The fury of Shrek Academy was something that even the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, who controlled over ten thousand men in the Star Luo Empire, couldn't endure.
The next morning. Dai Huabin's expression greatly changed when he saw the somewhat dispirited Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong come to class, but he was still a son of the White Tiger Duke. Though he was greatly astonished, he quickly masked any overt changes on his face.
He hadn't received any information as to what had occurred last night and had hoped that the final outcome wouldn't be too messy. As long as his men hadn't been injured, all would be fine. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to explain himself to his father!
Cold sweat imperceptibly began to drench the back of Dai Huabin's shirt. A Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings together were not enough to kill the two of them. Remorse began to blossom in the depths of his heart.
"Dai Huabin." Huo Yuhao's eyesight was extremely good, and thus he was able to instantly see Dai Huabin, who had been staring at them with a bewildered look in his eyes. He then pulled Wang Dong along with him and took large strides towards him.
Dai Huabin's face was somewhat pale. At the end of the day, he was only a youth around the age of ten and thus couldn't conceal his emotions very well.
Wang Dong's eyes turned cold as he saw Dai Huabin and was just about to charge straight towards him when Huo Yuhao hurriedly held onto him.
"What do you want?" Dai Huabin asked coldly.
As he tightly held onto Wang Dong so as to not let him fly into a rage, Huo Yuhao spoke in a deep voice.
It was now time for students to go to class, and so there was an endless stream of students walking past their classroom. They were all second year students and were naturally aware of the grudges between Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Dai Huabin. A large number of students had already stopped by the side to watch the proceedings.
Dai Huabin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly, making the veins on his forehead pop out.
Zhu Lu walked out from Class 2 and stood in front of Dai Huabin as she yelled, "Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, don't be too excessive!"
Wang Dong replied icily, "We're being excessive? Go ask him what he did last night. I'm just not sure whether or not he'll have the guts to reveal what he did."
Dai Huabin gritted his teeth as he responded, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Wang Dong snorted disdainfully. "I knew you were a scaredy-cat. Regardless of whether or not you admit to what you did. You have to kowtow towards us now since you lost, man up and admit your loss."
Zhu Lu was about to confront them but she was shoved from behind by the flustered Dai Huabin. He didn't dare to confirm whether or not his men had been exposed. This matter was simply too important and was even related to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. No matter what, he absolutely couldn't reveal that he was guilty. Otherwise, it would affect the relationship between Shrek Academy and the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and might even cause hostility between the former and the Star Luo Empire.
He took a deep breath as shoved the rancor and humiliation he felt into the depths of his heart. He abruptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed three times towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong while shouting, "I was wrong." Following which, he stood up and returned to his class.
The rancor in Zhu Lu's eyes was no less than in Dai Huabin's. After all, the person who'd been humiliated was her future boyfriend! She pointed her slightly trembling finger towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, "You just wait, just wait…"
Huo Yuhao acted as if he'd heard nothing as then turned back to Class 1 along with Wang Dong. Right now, he wasn't feeling elated but vigilant. He'd made Dai Huabin kowtow in front of so many students but the latter still hadn't flown into a rage. An enemy like this was much more terrifying, especially so given Dai Huabin's relatively astonishing growth. Unfortunately, he didn't suffer any sort of punishment after the ambush he'd planned.
What Huo Yuhao didn't know, however, was the fact that Dai Huabin had been put on the academy's blacklist due to the ambush he'd set up. After some time Dean Yan personally come to Class 1 call Dai Huabin ,take him away. After through Fan Yu Yuhao know that Dai Huabin has been spelled from Academy for his action, and as proof one of the person that ambush them has already capture after his recovery they have to force to tell the truth.
The advancement test had already ended, and every single person who could continue going to class had passed it. Students who hadn't passed could retake the test three days later but they would be forced to leave the academy if they failed that test too.
The class that Wang Yan and Zhou Yi taught, Class 1, had an astonishing 95% pass rate. The facts had shown that putting the two of them together was extremely effective.
Zhou Yi could manage her students well while Wang Yan had a vast amount of knowledge and a warm teaching style. Combined with the truly outstanding batch of students that came this year, there were only a few people who weren't able to pass the advancement test. Moreover, they still had the chance to retake the exam.
Comparatively, there were far more students from the other classes who had been eliminated.
