Chapter 20: The Bet Between the Lan Sisters, Dai Huabin, and Huo YuhaoThe next time I saw Huo Yuhao was at the dining hall.Shrek Academy's dining hall was as lively and boisterous as ever. Dai Youheng sat alone at a table by the wall, eating unhurriedly.However, he soon realized that eating a quiet meal seemed to be a luxury. The deceased Simp Youheng, though his actions were despicable to him, had indeed put effort into managing his interpersonal relationships and was quite popular.He was handsome, remarkably talented, and a son of the White Tiger Dukes Mansion. Even as a concubine's son, he was several social classes above the daughters of ordinary minor nobles. Moreover, unlike Dai Huabin, he did not have a clear betrothal to Zhu Lu.These combined factors made him a suitable dating prospect in the eyes of many female students and even some noblewomen from ordinary families.Furthermore, while being a bootlicker was looked down upon, such a personality was often associated with labels like "enthusiastic," "gentle," and "helpful."Although Simp Youheng primarily focused his energy on bootlicking the main characters like Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and his beloved Xu Jiujiu, he was also polite and considerate to other classmates, occasionally offering small favors. As a result, his popularity was surprisingly good.Sure enough, shortly after he sat down, two figures carrying their meal trays cheerfully sat opposite him."Big Brother Youheng! You've been back at the academy for so long, why haven't you come to play with us?" a clear and lively voice asked."Exactly, exactly, my sister and I have missed you so much," another voice, slightly more reserved, but also clearly affectionate, added.Dai Youheng looked up. Before him were two almost identical, delicate and lovely faces. Both girls had striking waist-length blue hair; one's hair was a deep, ocean-like blue, while the other's was a lighter, lake-like shade.Although Dai Youheng recognized the identity of this pair of sisters, he originally didn't know what his relationship with them was. Fortunately, during this time, he had received a lot of information about the former Simp Youheng from Zhou Sichen.These sisters were actually his teammates from last year's freshman assessment—the Lan Sisters, Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu.Their sisters possessed a rather good control system Spirit fusion skill—Heaven and Earth Net—which provided considerable assistance in last year's freshman competition.The Spirits of these twin sisters were quite unique: their hair, which could be considered a type of Body Spirit.It was a pity, though, that hair was not considered a particularly important part of the body, so the quality of their Spirits could only be considered good, far from reaching the level of top-tier Body Spirits.The strength of a Body Spirit largely depends on the importance of the body part it represents.However, if they could undergo a secondary awakening, the quality of their Spirits should improve further.At that time, both teachers and students believed that the future achievements of these sisters would be limited.Only that Simp Youheng, upon first meeting the sisters that year, sincerely declared, "Silky black hair, like a waterfall, is a symbol of a woman's glory and beauty."He even recited two lines of poetic verse he had plagiarized from his previous life on the spot: "Hair like dark clouds falling to the ground, hands like slender bamboo shoots with skin like congealed fat" and "Black hair ties my heart to you, every inch filled with longing."He praised their hair profusely, saying that a strand of black hair could convey deep affection and was an incredibly important token.This awkward flattery surprisingly made the sisters' favorability towards him greatly increase."How troublesome!" Dai Youheng muttered to himself. He had no interest in these sisters, nor did he want to get involved in his predecessor's romantic entanglements. He just wanted to quickly brush them off to avoid them noticing any discrepancies.He was about to find an excuse to deflect when his gaze shifted, and he happened to see two more groups of people entering the dining hall.One group was led by Dai Huabin, accompanied by Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie. The three of them looked arrogant, carrying the inherent superiority of the White Tiger Duke's direct lineage.The other group consisted of Huo Yuhao, who had just completed his procedures, along with the inseparable Wang Dong and the quiet Xiao Xiao.These two groups were truly enemies on a narrow road; the atmosphere turned sour the moment they met. When Dai Huabin saw Huo Yuhao, old and new grudges surged, and he immediately began to mock him. Huo Yuhao, whose strength had greatly increased, and with Wang Dong assisting him, naturally refused to show weakness.The conflict between the two sides quickly escalated, soon turning into the bet from the original novel. Dai Huabin wanted to compete against Huo Yuhao in the upcoming promotion assessment, and the stake was the prize Huo Yuhao had won in the freshman competition.The problem was that the prize was a Spirit Bone, which Huo Yuhao had long since given to Xiao Xiao, and it had already been absorbed by Xiao Xiao, becoming part of her left leg bone! They couldn't really make the young girl cut off her leg, could they?Just as Huo Yuhao was about to say, "The Spirit Bone has already been absorbed by Xiao Xiao.""Wait."A calm voice interjected, instantly drawing everyone's attention.Dai Youheng slowly stood up, walked to Huo Yuhao's side, and facing Dai Huabin, spoke in a calm yet clear tone, "Yuhao's prize from the freshman competition was a Spirit Bone. However, to thank me for taking care of him, as well as Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, over the past year, he has already given that Spirit Bone to me. Now, the Spirit Bone is in my hands."He paused, his gaze sweeping over Dai Huabin's slightly changed expression, and continued, "Since it's to be used as a stake, then I will be the one to put it forward."As he spoke, to everyone's astonished gazes, a light flashed in Dai Youheng's hand, and from his storage spirit tool, he took out a Spirit Bone that was entirely dark blue, emitting icy energy fluctuations, and shaped like some kind of tusk! This was the Spirit Bone he had obtained from the unfortunate ninth-rank spirit tool master's inheritance.He had already appraised it during this time: it was a left arm bone, approximately thirty thousand years old, from an ice-attribute Ice Arrow Pig.Huo Yuhao was stunned, and then his eyes welled up with deep emotion.He, of course, knew that the Spirit Bone from the freshman competition had long been given to Xiao Xiao. What his brother was showing now was clearly his own private collection! To help him out of a difficult situation, to support him against Dai Huabin, his brother was willing to bring out such a precious Spirit Bone!"Brother…" Huo Yuhao's voice was somewhat choked, and he was about to say something.Dai Youheng, however, raised a hand to interrupt him, his gaze fixed on Dai Huabin, a seemingly calm but actually sharp smile playing on his lips. "Dai Huabin, since we're betting, your stake must be of the same level as ours, right? So, if you win against Yuhao, this Spirit Bone in my hand is yours. If Yuhao wins against you…"He deliberately drew out his tone, "Then you'll compensate me with another Spirit Bone. After all, this stake was genuinely put forward by me first. For fairness, your stake also has to be a Spirit Bone, doesn't it?"Dai Youheng, familiar with the original plot, knew very well that Huo Yuhao would definitely win this promotion assessment with his powerful second Spirit and ultimate ice.This was simply a golden opportunity to gain a Spirit Bone for free, like an empty-handed swindle! There was no reason not to do it!It seemed that the "good big brother to Huo Yuhao" identity of that bootlicker was sometimes useful after all.
