"Hahaha!"
Huo Yuhao's face twitched. "It's not funny."
Wang Dong'er waved her hands to their friends; Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng and Ning Tian. They were hanging out in their usual place in the forest.
"Yeah guys, he's right. It's not funny." Her serious expression quickly crumbled. "It's hilarious! Hahaha!"
"Yuhao, you were like a piece of meat being fought over by two hungry dogs!" Xiao Xiao giggled, poking Huo Yuhao's side playfully.
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the visual, Xiao Xiao. Really appreciate it."
Wang Dong'er smiled warmly at him. "But seriously, Yuhao. What are you going to do?"
He shrugged. "Not my problem anymore. I'll just have to wait until they come to a decision."
Since he couldn't decide on what to do, Huo Yuhao silently took a step back and let the two deans fight it off. After a few minutes of arguing, Yan Shaozhe then decided they'll talk it out in a meeting in the Sea God's Pavilion, which Xian Lin'er accepted.
After that, Zhou Yi quickly rounded up the students back to their classroom, gave a very inspiring speech and instructions about passing the exam, and then let them out for the rest of the afternoon.
"Yuhao, how did you get so big?" Wu Feng asked, looking up at Huo Yuhao with admiration. Her face red as her hair.
"Train and lift, simple as that." Huo Yuhao chuckled.
Ning Tian smiled at them both.
"... Yuhao, what do you want to talk to us about?" She asked.
They all turned to Huo Yuhao, awaiting his response. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.
"This is matter between sect members, but I trust you two as well so listen up." He turned towards Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao. "Tang Sect is no more, teacher Xiao Ya has officially passed on the leadership to me; and I have revived it under a different name."
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, that's huge news!" Xiao Xiao exclaimed.
"But... why would she dissolved the sect? It's her family's legacy." Wang Dong'er bit her lip, her heart felt constricted.
Ning Tian nodded in agreement. "I concur. Tang Sect was once the number one sect of the continent and had helped shaped our history, that sort of glory and the determination I saw in her eyes when she talked about Tang Sect's values... As the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, I can sorta understand her. It's hard to believe she would just dissolve it."
Huo Yuhao softly sighed. "... Ning Tian, Wu Feng, I'm sorry but I'm only going to say the reason as to why she gave leadership to me and dissolved Tang Sect to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao."
Both of them nodded, "We understand." Ning Tian said.
Huo Yuhao's eyes shone as he used his soul skill to telepathically communicate with both Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao.
And they were shocked by what he had revealed. Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in astonishment, while Wang Dong'er's expression turned grave.
After Huo Yuhao finished explaining, Xiao Xiao whispered, "That's... that's horrible. I didn't think senior Tang Ya's life before this would that horrible."
"But Huo Yuhao, you..."
Huo Yuhao shook his head at Wang Dong'er's look. "I am forever grateful for teacher Xiao Ya and Bei Bei helping me out. Teaching me the Tang Sect's secret techniques, helping me enroll into this school, but I am a very selfish person as well. My loyalty isn't to some fallen organization, but to the ones I care about." he explained telepathically.
"But then why...?"
"Teacher Xiao Ya has simply given up on the sect, probably even long before her parents' death. You know that Tang Sect has no longer been a functioning sect for hundreds of years now, with Tang Ya and her parents being the only members left before us who came along. Her motivation in her cultivation is to avenge her parents, reviving the sect was simply a means to that end. But now that she sees another path forward, she's chosen to let go of the past and focus on her personal journey."
Wang Dong'er's expression softened as she absorbed Huo Yuhao's words. "It must have been a heavy burden for her to carry all these years."
Huo Yuhao nodded solemnly. "Indeed. But now, she's happy and wants to help build up the sect now as the vice-sect master."
It always surprises him that she quickly accepted and adjusted to her role. But then again, she probably didn't think much of the sect other than her family. As he had said, Tang Sect had no longer function as a true sect for hundreds of years and it was more of a personal pursuit for Tang Ya.
"I'm just glad she's found peace," Huo Yuhao said, his voice tinged with relief.
Wang Dong'er tilted her head. "Wait, what about us?"
"Huh? What do you mean "us"?"
"Xiao Xiao and I, what are we going to be? What's the new hierarchy of this "new" sect of yours?"
"Oh yeah! And what's the new name of the sect?" Xiao Xiao grinned, excitement bubbling in her voice.
Huo Yuhao smiled at their enthusiasm. "For now, the hierarchy would be; sect master, two vice-sect master(Tang Ya and Bei Bei), and disciples. So, yeah, there's not much difference of your status as before."
"Eh?!" They both cried out in disbelief, their eyes wide.
"Hnk!" Wu Feng almost burst out laughing, unable to contain her amusement at their reaction. Ning Tian also was covering her mouth to stifle a laugh, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "You two seem shocked!"
Xiao Xiao's shoulders slumped. "Well, that's to be expected. We're still rebuilding the sect with a small number of people after all, without a base of operations as well."
"Yup. I can't exactly give you titles when we're still building up the foundations. Moreover, your proficiency in the Tang Sect secret techniques and the Shinobi Arts are still around intermediate level. Does it feel right to be given something like the elder title when you two are still in the process of mastering the skills?"
