Huo Yuhao didn't forget to dig out the golden spirit coin from the grill that he'd earned from yesterday's roasted fish before following Tang Ya to see Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi compete. When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrived at the dining hall, they secretly felt a little rich and imposing.
The breakfast that they had was especially sumptuous, and greatly replenished their bodies' needs. They were the earliest to arrive at the dining hall, and even by the time they'd finished eating, not many students had arrived.
"There's still a while till we have to be in class. Let's return to the dorm room." Huo Yuhao patted his satisfied belly and stretched his body for a while with a content look on his face.
Ever since he arrived at Shrek Academy, he'd gradually become cheerful. He finally had friends here, but even more so, he had Teacher Xiao Ya and his Eldest Senior Brother Bei Bei who both cared about him. This was worlds better compared to the previous kind of atmosphere he'd experienced when he was in the Duke's mansion, where everything was ice-cold.
Wang Dong replied, "Save it. You're just gonna go back and cultivate again anyway. 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. The Mysterious Water Pill just helped you increase your cultivation by quite a bit; you shouldn't care about this short moment of relaxation."
"Alright then." Huo Yuhao happily agreed. Every since entering the academy a few days ago, he still had yet to visit Sea God Lake. Moreover, it really was almost time for them to head to class. It would be a good idea if he took the chance to take a walk too.
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 azure lake was blue to the point that its surface was both pure and deep, yet so blue that it was also tender, calm, and graceful. A slight ripple that looked like the luminous eyes of a young lady was also full of life that undulated on the surface of the lake and looked like a blue brocade.
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 couldn't help but inhale deeply, physically exerting himself as he stretched his body.
When he stretched his body, his shirt was inevitably pulled up, revealing his perfectly rounded and perky butt. Huo Yuhao absolutely didn't deliberately focus his attention on it, but an unintentional look was enough to remind him of the shining patch of white that he'd seen yesterday…
He turned his head away, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and looked far out into the distance across Sea God Lake. Sea God Lake occupied an extremely wide area; perhaps it was even larger than the main Shrek Academy campus that was to the west of Shrek Plaza. There was even a layer of fog atop the water's surface in the distance.
After Huo Yuhao's Purple Demon Eyes had evolved, the sight of his Spirit Eyes had substantially increased once again. Even though he hadn't poured soul power into his Spirit Eyes to activate them, Huo Yuhao could still see far into the distance. He faintly saw what seemed to be houses amidst the mist that rested upon the surface of the lake in the distance. He couldn't help but think that the inner courtyard was probably at that end of the lake, as he'd associated those houses with Xiao Ya and Bei Bei's description.
If such an outstanding Soul Master like his eldest senior brother was only able to study in the outer courtyard, then how strong would the upperclassmen from the inner courtyard be!?
"Eh?" At the exact moment that 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."
Wang Dong followed where Huo Yuhao's finger was pointing, and looked in the direction that he was pointing. 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. In addition to that, looking closely at the figure, it actually seemed to be rushing in their direction!
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both exchanged a glance before simultaneously crying out in surprise, "An upperclassman from the inner courtyard?!"
The red figure's speed was extremely shocking. In just a short period of time, it had already reached the center of the lake. Every time the tips of his toes briefly touched the surface of the lake, he'd create a ripple that spread out across the lake. However, he was also continuously speeding up with the help of that slight buoyancy from the lake, rapidly flying forwards like a red cloud.
As the figure got closer, Huo Yuhao was also able to see it even better. The red colour wasn't only due to the fact that the clothes on its body were red in colour, but even its hair was a blood-red colour. The figure was slender, yet was emitting a sort of biting fierceness from its whole body, just like a frightening soul beast. The figure was wearing a mask that was also similarly red in colour; even its eyes were blood-red.
The air surrounding its body seemed to be distorting slightly. The mist would even somewhat dissipate beneath his feet wherever he passed.
