Book 17: The Ultimate Soldier Plan
Chapter 147: Fusion! New Perspective
Under the Skydream Iceworm’s control, Huo Yuhao would fuse this soul ring into his left arm. Once his cultivation had reached the appropriate level, the Skydream Iceworm would then unleash the soul ring’s boosted power, and it would become a hundred thousand-year soul ring. This process could certainly be known as the first soul ring fusion of its kind.
After fusing with his third soul ring, Huo Yuhao’s accumulated cultivation also came into effect now that he’d overcame his bottleneck.
The Ice Jade Scorpion and Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s soul bones—both of which were extremely powerful—had brought about great benefits to Huo Yuhao’s cultivation. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hadn’t let up on their cultivation either, and the Life Gold had also nourished Huo Yuhao’s body. So when the Mysterious Heaven Technique broke through, his soul power erupted in an overwhelming surge of power.
Huo Yuhao could feel his soul power still soaring even when he reached Rank 31. It was only once he’d reached Rank 32 that
he felt the rate of increase stabilize, but it didn’t stop increasing until he’d reached the peak of Rank 32.
Huo Yuhao had an Ultimate martial soul, which was very different from ordinary soul masters. At Rank 30, the density of his soul power was noticeably greater than most soul masters. Elder Mu had warned him some time ago that the increase in his soul power would slow down significantly once he reached Rank 30. If an ordinary soul master had obtained two soul bones in the same manner as he had, it wouldn’t have been surprising for them to increase four or five ranks once they gained their third ring.
Even so, Huo Yuhao was still happily surprised by his gains. It was definitely a good start considering the difficult cultivation he’d have in the future.
It took him roughly eight hours to complete everything, which was still much faster than it normally took a soul master to fuse with a soul ring.
As soon as he completed his fusion and was about to relax, his Eye of Destiny suddenly started to act up. He immediately tensed up again, as the Eye began to emit an absorptive force.
What was this? Was the Eye of Destiny absorbing his spiritual power like Electrolux had mentioned earlier?
That was exactly what was happening; it had occurred even faster than Huo Yuhao expected.
The broken memories that he’d gained from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were quickly gathered and drawn away, alongside his spiritual power. He could sense that a hole had been poked in his Spiritual Sea, and his spiritual power was flowing out of rapidly. The process was in-turn strengthening the connection between him and the Eye of Destiny.
The Eye of Destiny was sucking away his spiritual power with such immense strength that he couldn’t even try to resist it. It even took away a shred of his spiritual origin!
Fortunately, this process didn’t cause him any pain. The memories from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion flashed through his mind once more, appearing much clearer this time.
Everything started to change weirdly. He could feel an indescribable shift in his Spiritual Sea, as if part of it had been drawn away with his spiritual power. His awareness seemed like it was jumping from one side to the other when the sliver of his spiritual origin entered the Eye of Destiny.
Everything seemed to happen in an instant, but it felt like it took an eternity. When he finally awoke from his cultivation, the sun happened to be rising slowly in the east.
Huo Yuhao subconsciously turned his gaze to the east. When he did so, the purple that flashed through the sky seemed to be brighter than it had been before.
A new warmth filled his eyes, and he was shocked to discover that his eyes had been nourished by the purple light that had washed across them. This was something that he’d never experienced before.
He shut his eyes and focused his mind, feeling a little dizzy. After re-focusing himself, he opened his eyes to stare just above the rising sun… and everything he saw seemed to be different from before.
Countless spots of light, most of which were golden, floated through the air. The whole world seemed to have exploded with color. The sun wasn’t blinding at all, but he couldn’t tell whether it was red or gold in color.
This, this is…
Everything new in front of Huo Yuhao disappeared as his mind wavered. His third eye shut itself, even though it had just opened.
Everything returned to normal once he’d re-opened his eyes.
However, he was still shocked by what he’d felt earlier.
The Eye of Destiny had given him a special perspective. He could also clearly feel that everything was still normal when he injected his spiritual power into his Spirit Eyes. If he were to use a soul skill, the might of his increased spiritual power would be displayed.
His spiritual power seemed to have changed after he injected it into the Eye of Destiny. There appeared to be some form of connection between his Spiritual Sea and the Eye of Destiny’s
second spiritual sea, as his spiritual power was instantly depleted at a frightening speed
Huo Yuhao immediately tried to use his Spiritual Detection. He discovered, to his shock, that it took four times as much soul power to unleash the soul skill through his Eye of Destiny. Doing so also used up a third of his spiritual power, despite the fact that Spiritual Detection wasn’t very taxing on either his soul or spirit power!
However, the benefit he gained was as great as the cost, and equally shocking: When unleashed through the Eye of Destiny, his Spiritual Detection covered three times the area that it normally did. It was able to reach up to 600 meters!
While it seemed like tripling the area of effect wouldn’t make up for quadrupling the cost, that wasn’t the case. This meant that his Spirit Eyes could display a tremendous explosive strength when he unleashed a soul skill with his Eye of Destiny. His Spirit Eyes possessed the equivalent of a four- ringed cultivation level, even though he only had three rings, which raised his abilities by an entire grade. The only drawback was that they couldn’t be used too frequently, since the cost was too great. Using his Spiritual Shock once would
take forty percent of his soul power, while using it twice would knock him unconscious.
The Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion still had a gap in strength, due to the Ultimate Ice. While the Spirit Eyes was a Body Soul, it hadn’t undergone its second awakening yet. On the other hand, the Ultimate Ice couldn’t even be dealt with by Body Sect soul masters who’d gone through their second awakening! The Ice Empress was entirely superior to the Spirit Eyes, even though it had only one soul ring. The role of the Spirit Eyes was more supplementary, and favored auxiliary and control abilities.
However, everything had changed now that he had the Eye of Destiny. The Eye of Destiny greatly increased the adaptability and explosive power of his Spirit Eyes. Huo Yuhao still hadn’t discovered everything that Eye of Destiny was capable of. But after obtaining his third soul ring, the Eye of Destiny, and the Darkgolden Terrorclaw, Huo Yuhao could definitely rival a four-ringed Soul Ancestor—without Wang Dong’s help. And not just any Soul Ancestor, but a Soul Ancestor from Shrek Academy!
“Yuhao, come here,” Elder Mu’s gentle voice rang in his ears, jolting him out of his surprise.
He quickly entered the Sea God’s Pavilion, and came to Elder Mu’s bedroom.
“Teacher, what’s this?”
Huo Yuhao was stunned when he saw Elder Mu, but Elder Mu didn’t explain anything to him. He raised his hand to stop Huo Yuhao from speaking any further. “Tell me how you’re feeling. I believe you didn’t just absorb your soul ring, given that you’ve been meditating for so long. Do you realize that this is already the third morning since you returned to the Sea God’s Pavilion?”
“What?” Huo Yuhao was appalled. It didn’t feel like much time had passed at all!
“Tell me about the changes that this ‘Eye of Destiny’ has brought you. I’m curious.” There weren’t many things about a soul master’s abilities that could make Elder Mu curious anymore.
Huo Yuhao was honest, and described the changes to Elder Mu. However, he still concealed the matter of the Eye of Life. After all, that involved Electrolux, and his third eye finally had a legitimate backstory behind it.
Elder Mu thought for a moment after Huo Yuhao finished. He said, “It’s very similar to the change that occurs when a Body Soul awakens for the second time, but your increase in strength was even greater. You have to analyze the brilliance behind the word ‘destiny’ in the ‘Eye of Destiny.’ Receiving power from the Emperor Beast is no simple thing. From today onwards, you shall learn from Fan Yu for three days, then return and cultivate with me for three days. Wang Yan will then give you theoretical lessons on soul masters for one day. You’ll need to work for seven days a week without any rest days. You don’t need to return to the outer courtyard either. You’ll just need to take the advancement exam every year.”
Huo Yuhao was a little shocked when he heard this, but knew that Elder Mu was doing his best to nurture him. “No problem.”
Elder Mu said, “You can go now. Go and find Fan Yu first, I’ve already informed him that he can begin the Soul Tool
Department’s Ultimate Soldier Plan. You shall be learning alongside He Caitou.”
“Teacher, what about Wang Dong?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Elder Mu replied, “He doesn’t have much interest in soul tools. Don’t worry, he’ll remain in the Sea God’s Pavilion to cultivate with me. I’ll also supervise your joint cultivation. You shall return to the Sea God’s Pavilion every night to cultivate with him.”
“Yes, teacher.”
Elder Mu opened his eyes slowly and looked at Huo Yuhao with a gentle yet stern look. “Yuhao, you must enter a rapid state of development from now on. Possessing an Ultimate martial soul doesn’t just signify your bright future, it also means that you carry a heavy responsibility on your shoulders. In two years, you’ll proceed to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy for a three-year exchange. I hope that you’ll have your own special set of skills once it’s time for the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. We’re a little tight on time, but time isn’t on my side. The ties between the empires on the continent are fragile.
The Sun Moon Empire has shown signs of making a move, the Body Sect has reappeared, and…”
He paused for a while, then gazed at Huo Yuhao seriously. “Your ability to obtain the Emperor Beast’s power of destiny shows that destiny has chosen you. Your future isn’t just about protecting Shrek Academy and revitalizing the Tang Sect. It’s also about ensuring the continent’s peace and stability. If you can remember my words and are willing to do your best, it’ll be an honor to be your teacher.”
For some unknown reason, Huo Yuhao felt his heart become heavy when he heard Elder Mu’s words, though it wasn’t because of Elder Mu’s words or tone. He couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher, how’s your body?”
Elder Mu smiled and shook his head. He replied, “I’m fine. At my age, I’ve already learned to accept unpleasant truths. Don’t worry, I won’t give up on my ailing body so long as it means that I can protect Shrek Academy for just one more day.”
Huo Yuhao wanted to add on to his words, but was stopped by Elder Mu. “Go on, every second is important to you now. I’ve already informed Fan Yu. Now that you’ve absorbed your
soul ring, you’ll learn from him for the three days, and begin your weekly cultivation cycle.”
Huo Yuhao gazed steadily at Elder Mu, then bowed to him.
After that, he turned and left the room.
A sense if sorrow surged through his mind after he carefully closed the door to Elder Mu. Huo Yuhao was much more sensitive to things now that he had the Eye of Destiny. He could clearly sense that Elder Mu’s life was on the decline. It was likely that he wouldn’t live past a year. In addition, this was a natural decline that couldn’t be stopped.
Huo Yuhao stood silently outside Elder Mu’s door for another ten seconds, before slowly turning and leaving the Sea God’s Pavilion. When Elder Mu had stared at him seriously earlier, he’d had an unforgettable look of expectation in his eyes. He knew that the only way to make Elder Mu happy was to try his best to increase his own abilities.
Elder Mu revealed a faint smile inside of his room. He muttered, “Boy, this pressure might be coming to you too early, but I have no choice, because I don’t have much time left!” He
hadn’t told Huo Yuhao about Ma Xiaotao because he wanted Huo Yuhao to cultivate without any distractions.
Huo Yuhao couldn’t fly, thus he could only take the ferry to leave Sea God’s Island. It wouldn’t be as troublesome once he reached the four-ringed cultivation, which would allow him to use flying-type soul tools to travel around.
He returned to the outer courtyard after passing over the surface of the vast lake. Huo Yuhao’s sorrow had disappeared, and an unprecedented motivation had replaced it.
After discarding all his nonsensical thoughts, Huo Yuhao rushed to the Soul Tool Testing Area, reaching it soon after he passed Shrek Plaza. He saw Fan Yu standing at the door to the Soul Tool Testing Area just as he arrived.
“Teacher!” Huo Yuhao hurried forwards.
Fan Yu sternly nodded his head and said, “Follow me.”
Chapter 148: Extreme Test
Mo Feiyun looked extremely dismal as he rushed pathetically out of the Great Star Dou Forest. There had been eight of them initially, including Wei Na and Mu Xue. However, there were only five of them left now. Three soul kings had been left behind in the forest forever. They hadn’t even managed to hunt down the soul beasts that they’d wanted.
All of this had something to do with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao after they left—or perhaps after they went missing.
After the three of them went missing, a frightening aura was released when Elder Xuan clashed with Three-Headed Scarlet Devilmastiff. Mo Feiyun had been terrified when he felt the aura, and immediately frantically escaped with everyone. Because they didn’t know where the aura had come from, they ran in the wrong direction in their panic, and met with opponents that they couldn’t deal with.
In the end, they made a lucky escape after they left the three soul kings behind. However, they didn’t make any progress
after searching for several days, and had no choice but to leave the Great Star Dou Forest.
“Missy, Your Highness, it seems like we’ll have to make a trip to the Extreme North.” Mo Feiyun sighed.
Mu Xue comforted him, “Master Mo, it’s fine. We can search slowly. It’s also better for me and Wei Na to search for martial souls in the Extreme North. However, it’s a pity for those three other masters. The sect will compensate their families greatly when we return, don’t worry.”
Mo Feiyun nodded his head and said, “Hai, it’s all my fault. I let them down! If I hadn’t chose the wrong direction and brought everyone to the Hybrid Region, all of this wouldn’t have happened.”
Mu Xue snorted. “They’re also to be blamed. We haven’t seen them since they disappeared. Don’t let me see them again.”
Wei Na commented, “Sister Mu Xue, we can’t blame them either. They didn’t do anything to us either. They only left us suddenly.”
Mu Xue answered, “Even though I don’t think that they’re capable of making a hundred thousand year soul beast unleash its aura, they did coincidentally disappear when it happened. Who was the one that brought Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong away? If I’m not wrong, the three of them were here to seek soul rings. But they must’ve been followed by a powerful elder. Star Luo National Academy is the top academy in the Star Luo Empire, and has Titled Douluo-level teachers. Maybe that elder was a Titled Douluo who attracted strong opposition.”
Wei Na laughed bitterly. “There’s no point guessing now that things have gotten to this stage. Let’s just head to the Extreme North. To be honest, I’d really rather not go there! It’s too cold, and danger usually lies in the unknown.”
Mu Xue said, “Let’s return to Heaven Dou City to reorganize ourselves and replenish our strength. We won’t need to be afraid of the Extreme North if we make proper preparations. However, Wei Na, you’ve indeed impressed me! You didn’t complain once on this journey even though you’re the Heavenly Soul Empire’s princess. I didn’t expect this!”
Wei Na laughed and replied, “Let’s go, Sister Mu Xue. We have to seize the day if we want to reorganize. It’s been almost
a month since we reached our Rank 30 bottlenecks. I don’t want it to go on like this.”
……
“Teacher Fan Yu, how did you know I was coming back?” Huo Yuhao asked curiously as he followed Fan Yu into the Soul Tool Testing Area.
Fan Yu replied, “Elder Mu informed me.”
Huo Yuhao was shocked, “Teacher informed you?”
Fan Yu chuckled and said, “Elder Mu is highly skilled; what’s so strange about him using long-distance communication? Yuhao, you have an important mission from today onwards. It’ll be much tougher than before, but you must persevere. The Sea God’s Pavilion has decided that the Soul Tool Department will use all of its resources to initiate the Ultimate Soldier Plan and nurture you and He Caitou. The pressure on the both of you will greatly increase from now on. Even though I’m your teacher, I won’t let you off so easily. You’ll face immense
challenges when the training begins unless the both of you somehow back out of the Ultimate Soldier Plan.”
The two of them finally reached Testing Area Number 12.
The Testing Area was empty, save for He Caitou, who was in the midst of creating a soul tool.
“Senior He.” Huo Yuhao greeted him and rushed over.
He Caitou put the metal in his hands down and chortled, “Little junior, you’re finally back. How are things? Are they settled?”
Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, “I’m a soul elder now.”
Fan Yu said, “Alright, let’s get to work. Both of you, come over here.”
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou rushed to Fan Yu and stood in front of him.
Fan Yu said in a deep voice, “The Ultimate Soldier Plan will start from today. Even though it’s likely to be very tough with your current cultivations, there’s no way that you can back out now. You need to give your all to complete this training. Dean Xian, Dean Qian, and myself will be guiding both of you. I shall explain the significance of the Ultimate Soldier Plan in today’s first lesson.”
“The Ultimate Soldier Plan aims to nurture a powerful entity capable of changing the tide of an entire war. The definition of war here refers to resistance by a foreign army.”
“All four empires on the continent have armies that consist of soul masters. The generals of these armies must, at the minimum, be a soul sage. If a coordinated and well-trained army possesses sufficient soul tools, even Titled Douluo can’t easily deal with them. Since the two of you have been chosen as part of the Ultimate Soldier Plan, you must not only learn how to create soul tools, but you must also know how to use them. In addition, you need to learn infiltration, camouflage, investigation, destruction, and concealment techniques, on top of military knowledge. The academy’s original intention was to try out this plan over a ten year period. However, Elder Mu has instructed us to make it feasible within two years.”
“Yuhao, Caitou, there’s a slight difference in the way that both of you will be nurtured. Yuhao will focus more on investigation, destruction, infiltration, and concealment techniques, as well as the usage of soul tools. Caitou, you’ll focus on soul tool development, explosives, camouflage
techniques, survival skills, military administration, strategy, observation skills, quick reactions, escape techniques, ambush techniques, and many other miscellaneous aspects.”
He Caitou had much more to learn than Huo Yuhao. This was because Huo Yuhao had to focus on cultivating both his martial soul and soul tools.
Fan Yu continued, “Simply put, Yuhao’s aim is to increase his own destructive capability and learn all of the methods available to destroy his enemies. On the other hand, Caitou is a food-type soul master. He needs to obtain greater knowledge to take on a more supplementary level. You’ll be Yuhao’s advisor and strategist. In our plan, the Ultimate Soldier refers to the two of you as a single entity. It’s not just one of you; it’s the both of you. Understood?”
Huo Yuhao quickly turned to look at He Caitou. He Caitou appeared calm, but his eyes revealed a look of excitement. He Caitou smiled when he saw Huo Yuhao looking over and said,
“What’s wrong? This was my choice. My role is more important than yours in the Ultimate Soldier Plan, hehe.”
Even though Huo Yuhao wasn’t old, he was much more mature than others his age due to the experiences he’d been through. How could he not understand from Fan Yu’s words that he was the main protagonist in the plan, and that He Caitou was just his aide? Furthermore, He Caitou had to learn that much more than him. He would definitely have less energy to devote to his own cultivation!
Fan Yu patted Huo Yuhao’s shoulder and said, “Yuhao, don’t think too much. Even though Caitou is your aide in this plan, his future cultivation won’t be low. The academy will definitely think of a way to help him become a Titled Douluo. The academy has put a lot of effort into this Ultimate Soldier Plan; we’ll do our best to make it perfect. You should only concern yourself with how to enhance yourself through the tough learning and training.”
“Yes.” Huo Yuhao didn’t say anything further, but he’d never forget this favour from his senior.
Fan Yu said, “As it’s the first day of this plan, I shall give both of you a test. Go and prepare first, I’ll make the necessary arrangements while you do so. Proceed to the Beast Dueling Area in an hour’s time. You can use whatever skills you have during the test, including soul tools. Everything but stationary soul tools will be allowed.”
After Fan Yu left, He Caitou busied himself and grabbed many different types of soul tools.
“Senior, do you know the contents of this test? We should be fighting soul beasts in the Beast Dueling Area, right?” Huo Yuhao asked.
He Caitou replied, “I don’t know. However, teacher said that the Soul Tool Department’s resources will all be expended on us. I don’t think it’s as simple as a fight with soul beasts; we have to be prepared. If I’m not wrong, the test today is to find out what our limits are before they arrange our future training. The Ultimate Soldier Plan is more focused on live experience. We’ll have at least one practical experience every week from now on. The remainder of our training involves learning and practice.”
“Okay.” Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, and his eyes were filled with confidence. His abilities had improved greatly ever since they’d won the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. His teacher didn’t even know what he’d obtained in the Great Star Dou Forest. He was determined to surprise his teacher in this test.
Huo Yuhao didn’t prepare too much, since there wasn’t much for him to prepare. He hadn’t made any soul tools in months, so he still had the same few soul tools on him. The strongest one was likely the soul paralysis ray, which was why he only sat cross-legged and tried to regulate his soul power to bring himself to his best condition. He Caitou was soon finished with his own preparations.
After an hour, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou proceeded towards the Beast Dueling Area. It was already lesson time, thus the outer courtyard was very quiet. The two of them looked at each other, then entered the Beast Dueling Area.
A few important figures and the person in charge of the Beast Dueling Area, Gong Changlong, were waiting for them in the center of the Beast Dueling Area.
As Shrek Academy’s largest exclusive region, the Beast Dueling Area was easily the largest building in the academy. It covered an area greater than all the Martial Soul Department classroom blocks, the dormitories and Shrek Plaza combined. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou jogged over there.
“Greetings to Dean Xian, Dean Qian and Teacher Gong. Teacher.” The two of them greeted everyone, including Fan Yu.
Gong Changlong had a deep impression of Huo Yuhao. Once, when Huo Yuhao imitated the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast, he had caused widespread fear among the soul beasts in the Beast Dueling Area, and they literally shit and pissed themselves in terror. It took a lot of time to clean all that up.
