Chapter 25: Spiritual Detection

"So, you feel she is wasting her time? And the two of you have fallen out over this?"

Having been brothers for several years, Xu Sanshi guessed Bei Bei’s temperament with pinpoint accuracy.

"Yes." Bei Bei’s mood sank even further. "To be precise, I don't just feel she is wasting her time; she is dragging down the futures of others and disrupting Shrek Academy."

As soon as these words were out, Xu Sanshi’s expression changed instantly. He rushed to the door, peered left and right, and then locked it tight. "Hey! You can't just go around saying things like that!"

"It is the truth," Bei Bei replied calmly.

"Her focus right now should be on diligent cultivation. She is only seventeen; she still has three years to try and break through to become a Spirit King. If she dedicated herself fully to her training, getting into the Inner Court would not be impossible."

"But instead, she treats these last two years like a life-saving straw, terrified that she will never find support again, spending every day running around trying to recruit people to promote the Tang Sect..."

"The Mysterious Heaven Technique is indeed useful, but I don’t know if it was corrupted somewhere along the way; it is incomplete, and it is of no real use to those talented youngsters in the academy. The other Tang Sect secret skills are even more likely to hinder one's soul power cultivation."

Finally, Bei Bei’s voice paused. He scanned the people present and spoke with the tone of someone revealing deep secrets: "Her behavior has already reached a point where many teachers and Inner Court elders can no longer stand it. I am only trying to persuade her to turn back."

*Inner Court elders?*

Huo Yuhao and the other two were stunned. They truly hadn't expected that Bei Bei would have access to the upper echelons of Shrek Academy.

Xu Sanshi, however, had guessed as much and wasn't particularly surprised. "So, what do you plan to do now?"

"Wait for her to calm down; perhaps then she will listen to what I have to say." Bei Bei’s brow smoothed slightly, his tone feigning ease. "Hasn't she always been like this in the past? In time, she might come to her senses."

Xu Sanshi glanced at him and chose to remain silent.

Bystanders see things more clearly. While he didn't know what Tang Ya was thinking, he knew it didn't look like she had let anything go. If things continued this way, one day she would be unable to suppress her inner thoughts, and he could not guess what she might do.

"Forget it, let’s not talk about this anymore." Bei Bei waved his hand with a touch of exhaustion, his gaze falling on Xiao Xiao. "Since you have joined the Tang Sect, you can consider yourself my junior sister. As your senior brother, I naturally need to prepare a gift for you."

As he spoke, he gestured toward Xu Sanshi.

"What?"

"The Mysterious Water Pill."

"?"

Xu Sanshi’s eyes bulged instantly. "As the senior brother, you’re asking me for the welcome gift?"

"Tsk, hurry up!"

"I don't have any, I just gave them away," Xu Sanshi snorted coldly.

He never went back on his word.

Seeing that Bei Bei was practically on his deathbed, he had to ensure the payment reached Huo Yuhao before carrying his cheap brother all the way to the infirmary.

"Didn't you have two?" Bei Bei shot him a sideways glance and suddenly mimicked a sickeningly sweet tone: "Oh, Nan Nan~ I happen to have two pills right now—"

"Stop! Stop! Don't you dare start! I'll give it to you, alright!"

Xu Sanshi’s expression shifted violently as he clamped his hand over Bei Bei’s mouth. Even though he was usually shameless, when it came to a contest of who could be more shameless, his skills were nothing compared to Bei Bei’s.

...

"The Mysterious Water Pill is of no use to us, so take this one too," Huo Yuhao said, tossing the porcelain bottle in his hand to Xiao Xiao just as they stepped out of the infirmary.

"Ah? This isn't appropriate!" Suddenly holding two pills, Xiao Xiao felt them burning in her palm. "Such precious items, so easily... No, no... I’m already in your debt."

"Hmph, do you think this young master lacks such trifles? Just accept it," Wang Dong snorted, raising his head and walking ahead with large strides.

Watching his back, Huo Yuhao’s eyes were filled with disdain. He didn't know who it was that had been gasping and shrieking over those two bottles of pills earlier; now he was putting on an act.

"If you truly feel bad about it, when you become strong in the future, you will have plenty of opportunities and the ability to repay us. There is no need to obsess over it now." Huo Yuhao patted Xiao Xiao on the shoulder. "Your top priority right now should be cultivation, to grow as much as possible. Every extra bit of cultivation before the age of thirty will raise your future potential. If you have any problems or difficulties in the future, you can come to me."

"...Yes." Looking into his eyes, Xiao Xiao gripped the bottle tightly.

"Oh, right." After walking a few more steps, Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of something. "Do you have a larger storage soul tool?"

The second-hand one he had bought for a dozen gold soul coins was small and inconvenient; he had to calculate every bit of space whenever he sold fish, and it was truly uncomfortable.

"Ah?" Xiao Xiao was stunned, then touched the bracelets on her wrists and took off the one on her left. "This one hasn't held anything yet; its capacity is about fifty cubic meters, though it cannot store living things. If you want it, I can give—"

"What is the price?" Huo Yuhao interrupted.

"This pair of bracelets costs fifty thousand total..." Xiao Xiao was momentarily confused by his intent. But if he wanted it, she certainly wouldn't be stingy.

Although the official price of the Mysterious Water Pill wasn't high—only a little over ten thousand gold soul coins—because of the mysterious source of the pills and the limited supply provided only to the top factions on the continent, it was impossible to obtain without background and connections.

If put up for auction, this item could easily sell for fifty or sixty thousand. Especially for those born into wealth but lacking talent, a treasure capable of increasing innate soul power was worth everything they had.

"Twenty-five thousand? That should be about right, right?" Huo Yuhao muttered. After taking the bracelet, he shoved a small bottle into Xiao Xiao’s hand. "Thanks! I was just worrying about where to go to trade for things; these two are for you."

Leaving behind such an abrupt, vague remark, he leaned on his cane and turned to leave, leaving Xiao Xiao standing there in a daze.

*Trading for things?*

*These two?*

Xiao Xiao fingered the bottle in her hand and curiously opened it to take a look. Two pills shimmering with a watery luster lay silently at the bottom of the bottle.

...

"Tian Meng, is there any way for me to get a few more offensive methods?" Back in the dorm, Huo Yuhao lay sprawled on his bed, lost in thought.

"No way." Tian Meng instantly blocked his hopes. "The Ice Silkworm race is just like this; we have almost no combat capability. The Soul Shock from your spirit ring is already the strongest offensive method inherent to your bloodline."

"From the spirit ring..." Huo Yuhao manipulated the translucent white spirit ring floating before him, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him. "Right, what is the principle behind Spirit Detection?"

"What do you mean?"

"Because after Spirit Detection is activated, everything within a radius of over a hundred meters is pulled into my perception, yet I feel no discomfort. Isn't this phenomenon quite strange?" This was the first time Huo Yuhao had realized this.

"It’s because of your spiritual power and the spirit ring, right?" Tian Meng pondered. "When you activate Spirit Detection, you channel a portion of your spiritual power into the spirit ring, and every subsequent process is handled by the ring and that mass of spiritual power itself. You just have to enjoy the processed detection results."

He understood. Those pieces of information that would normally make one’s brain explode had already been filtered, screened, and processed once. That was why he could perfectly adapt to a detection range and precision far beyond his current spiritual strength with relatively low spiritual power.

"I’ve found a way!" Huo Yuhao suddenly sat up, his eyes filled with a touch of excitement.