"This senior seems to be very strong! Look, he can even run on the surface of the water without releasing his Martial Soul." Wang Dong said to Huo Yuhao with an excited look on his face, as per his analysis of the situation.
Huo Yuhao's cultivation wasn't as good as his, but his perception was far more acute. "Wang Dong, why do I feel that something isn't right!?"
The red figure was truly 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. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had astonished looks enter their eyes at the same time, because they simultaneously felt that an indescribably wild aura had exploded from that senior's body. It definitely wasn't an aura that should appear from a normal person.
With a swish, azure wings had spread out from Wang Dong's back. He grabbed ahold of Huo Yuhao in an attempt to take flight. However, that red figure had already gotten close to them in the short span of Wang Dong's movements.
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 still wanted to try to release his soul skill, but just as he activated his soulforce, he immediately sustained an attack from that terrifying heat. With a dull groan, he immediately lost consciousness.
Huo Yuhao's cultivation was inferior to Wang Dong's, but one mustn't forget that he still had an ice-type martial soul that had yet to take form.
Once Huo Yuhao was subjected to the intense stimulation from the external heat, his ice-attribute martial soul was immediately awakened. However, his soulforce that was only at the peak of the twelfth rank was thoroughly consumed by the external heat in just a single second. Moreover, that red figure had already swatted a large hand in his direction.
The temperature of his surroundings was already so frightening. If he really was hit, wouldn't he die very tragically?
The last thing that Huo Yuhao could do was launch a Spirit Shock. However, the disparity between him and his opponent was too great. His Spirit Shock dissipated in the heat before it could even charge through that layer of strong fire-attribute aura. At this rate, he was going to vanish in a puff of smoke and ashes under that huge, scorching-hot palm.
It was at this exact moment that the sight before Huo Yuhao's eyes became a field of white, and everything in his surroundings became a blur.
Am I dead? Am I going to die like this? In this moment, when death was approaching, the feeling that he had in his heart wasn't unwillingness. Everything that had happened had really been too sudden. Hence, he was only at a loss at the moment.
The scene before his eyes suddenly became clear. Huo Yuhao saw a strange scene: He saw himself…
If Wang Dong were still awake now right, he'd have seen an incomparably shocking scene.
In the moment that Huo Yuhao was about to be engulfed by that flaming hand, the colour of his eyes suddenly changed. His dark blue eyes—which had been twinkling with a faint golden light—suddenly became as white as twinkling frost in an instant.
A gust of extraordinarily cold air suddenly spread outwards from Huo Yuhao's body. He actually managed to forcibly disperse all of the heat coming from the figure in front of him. The fiery figure only let out a dull groan before curling up as they collapsed to the ground.
When Huo Yuhao was utilising his Spirit Eyes, the soul ring that rose up from beneath his feet was white. However, at this moment, his normally white soul ring had actually turned an incomparably brilliant golden colour. A glaring golden light sparkled off of it, just like the morning sun was rising up from beneath his feet.
With Huo Yuhao's body as the core, the area around him—and a hundred metre diameter of him—instantly turned into a world of ice and snow. Even his opponent's spiritual sea was frozen.
The red figure seemed to be shivering violently, as the terrifying intimidating aura it let off was continuously condensed by the cold. Huo Yuhao slowly raised his right arm. It wasn't known when his right hand's index finger had turned ice-blue, nor when his eyes had begun to shine with a white light. A gloomy voice immediately rang out.
"You dare to touch the person that this Brother has chosen, and dare to disturb this Brother's sleep! Go and die!"
Huo Yuhao pointed forwards with his index finger, causing an icy-blue ray of light to suddenly flash in the sky, headed straight for the red figure.
The temperature surrounding the red figure plummeted as a result of the extremely chilling feeling Huo Yuhao was emitting. Perhaps because it felt danger approaching it, the red figure struggled violently. Closely following that, the loud and clear cry of a phoenix abruptly rang out.
An enormous phoenix floated up from beneath the figure, along with six soul rings—two yellow, two purple and two black. Soul Emperor rank!
