Douluo Continent: Reborn as Yuhao, they all have ulterior motives.

Chapter 418: Are we going to do *that* kind of thing again? (Posted at 6 PM)

"Yuhao!?"

A surprised and anxious exclamation rang out from the sky, and everyone subconsciously looked up in the direction of the sound. A figure with fiery wings on its back burst into their view and arrived in front of Huo Yuhao in the blink of an eye.

It was Ma Xiaotao who had come all the way from Shrek City.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's eyes bleeding profusely, this usually carefree woman rarely showed a panicked expression, turning him over and over in a flustered manner.

"What happened to you? How did you suddenly get such a serious injury?"

"It's alright, Sister Tao. I just got into a fight and was a bit exhausted, but I've won now."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao tried to raise his palm as proof, but he soon realized that he could no longer even do such a simple action.

As the two forces of original sin faded, his physical body inevitably entered a state of weakness. Coupled with the previous overload of his mental energy, in addition to his body starting to feel weak, his vision also began to darken intermittently.

Catching the fleeting embarrassment in Huo Yuhao's eyes, Ma Xiaotao knew perfectly well that the boy had fallen back into his old ways. She immediately gave a soft snort and reached out to support his arm.

"You brat, you're all grown up now, yet you still like to act tough like before. But since you still have the energy to pretend nothing's wrong, it seems the problem isn't really that serious."

Upon hearing Ma Xiaotao's words, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but recall the scene when he first entered Shrek Academy and helped her suppress her evil fire. In the end, because he couldn't move, he could only passively enjoy the massage service. The embarrassment on his face deepened.

After coughing twice as usual, Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at Ning Rongrong, who looked lost and dejected, and took the initiative to ask.

"Oscar's body. Should I dispose of it for you, or will you do it yourself?"

"Huh? I, I'll do it."

A glimmer of light returned to Ning Rongrong's eyes, but it quickly dimmed again as she looked at Oscar's cold body once more.

Forcing herself to cheer up, she thanked Huo Yuhao softly in a dry voice.

"Thank you, Master."

"."

Huo Yuhao paused for a moment, then suddenly asked without warning, "Do you hate me?"

"No, I had already tried to dissuade Xiao Ao beforehand. This was his own choice, and I had actually anticipated this outcome from the moment he took action."

Ning Rongrong lowered her eyes slightly. Under the effect of the master-servant contract, there was no resentment on her beautiful face, only a deep sadness and regret that seemed impossible to dispel.

"I just have some regrets. Xiao Ao never wanted to lay a hand on me from beginning to end. If I had used that to my advantage and stood in front of the mistress, could I have prevented her from getting hurt and prevented you and Xiao Ao from developing a life-or-death relationship?"

Finally, she subconsciously raised her head, looking at Huo Yuhao with a blank and pained expression, and couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her.

"And what I understand most is, how did things get to this point? Why must both sides fight to the death?"

"That's exactly the kind of answer someone who's signed a master-servant contract would give. If it weren't for it, you'd probably be itching to fight me right now."

Huo Yuhao smiled, but suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, he spoke softly and answered her question.

"There's no particular reason, it's just because you interfered in my battle with Tang San."

"I do not regret Oscar's death. Even now, I do not regret what I did. After all, from the moment they descended to the mortal realm, the two sides became enemies facing each other with swords drawn."

"You may think you are helping your companions and doing the right thing, but there is never a right or wrong in this kind of thing."

"The reason it has come to this is because, from beginning to end, including you, all of you have been nothing more than expendable resources in this battle between me and Tang San."

"Consumables?"

Ning Rongrong seemed to understand, but soon she recalled what Huo Yuhao had said back in Qiankun Wenqing Valley: that Tang San still tried to reconcile with them after their deaths.

"...Master, you seem to know Tang San very well?"

I guess so.

Huo Yuhao remained noncommittal: "If there's an opportunity, perhaps you'll meet him in the future."

Just then, Jing Hongchen and the others, seeing that the battle was over, came over and took the initiative to speak.

"Yuhao, Her Majesty the Empress has arranged guest rooms and invited everyone present to the palace to recuperate in gratitude for your contributions."

"I understand, I'll be right there."

Huo Yuhao nodded. Although they were all on the same side and there was no need for such formalities, he did need some time to rest and recover.

After consulting with Gu Yuena and the others, everyone except Ning Rongrong, who stayed behind to deal with the body, flew towards the palace.

Of course, Huo Yuhao was an exception, because due to his mobility issues, he was carried by Ma Xiaotao during the flight.

Perhaps it was the scorching heat from the phoenix flames that made Huo Yuhao feel a little warm, or perhaps it was because he was too exhausted. He had initially resisted, but after lying on Ma Xiaotao's back for a short while, he actually felt drowsy.

In his dazed state, he heard Ma Xiaotao asking questions as if she couldn't contain her curiosity.

"By the way, Yuhao, what was the purpose of having Senior Zhu Zhuqing inform me of my arrival in the Sun Moon Empire?"

"About this matter."

Huo Yuhao paused for a moment and then explained his plan to absorb Ma Hongjun's flame essence with her. After listening, Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes lit up, but a blush crept onto her cheeks, and she looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Is there a problem?" Noticing Ma Xiaotao's unusual behavior, Huo Yuhao subconsciously asked.

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just... how should I put it."

After hesitating for a while, Ma Xiaotao first looked around to make sure that no one else was paying attention to the two of them before lowering her voice and asking in a tone that was both expectant and shy.

