They headed back towards the dormitory. Although Wang Dong looked frustrated as he carried the cooking equipment and some dirty dishes, he had no choice but to obey Huo Yuhao's request as the latter was in trouble of getting scolded by the academy for leaving his items on the side road.
Plus, he was a good samaritan. How could he not help his fellow classmate and roommate? Not like he was enticed to join Tang Sect by Huo Yuhao, no siree. He was just being a good friend.
"Good evening gramps," Huo Yuhao respectfully greeted the old man that sat in guard of the dormitory. Now that he had gotten used to the academy's atmosphere and rules, he was taking a guess on the old man's identity.
He was either a teacher or an elder guardian of the school. Why? Because this is a school, not an elder's retirement home. There was no way a family member of the school staff would just leave their grandfather in front of the student's dormitory either. So Huo Yuhao theorized that the old man on guard of the dormitory was a powerful soul master, at least an eight-ringed Soul Douluo.
That was more than enough to make him feel respectful of the old man.
The old man opened one of his muddled eyes, casting an inquisitive glance at the sort of items in Wang Dong's hands.
"Ah, little Yuhao, little Dong. What brings you back so late? And what are these things you're carrying?" the old man asked with a hoarse voice.
Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, "I was out making money by selling some dishes I learned back in my hometown, gramps. These are just some cooking equipment and dishes that we forgot to bring back earlier. I want to ask if there's some place I can store them?"
The old man nodded and said, "Oho. It's good that you're taking responsibility for your belongings. Remember, cleanliness and discipline are important virtues of a person, whether they are a soul master or not. Now, go on, it's getting late. Get some rest and just put them in that shed over there."
"Thanks, gramps." Huo Yuhao smiled.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked towards the mentioned shed and both nodded in agreement before heading towards it, storing the items, they bid the old man goodnight and entered the dormitory.
As they walked towards their room, Wang Dong couldn't help but ask, "Yuhao, why do you always show so much respect towards the old man? I mean, he's just a guard, right?"
Huo Yuhao shrugged, putting his hands behind his head. "I was taught to be respectful towards elders." specifically his Ancestor.
"Oh," Wang Dong nodded. "Hey, about my recruitment into Tang Sect...."
"Wait till tomorrow, I need permission by teacher Xiao Ya and senior brother."
They entered their room. Wang Dong cultivated for a little while, an hour at best, before hitting the hay while Huo Yuhao continued on circulating the Mysterious Heaven Technique in expanding his meridians for the whole night.
The next day, they woke up, Huo Yuhao cultivated his Purple Demon Eyes as usual and both of them headed towards the cafeteria to get some breakfast.
On the way, Huo Yuhao was approached by a familiar young man with scholarly handsome looks.
"Good morning, senior brother."
"Hello junior brother," Bei Bei said with a smile, he then stretched out a clenched hand towards Huo Yuhao. "take out your hand, I have something to give you. And it's very precious so use your illusion technique to make it seem as though I'm giving you some money."
Huo Yuhao nodded in understanding and took his hand underneath Bei Bei's, who then gave out his gift.
"This is..." Huo Yuhao looked at the gift Bei Bei gave him, which looked like a gold coin to others, but was actually something like a marble, white and blue in color and was emitting a cool and refreshing feeling.
"What is it?" Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao's hand and immediately slumped his shoulders in disappointment. "Eh, what the heck? It's just a single gold coin."
"Did you not hear what senior brother had said?" Huo Yuhao scoffed.
"Nope. Is it something else than just a gold coin?" Wang Dong tilted his head.
"..." Huo Yuhao didn't say anything, his eyes changed into Sharingan, and used his skill for Wang Dong to see what it was. The latter went wide eyed.
"No way! Is that a freaking–" His mouth was immediately covered by Huo Yuhao's hand.
"Shh!"
"Idiot, shut up."
Both Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao respectively stared at Wang Dong with caution, warning him to keep his voice down. Wang Dong quickly nodded and apologized, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Senior brother, what is this?" Huo Yuhao asked in a hushed tone.
"I know what it is," Wang Dong interjected excitedly and explained. "It's a Mystic Water Pill! It's an extremely mystical pill that cleanses one's body, heals you, and increases your soul power by a margin. Furthermore, its medicinal properties are extremely gentle, so a soul master of any rank is capable of absorbing its medicinal efficacy extremely well. As for soul masters below the twentieth rank, it can increase their soulforce by a rank at least. However, its most valuable aspect isn't this; it's the fact that it can cleanse your muscles as well as your bone marrow!"