Gong Changlong furrowed his brows and he asked, “Dean Xian, Old Qian, are the two of you both certain that you want to do this? How old are these kids? What if something happens to them?”
Xian Lin’er said in a deep voice, “Elder Gong, how can we test their limits if we don’t? Their full potential and abilities can only be unleashed in a life or death situation.”
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were stunned as they heard Dean Xian. Wasn’t this just a test? Why did it involve a life or death situation?
Gong Changlong said, “I hope that the Soul Tool Department doesn’t cause any trouble. I don’t agree with this. I need to be responsible for these students’ safety.”
Xian Lin’er took out a token of made of some unknown material. The token was lush blue, and contained a spinning blue halo.
“Elder Gong, the Sea God’s Pavilion has already given approval for the Soul Tool Department to begin the Ultimate Soldier Plan. All resources in the academy will be duly allocated according to their wishes. Please begin with what we agreed upon just now.”
Xian Lin’er was one of the most authoritative deans in Shrek Academy. Her words carried great weight.
Elder Gong’s expression changed greatly when he saw the lush blue token. He didn’t speak any further, and he turned around before leaving. The Sea God's Writ was Shrek Academy’s highest-ranked token. It could only be given out during the conference held within Sea God’s Pavilion. It could only be used temporarily, and had to be returned to the Pavilion afterward.
Someone who held the Sea God's Writ could move all Shrek Academy’s resources, which included recalling graduated students or re-allocating Shrek City’s human, material and financial resources. Apart from Elder Mu, everyone had to listen once the Sea God's Writ was revealed. Elder Xuan was no exception. If something special happened, only Elder Mu could retrieve the token before the user completed his mission.
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou didn’t know the significance of the Sea God's Writ. They were a little nervous now. What exactly was the test about?
Xian Lin’er nodded at Fan Yu, “Fan Yu, tell them the details regarding this test.”
Fan Yu said, “Caitou, Yuhao, we’ll test the limits of your abilities today. The two of you must not hold anything back in this test. During it, I will keep adding soul beasts to deplete all your powers. The test will only be over when you lose all ability to fight any further. The soul beasts will not be merciful to you. We’ll be ready to step in anytime, but we can’t guarantee that no accidents will happen.”
“That’s why you must try your best to protect yourselves during the test. The longer you persist, the more soul beasts you’ll battle. This will also enhance your scores in the test. You can kill soul beasts during this test; do not have any misgivings. Besides a restriction on Yuhao’s Imitation, which will be that he is not allowed to imitate any hundred thousand year soul beast’s aura, and Caitou’s use of stationary soul tools, both of you can use whatever abilities you have. The first requirement of the Ultimate Soldier is to be able to protect themselves under all sorts of conditions. You must keep this in mind. Go into the center. The soul beasts will appear from all sides, and there’ll be no start signal. Let me see how good you are.”
“Yes.” Huo Yuhao acknowledged resolutely just as He Caitou was feeling anxious. Huo Yuhao was filled with fighting will when he thought of Elder Mu’s expectations, Teacher Fan Yu’s hopes for both of them and Senior He Caitou’s sacrifice. He wanted to work hard, fight and give his all to improve himself.
He Caitou also gathered his emotions and walked towards the center of the Beast Dueling Area with Huo Yuhao.
As he walked, He Caitou said softly, “Little junior, what’s our plan?”
Huo Yuhao pondered for a while before saying, “Senior, I’ll mainly fight while you cover me. You’ll attack based on the directions given by Spiritual Detection. Control your own attacks and try to retreat after each strike. I believe that we won’t be facing just one soul beast at any point in this test. We need to conserve our energy and soul power.”
He Caitou answered readily, “Alright, I’ll follow your instructions.” As the test was about to start, they started to become excited. They had managed to survive the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. How difficult could this test be in comparison?
“Here they come.” Huo Yuhao shouted and turned around.
He shifted his feet two steps and blocked He Caitou.
A wolf-like soul beast covered in black fur had leapt towards them quietly. It even seemed a little illusory as it leaped.
It was a Spectral Wolf, a lightning-quick soul beast with extreme dodging abilities. This Spectral Wolf’s forehead had a lock of golden hair, which signified that its cultivation was beyond a thousand years.
3 white soul rings rose from Huo Yuhao’s feet. His eyes lit up, and a dim golden light flashed. Spiritual Detection Sharing was initiated, covering 100 meters around him. A very clear blueprint appeared in He Caitou’s head. Huo Yuhao immediately reduced the area of his Spiritual Detection to save soul power.
He had no Wang Dong, or Golden Light to aid his recovery.
He had to depend on himself and He Caitou.
The Spectral Wolf had already burst in front of them in this short period of time. He Caitou’s body rang with clanging noises, and 12 small soul tool cannons appeared on his body. He immediately chose his soul tools based on his experience and Huo Yuhao’s advice to retreat after attacking.
The thousand year Spectral Wolf didn’t leap at them directly. Once it realized that it was less than 10 meters away from Huo Yuhao, its body shook a little, and two other Spectral Wolves appeared on its left and right. There were now 3 of them coming from different directions. Some of them went for Huo Yuhao, while the remaining Spectral Wolf went for He Caitou.
This was the Spectral Doppelganger, an innate soul skill of the Spectral Wolf. Only one of the doppelgangers was real. The other two didn’t have any offensive abilities. Not only was this innate skill useful, but it was also quite effective. If not for the fact that soul masters couldn’t unleash their soul skills with this skill active, the Spectral Wolf would’ve already been extinct. Even so, thousand year Spectral Wolves were soul beasts that many beast soul masters liked to choose.
Huo Yuhao also moved as the Spectral Wolf turned into 3 different figures. He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to turn illusory as well.
His abilities had benefited from an all-round increase as his cultivation went above three rings. His speed became extremely fluid. Along with the changes to his body by the Life Guardian, he was like a cornered panther escaping quickly as he burst out.
His figure flashed, and he reached the Spectral Wolf on the left. His right hand slapped the head of the Spectral Wolf directly.
He struck at a very opportune time. It was in exactly the same moment that the Spectral Wolf jumped out. It couldn’t change direction anymore, and only lifted both its front legs to claw at Huo Yuhao. At the same time, it tried to bite his right hand.
However, it was doing this based on its calculation of Huo Yuhao’s arm length and the speed of his strike. Unfortunatly, 5 long dark golden blades suddenly appeared at the tips of Huo Yuhao’s fingers.
They increased in length until they were a foot long, meaning that Huo Yuhao’s reach had also increased by a foot.
His strike landed on the Spectral Wolf’s head, and the sharp, dark golden blades stabbed into its forehead. Huo Yuhao exploited its momentum to lift its body until it was almost perpendicular to the ground. The Spectral Wolf’s claws didn’t manage to land on him. Huo Yuhao used his right arm’s strength to propel his body into the air and suppress the Spectral Wolf.
The Spectral Wolf screamed pathetically and was immediately killed by the dark golden blades that had piercing its skull.
He Caitou didn’t move from his position while the other two Spectral Wolves leapt towards him and Huo Yuhao. Mid-lunge they were turned into balls of grey fog and they disappeared.
The Spectral Doppelganger innate ability was a joke in front of Spiritual Detection. How could Huo Yuhao be tricked?
Huo Yuhao used his left hand to hit the Spectral Wolf’s head and flip himself over. The Spectral Wolf’s body was struck to the ground and remained motionless. Not even a single drop of blood flowed out from the wolf. There was only a purple soul ring.
“Fan Yu, you’ve developed a new close-combat soul tool?” Qian Duoduo was stunned. He had already ascended to the viewing platform with Xian Lin’er and Fan Yu to watch the battle in the Beast Dueling Area.
Fan Yu was also puzzled. “No! I don’t even know what that dark golden blade is. Did he develop it himself?”
Qian Duoduo said, “That’s impossible. Wolves are like dogs. Their heads are very tough, although their bodies are very weak. The skull of the Spectral Wolf is the toughest part of its body. Although this thousand year Spectral Wolf isn’t defensively sound, its skull is still quite strong. But it was pierced so easily by Yuhao. I’m afraid even a Class 5 or 6 close- combat soul tool wouldn’t be able to do that. How would it be possible for him to even create one, much less use it?”
“That’s a soul bone,” Xian Lin’er said.
“Soul bone? This kid has a right arm soul bone?” Fan Yu was shocked. “I recall that he only received a left arm bone after he returned from the tournament!”
The battle in the arena didn’t stop as they conversed. After Huo Yuhao regained his footing, he slid, and his entire body fell to the ground. The dark golden blades on his right hand didn’t retract, but were stabbed into the ground instead.
He caused a tremor that covered tens of square meters. Dirt sprayed everywhere as a huge body was forced out of the ground
It was a huge python covered in dark green scales, about six meters long. At this time, its whole body was spasming wildly. Huo Yuhao had grabbed on its head as he “slipped” earlier.
Pythons had more vitality then wolves, so it hadn’t died immediately. It shook violently and flung Huo Yuhao to one side, twisting and turning, while the wounds on its head gushed blood. No matter how strong its vitality was, it couldn’t withstand five killing wounds on its head!
This was a thousand-year Blackscale Python, a thousand- year soul beast. But it was actually killed so quickly by Huo Yuhao, undoubtedly the work of his Spiritual Detection.
He Caitou didn’t even unleash a strike. When Huo Yuhao fell to the ground, his legs shifted rapidly, and he retreated 10 meters, preventing any attack by the thousand-year Blackscale Python.
Two thousand-year soul beasts had been killed in a matter of seconds.
Gong Changlong, who was initially worried that they would be hurt, was now extremely appalled. Did Huo Yuhao really only have three soul rings? Furthermore, his soul rings were all white. What was going on?
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were given the opportunity to catch their breath after slaying two soul beasts in succession. Of course, they weren’t really in need of such a break at the moment.
He Caitou was as shocked as the teachers right now.
Compared to the teachers, he was much more familiar with Huo Yuhao’s abilities. A three-ringed Soul Elder was on the same level as a thousand-year soul beast. However, this didn’t mean that all soul elders had the ability to kill a thousand-year soul beast.
When Huo Yuhao first met Bei Bei, he had helped him kill a thousand-year soul beast. Bei Bei even mentioned that he didn’t have absolute confidence in resisting the thousand-year soul beast they had run into back then. Of course, Bei Bei had been referring to a soul beast with seven or eight thousand- years of cultivation.
The two soul beasts that had appeared just now only possessed a thousand-years of cultivation, but they were true thousand-year soul beasts! Even if Huo Yuhao was fortunate enough to have Spiritual Detection to help him sense their
movements, he couldn’t have killed them without the Darkgolden Terrorclaws. Almost all soul beasts had tough skull, but the two soul beasts he had fought just now had no chance against the golden claws!
He Caitou hadn’t seen Huo Yuhao’s Darkgolden Terrorclaws before. He only knew that Huo Yuhao didn’t show any obvious undulations of soul power when he killed the two soul beasts. He had only maintained his Spiritual Detection, and used pure strength to kill both soul beasts. The two soul beasts were killed before they could unleash their own abilities. This was especially so for the python, which had wanted to mount a surprise attack. However, it was killed before it could do so.
However, He Caitou didn’t have time to ask Huo Yuhao what his Darkgolden Terrorclaws were. The test had only just started. Even though Huo Yuhao had already displayed his full strength, it didn’t change the nature of the test.
Four more soul beasts burst towards the two of them from four different directions. These four soul beasts were all different, but they were obviously at least in the thousand-year bracket in terms of cultivation.
They were a lion, a tiger, a panther and a bear. They were thousand-year soul beasts, but there were differences in their powers. Just like how a thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was unafraid of a ten thousand-year Deviltiger Cat, these four species of soul beasts might not have especially outstanding blood lineages, but their powers were greater than those of most soul beasts.
Furthermore, these four soul beasts belonged to the same element – the rare Metal element. This meant that that they were skilled in physical combat, and their defensive strength was extremely high.
The four soul beasts let out different roars as they started to force their way closer to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.
The thousand-year Golden Panther was the quickest. This yellow- eyed Golden Panther had a row of fine metal spikes on its neck. Each spike was around three inches in length, and covered its neck all the way to its spine. Although it moved very swiftly, it didn’t dash over at the first opportunity. The four soul beasts seemed to be coordinating with one another!
This was Shrek Academy’s Beast Dueling Area. Some of the soul beasts had been trained. The higher the soul beasts’ cultivations, the higher their intelligence. Training them wasn’t completely impossible with sufficient temptation. Of course, the secret method to training them was confidential in the academy.
A dim radiance flashed, and Huo Yuhao’s face revealed a cold smile. Coordination? How could he let them do as they wished?
“Charge!” Huo Yuhao shouted, and charged towards the east with He Caitou. There was a thousand-year golden bear on this side. It was huge and burly, its body close to three meters tall and exuding a golden glow. Although it couldn’t compare to the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s dark golden glow, its standing fur and rough skin made it the most defensively resolute among the 4 soul beasts. It was also the strongest.
The Golden Bear roared as it saw Huo Yuhao and He Caitou rushing over. It charged at the two of them, while the other three soul beasts also sped up, quickly surrounding the two humans. The Golden Panther was the fastest, chasing them like a bolt of yellow lightning. As the golden bear faced them from the front, it would attack them from behind!
Huo Yuhao suddenly lifted his head and squinted. Two streaks of purplish-gold light shot out from his Spirit Eyes. The golden bear’s body trembled violently, and its front legs lost their footing before it crashed onto the ground. Its immense weight even caused its two front claw bones to crack slightly.
Huo Yuhao’s cultivation had increased to three rings, and he even possessed the Eye of Destiny. While his increased spiritual power was sucked away by the Eye of Destiny and left him almost the same as before, the quality of his spiritual power had greatly increased. He used Spiritual Shock to completely crush the golden bear’s spiritual power.
Why did Huo Yuhao choose this direction? The reason was simple – the bear had the lowest intelligence among all four soul beasts, even though it was the strongest. This meant that its spiritual power was the weakest among the four soul beasts. It wasn’t directly killed by the Spiritual Shock, but its soul had suffered irreparable damage.
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s backs lit up. Their soul tool thrusters were initiated, propelling them forward. They quickly closed the gap to the golden bear.
The Golden Panther was now only twenty meters away from them. The other two soul beasts were fifty meters away, as they were not as quick.
Huo Yuhao had enough time to do many things with the distance between them and the other soul beasts.
He suddenly leapt forward and unleashed the Darkgolden Terrorclaws once again. He didn’t stab the claws into the bear’s head. Since he was trying to conserve his soul power, he didn’t want to waste it on the golden bear’s skull. This golden bear’s defensive strength was much greater than the wolf and python earlier.
The dark golden claws stabbed into the bear’s neck and tore its spinal cortex. Its huge body slumped down, its life leaving its huge body quickly..
He Caitou’s figure flashed, and he came in behind the golden bear, using its body as a shield. Huo Yuhao stepped onto the golden bear and used his momentum to leap up before turning around in midair.
He lifted his right hand high above his head, as his entire body bent into a bow. He was like an axe that was about to unleash immense destruction. The Golden Panther was already close to him at this point.
A streak of frightening dark gold light shot out from Huo Yuhao’s right hand. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s true appearance was finally revealed for the first time.
The huge dark golden projection swept across the space between the panther and Hu Yuhao, its frightening aura causing the other two soul beasts to stop in their tracks.
The Golden Panther, however, was already in the air, and was about to unleash an all-out attack on Huo Yuhao. Its body flashed with a golden light as it tried to resist Huo Yuhao’s attack. However, its body was still instantly cut to pieces, falling to the ground in a splatter of blood and gore.
“Damn it, Darkgolden Terrorclaws!” Qian Duoduo finally recognized what Huo Yuhao’s right palm bone was. Who didn’t know of the famous Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear? Even Qian Duoduo envied Huo Yuhao now. Not only was it difficult to kill a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, it was even more tedious to find
a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear that fit one’s own cultivation! Furthermore, Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears didn’t just possess one innate skill. Finding a soul bone and a soul skill from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was even more laborious!
Chapter 149: Judgement of the Light of Destiny
Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu became restless after seeing the Golden Panther being killed by the dark golden radiance.
In their original plan, they hadn’t put too much hope into the first few soul beasts for this test. They were mainly there to deplete Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s soul power. This group of soul beasts that came after that were the primary choice to deal with Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The lion, tiger, panther and bear were representatives of powerful soul beasts. Their cultivations and metal element were a testament to their strength.
The reason why the metal element was chosen over the more explosive fire element was because Huo Yuhao had the Ultimate Ice. This was a meticulous consideration, but they didn’t expect Huo Yuhao to display the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s ability. Half of the metal-type soul beasts were killed just like that.
He Caitou also began to show his powers in this battle. The twelve soul tool cannons were aimed at the Golden Lion on the left. Several streaks of light sealed off all escape routes for the Golden Lion under the guidance of Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection. The Golden Lion could only defend, and couldn’t advance any further.
He Caitou had four rings. He shouldn’t be too fearful of these soul beasts if he unleashed his soul tool fortress, given his abilities. However, it was impossible for him to take down these soul beasts himself.
Huo Yuhao also made his move while He Caitou acted. His first action was to bend backwards, and he grabbed hold of the Golden Panther’s amputated thigh. After that, he threw it at the Golden Tiger, which was around 20 meters away from him, using his left hand!
The Golden Tiger roared furiously and lifted its front claws. It was about to deflect the panther’s thigh away. At this point, Huo Yuhao unleashed another of his divine skills.
Boom—
An explosive force ensued, and ice shavings scattered into the air. Although it was only the panther’s thigh, it was still filled with soul power since it had only just perished. Huo Yuhao initiated the Ice Explosion skill, and the Golden Tiger’s claws seemed to strike a soul tool bomb as it hit the panther’s thigh. In addition, the tiger was completely unprepared!
Its claws were blown apart amidst the reverberating boom. Its body was sent flying into the air, and the upper half of its body was covered in fresh blood.
Huo Yuhao had another title. He was a Tang Sect disciple. At the same time, he chose the Tang Sect as his path after his retreat in the Sea God’s Pavilion. He showed everyone how to use the Tang Sect’s secret weapons. This time, his secret weapon was the Golden Panther that had been cut to pieces.
The Golden Tiger didn’t even have a chance to crawl up before more of the Golden Panther bombs flew towards it. Amidst a series of explosions, the powerful Golden Tiger was killed while Shrek Academy’s elders looked on in shock. It couldn’t even get close to Huo Yuhao, much less make him unleash a soul skill.
The weakness of metal-type soul beasts was always in terms of long-range attacks. This was also natural given that they were physically tough. Otherwise, they would have become the most outstanding soul beasts around if they were strong in all aspects.
Huo Yuhao knew the might of his Ice Explosion skill after his experiences in the Great Star Dou Forest. He almost killed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear using a ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s corpse. While a thousand year soul beast’s body was inferior, the difference wasn’t too great.
He turned around calmly after killing the thousand year Golden Tiger. His left hand pressed on the bear that was already dead. The Ice Empress’ Pincer’s diamond flashed with radiance. The Golden Bear was quickly turned into a Transcendent Ice Bomb that could go off at any time.
He Caitou’s attacks stopped. A Class 4 Milk Bottle appeared in his palm, and he used it to suck in soul power. In fact, he hadn’t depleted much of his soul power. He could kill the Golden Lion right now if he wanted to, but Huo Yuhao didn’t let him do that. He was following Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection to fight.
The Golden Lion felt relieved, but it was in a daze, and couldn’t locate the Golden Tiger. Huo Yuhao tried to provoke him by hooking his finger toward him.
The lion was the king of beasts! It had a bad temper, and its yellow mane, which was flashing with a metallic glow, started to spike up. It roared ferociously and burst towards Huo Yuhao. Its legs let out clanging metal noises as they struck the ground, it opened its mouth to reveal huge, razor-sharp teeth. Even a Titled Douluo might be unable to handle its bite!
Huo Yuhao was slightly breathless after killing the tiger. He revealed a soul tool against this Golden Lion that came towards him. It was the soul paralysis ray. The Golden Lion couldn’t escape the rays shot out by him under the influence of his Spiritual Detection. When a streak of light flashed, the attack of the soul paralysis ray was counteracted by a metal-like halo released by the Golden Lion. However, the paralysis effect still took place. The lion’s body shook a little, but it didn’t collapse like the bear as it tried to hold on. However, its speed immediately crumbled.
Huo Yuhao’s eyes squinted, and a cold radiance flashed across them. He burst towards the Golden Lion. Looking very ferocious.
As he got closer to the lion, the paralyzing effects began to wear off. The lion opened its mouth and attempted to bite Huo Yuhao as he shot towards it. Its fur also spiked up and turned into golden spikes. They became defensive weapons.
It unleashed its full abilities as the strongest among these soul beasts. Its eyes flashed with a metal glow, and at least 10% of its mane shot out as sharp spikes. Huo Yuhao was quickly swarmed by a huge number of metal spikes.