Among the six soul rings, the second, third, and sixth soul rings all shone at the same time. The flame behind the figure turned dark red almost instantly. A thread of fire that was as thin as a finger was spouted from the phoenix's mouth, colliding with the ice-blue light that had been shot out of Huo Yuhao's index finger.
"Chi chi——" A series of strange sounds rang out. The thread of fire collapsed almost instantly. The enormous phoenix abruptly pounced forwards, using its huge body to shield the red figure from the front.
The fiery red figure rolled back along with the violent cry of the fire phoenix and, with an icy-blue layer covering them from head to toe, they immediately dropped straight into Sea God Lake in the distance.
Huo Yuhao was just about to pursue and attack them, but halted his steps for a moment. The sound that had previously rung out rang once more. "How annoying, someone else came. Huh, this small guy's physical fitness has improved very quickly! It seems that I can give him a bit more power already. Alright, I'm fleeing."
The golden soul ring rapidly dulled back to a white soul ring and disappeared. All of the coldness in Huo Yuhao's surroundings also disappeared seemingly instantly. The water in the lake rapidly reverted back to its original state. Huo Yuhao's white eyes that had been emitting a strong chill reverted back to normal. Finally, his body went limp, causing him to fall to the ground in exhaustion.
Sea God Lake had just had frightening soulforce fluctuations a moment ago, but tranquility had already been completely restored. Only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were left, collapsed and unconscious by the shore.
In the distance, more than ten silhouettes were headed straight for them from the depths of Sea God Lake at an astonishing speed. It only took a couple seconds for them to arrive at the shore.
"This is bad. Students from the outer courtyard were injured." A white-clothed old man was the one leading the group. He suddenly strode over in mid-air and, as if he'd just teleported through space, arrived at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's side. He extended both his hands, and both of their bodies immediately floated upwards.
"Fortunately, it seems that they've only fainted. They haven't sustained any injuries. Teacher Li, please provide them with some medical treatment."
"Yes." Another white-clothed middle-aged person hastily stepped forwards, taking charge of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. If Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still conscious, they would've immediately recognised this Teacher Li aas the Soul Sage-ranked master who'd utilised his martial soul—The Tree of Life—on them yesterday, and had conducted a full-scale recovery on the entire class.
His soul rings quickly rose up, and hoops of green light revolved around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's bodies, quietly infiltrating their bodies. A miraculous scene appeared: The wilted plants in their surroundings had actually started to rapidly recover at an astonishing speed. One could also faintly see that the large-scale vegetation that surrounded the Sea God Lake was emitting faint green rays of light. These faint green rays of light were surging towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's bodies, slowly soaking into them.
"Xiao Tao is over here."
The crashing sound of water rang out, and a white-clothed person fished out the figure clad in red who'd previously fallen into Sea God Lake.
The person clad in red was already drenched from head to toe, revealing a lithe and graceful figure. Looking at the figure's appearance, the person actually seemed to be a woman.
The white-clothed old man went around to her side. He pressed her right hand to his shoulder and could see that rich white soulforce was surging into the woman's body at an astonishing speed.
"Strange!" The white-clothed old man furrowed his brow, as if there was something that he couldn't understand.
"Teacher Li, what's the situation with these two students from the outer courtyard?" He turned his head and asked the teacher who was currently treating Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
The person known as Teacher Li said, "It's nothing serious. They'll be waking up very soon."
The white-clothed old man heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Thank goodness we didn't make a serious mistake. It seems that Xiao Tao still managed to retain some of her consciousness. Teacher Li, send these two students back and repeatedly warn them to forget what they saw. If they divulge this matter to others, they'll be expelled. Give them a high grade as compensation. We're heading back."
The last three words were directed towards the others. He carried the woman clad in red, and as his silhouette flickered, he turned into a ray of white light as he headed towards the depths of Sea God Lake.
In the moment that Huo Yuhao fainted and fell to the ground, he was no longer able to see anything on the outside with his consciousness. Naturally, he also didn't know what happened after he fainted either.
