluctantly. "He has broken an academy record. After discussions between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Engineering Department, Huo Yuhao has been granted early admission as a core disciple of the Soul Engineering Department and will officially join the department in his third year."

A wave of applause broke out in the audience.

The first-year students might not fully understand how impressive this achievement was, but they clearly grasped that it was extraordinary for two departments to collaborate in such a way.

Unlike in the original story, where Huo Yuhao had brooded over his frustrations, the current Huo Yuqing stood tall, proud, and happy, basking in the recognition she deserved.

Something stirred in Wang Rui's heart as he turned his head and met a pair of vibrant blue eyes, brimming with confidence and joy.