The lion was the only one among these soul beasts that actually had some long-range offensive abilities. However, these metal spikes were most effective at a 5 meter range.
Huo Yuhao decided to face these metal spikes head-on. He didn’t use a soul tool to protect himself, but instead the Ice Empress’ Armor, one of the two soul skills the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had given him.
As his cultivation increased, so too did the power of his soul rings. The Ice Empress’ Armor was defensively stronger than before.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding…A series of knocking sounds rang from Huo Yuhao’s body. The metal spikes bounced off the Ice Empress’ Armor and couldn’t penetrate it. Huo Yuhao also used this opportunity to get closer to the lion.
The Golden Lion bit down on nothing as the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was used. Huo Yuhao dodged its bite and came beside it.
The Golden Lion also recognized Huo Yuhao’s frightening Darkgolden Terrorclaws. Its mane started to change form, and its entire head now looked like a giant hedgehog. The lion tried to ram its head towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao naturally tried to prevent that from happening. He moved his body back a little before increasing the speed of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. He continued to strike his right hand towards the Golden Lion’s head. He was not bothered about the damage that could be inflicted onto him by the metal spikes, since he had the Ice Empress’ Armor, the Ice Empress’ Pincer, the Mysterious Jade Hands and the Darkgolden Terrorclaws with him now.
The lion lifted its body amidst this crisis and struck its huge claws towards Huo Yuhao. At the same time, a series of clanging noises resonated from its body as two metal blades came out from its shoulders. One of the blades hit Huo Yuhao’s right hand.
The greatest advantage from Spiritual Detection was its ability to anticipate situations. Huo Yuhao was clearly prepared for this moment. His Darkgolden Terrorclaw clashed with the metal blade that shot out of the lion’s shoulder, and he wasn’t at a disadvantage in terms of strength. He only rocked his upper body back a little, and the Golden Lion’s body also stopped moving.
This was the strength of the Ice Empress’ Pincer and the Mysterious Jade Hands. The metal blade from the lion’s shoulder couldn’t suppress Huo Yuhao in terms of strength.
Huo Yuhao had already dodged the lion as his figure flashed. His Darkgolden Terrorclaws slashed at the metal blade, his left hand unwittingly grabbed hold of the lion’s left forelimb due to the great impact of his slashing motion.
A wave of cold instantly entered the lion’s body. The lion couldn’t help but shiver while its left forelimb was frozen solid, and it no longer had any sensation there.
Huo Yuhao exploited the momentum of his slash to flip his body around before sliding his body below the lion’s belly. His left hand flashed with an azure radiance before a boom was heard.
The lion screamed in pain before its huge body was overturned.
What was the significance of the Ice Explosion skill? It could blow apart all ice within an area that Huo Yuhao could work his spiritual sense on. It didn’t matter if it was a corpse or not. The Ice Explosion skill could turn all matter into its energy after coming into contact with them and make them a source of explosive power.
Huo Yuhao had previously used his Ice Explosion soul skill to detonate soul beast corpses, in turn converting soul power into pure explosive force.
But right now, Huo Yuhao took advantage of the lion’s focus on his Darkgolden Terrorclaws to activate his Ice Explosion soul skill on its left forelimb.
The most solid fortresses were often felled from the inside; when the soul power in the lion’s left claw turned into explosive energy, this was exactly what happened. The Ice Explosion soul skill showed its might once more, blowing the lion’s left claw to bits. The frightening blast also riddled half of the lion’s body with injuries.
How could Huo Yuhao miss such an advantageous attack?
He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to accurately appear at the place where the lion was weakest. A powerful suction force was released towards the lion from Huo Yuhao.
While it didn’t drag the lion to him, it did increase his speed towards the lion. With no defenses to bar its way, his right claw stabbed into the lion, causing its pathetic, miserable cries to instantly stop as it died.
At present, all four metal-type soul beasts had been killed. What remained were only four purple soul rings, which floated silently in the air.
Huo Yuhao pressed his left hand to the Golden Lion’s body, making another bomb out of it with the Ice Explosion soul skill. He then ran towards the center of the arena alongside He Caitou.
If he included the Spectre Wolf that he’d killed earlier, Huo Yuhao now had three ice bombs at his disposal.
Gong Changlong regretted speaking up for the two of them earlier; they’d killed six of his thousand year soul beasts! It had been very difficult to catch them—especially the four metal- type soul beasts that had come at the end. They’d taken him an entire year to train, yet it had all been for naught the moment that Huo Yuhao slaughtered them.
Huo Yuhao wasn’t anything like a normal control-type soul master. Even comparing him to agility-type soul masters wasn’t quite appropriate. To be honest, he was more of a mesh between assault-type and agility-type soul masters.
From start to finish, Huo Yuhao had killed all six soul beasts during the test. He Caitou had only needed to help once, which had been to prevent the tiger and lion from meeting up.
Huo Yuhao’s very impressive display had already gone far beyond the elders’ expectations.
Huo Yuhao didn’t get complacent. He’d given it his all, and had used every advantage available to him. He might have depleted a lot of his soul power when he’d used his Darkgolden Terrorclaws to kill the Golden Panther, but that was to ensure that he didn’t give the panther any chances.
If these four metal-type soul beasts teamed up, it would’ve been a large problem for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Huo Yuhao had been most concerned about the Golden Panther, since it was the most cunning soul beast of the four.
It hadn’t rush Huo Yuhao immediately, even though it held an absolute advantage in terms of speed. Instead, it had waited for an opportunity to group up with the other beasts. It was basically the general of the four soul beasts. After obtaining the Darlgolden Terrorclaws, Huo Yuhao’s offensive might soared. But he was still left with glaring weaknesses: He was weak against long-range attacks and lightning-quick opponents.
As panther-type soul beasts were incredibly fast, the Golden Panther could’ve dragged He Caitou over if it had used hit-and- run tactics, and thus forced Huo Yuhao to fight an uphill battle against the lion and tiger together. While Huo Yuhao was confident that he could take on these two soul beasts at the same time, it would’ve been far more consuming, both mentally and physically.
That was why he chose the simpler approach—killing the Golden Panther with his Darkgolden Terrorclaws quickly, albeit at the expense of his soul power. He’d then used the panther’s corpse to attack the tiger. While this ‘simple’ method indeed dealt with them, it didn’t seem cost effective for his soul power. However, Huo Yuhao might have expended even more soul power if he’d been sucked into a drawn out fight with the soul beasts.
The Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone and Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone had shown their worth in this battle. Huo Yuhao’s fighting capabilities were completely new to the deans and Fan Yu—he’d been more offensive than a four- ringed assault type Soul Ancestor as a three-ringed control- type Soul Elder. The elders felt nothing but shock and awe after witnessing him killing the six soul beasts.
Of course, there was an exception to that awed feeling: Gong Changlong currently felt extremely gloomy right now, as he was the person in charge of the Beast Dueling Arena. His heart ached when he thought of the fact that six thousand year soul beasts had been wasted just like that! The amount of human and material resources needed to catch and train another six just like them would be astronomically high.
“Send in eight thousand year souls beasts adept at long-range attacks, and four three-thousand year soul beasts adept at close combat. I don’t believe that these kids will be able to handle them all.” Increasing the pace of the test made Gong Changlong’s heart ache, but it meant that it would end faster. However, this wasn’t too shocking. After all, Huo Yuhao had displayed abilities far beyond their initial expectations.
Huo Yuhao looked a little weird now. He had 2 cigars in his mouth: One thick, and one thin. They were, respectively, the ‘Spirit Stimulating Thick Cigar,’ and the ‘Soul Power Amplifying Thin Cigar.’ He grasped a Milk Bottle in his hand, as did He Caitou. The two of them leaned on each other as they stood there.
They were suddenly jolted, and Huo Yuhao exclaimed, “So many…”
He Caitou was also stunned. “They’re trying to kill us…”
Twelve soul beasts sauntered in from different directions. There was four huge beasts in front, and eight others trailing behind. They inched closer and closer to them in the center of the arena. The huge pressure emitting from them made Huo Yuhao and He Caitou pretty terrified.
Huo Yuhao had seemed very relaxed as he dealt with the four soul beasts earlier, but that was already giving it his all. But now, their number had tripled, and from the looks of it, several of them were long-ranged attackers. Twelve thousand year soul beasts! If Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were here, then Huo
Yuhao reckoned they might have a fighting chance. But could they really win in this situation now?
“Junior, what do we do?” He Caitou looked at the dozen thousand year soul beasts that surrounded them and felt numb. This was definitely beyond what they could handle.
Fan Yu’s brows furrowed, “Why didn’t Elder Gong follow the plan? This is too much. They must have been expended quite a lot of their energy already.”
Xian Lin’er said, “Don’t fret. The pressure will do them good. Also we can tell their limits from this and plan out their future training. We’re ready to save the both of them if anything happens.”
Huo Yuhao shut his eyes slightly and sensed with his active spiritual power. He didn’t ask for help from the Skydream Iceworm, the Ice Empress or Electrolux, even in such a perilous situation. His confidence was slowly growing as his age and powers increased, and he knew how to turn pressure into motivation.
“Senior—soul tool fort strategy. I will try and control the soul beasts, and you’ll follow up under the guidance of my Spiritual Detection to attack them. We’ll try our best and see what happens.”
“Okay.” He Caitou didn’t speak too much either. His confidence in Huo Yuhao had grown immensely following the previous battle. Many metal pipes started to appear on his body as they made clanging noises. He Caitou turned around with all the weapons on his body, maintaining a solid grip on the floor underfoot. Showcasing his ability to mount a multi- directional assault.
Huo Yuhao noticed that it was the same soul tool fort strategy, but a portion of He Caitou’s soul tool fort had already been modified. It seemed like he had made considerable progress after the Advanced Continental Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament.
The dozen soul beasts were still stalking closer. The four in front were of the same species—the Single-Horned Devilrhino. A very powerful soul beast, entirely plated in armor. It was rumored to have a strong ram and sturdy defense, while its horn could unleash the Sealing Light. After locking onto an opponent, it would ram them till they perished.
In the arena, four Single-Horned Devilrhinos with more than three thousand years of cultivation were flashing with a subtle, light-blue radiance. Their eyes had turned blood-red, and they advanced forward faster now—ready to attack at any moment.
The eight long-ranged attacker soul beasts behind them also began flashing with different colors, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. If it wasn’t for the small size of the Beast Dueling Arena and them not having enough space, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou would already be facing a barrage of attacks.
He Caitou fully prepared his soul tool fort, and Huo Yuhao remained still. He spat out the two cigars, put his Milk Bottle away, and stood there with his arms placed beside his waist. His Spirit Eyes slowly began to close.
A weird feeling started to spread from Huo Yuhao. The Beast Dueling Area’s work crew, the deans and Fan Yu could all sense it coming from Huo Yuhao, but couldn’t identify what it was.
Huo Yuhao seemed to become intangible in an instant. However, amidst that illusion, even he felt awed. The feeling was indescribable, like he had changed into an invisible force
that covered the entire arena. He felt like he wasn’t even himself anymore.
At this time, a weird golden light lit up on Huo Yuhao’s forehead, looking like the first ray of light at dawn. Everyone squinted their eyes unwittingly, even though it wasn’t blinding them. For just an instant, everyone seemed to pause.
It was a golden eye, filled with the bright light of destiny. The strange eye displayed the majesty of heaven and earth. Even the air was buzzing as the light from the eye shone forth.
Huo Yuhao’s lips moved a little. Only He Caitou managed to hear what he said.
He had called out, “Destiny, judgement!”
A layer of strange light spread out, with Huo Yuhao’s body at the center. The light didn’t seem very intense, but it couldn’t really be described, because every soul beast and soul master saw the color of this light differently.
The air distorted slightly as the light passed by. It felt like a huge door of destiny had been opened behind everyone.
Fortunately, it didn’t cover a wide area. It only engulfed the area which the twelve soul beasts were in.
If this feeling only left Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo in a trance, the next moment revealed the true effects of the transformation in front of their eyes.
The first transformation happened to He Caitou, who was the closest to Huo Yuhao. He was coated with a layer of dim gold. That layer of dim gold instantly peeled off from his body and formed a weird golden light projection behind him. This projection looked identical to him, and was only lacking his soul tools, otherwise a perfect duplicate
A ring of golden light flashed from his double’s shoulder, giving off a feeling of calm and peace.
The transformation didn’t just happen to He Caitou. The twelve soul beasts that were engulfed by the radiance also
underwent transformations. However, their transformations were different from He Caitou’s.
Every soul beast started to shake uncontrollably. Following that, a pale white layer appeared on their heads before peeling off instantly. However, the form that they took after they peeled off didn’t appear as balanced as He Caitou’s projection. These projections took the form of the beasts bare skull, floating above their heads. Even more frightening, the eye sockets of the skulls were glowing a bloody red..
“What, what is this? Third eye? Don’t tell me…?”
Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo, and Fan Yu said in unison, “Second awakening of the Body Soul?” They couldn’t think of any other possibility except this. Their eyes opened wide as they watched the changes the soul beasts were continuing to experience.
Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Destiny silently shut itself. His body shook a little, and he seemed a little dizzy.
His mental fatigue was now intense. His second sea was extremely uncomfortable, sucked dry by what he had just done. However, he had finally displayed the power of the Eye of Destiny. He also wanted to see what kind of judgement the Light of Destiny could unleash through the Eye.
Huo Yuhao’s Spirit Eyes opened at the same time he shut his Eye of Destiny. The dim gold remained, but he was much more fatigued.
The soul beasts were delayed in their advance, and they could all feel a chill rising from the depths of their hearts. They didn’t know what was happening, but they were clearly aware of the changes. But where were these transformations coming from? They had no idea.
Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn’t explain it to them. The soul beasts could also feel the changes, but they were stunned that their bodies hadn’t seemed to change. Everything still looked the same as ever to them.
Some of the soul beasts were furious from the fear that he had inflicted them. The four Single-Horned Devilrhinos roared together and started to charge towards Huo Yuhao and He
Caitou. The Sealing Lights on their horns also shot out towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao’s third soul ring suddenly lit up at this point. After he managed to obtain the Spirit Eyes’ third soul ring, it was his first time using it! What was his third soul skill?
Huo Yuhao’s eyes turned white at this point, and a ring of white light spread out from his body. Undoubtedly, it was a domain-type skill. The twelve soul beasts were all engulfed in its radiance.
A weird scene occurred as the white light engulfed the soul beasts. Every one of them turned white, and their mighty auras from before started to become weaker and weaker.
The four Single-Horned Devilrhinos that were charging forwards slowed down, and their bodies even started to shake. The soul beasts that were adept in long-range attacks also delayed their attacks at this moment.
“Senior He, use your soul tools as defensive barriers and attack the soul beasts in the back. Leave the Single-Horned
Devilrhinos to me.”
After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao wrenched his head down forcefully. It was as if he were trying to shake off his fatigue. His body then shot out like an arrow.
The entire battle erupted at this point. Even though the soul beasts that were adept at long-range attacks had been influenced by Huo Yuhao’s white light, they still managed to unleash their long-range attacks at the first opportunity.
Huo Yuhao could still dodge, but He Caitou was struggling. This was also why Huo Yuhao asked him to use the soul tools to form a defensive barrier for himself.
Eight long-range soul skills were unleashed. Some of them covered an area, while some of them were fixed on a specific target. Their goal was to strike both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.
However, something weird happened at this moment. He Caitou mounted his attack as he engaged his defense. He chose the closest soul beast to him. However, he was anxious at this moment. The concentrated attacks of the eight soul beasts
couldn’t be resisted by his Class Four soul tool barrier! Furthermore, the Spiritual Detection had disappeared. He could only completely trust Huo Yuhao now.
Fan Yu was already holding a dark gold metal barrel in his hands on the stage. He locked onto He Caitou, and was about to fire. Although a Class Four soul tool barrier couldn’t resist the soul beasts’ attacks, it could still last for some time. That was why Fan Yu didn’t rush to his aid. He was waiting for He Caitou to be completely defenseless. After all, this test was to challenge their limits. However, he was clueless as to why Huo Yuhao and He Caitou didn’t search for a breakout point even though they were in a critical situation. They didn’t even diversify their attacks, which might prove to be their fatal flaw. Could they still hold on against the twelve soul beasts?
However, Fan Yu opened his eyes wide at this moment. The light that was about to shoot out of the dark golden barrel also dimmed instantly.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
How was this possible? How was this possible? What did he just see?
Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin’er also opened their eyes wide.
They were both incredulous.
If they could accept Huo Yuhao’s impressive performance previously, whatever was going on now was beyond what they could comprehend.
Three of the eight soul beasts using long-range attacks were using domain-type attacks. Domain-type soul skills were all- engulfing, Ma Xiaotao’s Phoenix Meteor Shower being a good example. Of course, domain-type attacks weren’t completely flawless, but their flaws were almost negligible, usually that the user couldn’t fully control them, while most targeted long- range attacks locked onto an enemy before a soul skill was unleashed towards them. This was the modus operandi of most soul masters and soul beasts.
However, an unbelievable scene occurred within the Soul Beast Dueling Area. There were eight long-range attacking soul beasts! What happened to their attacks? Their attacks struck nothing. Not even one of their attacks managed to hit He Caitou or Huo Yuhao!
Even He Caitou couldn’t believe it. He didn’t even have to use his soul tool barrier! Meanwhile, the strike from his soul tool fort managed to easily tear apart one of the soul beast’s bodies.
How did Huo Yuhao manage to avoid all the soul beasts’ attacks?
The battle continued to progress as everyone was shocked.
Even weirder changes continued to happen.
Huo Yuhao’s leaping body had already reached a Single- Horned Devilrhino as the other soul beasts attacked. He leapt up high, and unleashed his Darkgolden Terrorclaws. He targeted them at the Single-Horned Devilrhino’s head.
The Single-Horned Devilrhino was too defensively sound. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao could tell that the Single-Horned Devilrhinos weren’t thousand-year soul beasts. Under such circumstances, He Caitou’s soul tool fort might be able to take down one Single-Horned Devilrhino. However, the burden on him would be very great. What about the rest of the soul beasts?
That’s why Huo Yuhao decided to make a move himself.
Chapter 150: The Ten Thousand Year Soul Skill - Enfeeblement
After being enveloped by the radiance from Huo Yuhao’s third soul ring, the Single-Horned Devilrhino’s speed was noticeably lessened, and its body began to tremble.
The Single-Horned Devilrhino jerked its body as Huo Yuhao lunged at it, attempting to impale Huo Yuhao with the drill- like horn on its head..
Huo Yuhao was prepared to dodge this attack, knowing full well that he couldn’t down this Devilrhino in a single strike. The Devilrhino’s head is its most vital area, and its most armored, not even the Darkgolden Terrorclaws have a good chance of penetrating it in one shot.
But a peculiar coincidence happened once more. . .
The Single-Horned Devilrhino’s body shook as it was running, so its front hoof stepped into a small hole formed during the previous battle, but the small hole was slanted.
The Devilrhino was more than four meters long. Its body was thick and burly, and it weighed more than three thousand kilos. Its front hoof suddenly twisted, and caused its entire body to slant along with it. The horn it stabbed at Huo Yuhao completely missed, and its head was critically exposed to him.
“Squelch—” Huo Yuhao wouldn’t be in the Shrek’s Seven Monster’s if he couldn’t capitalize on the mistakes of an enemy. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s five talons bunched together like a woodpecker’s sharp beak, and pierced through the Devilrhino’s eye when its head turned towards him.
The Single-Horned Devilrhino was taken by great surprise when its body slanted to one side, and it even forgot to close its eyes to protect them with its thick eyelids.
How soft and weak were one’s eyes? Furthermore, it was the Darkgolden Terrorclaw that stabbed into the eye. Huo Yuhao’s dark golden sharp blades jabbed into the Single-Horned Devilrhino’s head instantly, and its colossal body crashed to the ground with an agonizing howl.
The dark golden talons turned an icy-white, and Huo Yuhao’s right arm was covered in a diamond-like layer of crystals. The
harrowing screams of a dying Devilrhino ceased, and its head was blanketed in a layer of frost.
Its body was excessively huge, and even Huo Yuhao’s Ultimate Ice couldn’t freeze its entire body within a short period of time.
The strike was too fluid for that. His body sprung into the sky once more as the soul thruster on his back launched him with great might—at another Single-Horned Devilrhino.
All the other Single-Horned Devilrhino’s suddenly lost their footing at the same time. Even Huo Yuhao, agent of their demise, found this unbelievable. One of the Devilrhino’s collapsed, falling right onto the Golden Tiger’s corpse.
The corpse exploded from the Ice Explosion soul skill, and the enormous body of the Single-Horned Devilrhino was tossed into the air. The frightening power of the Ice Explosion soul skill made He Caitou think back to their encounter with the corpse explosion back with the evil soul masters inside the cave. The gigantic Single-Horned Devilrhino was blown to smithereens, and its horn was blasted from the explosive force,
landing right on a vulnerable long-range soul beast’s head— and piercing right through it.
