Although Beibei and Xu Sanshi were usually evenly matched, when they fought, the intensity was always breathtaking. The students of the outer courtyard loved watching their soul duels.
Because—it was thrilling.
Blue lightning surged into Beibei's right arm, which immediately swelled with power. Amidst the swirling blue light, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was released in all its dominant glory.
From rank thirty onward, every time a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master obtained a new soul ring, their body would exhibit more dragon-like traits during martial soul activation.
Beibei's first dragonified part was his right arm.
On the other side, Xu Sanshi was equally unrelenting. His body expanded, stretching his uniform tight, and a massive tortoise-shell shield materialized in his right hand.
A heavy aura radiated from Xu Sanshi's body.
Both slowly began circling, sharp gazes locked onto each other. Intense soul power surged from their bodies—blue on one side, black on the other—forming a clear divide within the arena.
Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on Xu Sanshi as he activated his Qi Observation Technique.
Xu Sanshi's fortune was similar to Beibei's.
Above him hovered auspicious clouds of influence.
Aside from the standard Shrek clouds all Shrek Academy students had, he also possessed a unique, blue, rain-dropping cloud of influence.
There was no doubt—it represented the hidden sect, the Xuanming Sect.
Let's not forget—Xu Sanshi was the young master of the Xuanming Sect!
While Beibei's Tang Sect cloud was more like a curse, suppressing him under dark clouds…
Xu Sanshi's Xuanming blue cloud was a genuine blessing cloud, constantly showering him with fortune.
Shrek clouds would occasionally drop golden rain, granting a temporary buff to disciples.
But the Xuanming blue cloud rained continuously, never ceasing—providing Xu Sanshi with a lasting buff and divine protection.
After all, Xu Sanshi was the future heir of the sect, possessing the potential of the Black Tortoise bloodline. Such treatment was only natural.
Hence, Xu Sanshi's fortune was far more abundant than Beibei's.
Huo Yuhao: "I need to find a way to put Xu Sanshi into the fish pond."
Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul shadow was naturally the Xuanming Turtle—a dual-attribute water-earth beast-type Martial Soul.
Within the Xuanming Turtle was a golden dot of light.
That represented the Black Tortoise bloodline—the turtle's evolutionary potential!
The Xuanming Turtle had the possibility of evolving into a true Black Tortoise.
What intrigued Huo Yuhao was that despite Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul being a top-tier beast-type, he also manifested a Xuanming Shield as a weapon during battle.
It resembled the behavior of a tool-type Soul Master.
Huo Yuhao speculated this could be a unique Martial Soul trait or a family secret technique.
Indeed, Douluo Continent had its fair share of mysterious techniques.
For example, in the original work, a special technique appeared during the Soul Master Tournament—summoning a beast-type Martial Soul into battle externally.
It was similar to detached beast souls like the Mutant Frost Centipede.
But it wasn't useful to Huo Yuhao.
Besides, such secret techniques often cost a soul ring skill.
Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul shadow had the following fortune structure:
Upper: Thick fortune—symbolizing the care of elders.
Middle: Also dense—signifying a promising future.
Lower: Relatively sparse—implying potential complications in relationships and progeny, though not as bad as Beibei's "lineage doomed" fortune.
In the original story, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were the official couple.
But truthfully, Xu Sanshi wasn't inseparably tied to her. If anything went wrong, the Xuanming Sect would surely intervene.
Just like Shrek Academy.
Great powers wouldn't let a single woman jeopardize their hopeful successor.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Beibei's fortune again—it now suggested Beibei was heading for a future with no descendants.
The lower part of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul shadow's fortune was dangerously thin.
Tang Ya was gone, and it seemed Beibei was truly sealing off his heart.
Fortunately, that didn't affect Huo Yuhao's ability to harvest fortune from other areas.
Finally, Huo Yuhao observed the ground beneath the Xuanming Turtle's Martial Soul shadow.
Surprisingly, it stood atop a map of the Douling Empire. Within its borders, where the Xuanming Sect was located, a soft aquamarine light glowed.
Huo Yuhao: "Even without my interference, Xu Sanshi's natural development would've given him immense influence in the Douling Empire."
He murmured this to himself, then snapped back to focus.
Because the fight had just begun—the match was officially on!
The aura clash between Beibei and Xu Sanshi had reached its peak.
Huo Yuhao's eyes narrowed.
Huo Yuhao: "Brother Tianmeng, now's the time..."
Tianmeng: "Got it, Brother Hao!"
The Skydream Iceworm returned to Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, and the first soul ring of the Spiritual Eye Martial Soul floated within it.