"Point. But wait, teacher Xiao Ya is still letting us learn the Tang Sect secret techniques? Even though..."
"Hmhm. She agreed to it easily enough, but considering the new sect is basically Tang Sect's successor, it makes sense for us to continue learning and practicing those techniques," Huo Yuhao explained.
Wang Dong'er grunted, poking at his side. "Still, can't you make us like, core disciples or something? We're best friends, aren't we?
"The sect will not condone nepotism."
"Tch. Stingy. Also, you haven't told us the name of this new sect of yours."
A smile spread across Huo Yuhao's lips.
"Akatsuki, an ancient word from my family that means dawn or daybreak. That's the name of our sect."
Meanwhile, in the most sacred land of Shrek Academy where the true monsters and powerhouses are nurtured and live. A small land in the middle of a vast and beautiful lake, with a great towering golden tree in the middle of it that people from shore could easily see.
Sea God Island.
Sea God's Island had several buildings on it, but one among them was unquestionably the tallest and grandest. This building was the Sea God's Pavilion, situated in the heart of the island.
Sea God's Pavilion was six floors tall, and every floor was more than ten meters high, which resulted in an extremely grand structure. In turn, the mist that pervaded the island year-round made it so that Shrek Academy's outer courtyard was unable to see it clearly.
Sea God's Pavilion was the most important place within Shrek Academy, as the Hall of Consecration was located within it. The secret library that Fan Yu had spoken to Huo Yuhao about was also located here. There were also a few secrets not known to anyone located here as well. Thus, there was no lack of extremely valuable treasures here.
Meetings would be held at Sea God's Island every time a major event happened within Shrek Academy. These meetings were of the highest importance to the academy. Only the Deans and Vice Deans of the Martial Soul Department and Soul Engineering Department, along with the resident elders of the Hall of Consecration, had the right to take part in these meetings. Important matters would be resolved through a show of hands.
The Dean and Vice Dean of both departments had one vote each in these meetings.
Currently, the grand conference hall was completely silent. Inside of the room, ten people sat around a long oval table. A recliner had been placed at the innermost section, where the head of the long table sat.
The light around the recliner was extremely dim; one could only faintly see that a person seemed to be lying on it. Compared to the ten people sitting around the round table, his posture caused him to appear particularly unusual.
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo sat on the right hand side of the long table, at the very end, while Yan Shaozhe and a woman who looked to be around fifty years old sat at the end of the table on the left hand side. The woman looked like she'd been extremely beautiful when she was young.
Though they were both women, she didn't even glance in Xian Lin'er's direction. She instead maintained a stern appearance as she sat next to Yan Shaozhe. Just like Qian Duoduo, they sat opposite one another.
Besides the four of them, the six people who were sitting closer to front of the table were all Elders. Every single one of them were old, gray-haired individuals. Of course, their forms were different, a fact that could be seen through the way each of them sat.
Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo, Yan Shaozhe, and that woman that looked fifty years old sat in a comparatively proper manner, while the Elders all sat in various postures.
"Now that everyone has arrived, let's begin the meeting. Shaozhe, take charge of the meeting." A gentle voice rang out. Hearing this voice would cause one to feel as if their soul and mind had been cleansed, yet it wasn't enough to discern the owner's age. This voice came from the head of the table—from the one lying on the recliner that was hidden within the darkness.
"Yes, teacher." Yan Shaozhe stood and bowed towards the person sitting at the head of the table.
"Teacher and fellow resident elders, Lin'er and I have gathered everyone here today and initiated a Sea God's Island meeting for a matter that will decide whether or not our academy will continue to prosper in the centuries to come."
Bang!
Xian Lin'er violently slammed her hand down on the table, a scowl on her face. "Cut the chit chat and stop trying to scare people Yan Shaozhe. Get to the point."
The elders became somewhat shocked when she slammed her hand down on the table.
The old woman who was sitting to the right of the chairperson frowned and said, "Lin'er, this is a meeting on Sea God's Island. If you're going to make a ruckus, get out."
The old woman's hair was as white as snow, but there weren't many wrinkles on her face. An extremely gentle glow was also present within her eyes. No matter what way one looked at it, she looked like an amiable old grandmother. She then turned towards Yan Shaozhe, gave him a small smile, and said, "Shaozhe, continue."
"Yes, Elder Lin." Yan Shaozhe looked towards Xian Lin'er.
Xian Lin'er turned her head to the side, refusing to look him in the eyes.
Yan Shaozhe lowered his voice and said, "To all the resident elders, the matter is as follows…" As he spoke, he didn't conceal the truth. He began narrating Huo Yuhao's performance without missing a single detail.
When they heard what he had to say, surprised looks on all of the resident elder's faces. Elder Xuan in particular had knit his eyebrows closely together—as if he could no longer see the drumstick before him.
There were two ways a Sea God's Island meeting could be held. One was the periodic meeting that was held annually, while the other was an interim meeting. The periodic meetings were normal, but when an interim meeting was held, it implied that something major had happened in the academy. The few times that an interim meeting had been held throughout the course of history had decided the direction that the continent would head towards.