The four Single-Horned Devilrhinos were all locked onto Huo Yuhao, so they didn’t threaten He Caitou at all, who was currently attacking with all his might.
“Senior brother, try attacking those long-range soul beasts’ eyes. Fire in bursts, and conserve soul power!” Huo Yuhao yelled out while his Darkgolden Terrorclaw easily pierced through another Devilrhino’s eye. The incredibly strange thing was that this Single-Horned Devilrhino was also inexplicably incapable of closing its eyes in time.
The long-ranged attacking soul beasts were definitely not in normal condition. Their mobility was reduced, and even after waves of attacks being launched at Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, not a single attack hit. Their ability to lock onto targets had vanished, and their luck with it.
Aiming at the soul beasts wasn’t difficult for He Caitou, but soul beasts had very sensitive perceptions, and would swiftly dodge away when they felt something was off. Soul tools could lock on targets, but only one body at a time, and not onto a
particularly small region. Still, He Caitou acted according to Huo Yuhao’s suggestions.
All these incredible, miraculous, and even insidious occurrences caused his confidence in Huo Yuhao to increase many times over.
The battlefield was already extremely chaotic. Two of the four Single-Horned Devilrhinos were eliminated by Huo Yuhao in a matter of seconds, and one was killed by the Ice Explosion. The remaining Devilrhino struggled back to its feet and continued charging towards Huo Yuhao. He Caitou managed to take out two long-range soul beasts, and another one was eliminated by the exploded Devilrhino’s flying horn. There were five more ranged soul beasts to kill, but skull projections still lingered over their head while they stumbled like before.
The Eye of Destiny judged them with the Light of Destiny. Combined with Huo Yuhao’s third soul skill, Enfeeblement, was the cause of everything that had just happened and was happening.
Huo Yuhao finally understood the true meaning of destiny’s judgement. A golden shadow glimmered behind his back, and
there were wheels of light protecting it. This was the radiance and fortune bestowed upon him by destiny, while those soul beasts were abandoned by destiny’s judgment. Their bodies seemed to be plagued by the god of weakness. It was a pity that even though Huo Yuhao was the creator of their bad destiny, he couldn’t change his own destiny. If not, the situation would have been even more sinister.
And Enfeeblement? This was a domain-type soul skill, so it should rightfully be called Mass Enfeeblement. Those that were struck by Huo Yuhao’s spiritual fluctuations would find their central nervous system affected. Enfeeblement didn’t diminish the target’s soul power, but it would cause the target to experience dizziness and weakness in their lower limbs, among other things.
All these crippling effects weren’t conclusive. However, Huo Yuhao’s Mass Enfeeblement’s most potent effect, was that it could be extended for a long period of time. He had only absorbed six-thousand years out of the whole fifteen thousand in the soul ring, but he could still channel Mass Enfeeblement for an entire minute.
These twelve soul beasts were impeded by Mass Enfeeblement, and they were judged by destiny at the same
time. One could only imagine their dire state. Huo Yuhao took this opportunity, and three Single-Horned Devilrhinos were felled, the tables had turned!
“Tch, tch, tch.” Three brilliant needle-like beams flashed by. Three long-range soul beast’s heads erupted in a cloud of blood mist simultaneously—all of them were attacked through their eyes, and their brains were vaporized instantly.
A long and thin soul tool could be seen on He Caitou’s shoulder. Its foremost point was shaped like a cone, and those thin light beams were fired from the cone-like tip of this soul tool.
His three simultaneous blasts could only be described as the work of a sharpshooter. While the distance between him and his targets wasn’t even a hundred meters, the souls beasts were dodging swiftly, without stopping. Not even Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection could help him aim at those soul beasts’ eyes.
He Caitou faintly felt as if there was an unknown force guiding him when he was firing these three shots. When the
feeling peaked, he only aimed in roughly the right direction and fired.
Eight long-range soul beasts dwindled into two very quickly, while the last Single-Horned Devilrhino arrived before Huo Yuhao.
The Single-Horned Devilrhino had formidable defense and offense. However, it wasn’t agile enough in front of Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and brushed past the Devilrhino’s side. Even though the Single- Horned Devilrhino had already locked onto Huo Yuhao, it still needed time to turn its body.
Huo Yuhao grasped this opportunity, and his Darkgolden Terrorclaw slashed down ferociously—the sharp dark-golden blades slashing through the weak underbelly of the Devilrhino.
This Single-Horned Devilrhino was the most defensively capable foe Huo Yuhao had come across since obtaining the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone. Even his Darkgolden
Terrorclaw couldn’t stab all the way into the soft underbelly of the Devilrhino, only halfway through instead.
However, half was enough for Huo Yuhao. He bounced off the ground and plastered his entire body onto the Devilrhino’s side. Meanwhile his Darkgolden Terrorclaw turned an icy-blue
—the Ice Empress’ Pincer!
The Ice Empress’ Pincer gave the Darkgolden Terrorclaw the Ultimate Ice element, and greatly boosted the strength of Huo Yuhao’s right hand.
“Squelch–” The Darkgolden Terrorclaw fully submerged itself into the Single-Horned Devilrhino’s body, and the Ultimate Ice’s formidable power was injected within with frightening speed.
However, Huo Yuhao immediately began to feel an obstruction from the muscles of the Devilrhino, which had clamped onto his Darkgolden Terrorclaw, and the Devilrhino used its soul power attempting to eject Huo Yuhao.
Time was not on his side—Huo Yuhao couldn’t conserve soul power anymore. His spiritual power had been thoroughly drained from the series of battle, to the point where he didn’t even attempt a simple Spiritual Shock.
Emerald green hues burst from Huo Yuhao’s body. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s shadow shimmered for a second behind his back, and a blanket of icy-green light immediately expanded outwards in the next moment. The struggling Devilrhino froze in place, unable to shake off Huo Yuhao.
It was clear that Huo Yuhao had used the Darkgolden Terrorclaw that was impaled into the Devilrhino’s body as the center of his attack when ice crystals quickly spread all over the body of the Single-Horned Devilrhino. Before long, the entire body was coated in a layer of sparkling and translucent ice crystals, the Devilrhino was motionless, like an ice statue.
“Tch—” Huo Yuhao pulled out his hand as he leapt up and landed on the back of the Devilrhino. He was supporting himself against the back with his hands as he panted with deep and heavy breaths—his face as pale as a ghost.
Using the Domain of Perpetual Ice without the support of Haodong power simply took too much out of him. He felt like he’d been hit with his own Enfeeblement as his body fell into a crippling state of weakness, while his spiritual power and soul power were spent The Domain of Perpetual Ice infiltrated through the open wound caused by the Darkgolden Terrorclaw and stopped the beast’s heart, instantly turning it into an ice sculpture..
Huo Yuhao couldn’t be bothered with the other two long- range soul beasts anymore. He quickly took out another thick and thin cigar and stuffed them into his mouth, before he lit them and sucked on them as hard as he could. He took out the Milk Bottle at the same time, and restored his soul power.
He Caitou did not disappoint, and even though it was less than a hundred percent accuracy rating like before, he still got in six more missiles under the Light of Destiny’s blessing. The two remaining soul beasts still recovering from Enfeeblement
—decapitated.
While the battle seemed like it took a long time, but from the moment Huo Yuhao radiated the Light of Destiny, to using Mass Enfeeblement, and until the last soul beast had perished
—only a minute had passed. The battle was over in a hurry, and all twelve soul beasts were slain: the four three-thousand year Single-Horned Devilrhinos included.
Gong Changlong no longer felt his heart ache. Instead, he had already become numb. Even though there were many mystical beasts inside the Beast Dueling Area, a third of their thousand year soul beasts had already been eliminated in just this one battle. The color on his face turned blue with a green tinge before it turned black altogether… How could Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu have expected such a result from the spectator’s grandstand?
Huo Yuhao surveyed his surroundings warily and awaited the next wave of soul beasts that could appear at any time. This Single-Horned Devilrhino was the most important weapon in his arsenal for the subsequent battle. He couldn’t help but think, “If only big brother Xu were here. He could concentrate all the soul beasts together, then use the Mysterious Underworld Displacement to swap over this Single-Horned Devilrhino and I would detonate it – I would be able to destroy an entire wave!”
“That’s it! Why are we still testing? If this assessment continues, all the Beast Dueling Area’s properties will be gone.” Gong Changlong walked out with a glowering look on his face. He shouted towards the spectator’s grandstand, “Dean Xian, I am also a reserve Elder of the Sea God’s Pavilion, and I am worthy enough to question the Sea God’s Pavilion, and to question the decision you guys have made using the Sea God’s Writ’s authority. Every one of you saw it – twenty thousand- year soul beasts of mine perished just like that, and all of you should know these soul beasts’ value. Take a look, how many soul rings has this wasted? The Soul Tool Department has to be responsible for capturing another batch for me. I will take this up to the Sea God’s Island right now.”
Gong Changlong spun around furiously as he spoke and was about to leave.
Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu hurriedly leapt down from the spectator’s grandstand and arrived before Gong Changlong in a flash.
Xian Lin’er wore an apologetic face as she said, “Don’t be angry, Elder Gong. We will stop here for today. I never imagined that such a situation would happen, and it’s all because our judgment of these two students’ abilities was inadequate – so it’s all our fault. We will explain things to the Sea God’s Pavilion ourselves. Duoduo and I will be responsible for capturing another batch of soul beasts when we come back.”
Gong Changlong’s face softened a little as he said, “That will do. Don’t pull this kind of assessment anymore – if not, how can my Beast Dueling Area endure? Leave, all of you. These two fellas are no longer welcome inside the Beast Dueling Area.” Elder Gong huffed and puffed at his beard while he glared at three of them as he spoke, before he turned around and walked out, leaving Xian Lin’er and the others laughing bitterly at each other.
Huo Yuhao had rendezvoused with He Caitou by now. They both heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Elder Gong’s furious
look, and it seemed like today’s assessment was over.
The two of them felt as if they were in a dream as they watched the corpses scattered all over the ground. There were eighteen thousand-year soul beasts, and four of them were three thousand year soul beasts! Yet, they massacred every single one within fifteen minutes. Even a Soul King from the inner courtyard probably wouldn’t be able to accomplish this.
Fan Yu forced a laugh and said, “What shall we do about today’s assessment, Deans?”
Xian Lin’er expression also seemed a little sullen. She replied, “Go to the Martial Soul Department and fetch Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. The assessment will continue; let them battle the others from the Shrek’s Seven Monsters. I want to see how long they can last.”
She deliberately raised her voice when she spoke the last sentence so that both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou could hear her. The two of them glanced at each other exasperatedly and swiftly sat down on the ground. They restored their soul power through Milk Bottles while they started to meditate to recover the energy they had previously expended.
Huo Yuhao realized that his spiritual power’s recovery speed inside his spiritual sea was relatively impressive. However, his second mental sea’s spiritual power recuperated incredibly slowly – as a slow as a snail sliding across the ground. He would probably need an entire day to completely recover the spiritual power he had expended – that meant his Eye of Destiny could only be used once per day.
Fan Yu was highly efficient. He had no problem extracting the several students from the Martial Soul Department, as he had Xian Lin’er’s orders. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan arrived at the Beast Dueling Area within fifteen minutes.
Xu Sanshi looked like he was in a good mood, and he looked like he couldn’t wait to get it on while he wore a mischievous and wry smile on his face. Jiang Nannan was calm and composed, and even though she maintained a distance between Xu Sanshi and herself, they were no longer as distant as before. This was probably the reason why Xu Sanshi was in a good mood – at least there was progress.
Bei Bei was as elegant and refined as always. However, he no longer had that faint smile on his face ever since Tang Ya had left. He couldn’t wait for the holidays so he could go to Heaven
Dou City to find Tang Ya. He had no clue why he felt as if his hair had been standing on end recently, and he grew even more worried about Tang Ya venturing towards Heaven Dou City all by herself. He had had his own revelations after the grand competition, and he had also reached a crucial point in his
cultivation, while the academy had also ordered him not to leave. He was also about to face the immense pressure of the examination to enter the inner courtyard during his graduation.
“Senior brother, big brother Xu, sister Nannan.” Huo Yuhao stepped forward elatedly. He hadn’t seen Bei Bei and the others ever since their closed-door cultivation after they returned.
However, Bei Bei and the others were as astonished as ever. The Beast Dueling Area was incredibly messy – there was a giant crater from the Ice Explosion, there were soul beasts’ severed limbs, and there was a multitude of corpses strewn all over the place.
“Little junior brother – what’s all this?” Bei Bei asked with a face full of doubt.
Before Huo Yuhao could explain, Xian Lin’er lowered her voice and said, “Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan – I have an immediate assessment task for you guys: take down Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The battle will start immediately. If the three of you lose the fight, then I will ask the Martial Soul Department to increase the difficulty of your assessments to enter the inner courtyard next year.”
“Ah?” Bei Bei and the other two were immediately shell- shocked.
Fan Yu chimed in. “This is also an assessment for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Look at the corpses of soul beasts around you – they were the ones that killed them all. The battle will start immediately.”
Bei Bei’s eyes sparkled. There seemed to be blue lightning flickering within his eyes when he turned back toward Huo Yuhao, and he was the first to mentally prepare himself. The academy had their reasons for arranging something like this, and he knew that it wouldn’t be bad for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou if he followed his teacher’s instructions.
“Watch out, junior brother.” A crackling lightning strike burst from within his body as he spoke, and his right arm swiftly transformed. Bluish-purple dragon scales began to spread, first towards his chest then all the way to his hips. He lunged towards Huo Yuhao in a flash.
Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were a beat slower, but they immediately realized what was happening and released their respective martial souls before they launched their own attacks. Xu Sanshi went for He Caitou, while Jiang Nannan hid herself behind him. With the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle defending them, there were no cracks or loopholes for soul tools in front of them to exploit.
Even though this battle was incredibly rushed and hasty, Bei Bei and the others’ experience and discipline in battle were quickly put on the display, and everyone went for their most suitable targets.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly inside. He felt a little stifled facing off against his eldest senior brother, and this wasn’t just because his soul power had only been restored to about fifty percent, his spiritual power had only recovered to about thirty to forty percent, and his second mental sea wasn’t operational at all. This was also because of his relationship with Bei Bei.
Bei Bei had always been like a mentor and a big brother to him. It could be said that without Bei Bei’s care and help, Huo Yuhao wouldn’t have been able to stand his ground when he first came to Shrek Academy. He was already disadvantaged in terms of his mentality even though this was only a friendly battle.
Huo Yuhao unleashed the Spiritual Detection as fast as he could as Bei Bei lunged directly at him. He connected himself to He Caitou while he used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to make a swift retreat in an attempt to distance himself from Bei Bei.
Bei Bei’s experience in battle was as rich as it could be. He was the Tang Sect’s eldest senior brother, and he was simply too familiar with the Tang Sect’s Six Great Secret Techniques.
The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track’s most prominent point was that it was mutable and unpredictable. There wasn’t a rhythm or pattern to take advantage of. However, Bei Bei was familiar with this technique, and as such was acutely aware of its speed.
“Crackle!” A thunderous boom could be heard as a colossal Thunderous Dragon Claw slashed out through the sky and went directly for Huo Yuhao’s body. The lightning bolts had yet to reach him, but Huo Yuhao could already feel his entire body starting to go numb. There was no doubt that Bei Bei’s cultivation had grown exponentially again. The Thunderous Dragon Claw’s ferocity was augmented, and its area of effect was much wider than before.
Huo Yuhao placed his hands in a circle before him, and his Spirit Eyes began to glow. His Spiritual Detection found the Thunderous Dragon Claw’s weakest spot, and his left hand formed the Controlling Crane while his right hand formed the Capturing Dragon. With a single pushing and pulling action, he pushed the Thunderous Dragon Claw to one side.
“Eh?” Bei Bei glanced at Huo Yuhao with a surprised look on his face. However, he took the time that Huo Yuhao needed to stop and block the Thunderous Dragon Claw to swiftly close the distance between him and his junior brother. He made a grab at Huo Yuhao’s shoulder as he bent the center of his palms inwards – he was also using the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique.
Bei Bei was more than ten ranks above Huo Yuhao in cultivation, and formidable suction power immediately pulled at Huo Yuhao till he stumbled. It wouldn’t be easy for Huo Yuhao to defend against Bei Bei’s Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon even at his peak, and he was no match Bei Bei in cultivation. This was the reason why it was challenging for him to evade this attack even though his Spiritual Detection could predict and detect it.
He Caitou finally displayed his fearsome and ferocious side. His consumption from the previous battle was far smaller than Huo Yuhao, since he hadn’t needed to expend much energy with Huo Yuhao’s spiritual guidance. His soul power had been restored to more than eighty percent, and his soul tool fort asserted its dominance in all directions. He managed to suppress both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan so that they couldn’t come near – instead, they were gradually forced back.
He Caitou’s soul tool fortress was a great counter to Jiang Nannan’s abilities, and it was hard to throw him out when he was solidly rooted to the ground. However, the destiny’s blessing from before when he was facing the soul beasts was completely gone. The Eye of Destiny’s powers had a limited duration, and Huo Yuhao could only maintain it for about three minutes with his current strength.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw sprung out once more, and he clashed against Bei Bei’s Thunderous Dragon Claw head-on.
“Clang!” A metal clanging sound boomed, and Bei Bei felt as if five streaks of intense chill shot through his arm from five incredibly sharp talons, and they were drilling deep into him with hysterical speed. He was taken by surprise, and he unleashed his Vigorous Thunderbolt in an instant. Huo Yuhao also released his own Class 2 soul barrier at the same time.
His soul barrier was immediately shattered to pieces, but he managed to block the Vigorous Thunderbolt’s immense power of paralysis. The Ice Empress’ Armor released diamond-like ice
crystals that blanketed his entire body and resisted the Vigorous Thunderbolt. Huo Yuhao was pushed back several meters, but he wasn’t injured.
Bei Bei looked down at his dragon claw and realized, to his intense bewilderment, that the sharp tips of his talons each had a thin crack. Even though these cracks weren’t that big, his right arm’s dragon claw was the toughest spot on his entire body. His gaze was immediately attracted to the Darkgolden Terrorclaw on Huo Yuhao’s right hand.
“Junior brother, is that the Darkgolden Terrorclaw soul bone from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear?” Bei Bei asked in astonishment.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “Very discerning, senior brother.”
Bei Bei gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up with his left hand and said, “Great job. However, I’m going to give everything I have.” He had already noticed that Huo Yuhao had three soul rings on him, and he had never underestimated or looked down on his little junior brother.
He howled into the sky, and Bei Bei’s entire skeleton crackled with a series of explosive popping sounds. His frame grew in size as he became taller by an entire head, while the flesh on his body was conspicuously more bulging than before. His eyes sparkled with bluish-purple lightning, and snake-like streaks of lightning webbed all over his body like a net of lightning.
His third soul skill, Thunderous Fury, had also evolved. Huo Yuhao could feel a tremendous gravitational energy emanating from Bei Bei. The fine and complex bluish-purple net of lightning seemed like it wanted to suck everything into itself, and subsequently tear it apart. The Ultimate Ice energy that he had injected into Bei Bei’s body through the Ice Empress’ Pincer and his Darkgolden Terrorclaw were instantly dispelled after the Thunderous Fury’s explosive release.
Bei Bei’s prowess was worthy of his status as the leader of the new generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters. He made a grab through the air at Huo Yuhao. This was another Thunderous Dragon Claw, but the force of this attack was vastly different from before.
An enormous streak of bluish-purple lightning formed a lightning claw with three meters wide that lashed at Huo Yuhao. This lightning claw was infused with vigorous suction
power, as if Bei Bei had incorporated the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon’s effects into his soul skill.
Huo Yuhao couldn’t struggle out from this formidable suction power with his current cultivation, so he could only face it head-on.
Two purplish-golden beams of light burst from Huo Yuhao’s eyes – Spiritual Shock!
Bei Bei’s eyes sparkled at the same time. Purple light flashed across his eyes, but the difference was that Bei Bei’s eyes seemed to contain two lightning whirlpools. Invisible spiritual power clashed violently, and Bei Bei’s head was forced backwards slightly while his forward movement was halted. However, he wasn’t injured in any substantial way. He also knew how to use the Purple Demon Eyes, and he was also incredibly familiar with Huo Yuhao’s abilities. How could he not be prepared for his little junior brother’s signature move?
However, the power of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual shock took Bei Bei by surprise. His forward momentum was hampered, but his Thunderous Fury wasn’t over yet.
His Thunderous Dragon Claw had arrived before Huo Yuhao, and the immense suction power already caused Huo Yuhao to lose his balance slightly. The monumental expenditure during his battle against the soul beasts before this was starting to show. Huo Yuhao didn’t have enough soul power, so
formidable abilities such as the Domain of Perpetual Ice and
the Ice Empress’ Wrath were out of the question. The Eye of Destiny was similarly unusable. His third soul skill, Mass Enfeeblement, was incredibly powerful, but it was a ten thousand year soul skill, and consumed a lot of his soul power. He had looked very glorious and spectacular before, but there weren’t that many soul skills that he could still use at this point.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and he exceeded everyone’s expectations when he decided to take this hit. Indeed, he didn’t use any soul skills to defend himself as he curled his body as much as he could before he took a direct hit from the Thunderous Dragon Claw.