"You managed to disturb Elder Brother's sleep so quickly! How annoying!" The Skydream Iceworm's voice resounded in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
Huo Yuhao dazedly asked, "Brother Skydream, you were the one who made that move just now?"
The Skydream Iceworm replied, "Of course it was this brother who did it! If not, you would've already become a dried up, baked person! That person's fire attribute is truly very strong; she actually possesses the blood of a Phoenix Godbeast! If not, this Brother's finger would've annihilated her. But, no matter. She should've lost consciousness already. That flame of hers seems to be slightly demonic. However, this Brother didn't eat all that ten thousand year Ice Pith for nothing. Her powers are still far from comparable to mine. Little Yuhao, your cultivation has been very successful. Your physical fitness has increased significantly. The first seal of the ten seals that I left in your body has already been cracked open."
"Really?" Huo Yuhao was overjoyed. Ever since he'd come to Shrek Academy, he'd started to understand how insignificant he was. After meeting so many experts, his thirst for strength had grown even greater. However, due to his poor talent, he could only secretly work even harder. Now, even the Skydream Iceworm had praised him, so how could he not be happy?
The Skydream Iceworm spoke with a very depressed tone. "However, this Brother has used some of his Origin Energy. This is my Origin Consciousness, which can also be considered the intelligence that's been added onto your soul ring. It's because of this that I was able to protect your body before using my power. Furthermore, after that attack, your body won't be able to be possessed by me for at least a year. You'll have to be extremely careful. If you meet another undefeatable enemy like this one, we're both finished. Okay, I won't tarry on any longer. I'm going to keep sleeping. You have to quickly work harder. Once you've gotten a second soul ring, you won't have to constantly bother this Brother anymore."
The Skydream Iceworm was always rushed whenever he appeared. Huo Yuhao had originally planned to ask him a few questions regarding the control of his soul skills, but the Skydream Iceworm already fallen back into a deep sleep, and everything surrounding him had turned dark.
...
Wang Dong was the first one to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he saw a white-clothed middle-aged man in front of him. However, before he could speak, Huo Yuhao, who was to his side, let out a muffled groan and slowly opened his eyes.
Because he wasn't as clear as Huo Yuhao regarding the general situation, Wang Dong's mind was blank. He angrily said, "Just what's going on? What was that monster earlier?"
The white-clothed middle-aged man indifferently replied, "You're both fine now. About the thing that you guys just saw, please forget about it. If you don't, you'll be expelled from the academy. I'll give you two these as compensation. I believe that you're both smart people." As he spoke, he threw two green objects towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
The two subconsciously raised their hands to catch them. At the same time, the white-clothed middle-aged man had already risen up into the sky, and was flying towards Sea God Lake. "Go to class. Remember, it's best that you forget everything you just saw."
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked at each other. They were left in a daze for quite a while.
"Huo Yuhao, what do you think's going on?" Wang Dong asked him in a low voice.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "I don't know. It seems like we've come across a madman."
Wang Dong lowered his head to see what the green object in his hand was, and immediately became stunned. Following that, his face became filled with a happy expression. "Wah, we've struck gold! It's a Soul Advancement Pill! It's actually a Soul Advancement Pill."
Huo Yuhao looked towards the green lump in his hand with puzzlement. It was a green pill that was about the size of a walnut, and it was releasing a faint fragrant odor. Its surface was dark-green in colour, and there seemed to be a faint halo of light circulating within it. It was sparkling and translucent, and was also filled with an aura of life.
"What's a Soul Advancement Pill? Is it a type of pill, like the Mysterious Water Pill?"
Wang Dong replied, "Yeah! Furthermore, it's a pill that's of the same rank as the Mysterious Water Pill! However, the Mysterious Water Pill is a bit more precious than the Soul Advancement Pill because it has a cleansing effect on one's muscles and marrow. But, to soul masters above the thirtieth rank, whose muscles and marrow have already been thoroughly cleansed, the Soul Advancement Pill is better than the Mysterious Water Pill. Due to this, the price of the two pills are about the same. You have to take care of it. It's supposedly extremely hard to refine this sort of pill. I didn't expect that teacher to give us something so extraordinary as hush money. I've decided to forget everything that I saw earlier."