Huo Yuhao's eyes brightened and hurriedly asked, "It strengthens and nourishes one's body? Does that include one's meridians?"
"Of course!"
Wang Dong went on to explain more but Huo Yuhao already understood its use and no longer paid attention.
He was excited.
This was it! His cultivation wasn't lacking, in fact he was even leagues beyond Wang Dong's own, and he was a Soul Grandmaster! It was because his body was in poor quality, his meridians specifically due to lack of care and grooming after he awakened his martial soul.
If he could fix this sooner than he first expected with the Mysterious Heaven Technique, then his overall combat abilities would skyrocket. His jutsus especially, it wouldn't be the last when he used the Great Fireball Technique on Xu Sanshi — it would roast him.
"Senior brother, thank you." Huo Yuhao bowed towards Bei Bei, his eyes were wet but he wouldn't shed a tear. He promised himself that he wouldn't shed any more tears after his mother's death.
This just shows how much he appreciated Bei Bei's gift. Most people would try to refuse and beat around the bush, but Huo Yuhao was intelligent and honest. He knew that his senior brother must have paid some high price to get this pill.
Instead of being skittish, he would accept it and return the favor by action rather than words. He stood up straight and looked determined.
"No need to thank me, junior brother. Just make sure to use it wisely and make the most out of its benefits. Remember, strength comes from within," Bei Bei replied with a smile.
Huo Yuhao nodded and pocketed the Mystic Water Pill carefully. "Senior brother, when's the optimal time I should absorb this?"
"Hm. Tonight is the most optimal time, oh but you should do it in a bathtub or somewhere that isn't in your room. Trust me, it's going to get filthy."
They talked as they walked towards the cafeteria and the trio had an especially scrumptious breakfast. Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were the first to leave the cafeteria as Bei Bei waited for Tang Ya to arrive.
"There's still a while till we have to be in class. I'm going to head back to the nearby wilderness to train a bit." Huo Yuhao patted his satisfied belly and stretched his body for a while with a content look on his face.
Wang Dong rolled his eyes and replied, "Train, train. Save it. Bowstrings that have been stretched too tightly will break, you know. If you need to relax, then you should just relax. Let's take a walk by Sea God Lake and relax for a while. This is a cause for celebration y'know! You received a Mystic Water Pill, you need to relax man."
Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment and nodded, "Alright. I've wanted to check out the lake for a while now." Ever since entering the academy a few days ago, he still had yet to visit Sea God Lake.
The two left the dining hall and cut through the school building for new students as they headed to the east along the south side of Shrek Plaza. Soon afterwards, they arrived at the alley to the lakeside.
As they passed through the forest next to the alley, Sea God Lake, with its gleaming waves that were reflected in the sunlight, and its water that was both clear and crystalline, was presented before their eyes.
A gust of wind that contained a gentle mist mixed with fresh air buffeted them. Even though Sea God Lake was a man-made lake, the water that it held was extremely clear. The lake reflected an inverted image of the blue sky and white clouds, as well as the trees that lined the lakeside.
"So beautiful!" Wang Dong exclaimed, excitement clear on his face as he closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh, clean air.
Huo Yuhao felt the same way as he set his gaze onwards the Sea God Lake, feeling a sense of tranquility and peace.
'....Yup, this is where I'm starting my final soul power control training.' He observed the lake.
Even without his Sharingan, he could faintly see what seemed to be houses amidst the mist that rested upon the surface of the lake in the distance, the inner courtyard most likely. He couldn't help but what kind of secrets it holds. After all, this school had stood for over ten thousand years. There'd be bound to be a lot of secrets held in it.
Are the bodies of the original Shrek Seven Monsters resting there? There were a lot of legends about them, their rise to the peak and defeating the Spirit Hall being the most well known, but their ending varied.
An example was his ancestors, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. The famous ending of their lives he heard from his mother said that they returned to the empire and became the nation's greatest guardians until the day they died at the unprecedented age of 1,200 and were buried in the royal tomb.
But his mother believed in a different ending, the most unbelievable one. The one where they followed after Thousand-Hand Douluo Tang San and became Gods. A lot of people didn't believe in it because the Dai family and Zhu family, especially their descendants, didn't show any signs of Godly gifts or higher level of talents compared to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
"Eh?" As Huo Yuhao was preoccupied with his thoughts, he suddenly saw what appeared to be a red dot appear in the mist above the lake.
"What is it?" Wang Dong asked curiously.
