The soft, gentle sounds of the waves of Sea God's Lake echoed in the early morning. It was around the time that students would be up and about in the cafeteria, eating their breakfast.
But on the coastal road of Sea God Lake, facing towards the legendary Sea God Island, five students stood. Obviously, they were — Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng, and they were gripping their respective Golden Tree Sticks.
It had been half a month since they had returned to Shrek Academy, as per Huo Yuhao's excuse for rejecting Elder Mu's reward, momentarily, they attended to their unfinished business and take a much-needed respite from their arduous journey to the Star Luo City and attending the tournament.
Huo Yuhao especially needed a break, but as they say, no rest for the wicked he supposed.
He dispersed almost all of his shadow clones, most that were in Shrek Academy, and casted new shadow clones to delegate new tasks for them to do—mostly mastering jutsus and practicing new ones, teaching the new members of the Akatsuki of its rules, training, secret techniques, etc.
Huo Yuhao himself was training as usual; though he had to adapt to being only one-armed. Other than that, he was focused on creating a prosthetic left arm.
He would've normally had a shadow clone do it, but this one required careful and precise work that demanded his direct attention. A prosthetic of such caliber wasn't something he could entrust to a clone.
"Are you girls ready?" Huo Yuhao asked aloud, glancing at the girls.
"Ready to go!" Wang Dong'er raised a thumbs up.
Xiao Xiao smiled, "Of course we are. We were just waiting on you."
Ning Tian nodded. "She is right. We would've already be halfway done with whatever cultivation training Elder Mu had planned for us if you hadn't interrupted him."
"Not everyone here is a workaholic and training nut like you," Wu Feng added by lightly punching his arm.
"You girls should've spoken up if you wanted to go on ahead, I don't mind being left behind," Huo Yuhao said with a chuckle.
Wang Dong'er pouted, crossing her arms. "As if we'd leave you behind, Yuhao. Don't even joke about that."
Huo Yuhao softly smiled at her before turning his gaze down at the Golden Tree Stick in his hand. "Let's go."
"Yes!"
"Hmmm... Should we really snap it though? It really helps me out a lot and—" Wang Dong'er was reluctant to snap it. Although she has twin martial souls, she mainly uses her Butterfly Goddess—making her a light-based attack-type soul master.
It's obvious why she'd be reluctant, the stick helps increase her cultivation speed, mastery over the light element and her life force! How many treasures like this in the world exist? Probably in the range of counting one's hand.
It's a rare treasure that almost no one in the soul master world, except those affiliated with Shrek, possess—only an idiot would think to try and destroy it, even if the Sea God Pavilion Master said it was merely an item to transport them back to the underworld.
"What do you guys think—" Wang Dong'er turned to ask her friends, only to freeze in place when she saw only golden dusts around her.
"...."
"Bastard!" Wang Dong'er cried and without any hesitation, she snapped the stick and she too was quickly transported away.
"Hohohoho. Welcome, young Wang Dong'er. When I didn't see you alongside your friends, I thought you had refrained from joining." Elder Mu's voice was heard, sounding slightly amused.
When Wang Dong'er opened her eyes, she saw that she was in the Academy's Underworld and Elder Mu sitting on his wheelchair with Huo Yuhao and the rest standing around—teasing smiles on their faces as they stared at her.
'I'll get you guys back for this!' She inwardly swore.
"A-Apologies for being late, Elder Mu." Wang Dong'er quickly composed herself and cupped her hands.
Mu En lightly waved his hand, "That's alright. You all deserved a well rested vacation after what you have achieved." He glanced at Huo Yuhao with a slight dirty look.
"Although, one of you specifically hadn't done what he said he was going to do."
Huo Yuhao wryly smiled. "Hehe..."
"Forget it. Come now, head to the room I will assign each of you. It's time to begin your closed-door cultivation." Elder Mu gestured toward a pathway that seemed to glow faintly with ethereal golden light.
The group exchange a look before nodding respectfully towards Mu En and heading down the pathway to their respective room.
.....
"Is this it?" Huo Yuhao softly muttered as he looked up at the wooden door, which looked the same as the others he passed.
"Alright. Let's see what you have in store for us, elder Mu." Huo Yuhao opened the door and went inside.
The moment he entered, his eyes went wide.
He expected a room of darkness to test his will, a room full of beasts or bloodthirsty murderers to test his courage, or even a room filled with illusions to test his mind.
What he didn't expect was a serene, sunlit meadow.
The door shut silently behind him, disappearing away into thin air and the noise of the outside world faded away.
The air smelled of fresh grass and wildflowers, a soft breeze brushing against his face. In the distance, a single tree stood tall, its branches swaying gently, casting dappled shadows on the ground beneath it. Below it was a smooth rock, seemingly fit for someone to sit and meditate.
Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. "A peaceful meadow? This.... doesn't seem right."
He took a cautious step forward, his senses on high alert. Despite the tranquility, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. He immediately went into Mangekyou Sharingan mode and looked around him, only to be shocked to find that he couldn't find the outside world anymore!