"Yuhao, why didn't you let me settle my grudges with him?" Wang Dong asked Huo Yuhao furiously.
Huo Yuhao said, "The academy didn't deliver a verdict, so what can we do ourselves? We're all in the academy so there won't be a conclusion to this matter even if we try to settle our grudges with him. Let's just stay quiet and keep a watch on him. It's still more important for us to work hard and increase our strength. When we can reach senior sister Xiaotao's level of strength, we won't need to be afraid of any ambushes anymore."
The battle yesterday had stimulated him greatly, but it clearly wasn't possible for him to increase his cultivation by a large amount within a short period of time. However, soul tools could increase his survivability. Thus, he had already planned to use the next few days to modify his set of soul tools. At the very least, he wanted to make sure that all of them were Class 2 tools. If he and Wang Dong had possessed a Class 2 thruster when they were ambushed, they wouldn't have been left in such a miserable state.
"Wah, I really can't help but think about it!" Wang Dong stared at the classroom door.
Huo Yuhao subconsciously followed his gaze to see a red-clothed Ma Xiaotao standing outside the classroom and waving to him.
Ma Xiaotao's physical state didn't seem right. Her charming face was flushed red and there was even a faint red light shining from her body.
Huo Yuhao questioningly pointed towards himself and Ma Xiaotao nodded before turning around and leaving.
There was still some time before class began so Huo Yuhao hurriedly turned towards Wang Dong, "If I come back late, help me out. I'm going to see why senior sister Xiaotao's looking for me."
"Oh." Wang Dong also felt that something about Ma Xiaotao wasn't quite right. If this was before yesterday, he definitely wouldn't have allowed Huo Yuhao to go alone. However, he wasn't wary towards Ma Xiaotao since she had saved them yesterday.
Huo Yuhao quickly left the class. The moment he walked out of the door, he felt a wave of red light surge towards him. Regardless of how precise his Spiritual Detection was, he wasn't able to dodge it at all. A wave of heat immediately engulfed his entire body.
The source of that heat was Ma Xiaotao's body.
The twenty-or-so-year-old Ma Xiaotao was at the most beautiful period of her life, and she was also extremely beautiful from the start. At this moment, her flushed cheeks made her even more of a radiant beauty.
She let out a sweet moan as she hugged Huo Yuhao,, "Huo Yuhao, I can't… I can't hold it anymore. Quickly."
Her voice was relatively loud and not only did the students who were passing by hear her but even the students from Class 1 did as well. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was currently in front of the classroom door. As he was hugged by the fiery Ma Xiaotao, it was absolutely impossible for him to struggle free.
A red light flickered and Ma Xiaotao suddenly accelerated and disappeared from the end of the corridor with Huo Yuhao in tow.
Wang Dong immediately felt that something was off. He hastily ran outside, but he could only see the back of Ma Xiaotao's body by the time he got there.
There were still a few students in the corridor who were looking at each other.
Wang Dong's expression became pale. He was just about to chase after them, but an arm suddenly stopped him the moment he took a step forward.
"Unhand me!" Wang Dong flew into a rage. However, he was immediately sent into a daze when he turned around. The person who'd grabbed him was Zhou Yi.
"What's the matter? Why're you being so impatient?" Zhou Yi spoke in a low voice. Though she liked the two of them, in accordance with her philosophy of teaching, she definitely wouldn't allow her students to go against her.
Wang Dong said urgently, "Teacher Zhou, Huo Yuhao has been taken away by Ma Xiaotao. Please go rescue him quickly! I feel that there's something wrong with her. In the event he's harmed by her…"
Zhou Yi pulled him back to the classroom, "Don't worry. Nothing will happen. Dean Yan has already notified me of this. Ma Xiaotao's martial soul is rather special, and Yuhao's second martial soul can help her cultivation. Furthermore, this will be somewhat useful for him. Go back to your seat, we're about to start class."
With that, Zhou Yi shut the door to the classroom.
Wang Dong's sense of urgency didn't subside as a result of Zhou Yi's explanation. On the contrary, it became even more intense. He naturally knew that Huo Yuhao wouldn't be injured by Ma Xiaotao but the worry he felt intensified exponentially when he saw the image of Ma Xiaotao hugging Huo Yuhao in his mind.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao's mind was blank. He naturally knew that Ma Xiaotao wouldn't hurt him, and moreover, he had seen her berserk appearance before. Only, he was somewhat embarrassed due to the big beauty hugging him out of the blue.