Bei Bei couldn’t prolong his control over this soul skill due to the Spiritual Shock’s effects, so Huo Yuhao only took a direct hit from the Thunderous Dragon Claw’s original power after it was amplified by Thunderous Fury.
The gigantic lightning claw swiftly closed up and trapped Huo Yuhao’s body in a vice-grip. Huo Yuhao’s soul barrier was activated, but it immediately shattered into pieces, and even the original item broke apart.
Huo Yuhao’s own body was in a dire state. Streaks of lightning surged all over his body, and the ice crystals formed by his Ice Empress’ Armor exploded into a layer of icy mist that permeated the sky. His own body wasn’t electrocuted by the lightning streaks, but his body quivered, twisted, and contorted as he collapsed onto the ground. This strike’s power did what it meant to do, and Huo Yuhao’s defenses were completely overcome.
He Caitou wasn’t having a good time on the other side either. His soul tool fortress managed to hold Jiang Nannan back, but Xu Sanshi’s defensive abilities countered his as well. Repeated bombardment meant Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan couldn’t advance, but using the soul tool fortress consumed a lot of soul power.
Xu Sanshi darted forward with Jiang Nannan in between He Caitou’s intermittent attacks, and he finally found an opportunity and slammed into He Caitou’s body.
He Caitou’s choice was a little comical. He realized that he was about to crumble, so he released his Class 4 soul barrier while he withdrew his soul tool fortress. His soul tools were extremely weak, and if the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle directly clashed against them, most of them would probably be
damaged – how could he bear to let that happen? This was just an assessment, after all.
Jiang Nannan finally leapt into action, and when she stepped on He Caitou’s shoulders, He Caitou raised both his hands in the air to signal that he wanted to surrender.
Xian Lin’er’s expression was a little sullen. She understood that her impromptu assessment didn’t achieve the best results. Soul masters were soul masters after all, and the Shrek’s Seven Monsters were best buddies from the beginning, so it was impossible for them to fight with everything they had. However, this meant that she hadn’t seen Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s real limits yet.
“Are you alright, junior brother?” Bei Bei swiftly came before Huo Yuhao and wanted to help him up, but Huo Yuhao flipped around on the ground and launched a Darkgolden Terrorclaw with his right hand. This attack wasn’t aimed at Bei Bei, but rather it slashed to another side. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw
erupted with a colossal wave of dark golden light, and a giant claw that was three meters long surged across the sky and violently slammed against the ground, leaving five deep grooves.
“You can’t be so careless, senior brother.” Huo Yuhao smiled as he got to his feet. Even though he appeared terribly unkempt and wretched from the lightning strike, he didn’t seem like he was substantially injured. The Ice Empress’ Armor’s defensive capabilities were still relatively formidable, and the Thunderous Dragon Claw that was no longer under Bei Bei’s control could only make him numb. Bei Bei didn’t follow up on his assault, so he wasn’t considerably injured.
Of course, Huo Yuhao still lost the battle. If Bei Bei had followed up with another strike, then his life would have been in danger. However, he used actions to tell his senior brother that he couldn’t be careless no matter what.
Bei Bei wore a look of amazement. “This… this must be the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s complete version. You are so fortunate, junior brother!”
Bei Bei was familiar with the Darkgolden Terrorclaw, as he favored soul bones that were related to claws. He had always wanted to attach a suitable right arm soul bone to himself, but hadn’t been able to.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “Senior brother, this is one of my takeaways from our expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest. My expenditure during the soul beast assessment was a little too great – if not, I would have let you have a taste of my third soul skill.”
The assessment was over. Even though it was a little anticlimactic, Xian Lin’er, Qian Duouo, and Fan Yu still admired Huo Yuhao.
The Ultimate Soldier Plan had been suggested for a long time, but this was the first experiment. Even though the assessment’s results were a little below expectations, Xian Lin’er’s mood was still pretty good after she frowned momentarily. Huo Yuhao’s display of well-rounded prowess and mighty fighting strength would undoubtedly have a catalyzing effect on the entire Ultimate Solder Plan.
“Alright, the three of you can go back.” Xian Lin’er said to Bei Bei and the two others with an expressionless look on her face.
Xu Sanshi snickered and said, “Dean Xian, about reducing the difficulty of our inner courtyard assessment… What do you think…?”
Xian Lin’er snapped, “Reduce what? Did you guys give your all? You call this an assessment? It was clearly an artificial performance for us to see. Scram, and don’t make me angry.”
“Uh…” Xu Sanshi glanced at Bei Bei, but Bei Bei looked like he didn’t see Xu Sanshi’s expression. Who would choose such a time to invite a snub?
“We should catch up at night when we have time, junior brother.” Bei Bei greeted Huo Yuhao and He Caitou before he hurriedly departed with Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.
Xian Lin’er’s mouth twitched and she said, “When you have time? Let me tell you the truth – when the Ultimate Soldier Plan has officially begun, you guys will no longer have time to yourselves. From now on, your lives will be incredibly rich!”
She deliberately placed emphasis on the last word, and both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou could feel their hearts beating out of their chests as they listened.
Reality proved that Xian Lin’er wasn’t lying. Once the assessment was over, the two Deans and Fan Yu immediately took them both back to the Soul Tool Testing Area.
They didn’t give Huo Yuhao or He Caitou time to meditate so that they could speedily restore their soul power, and a new teacher appeared before them.
Chapter 151 Extreme Teaching
This teacher was tall and slim, and had all the allure of a female. However, he also had a face full of hair, a luscious beard. His appearance was a little glaring and shocking to the eyes.
Xian Lin’er said, “Let me introduce to the two of you. This is teacher Gao Sheng, and he’ll be responsible for guiding you guys in the art of makeup and concealment. Learn from him.”
He Caitou mumbled pitifully, “Dean Xian, are you going to let us rest for a little while before we continue our other lessons? We will be more efficient that way. We have consumed too much soul power.”
Xian Lin’er snapped, “This will be the last time I hear you whine. Every minute that you have is precious. You don’t need soul power to learn the art of makeup and the art of concealment. You will naturally recover your energy and your soul power during the process. Begin, teacher Gao. Fan Yu, you’ll stay here to monitor their progress. If they slack off even a little bit—hmph!”
Gao Sheng walked elegantly before the two of them and made the gesture of a cymbidium with his right hand. He said softly, “My two students, you will learn the art of makeup and concealment from me for one full year, starting today. Oh, that’s not right. Huo Yuhao will spend a little less time learning the art of makeup. He will attend four lessons for about a month, and all he has to do is understand a little bit. However, you definitely have to learn the complete art of concealment.”
This teacher’s fine and soft voice gave Huo Yuhao and He Caitou goosebumps. They would rather face swarms of soul beasts than listen to teacher Gao speak.
Fan Yu’s facial muscles were also faintly twitching not far away from them. If he wasn’t aware that teacher Gao was especially adept with the art of makeup and concealment, he probably would have slapped him right across the face. Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo were already gone by now.
Gao Sheng giggled femininely, and suddenly spun around. When he turned back, both He Caitou and Huo Yuhao felt their eyes brighten. The enormous beard on Gao Sheng’s face was gone, in its place was a pretty and exquisite face—this look was more compatible with his feminine and elegant frame.
Gao Sheng patted his chest with both hands. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou watched with widened eyes and slack jaws as two supple, firm and round humps suddenly protruded from Gao Sheng’s originally flat chest. The humps even looked a little elastic and bouncy.
He raised his butt, and suddenly his originally flat buttocks became a lot bigger than before. His hips gradually lifted upwards, and when juxtaposed with the two perky humps that had appeared on his chest before, he morphed into the ideal body shape.
“How’s that? It’s magical, isn’t it?”
Gao Sheng spoke again just as Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were immersed in the incredible transformations that were happening before their eyes, and he frightened them once more. His originally feminine and giggly voice actually became a deep male baritone. The pairing of this voice with his alluring and sexy build even made Huo Yuhao feel like his heart was starting to twist into knots. However, he had to admit that teacher Gao Sheng had left an extremely strong impression in his mind.
Gao Sheng smiled and said, “From male into female, and without any loopholes at all. This is an extremely high level. At its peak, the art of makeup can transform a person into anything—sometimes you can even transform into a soul beast and not have your cover blown. I will impart some tips and tricks to you today. For example, how to increase my bust like I just did.”
“……”
Fan Yu sprang to his feet and said, “I’m going to go get some fresh air, teacher Gao.” With that, he immediately turned around and walked out without a single moment of hesitation.
Gao Sheng’s smile was very terrifying to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.
Gao Sheng psychologically tortured Huo Yuhao and He Caitou all the way until lunchtime. When the two of them walked out from the Testing Area, their eyes were lackluster.
However, teacher Gao’s pedagogy couldn’t just be described as extraordinary. From the beginning to the end, they had no
idea which voice was teacher Gao’s actual voice, and they weren’t sure what teacher Gao’s real appearance was like.
Gao Sheng displayed the magic of the art of makeup to them over the span of more than an hour. Gao Sheng’s appearance changed eleven times during the process, and every transformation was drastic, and with incredible speed and agility.
The art of concealment was to be learned together with the art of makeup. Both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were stuffed with voluminous knowledge and information even though this was only one lesson. Teacher Gao adjusted their bodies and enabled them to truly experience what it felt like to transform… Gao Sheng only conducted one lesson every week, but he told them that he would conduct an assessment based on each lesson’s teachings. If they couldn’t pass his assessment, then he would transform into his original elegant frame with a bearded face, and he would hug them while taking a stroll around Shrek Plaza… it would be the look with a perky chest and buttocks, and a full head of facial hair… Huo Yuhao and He Caitou reoriented themselves only after they finished lunch. Fan Yu told them that they would have thirty minutes to rest and digest what they had learned in the morning. Fan Yu would take over for the subsequent lesson in the afternoon,
and this lesson would be about the forging and designing of soul tools that were considered imperative for soul engineers.
The speed of imparting knowledge was clearly a lot faster than before, especially for Huo Yuhao. Fan Yu couldn’t be bothered with the two-year gap between Huo Yuhao and He Caitou during his afternoon lesson, and started his lesson directly from Class 3 soul tools. All sorts of information and knowledge that was comparable in volume to the art of makeup that they had encountered for the first time in the morning was shoved into their heads.
After the day was over, Huo Yuhao’s mind was drab and in complete disorder even though he was a spirit-type soul master. He had learned too many things, and they would have a hands-on lesson in forging soul tools tomorrow, along with multiple other lessons. The fatigue in his mind was even more agonizing than the physical exhaustion. When they were brought to the specially prepared canteen for them in the Soul Tool Department, the two of them felt as if they could crumble and collapse at any time.
However, they were pleasantly surprised—their dinner was sumptuous and wholesome!
Dinner filled up a large table, and was prepared just for the two of them. They had never seen most of the glittering and dazzling foods on the table, and the fragrant smell of food triggered their voracious appetites.
However, their excitement was short-lived, and disappeared very soon. A teacher that was responsible for their diet arrived beside them and started teaching them how to eat.
Yes, teaching them how to eat!
Did eating require guidance?! This was the first thought that appeared in Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s minds. The person before them seemed around thirty years old, and she wore a white chef’s hat on her head while a clean white gown draped from her body—this extremely pretty middle-aged lady gave them the answer.
“The foods you see before you aren’t normal—I have specially selected them. Oh, yes, let me introduce myself. My name is Lu Xiaoxiao, and I am the number one dietary nutritionist in the academy. I specialize in the various combinations and compatibilities of exotic foods and ingredients. Many different precious ingredients have to be
used at different maturities, and you have to follow a specific order if you use several top-tier ingredients at the same time. Otherwise, their nutritional value will be affected. I will be responsible for your dinners from today onwards, and you will follow my guidance strictly when you eat. You can consider
this a co-curricular lesson. I don’t require you to learn everything, but you must at least learn to discern and distinguish.”
“Pick up the teacup in front of you. This is produced from the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin found in the Dou Ling Empire’s East Coast, and it’s a very special seafood. In order to preserve its taste and the rest of its nutrition, we have expended excessive energy and effort to transport it as fast as possible from the ocean. Finish it immediately with a spoon. This is your first dish, and I will explain its effects and nutrition while you guys eat.”
Huo Yuhao lifted the teacup before him and opened it. A dense fishy smell immediately wafted into his face. How would he describe it? The smell was like a macerated and stinky salted fish was left to fester in a hot and humid environment for at least ten days.
He Caitou’s originally tanned skin seemed to grow pale in an instant. Huo Yuhao exclaimed in shock, “Is this thing still moving?!”
Lu Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and said, “Of course it’s still moving, dumbass. Didn’t I just say that we have to preserve its original nutrients by keeping it fresh? Therefore, we have to eat it raw. If we eat it after killing it, its nutrients will be damaged and tainted. This is a rare top-tier item that can nourish the soul. Every single one is incredibly pricey, and it’s extremely difficult to come across even a single one. If it weren’t for the academy’s requirements, do you really think I could bear to let you guys eat it? If this were sold in the big cities, or even within Shrek City, a single one could fetch for thousands of golden soul coins. You will experience its mystical effects once you consume it. Hurry up, don’t wait for it to die.”
That smell… eating it alive… this… Huo Yuhao felt his stomach starting to churn vigorously, and his face turned ghastly pale.
Lu Xiaoxiao’s expression turned cold when she saw that the two of them didn’t move a single inch. She snapped the fingers of her right hand. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou both saw that this ‘number one nutritionist in the academy’, teacher Lu, seemed
to have eight soul rings, which flickered once before the two of them realized they were completely immobilized—as if the entire space around them had been frozen and arrested.
Lu Xiaoxiao casually came before the two of them and picked up a spoon from the table before she grabbed He Caitou’s chin and forced his mouth open. Then, she picked up the teacup and used the spoon to scoop out the thing inside…
It was a green sticky ball, and nothing seemed to be left inside the teacup once she scooped it out. It looked like a giant ball of snot… and it was squirming.
Lu Xiaoxiao moved incredibly quickly. She raised her wrist and stuffed this ball of snot into He Caitou’s mouth, and He Caitou immediately felt as if his entire mouth was filled up. That moist, sticky, slimy, stinky ‘snot’ suddenly started to squirm vigorously.
Lu Xiaoxiao lifted her wrist and pressed He Caitou’s jaws together. The “snot” was swallowed just like that, with a gurgle.
He Caitou’s face went from black to white, from white to green, and then from green to purple, and then… he fainted.
A day’s worth of taxing lessons had already made him both mentally and physically exhausted. He couldn’t take this torturous experience, and his body reacted naturally—he just collapsed onto the ground.
Lu Xiaoxiao frowned and grumbled, “Useless.”
She snapped her fingers again as she spoke, and Huo Yuhao regained his ability to move. He was infuriated and blurted out, “You should try it yourself! This isn’t something for humans to eat!” He was just about to toss the teacup away as he raged.
Lu Xiaoxiao raised her wrist and caught Huo Yuhao’s hand, and she muttered coldly, “I really do want to try, but I can’t. The Spiritcharm Sea Urchin truly doesn’t taste nice at all, but good medicine always tastes bitter. You think the academy is trying to poison you by allowing me to set a dinner table for you guys? The academy has expended so many resources on you two, but you two are just going to crumble from something that tastes bad? So much for the being the academy’s ‘gifted elites’. I won’t force you to eat—if you don’t eat it, then scram. However, don’t count on me to select foods for you anymore. You have two choices: eat the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin, or throw it at my face. I am giving you this opportunity.”
Lu Xiaoxiao let him go as she spoke and took a step back.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the teacup in his hands, and then at the ice-cold but composed Lu Xiaoxiao. He took a deep breath and decisively raised the teacup to his mouth, used the spoon to scoop the thing inside into his mouth, and swallowed forcefully.
He suddenly felt as if there was an inexplicably terrifying smell that coursed over his entire body in an instant. All the sweat glands on his body seemed to open, and the unearthly sensations stimulated his body until he started to shiver and
quiver involuntarily. He gritted his teeth and forcibly resisted that disgusting and revolting feeling that made him feel like even throwing up a hundred times was insufficient.
This shuddering lasted for almost twenty seconds. Then the repugnant sensations were suddenly gone, and a breeze of cold air rushed through his brain.
He had originally felt as drowsy and exhausted as could be, but now his brain felt as if it had suddenly been splashed by a bucket of cold water, and he shivered from the chilly sensation. Huo Yuhao immediately felt as if vitality and clarity had returned to his body, and his senses were fresh once again. His spirit felt smooth, and all the abhorrent emotions became a lot better than before. Furthermore, he realized that his second mental sea’s spiritual power recovered at a much higher speed than before, and the exhaustion in his mind was alleviated to an incredibly large extent.
“I’m sorry, Teacher Lu. I was wrong.” Huo Yuhao bowed respectfully toward Lu Xiaoxiao. This wasn’t just because of the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin’s magical effects—it was also because of what Lu Xiaoxiao had said to him before that.
The academy had given so much for them, and he couldn’t take this trivial distress? If that was the case, were they still worth the academy’s attention and resources?
Lu Xiaoxiao woke up He Caitou, who immediately felt the changes happening in his body. The revolting sensations had long since disappeared during his brief bout of unconsciousness.
“The second dish—the Peony Lobster. This dish is best eaten when still raw. However, it can also be eaten after killing it, so eating it alive isn’t necessary. I will prepare it, and you guys will consume it immediately.”
Lu Xiaoxiao opened two golden covers as she spoke, and both white porcelain plates had a lobster that was about as long as a palm. They were still struggling and moving around, but some unknown force was restricting them, and they couldn’t leave the plate.
A small and nimble silver dinner knife suddenly appeared in Lu Xiaoxiao’s hands—and then, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou witnessed a brutal sight.
From their perspectives, the two living lobsters looked like they were shedding their own shells, and their bodies swiftly broke apart into pieces, before piece after piece of thin lobster meat landed on the meal plates before Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.
“Eat them right away. You will feel the magical effects of this exquisite delicacy.”
Huo Yuhao had learned his lesson. He didn’t hesitate at all as he immediately impaled a piece of meat using his fork and placed it in his mouth.
The thin lobster meat was pink in color, and its appearance had an inexplicable allure to it. The meat melted in his mouth, and was converted into a clear and sweet juice that carried the fresh tastiness of seafood as it slid into his stomach.
If the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin was diabolically destructive to his taste buds, then the Peony Lobster was a miracle from the heavens. A warm feeling flowed through his body from his innards as the lobster meat entered his stomach. His pores opened once again, but this was a smooth and comfortable
release, as if his entire day’s exhaustion and fatigue were swiftly receding.
He Caitou hesitated a bit more compared to Huo Yuhao, but he ate his food too in the end. The two of them started to enjoy their dish, and didn’t seem like they were getting tired of it. The two Peony Lobsters suddenly became part of their nutrients in the blink of an eye.
“The Spiritcharm Sea Urchin is only produced in a tiny patch of ocean within the Dou Ling Empire’s East Coast, and it’s not considered a soul beast. However, it’s a delicacy that’s coveted by all soul beasts. Soul beasts can unlock their intelligence and be inspired after eating it, and cultivating will become a lot smoother and more efficient. Legend has it that if a soul beast can eat a hundred Spiritcharm Sea Urchins, this soul beast will easily possess the intelligence of a ten thousand year soul beast. For human soul masters, Spiritcharm Sea Urchins can nourish our souls and increase our ability to absorb and understand. Simply put, it boosts your spiritual power and helps you to resist spiritual fatigue so that you can work harder.”
“In comparison, the Peony Lobster got its name because its fresh red tail is beautiful when it opens, and looks like the
peony flower. Even though it’s also a top-tier ingredient, it’s actual value is nothing compared to the Spiritcharm Sea Urchin. It contains clean and enriching nutrients, and can be absorbed directly. It helps with restoring your physical strength, and also refines and boosts your physique. You guys should be able to eat one every day from now on, but I only have ten Spiritcharm Sea Urchins left in storage, so we’ll see if you guys get lucky.”
The two Peony Lobsters were gobbled down just as Lu Xiaoxiao finished her explanation. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou looked up from their plates with astonishment—both Peony Lobsters were suddenly whole again. They had devoured the lobster meat, but the shell had been pieced back together, as if the lobsters were still alive. The shell was just sitting there in the center of the plate, vivid and lifelike. This teacher Lu was obviously a perfectionist!
“The third dish…”
The subsequent dishes gradually became Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s food while Lu Xiaoxiao explained them to them. The two of them were not used to it at first, but they adapted. Not everything was unpalatable, but there were quite a few dishes that simply tasted terrible… The two of them felt in awe after
consuming every single dish on the table. They had eaten so many things, yet they didn’t feel bloated at all. Their spirits were as high as ever, and their bodies had recovered to their peak condition, and perhaps even a little further beyond that.
