*Clap!*
*Clap! Clap!*
*Clap! Clap! Clap!*
The inn attendant placed tea and food outside the door, listening to the commotion coming from inside with a meaningful smile on his face.
"Well, well, he looks young, but he's playing quite the masochist game."
Inside the room, Huo Yuhao's feet were arched, toes gripping the ground tightly, his teeth clenched.
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, his naked body clad only in shorts, covered in numerous blue bruises.
Behind Huo Yuhao, Yao Lao was in a soul state, sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed in the room. He looked solemnly at Huo Yuhao, who was gritting his teeth, and gently waved his hand forward.
With the Yao Lao's hand waving, a ripple appeared in the air, and a faint red energy whip suddenly burst out from his palm, like a steel wire twisted into a long whip, fiercely lashing out on Huo Yuhao's back, leaving behind a long blue bruise.
Feeling the pain of his flesh being torn, Huo Yuhao's mouth trembled violently, sucking in a breath of cold air.
He felt his shoulder suddenly numb, followed by a fiery pain piercing his heart. Under this intense pain, Huo Yuhao's toes even softened, almost losing control and falling to the ground.
But in his past life, he had endured countless rigorous trainings, some even more cruel than the pain he was enduring now.
This kind of training didn't bring Huo Yuhao pain, but rather a sense of reality that he was still alive.
After the intense pain subsided, Huo Yuhao immediately circulated his soul power through the wound.
Under the stimulus of pain, his soul power seemed even more vigorous than usual. As it flowed through the meridians and acupoints of his shoulder, a slight cool sensation slowly penetrated into his bones and muscles, quietly strengthening his body.
"Ah! Haha, it's been a long time since I felt so exhilarated! Bring it on!" Huo Yuhao revealed a smile uglier than crying, his still young face filled with persistence and stubbornness.
"Good!" Yao Lao's face showed a gratified smile, nodding slightly. Once again, a faint red energy whip shot out from his palm.
*Clap!*
The Medicine Master's strikes were precise, each blow reaching the threshold of what Huo Yuhao's current physique could withstand. This way, he wouldn't seriously injure him, but would still cause some damage to his body.
"Trees also get injured from wind and rain, but the scars they leave eventually heal. And those seemingly ugly scars become the hardest parts of the tree."
Yao Lao said with a smile. "In simpler terms, if you want to learn how to hit people, you must first learn how to take hits."
*Clap!*
Another energy whip struck out, and Huo Yuhao's body reached its limit, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the ground.
"Well done. Today, you've endured sixty-two lashes of energy, much stronger than the initial dozen or so times. " Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction, his eyes showing genuine admiration.
Huo Yuhao's tenacity and rapid growth rate were the most outstanding he had ever seen.
They had been out of the Star Dou Forest for five days now, and during these five days, Huo Yuhao had made remarkable progress every day.
For instance, today, he initially thought that enduring forty lashes of energy was his limit, but he managed to persist until the sixty-second lash, which truly made him marvel at this young man's endurance.
Gritting his teeth slightly, Huo Yuhao pushed himself up and crawled into the nearby bathtub filled with blood-red liquid.
Yao Lao was adept at herbalism and had helped him find many useful herbs before leaving the Star Dou Forest. Coupled with the blood essence of the hundred-year and thousand-year soul beasts that had been frozen by the Medicine Master earlier, he had enough Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to use for a while.
And the fur and flesh of those soul beasts were sold by Huo Yuhao in some villages around the Star Dou Forest to specialized merchants, earning him over ten thousand gold soul coins, temporarily relieving him of financial worries.
The blood-red liquid in the bathtub was the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid diluted with water.
The medicinal properties of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid not only strengthened Huo Yuhao's physique but also increased his soul power, helping him compensate for his innate deficiencies.
The icy blood-red liquid soaked Huo Yuhao's bruised skin, immediately making him sigh in relief. Closing his eyes slowly, he lay straight in the wooden tub, gradually falling into a deep sleep.
Yao Lao looked at his disciple with some pity, shaking his head with a smile. Sensing that there was no one outside, he waved his hand and opened the door, taking the tea and food from the doorstep and placing them on the table inside the room.
Then, his transparent body twisted, Yao Lao turned into a beam of light and entered the black ring.