Ma Xiaotao didn't have any perfume on her, but she nonetheless smelled rather refreshing. She smelled like sun-dried blankets, relaxing and clean. Unfortunately, she wasn't warm like a blanket but somewhat scalding instead.
Ma Xiaotao was extremely slender and she continued to run as she hugged Huo Yuhao. The latter only saw the scenery around him alternating unceasingly while the blank feeling he felt in his heart only grew stronger.
Within the blink of an eye, they'd left the school building. Ma Xiaotao rushed towards Sea God's Lake with Huo Yuhao in tow where she finally took a breather. "Yu… Hao… quickly… help me. I… can't hold it anymore… I need… your Ice element… help… me suppress… my Evil Fire… Quickly…" she stammered.
Core disciples were entitled to a sumptuous breakfast. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was now a core disciple of both the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department at the same time.
Normally, he'd only eat the food supplied by the Soul Tool Department, as it was more exquisite and precious than the Martial Soul Department's. However, he was extremely famished today, and his body was in dire need of a large quantity of nutrients. As such, he devoured both of the breakfasts he was provided with today.
Just as he was about to finish his meal, Wang Dong walked in in a dispirited and downcast mood. The moment he walked through the doors, Wang Dong spotted Huo Yuhao, who was pigging out. When he saw him, he immediately began to take large strides towards Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, are you alright? Ma Xiaotao didn't do anything to you, right?" Wang Dong ran over to him and questioned him impatiently.
Huo Yuhao kept a natural expression on his face as he replied, "I'm alright! In fact, I'm doing quite well. I simply accompanied senior sister Xiaotao to cultivate. You should know just how extraordinary the nature of her martial soul is. With my help, she's managed to suppress that demonic fire of hers."
When he'd left the Sea God's Island and returned to the lakeside, he'd firmly made up his mind: No matter who it was that questioned him, he wouldn't say what had really happened, even if he was beaten to death. It was too embarrassing!
Wang Dong gazed at him and felt a bit apprehensive. His nose twitched and he asked, "What's that fragrance?"
As a person who could normally control his desire very well, Huo Yuhao was used to controlling everything to the best of his ability. As such, he'd already thought of a countermeasure for this situation a long time ago. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he sighed and replied, "It's because it was extremely exhausting when I cultivated with senior sister Xiaotao. That phoenix flame of hers is really strong, thus I ended up sweating all over. When I was done, I borrowed her washing liquid to wash my clothes. I never expected her to use such a fragrant washing liquid with that fierce personality of hers."
Wang Dong couldn't find a single mistake in what Huo Yuhao said, thus he gradually heaved a sigh of relief. However, he still bore a little resentment and said, "You actually needed a whole day to cultivate. Ma Xiaotao is too overbearing! What happens if it end up interfering with your studies? Oh right, Teacher Zhou asked for us to see her in her office today before class starts. It seems like there's something going on, as we weren't the only ones called. All of the core disciples have to go and see her. It seems that they're giving us special attention now."
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, "This is a good thing! What was Dai Huabin reaction?"
Wang Dong shook his head and replied, "Nothing. I haven't even seen that fellow since back then. Gosh, are you a pig? How much have you eaten?!" He'd only just now noticed that the table had been filled with empty plates.
Huo Yuhao laughed sheepishly and said, "I exhausted quite a bit of energy cultivating yesterday. However, what senior brother Xu Sanshi said at back then was correct. Even though it's painful to cultivate with senior sister Ma, the increased speed of cultivation I get is pretty good. I even asked her to help me melt that Whale Rubber so that I could eat it. Oh right, has your soul bone arrived yet?"
Wang Dong immediately became excited when he mentioned the Golden Light Left Arm Bone, and nodded repeatedly as he said, "Yep, it's already arrived. Can you protect me tonight so that I can fuse with it? I've already gotten permission from Teacher Zhou for a leave of absence. It won't be a problem even if it takes me more than a day to fuse with the soul bone."
Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, "Then I'll ask Teacher Fan Yu for some materials tonight so that I can remodel my soul tool in our dorm room while I'm watching over you." After you fuse I have to go for my third soul ring with sister Xiotao she promise me, Wang Dong ask did not any teacher from martial soul department or soul tool department are going with you before? Ah! That because teacher Fan Yu was busy in his soul tools and with Senior Ma Xiatao I hardly have any danger in it. Then I also go with you, Wang Dong do not be so silly because you know difficulty of having spiritual type martial soul , I already did not know how much time it take so lesser the person involved it was better. Wang Dong replied with simple nod but very dissatisfied with it, But she also know what Yuhao says was reasonable. so, she did not say anything on it.
Once he'd finished his breakfast, Huo Yuhao returned to the dormitory to freshen up. Afterwards, he changed into a new school uniform before heading off to find Zhou Yi with Wang Dong.
It was still both extremely sunny and cloudless today. Moreover, a new school term had begun in Shrek Academy. Students from every year group were all facing different levels of pressure. The new students had the Freshmen Examination, while students from higher year groups had both their Advancement Examination and courses to study for.
Huo Yuhao lightly knocked on the office door a few times.
"Enter." Zhou Yi's ever ice-cold voice rang out.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong pushed opened the door and entered.
The room was already full of core disciples from Class 1. Besides Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Chao Jinxuan, Wu Feng and Huang Chutian, who had officially become a core disciple, were all present in the room. As such, there were a total of eight people from their class present.
Zhou Yi intentionally glanced towards Huo Yuhao. When she saw that his expression was normal, she didn't ask any questions. With a cough, she directed everyone's line of sight towards herself. "The reason I called you guys here today is because I have a special situation that I need to inform you guys about: In twenty days time, the outer courtyard will be organizing a core disciple qualification match. Originally, it didn't have anything to do with second years, but the academy suddenly decided to let the Year 2 core disciples participate in the match as well. As a result of this, you guys will need to prepare yourselves."
Feeling somewhat curious, Zhou Sichen asked, "Teacher Zhou, what's this qualification match for?"
Zhou Yi replied, "However, you guys don't need to be too worried about it. There won't be any sort of punishment if you lose this qualification match. Those participating are all core disciples from the outer courtyard who are fifteen years old and under. People from the Soul Tool Department will also be attending. According to my calculations, there are around thirty people participating in the match. We'll be choosing seven from this group to take part in a mission. As for what sort of mission it is, only the students who win will know what sort of mission it is. It's worth noting that these places would normally belong to students from the third, fourth, and fifth years. However, you guys are lucky to be able to participate in this match. You guys should do your best. We have eight core disciples from our class; at least try not to be completely wiped out."
Hearing Zhou Yi speak as though she didn't think of the matter as very important, everyone immediately heaved a sigh of relief. They'd even silently cursed at the academy in their hearts for having a bit too many examinations. The Advancement Examination had just ended! What was the deal with a Core Disciple Examination now?
"Alright, you guys head back to the classroom first. Huo Yuhao, stay behind for awhile. The rest of you can head back first."
"Yes." Everyone uniformly replied. As they left, Zhou Sichen shot Huo Yuhao a glance that said that he was rejoicing in his demise. Afterwards, he took the lead and left the office with Cao Jinxuan.
Wang Dong said in a low tone, "Xiao Xiao and I will wait for you outside."
Once the others had left the room, Huo Yuhao obediently closed the door. He then turned around and faced Zhou Yi as he asked, "Teacher Zhou, do you still have something to tell me?"
Zhou Yi indifferently replied, "I'm only relaying a message from Dean Yan and Dean Xian. Both of them mentioned that it would be fine, even if the others don't enter the top seven. However, they said that if you fail to do so, you'll suffer the consequences."
"Um…" When he heard her say this, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that the pressure weighing down on him was as great as a mountain! "Teacher Zhou, that's impossible! If the students from the outer courtyard were to compete with the core disciples in terms of strength alone, I would definitely be ranked amongst the top! However, there will be senior students participating in this match as well!"
A hint of a smile appeared in Zhou Yi's eyes when she heard this. She stood up and replied, "It's useless to talk to me about this, as I'm simply relaying their message to you. If you have the guts to do so, reason it out with Dean Yan and Dean Xian. Now then, get going, you still have a class to attend."
