"Hmm." Ye Lingling responded softly, then whispered, "Big brother, how about you don't leave? You can stay in Lingling's room." As she said this, the little girl deeply lowered her head, her voice filled with shyness.
Immediately, she seemed to think of something else and quickly added, "I, I don't mean anything else. I just want to hug big brother more."
Ugh!
Huo Yuhao's hand, which was stroking Ye Lingling's head, froze in mid-air.
The room fell into a brief silence. Ye Lingling's ears were red with embarrassment; she lowered her head, not daring to look at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's expression was strange as he withdrew his hand. After thinking for a moment, he organized his words and then said solemnly, "Lingling, you're still young, and there are some things you don't understand yet. I don't know how to explain it to you. You can rely on me, and I'm willing to treat you as a younger sister, but sibling affection is different from love. Do you really understand your feelings?"
To say that Huo Yuhao only regarded Ye Lingling as a younger sister, he himself wouldn't believe it. He didn't think of himself as a particularly upright person. However, he felt that Ye Lingling was still young, and this girl had been quite withdrawn before, a little lacking in love. Now, if he treated her a little better, she would develop feelings for him.
Huo Yuhao felt that this fondness wasn't the liking between a man and a woman, but a kind of attachment, like a younger sister to her older brother, or children to their parents.
Ye Lingling softly hummed in agreement, releasing Huo Yuhao and whispering, "Then big brother, it's a deal. I'll grow up."
After saying this, Ye Lingling was incredibly shy and fled into the bathroom.
Uh! Is that what I meant?
Huo Yuhao scratched his head. You know, you're right, it's easy to misunderstand.
Forget it. I'll think about it later. Huo Yuhao stopped dwelling on it, turned, and left Ye Lingling's room. Of course, he couldn't stay the night. He could look but not touch, wouldn't that be torture? Besides, how old was he anyway?
Well, deep down, he did have feelings for Ye Lingling, perhaps it was just a matter of attraction, but still, as he always said, Ye Lingling was too young.
Clack!
The bathroom door opened, and Ye Lingling peeked out, relieved to find Huo Yuhao gone. Remembering what she had just said, her cheeks flushed, and she felt too embarrassed to show her face.
On the third day of the elimination rounds, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy made their appearance. Among their seven team members, six were Soul Kings, and their captain, Ma Rulong, was a six-ring Soul Emperor.
The opponent drawn by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was the Tianhong Soul Master Academy from the Heavenly Soul Empire. The captain of the Tianhong Academy team conceded defeat very straightforwardly after seeing the Soul Rings displayed by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team. The disparity was simply too great. The Tianhong Academy's team members had barely reached the Soul Ancestor level, with absolutely no chance of winning.
This left Huo Yuhao, who was eager to see Soul Tools in action, quite disappointed.
Huo Yuhao hadn't had much exposure to Soul Tools, but he knew the basics. Soul Tools were divided into nine ranks, from low to high, with each rank corresponding to Soul Masters of the same level.
But it wasn't absolute. Fixed Soul Tools were an exception. The power of some Level Seven Fixed Soul Tools could reach the level of a Title Douluo. Level Eight Fixed Soul Tools were definitely Title Douluo level in terms of combat power.
However, it was still very difficult to kill a Title Douluo with a Fixed Soul Tool. They wouldn't be foolish enough to stand still and let you set up your big cannons to fire.
But because of the diversity of Soul Tools, Soul Engineers of the same level were generally stronger than Soul Masters of the same level.
Of course, this was in the case of low-level Soul Masters. Above the Soul Saint level, it wasn't necessarily true, because the Martial Soul True Body provided such a huge boost to a Soul Master's combat power.
The seventh Soul Ring was the most important ring for a Soul Master, even more important than the ninth, serving as a bridge between the levels.
Soul Masters who activate their Martial Soul True Body experience a complete leap in combat strength.
The elimination rounds had reached their third day, and by noon, sixty-one matches were completed. The remaining six were expected to finish in the afternoon.
After a brief lunch break, Huo Yuhao returned to the stands, as he had done the previous two days. However, he found someone from the depths of his memory, someone he could never forget.
It was a middle-aged man, standing in front of a group of Star Luo Empire military officers. He looked to be in his thirties, clad in golden armor. His sharp features were resolute, and his eyes had double pupils. A lifetime in the military gave him an iron-blooded, battle-hardened aura.
This man was the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao. Huo Yuhao's, so-called, father.
Dai Hao's gaze had been fixed on Huo Yuhao since he took to the stage. His expression was subtly excited, but Dai Hao saw that Huo Yuhao's gaze only lingered on him for a moment before moving on, as if he were a stranger.
In fact, in Huo Yuhao's heart, Dai Hao was indeed a stranger. Huo Yuhao had anticipated this meeting before leaving for the Star Luo Empire.
Seeing Dai Hao again, Huo Yuhao felt a sense of calm. Perhaps it was because Dai Hao had been stationed on the Star Luo Empire's borders for years and was rarely home. They had seen little of each other when Huo Yuhao was young, and after Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul was deemed useless, the White Tiger Duke hadn't even looked at him. Huo Yuhao hadn't seen his, so-called, father since.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao felt like Dai Hao was a complete stranger, or rather, a half-enemy.
Because Huo Yun'er, Huo Yuhao's mother, was Dai Hao's personal maid. Later, after Dai Hao got drunk, he forced himself on Huo Yun'er, and afterward, he took her as a concubine.
Then, Huo Yun'er gave birth to Huo Yuhao. Just when everyone envied Huo Yun'er's transformation, a nightmare descended. Huo Yuhao awakened his martial soul, and his innate soul power was only level one, making him a complete waste in everyone's eyes.
From then on, Dai Hao never came to see Huo Yun'er and Huo Yuhao again, and the status of the mother and son plummeted.
As the saying goes, "Once you enter a wealthy family, it's like entering the deep sea." Huo Yun'er was cast aside by Dai Hao, and coupled with the constant suppression and targeting by the first wife, Huo Yun'er's life was worse than when she was a maid.
Later, she was seriously injured by the spoiled young master Dai Huabin and his lackeys, and coupled with overwork and illness, she eventually died.
Speaking of which, Dai Hao bore an undeniable responsibility for Huo Yun'er's tragic fate. If he hadn't touched Huo Yun'er, then she would still be that maid, and at least she could have lived peacefully and wouldn't have ended up like this.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao felt a sense of disgust towards Dai Hao. In the past six years, it was impossible to believe that Dai Hao was unaware of Huo Yun'er's situation.
Just like now, Dai Hao's behavior proved that he already knew Huo Yuhao's identity. This was enough to show that he had been paying attention to the Duke's Mansion, but he still ignored Huo Yun'er. Wasn't this just a case of pulling up his pants and denying responsibility?
On Earth, a person like Dai Hao would be a complete scumbag, the kind that would be condemned by countless women. It was pitiful that Huo Yun'er was still infatuated with him even in death.
Walking slowly to the front and sitting on a large chair, Huo Yuhao didn't turn around, but he could still feel Dai Hao looking at him.
Honestly, this feeling was pretty good. He was sitting in front with a group of big shots, while Dai Hao was obediently standing behind like a little brother. This sense of superiority was really nice.
Dai Hao was a duke and had a great influence in the military. His status wasn't much different from a prince, but everyone present represented a super power. He really wasn't qualified to sit with the others.
(End of Chapter)