With the Skydream Iceworm's stimulation, the first soul ring emitted a radiant glow.
Back in his seat, Huo Yuhao's eyes changed—his pupils became crystal clear, but faintly flickered with ominous Buddhist light.
Spiritual Eye Martial Soul
First Soul Skill: Spiritual Interference!
Demonic-Buddhist Secret Technique: Life-Reaping Brahma Chant!
Fusion Skill—Spiritual Brahma Chant!
Spiritual Interference was one of the Skydream Iceworm's specialties.
The Life-Reaping Brahma Chant was one of Pu Du Cihang's signature abilities.
Through perfect synchronization, Huo Yuhao and the Iceworm fused the two into a single ability.
Only, instead of using sound as a medium, it used spiritual power—directly influencing the mind.
The downside: it could only target specific individuals for a short duration and was ineffective against powerful spiritual-type Soul Masters.
The upside: if the target's spiritual power was weaker than Huo Yuhao's, they were guaranteed to fall prey to it—subtly and inescapably. Even powerful spiritual masters wouldn't detect it without direct examination.
That's the troublesome part about spiritual abilities—formless and invisible.
The attack penetrated the arena's soul tool barrier in an instant, unnoticed by the referee.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao could already bypass the Soul Master Tournament's barrier undetected by Title Douluo-level referees.
All the more so now.
Beibei and Xu Sanshi were immediately hit.
Their spiritual power couldn't resist the joint assault of Huo Yuhao and the Iceworm.
"Namo, Namo, Amitābha, Namo Amitābha..."
The Life-Reaping Brahma Chant echoed in their minds, and their gazes became increasingly ferocious.
Huo Yuhao's goal—make them fight with all their might!
A surge of rage arose in both of them. Already prepared for battle, they lost all restraint and clashed with more intensity than ever before.
Xu Sanshi even abandoned his usual defensive style to go all in.
Beibei unleashed his thunder with no holds barred.
The referee twitched in alarm, worried they might actually hurt each other.
He was even tempted to call for a pause—maybe order a drug test.
"What the hell did they take to fight this hard?!"
Even their soul skills were being launched in rapid-fire bursts!
The audience, however, was fired up—cheering wildly for both contestants, thrilled by the spectacle. Worth every single silver soul coin!
Meanwhile, as they clashed, their headbound fortunes began to fluctuate.
When people fight, their fortunes become unstable.
It was the perfect time to act.
Huo Yuhao, of course, wasn't going to let it slide.
He visualized the White Tiger, which emerged from his spiritual sea, dove into the arena, and climbed atop their heads to devour their unstable fortune.
No one else noticed a thing.
"Keh keh keh..."
The first target of the Imaginary White Tiger was none other than the luck-rich Xu Sanshi.
After devouring most of Xu Sanshi's fortune, the Imaginary White Tiger caused Xu Sanshi's body to falter. He began making frequent mistakes in battle and was pummeled by Bei Bei's combos, taking considerable damage.
Then, the Imaginary White Tiger took advantage of the situation, leaping onto Bei Bei's head and starting to devour his luck too.
As expected, Bei Bei also began making mistakes and getting injured repeatedly.
Everyone knows that if you don't know how to control the rhythm and just go all in recklessly, not only is it unenjoyable, it can even cause injury—and you definitely won't last long.
Not to mention, there was still an "old six" dragging things down from behind.
"Ah!!!" ×2
In the end, both the battered Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi landed punches on each other's faces simultaneously. They were both sent flying, crashed onto the ground, and couldn't get up again.
The battle was over.
"Match over! It's a draw!" the referee shouted in a hurry, sighing internally with relief—this nerve-racking soul duel was finally over.
He even started to wonder if Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had some deep grudge, like fighting over a woman. Why else would a single match get so intense?
The Imaginary White Tiger trotted around gleefully, snatching up another chunk of both their luck before returning to Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, fully satisfied.
Losing a battle makes one's fortune unstable—perfect conditions for the White Tiger to ravage it even more.
This time, the two almost got completely "plucked" of their fortune.
Huo Yuhao was surprised as well.
"It actually cleaned out their luck better than I could've done myself?!"
Just then, the girls around him started shouting excitedly.
"Yuhao, the match didn't even last a full minute!"
"Which means…"
"Ahhh! Yuhao, we're rich!!!"
No doubt about it—Huo Yuhao just struck gold.
As the soul barrier faded and healing soul masters entered to carry Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi off to the infirmary, the audience applauded both fighters.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao and the girls hurried to cash in their winning bet slips.
The senior manning the betting booth was trembling all over, face pale.
Three hundred thousand gold soul coins.
