At the same time Xu Tianxi arrived in the Far North Land, the Star Dou Great Forest, the continent's largest Soul Beast gathering place, received an unexpected visitor, as usual.
Bei Bei, with his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul unleashed, led the way. His arms, undergoing Dragon Transformation, swelled with explosive muscle, radiating an astonishing aura.
Huo Yuhao followed close behind Bei Bei, his expression worried, his deep blue Spirit Eye occasionally flashing with anxiety.
"Yuhao, you don't need to worry too much. While Spiritual Soul Beasts are hard to find, there are still some out there."
A gentle male voice came from Huo Yuhao's side. It was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, his face beaming with a kind smile. He was Wang Yan, a senior teacher at the Shrek Outer Courtyard.
"Teacher Wang Yan, thank you for comforting me, and thank you for accompanying my Senior Brother and me to Star Dou."
Huo Yuhao thanked the teacher, giving a wry smile. "But we've been searching here for seven days already, and haven't found anything suitable. Spiritual Soul Beasts are really hard to find."
They had come to the Star Dou Great Forest, of course, to hunt for Soul Rings. Nearly a year ago, he had enrolled in Shrek Academy. After consuming a Hundred-Year Immortal Spirit Grass, his Soul Power had increased to level fifteen, and his Soul Power cultivation speed was comparable to most geniuses.
Just a few days after enrolling, he was standing by Sea God Lake, envisioning his glorious revenge, when he was suddenly attacked by a crazy senior from the Inner Courtyard.
Fortunately, the academy, in an attempt to keep things quiet, provided some compensation. A Soul Ascension Pill raised his Soul Power by nearly three levels. In the New Student Competition, his team with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao defeated strong opponents. Although winning the championship seemed out of reach, they had a chance at the top four. Unexpectedly, he encountered that crazy senior again. Under the Phoenix Evil Fire, he and Wang Dong's bodies were scorched and their Soul Power evaporated, making them unable to participate in the subsequent matches. They were eliminated in the top sixteen, missing out on the glory of the New Student Competition.
It wasn't a major issue, however. After all, Wang Dong's family quickly arrived at Shrek Academy and gave that hateful dean a good beating, thoroughly humbling the arrogant individuals at Shrek. The effect was very significant, greatly enhancing Wang Dong's standing in the academy.
Huo Yuhao still clearly remembered that when he and Wang Dong returned to the classroom, both classmates and old teachers looked at Wang Dong with obvious reverence. Even calling him "Student Wang Dong" was done cautiously. Yes, reverence. Huo Yuhao had never thought that at Shrek Academy, the continent's top academy, which claimed to treat everyone equally upon entry, having status and background could still make one superior!
At the same time, many people began to crowd around him, the class monitor, asking about his well-being. Everyone's face showed warmth and concern, but Huo Yuhao only sneered inwardly.
They were all just seeing that he was Wang Dong's roommate, hoping to curry favor with him to get closer to Wang Dong.
Even Xiao Xiao became a little timid, no longer daring to chat and joke with Wang Dong as freely as before.
A thick, tragic barrier had clearly formed between them!
However, Huo Yuhao didn't care much. It was a good thing that Wang Dong had the background to punish those scoundrels in the academy. Otherwise, if that crazy senior attacked them a third time, whether they would survive would be a huge problem.
Heh, what a laughable Shrek Academy. It prides itself on fairness, justice, and being the holy land of Soul Masters protecting the continent, yet what it truly tolerates is the strong bullying the weak, fearing the powerful and oppressing the weak, and causing chaos among its students. This is the biggest den of iniquity!
In the upcoming New Student Competition, they became spectators. This wasn't a big deal; the attitude of those people showed they wouldn't dare expel Wang Dong, and he, as Wang Dong's teammate, would surely get through safely.
Indeed, after the competition, even though their results weren't particularly outstanding, Wang Dong still received the status of a Core Disciple, as did Xiao Xiao, while he enjoyed the Core Disciple treatment.
He knew that both he and Xiao Xiao were benefiting from Wang Dong's influence.
As a one-ring Soul Master, not having excellent results meant he couldn't be a Core Disciple, which was understandable. Having the treatment was already good.
But...
Thinking of that wild figure standing on the New Student Competition championship podium, looking down upon all first-year students, and his distinctive eyes, a dark hatred churned within Huo Yuhao, and his Spirit Eye grew dim.