Huo Yuhao pointed in the direction that he was looking. "Look, there seems to be some sort of red dot over there."
"Huh?" Wang Dong squinted his eyes, following Huo Yuhao's finger. However, all he saw was a sea of mist. "Where?" He was questioning Huo Yuhao's words one moment, when in the next moment, he opened his eyes wide and stared.
He'd also seen the so-called red dot that Huo Yuhao had mentioned. However, it wasn't some red dot. It was clearly a red-coloured figure that was currently running on the surface of the water at an astonishing speed. Moreover, it looked like they were rushing in their direction!
"An upperclassman from the inner courtyard?!" Both yelled out in surprise.
As the figure got closer, Huo Yuhao was also able to see them even better. The red colour wasn't only due to the fact that the clothes on its body were red in colour, but even their hair was a blood-red colour. The figure was slender, yet was emitting a sort of biting fierceness and steam from their whole body, just like a frightening soul beast. The figure was wearing a mask that was also similarly red in colour; even their eyes were blood-red.
The air surrounding its body seemed to be distorting slightly. The mist would even somewhat dissipate beneath her feet wherever she passed.
Huo Yuhao felt a bad feeling.
"This senior seems to be very strong! Look, she can even run on the surface of the water without releasing her Martial Soul." Wang Dong said to Huo Yuhao with an excited look on his face.
"No, something's wrong Wang Dong. Get your wings out and fly us out of here!"
The red figure was too fast. In the period that they'd been conversing with each other, the figure had already approached the hundred-metre radius of the shore. A frightening surge of heat engulfed them in that instant.
Wang Dong finally sensed the danger they were truly in and azure wings had spread out from his back. He grabbed ahold of Huo Yuhao in an attempt to take flight. The latter then threw the only two smokebombs he got from Tang Ya at the approaching red figure in an attempt to throw them off.
The smokebombs exploded and grey smoke engulfed the figure but in a blink of an eye it was snuffed out with powerful soul power red undulations emitted by the mysterious figure.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were only a few feet into the air but it was of no use.
The terrifying heat burst forth in an instant, causing both Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao to feel as though they'd been enveloped by a sea of fire. The wings on Wang Dong's back crumpled in an instant, making it so that he could no longer fly. The duo fell to the ground at the same time. All of the vegetation in an area ten metres around the figure had turned burnt-yellow in an instant.
The difference in their cultivations was really too great. Wang Dong tried using his soul skills but he couldn't concentrate in the heat and immediately fell unconscious.
Huo Yuhao too had been trying to put the girl into a genjutsu but her scalding hot flames kept him from concentrating and her consciousness was in too much chaos that it was useless to put them in an illusion, because they themselves weren't conscious! They were in some sort of berserk state.
The only reason he was still awake was because still had an ice-type martial soul that had yet to take form.
However, his soul power that was only at the peak of the fourteenth rank was rapidly consumed by the girl's extreme heat in just a second. Moreover, that red dressed girl was swatting a large flaming hand in his direction.
'Is this it? Is this how my life would end?' In that moment, Huo Yuhao felt his life flashed before his eyes. He clenched his teeth. 'No! I refuse to! I haven't killed that man, humiliate their family and honor my mother.'
'I refuse to die here!'
He felt unresigned, determined to fight until the end. As the large hand came closer, Huo Yuhao unconsciously activated his Sharingan, watching the large flaming hand heading towards him in an extremely slow motion.
In that exact moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a surge in his soul power and simultaneously a drain in both spiritual power and soul power began, almost making him lose consciousness.
Unbeknownst to Huo Yuhao, the two golden comma-like pupils revolving in each of his Sharingan eyes, a third one suddenly came into existence. The three tomoe Sharingan has been awakened!
Just as he was on the verge of becoming unconscious and become barbecue, a familiar aged voice echoed from the depths of his spiritual sea and reached his ears.
"Brat, good job. Rest now. You've earned it," Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, having no longer the energy to stay awake. The next moment however, he opened his eyes. But something was different.
Blood began dripping out his eyes, leaving straight bloodstains on his cheeks.
Instead of the newly awakened three tomoe Sharingan, a crimson six-pointed star appeared in each of his eyes. And the air around him immediately changed. As this was no longer Huo Yuhao,
"I, Indra Ōtsutsuki, will handle everything now." He proclaimed, his face devoid of any emotions. He met the large flaming with a cold stare, his left eye pulsed.
"Such meager flames, disappear from my sight. Kagutsuchi!"
.....
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•Vora
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