Ten times payout…
Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi—I seriously overestimated you guys. Not even a minute?! Are you even trying, you skinny mutts?!
"S-School brother… could you… maybe go easy on me…" the senior was nearly on his knees.
Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly.
The girls glared at the senior with unfriendly eyes.
In the end, Huo Yuhao walked away with over 600,000 gold soul coins in cash and an IOU worth 2.5 million more.
The senior promised to pay the remaining 2.5 million within a week—plus an extra 10,000 as a goodwill offering.
Then he ran off sobbing to report to his backers. The money wasn't even the scariest part—what he feared most was getting expelled the next day for entering the classroom with his left foot first or some ridiculous excuse.
On the flip side, Huo Yuhao returned all the principal investments to the girls, and even gave each of them a 10,000 gold soul coin tip as thanks.
The remaining 300,000+ in cash and 2.5 million IOU naturally went entirely to Yuhao.
The girls had no objections—and wouldn't dare to have any.
After all, Huo Yuhao was still human. He didn't pocket even their initial investments.
Just a 10,000-coin gesture got him kisses from each girl and a clear boost in favorability.
The gold soul coins the girls used came from their families—meant to be used wisely.
They only forked it over because Huo Yuhao had them completely smitten.
The 10,000 he gave each of them was theirs to keep. That's enough to buy a small piece of precious ten-thousand-year whale jelly.
"We're out of poverty! We're millionaires now!!"
"Brother Tianmeng, we're getting food from the most expensive cafeteria window from now on. One meal for me, one for you!"
"Yuhao," said Tianmeng Iceworm, "you know I don't need to eat."
Yuhao's eyes widened. "What are you saying?! If you don't eat, people from other classes will think we're broke! Eat! Finish one portion and get another! Then another! Eat till you're full!"
"Hehehe… you're the best, Yuhao…"
The Iceworm might not need to eat, but it didn't mean he couldn't—and who could say no to good food and fun over boring cultivation?
Next, Huo Yuhao didn't plan on resting just yet. He decided to visit his good big bros in the infirmary.
Not because he was worried they'd discover anything. Even if they suspected foul play, he was an ice and poison type—not spiritual—what did it have to do with him?
He just felt it would be wrong not to pay respects to Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, whose "sacrifices" earned him his millions.
Even looking at their injuries made Huo Yuhao's teeth hurt.
Bei Bei had only just recovered and was sent right back.
As the little bro, Yuhao could only offer his condolences.
"Amitabha…"
And of course, he'd also take the chance to show his face to Xu Sanshi—laying the groundwork to pull him into his little "fish pond" later.
However, just as they exited the Soul Arena, someone blocked their path.
It was none other than Yan Shaozhe.
He stared at Yuhao, lips still covered in kiss marks, surrounded by girls. His expression was… complicated.
He'd always thought himself quite the romantic back in the day, juggling girlfriends, even eyeing new ones while dating. But that got him into trouble, and he'd been sheepish about it ever since.
But even back then, he'd never been this blatant about keeping a whole harem.
"If I'd had this kid's skills… I wouldn't have to bow my head every time I see Xian Lin'er now," he thought bitterly. "I'd have her bowing instead!"
"The younger generation really does surpass the old…" Yan Shaozhe sighed, almost wistfully.
But he could also see Yuhao wasn't the one chasing the girls—they were the ones chasing him.
"Uncle Yan, good afternoon!" Yuhao greeted him politely while wriggling free from the girls' grip.
Yan Shaozhe twitched, then yanked Yuhao away with a stern face.
"I need to speak with you! Everyone else, back to cultivation!"
First-year and already like this? He needed to put some pressure on the boy!
Ignoring the girls' protests, he flew off with Yuhao in tow.
…
When they landed, Yuhao realized he'd been brought to the Beast Arena again.
"Uncle Yan? This is…"
With a gentle smile, Yan Shaozhe said, "Yuhao, youth is precious. We can't waste time—so from now on, I'll personally oversee your training."
"Really?" Yuhao gave a look of excitement, though inwardly, he was suspicious.
What's this guy planning now?
He whispered mentally, "Tianmeng, stay alert!"
"Got it, boss!"
Unaware of Yuhao's inner thoughts, Yan Shaozhe continued smiling.
"Your Ice Jade Centipede martial soul isn't performing at its full potential, is it?"
"…That's true."
"So, I've found a teacher who can show you how centipede soul beasts fight."
"…A teacher?"
"No time like the present—experience it firsthand."
Before Yuhao could respond, Yan Shaozhe grabbed him by the collar and tossed him straight into the Beast Arena.
"Whoa—!"
