"+1 Lottery Draw"
"A piece of information (incomplete)"
The moment Huo Yuhao killed Second Brother, two new lines of text appeared across his vision.
But he didn't check them immediately. Instead, he headed back to the valley to assess the casualties among the merchant caravan and the mercenary group.
The valley was no longer the lush place it once was. It now looked as if an eighth-grade gale had swept through—scattered rubble, torn-up earth, pits everywhere.
Not far away stood a ten-meter-wide crater—what remained from Fourth Brother's Wood Explosion.
Passing by it, Huo Yuhao couldn't help clicking his tongue.
The destructive power of this corpse-explosion-type Spirit Ability was terrifying.
Whether it was Ice Explosion, Corpse Explosion, or this Wood Explosion he just witnessed firsthand—none of them were easy to deal with.
Corpse Explosion alone, in the hands of the Death God Envoy, had once produced the strongest record in Douluo Continent's history, single-handedly raising the prestige of explosive-type Spirit Abilities.
Of course, much of that credit belonged to the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder, Xuan Zi.
Huo Yuhao walked over to Lang Shan. Lang Shan was lying on the ground, with a healing-type Spirit Master bandaging him.
Seeing Huo Yuhao, Lang Shan forced a twisted smile.
That deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest was still bleeding. Beast-type Spirit Masters truly had terrifying vitality; an ordinary person hit like that would already be queueing at the underworld's gate, yet here he was—still able to smile.
Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly.
"Leader Lang Shan, just lie down. Don't make the wound worse."
"And that escaped evil Spirit Master—I've already killed him. We won't have trouble on the road ahead."
The meaning sank in. Lang Shan's pupils tightened—clearly shocked.
But he quickly steadied himself. Ignoring the healing Spirit Master's protests, he braced himself with both hands and forced his torso up into a half-sitting position.
Blood-shot eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao, he spoke solemnly:
"Thank you… truly, Brother Danzō."
Huo Yuhao nodded lightly, said nothing more, and walked over to Li Fei.
"How's the wound?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Li Fei paused his bandaging and looked up.
"Hurts like hell."
"But hey… at least I can still feel it."
He gave a relieved grin, chest heaving from the adrenaline of still being alive.
"This time we really got lucky!" he continued.
"If those Evil Spirit Masters had coated their claws with corpse poison, I'd be a dead man for sure."
Huo Yuhao smiled.
"The fact they didn't use corpse poison means they were planning to eat people."
Li Fei nodded—still wearing that sunny, optimistic grin.
"Yeah… lucky for us they turned on each other."
"Seems my luck isn't meant to run out."
"Danzō, when we reach Xuanfeng City, I'm treating you to the best restaurant there—and the most luxurious pleasure house. I guarantee you'll enjoy it!"
Huo Yuhao patted his shoulder but didn't answer.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Xiao Xiao curled up beneath a distant tree.
"I'm going to check on the young lady. She's probably scared out of her mind."
Xiao Xiao had her legs pulled tightly to her chest, face buried in her knees, teeth biting her lip, complexion pale.
Her calves trembled uncontrollably—her mind replaying the slaughter she had just witnessed.
When she felt someone sit down beside her, she finally lifted her head a little—just enough to peek.
And instantly met Huo Yuhao's eyes.
"Ah!"
Startled, she hurriedly scrubbed at her tears and snot with her small hands—
only making the mess worse.
Eventually, she just gave up entirely, hugged her knees, and muttered:
"You're… not here to laugh at me, right?"
"Forget it. If you want to laugh, then laugh. I won't mind."
Huo Yuhao, hearing that, looked at her dirty little face—
and burst into laughter.
At the sound of his laughter, Xiao Xiao's legs tightened even more, her knuckles turning white. Her expression was pitifully aggrieved.
Then suddenly, she felt a warm hand gently patting her head.
The laughter beside her stopped. A gentle voice flowed into her ears like a stream:
"See? You do mind."
"It's normal to be scared when you see something like that."
"The fact that you can feel fear means you still have respect for life."
"That's a good thing. Respecting life makes you cherish it. Cherishing life lets you transcend death."
"Never become numb to scenes of blood and gore. Some people will worry about you."
Huo Yuhao gestured with his eyes for her to look behind.
Xiao Xiao turned and saw Xiao Dingyuan watching her anxiously.
She bit her lip, looked back down at her toes, and muttered:
"Besides being scared… I hated how weak I was."
"Uncle, did you know? I'm actually already at Rank 20."
"I only need one more Spirit Ring to become a Spirit Grand Master."
"Ever since I awakened my Martial Soul, everyone has called me a genius. They say I can become a future Titled Douluo."
"In my duels with peers, I've rarely been defeated."
"But those were just friendly matches… performances, really."
"Today I realized that in a real life-or-death crisis, I didn't even have the courage to summon my Martial Soul."
"People weaker than me were fighting desperately, and all I could do was tremble behind everyone, trying to keep my legs from shaking."
"I hate that version of myself. It's so embarrassing."
Huo Yuhao rubbed her head again.
"No one is born strong."
"My former captain once told me: 'A true strong person is someone who, even after realizing their own weakness, still charges into the ice and snow.'"
Xiao Xiao went quiet for a while.
Then she lifted her head—her emerald eyes staring seriously into his.
"Uncle, I want to become strong!"
"Next time something like this happens, I don't want to stand there trembling!"
"I've decided—I'm going to Shrek Academy!"
Huo Yuhao froze. He really didn't expect that kind of development.
But soon he relaxed. For Xiao Xiao, Shrek Academy was… acceptable, at least.
Still, he decided to warn her.
"Kid, if you go to Shrek Academy… make sure you avoid Class One of the new students."
"There's a teacher there named Zhou Yi. She treats her students like they're soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire. If you fall into her hands, I doubt you can handle it."
Xiao Xiao tilted her head in confusion—but nodded earnestly.
Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao sat together for a while. Dawn began to tint the sky pale.
In the valley, the merchant caravan and mercenary group had finished preparations and were ready to depart.
But looking around, nearly everyone was injured in some way.
Lang Shan was even bedridden—his brother, Lang Yan, had taken over his duties.
Li Fei waved at Huo Yuhao, signaling that the convoy was ready to move.
Huo Yuhao brought Xiao Xiao back to the group, mounted his horse, and took position on the left side of the caravan—continuing along the originally planned route.