'Could it be....a pocket dimension?! No wonder only inner courtyard students and elders have the privilege to enter the Underworld of Shrek Academy. This place isn't just a training ground—it's a separate space altogether!' Huo Yuhao thought, his mind racing.
He looked all over, his Spiritual Detection covered the entire area—which was just around 500 diameters of land.
He was...baffled! Bamboozled! What was going on here?
"Uh, what exactly am I supposed to do here?"
"Huo Yuhao." Elder My's gentle voice rang in Huo Yuhao's mind, jolting him.
"Elder Mu?"
"Yes. Just continue on cultivating in this space, your efforts will reap greater rewards here, and this experience will be be very valuable to your future cultivation. But it's not just about your cultivation here. More importantly, you have to find your path here."
"I have to be honest with you, Yuhao. From what I've seen, you are likely the most talented student the Academy has ever come across in its long history. Perfect foundation, cultivation in both soul and spiritual powers, and powerful soul rings that shouldn't be possible for your peers to have."
However, talent could only bring someone so far. This is a result of your hard work, determination, and the many sacrifices you've made along the way."
Elder Mu's voice changed a little, "Speaking of which, why didn't you choose the Ultimate Ice to be your main martial soul, but instead chose your so-called Sharingan?"
Huo Yuhao replied, "That's because the Ice Jade Scorpion is too powerful. Its powers can only be fully unleashed when I'm at least Soul King level."
Elder Mu laughed and asked, "Little fellow, what's the level of your Ice Jade Scorpion's first soul ring?"
"...." Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes.
"Hundred thousand year soul ring, am I right?" Elder Mu's words were like a hammer striking metal to Huo Yuhao's ears.
"That's..."
"No need to deny it." Elder Mu went on to explain that he had weird feeling about his second martial soul and decided to investigate it thoroughly, to the point he even went to the Extreme North to capture a Ice Jade Scorpion!
After some contemplation, he came to the conclusion that Huo Yuhao's second martial soul was the leader of the Ice Jade Scorpions, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, the second among the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North and among the Top Ten Great Savage Beasts.
Just as Huo Yuhao was inwardly sweating bullets, Elder Mu went on to say that the former had met with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. Not wanting her legacy to be forgotten, just before she died, she had sealed her powers and passed them into him—becoming his martial soul, soul ring and soul bone!
Wut? He's....wrong, but technically right? Mu En appeared even more terrifying in Huo Yuhao's eyes as he came dangerously close to the truth.
"—It's quite unfortunate I didn't manage to see you unleash more of its power in the tournament." Elder Mu sighed.
'Wait, what did he just say?' Huo Yuhao felt as though his heart had stopped in fear.
Elder Mu's voice turned stern, "You've guessed correctly, I even saw the.... nightmare you caused in the Star Luo City! Possessing a third martial soul that raises the dead, if it weren't such an evil martial soul, I would've been more impressed. After all, there hasn't ever been a documented case of someone possessing three martial souls!"
There was a brief, tense moment of silence.
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the sky.
"....Since I'm not dead or put into some kind of prison for having an evil martial soul, I'm guessing you've decided to give me the benefit of the doubt." He cautiously said, his tone guarded but respectful.
Elder Mu chuckled, his laughter calm but carrying a subtle weight. "Indeed. If I believed you to be a threat to Shrek or humanity, this conversation wouldn't be happening. But...I believe myself to have a great eye on a person's character, plus, you're no ordinary soul master, Yuhao."
"There are too many peculiarities on your body. If I didn't observe your body and verify that you were human, I might really suspect that you were a soul beast reborn. Everyone has their own destiny. I can't fully tell your condition, but I can see steadiness and sincerity on you."
Huo Yuhao let out a slow breath, his muscles relaxing slightly. "Then, why bring this up now, Elder Mu?"
Elder Mu smiled and replied, "Humans are.... unpredictable. Some show themselves to be a "good" person, while others commit atrocities in the name of a "just" cause. Nothing can ever be certain..."
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in realization, "You cornered me...you wanted to see how I'd react!"
Elder Mu let out a deep sigh. "That is correct. I am truly sorry for testing you like this, but I wanted to make sure. But understand, Yuhao, it wasn't out of distrust or malice. It was out of necessity."
"I understand..."
'I really do.' Dark lines appeared on Huo Yuhao's face. To be honest, if Mu En had pressed on more, he probably would've done something stupid!
Being interrogated with his life on the line, who wouldn't want to retaliate? Fortunately he had a tempered will and quickly guessed the intention behind Mu En's questioning.
"What am I supposed to do here?" After a while and sense of calmness washed over, Huo Yuhao spoke, utterly confused about the place he was in.
"Who knows~ You're the one trying to cultivate here, not me."
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AN: I didn't post this yesterday because of shitty internet connection, and that I was sick. Spent most of the day sleeping in bed.
2/3 chapters this week.