Yuhao landed hard and quickly scanned his surroundings.
It was a small patch of forest.
Rustling sounds emerged from the foliage—he tensed up instantly.
"Something's coming!"
He released his Ice Jade Centipede martial soul.
Finally, the source of the noise revealed itself—a giant thousand-year centipede soul beast.
It raised its upper body high, legs poised for attack, staring at Yuhao and his spirit like prey.
From outside, Yan Shaozhe's voice floated in:
"Watch closely. Learn well. Good luck~"
Yuhao: "…"
This grudge… Brother Yuhao won't forget it!
The Far North.
"Ahhh!!!"
"So many soul beasts! What's going on?"
"Run! It's a beast tide! A beast tide!!"
Countless soul masters who had entered the Far North fled in a frenzy.
Those who managed to escape were lucky—they hadn't ventured deep into the Far North. Those who had gone deeper were already devoured by soul beasts, without even a chance to flee.
A month after the new term began at Shrek Academy, the beast tide that had been building up for half a month in the Far North finally erupted!
This was a premeditated beast tide, with an enormous number of soul beasts storming human settlements.
It began with a bang—even the first wave included sightings of 100,000-year-old soul beasts!
That had never happened in a "normal" beast tide.
The only ones capable of unleashing such a catastrophe were undoubtedly the Three Great Kings of the Far North.
The beast tide affected all three empires bordering the Far North: the Heaven Soul Empire, Dou Ling Empire, and the Sun Moon Empire.
Fortunately, each empire had stationed military forces near the Far North. As soon as the tide began, these garrisons responded quickly, setting up defenses to resist the onslaught.
Only the Sun Moon Empire, with a ninth-level soul tool explosive, managed to temporarily repel a 100,000-year soul beast and hold off the tide.
The Heaven Soul and Dou Ling Empires, lacking such ultimate weapons, failed to hold the line and suffered devastating losses.
Even though the legions had Titled Douluos capable of challenging the 100,000-year beasts, the sheer number of lesser beasts overwhelmed the troops.
Eventually, after sacrificing multiple cities, the two empires managed to establish a defensive line further from the Far North to halt the tide's advance.
Both empires began mobilizing more troops toward the Far North—because the beast tide was far from over.
The entire continent was shaken.
Nations and sects alike sent their elites to investigate the situation or uncover the cause of the sudden eruption.
They wanted to know if their own interests were at risk—or if there was an opportunity to exploit.
Even the fierce beasts of the Star Dou Forest took notice.
Di Tian and the others suspected that Snow Empress and Ice Empress had lost their minds.
This tide clearly had the consent of all three Great Kings of the Far North. Without any one of them, such a massive beast tide would've been impossible.
But with Snow Empress and Ice Empress facing imminent heavenly tribulation, their future was uncertain—why would they bother to provoke humanity now?
Did someone steal their man?
The fierce beasts of the Star Dou Forest, however, had no intention of joining the tide.
For them, it was best if the Far North and human empires fought each other to the death.
Shrek Academy
When Mu En received news of the beast tide, he fell silent.
He thought of Xuan Zi.
His instincts told him Xuan Zi was at least indirectly involved in this mess.
But...
"Where is Xuan Zi?"
Where did that giant of a man vanish to?
Mu En could only order more scouts and reports.
As for whether to send reinforcements to Heaven Soul and Dou Ling Empires, Mu En said that since no request for aid had come, Shrek would not act.
Shrek Academy, nestled deep inland, was unaffected by the tide—for now.
Still, Mu En ordered close surveillance of the Star Dou Forest, just in case those beasts joined the chaos.
So, where was Xuan Zi?
In a private room of a restaurant in a city within the Sun Moon Empire.
"What? A beast tide broke out in the Far North near the Sun Moon Empire? Hahaha! Good! The more Sun Moon people die, the better!"
"A huge cause for celebration. Cheers!"
"Wait... could this tide have something to do with me?"
"Then wouldn't that make me a... hero of sorts?"
"Guess I deserve a roast chicken to celebrate~"
Xuan Zi burst into hearty laughter.
Thankfully, the room was soundproof—otherwise, the Sun Moon Empire's soul cannons might already be pointing at him.
Back then, chased by the Ice Empress, Xuan Zi had fled blindly and ended up in the Sun Moon Empire.
He'd been hiding ever since, not daring to reveal his identity—not because he feared the Sun Moon Empire, but because he feared the other three empires might misunderstand.
Now, hearing the Sun Moon Empire was under attack, he was overjoyed—even a little proud.
It was the best news he'd heard all month, bright enough to drown out the grief of losing Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao.