Dai! Hua! Bin!
The second young master of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. It was he who had kicked his mother back then, causing her old and new injuries to flare up simultaneously, leading to her death a year later. He was the enemy who had killed his mother!
He saw his enemy again, not in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, but on the Shrek Academy podium. Dai Huabin and his team basked in the glory of victory, while he—he could only watch!
His nails dug into his flesh, his gums bled from clenching his teeth, his eyes strained as if they might burst, yet he could only watch!
He knew clearly and thoroughly that in the eyes of the academy, the valuable person was always Wang Dong, not Huo Yuhao.
If Dai Huabin had a mother-killing grudge against Wang Dong, Shrek Academy would certainly be happy to serve Wang Dong, even if Huo Yuhao didn't think Dai Huabin and the White Tiger Duke's Mansion would have the guts to harm the Sect Master's Wife of the Clear Sky Sect.
But Huo Yuhao? Who was that person? Could he compare to the second young master of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, the captain of the New Student Competition championship team, the highest Soul Power genius in the first year, the White Tiger Soul Elder Dai Huabin? Impossible, right?
Wang Dong noticed his abnormality, but he never thought of using Wang Dong's power to take down Dai Huabin. He wanted to rely on his own efforts to become stronger and one day personally eliminate this archenemy! And his mother, the Duchess!
For the rest of the semester, he painstakingly cultivated his Soul Power, and at the same time, under Zhou Yi's recommendation, he visited the Soul Tool Department and was able to study Soul Guided Device knowledge under a Soul Guidance Master. He poured all his effort into everything, all to reclaim his dignity!
His cultivation speed was not slow. Five months ago, he had reached the bottleneck of twentieth level. Of course, he couldn't hunt Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest by himself. The only one he could rely on was his Senior Brother Bei Bei.
Unexpectedly, Shrek Academy actually had normal people like Teacher Wang Yan. He was usually amiable, and after learning that his Martial Soul was a Spirit Eye, he became very interested, insisting on coming to help him "see" and conveniently research his Martial Soul.
The current headache was that Spiritual Soul Beasts were indeed as difficult to find as many people said. Their group of three had walked for seven days in the outer region, seeing many Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, but a suitable Spiritual Soul Beast for him still hadn't appeared.
The maximum age limit for most Soul Masters' Second Soul Ring was around seven hundred years. Huo Yuhao was trying to get as close to this limit as possible, and Bei Bei and Wang Yan shared this view.
Wang Yan comforted him, "Yuhao, you don't need to worry too much. Hunting Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest requires patience. It's common for our academy's teams to stay here for ten days, half a month, or even a month when hunting Soul Beasts."
"Powerful Spiritual Soul Beasts are rare, but as long as we keep searching, we'll definitely find one."
Just then, Bei Bei, who was scouting ahead, suddenly grunted. The lightning around him dispersed and then erupted again, his Third Soul Ring, Thunder's Fury, instantly glowing brightly.
"Teacher Wang, there's a Spiritual Soul Beast! I'm under a mental attack! Protect Yuhao!"
Bei Bei shouted back, then his whole body crackled with lightning, and he charged out, a series of crackling sounds filling the air.
"Alright!" Wang Yan responded, gripping his hand. A long staff carved with dragon patterns appeared in his grasp, and five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—rose again.
"Yuhao, my Martial Soul is the Coiling Dragon Staff. My cultivation as a five-ring Soul King should be able to handle various dangers in this outer region, but you should also stay close."
Wang Yan stood with his staff held horizontally, his eyes vigilantly scanning in all directions.
"Understood." Huo Yuhao knew that his current strength was still too weak. As his Spirit Eye flashed, a strong warning signal arose within him.
Wang Yan released the aura of a Soul King. His Soul Power pressure was no less than that of some Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts, and they passed several minutes without major incident.
Amidst flashing lightning, Bei Bei, accompanied by a strangely shaped dragon-like creature, rejoined the two, his face a little pale.
"Yuhao, this is a Fear Demon Dragon I caught, a rare Subdragon Species Spiritual Soul Beast. Teacher Wang Yan, please take a look and see if this Soul Beast is suitable for Yuhao."
"Oh?"