Lu Xiaoxiao said, “Different areas produce different foods. Not all exotic foods are ridiculously expensive. When you find yourselves in a dire situation, you’ll need food to restore your strength. This is when nutritional knowledge will be extremely beneficial—I hope you guys will remember that. Alright, you’ll come back tomorrow evening.”
“Thank you, teacher Lu.” From their initial anger to their delightedness and submission in the end, both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou faintly felt as if they were in a different world.
Shrek Academy’s exemplary qualified teachers were proven to them one step at a time.
The two of them departed the special canteen prepared for them. Fan Yu was already waiting outside, and he said, “I’m sure you’ve regained your energy now. Train with me for another hour, and then I will send you two back to consolidate what you have learned. I forgot tell you that it’s extremely
difficult to meditate after eating so many top-tier foods, so you need to consolidate your knowledge while you still feel nourished and invigorated, so that you can master the subject and integrate what you have learned tomorrow.”
Reality proved that Fan Yu wasn’t exaggerating. Huo Yuhao tried as hard as he could, but he couldn’t meditate in the slightest after he returned to the Sea God’s Pavilion. He ended up contemplating what he had learned today for over an hour, and only started cultivating with Wang Dong around midnight.
Huo Yuhao’s life suddenly became enriched, fulfilling, and wholesome from this day onwards. His studies in the outer courtyard were the most stressful, and he would have to absorb large volumes of information three days every week. He Caitou was even worse off, he was immersed in the same level of strenuous studies all seven days of the week.
Elder Mu’s teachings were different. Elder Mu didn’t ask them to memorize anything, instead placing greater emphasis on guidance and advice. Most of the time, Elder Mu would make some ambiguous description and explanation, enough to bring out the crux of the issue before he left Huo Yuhao to ponder by himself. Elder Mu’s intentions were clear—he believed that only things deliberated by yourself would be
worth it, and these things would truly become part of you. Elder Mu had accumulated over two hundred years of knowledge, and subconsciously influenced Huo Yuhao over this process of guidance while helping him raise his own abilities.
Time flew by during this stressful but enriching life. Huo Yuhao made rapid progress in all aspects, and he could even feel that he was improving every single day.
The Soul Tool Department would conduct an assessment every week for him and He Caitou. As the assessors became increasingly familiar with their abilities, the respective tests became more specific and targeted. Every single instance was torturous for these two students, but every assessment made them more masterful of their weeks’ worth of knowledge. A single lapse of effort would be revealed during the assessment, and every examination was targeted at the content they had covered in the past week. The Soul Tool Department’s authorities could be said to have gone to painstaking lengths and effort for the two of them.
Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power grew at the fastest rate. With his second spiritual sea, his spiritual sea expanded at a speed conspicuously faster than before, and his spiritual power also became more compact and condensed. The first of the
Skydream Iceworm’s ten seals was finally opened to Huo Yuhao, and he allowed Huo Yuhao to absorb some of the vast spiritual power contained within.
The Eye of Destiny’s mystical effects gradually proved their worth, especially with regards to soul tool research. Huo Yuhao could skip two levels in his work with help from the Eye of Destiny. Of course, he required Wang Dong’s soul power to support him, and the Golden Light’s regenerative capabilities to accomplish this feat. Even so, Huo Yuhao’s mastery with forging soul tools quickly caught up with He Caitou’s standards.
The only thing that made Huo Yuhao melancholic was his soul power’s stagnant growth. He consumed large amounts of nutrients every day, but the academy was aware that they couldn’t affect his future breakthroughs, so they didn’t feed him any medicine that could boost soul power. Wang Dong’s cultivation progressed rapidly with the added benefits of Haodong power, but Huo Yuhao was limited by his Ultimate Ice martial soul. Even though the Life Gold had refined and remade his body, his soul power growth was not even half as quick as Wang Dong’s.
Huo Yuhao wasn’t discouraged by this, however. At the very least, his cultivation was still improving every day, and he didn’t even spend too much time thinking about his slow
growth in cultivation—there were just way too many things he had to learn.
Bei Bei decided to visit the Heavenly Soul Empire’s capital city, Heaven Dou City, to find a trace of Tang Ya right before the inner courtyard entry examination, but didn’t find a hair, as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.
This dealt a huge blow to Bei Bei. He channeled all his energy and focus on cultivation when he returned, and tried his best to raise his own standards so that he could numb himself from the emotional stress. He gave himself a tremendously high target every month, and gave himself twenty days to reach his target while he spent the remaining ten days searching for Tang Ya.
Bei Bei’s smile became a rarity, and his typical elegance and scholarly air became stained with despondence.
Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan made it into the inner courtyard through their constant efforts and unwavering perseverance. Their cultivations soared after closed-door cultivation within the inner courtyard—Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi
broke through to the fifth ring first, and became powerful Soul Kings.
He Caitou wanted to complete the Ultimate Soldier Plan with Huo Yuhao, so he didn’t take part in the Soul Tool Department’s inner courtyard entry examination. From the Soul Tool Department’s perspective, whether he or Huo Yuhao participated in the entry examination wasn’t important anymore.
More than a year passed just like that, while Shrek’s Seven Monsters improved in all aspects. He Caitou and Jiang Nannan’s soul power both reached Rank 49, and they were only a hair’s breadth away from becoming Soul Kings. Wang Dong’s speed of improvement was even more frightening— over more than a year, his soul power reached Rank 44, and he managed to obtain his fourth soul ring.
Xiao Xiao was a little slower than Wang Dong, but she still broke through Rank 44 and earned her fourth soul ring as well.
Of the Shrek’s Seven Monsters, only Huo Yuhao remained a Soul Elder. Even though he gave his all to cultivation, and even
had the help of the academy’s resources, his soul power had only just broken through Rank 38.
However, nobody would ever dare to underestimate Huo Yuhao’s Rank 38 soul power. His soul power after breaking through to Rank 38 was comparable to Xiao Xiao’s, who was at Rank 44, and his Ultimate Ice’s immeasurable power was becoming increasingly conspicuous.
Huo Yuhao’s rate of growth was relatively slower, but it didn’t affect his natural talent with soul tools. Following his improvements in soul power and in addition to his spiritual power, he was beginning to design and forge his own authentic soul tools. He was recognized as a Class 5 soul engineer, and obtained the Class 5 soul engineer badge with flying colors. Yes
—only Soul Kings should be Class 5 soul engineers.
He could only forge ice-type soul tools, of which only he could operate even when he was forging Class 5 soul tools. These soul tools could only be activated with Ultimate Ice soul power, but one had to admit that he was making history in the world of soul engineers. Huo Yuhao was only Rank 38, but his overall strength could easily rival that of a Soul King.
The Douluo Continent was relatively peaceful over this year and a half. The Sun Moon Empire’s restlessness and their eagerness for action disappeared, the Body Sect that showed up at Shrek Academy vanished as quickly as they came, and they didn’t create any more disturbances on the Continent. Huo Yuhao still found out about Ma Xiaotao in the end, and he grieved for several days because of it, while he only gradually recovered after listening to Elder Mu’s consolations and guidance. He swore that he would find his big sister and bring her home.
Shrek Academy, Sea God’s Island, Sea God’s Pavilion.
Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were standing side by side in silence.
Elder Mu was lying down quietly on his reclining chair. A year and a half had gone by, and Elder Mu no longer had any hair. His life energy was reaching the end, and even his eyes rarely opened. If Huo Yuhao and the others didn’t know better, they would have never expected or imagined that this old man on his last legs was Shrek Academy’s mightiest powerhouse— the Ultimate Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
Elder Xuan stood silently beside Elder Mu. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei’er, Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and the other elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion were standing beside him.
Elder Xuan looked a little aggrieved and mournful. He only felt a little better after looking at the seven children before him, as he could feel a thread of solace and comfort through them.
Sixty-seven inner courtyard disciples sat cross-legged outside the Sea God’s Pavilion. The person sitting at the forefront was a young girl about twenty-five to twenty-six years old, her flowing black hair draped down to her waist. Her sharp and defined face was fair and impeccable, and her four fingers on both hands were interlaced, while her thumbs pointed out and against each other as she placed her hands on her calf in a crossed-legged position. This peaceful and sweet-tempered disposition made a strong impression.
Not a single one of the other sixty-six inner courtyard disciples in attendance were more than thirty years old. They formed ten rows, and everyone had the same posture as she did. Dai Yueheng was in the second row behind her. Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xi Xi, and Gong Yangmo, people who Huo Yuhao was familiar with, were also amongst the ranks.
Their differences in cultivation determined their seating position, so Dai Yueheng was worthy to sit in the second row, while the others were positioned towards the back.
The young girl in front of everyone gradually opened her eyes. Her bright and prudential pupils flowed with deep sadness and sorrow.
“Are you really leaving us, Elder Mu?” Zhang Lexuan asked herself in her heart as she took a deep breath. As Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard’s chief disciple, she had interacted with Elder Mu far more than the other inner courtyard disciples had, and it was natural that her sentiments ran a lot deeper than the others. She really didn’t want to accept this fact, but reality was right before her eyes. Today, she could only be here to see Elder Mu off on his final journey.
Two rows of crisp tears trickled down Zhang Lexuan’s perfect face.
Dai Yueheng’s gaze was fixed on Zhang Lexuan from beginning to end. There was an unspoken rule within Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard: everybody had to address the chief disciple as ‘big senior brother’ or ‘big senior sister’. There was
no question—Zhang Lexuan was revered amongst the inner courtyard disciples, while her population and popularity was unrivaled and incomparable. She was also secretly admired by many male students as they fantasized about her. However, she had never really interacted with the other students, as she
channeled all her energy and effort into cultivation. Zheng Lexuan was only twenty-six years old, and she had participated in two seasons of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. She was team leader in both seasons, and she defeated her opponents easily like a hot knife through butter.
More frightening was the fact that she had made history in Shrek Academy’s three thousand years of existence. She was only twenty-six years old, but she was a powerful eight-ringed Douluo. She reigned supreme over the entire Shrek Academy, and even Ma Xiaotao was but a little immature girl before her. Zhang Lexuan was the only person in the inner courtyard that Ma Xiaotao truly respected from the bottom of her heart.
Even though Zhang Lexuan was more than six years older than Dai Yueheng, this big senior sister had always been the goddess of his dreams. She was even his true motivation for working so hard at his cultivation. He thought that if he could surpass this big senior sister in cultivation, or if he could even
usurp her status as chief disciple, perhaps he would have a chance at courting her.
However, this chance had already slipped through his fingers by now. After the conclusion of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, Dai Yueheng officially graduated from Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard, after which he returned to the Star Luo Empire and joined the military, where he was currently a regimental commander. He had made plans to return to the academy and settle some administrative matters, coincidentally arriving at the same time as Elder Mu’s passing—how could he not remain to send him off?
He personally witnessed Huo Yuhao and the other six walk into the Sea God’s Pavilion. He was filled with shock and surprise—even Zhang Lexuan, the inner courtyard’s chief disciple, couldn’t personally be there to send Elder Mu off, yet Huo Yuhao and the others could… inside the Sea God’s Pavilion.
Elder Mu gradually opened his eyes. His dusky and hazy eyes suddenly became incredibly clear, and his pupils were tainted a dark blue color, as if they were portals to the deepest and darkest parts of the boundless ocean.
His eyes slowly shifted to the Bei Bei, who was standing on the leftmost side. His gaze gradually moved sideways sweeping from left to right, and paused momentarily on He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong. His eyes paused for the longest time on Huo Yuhao.
Tears poured uncontrollably from Huo Yuhao’s eyes. He was fourteen years old now, and he was more than a meter and eighty centimeters tall. His physique wasn’t that robust or sturdy, but his body ratio was balanced, and he looked like he was full of life and vitality. His eyes were resolute and determined, and his Spirit Eyes were nimble and deep—there was even a subtle quality that intimidated others. If his features weren’t immature and adolescent like that of a youth, he would have easily been mistaken for a grown adult.
Wang Dong’s eyes were moist, tears welling up in them. He was more than a meter and seventy centimeters tall, and his handsome face could be described as exquisite. As he grew older, the lines on his face became gentler, while his big and powdery-blue eyes sparkled. His long and curly eyelashes were dripping with tears. Only Jiang Nannan amongst the others could rival him in terms of ideal appearance. They were all Elder Mu’s final disciples, and Wang Dong sobbed wildly as well.
Chapter 152 Reinstating the Tang Sect's Glory!
“Kids, don’t cry…” Elder Mu revealed a slight smile on his face. His cheeks also started to glow slightly. He seemed more energized at this point.
“Teacher.” Huo Yuhao fell to his knees on the ground and couldn’t contain his emotions anymore. He cried until he lost his voice.
Wang Dong followed, and the rest of Shrek’s Seven Monsters as well. Bei Bei was sobbing pitifully. His cries left the others in shock. They all looked very sorrowful.
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei’er kneeled too. They started to tear up.
“Great-great-grandfather.”
Great-great-grandfather? This was obviously a way of addressing a blood-related elder. Father, grandfather, great-
grandfather followed by great-great-grandfather! No one really knew that Bei Bei and Elder Mu were related.
Elder Mu smiled as he looked at all them as they kneeled, “Silly kids, what’s there to wail about? I’ve already lived in this world for almost 200 years, my lifespan was longer than most. Isn’t it a joyous thing that I’ve lived for so long? I’ve spent almost my entire life in Shrek Academy. It has always been my greatest pride to watch batch after batch of kids like you mature. I feel younger as I bask in your youthful energy. I’m leaving today, but I hope to leave happily. I can rest in peace seeing the state of Shrek Academy and all of you.”
Huo Yuhao weeped even more when he heard Elder Mu’s words. He could clearly recall all the advice and guidance that Elder Mu had given to him in the past year. Elder Mu was like a benevolent elder compared to Teacher Fan Yu. He felt extremely warmed by Elder Mu’s kindness. He didn’t disappoint Elder Mu either, as he managed to slowly assimilate Elder Mu’s self-created secret techniques, and also managed to fuse the Tang Sect’s Secret Techniques with his martial soul. He had developed a stable foundation to become a generational talent even though his soul power hadn’t increased significantly over the past year.
Elder Mu said, “I’m about to leave. Little Xuan, I’ve some instructions for you.”
Elder Xuan rushed beside Elder Mu. His disheveled beard started to shake slightly because he was too emotional.
Elder Mu sighed, “Little Xuan, you’re not young either. Don’t be so emotional. I’m not leaving entirely yet! Even if I die, I’ll still protect Shrek forever. Listen up. Little Xuan will succeed my role as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion when I leave. Everything will stay the same under him as it was with me.”
“Yes.” All the elders acknowledged his words respectfully.
Elder Xuan was a little anxious, “Elder Mu, I…”
Elder Mu waved him off and said, “Although you’re impulsive at times, your ability to see the bigger picture and your passion towards Shrek makes you suitable for this role. No one is more suitable in the academy to succeed my role. You’ve also benefited greatly after following me for so many years. The only instruction that I have for you is that you need to learn how to ponder over things carefully and control your own
emotions. Even Du Busi may not be able to beat you with your current abilities. After I leave, I don’t think he’ll dare to try anything if you’re in Sea God’s Pavilion.”
A tiger’s aura remained even in the face of death. Elder Mu might be in his last stage of life, but his words were still very dominant and overpowering.
Elder Xuan was already choking on his tears, and couldn’t mutter any words. The rest of the elders also agreed with Elder Mu. Indeed, Elder Xuan was the next strongest after Elder Mu in Shrek Academy. It was fitting for him to succeed Elder Mu as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion.
“Shaozhe, Mei’er, come over.” Elder Mu said gently.
“Teacher.” Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei’er hurried two steps forward before kneeling down beside Elder Mu.
Elder Mu said deeply, “Shaozhe, I’m the most worried about you. You lack a sense of magnanimity. I’ll give you 10 years to change this. After that, proceed to the Sea God’s Pavilion first
level for deep meditation. If you still can’t pass my test, you’ll resign from your dean’s position.”
Yan Shaozhe shuddered, but didn’t dare to rebut. He replied respectfully, “Yes, Teacher.”
“Mei’er.” Elder Mu shifted his gaze towards her.
“Teacher.” Cai Mei’er was the Martial Soul Department’s Vice-Dean. Her authority was considered quite great in Shrek Academy too. However, she was just a little girl in front of Elder Mu.
Elder Mu was much gentler towards her, “You have contributed greatly to the academy over all these years. If Shaozhe can’t pass my test in 10 years’ time, you shall enter the Sea God’s Pavilion and succeed his role as Dean. In addition, Lexuan will be promoted to the Martial Soul Department’s Vice-Dean and enter the Sea God’s Pavilion after I pass on.”
“Yes, Teacher. Don’t die…” Cai Mei’er leapt into Elder Mu’s chest and started bawling.
Elder Mu caressed her head gently and said to Yan Shaozhe, “Shaozhe, I hope that you’ll understand why I’m so strict towards you. 10 years is not long. I hope that you can make good use of this time. Do you understand?”
Yan Shaozhe seemed to have understood something, and looked deeply at Elder Mu. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and maintained a serious look on his face. He replied to Elder Mu seriously, “Teacher, I understand. I won’t disappoint you. Shrek won’t fall even after you leave.”
Elder Mu finally smiled, “Good. It seems like you’ve finally got it. Pull Mei’er to one side. I don’t have much time left.”
Elder Mu still had a lot of things to say before he passed on.
Yan Shaozhe nodded his head slightly before looking deeply at Elder Mu. He lifted Cai Mei’er up and brought her to one side.
“Lin’er, Duoduo, come over.”
Xian Lin’er and Qian Duoduo rushed to kneel beside Elder Mu. Xian Lin’er was crying as much as Cai Mei’er, and couldn’t even speak properly because of it.
Elder Mu sighed and said, “Lin’er, do you know what your greatest flaw is?”
Xian Lin’er sobbed while looking at Elder Mu.
Elder Mu said gently, “You are too emotional and direct. If you were a man, I’d let you take Shaozhe’s position, and I’d be assured to hand over Shrek Academy’s greatest responsibilities to you. But as a lady, your flaws are magnified. Your emotional attachments render you unable to improve yourself. Otherwise, your achievements would have superseded Shaozhe’s and you wouldn’t be stuck at the barrier to becoming a Transcendent Douluo. I’m assured in passing on the reins of the Soul Tool Department to you and Duoduo. Both of you are sufficiently open-minded. The speed of the Soul Tool Department’s development will depend on both of you. The future of soul masters is deeply tied to soul tools. I’m unsure of how this path will progress, but I need the both of you to explore and discover its secrets.”
“After I leave, promote Fan Yu to the Soul Tool Department’s Vice-Dean. I hope that the Soul Tool Department will produce a Class 9 soul engineer in 10 years time. In 3 months, it’ll be the date that I set with the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Fan Yu will lead the group. I believe that the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall won’t try anything in the open. Let those that he sends over learn according to their abilities. Don’t create any barriers for them. Shrek Academy has always been very straightforward. If they’re capable enough, they should be given the opportunity to learn. We cannot pull any tricks on them. I believe you and Shaozhe will handle this well.”
Xian Lin’er only nodded repeatedly. Qian Duoduo supported her from one side and acknowledged Elder Mu’s words respectfully.
Elder Mu sighed and said, “This will be my last order as the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion.”
All the elders stepped forward as they heard his words. They kneeled on one knee and Elder Mu’s voice resonated through the entire Sea God’s Pavilion, and even echoed in the Sea God’s Island.
“From today onwards, the Soul Tool Department must be developed at all costs, and the interactions between the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department must be strengthened. Due to the astronomical costs of running the Soul Tool Department, half of Shrek Academy’s profits from its estates in Shrek City will be diverted towards the Soul Tool Department. If the Soul Tool Department can produce a Class 10 soul engineer one day, that person will succeed my role as Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion.”
“Yes——” The elders agreed respectfully.
Elder Mu looked tired after he finished speaking. He shut his eyes slightly before opening them again.
“Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. The seven of you, stand up.”
The seven of them stood up, all with tears in their eyes. Huo Yuhao’s face even had turned pale from his sorrow. He only managed to stand straight with Wang Dong’s help.
Elder Mu scanned the seven of them, before his attention was drawn to Xu Sanshi, “Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, I have a request.”
“What?” Elder Mu’s words shocked them. It wasn’t very appropriate for Elder Mu to mention the word ‘request’ with his current status. Furthermore, he was even saying it just before he passed on. Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan felt the great pressure. They both kneeled on the ground.
Xu Sanshi’s voice was trembling a little, “Elder Mu, feel free to instruct us. If we can manage it, we’ll do anything to fulfil your request.”
Elder Mu sighed and said, “This is a personal request. I hope that the two of you can join the Tang Sect like the rest of your brothers and sisters.”
“Join the Tang Sect?” Xu Sanshi was a little stunned as he lifted his head. He hadn’t expected Elder Mu to make such a request.
Elder Mu replied, “Ten thousand years ago, the Tang Sect was still very prosperous. Without Ancestor Tang San’s Tang Sect, we wouldn’t have had these past thousands of years of Shrek’s glory.”