Still, he hadn't returned to Shrek because he didn't have the face to see Mu En yet.
Thinking again of Bei Bei and Yuhao, Xuan Zi laughed—and then cried.
"Three Great Kings of the Far North... I will make you pay!"
Days later, Huo Yuhao also learned of the beast tide—from a girl traveling with him.
Her family lived near the Far North in the Heaven Soul Empire and was now fleeing south.
When Huo Yuhao heard the news, he slapped his thigh in frustration.
"Damn it! Now the Star Luo Empire will gain an advantage!"
To him, Duke White Tiger and the Star Luo Empire were enemies. Seeing them benefit from the loss of other empires was worse than death.
"If this continues, I'll have to find a way to strike them hard."
Just as he made this vow, Yan Shaozhe showed up and took him to train in the Beast Pen.
Over a month later.
Sitting cross-legged in the beast pen, Huo Yuhao's soul power surged.
Pop!
His power suddenly surged—he had broken through!
"Level 28!"
In less than two months, he'd gone from Level 26 to 28.
It sounded fast—but was only natural.
First, his talent was top-tier, even among innate full-soul-power cultivators.
Second, the evil path technique Blood Medicine Art cultivated soul power faster than conventional meditation—evil techniques were nothing if not fast-track methods.
Unlike ordinary soul masters limited in daily meditation time, he could train continuously—like a car that keeps going as long as there's fuel.
Pedal to the metal, nonstop joyride.
Third, his only training resource—a 100,000-year Snow Lotus—was better than anything 99.9% of his peers had.
Even Shrek Academy couldn't afford to be so extravagant.
As for the academy's support?
Mostly just good luck.
Even the beast meat sold in the cafeteria, while cheaper than outside, was still paid for—with money Huo Yuhao won through gambling.
That senior who lost to him did pay the 2.5 million gold soul coins and the extra 10,000 as agreed.
But after that day, Yuhao never saw him again in the betting zone.
New rules were set—maximum bet capped at 10,000, and the crazy 10x odds disappeared.
Luckily, the senior wasn't expelled—just demoted.
Yuhao even saw him the next day shoveling poop in the beast pen.
Naturally, Yuhao greeted him politely.
That senior's face turned green—like he'd just eaten crap.
What a mystery—who suffers from looking at a handsome guy?
Meanwhile, the Mutated Frost Centipede Martial Soul also grew stronger, its first soul ring now at 6,000 years.
After obtaining its second soul ring, the first one quickly shot up to 5,000 years before stabilizing and then slowly rising.
Thanks to the Heaven Dream Iceworm's diligent absorption of moonlight and soul beast meat, the ring now sat at 6,000 years.
However, Yuhao and the Mutated Frost Centipede's soul power cultivation were not linked—they grew independently.
At least they didn't interfere with each other.
In terms of combat, Yan Shaozhe arranged for multiple millennium-grade centipede soul beasts to act as tutors.
The Heaven Dream Iceworm did learn a few tricks from them.
But it also influenced the centipedes in return.
Now, in another corner of the beast pen, the centipede soul beasts lived peacefully with the Mutated Frost Centipede.
No infighting.
More shockingly—they had learned to walk upright!
Thanks to the semi-spirit aura emitted by the Mutated Frost Centipede, the other centipedes began to transform spiritually as well.
One day, a centipede cried out mid-strut, raising its legs and shouting:
"Everyone, look at me—I discovered something!"
"We're not human!"
The rest gasped, as if realizing a shocking centipede truth.
Inside the soul ring, the Heaven Dream Iceworm rolled its eyes.
"Isn't that obvious? What made you think you were human in the first place?"
Huo Yuhao, understanding centipede speech now, could only sigh:
"What a bunch of big-brained geniuses."
"Jungle Centipede, Ironback Centipede, Ghostface Centipede, Earth-Boring Centipede, and even a semi-domesticated Golden Armored Centipede. Every time we see these soul beasts obediently staying alongside Xiaoyuhao's Frost Centipede martial soul, it's truly astonishing."
Outside the Beast Garden.
Yan Shaozhe and Gong Changlong stood by the fence, watching Huo Yuhao's training with the variant Frost Centipede martial soul.
Different types of centipede soul beasts—even the untamed ones—peacefully coexisting was a shocking sight, especially for soul beast expert Gong Changlong.
Those centipedes aren't naturally social and are known for their strong territorial instincts.
Yan Shaozhe, on the other hand, was focused solely on Huo Yuhao.
"Maybe it's because the Frost Centipede martial soul has noble blood. The higher-tier bloodline suppresses the lower-tier ones, which makes them docile," Yan Shaozhe speculated.