Most of the Star Dou Forest is located within the territory of the Star Luo Empire, with only a small part in the Tian Dou Empire. Shrek Academy is located northwest of the Star Dou Forest, not too far from it.
However, because the soul beasts in the direction of Shrek Academy are the strongest, most of them are over ten thousand years old, and there are even soul beasts over a hundred thousand years old, Huo Yuhao needs to bypass the Star Dou Forest to reach Shrek Academy, so the journey is close to a thousand miles.
With the dawn, Huo Yuhao walked out of a jungle onto a plain, finally seeing where Shrek City was located.
Shrek Academy is built on the Lema Plain, covering a vast area. It is itself a city, hence being called Shrek City. Shrek Academy has separate governance rights over this city and does not need to pay taxes to any country.
Well, to put it simply, it's like a lawless area.
The south, west, and north gates of Shrek City can be freely accessed, only the east gate belongs to Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao, after asking for directions, went straight to the east gate.
There are more than a dozen young Shrek Academy students guarding the east gate, each wearing yellow armor with a green pattern on their chests.
Upon seeing Huo Yuhao wanting to enter Shrek City, they immediately stopped him. However, there was no arrogance in their words, but rather a gentle and polite tone.
"Hey, little brother, what are you here for?" The leading male student walked up to Huo Yuhao and asked with a smile.
"I'm a new student this year, here for the registration assessment." Huo Yuhao also smiled and nodded, his words devoid of any nervousness, as if chatting with a friend.
The male student exchanged a glance with his companions, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.
Hardly any new students coming to register at Shrek Academy could remain so calm. After all, Shrek Academy is the highest temple of soul masters on the entire Douluo Continent, regarded as a sacred place by the soul master world.
However, the new students who come to register are all filled with infinite hope by their respective family forces, so how could they not be nervous?
But the Huo Yuhao in front of them was an exception. His expression remained unchanged, as calm as a still pond. His conversation with them was just like ordinary small talk, devoid of any pressure.
"Well, little brother, wanting to register at Shrek Academy has its requirements. The first is not to exceed twelve years old, the second requirement is to have soul power of at least Rank 15, and you must also have recommendation letters from at least one main city-level power from the three major empires." The male student nodded with a smile. "So, what is your cultivation level now?"
"Rank 11," Huo Yuhao replied.
"Cough, cough, cough." The male student nearly choked on his saliva. "You said what?! Rank 11?!"
"Yeah, that's right." Huo Yuhao nodded, even honestly releasing his own soul rings.
A ring of translucent white soul rings rose from under Huo Yuhao's feet, slowly moving upwards, reaching his head before gently swaying downward, it was his first soul ring.
"Ten-year soul ring. Rank 11 soul power."
Not only the male student, but even the other Shrek Academy students nearby were somewhat dumbfounded as they looked at Huo Yuhao.
Such talent, such strength, where did you get the confidence to apply to Shrek Academy, where did you get the courage?
Taking a deep breath, the male student in charge of guarding the city gate did not show an angry expression on his face. He gently patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Little brother, I'm sorry, you don't meet the enrollment requirements of our Shrek Academy, so..."
However, he didn't notice that Huo Yuhao was also sizing him up at this moment, with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
Perhaps Shrek Academy will become a tumor on the continent in the future, but not all the students who come out of it are incapable mediocrities.
Being treated politely by a peer soul master who could be considered a waste like himself shows that at least in the hearts of these lower-level Shrek Academy students, there is still enthusiasm and sincerity.
"Senior, maybe I didn't make it clear just now." Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and took out a token from his pocket, handing it to the male student. "I heard that holding this thing can allow you to enter Shrek Academy without an exam."
"Don't mess around, little brother. There are plenty of legends and rumors about Shrek Academy on the continent, you shouldn't..." The male student shook his head helplessly, taking the heavy token.
But when he saw the large "Grace" character on the token, his expression changed instantly.
"Shrek Grace Token?!"
Upon hearing these five words, the other Shrek Academy students around also hurried over. However, they were only low-level Shrek Academy students after all, and encountering such a situation for the first time, they didn't dare to decide whether to let Huo Yuhao enter Shrek City.
The male student took a deep look at Huo Yuhao, who had a calm and composed look on his face, and nodded with the Shrek Grace Token in hand, saying, "Little brother, please wait here for a moment. I need to report to the teacher in the academy before I can let you enter the city."