Huo Yuhao asked impatiently, "Can you speak more clearly? Just what use does this Soul Advancement Pill have?"
Wang Dong let out a cunning laugh and replied, "I'm not telling! Beg me!" After he finished his sentence, he turned around and ran towards the freshmen's school building.
Huo Yuhao was left speechless. After carefully putting the Soul Advancement Pill into his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges, he chased after Wang Dong. While running, he shouted, "If you don't tell me, I'll just ask my eldest senior brother. He definitely knows what it does. If you tell me now, I'll treat you to lunch."
Wang Dong slowed down and waited for him to catch up. "Then, I'll be eating something tasty."
Huo Yuhao took out all of his savings and said, "I'm a homeless orphan anyway. These are all of my savings, do whatever you want with them."
Wang Dong was stunned for a moment. "You… you're an orphan?"
Huo Yuhao nodded his head.
Wang Dong spoke again, "The reason that you don't even have any bedding on your bed, isn't it because you just want to assiduously cultivate? Isn't it because you're simply not willing to spend money on some bedding?"
Huo Yuhao replied, "It's because I feel that having some money left to eat with is more important than buying bedding. The food in the canteen is rather expensive after all."
Wang Dong unwittingly stopped, causing Huo Yuhao to naturally stop along with him. "What're you doing? It's almost time for class. We need to hurry up."
Wang Dong pursed his lips tightly and stared at Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao, who was currently being stared at, felt goosebumps rise on his back. "What's happened to you? Was your brain fried by that guy earlier?"
Wang Dong inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Huo Yuhao, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were an orphan. I shouldn't have bullied you."
Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, "Your bullying didn't work, did it?"
Wang Dong somewhat resentfully slapped his shoulder. "Can you not interrupt me when I'm in the middle of feeling moved? Let's hurry to class. I'll pay for your meals from now on."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, "You don't need to. Teacher Xiao Ya found a way for me to make some money. From now on, I'll be selling roasted fish everyday after school. That'll be enough for me to get my living expenses. I'll treat you to some roasted fish later tonight."
As he spoke, the two walked towards the freshmen's school building. As they walked, Wang Dong explained the use of the Soul Advancement Pill to him.
The main use of the Soul Advancement Pill was to increase one's soulforce; it was refined from a few heavenly treasures. Soul master could only use a single Soul Advancement Pill during their entire lifetime, and the increase in soulforce one would receive from the pill was roughly equivalent to the soulforce that a soul master at the thirtieth rank needed to advance to the thirty-first rank. This was a pill that could raise one's soulforce by an entire rank! This was truly something that was hard to come by. However, one's future cultivation potential would be affected if more than one were taken.
Furthermore, the Soul Advancement Pill and the Mysterious Water Pill were somewhat similar, as their main function was to stimulate a person's potential to provide more nourishment to the body. Because of this, their medicinal properties were relatively gentle; soul masters that were only above the tenth rank could consume them.
"Then, how large would the increase in my soulforce be if I were to eat it now?" Huo Yuhao asked probingly.
Wang Dong shook his head and said, "I don't know. I've never heard of anyone willing to eat it at the twelfth rank. No matter how highly ranked an auction is, this pill is always considered a good thing. Moreover, very few people will choose to sell it. Supposedly, only an extremely small number of plant-type soul masters can refine it, and a year's supply won't exceed twenty. This time, we really had some crappy luck. It seems that the school is fair, as even though that fellow threatened our lives, we still got something this good."
Unlike Wang Dong, who was praising the school for giving them the pill, Huo Yuhao's mood wasn't too happy. This was because he clearly knew how he and Wang Dong would've been charcoal right now, were it not for the existence of the Skydream Iceworm. Even if they were to receive a pill then, it wouldn't be of any use to them.