Gong Changlong nodded in agreement. "That's the only explanation that makes sense."
However, the real reason was that the centipede soul beasts in the Beast Garden were gradually being transformed into the progeny of the variant Frost Centipede.
In the cultivation world, familial ties aren't limited to bloodlines—there's also spiritual enlightenment.
"What concerns me is how fast Xiao Yuhao is progressing," Yan Shaozhe said, eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao, who was stabilizing his cultivation after a recent breakthrough.
"An average of one level per month is incredibly fast. If I didn't know his element was Ultimate Ice, I'd think his cultivation foundation was unstable," Gong Changlong marveled.
Normally, Ultimate attribute soul masters don't face bottlenecks or issues with unstable cultivation.
"But that's only in the early stages. After level 30, cultivation speed for Ultimate attribute soul masters slows dramatically," Yan Shaozhe added.
"Haha, no worries. We can still support him until he grows strong. In a few decades, Shrek Academy will have another Ultimate-attribute Title Douluo. That alone could secure the Academy's future for another two hundred years." Gong Changlong laughed heartily, full of hope.
Given his current strength, Gong Changlong might live to see that day.
But he didn't notice the strange look in Yan Shaozhe's eyes.
Shrek Academy can wait for Huo Yuhao to grow—but Ma Xiaotao can't!
Once Huo Yuhao reaches level 30, Yan Shaozhe plans to make him "repay" the Academy.
If Ma Xiaotao can be healed, he promises not to shortchange Huo Yuhao. He might even marry her off to him.
"It's too late," Yan Shaozhe sighed.
They discovered Huo Yuhao too late.
If they had brought him to Shrek Academy a few years earlier, with the Academy's resources backing him, he'd be far stronger by now—and Ma Xiaotao wouldn't have suffered her current fate.
In the Beast Garden, Huo Yuhao suddenly shivered and looked around alertly.
"Spiritual sense? Crap, someone's plotting against me!"
Without bothering to stabilize his cultivation, he rushed over to his variant Frost Centipede martial soul for a sense of safety.
"Brother Hao, congrats on leveling up," Skydream Iceworm offered his praise just in time.
"Brother Skydream, you should say 'congrats to both of us.' No matter who gets stronger, the power is ours," Huo Yuhao replied telepathically.
"Hahaha, exactly!" the Frost Centipede stood proudly with its hands on its hips while Skydream Iceworm laughed.
Huo Yuhao: Nailed it~
The centipede soul beasts gathered around him—not to attack but to protectively circle him.
Huo Yuhao petted each one, secretly infusing them with the medicinal aura of a hundred-thousand-year Snow Lotus to help with their cultivation.
Their obedience and rapid spiritual transformation into refined beings were thanks to Huo Yuhao's secret feedings.
He wasn't treating them well just because they were training partners for the Frost Centipede.
He simply liked centipedes.
In fact, if possible, he'd love to keep them as pets.
Probably due to the influence of his merciful cultivation technique, "Pudu Cihang."
After all, what cultivator doesn't raise a few spiritual pets?
Demon cultivators often raise their own demon offspring—it helps with their own growth. (Okay fine, also because they're convenient to carry around...)
This method of growing through affinity is similar to soul masters using martial soul mimicry training on Douluo Continent.
And these centipede soul beasts were indeed worth keeping:
Jungle Centipede: The first one he met. Dark green, large, strength-based, mildly poisonous.
Ironback Centipede: Brown with a black, iron-hard back. Can chew metal and stone, defense-based, medium poison.
Ghostface Centipede: Black body with a purple ghost face on its back. Has a mental-type attribute, highly poisonous.
Earth-Boring Centipede: Black-yellow body, excels at burrowing and setting underground traps. Earth element, medium poison.
Golden Armored Centipede: Golden body, highest in appearance and strength, immune to blades and bullets, claws can slice metal, very fast—but not poisonous.
It carries golden bloodline, making it a lower-tier version of the Golden Centipede with huge potential.
If it awakens the golden bloodline, it could become a top-tier soul beast.
If it evolves further into a Darkgold Centipede, it could become a super soul beast—possibly on par with the Bear King!
Of course, that's all in the future.
Currently, these are just thousand-year soul beasts.
Still—
If Huo Yuhao could tame and carry them around, it would be incredibly useful for combat and protection.
Don't underestimate thousand-year beasts. If they work as a team, they could take down most Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors.
With cultivation, they could even help Huo Yuhao fight enemies of higher levels.
"Too bad, it's not time yet."
Right now, he's not qualified to have Shrek Academy hand these highly domesticated beasts over to him.