It was definitely worth hosting a interim meeting for an Ultimate attribute soul master. However, when the resident elders realized that the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Engineering Department were fighting over the student, their expressions relaxed quite a bit. This was an internal problem; it should be relatively easy to settle compared to other matters.
As soon as Yan Shaozhe had finished speaking and had sat down, Qian Duoduo immediately stood up.
"Fellow elders, I don't completely agree with Dean Yan's narration. Sure he's extremely talented as a soul master, but similarly, no, greater than that as well, he excels as a Soul Engineer. Within a short three months of learning under Fan Yu, he learned everything that my disciple could teach him and reached an unbelievable class 3 Soul Engineer."
"If his cultivation hadn't hindered him, he might already been at class 4! And now that he's a Soul Ancestor, he might possibly be a Class 5 Soul Engineer now when I examine him. No one, not even in the Sun Moon Empire, has a child this talented."
"Furthermore, the Soul Tool Department has already decided to put all of our resources into nurturing this child. We shall strive to nurture him into Shrek Academy's first Class 9 soul engineer within ten years. It could even be possible that he becomes the continent's first Class 10 soul engineer!"
"In order to nurture Huo Yuhao, Dean Xian, Fan Yu, and I have talked things over. We've decided that the Ultimate Soldier Plan will rest on his shoulders. As such, He Caitou—who was originally tasked with carrying out this plan—will act as an auxiliary soul engineer and will help educate him."
"Fellow resident elders, I can understand Dean Yan's feelings; an Ultimate-type martial soul is indeed extremely important to the Martial Soul Department. However, is it not important to the Soul Engineering Department as well? Their department has already become the number one martial soul department on the continent, yet ours hasn't. We're always striving to do our best in the hopes that we'll make a breakthrough. Yet, what do we lack the most? Talent! Fellow resident elders, please think this through."
Qian Duoduo went straight to the point without beating around the bush. His words were far more direct than Yan Shaozhe's had been. In reality, the Soul Engineering Department was actually being reasonable about this matter.
Xian Lin'er then added a finisher, as she said, "Vice-dean Qian's intentions are my intentions. The Soul Engineering Department is willing to stake everything on this child. If he's unable to fulfill the Ultimate Soldier Plan, I'm willing to resign from my position as Dean of the Soul Engineering Department."
Yan Shaozhe and the woman sitting beside him were shocked when they heard her say this. This was too cruel! Xian Lin'er really was being ruthless when she made this move.
It was true that the Martial Soul Department had held absolute dominance within the academy ever since Shrek Academy had been founded. However, when both departments were aligned side by side, Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo were on par with them in soul rank.
Even though most of the resident elders were from the Martial Soul Department, they couldn't disregard the opinions of both Deans from the Soul Engineering Department. This was even more true since the Soul Engineering Department were actually being reasonable about the matter.
Even so, they couldn't give up on the boy and a heated debate ensued further.
To the point that even the high elders, Elder Xuan and Elder Li, the true leaders of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Engineering Department respectively, joined in.
"No, we will not accept any trade! Huo Yuhao's already one of our core disciples, and we the Soul Engineering Department will absolutely not give in."
"As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, I'll declare where I stand. The appearance of an Ultimate soul master occurs less than once in a thousand years, and our Martial Soul Department cannot give up on a talent like this!"
Both parties weren't willing to give way to each other, and the various elders had awkward expressions on their faces. Regardless of how they settled this matter in the end, they would leave one party unhappy. Furthermore, this matter would definitely cause an enormous conflict between the two parties.
Even if the Martial Soul Department held an absolute advantage, the Soul Engineering Department was still an irreplaceable part of the academy. If they were to suffer a setback again, it would be overly detrimental to its development. There was even a high possibility that an outflow of talent would occur.
Because of that, the various elders were extremely cautious in their actions; none of them took the initiative to declare where they stood.
Just as things were getting too heated...
"All of you, sit down." The warm voice coming from the person seated at the head of the table rang out once again.
It was strange, though the voice sounded warm and comforting like a sweet grandpa, both opposing parties immediately curbed themselves a bit and sat back down.
"You've both expounded on your reasoning very clearly. However, haven't you all thought of a single possibility? Let me ask you this, when our Shrek Academy was founded at the very beginning, what was our original objective?"
"To nurture talented soul masters who are monsters. Shrek Academy only trains monsters, not ordinary people." Yan Shaozhe replied respectfully.
The warm voice said, "Correct, we only train monsters, not ordinary people. Since that's the case, why don't we be a bit more bold and train a true monster? This child Huo Yuhao has met the requirements to be considered a very gifted person. He's an orphan, and this means he won't be inclined toward any particular empire in the future. At the same time, it's very likely that he'll remain in the academy."
The warm voice suddenly laughed, and his laughter was slightly coarse. "You're all confused by the situation at hand. Since this kid was able to study in the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department at the same time for an entire year, although it was just his clone, without letting his studies fall, and instead displaying a genius-level performance, what are you fighting over? Why don't you just let him study in both fields at once?"
....
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