"Then, when is the best time to eat it, in your opinion?"
Wang Dong replied, "Obviously, when we get back to our dorm tonight. You can't just put a good thing like this away. Furthermore, it's best to increase your cultivation earlier, so that you can reach rank thirty earlier. If I'd had a third soul ring today, I wouldn't have been so passive, at the very least. There wouldn't have been any problems with me flying into the air with you either."
Huo Yuhao thought about it for a while, before deciding to eat the Soul Advancement Pill once he got back home tonight. The stronger the soulforce he supplied his Mysterious Heaven Skill with, the stronger its nourishing effect would be on his passageways. Hence, increasing his soulforce was naturally a good thing for him. However, he didn't know how great an increase in soulforce the Soul Advancement Pill would provide. The soulforce needed for one to advance to the thirty-first rank from the thirtieth rank could increase his soulforce by two, or even three ranks at the very minimum. If that was the case, his cultivation would end up around the the fifteenth rank, which meant that it'd be in accordance with the minimum cultivation level normally needed to enter Shrek Academy.
When his train of thought reached this point, Huo Yuhao immediately felt a wave of passion surge through his heart. Even though he didn't feel inferior his classmates, he was still filled with a sense of danger. With his original level of talent, the first round of assessments for freshmen would've been extremely hard for him to pass. However, his large increase in cultivation during the past two days had given him some hope. No matter what, he had to stay in Shrek Academy.
Compared to Zhou Yi's class yesterday, today's classes were—at least to the students—simply too relaxed. Both their morning and afternoon classes were on theory. The morning class was about the classification of martial souls, while the afternoon class was about distinguishing a soul beast's age.
Since most of the students were familiar with what was being covered in the two classes already, they didn't pay them much attention. However, Huo Yuhao was different; he listened to the teacher with rapt attention. What he lacked wasn't just talent and cultivation, but knowledge too.
Sure enough, Wang Dong treated him to a good meal for lunch. Once he'd finished his afternoon class, Tang Ya came over to him.
"Let's go, Little Yuhao. I've prepared everything for you once again. Don't worry, Teacher Xiao Ya will stay by your side and protect you today. Let's see what idiot dares to bully you with me around. Right, your eldest senior brother asked me to give this to you when I saw you. Eat it when you get back to your dorm room tonight."
Whilst speaking, Tang Ya handed a porcelain bottle to Huo Yuhao.
The onlooking Wang Dong's eyes immediately widened when he saw this. He'd seen this same porcelain bottle yesterday! It was the same one that Bei Bei had taken a Mysterious Water Pill out of to feed Huo Yuhao before. It was the exact same one!
This… was this a second Mysterious Water Pill?! The Mysterious Water Pill was different from the Soul Advancement Pill; it didn't have any restrictions on how many times it could be used. However, the first pill's effects would be the best, while those of any pills taken afterwards would progressively decline. After all, there was still a limit to the impurities each person had within their bodies. The increase in soulforce wouldn't be as great as a Soul Advancement Pill either.
"Teacher Xiao Ya, have you thought about my issue?" Wang Dong asked Tang Ya, a fervent expression on his face.
Tang Ya giggled and replied, "I talked to Bei Bei about it. Bei Bei said that, if you're able to obtain first place in the first freshmen assessment, you'll be qualified to join our Tang Sect."
"Fine, it's a deal." Wang Dong replied without any hesitation at all. The benefits for joining the Tang Sect were simply too good! Huo Yuhao had just received two Mysterious Water Pills in front of him! Although he knew that his talent was exceptional, and that he didn't have any use for the Mysterious Water Pill, who knew whether or not the Tang Sect had better things? However, the reason that he wanted to join the Tang Sect wasn't due to its benefits.
Huo Yuhao accepted the porcelain bottle and put it into his Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges without asking any questions. Afterwards, he followed Tang Ya out of the academy.