"Don't worry. I'll come back for you guys someday," Huo Yuhao promised the centipedes gently.
He was never this gentle to the girls.
A new day begins—with food.
After morning practice, Huo Yuhao and Skydream Iceworm grabbed their bowls and headed to the cafeteria.
Straight to the most expensive stall.
"Ten portions of the top-tier dish!"
"Coming right up," the worker responded with a practiced smile and started plating.
For the past month and a half, Huo Yuhao had been eating like this.
The top-tier breakfast dish is made from thousand-year soul beast meat.
While Shrek Academy food is slightly cheaper than outside, they still profit—except from this loss-leading top-tier dish, which is limited per meal.
Huo Yuhao: What? Shrek's losing money on this? Buy it!
Of course, even then, the cost is high.
Ten portions came to over 300 gold soul coins.
He spent nearly 1,000 gold coins per day—over 50,000 in just a month and a half.
Not even the teachers dared to eat like this.
Mainly because most soul masters can't digest that much food efficiently.
But Huo Yuhao and Skydream Iceworm didn't have that issue.
They carried their ten dishes and sat casually in a cafeteria corner, eating away.
Other students were stunned, suddenly finding their own hundred-year beast meat less appetizing.
Many recognized Huo Yuhao as the cafeteria's resident "big spender" and knew they couldn't compare.
The stares didn't bother Huo Yuhao one bit.
The food he ate was quickly converted into cultivation energy and absorbed by him and the Frost Centipede.
With the help of [Medicinal Blood Technique], Huo Yuhao's body steadily strengthened, and his soul power rose.
As for the Frost Centipede, the food became nutrients to raise the age of its life soul ring.
Initially, Yan Shaozhe was concerned about Huo Yuhao's lavish spending and "gluttony."
But Huo Yuhao explained they were using this method to increase the soul ring's age and enhance his body.
After that, Yan Shaozhe didn't interfere anymore.
Of course, he also stopped giving Huo Yuhao any more gold coins—
Because he knew Huo Yuhao had made over two million.
Who do you think approved the withdrawal for that kind of money?
After the meal,
Huo Yuhao put away his variant Ice Jade Centipede Martial Soul and headed contentedly to his class.
He had to admit—top-quality cuisine was truly exceptional. Not only did it aid in cultivation, but it also tasted fantastic.
Upon arriving at class,
it was nearly time for lessons to begin. To his surprise, all the students of Class Two were already present. No one was chatting away; many were even napping.
Huo Yuhao took his seat.
Soon, Huang Tao arrived. Seeing his class in this state, he nodded in satisfaction.
He couldn't help but sigh, "Such hardworking kids…"
Compared to a month ago, the students of Class Two were like completely different people.
Their spirits and energy had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Though fatigue was written all over their faces, they now carried a tenacious aura and looked far more seasoned.
The biggest change was among the girls who used to always surround Huo Yuhao.
Now, those girls wore dark circles under their eyes, clearly exhausted.
Yet, their spirit energy was more refined than it had been a month ago. In fact, each of them had increased their soul power by at least one level.
It was obvious they'd been training hard.
Their current state wasn't much different from the elite Class One students trained by Zhou Yi, though they weren't as emotionally numb.
What caused such a change?
It wasn't because Huang Tao started copying Zhou Yi's methods—his teaching approach hadn't changed at all.
So, were the girls and students like this due to a distortion of human nature, or a collapse of morality…?
Well, actually, Huo Yuhao had placed mental suggestions on the girls.
Over the past month, he had subconsciously influenced them to train harder and cultivate more diligently.
One day, after being thoroughly drilled by Yan Shaozhe, Huo Yuhao had been enjoying some top-quality food while watching the relaxed girls around him. Feeling grateful for their earlier "gift," he decided to return the favor with a blessing.
That blessing was: mental suggestion.
——"How can you sleep at your age? Get up and train! If you're not dead, keep training till you are!"
He reinforced this suggestion every day, ensuring they wouldn't slack off.
The 10,000 gold soul coins he had given each of them were also turned into fuel for their cultivation—spent like flowing water.
They couldn't afford thousand-year soul beast meat, so they opted for more cost-effective hundred-year versions instead.
And so, the girls began to grind.
And the rest of the class had no choice but to grind too.
The atmosphere was too intense—not joining the grind simply wasn't an option.
Even Xie Huanyue, a three-ring Soul Elder who was almost guaranteed to pass the assessment, was forced to train daily.
If everyone else was training and he wasn't, wouldn't that disrupt class unity?
The result of a month of relentless effort:
The girls now had a much higher chance of passing the freshman assessment, and Class Two's overall pass rate was greatly improved.