“The Tang Sect has walked towards collapse as soul tools have developed over the years, and the talents in the sect kept on diminishing. Eventually, it was encroached upon and collapsed. Shrek Academy has always maintained its neutrality in the continent, thus the academy can’t do anything to save the Tang Sect. But it pains me to see the Tang Sect’s collapse. Bei Bei found Xiao Ya, and he joined the sect because I told him to.
“After the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament ended, all of you became the new generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters. This title and glory will follow you throughout your lives. The first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters were all from the Tang Sect. That’s why I hope this continues. Shrek is ultimately an academy, and can’t intervene in the continent’s matters unless a critical situation pops up. But if all of you belong to one sect, you won’t be restricted. I hope that the Tang Sect can rise and be as powerful as it was tens of thousands of years ago. I believe that all of you are not inferior to the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters in terms of talent. Perhaps you may be restricted because you were born into a sect, but I still hope that you can join the Tang Sect with Jiang Nannan. If the
seven of you work together and develop the Tang Sect, you can make it as influential as the Body Sect.”
Elder Mu’s breathing quickened as he spoke those words. His cheeks became redder too. His eyes were filled with hope as he looked at Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. He was waiting for their answers.
“I’m willing,” Jiang Nannan spoke first. Her teary eyes revealed a resolute look. “Elder Mu, please rest assured. I’m willing to join the Tang Sect. If I’m not remembering wrongly, Ancestor Xiao Wu from the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters had the same martial soul as me. I will work hard to follow in her footsteps, and help the Tang Sect regain its former glory.”
Bei Bei heaved a sigh of relief as he heard Jiang Nannan’s words. That was because Xu Sanshi had once mentioned that he would join the Tang Sect if Jiang Nannan was willing. Jiang Nannan had finally agreed. However, where was Tang Ya?
It was undeniable that he had tried to get close to Tang Ya at the most difficult period of her life, and joined the Tang Sect under Elder Mu’s instruction. However, he had fallen in love
with her after interacting with her all these years. But Tang Ya had disappeared at this most critical period. He had heard nothing from her over the past year.
“I’m willing too,” Xu Sanshi agreed. He looked at Jiang Nannan and said, “Elder Mu, I’m willing to join the Tang Sect and break my ties with my family’s sect. We’ll work hard together to reinstate the Tang Sect.”
Elder Mu smiled and waved his right hand gently, and a soft force lifted them off the ground. “Good. This is good. I’m finally doing something for the Tang Sect on behalf of Shrek Academy. I will be watching all of you from above and waiting for the day all of you succeed. Bei Bei, come over.”
Bei Bei rushed up beside Elder Mu and lowered his head. He greeted, “Great-great grandfather.”
Elder Mu said, “You’re the only successor from my lineage. Your parents died young as they were carrying out their duties as Shrek Guardians. I was very hurt by that incident. I can see you carrying on the light-type bloodline. Although your martial soul only has the partial mutation abilities of the Radiant Holy Dragon, our bloodline was inherited from the
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon’s family successor, Yu Xiaogang. He was also Shrek Academy’s notable Grandmaster. Even after thousands of years, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon’s bloodline hasn’t changed, even if our surnames have. Your martial soul is partly mutated. It’s not a bad thing. I’m about to leave, so I’ll help you to stabilize the Radiant Holy Dragon’s bloodline. From today onwards, you need to do your best to
become stronger and continue to walk this path of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.”
Elder Mu’s thin and frail right hand gently caressed Bei Bei’s head as he spoke. Suddenly, the entire Sea God’s Pavilion lit up, and an intense golden light flashed once before disappearing. Bei Bei groaned and collapsed on the ground. A bolt of golden electricity flashed repeatedly around him, and his entire body shone subtly with a golden light.
This was the strength of an Ultimate Douluo. Even as he reached his life’s end, he was still able to maneuver his powers and those of the Golden Tree. He managed to stabilize Bei Bei’s bloodline in a split second. Bei Bei’s martial soul mutation was stabilized completely just like that. Just as Elder Mu had said, it had been advanced to a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
The color on Elder Mu’s cheeks faded and turned completely pale. He wanted to lift his hands, but seemed to be completely out of strength. His voice had also become weaker. “Yuhao, Wang Dong, come over.”
Huo Yuhao leapt up beside Elder Mu when he finally heard that it was his turn. He gripped onto Elder Mu’s right hand, stuttering. “Teacher, teacher…”
Elder Mu struggled to open his eyes and smiled. “Kid, don’t be sad. I’ve accepted quite a few disciples in my life, but accepting you at this stage of my life is the proudest thing I’ve ever done. Your Ultimate Ice may cultivate at a slower speed than others, but don’t be disheartened or impatient. You’ll only become consumed if you rush to achieve success. You’re working hard enough at your cultivation already. You need to relax when it’s time to do so. You’ll proceed to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to learn in three months’ time. The next three years will be very important for you. They will concern the success of Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department. Remember not to use your Eye of Destiny during that period of time, unless your life is under threat.”
“Uh, uh…” Huo Yuhao was completely speechless now. His teardrops fell onto Elder Mu’s palm one by one.
Elder Mu forced a smile, “I’ve basically imparted all my experience and research to you. You must assimilate it. You’re Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect’s future hope. You need to aid Bei Bei and Tang Ya in the future in reinstating the Tang Set’s glory. I practiced a divination on Tang Ya before. While
she’ll meet with a huge crisis, a benefactor will help her. I can confirm that she’s alive. You must help Bei Bei find her.
“In addition, I need to warn you that the Douluo Continent cannot be ruled by a different empire. You must work hard to prevent the rise of the Sun Moon Empire. This is my last hope. Once your cultivation reaches nine rings and you become a Titled Douluo, I hope that you can become the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion.”
“Yes, teacher. I promise you anything. Rest first,” Huo Yuhao finally managed to string a sentence together.
Elder Mu shook his head slightly. “Fool, you’re a fool. How can you not see it? I won’t really die. I will always be here to watch all of you grow, and watch as Shrek’s legacy is passed down forever. The academy will face a few crises in the near future. The responsibility on you is greater than anyone else. The Ultimate Soldier Plan must continue. The academy has
imparted everything that’s needed to be imparted to you. We’ll need you to continue to work hard and discover the future of this extreme path. There’s no end to this path.”
“Yes…” Huo Yuhao gripped onto Elder Mu’s hands tightly. He could clearly feel that Elder Mu was reaching the end of his life now, and could pass on at any time.
Elder Mu struggle to turn his attention towards Wang Dong. His voice also became weaker, “Wang Dong, do you think that I’ve always been very biased?”
Wang Dong was in a daze. He wiped the tears in his eyes. He didn’t lie, and nodded his head gently.
Elder Mu smiled and said, “That’s because I can’t completely see through you. I can’t see what you’ve experienced, or what your future will be like. Maybe your talent is not much inferior to Yuhao’s. But I can sense an aura from you that makes me shudder every time I try to see through you. I can confirm that you’re human, and not a soul beast. However, your secret is bound to be…”
Elder Mu’s breathing became faster as he spoke till here. He struggled to say, “I’ve settled the matter between you and Yuhao. You will cultivate in the inner courtyard for these few years and wait for him to return.
“Shrek’s ancestors, Mu En is coming...”
Elder Mu increased the volume of his last words. An intense golden light also suddenly shot out from his body.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were instantly separated. Elder Mu’s body rose from his reclining chair. A magical scene appeared. Two yellow, one purple, three black and three red soul rings appeared on his body. A sonorous dragon’s roar resonated in the air.
The entirety of Sea God’s Pavilion turned bright golden, and a huge golden beam of light shot up into the sky from it. All of Shrek Academy, and even Shrek City, was shrouded in golden light.
Elder Mu’s bent back started to become straighter as he was soaked in the golden light. His frail-looking face also became
younger and younger. Even his thin and sickly body started to gain weight.
There was a look of hope and reluctance in his gaze. Elder Mu looked at everyone in front of him quietly. He lifted his right hand and gently waved. His gaze eventually landed on Huo Yuhao. No further sound was made, and he only gazed on his last disciple benevolently.
The golden light became stronger and stronger, while Elder Mu became younger and younger. He slowly turned from his original frail self into a young man .
The younger appearance of Elder Mu bore a shocking resemblance with Bei Bei, but also had a more cheerful disposition. Elder Mu’s body gradually turned gold, as golden dragon scales started to grow from underneath the skin from head to toe.
Elder Mu lifted his limbs. The intense golden light turned scarlet-gold before turning an orange-gold, yellowish-gold, greenish-gold, bluish-gold and purplish-gold. The final purplish-gold eventually turned whitish-gold. Elder Mu laughed, and a sonorous dragon roar was let loose. His body shook, and he turned into a white dragon that exuded an intense light before disappearing from within the Pavilion.
Even from afar, a huge white dragon could be seen in the skies above Shrek Academy. The bright glare of the sun seemed to be blotted out by the golden light.
The sonorous dragon roar kept on resonating in the sky. The intense golden light made it seemed as if it were swimming in a golden ocean.
The frightening aura spread outwards, whereas the golden light shot straight down and covered the entire Sea God’s Pavilion.
All living beings on the Sea God’s Island were covered in a dim layer of golden fog. They could feel the pure light power cleansing their bodies, removing the impurities within. Their soul power’s were compressed and their cultivation was boosted.
Yan Shaozhe’s voice resonated throughout the entire Sea God’s Pavilion, “Everyone, sit cross-legged and meditate.” Even though he was sobbing, he still sounded very commanding at this point. This was the last present that Elder Mu was giving the academy!
Everyone quickly sat cross-legged and circulated their soul power, basking in the extreme light aura.
The except to this was Huo Yuhao, who rushed out of the Sea God’s Pavilion and looked towards the huge white dragon in the sky. Far from being shocked at its appearance, Huo Yuhao was saddened. “Teacher! Teacher!!” He shouted into the air.
However, his voice didn’t echo, and it quick disappeared as it left his mouth.
The huge white dragon seemed to have seen him from the sky too. Then its huge body wriggled as it looked southwards; towards the Great Star Dou Forest.
Another sonorous dragon roar came out. The frightening dragon’s aura crushed and dissipated all the clouds within the nearest thousands of square miles.
……
In the inner Great Star Dou Forest. The Region of Savage Beasts. The Forbidden Grounds.
It was the center of the Forbidden Grounds, where the strongest soul beast slowly lifted its head, looking at the north seriously. An aura of concentrated darkness rose up and diffused into the air before converting into a dragon form. The roar of another dragon sounded, but it disappeared instantly.
The aura of darkness then dispersed to cover the entire Forbidden Grounds, completely blocking out the dragon roar from the Radiant Holy Dragon.
A figure stayed silently in the center of the Forbidden Grounds. It was a man who kneeled on a single knee. His long, golden hair flowed behind his back, and his figure more than three meters tall. His charming and resolute-looking face bore an indescribable sense of dominance, and although he was kneeling, not a single soul beast could be found in the vicinity.
“Boss, you’ve finally awoken.” The golden-haired man said respectfully.
An illusory voice sounded, “Di Tian, I’ve only temporarily ended my sleep because of this Radiant Holy Dragon’s aura, I’ve not truly ended my sleep yet. Remember not to provoke Shrek Academy while I’m asleep.”
Di Tian? Was he the powerful presence that approached Elder Xuan when he caught the Emperor Beast? He was in his human form right now.
“Boss, he is threatening us. Don’t tell me that we’re afraid of him?” Di Tian’s expression was filled with determination, and a dominant aura spread while golden light shot out.
“Not at all, an Ultimate Douluo can’t make the entirety of the Great Star Dou Forest fearful, but the important thing is that Shrek Academy can connect with that place. Remember my words. My cultivation is at a critical juncture, I will awake again in 10,000 years. At that time, the humans’ rule will be over.”
“Yes.” The Sky Emperor replied respectfully. However, an ecstatic look flashed across his eyes, and he thought to himself, “10,000 years is too long. We need to grab hold of time now!”
The aura of darkness slowly faded away, and everything returned to normal. The Sky Emperor stood up and coldly looked in Shrek Academy’s direction. His golden aura soon also disappeared.
……
The Radiant Holy Dragon nodded towards the south, then reluctantly looked down at Huo Yuhao down below, slightly touched. By this point, the entire Sea God’s Island was bathed in gold.
It happened without a sound: The huge white dragon dissipated into spots of golden light across the sky, which swiftly descended.
Elder Mu’s voice rang in Huo Yuhao’s ears, “Kid, let me give you one last gift.”
He only saw a patch of gold in front of him before he fainted from the extreme sorrow, and a wave of heat rushed into Huo Yuhao’s body.
The countless spots of golden light gathered towards Sea God’s Pavilion. A huge golden light projection gradually made its entrance, almost like it was stretching down.
The golden projection was a bright tree, it grew almost 100 meters tall as it stretched outwards. Its branches extended, and instantaneously engulfed the Sea God’s Island in golden light.
The illusion of a white dragon above it disappeared, the light aura dissipated, and finally, the projection of the tree shrunk slowly before disappearing into the Sea God’s Pavilion.
Everything seemed to return to normal. But this normality was missing something, the Hallmaster of the Sea God’s Pavilion, the Ultimate Douluo, the Dragon God Douluo, the strongest person in all of Shrek Academy and the Radiant Holy Dragon—Elder Mu.
Elder Mu had passed on. Shrek’s pillar had collapsed. On Sea God’s Island, the sorrowful cries and aura remained…
When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he found himself in his room on the Sea God’s Island, which Elder Mu had granted to him, he also gave one to Wang Dong who was crawled up beside him sleeping soundly. But with two streams of tears still on his face.
Huo Yuhao’s body jerked a little, and his memory gradually recovered. His tears also started to flow.
“Teacher has left. Teacher has left in such a shocking way.
Teacher, teacher…”
Huo Yuhao’s sobbing woke up Wang Dong, he lifted his head to look at him. The two of them started to cry loudly together.
After crying for 15 minutes, the two of them slowly calmed down. Huo Yuhao jumped off the bed. “How did Teacher pass, in the end?”
Wang Dong lowered his head and said, “Teacher turned into light energy and fused with the Golden Tree. He hasn’t died, just like he said before. He’ll always be watching over us. His powers have already become a part of the Golden Tree.”
Huo Yuhao nodded his head forcefully. He said resolutely, “Yes, teacher isn’t dead yet. He won’t die. He’s still alive. He just changed his body.” Huo Yuhao hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed three times.
“Teacher, I won’t disappoint you. Shrek Academy is my home, and it’ll always be my home. For Shrek Academy, and for the Tang Sect, I will give my all.”
Huo Yuhao stood up suddenly after he finished speaking. He pulled Wang Dong’s hand and said, “Wang Dong, let’s start cultivating. We can’t disappoint Teacher.”
Wang Dong could clearly sense that something was wrong with Huo Yuhao. But how could he agitate him any further at this point? He understood the importance of kinship in Huo Yuhao’s mind through his knowledge of Huo Yuhao’s background, and he wished to lessen the sorrow filling Huo Yuhao’s heart.
Wang Dong nodded and sat on the bed with Huo Yuhao. Their Haodong Power surged and started to flow in their bodies.
However, Huo Yuhao started to cry just as they started. He couldn’t help but open his eyes, “Teacher…”
He couldn’t help it. Because he could feel his soul power had reached the Rank 40 bottleneck.
He recalled what Elder Mu had said before he passed out. Yes!
This was Elder Mu’s last gift for him.
He would have needed need three months to half a year to reach Rank 40 with his cultivation speed. But now, he managed to reach Rank 40 instantly with Elder Mu’s help.
Wang Dong naturally felt the changes in Huo Yuhao’s body. He said, “Yuhao, you need to cheer up. Teacher is watching us now. You don’t want him to be disappointed, so let’s start cultivating.”
He was really worried that Huo Yuhao would have an emotional breakdown. The Haodong Power entered Huo Yuhao’s body as guided by Wang Dong before it circulating slowly.
Huo Yuhao didn’t say anything. He continued to cultivate along with Wang Dong. Their soul powers undulated and flowed along their passageways.
Huo Yuhao seemed to go mad over the next three months.
However, this madness was only shown in his cultivation.
Within these three months, he focused all his energy on increasing his abilities. He didn’t even bother to obtain his fourth soul ring. He was either meditating, practicing soul tool creation, training his soul skills or using the Tang Sect’s Secret Techniques every day, sometimes doing all of these things. He didn’t speak much in a day, as if speaking would only delay him.
Chapter 153: A Farewell Between Bosom Friends
With his current state, everyone was extremely worried for Huo Yuhao. Even Elder Xuan trailed him for a while, he discovered that Huo Yuhao had sealed up emotionally and immersed himself in this crazy cultivation state. However, it was undeniable the progress Huo Yuhao was making in this time. He was calm and cold, treating his body like a soul tool, trying to sculpt and cultivating tirelessly.
Practically, all his teachers advised him to rest, but he didn’t listen. He wanted to cultivate every moment without rest, and no-one could dissuade him from it.
……
Countless streaks of golden light flashed, and a mountain rock was crushed in front of Huo Yuhao. Following this, Huo Yuhao put the away the soul tools on his person.
Success! This was the first Class 6 soul tool that he had successfully created. Although he needed to use the Eye of
Destiny to increase his spiritual power to be able to control the soul tool when he used it, he had still succeeded.
“Huo Yuhao.” Elder Xuan’s voice sounded.
Huo Yuhao stopped unwittingly and turned around. He was a little stunned as he looked at Elder Xuan. He said respectfully, “Elder Xuan.”
Elder Xuan said deeply, “Follow me to the Sea God’s Pavilion.”
Huo Yuhao was puzzled, and said, “But I still need to cultivate. There are still twelve segments that I haven’t completed.”
Elder Xuan was furious. “This is an order. Do you think you can fulfill Elder Mu’s wish by being like this? Three months. You’ve gone mad for three months. If this continues, your body and mind will collapse, but you still won’t fulfill Elder Mu’s wish. Do you want me to watch you die? Furthermore, there’s something more important for you to do now, so you can’t cultivate like that anymore.”
Huo Yuhao’s body jerked slightly, and he turned before walking away. He muttered, “I want to cultivate, I want to cultivate.” As he spoke, his pace quickened.
A lamentable look flashed across Elder Xuan’s eyes. What an emotional kid! While on the surface he was reprimanding Huo Yuhao, underneath how could he not feel heartache? He was proud on Elder Mu’s behalf and envious of him for having such a great disciple too.
Elder Xuan’s figure flashed, and he reached behind Huo Yuhao before pulling him away.
Elder Xuan completely overwhelmed Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao also reacted instantly. His leg slid forward, an intense white light shone from his body, covering it.
He used his left toes as an axis and spun around like a gyroscope. The Darkgolden Terrorclaws turned into five meters long claw projections that grabbed towards Elder Xuan.
Battling seemed to have become instinctual.
His Darkgolden Terrorclaws had become stronger over the past year. Almost becoming real from their tangible state. With them was a layer of diamond ice crystals, which meant that Huo Yuhao had combined his Darkgolden Terrorclaws and the Ice Empress’ Pincer. It’s important to note that the two are
completely different soul skills, one came from a soul ring, the
other from a soul bone. One was of Ultimate Ice element, the other metal.
Just adding the strength of the Ice Empress’ Pincer to the Darkgolden Terrorclaws wasn’t hard, instead, their strengths had been completely fused. Leading to a complete transformation, all of this happened under Elder Xuan’s guidance.
Although Huo Yuhao was in no rush to become a four-ringed Soul Ancestor, he still couldn’t be defeated by any of the Shrek’s Seven Monsters. Even Bei Bei’s Radiant Holy Dragon or Xu Sanshi’s Awakening of the Xuanwu Turtle could only repress him at best. However, this was under the assumption Huo Yuhao wasn’t using any soul tools. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were both Soul Kings, able to fight lower level Soul Emperors with some difficulty. After the experiment earlier, Huo Yuhao could be considered almost a Class 6 soul engineer, equivalent to a soul emperor.
Once Huo Yuhao obtained his fourth soul ring, his powers would be on par with Bei Bei’s and Xu Sanshi’s at least. In reality, he would be slightly better than anyone else in the Shrek’s Seven Monsters, even comparing him to Wang Dong. His mastery in the martial department and soul tool department was slowly revealing its advantages.
Elder Xuan groaned as he faced the Darkgolden Terrorclaws. He moved his shoulder slightly, and a layer of yellow light spread from his body. When that layer of yellow light appeared, it was contorted tremendously, making Elder Xuan’s body illusory in appearance.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaws caused a piercing sound to echo out as they struck the yellow light. Huo Yuhao finally reacted to what he was doing, and hurriedly stopped his actions. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s projection disappeared instantly but Elder Xuan extended his right hand and chopped down on Huo Yuhao’s neck. Even through the Ice Empress’ Armor Elder Xuan, still forced Huo Yuhao to collapse in one strike.
Elder Xuan grabbed with his right hand and pulled him over. After that, he threw Huo Yuhao over his shoulder. He sighed
and mumbled, “This brat needs to rest. It’s been tough on him over the past three months.”