"I…" Huo Yuhao immediately became crestfallen. Even though he felt confident about his abilities, that still depended on the circumstances! He'd be competing against a bunch of senior core disciples; how could it be that easy?! Disregarding the other students, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan alone were bound to be within the fifteen-year-old category, along with the many core disciples he'd never seen before. All three of them had four soul rings! He definitely didn't think that he could fight against his seniors with four soul rings—even if he did have an Ultimate martial soul.
Then he ask Teacher Zhou can I ask for 15 days leave from Academy ,Zhou Yi look at him as questioning for what ? Yuhao know her look and for obtaining his third soul ring and enter in the realm of Soul Elder. Zhou Yi look at him and ask who will go with you, Yuhao replied with slitly lowering his head as saying with head down was that Senior Sister Ma Xiatao was going this time with me anybody that saw his face can not believed in his eye because his cheeck are red like tomato and slight blush was coming to his face, Zhou Yi say then ok you can go and take the leave but Yuhao did not listen to it and he was stayed there like a idiot ,who was in his own thoughts. Zhou Yi saw this and wandering what was going own and shake his body .
Yuhao jolted awake from his thought Zhou Yi tell him he give him permission and allow him to go. He thanks Zhou Yi and left the room after closing the door noticing his red cheeck Zhou Yi was wandering what was he thinking. Before turning back Yuhao adjusted his emotions...
Once he left the room, he noticed Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao waiting for him.
"Why did Teacher Zhou ask you to stay behind?" Wang Dong asked curiously.
This wasn't something that he could hide, thus Huo Yuhao told them what Zhou Yi had told him with a depressed look on his face. By the time he'd finished, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao couldn't help but look at each other in dismay. They then simultaneously patted him on the shoulder. "You'd best rely on yourself, rather than on us."
Huo Yuhao was full of lament and resentfulness as he replied, "Are you guys even human?! You're not even comforting me!"
Wang Dong laughed mischievously and said, "Who asked you to become a core disciple of two departments? Who asked you to show such an outstanding performance in the Advancement Examination to show 100,000 year soul ring, and to even have an Ultimate martial soul?! We'll cheer for you. Oh right, I keep forgetting to ask you. What was the skill you used the other day called? The one that sucked all of our soul power away and released that dark green light."
The reason that both of them had been able to escape their predicament that day was because Huo Yuhao had decisively used that move. It was mainly because he'd used that skill in the nick of time, which had prevented the three flying Soul Kings from pursuing them. They'd then able to escape to Shrek City's northern gates and had managed to wait it out until Ma Xiaotao and Bei Bei came to save them.
Huo Yuhao snorted and replied, "I'll just let you guys rejoice in my misfortune. This elder brother isn't telling you." As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and headed towards the school building.
Elder Lin's guess that night had been spot on; the skill he'd used back then belonged to the domain-type. Domain-type skills were just as uncommon as Ultimate martial souls. A domain-type soul skill was a skill that affect everything within a certain area based on the user's domain. It could also be regarded as the highest ranked control-type soul skill.
Huo Yuhao's domain-type skill came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's soul ring. It was one of the skills she'd bestowed to him, which was known as the 'Domain of Perpetual Ice'.
Based on Huo Yuhao's current cultivation, it was still extremely difficult for him to properly use the Domain of Perpetual Ice. He'd still only been able to use a fraction of the skill, despite having borrowed Wang Dong's power that day. If he wanted to fully unleash the potential of this soul skill, he'd have to wait until he'd managed to obtain seven soul rings at the very least.
When the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had been known as the Tyrant of the Extreme North, her Domain of Perpetual Ice could freeze over a thousand miles in an instant. As such, it was the one of the highest ranked origin skills. If Huo Yuhao wanted to use the skill at the same level that the Ice Empress had, he'd have to cultivate to the stage that she had been at. As at that day Yuhao can also use Snow empress but for making his cards hidden well deep he did not use it and at the same time he knew he was save because he was in Shrek city ,not only that his soul power was already finish so that also the reason he cannot use soul skill given by Snow Empress.
Huo Yuhao was immersed in his anxiety the entire day during his classes. Regardless of how much he mulled the matter over, he couldn't think of a way to rise above a bunch of core disciples. However, he didn't complain about anything in his state of depression. Besides, he'd received preferential treatment from the academy during the Treasure Appreciation Auction; he couldn't say anything, even if he was currently facing pressure!
In the end, Huo Yuhao came to the conclusion that he'd just have to stake it all in the match.