"Absorbing the essence of that flame... does that mean I have to do that kind of thing again?"

"...?"

Doing that kind of thing?

Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment, as if he was in a daze and couldn't react for a while.

But the next second, he understood what Ma Xiaotao meant.

"Um... it doesn't have to go that far. Like when we first expelled the evil fire, physical contact is fine too."

After saying that, he looked at Ma Xiaotao's neck, which was also flushed with an alluring blush, and added a sentence as if possessed.

"However, the absorption efficiency might indeed be higher if you follow the method you suggested, Sister Xiaotao."

"I understand. Then... how about we try a more efficient method?"

Ma Xiaotao made the incoherent suggestion, her expression as calm as if she were talking about something as mundane as eating and drinking.

Unfortunately, her slightly trembling voice still revealed her inner turmoil, especially the subtle allure it contained, which made Huo Yuhao's throat involuntarily bob.

"……Um."

After only a brief exchange, the two tacitly agreed to an epic battle.

But the next second, Huo Yuhao noticed the subtle gaze that Gu Yuena was casting at him. He subconsciously looked over and saw that her beautiful purple eyes blinked twice, and the meaning she was trying to convey was self-evident.

—I'm injured and need to recover.

For no apparent reason, Huo Yuhao's lips twitched slightly, and he subconsciously asked via telepathy.

"You didn't do this on purpose, did you?"

Gu Yuena blinked twice more, looking as if she didn't understand what you were saying.

"His Asura power is very effective against my elemental attributes. If you hadn't arrived in time, I might have perished together with him."

Huo Yuhao didn't refute this time, after all, his victory was also due to the advantage brought by that all-out soul impact.

Oscar didn't just swallow the mirror image sausage; as an indispensable support for Tang San's camp, his other sausages also had considerable enhancement effects.

Furthermore, he possessed the most destructive divine power in the divine realm at the time. If he hadn't inflicted severe damage on the other's spiritual sea from the very beginning and crippled one of their hands, even he might not have been able to come out on top.

Moreover, having memories of his past life, he knew very well that the Asura God replicated by Oscar was capable of unleashing the ultimate move, the Asura Blood Sword. That thing was so powerful that anyone below the God King level would die if they were to take a hit from it. If it were unleashed, the entire Sun and Moon Continent would probably be wiped off the map.

It's unclear whether the other party didn't release him because of Ning Rongrong, or because Tang San didn't have time to teach him.

However, now that the matter was resolved, he decided not to dwell on it any longer. After this series of battles, his desire to improve his strength became even more urgent. At this moment, he only wanted to recover his condition as soon as possible, complete the Ice and Fire Body Refinement, and head to the center of the Jingyang Mountains.

It seems that we really should adopt the more efficient method that Sister Tao suggested...

...Two days later.

"woke up?"

As Gu Yuena entered the realm of the dead through the portal, she immediately spotted the white-haired figure struggling to get up.

"Um"

Huo Yuhao, supporting his still slightly stinging brain, tried to control his staggering body and asked questions in a daze.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"In less than half a day."

Gu Yuena reached out and supported Huo Yuhao's arm. After feeling the body temperature, which was no longer bone-chilling, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually calmed down.

Clearly, although Huo Yuhao fainted due to excessive mental exertion after stabilizing his soul core, he had successfully used Ma Hongjun's flame source to restore the balance of ice and fire attributes within his body.

"No wonder my head still hurts a bit; it seems my mental energy hasn't had time to recover."

After muttering a few words to himself as if in a dream, Huo Yuhao continued to press, "By the way, where's Sister Xiaotao?"

"She woke up half an hour earlier than you and is resting on the bed outside. What about the Demon Emperor? How is she?"

"She exerted a lot of effort in maintaining the balance of the two soul cores, which consumed a lot of energy, so she is still asleep."

Gu Yuena nodded, and seeing that Huo Yuhao's eyes had cleared up a bit, she couldn't help but squeeze his arm, her expression filled with curiosity.

"I don't notice any changes. How's your physical strength now?"

Upon hearing Gu Yuena mention this, Huo Yuhao briefly sensed it and a delighted smile immediately appeared on his face: "Try taking out the Silver Dragon Spear and you'll see."

Gu Yuena paused for a moment, hesitated for a second, and then did as he said, taking out the silver dragon spear in her hand and stabbing it towards Huo Yuhao's arm.

However, she noticed something was wrong as soon as she touched it. The silver dragon spear, which was originally so sharp that it was indestructible, actually felt a brief stiffness when it pierced her skin.

Although he eventually managed to break through the skin, this alone is enough to demonstrate just how extraordinary Huo Yuhao's physical abilities have become.

"In terms of physical fitness alone, you should now be almost on par with me."

After a brief moment of shock, Gu Yuena guessed and said.

This is not an exaggerated level. Although she is a half-body of the Dragon God, she has always been weak in terms of physical fitness because she inherited the ability to control the elements. In addition, she has been injured for many years. Even among the first-level gods, she is considered one of the weaker ones.

However, none of that was the point. She looked up at Huo Yuhao again, her tone unusually complicated.

"I should have waited until your physical condition improved before you recovered from your injuries."

Before Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao absorbed the essence of the flame, she had already tasted it for Ma Xiaotao under the pretext of restoring their condition. However, seeing Huo Yuhao's completely renewed state, she regretted acting so early.

It was as if she had just bought the old model and then found out that a new one had been released. The inexplicable sense of disappointment made her mutter to herself.

Should we restore it again?

(End of this chapter)