Mingdu.
Sun and Moon Imperial Academy.
Inside a laboratory.
"Hey, did you hear? Among the exchange students coming to the Empire is the guy who took first in this year's tournament. I think his name was…" Ke Ke stopped grinding metal with a cutting tool, took off her safety goggles, and looked at the others with a gossipy grin.
"Su Wen."
A handsome blue-eyed youth with long blond hair replied, though his gaze mostly lingered in the lab's corner—on a girl sleeping under a jacket.
"Hey, Ju Zi, Ju Zi, wake up… Do you think this Su Wen is handsome?" Ke Ke pulled off her gloves, walked straight over, lifted the coat, and leaned close to the girl's ear, smiling.
Zi Mu opened his mouth, afraid to disturb the girl's sweet sleep, then hesitated and sat down. He wasn't qualified to care about such things—at least not yet.
Ju Zi stood and stretched in a long yawn.
Her curvy, full figure made Zi Mu flush and turn away instinctively.
"What the heck, so noisy, Ke Ke."
Though she complained, her voice was soft as cotton—comforting to hear. Standing up, she revealed pale skin and a charming face—so tender it seemed you could squeeze water from it…
"Stayed up late again?" Ke Ke snickered.
"Mm." Ju Zi yawned. "Worked on research late last night. This project's tough—high difficulty. I feel like only a Rank 6 Soul Engineer could handle it steadily. Don't know why teacher gave it to me."
"Because he trusts you."
"I'd rather he didn't." Ju Zi grimaced, opened her white palm, conjured a juicy orange, peeled it, and stuffed half into Ke Ke's mouth, tossing the other half into her own.
As she chewed the fresh sweetness, her drowsiness slowly faded.
"Who did you say is coming? Su Wen?"
"Yeah. I hear he's a total heartthrob—so strong he single-handedly swept the top four teams and carried a broken Shrek squad to first. Otherwise, lots of seniors said this was the Sun and Moon Empire's best chance in years."
"A shame it ended in his hands—but it proves he's the real deal. Just don't know if I'll get to feast my eyes." Ke Ke sighed.
"Ha! Every year is 'the best chance.' I'll probably be in my grave and they'll still be saying it." Ju Zi couldn't help dropping a curse.
"And I heard that on the stage, Meng Hongchen—Grandmaster Jing's granddaughter—clung to his pants and offered herself on the spot!" Ke Ke whispered conspiratorially.
The two girls whispered in each other's ears.
Zi Mu watched with envy from the side. He wished he could be his goddess's earlobe—Ju Zi treated him far too indifferently. Even the new junior in the lab…
Wait, where's the junior?
Zi Mu looked around, confused.
He remembered Huo Yuhao was just grinding metal nearby. How did he vanish in a blink?
…
Outside the Mingde Hall lab.
A figure strolled down the corridor.
He was sturdily built, his deep-blue eyes bright and keen. Compared to the once thin, self-abasing, timid boy, he seemed a different person—stride full of vigor. Strength, status, and standing had given him confidence.
"Skydream…"
Huo Yuhao spoke quietly in his heart.
"I'm here, Yuhao."
In the spiritual sea, the Skydream Iceworm surfaced, tiny pupils filled with solemnity, as if facing a great foe.
"Didn't expect he'd still come chasing," Huo Yuhao said flatly.
"Chasing, maybe not, but by coincidence, it'll be hard for you two to avoid each other. I hear this exchange lasts three full years—clearly to prevent trouble right after you joined the Imperial Academy. Truly…" Skydream sighed.
"There'll be a battle eventually," Huo Yuhao pressed his lips together, a cold glint in his eyes. "And I hear Teacher Fan Yu is leading…"
"You want to turn Fan Yu? That won't be easy," Skydream hesitated. "Zhou Yi is still within Shrek's borders."
"Who says?" Huo Yuhao smirked.
"I don't believe Teacher Fan Yu didn't prepare. He won't be blindly loyal to Shrek…"
"You mean…" Skydream was startled.
"Once I meet Teacher Fan Yu, everything will surface." Huo Yuhao's gaze grew frosty. "I heard that after I vanished, Teacher Fan Yu raised hell in the Martial Soul Department, insisting Dai Huabin must not be spared. But Su Wen waved his hand and let Shrek give the Dai Clan a pass."
"I haven't forgotten that debt…"
"Add in the grudge of crippling Teacher Zhou Yi. Old and new scores together!"
As Huo Yuhao's tone turned colder, a faint murderous aura seeped from him.
The Body Sect had a method to awaken the body's martial soul; the Holy Spirit Cult naturally had ways to make people fall and turn dark.
Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes mutated into Blood Eyes; his second martial soul hadn't changed.
After turning dark, his talent soared—an evil soul master's talent. Even in the Holy Spirit Cult, he gained many supporters. The Holy Son selection wasn't far off; the Holy Son would be the future leader.
Yan Feng also eyed the throne hungrily.
Over the years, Huo Yuhao learned to mask himself, presenting as harmlessly transparent. He hid his cult identity, joined this lab with stellar grades, and even his mentor Xuan Ziwen hadn't seen through him.
His Blood Eyes' fourth soul skill was chosen by Zhongli Wu personally—kill one man, and your spiritual power permanently increases; the skill triggers automatically upon killing.
His fifth soul skill was even more extreme—ultimate illusion control.
As long as the enemy touched him, no matter how strong, they'd be dragged briefly into an illusion—where he was god.
This near-broken ability made him invincible and inscrutable within the Holy Spirit Cult—an illusion master—drawing many altar masters to bet on him.
Half a year ago, at Rank 46 Soul Ancestor, he had even slain a Rank 55 Soul King evil soul master across realms—shocking the entire Cult.
Everything was going great—until six months ago, Zhongli Wu, his thickest thigh of support, had his limbs crippled in a large raid on Shrek and was bedridden.
The Cult became restless, and only a Supreme Elder's appearance steadied things.
With his backer fallen and the Supreme Elder unreadable, Huo Yuhao decided to dive into soul tools, make a name there, and then return to vie for Holy Son.
It had been a bit over five months.
"I hear he grew stronger again in this year's tournament…" Huo Yuhao forced down the violent surge within and spoke calmly.
"Of course. I told you his cultivation climbs fast," Skydream said helplessly.
"Yuhao, your speed is already fast—from Rank 25 Great Soul Master two years ago to Rank 51 Soul King in just two years—that's outrageous."
(In the original, he was in the forties here due to suppression. With the kill-for-boost buff and Zhongli Wu's resources, plus somewhat hollowed soul power, it's roughly comparable.)
"But I gained it through slaughter…" Huo Yuhao's eyes showed vexation. "I must control it. If I keep indulging it, the backlash could kill me."
"…"
Skydream fell silent.
Watching Huo Yuhao's pain now, he wasn't sure if his choice back then was right or wrong.
That day outside Shrek City—
Sensing other Holy Spirit Cult experts nearby, he hesitated, then released a powerful spiritual ripple to draw them over, letting them rescue the soul-depleted Huo Yuhao.
"Skydream, I've chased with all my might for years, and I'm still not his match," Huo Yuhao muttered, missing Skydream's shift.
"Judging from his tournament performance, he's likely at Soul Sage. I can at most fight a Soul Emperor now, never mind a Sage…"
(The Shrek vs. Holy Spirit Cult battle only publicly revealed Elder Mu's emergence; other details weren't disclosed, so only Shrek knows Su Wen's true strength.)
"Step by step. That kind appears once in ten thousand years—born to suppress an era. Competing with him won't be easy…" Skydream said faintly.