Wang Yan adjusted his glasses and meticulously observed the Fear Demon Dragon, whose head was over a meter in diameter and whose eyes flickered with green ghostly flames. He frowned slightly and said, "Its age isn't ideal, just over six hundred years, but it's still pretty good."
Bei Bei gave a wry smile. "There were only three Fear Demon Dragons in total where I went: one Thousand-Year, this one, and another smaller one that I estimate is no more than two hundred years old."
Wang Yan nodded, then muttered to himself, somewhat perplexed, "Only three? I remember Fear Demon Dragons are gregarious Soul Beasts; there should be many of them. Why so few?"
"Although this species is rare among Subdragon Species, it shouldn't have changed its habits. Is there something wrong with the books I've read?"
As his voice faded, Bei Bei's eye twitched imperceptibly as he recalled certain events in Sea God Pavilion, then quickly suppressed those thoughts.
Ancestor had said that everything that happened in Sea God Pavilion must not be leaked.
He knew why there were so few, but the reason wasn't pleasant to say. In plain terms, too many had been captured and killed by Soul Masters. As for which Soul Masters were so capable of harming Soul Beasts, don't ask—that's a topic that cannot be touched.
After some thought, Wang Yan turned to Huo Yuhao: "Yuhao, although this Fear Demon Dragon isn't seven hundred years old, its inherent quality is top-tier among Spiritual Soul Beasts. Its Fear Talent is also very strong. Do you want to absorb it?"
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then nodded gently. "Yes, Teacher Wang Yan, I'll take it."
A Spiritual Soul Beast was indeed hard to find, and this one was already quite good. Searching further might not yield anything before the academy holiday ended.
Raising the White Tiger Dagger, Huo Yuhao ended the Fear Demon Dragon's life, then sat cross-legged, guiding the Soul Ring to attach itself to him.
Wang Yan excitedly pulled out his notebook and meticulously recorded Huo Yuhao's cultivation progress.
Bei Bei fed himself an Elixir to recuperate; enduring the Fear attack of a Thousand-Year Fear Demon Dragon was not easy.
I hope Junior Brother can gain the Fear Demon Dragon's strongest talent this time and become an excellent Spiritual Soul Master in the future, achieving success in the Soul Tool Department.
As for the Martial Soul Department—the Inner Courtyard's gate is no longer open to him. He might even be prevented from graduating. After third year, he'll probably have to transfer to the Soul Tool Department.
After all, Dean Yan is truly petty and was severely injured; I heard he still hasn't fully recovered. Old Xuan was also heavily injured; I only saw him eating drumsticks and drinking two months ago.
They can't deal with Wang Dong, the Young Master of the Clear Sky Sect, but can't they deal with a poor kid like you? Huo Yuhao was innocently caught in the crossfire.
"Ah, Dean Yan still has a narrow mind. I wonder when Sister Le Xuan can enter Sea God Pavilion. If she could speak for us in Sea God Pavilion, things would be much better…"
Xuanming City, Xuanming Sect, Dark Hall.
Xu Fu sat upright, eyes feignedly closed, in the main seat. Before him sat Xu Sanshi, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
"Dad, you've finally come out of seclusion! I missed you so much—"
Xu Sanshi chuckled, awkwardly scratching his head. He didn't know why the old man, who had been in seclusion for many years without a word, suddenly came out and dragged him here.
Heaven knows, ever since he was knocked down by Xu Tianxi's Soul Skill back then, he had been desperately cultivating every day these past years, largely abandoning low-level pleasures like eating, drinking, and gambling. His Soul Power had reached level forty-seven, making him the undisputed top student in Shrek Outer Courtyard.
He could proudly say that if it weren't for waiting for the girl he liked, he would already be a Shrek Inner Courtyard student, capable of directly confronting ordinary Soul Kings.
If he was pushed too far and got serious, even an ordinary Soul Emperor wouldn't be impossible to fight for a few rounds. As for Soul Emperors in Shrek Inner Courtyard, forget it; he really couldn't handle them.
"Sanshi—"
Xu Fu spoke, his tone low: "I heard you've been doing well at Shrek lately, making many friends, and even found a girl you like?"
"Ah, yes, yes, that's right."
"Making friends is good, but Sanshi, there are good friends and bad friends. Do you understand?"
"Everything you say is right."
"So, Sanshi, you were invited to join another Sect. Is this kind of friend a good friend or a bad friend?"
The air in the Dark Hall solidified.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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