Wang Dong hurriedly caught up to them and said, "I'm going too! Huo Yuhao, no matter how you look at it, we're roommates. I'll buy two of your roasted fish to help your business out a bit."
Huo Yuhao chuckled. "I'll treat you."
Wang Dong shook his head and said, "How can I do that? Friends are friends, business is business. I don't need you to treat me, I can afford to buy them." As he spoke, he fished out a silver soul coin and forcefully shoved it into Huo Yuhao's hand.
He originally thought that he was helping Huo Yuhao, but when the three of them walked through the academy's gates, Wang Dong realised that he'd actually taken advantage of Huo Yuhao.
There were more than thirty people waiting outside for Huo Yuhao to roast fish, of the most eye-catching person of them being Xu Sanshi, who'd lost to Bei Bei yesterday in the Soul Duelling Competition.
Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment when he saw Xu Sanshi. However, Tang Ya immediately stepped forward bravely. "What, you're not able to accept your loss? How about I follow you to the Soul Duelling Area today?"
Xu Sanshi unhappily replied, "You? Save it. I don't hit women. Stop trying to stir up trouble with me. I'm here today to buy some roasted fish, not to cause trouble. Can't you see that I'm first in the queue?"
When she heard what he had to say, Tang Ya's expression finally relaxed. She asked, "You're buying it for Jiang Nannan?"
"Yup." Xu Sanshi nodded his head.
Tang Ya teasingly said, "I couldn't tell that you were still so infatuated with her. What a pity that that she doesn't even like you."
Xu Sanshi angrily said, "Tang Ya, don't provoke me! Your Bei Bei swindled me yesterday, yet I haven't even tried to settle my debts with you guys."
Tang Ya stuck her tongue out, then turned around and said to Huo Yuhao, "Little Yuhao, you should start now. Since someone gave you something good yesterday, you should sell him two roasted fish today."
After setting his grill up, Huo Yuhao began to sell his roasted fish at the entrance to Shrek Academy for the second time. However, he didn't sell the first two roasted fish to Xu Sanshi, as he didn't have a favourable opinion of this fellow who'd made a move against him yesterday. Furthermore, Wang Dong had paid him first. Hence, the first two fish he roasted went to Wang Dong.
The third and fourth went to Tang Ya.
Only when Xu Sanshi's expression had turned increasingly dark, did he receive the fifth and sixth roasted fish. He threw his money towards Huo Yuhao and left.
"Delicious, this is really too delicious! Fish can actually be so fragrant?!" As Wang Dong ate, his eyes glowed. Whilst eating the roasted fish, his appearance became completely identical to Tang Ya's. By the time he'd finished his fish, both his face and hands were dripping with oil.
As Huo Yuhao continued to sell roasted fish by the entrance to Shrek Academy, a certain person in a secret room located on the central island of the Sea God Lake gradually woke up from their comatose state.
"Ugh…" The red-shirted woman's body moved a bit. She subconsciously covered her chest with her right hand and muttered, "I'm too hot, it's too unbearable… I feel terrible… huh?"
She gradually opened her eyes, however her pupils were now faintly pink in colour; the bloody colour within her eyes had receded. There was also a trace of doubt in her eyes. "That's strange, why isn't it hot anymore?"
She suddenly sat up, subconsciously looking down at herself. Her originally sweat-drenched clothes had already dried. She jumped off the bed she'd been laying on and took off the mask covering her face, revealing a somewhat pale, oval-shaped face. She looked to be about twenty or so, with her facial expression being slightly cold. However, it was still unable to conceal her beauty, which was peerless enough that it could move one's heart. As she stood there, she exposed her exciting figure which resembled a ripened peach.
"You're awake." An aged voice rang out, before letting out a long sigh. "Xiaotao, you almost made a huge mistake this time! I don't know whether or not it was destiny, but an otherworldly ice-type energy surged into your body, jolting the evil fire within your body. Can you remember anything you saw after you charged out from Sea God Lake?"