—In the classroom—
Huang Tao stood at the podium and placed his teaching materials on the desk.
Today, he didn't start class right away.
Because the three-month period was up—it was time for the freshman assessment!
"First of all, I want to praise everyone for your hard work over the past three months. You are the most dedicated class of freshmen I've ever taught."
"..."
However, silence followed.
Everyone was too exhausted from grinding to even applaud.
"Ahem, anyway, on to business," Huang Tao coughed lightly and shifted the topic.
"Three months have passed since the semester began. Now comes your first major assessment at Shrek Academy. Only those who pass will officially become first-year students and true members of Shrek Academy. If everything goes smoothly, you'll be allowed to continue cultivating here until the end-of-year exams. The assessment begins tomorrow, so today I'll go over some key points."
"!!!"
The students all froze for a moment—eyes, dulled by exhaustion, suddenly lit up.
What?
Three months already?
The assessment is tomorrow?
They'd been so busy grinding that they almost forgot the main event!
The students of Class Two instantly sat up straight, fully attentive to what Huang Tao had to say.
Even Huo Yuhao blinked in surprise. "It's already time?"
Huang Tao nodded in satisfaction.
Now that's the reaction I want to see.
Then came a part familiar to readers of the original story:
Since students would be reclassified after the assessment based on their future development direction, Huang Tao asked class monitor Xie Huanyue to distribute forms for everyone to fill out.
Huo Yuhao filled in the form with three characters: Control System.
After all, Yan Shaozhe was training him in that direction.
Next came the team formations.
This year's assessment required teams of three.
There were 100 students in the class. With three per team, that left one extra.
So Huang Tao used his authority to try and recommend a Spirit-type student to the Soul Tool Department, exempting them from the assessment.
Spirit-type soul masters were in high demand by the Soul Tool Department, as they were believed to have an edge in soul tool crafting.
However, that student declined after some thought. Not because he enjoyed defying others, but because he truly wished to continue training in the Martial Soul Department. He was already a Grandmaster—there was a chance he could pass the assessment.
Unless someone had a deep passion or no shot at passing the test, going to Shrek to learn soul tools instead of soul mastery was like buying a box for the sake of the box itself.
Eventually, the spot was given to a support-type soul master instead.
Learning to use and craft soul tools was now a popular path for support-type soul masters.
Then Huang Tao began the group assignments.
After three months, he was intimately familiar with his students and could group them to maximize the number of students who passed the test.
"Group One: Xie Huanyue, Huo Yuhao, Lulu."
"Group Two…"
"..."
When the girls realized they weren't teamed with Huo Yuhao, they were visibly disappointed.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao began mentally reviewing information on his teammates.
Xie Huanyue — Defense-type Soul Elder with optimal soul ring combination. Martial Soul: Pi Pi Elephant.
First skill: Enlarges and increases weight.
Second skill: Extends and hardens arms, which gain immunity to special effects.
Third skill: Releases purple shockwaves for ranged attacks and boosts movement speed.
All solid skills.
Though labeled as a defense-type, he also packed quite a punch.
And despite his rotund, mountain-like appearance, he was quite agile—able to jump over 10 meters high and roll like a wrecking ball.
As for his other teammate, Lulu, she didn't appear in the original story.
"If I remember correctly," thought Huo Yuhao, "Lulu is a support-type Grandmaster. One skill is acceleration, the other is shielding…"
He had already memorized every student's data.
Don't ask why Brother Hao needs all this info. He just does.
Lulu — Support-type Grandmaster, best soul ring setup. Martial Soul: Fairy Wand.
Her soul power exceeded level 25.
She was easily the strongest support-type soul master in Class Two.
"Looks like we're the strongest group in Class Two. Huang Tao probably wants us to go for the championship," Huo Yuhao mused.
He was right.
If Huo Yuhao hadn't been around, Xie Huanyue's teammates would've been the Luo brothers—Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba.
Together, they'd form a pure offense squad.
The Luo brothers were agility-type soul masters with perfect synergy, making them Class Two's top duo.
But with Huo Yuhao in the mix, Huang Tao had another option.
In terms of individual power, Huo Yuhao and Xie Huanyue were the strongest.
Even though Huo Yuhao had never explicitly revealed his soul skills, he had hinted that they were powerful, toxic, and dangerous.
So Huang Tao decided to pair them with a support-type to boost endurance and reduce risk.
He also remembered something Dean Du Weilun mentioned when excusing Huo Yuhao from class—vaguely implying Huo had spent over a month training with the academy's upper echelon.
A student worthy of attention from Shrek's top brass… how could he be anything but extraordinary?