Huo Yuhao Is Destined to Lead the Sea God Pavilion!

Black World, Shrek Academy.

Xian Lin'er led Huo Yuhao south along a stone-paved path.

A gray stone wall several dozen feet high appeared ahead, with rows of dark Soul Guidance warning lights embedded in it. Deep beastly roars and the fluttering of wings could faintly be heard beyond the wall.

"We're here."

Xian Lin'er stopped, took a token from her sleeve, and pressed it against the Soul Guidance Array.

The heavy stone gate slid open soundlessly, and a strong, rank stench washed over them.

Huo Yuhao looked up. The beast pens in the beast-fighting area were far larger than he had imagined.

Rows of enclosures stood aboveground, separated by Soul Guidance fences. There were deeper pens underground, too, where the grating sound of claws scraping against metal bars could faintly be heard.

Several uniformed staff members were making their rounds. When they saw Xian Lin'er, they all bowed.

"Dean Xian."

Xian Lin'er nodded and pointed to an enclosure farther inside.

"That seven-hundred-year-old Lightning-Patterned Leopard is still here, right?"

"Yes."

A staff member opened the record book in his hands.

"It was tested just two days ago. It's in excellent condition."

Xian Lin'er turned and beckoned to a youth following behind her.

The youth looked to be about twelve or thirteen and wore a clean white school uniform.

"His name is Lin Yuan. His Martial Soul is a cheetah, and he's a second-year senior from the Soul Tool Department. His cultivation has just reached the Soul Grandmaster level,"

Xian Lin'er said to Huo Yuhao.

"Use this seven-hundred-year-old Lightning-Patterned Leopard to form a Soul Spirit Contract for him."

Huo Yuhao nodded.

The Lightning-Patterned Leopard's enclosure was opened, and a purple-black shadow shot out, practically skimming the ground.

The leopard was nearly two meters long, and the purple lightning patterns on its fur flickered like living things. Its amber vertical pupils were full of wariness and wildness.

Soul Guidance chains held it in check, allowing it to move only within several dozen feet, but every growl was accompanied by a muffled rumble of thunder.

"Begin."

Xian Lin'er stepped back, quietly gathering her Soul Power, ready to intervene at any moment.

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes.

In his Sea of Consciousness, Electrolux's voice rang out.

"Little Yuhao, don't copy what the other you did in the Heavenly Screen."

"Your control over your spiritual power is nowhere near his. I'll teach you a method: use your senior and his similar Martial Soul to soothe this Soul Beast rather than suppress it."

Huo Yuhao turned to look at Lin Yuan.

"Senior Brother Lin, could you release your Martial Soul first and get as close to it as you can?"

Lin Yuan nodded and released his cheetah Martial Soul.

A cyan, leopard-shaped apparition appeared behind him, and the presence of a feline Soul Beast spread through the air.

The Lightning-Patterned Leopard narrowed its vertical pupils slightly. Its growling softened, and its taut back seemed to relax.

Just then, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power poured into the Lightning-Patterned Leopard's mind.

Like layers of adhesive tape, it wrapped around the leopard's Spiritual Origin.

At the same time, a golden staff formed from spiritual power appeared in Huo Yuhao's hand.

As a long incantation rang out, a six-pointed star array lit up.

Huo Yuhao's face visibly paled, veins bulging on his forehead as waves of dizziness from overtaxing his spiritual power washed over his mind.

"It worked!"

Electrolux's voice carried a note of approval.

"The final step: complete the contract!"

Huo Yuhao's eyes snapped open, and a silver-gray light flashed in his Spirit Eyes.

The Lightning-Patterned Leopard let out a piercing roar, its massive body gradually shrinking in the golden light.

At last, it became a fist-sized ball of purple-black light and vanished into the space between Lin Yuan's eyebrows.

A bright yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose and coiled around him. It was his Second Soul Ring, the seven-hundred-year-old Lightning-Patterned Leopard.

A palm-sized purple-black leopard appeared on his shoulder.

Its vertical pupils were a little dazed, as though it had just woken up. It opened its mouth in a yawn, and a tiny electric spark escaped.

Huo Yuhao dropped onto his backside, gasping for breath, his whole body drenched in sweat.

"...That was a lot harder than I thought."

"Dean Xian, with my current spiritual power, the highest I can manage is a contract with a Soul Beast around seven hundred years old."

"If it's any older, I don't have enough spiritual power, and my control isn't good enough either."

"The other me in the Heavenly Screen could form a contract with a thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant because of his own exceptionally strong control over his spiritual power. I can't come close."

Xian Lin'er's eyes were frighteningly bright.

She hurried over and took a close look at the little Lightning-Patterned Leopard on Lin Yuan's shoulder, then at the genuine Hundred-Year Soul Ring around him, as though she had stumbled upon an immeasurable treasure.

"That's enough. This is already enough to prove that this path works!"

Xian Lin'er said with a smile.

"If you don't have enough spiritual power, we'll supplement it with medicinal cuisine. If you don't have enough Soul Power, we'll build it up with pills."

"I won't boast about anything else, but when it comes to resources for training students, no other place on the entire continent can compare to Shrek Academy."

"Starting today, everything you're given will be arranged according to the highest standards."

"If you need anything, come straight to me!"

Xian Lin'er told Huo Yuhao to return to his dormitory and rest, while she returned to the Sea God Pavilion.

When she pushed open the door and entered, Mu En was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, resting, while Yan Shaozhe sat to one side, looking through Huo Yuhao's file.

Xuan Zi, meanwhile, had his bandage-wrapped leg propped up and was gnawing on a chicken drumstick.

"It worked!"

Xian Lin'er said only those two words.

The Sea God Pavilion fell silent in an instant.

Mu En opened his eyes, and Xian Lin'er gave a concise account of what had happened in the beast-fighting area.

Mu En was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Good."

"Yan Shaozhe, Lin'er, listen carefully, both of you."

"Starting today, Huo Yuhao's training will be raised to the highest priority."

"Give him whatever he asks for and provide whatever he lacks."

"All the resources of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department are to be made available to him unconditionally."

Yan Shaozhe put aside his thoughts of competing for him and nodded solemnly.

"I understand."

"Also, not a word about Soul Spirits is to be revealed to the outside world before Huo Yuhao has grown up."

"Shrek Academy is about to pioneer an entirely new cultivation system, and its pioneer can only be one of our own."

His gaze turned toward the place beyond the window where the Heavenly Screen had disappeared.

"This child is destined to lead the Sea God Pavilion in the future."

Two days later.

White World, Mingdu.

At the very center of Mingdu, a God Ascension Platform rose from the ground, a thousand feet high.

It was forged entirely from translucent rare metal, its surface engraved with intricate Soul Power patterns.

Under the sunlight, the entire platform seemed to be shrouded in a hazy golden halo.

Each step of the God Ascension Platform was inlaid with densely packed Soul Guidance crystals, their light growing brighter level by level from bottom to top.

In the end, it gathered on the platform at the summit.

Around the God Ascension Platform, a dark sea of people stretched as far as the eye could see.

It extended from Mingdu's inner city all the way to the outer city, from atop the city walls to the distant hills.

Countless heads jostled together as the masses gathered.

Some were weathered old men; others were women cradling infants.

Some were Soul Masters in the full vigor of youth; others were white-haired commoners.

Men and women, young and old, highborn and lowborn alike, everyone's gaze was fixed on the upright figure atop the platform.

The newly appointed emperor, Huo Yuhao, was ascending the throne today!