Douluo Dalu 2: Heavenly Eyed Douluo

A couple days later, atop the dormitory.

"Huuu...." Huo Yuhao let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, a flicker of demonic purple light emanating from his gaze. The sun shone brightly from the horizon, painting the sky with hues of orange and gold.

The warm glow of dawn bathed the landscape as the purple qi mist from the sun dissipated, just as the purple glow from his eyes returned to its natural blue. He stood up from his cross-legged position and stretched his limbs.

"Peak of the Mustard Seed....The next stage, Boundless Stage, feels so close, yet so far. I feel like I should make some adjustments to the Purple Demon Eye technique so others could absorb more purple qi."

The sun doesn't always rise, rain exists after all, and no one would have the time to stare at the sun when it rises. Such limitations made the Purple Demon Eye less practical for most users. Huo Yuhao's thoughts deepened, his analytical mind dissecting the technique's flaws.

"The main issue is that the purple qi only appears when the sun rises....I wonder if I can make a device that stores the purple qi for later use," Huo Yuhao murmured, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the thought. "A soul tool designed to capture and preserve the purple qi at its peak intensity.... If successful, it would allow practitioners to harness its benefits regardless of the time or weather."

The idea sparked a cascade of possibilities in his mind. He envisioned a compact soul tool, perhaps one resembling a crystal orb or box, capable of absorbing and condensing purple qi into a storable form.

"But it can't just be any soul tool," he continued. "It needs to be finely tuned to the wavelength of purple qi, delicate enough to capture its essence without corrupting it. But....I need materials to do it. Welp, another thing to put in the "to do" list."

Huo Yuhao took out a notepad from his Twenty Four Moonlight Bridges, wrote down on it, and whistled.

Sniff* Sniff*

Appearing out of the corner of the rooftop, a chubby white rabbit hopped into view, its nose twitching as it sniffed the air curiously. The rabbit's round body and fluffy fur made it look really adorable, but its sharp eyes betrayed an intelligence far beyond an ordinary animal.

"Xiao Dong," Huo Yuhao greeted with a smirk, crouching down to meet the little creature. "Hey there little buddy. Did you have a nice night?"

Sniff* Xiao Dong nodded.

"....Is Dong'er still mad at me?" Huo Yuhao asked as he gave his little companion a carrot.

Sniff* Xiao Dong bit half of the carrot and nodded once more.

Huo Yuhao wryly smiled. After that little 'accidental' dip into the lake, Wang Dong'er decided to punish him by having him stay out of their dorm for a week.

Which was funny, considering that they were kicked out of their room after Wang Dong'er revealed her true gender. The academy can bend a lot of rules for them, but it wasn't to the point of letting two opposite sexes live together in the male dormitory.

And so, they were temporarily assigned to another room in their respective dormitory.

Huo Yuhao is currently staying with Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen, a familiar duo since he had fought against them in the freshmen assessment. But they were chill dudes and they were also members of his sect, so they got along swimmingly.

Wang Dong'er herself was assigned to the Lan sisters, the ones with the hair martial soul, and they got along pretty well — especially after she 'borrowed' Xiao Dong.

Huo Yuhao was fine with it. After he fed Xiao Dong some of the corpses of those people from the Sun Moon Empire, the Snow Rabbit would spend most of its days sleeping — probably digesting the remaining power of the corpses, as Yuhao sensed it was slowly growing stronger.

'I'm glad that the mark isn't working on him thanks to the blood contract we have. Thanks, teacher Electrolux.' Huo Yuhao inwardly muttered.

A couple days ago, Electrolux performed the blood contract ceremony on Huo Yuhao and Xiao Dong — making them connected through their bloodline; their life forces were now intertwined, ensuring that Xiao Dong wouldn't be affected by the hidden cursed mark left by the Ice God.

'It was no problem, Yuhao.'

Huo Yuhao smiled as he ripped out a piece of paper from his notepad, put it on a small container, and tied it around Xiao Dong's fluffy tail.

"Alright Xiao Dong. Time to do a bit of work and send this paper to my clone over at HQ."

Sniff* Xiao Dong made a lazy face.

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You haven't completely devoured the energies of those corpses, but clearly you devoured enough that it wouldn't hinder your movements. From my estimations, you're nearing the 10,000 year level."

