Fine.
Ao Yao had originally wanted to test Meng Hongchen's reaction, but she acted as if she hadn't heard a word he said. Her face was entirely that of a lovestruck fan, her cheeks flushed with an enticing rosy hue.
She's a lost cause.
In the entire unrivaled tang sect, Meng Hongchen was undoubtedly the biggest fangirl.
"Sister? Why are you here? I've been looking for you for ages. Why didn't you call me to come to the cafeteria together? And he... who is he?"
Xiao Hongchen rushed over quickly, grabbed Meng Hongchen's arm, and pulled her back, while looking at Ao Yao with a hint of wariness.
But when he saw Ao Yao's appearance clearly, the expression on his face instantly became awkward.
As Meng Hongchen's brother, he naturally knew exactly what his sister was like.
He had originally thought his sister was being harassed by a Shrek student, but now it seemed... it was clearly his sister who had gone to harass someone else!
Hearing Xiao Hongchen's voice, Meng Hongchen finally snapped out of it: "Brother? Why are you here?"
You're asking me why I'm here?
If I hadn't come, you'd be drooling in front of him!
When are you going to fix this habit of yours where you can't even walk when you see a handsome guy!
Xiao Hongchen gave his sister an annoyed look and turned back to Ao Yao, his eyes filled with scrutiny and hostility.
"Let's go! Follow me to the Soul Tool Department! Don't think you can slack off just because we've come to Shrek Academy!"
With that, Xiao Hongchen dragged his sister toward the cafeteria exit.
Meng Hongchen couldn't win against her brother, so she could only give Ao Yao an apologetic smile: "Don't mind him, my brother is just like this... Handsome guy! Let's get in touch next time!"
Meng Hongchen spoke very fast, but Xiao Hongchen dragged her away even faster.
It wasn't until he had dragged Meng Hongchen completely out of the cafeteria that Xiao Hongchen irritably let go of her arm.
But looking at Meng Hongchen's big, innocent eyes, Xiao Hongchen was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.
After thinking it over, Xiao Hongchen spoke somewhat helplessly: "Sister, we came to Shrek Academy to understand their teaching methods, so we must at least enter the Inner Court. You mustn't be so lax from now on."
"I know, I know, I wasn't slacking off!"
Meng Hongchen waved her hand, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she walked ahead with a light step.
Seeing this, Xiao Hongchen's face was covered in dark lines again.
Meeting a handsome guy makes you this happy?
No ambition at all!
...
"I... really have to learn spirit tool technology from her?"
Seeing Meng Hongchen leave the cafeteria like that, Ning Tian turned to look at Ao Yao.
Her first impression of Meng Hongchen wasn't great, and she didn't really want to learn spirit tool technology from her. But from Ao Yao's tone, he seemed to really want her to learn from the other girl?
"Meng Hongchen is a Genius of the Sun Moon Empire, and she's also the granddaughter of Jing Hongchen, the Hall Master of Mingde Hall and a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer. Don't look at her as just a Fourth-Rank Soul Engineer now; some of her theories are even better than the Fifth or Sixth-Rank Soul Engineers at Shrek Academy. Follow her to build a foundation first, and later I'll find a higher-ranked Soul Engineer to continue teaching you. Also... in a while, I'll get a ranked engraving knife for you."
"A ranked engraving knife provides a huge boost to a Soul Engineer. Since you're willing to walk the path of a Soul Engineer, I have to arrange for a ranked engraving knife no matter what."
Ao Yao calculated carefully in his mind.
Although the Sun Moon Empire held the vast majority of the knives on the Carving Knife List, some were still scattered among the Three Great Empires. By selling the spirit tool Materials in his possession, it would be easy to scrape together enough money for a ranked engraving knife.
Furthermore, Ao Yao thought of something he had previously overlooked.
The ranked engraving knife that eventually ended up in Huo Yuhao's hands—the Devouring Spirit Carving Knife ranked ninety-ninth. It was a demonic blade that could cause any of its owners to fall and become an Evil Soul Master.
But this demonic blade was actually forged from the Gold of Life. In the original story, Electrolux purified the evil energy and curse from the blade, eventually turning it into the Blade of Life's Guardian.
And now, Electrolux was with him.
This meant that the Blade of Life's Guardian, which originally belonged to Huo Yuhao, had completely become his Opportunity.
In the entire Douluo Continent, he was likely the only one who could clear all the curses from this carving knife.
If he remembered correctly... this Devouring Spirit Carving Knife seemed to be an item at the Star Luo Empire's Starlight Auction House.
...
---
Huo Yuhao left Shrek City.
Once, he had drifted all the way until he met the Million-Year Spirit Beast Tianmeng Ice Silkworm in the Star Dou Great Forest, which changed his life. He then met Teacher Xiao Ya and Senior Brother Bei Bei, who didn't look down on his low cultivation and 'Ten-Year spirit ring.' They recruited him into the Tang Sect and used the Tang Sect's exam-free quota to enter Shrek Academy.
At that time, he thought he had found his place and felt the warmth of a home.
Unfortunately... it was just an illusion in the end.
Like waking from a dream, he had to return to a life of wandering.
Sensing Huo Yuhao's inner dejection, Brother Tianmeng clicked his tongue and tried to find a way to comfort him:
"Yu Hao, don't worry. Under my guidance, you will surely become a powerful Spirit Master, avenge your mother, and eventually achieve Ascension to the God Realm! Yu Hao, you must believe in yourself. This is just a minor setback; such a small hurdle won't defeat you!"
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's pace faltered slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face:
"Brother Tianmeng, there's no need to comfort me. I'm just thinking about something."
"Brother Tianmeng, you should remember that before I left Shrek City, Teacher Zhou Yi came to see me in a hurry, right? At that time, Teacher Zhou Yi told me that if I didn't know where to go, I might want to try looking for the Primal Being Sect."
"A Spirit like my Spirit Eyes is a type of Primal Being Martial Soul, and the Primal Being Sect is a Sect entirely composed of Spirit Masters with Primal Being Martial Souls. So, I'm wondering if the Primal Being Sect would be a good place to go. However... Teacher Zhou Yi was in such a rush then and didn't tell me much. I'm still a bit hesitant."
"Primal Being Sect? You humans actually have a Sect like that?"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice carried a hint of surprise.
"Based on what you've said, that Sect would indeed be a good choice. At least we wouldn't have to keep wandering. Having a stable place to stay would be a great help to your cultivation."
"In that case, after we leave the Extreme North Land, we can try to find the location of this Primal Being Sect. As for now... let's stick to our original plan and head to the Extreme North Land."