After a short while, Elder Xuan brought Huo Yuhao to the Sea God’s Pavilion. Although Elder Xuan had already succeeded the role of Hallmaster of the Sea God’s Pavilion, he didn’t move into Elder Mu’s former room, choosing to remain in his own.
There were two people in his room at the moment—Fan Yu and He Caitou. He Caitou was in far better shape now, and his muscles were like a replica of Qian Duoduo’s. His tanned skin gave a healthy glow, and while he still looked as goofy as ever, his disposition was much more mature than a year prior, developing a pensive look. Much like Huo Yuhao, he had also put in a lot of hard work over the last year. He had also slowly found his path, the path that would end up giving him the title of the Origin of Destruction.
Elder Xuan placed Huo Yuhao on his bed, giving him some medicine to calm his mind. Fan Yu asked respectfully, “Elder Xuan, how’s Yuhao?”
Elder Xuan replied, “He’s too tensed up. Elder Mu’s death was a huge blow to him. However, I believe that he can overcome
this. The last three months he’s been numbing himself with cultivation. We’ll let him rest. You should prepare to leave in three days, Shaozhe will personally escort you to Heavenly Soul Empire’s Maple Leaf City to make the exchange with the students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Fan Yu, we leave this great responsibility to you!”
Fan Yu asked, “Elder Xuan, are we really not going to increase Yuhao’s soul rings?”
Elder Xuan laughed and said, “Let him keep a low profile, we’re in no hurry to make him a soul ancestor right now. Let them underestimate him so he can learn stuff easier. The important thing for our students is to see more, learn more, say less and do less. Remember that. Whether or not we can get our hands on their core knowledge is on all of you.”
Fan Yu nodded and replied, “I understand. If we meet with a suitable soul beast for him in the next three years, I will consider letting him add a soul ring. Otherwise, we’ll try to keep it on the down-low to keep the Sun Moon Academy in the dark.”
Elder Xuan said, “The Illustrious Virtue Hall is just like us. To obtain our core knowledge they’ve opened their Illustrious Virtue Hall to us, and we the inner courtyard to them. While they may not try to limit you in what you can learn, they could attempt to impart advanced knowledge beyond your comprehension. Even if you don’t fully understand what they give you, be sure to fully record it for later. They’ll be wary of you, ensuring Caitou and Yuhao’s protection is your highest priority.”
“Yes.”
Elder Xuan looked at Huo Yuhao, who was lying on the bed and said, “Elder Mu’s death has changed the mind of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. We’ll exchange our students at Maple Leaf City, and they will return in three years, just before the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The venue for which will also be held in Maple Leaf City this time. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is being very sincere since they’re anxious to break through in the soul masters area. Likewise, we’re very anxious to have a Class 10 soul engineer. Both academies will send out ten students, from the Sun Moon side both Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen will be coming, and then on our side, Elder Mu agreed to send Yuhao as one of the ten. For the other eight students, besides Yuhao and Caitou
we must pick them with care. Caitou, you must try to shine in the Illustrious Virtue Hall and be the center of their attention, do you understand what I mean? ”
He Caitou nodded without any hesitation. “Elder Xuan, I understand. The other eight students are there to protect me and Huo Yuhao, while I’m there as a second layer of protection for Yuhao. If he wants to keep a low profile, then I must keep a high one.”
Elder Xuan nodded satisfactorily and said, “Okay. Go and prepare first. I will return a sane Huo Yuhao to you in three days.”
“Yes.” Fan Yu answered, but he was still a little worried as he looked at Huo Yuhao. Could he recover in three days? He was more than aware of just how hard Huo Yuhao had been working the past three months, he was internally broken. Elder Mu’s death had just been a great blow to him.
Fan Yu left with He Caitou, leaving Elder Xuan with Huo Yuhao in the room.
Elder Xuan sat on a chair beside him and looked at Huo Yuhao quietly. He revealed a slight smile on his face.
“Silly kid, even I can’t deal with your stubbornness! It seems like I have to let you know beforehand.”
Three days passed in a flash.
Wang Dong was a little lonely as he sat in his room. Even though he hadn’t become an official inner courtyard disciple, he’d been cultivating on Sea God’s Island the entire time. His guiding teacher had changed from Elder Mu to Elder Xuan, and he now learned alongside Xiao Xiao. Elder Xuan had told him that he could take the inner courtyard test when the next academic year started, then enter the inner courtyard. The same was true for Xiao Xiao. After all, they were both soul ancestors already. If they weren’t able to pass the inner courtyard test even after being guided by Elder Mu and Elder Xuan, they would most certainly be wasting the two elders’ efforts.
Was Yuhao leaving?
Wang Dong felt a tinge of bitterness in his heart. He was the one most affected by Huo Yuhao’s transformation during the past three months. Huo Yuhao had sealed himself up almost completely. Besides the time they spent cultivating together, Wang Dong hadn’t seen Huo Yuhao at all. As the days passed, he’d clearly felt Huo Yuhao’s mental state tensing up. If not for the fact that Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was so great, he would’ve broken down already. He truly was too tensed up.
Wang Dong tried to speak to him, but Huo Yuhao wouldn’t listen. When he spoke too much, Huo Yuhao would start to tear up and mumble the word ‘teacher’.
Wang Dong had to admit that Huo Yuhao’s abilities had improved by leaps and bounds in these past three months of tireless cultivation. He’d managed to increase his soul power to Rank 40, but his cultivation had been stuck at a bottleneck. He needed to obtain his fourth soul ring to proceed any further. But this hadn’t affected his cultivation. Wang Dong was certain that Huo Yuhao’s abilities had superseded his own completely. Even though this had been the case in the past, he’d been an assault-type soul master then, and Huo Yuhao more of a control-type soul master. However, Huo Yuhao was now very
dominant in assault techniques. Wang Dong didn’t even think that he’d have a shot at defeating Huo Yuhao if they were to fight now. Of course, this was based on the condition that Huo Yuhao could use soul tools. In the past year, Wang Dong’s abilities had also improved greatly!
I heard that he’s leaving tomorrow. Elder Xuan has already taken him away for three days. Can he really recover? It’ll be almost three years until we see him again if he leaves! When his thoughts reached this pont, Wang Dong couldn’t help but purse his lips, his pinkish-blue eyes revealing a trace of reluctance.
He was also in pain from Elder Mu’s death. However, he was much more rational than Huo Yuhao. After all, his background was completely different; he didn’t crave kinship as much as Huo Yuhao did. However, he’d developed a very close relationship with Huo Yuhao over these few years.
Wang Dong had even proposed that he go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy with Huo Yuhao, but he was rejected. The reason was very simple—one of them had to remain in the academy since they were both Elder Mu’s closed- door disciples. This was in case of any emergencies. If something happened to Huo Yuhao, at least Wang Dong would
still be in the academy. Although Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were less innately talented than Huo Yuhao, they still possessed twin martial souls! They could still carry on the fire of the academy even if something happened to Huo Yuhao. Moreover, Wang Dong didn’t work with soul tools!
“Bang, bang, bang.” A knock on the door sounded, causing Wang Dong to regain his awareness.
Wang Dong walked towards the door and asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.” A familiar voice sounded. Wang Dong stopped when he heard this voice. Immediately afterwards, he burst towards the door and opened it.
Huo Yuhao was standing outside the door.
His eyes looked clear, and the sense of loss and sorrow had completely disappeared from his eyes.
Precisely because they were so familiar with each other, Wang Dong was able to sense the changes in his body. He was
stunned and asked, “Did you come back from the dead?”
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “I guess so.”
Wang Dong blinked. “How did you do it?”
Huo Yuhao answered naturally, “Of course it was because Elder Xuan who helped me.
“I’ve already thought it through; a dead person can’t be revived. If I continued like I was, I’d collapse before I could fulfil teacher’s hopes. Teacher wouldn’t be able to rest in peace if that happens!”
Wang Dong opened his eyes wide. “Wow, how did you manage to figure it out? I wasn’t able elicit any reaction from you even though I tried persuading you for three months!” He became more frustrated the more he spoke. He couldn’t help but grab Huo Yuhao’s collar and pull him into his room before shutting the door forcefully.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly and said, “Be gentler, I’m about to leave. Why’re you not leaving me a good last impression of you?”
Wang Dong’s body jerked when he heard the word ‘leave’. Indeed! Huo Yuhao was leaving the next day. He had to leave, especially since his mind had completely recovered.
“Are you here to say goodbye?” Wang Dong’s voice trembled slightly.
Huo Yuhao nodded his head gently and held onto Wang Dong’s shoulders while pushing him further into the room. “I’m leaving tomorrow. This trip to the Sun Moon Imperial Engineering Academy is of the utmost importance. I’ll be leaving on an important mission for two and a half years, and won’t be back during this period of time.”
Wang Dong, feeling a little impulsive, said, “I’ll find Elder Xuan and ask him to let me tag along again. We have four martial soul fusion skills! You’ll be completely safe with me around.”
Huo Yuhao held Wang Dong back and shook his head. “It’s useless; Elder Xuan won’t change his mind. Besides, you don’t even like soul tools. Going there would only affect your future cultivation. Two and a half years will pass in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, even though we’re quite outstanding among others of our same age, we’re nothing outside the academy. While the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is packed with soul engineers, they shouldn’t have a lack of Titled Douluo. Don’t tell me we’re better than all of them? You’ll only delay your own cultivation if you go there. Staying here is the best choice. Besides, you can monitor Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen if you remain in the academy. In three years time, they’ll be our strongest opponents in the tournament. Luck won’t always be on our side. They already had five soul rings in the previous tournament. If we face them again, they’ll give us even more problems.”
Wang Dong clenched his fists, “But… two and a half years… I…”
Huo Yuhao smiled and continued to hold onto his shoulder, “Wang Dong, you’ve become more and more feminine over this past year! You can’t bear to see me go?”
“Scram, you’re the one who’s turned feminine.” Wang Dong pushed his hand away and snorted. “I was just thinking that you’ll lag behind me after your two and a half years in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Your speed of cultivation is already extremely slow. Without me around, you’ll become even slower.”
Huo Yuhao replied, “Alright, stop acting. Just say it if you can’t bear for me to leave. Stop finding excuses. I’m reluctant to leave you too.”
Huo Yuhao’s words touched Wang Dong in his softest spot. His eyes started to turn red, and he suddenly rushed up to Huo Yuhao and hugged him extremely tightly.
Huo Yuhao subconsciously hugged him back. He was stunned to realize that Wang Dong’s body seemed to be softer than before. The two of them hadn’t unleashed their martial fusion soul skills for some time, thus Huo Yuhao hadn’t hugged Wang Dong for a long time. He felt extremely comfortable as he was hugged by Wang Dong. Weird emotions started to spread in his heart.
“No! I’m into girls!” A petite figure surfaced in Huo Yuhao’s mind. Even though almost two years had passed, he couldn’t forget the surprise that figure had brought him back then. It was the ravishing beauty that Wang Dong had created when they had used the Rainment of Light together.
That lady had looked very similar to Wang Dong, but she was very beautiful. Huo Yuhao couldn’t forget her looks, just like the audience beneath the stage. It wasn’t too far-fetched to claim that she was the dream of all men.
“Yuhao, how long have we known each other?” Wang Dong sounded a little resentful.
Huo Yuhao answered, “Almost three years. If we were still in the outer courtyard, we’d be in the fourth grade once this break ends.”
Wang Dong nodded lightly, but had no intention of hugging less tightly. “Yes, three years! In these three years, I’ve always been with you except for the times that I returned home during the holidays. Yet, you’ll be leaving for two and a half years this time. Will we still be like we are now after two and a half years?”
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Hugging just like this?”
“You!” Wang Dong suddenly let go of his arms and pushed him away. He snapped, “You know I’m not talking about that!”
Huo Yuhao was jolted when he saw Wang Dong’s teary face, “Wang Dong, our brotherhood won’t change. It could be two and a half years, or it could be twenty years. Once a brother, always a brother. It was our fate to become martial soul fusion skill partners. Our destinies will forever be intertwined.”
Wang Dong looked at him seriously, as if he was thinking of something, but hesitating. However, he didn’t continue.
Huo Yuhao looked at the weather outside and said, “It’s not early anymore. Let’s rest, I’ll be leaving early in the morning tomorrow. Let’s not cultivate today either. I’ll sleep here tonight; we haven’t slept together in a while.”
Wang Dong’s face turned crimson, “Who’s going to sleep with you? Scram.”
Huo Yuhao laughed and said, “Aren’t you happy? I don’t even remember how many times we’ve slept together. Anyway, I’m not going to leave. You can sleep on the floor.” As he spoke, he leapt onto Wang Dong’s bed before removing his shoes. Following that, he stripped and laid down.
Wang Dong watched his roguish look and found it funny, “Why are you so shameless?”
Huo Yuhao asked, “Don’t you want to sleep barefoot with me? I still remember the first time we slept like this. You’re still a clean freak after so many years.”
Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, “Does my obsession with cleanliness bother you? Since when did you care so much about it?”
“Uhh… I’ve always respected you! Come on, I’ll leave some space for you.” As he spoke, Huo Yuhao shifted a little and patted the bed space beside him.
Wang Dong’s face turned red. However, Huo Yuhao didn’t notice, as it was getting dark outside, and the room wasn’t well-lit.
He turned around to put the Class 1 soul tool lamp that Huo Yuhao had made out, then stripped to his outerwear. Following that, he walked towards the bed and laid down.
Huo Yuhao covered both of them with the blanket.
“What’re you doing?” Wang Dong sat up like a terrified little deer. “I have more blankets; I’ll go get another one.”
Huo Yuhao pulled his shoulder back and pressed him back onto the bed. He also tugged the blanket over him and said, “Enough, don’t be such a spoilsport. Let’s share the bed tonight. I’ll be leaving for two and a half years tomorrow. Let’s sleep together and have a good talk tonight, alright?”
The room had become completely black. The two of them were squeezed into a single bed, and their bodies were touching each other. Huo Yuhao felt that Wang Dong’s body was a little stiff. However, it loosened up after he heard Huo Yuhao’s words. He didn’t insist on getting another blanket anymore either.
“Wang Dong, you’re already fourteen. Sorry! I’ve been a little crazy during this period of time, and didn’t celebrate your birthday with you.” Wang Dong’s birthday had passed in the three months that Huo Yuhao had gone mad.
Wang Dong snapped, “At least you still remember! Eldest senior and the rest celebrated it with me. Eldest senior, second
senior, third senior, fourth senior, and fifth senior were all there. You were the only one missing.”
Ever since Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan had joined the Tang Sect, there’d been a change in how the Shrek’s Seven Monsters greeted one another. Bei Bei had proposed that they call each other based on their seniority.
Bei Bei was naturally the eldest, while He Caitou was the next. This was followed by Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Xiao Xiao had become Wang Dong’s fifth senior. The youngest two were Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Huo Yuhao was the sixth oldest, while Wang Dong was the youngest.
“What birthday present do you want?” Huo Yuhao asked guiltily.
Wang Dong almost shook his head, but seemed to think of something and said, “Will you give me anything I want?”
Huo Yuhao laughed, “It has to be within my capability first!”
Wang Dong turned to face Huo Yuhao. They were in such close proximity that they could hear each other’s breathing. Wang Dong was very fragrant, and had a child-like milky fragrance; even his breath held the scent. Huo Yuhao had a manlier smell, but it was one filled with youthfulness.
Wang Dong said, “Of course it’s within your capabilities. Yuhao, you’ll be nearly seventeen when you return in two and a half years. You won’t be young anymore. You have to promise me one thing when that time comes. Take it as your birthday gift to me for this year.”
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “Why’re you being so mysterious? You’re even planning to only receive your gift then!”
Wang Dong chuckled and said craftily, “In case you forget me! Wait a minute, I think I’m going easy on you if it’s only one thing. You’ll also miss my fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays. That’s three birthdays, so you owe me three things! Don’t’ worry, you’ll be able to fulfil all three things. Hurry up, let’s hook our pinkies!” As soon as he finished speaking, he extended his right hand and wiggled his pinkie in front of Huo Yuhao. Although the room was very dark, Huo Yuhao could see his pinkie with his Spirit Eyes.
Huo Yuhao was a little amused. “You’re a classic bully! I haven’t agreed yet!”
“So are you going to agree?” Wang Dong said unyieldingly, “It’s going to be two and a half years, and I didn’t mind your stinky smell too. Can’t you agree to such a small request?” Wang Dong’s face turned a little red when he said this.
Huo Yuhao’s heart softened, and he replied, “Okay, I promise. We’re such close brothers. Don’t mention three things, even if it were thirty things or three hundred things, I promise you that I’d do them for you. Are you satisfied now?”
Wang Dong was delighted, “Let’s hook our pinkies.”
Huo Yuhao helplessly extended his right pinkie and hooked it with Wang Dong’s. But the two of them were so close that his hand touched Wang Dong’s body.
He felt something very soft, yet very springy. Wang Dong’s body shriveled a little as he was touched, and he exclaimed furiously, “Watch out.”
Huo Yuhao twisted his lips and said, “Your chest muscles aren’t very impressive; they’re soft. Mine are what you call firm.”
“What nonsense.” Wang Dong raged and sat up, but was immediately pulled back down into the bed by Huo Yuhao.
“Stop playing, didn’t you want to hook pinkies? I won’t cave in to you later.”
Wang Dong seemed to be very bothered about the three things Huo Yuhao had promised him. He wanted to punish him for his recklessness, thus he extended his hand to tug at his pinkie with his own.
“Don’t forget that you’ve promised me. You can’t forget, no matter what. Do you understand?” Wang Dong emphasized with a domineering tone.
“Alright, alright. I know. You’re already fourteen; why’re you acting just like a little kid? You need to learn to be as mature as me.” Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but boast.
Wang Dong placed both his hands behind his back and said disdainfully, “Mature? You’re the one who collapsed under such a small setback. Who’s the one who went crazy for three months? Oh yeah, what did Elder Xuan say that made you return to normal? I don’t believe that he simply convinced you.”
Huo Yuhao didn’t reply.
Wang Dong turned his body to lie on his side, “Tell me.
Otherwise, I might have to get violent.”
Huo Yuhao snorted and said, “Am I scared of you? If you can beat me, I’ll tell you.”
Wang Dong didn’t really take action. He couldn’t beat Huo Yuhao at such a close distance. He flipped his body over and laid down again. “Forget it if you’re not going to say it.”
The room went silent. Besides their breathing, no other sounds could be heard. But they both knew that the other was
awake. The melancholy from Huo Yuhao’s impending departure slowly spread through the air.
“Yuhao,” Wang Dong suddenly said.
“What?”
Wang Dong’s voice sounded hoarse, “I’ve changed my mind. You have to do one of the three things that you promised me first.”
“What is it?” Huo Yuhao’s voice didn’t sound completely calm either.
Wang Dong said, “When you’re in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering academy, you have to prioritize your own body and not train so hard. No matter how much hope teacher and the academy have placed on you, you’re still only fourteen years old! You’ve already gone through so much; you might really collapse if you continue on like this.”
Huo Yuhao was silent for a brief moment, then sighed. “Wang Dong, you know we can’t back out at this point. The academy didn’t just expend money to nurture us. Over the past two years, the Soul Tool Department’s resources have been devoted to train me and second senior. We’ve also received
pointers from the teachers at the Martial Soul Department. Have you forgotten the fact that teacher once mentioned that the continent won’t be peaceful much longer? I didn’t believe in the idea of destiny in this world previously. However, I started to believe in it when I obtained this Eye of Destiny. You,
I, and Xiao Xiao all have twin martial souls, which is something completely innate! Can we avoid our destinies since we’re blessed with such circumstances? If we do try to avoid it, we’ll only continue to be ordinary for our entire lives. I don’t want to be ordinary.
“My goal hasn’t changed in all these years. However, I don’t want to be as reckless as I was before. At least I understand that I can’t involve innocent people in my revenge. In the end, I only have two enemies. One of them is the Duke’s wife, while the other is my father, the White Tiger Duke. Teacher once said that humans are innately kind; I believe in that. Dai Huabin may be flawed, but that’s a result of his upbringing under the Duke’s wife. I still want to take my revenge on him, but I no longer want to kill him. After all, he has similar blood flowing through his body, just like me and Dai Yueheng.
“Do you know why I’m so sad that teacher left? It’s because he was like a father to me. I’d always wanted a father who could guide me through life—ever since I was young! He was the one who taught me everything, and who dissolved my internal extremities. It was he who corrected my mindset and gave me so much guidance. Don’t worry, I won’t push myself so hard in the future. I’ll try my best and work hard. We’re fourteen years old; we’re no longer kids, but true youths now.
Both of us have to work hard. Don’t lag too much behind me though.”
Wang Dong listened to Huo Yuhao’s words silently. He was internally shocked, and had an indescribable feeling. Huo Yuhao had really matured, and become much more rational and wise.
The night passed quietly. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn’t even know when they fell asleep. The simply knew that they chatted quite a lot that night…