Sniff* Xiao Dong inclined its head, looking extremely proud of its achievement. It was true; the rabbit had grown significantly stronger in just a few days, and its increased vitality could be felt with every twitch of its nose.

The power it had absorbed from the corpses had already enhanced its natural abilities, and now, with the blood contract between them, its potential is at the same level as Huo Yuhao's for now.

"Alright, alright," Huo Yuhao continued, chuckling at Xiao Dong's reluctant gaze. "Don't think you can slack off just because you're getting stronger. I didn't give them to you for free, y'know. I need this delivered as soon as possible, and my clone will need your speed to get it there fast."

With a final pat on Xiao Dong's head, he adjusted the small container on its tail to ensure it wouldn't fall off. "This is important, Xiao Dong. And I promise, you can rest after and have cuddles with Dong'er."

To the utter bafflement of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er seemed to have an innate affinity towards rabbits or bunnies. Xiao Dong would always rather go to her when she's near, napping peacefully in her arms or on her lap whenever they were together. Jiang Nannan would also get closer to Wang Dong'er whenever she could, immediately going for hugs and asking for pets on the head.

It was a complete mystery to everyone, but they chalked it up as some sort of natural power or special physique — to the utter bafflement of the girl, who wanted a more useful superpower.

Sniff* Xiao Dong stood on its hind legs, gave a salute, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Alright~ With that done, I guess I'll go eat breakfast. Hmm. I wonder if auntie Bo would let me use the kitchen again...."

In the girl's dormitory.

"....Sister Feng, are you sure about this?" Ning Tian calmly asked, facing her best friend.

Wu Feng nodded solemnly, her crimson eyes glowed with a fiery resolve. "I want to grow even stronger, sister Tian. Let's face it, compared to the others, I'm average. As a dragon-type, senior brother Bei Bei outclasses me. In terms of attack power, I'm at the bottom. What else can I provide if my attack power is just above average? How can I be considered a Heavenly Demon if I am this weak?!"

She clenched her fists against the helm of her skirt. "That's why...! That's why after we go back to the academy's Underworld, undergo whatever training the Pavilion Master throws at us, I'm going back to the sect and ask my family."

Ning Tian's brows furrowed, a worried expression crossing her face. "Sister Feng, I understand your desire to grow stronger, but.... to ask your family? Your father?"

A trace of panic and fear flickered across Wu Feng eyes for a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I have to face him, better it be sooner than later. Though I'm sure the teachers and elders in the inner courtyard might help advance my cultivation and combat techniques, they would be second to the power that my family can provide," Wu Feng said, her voice steady despite the storm of emotions swirling within.

"After all, he is the successor to the Guardian Douluo of the sect, a Transcendent Douluo, and possessing the Fire Dragon King martial soul." She said, a bitter and slightly resentful edge to her words.

She closed her eyes, and her lips formed a small smile. With the sunlight piercing through the window, shining down on her, her warm cheeks and expression appeared quite enchanting.

"But...as long as I can keep standing beside him, I would tolerate my father."

Ning Tian's expression softened, and without any hesitation, stepped forward and hugged Wu Feng tightly, wrapping her arms around her friend.

"....I wish I could come back with you."

Wu Feng was surprised for a moment, but she smiled gently, her arms instinctively returning the hug. She could feel the sincerity and warmth in Ning Tian's words, and it softened the weight in her heart.

"I wish you could too, sister Tian," Wu Feng replied, her voice thick with emotion. "But you can't, it would've been fruitless. Before attending the academy, you made sure that you learned and memorized every information related to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

"My training will not take days or weeks, but years. I cannot, in conscience, as your friend and bodyguard, allow you to follow me and ruin your potential"

Ning Tian's heart tightened at her words, nodding silently. "Hmm."

Wu Feng nodded back before separating from her, facing her with a wide and bright smile. "Alright, alright. Stop crying! Let's save those tears when I go."

"You..." Ning Tian snorted softly, wiping away a stray tear before chuckling lightly. "Honestly. Alright, fine. Let's do it your way and save the tears for later. Especially since I think Yuhao's doing barbecue later on."

Wu Feng's eyes sparkled.

"Hm!"

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4/4 Chapters of the week! See y'all later!!