Sorry, Teacher Fan, I Refuse.

Xiao Xiao turned to Xu Jie and said gravely, "You should take it! There's something wrong with your martial soul. A soul bone would undoubtedly help you more."

"No, you should take it. I can't continue cultivating, and if someone with ill intentions finds out there's a soul bone in my body, I'll undoubtedly be in danger." Xu Jie stood up.

"Besides, it's only a soul bone. It wouldn't be much help against a truly powerful enemy anyway, so you should have it."

"But..." Xiao Xiao clearly still wanted to say something.

"Xiao Xiao, just take it. Brother Jie is right." Seeing this, Huo Yuhao grabbed the soul bone and placed it in Xiao Xiao's hand.

"Then..." Xiao Xiao looked at the soul bone in her hand and stopped hesitating. "Xu Jie, don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you." With that, she blushed and left without looking back.

"???" Xu Jie was utterly baffled. What did I do? Other than the competition, Xiao Xiao and I have barely interacted at all, right?

"Ow..." Huo Yuhao reacted quickly. He suddenly let out an enlightened cry.

"What the hell are you howling for?" Xu Jie walked over and kicked Huo Yuhao in the ass. Is this the price of slandering Wang Dong as a shemale?

But it was probably a misunderstanding. Xiao Xiao had no other feelings for him. She had only blushed because of what she had just said.

And even if she did, so what? He was only twelve years old. This was not the time to be thinking about such things. He would only consider them after turning eighteen.

He might also be a transmigrator, but he was not some pervert surnamed Tang who loved someone to the death at six years old.

Nor was he some pervert surnamed Dai who took twin girls to the Rose Hotel at fourteen or fifteen, then still had the nerve to act devoted.

No normal person could do such things.

"Ow!" Huo Yuhao cried out after being kicked in the ass, then looked at Xu Jie with a wicked grin.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's smug grin, Xu Jie pretended he was about to kick him again. Huo Yuhao hurriedly climbed onto his bed and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Not long after Xiao Xiao left, there was another knock at the door. Xu Jie, who was lying on the bed, put down the Poison Scripture in his hands and got up to answer it.

"Teacher Zhou?" Xu Jie looked at the visitor in surprise.

"I'm here for Huo Yuhao." Zhou Yi glanced at Xu Jie and spoke coldly.

"Teacher Zhou, please come in." Xu Jie stepped aside. "Yuhao, Teacher Zhou is looking for you."

Zhou Yi walked into the dormitory and immediately saw Huo Yuhao, who had stopped cultivating and risen from his bed. A trace of gratification appeared in her stern eyes.

Huo Yuhao's diligence was obvious to everyone in Class One of the new students. It was just that the results he gained did not quite match that effort, at least in Zhou Yi's and the other students' eyes.

"Teacher Zhou, what is it?" Huo Yuhao stood up and looked at the elderly Zhou Yi entering through the door, without the slightest hint of distance in his tone.

Zhou Yi had always valued hard work over talent. Even after Xu Jie developed a flaw in his martial soul, Zhou Yi had never looked down on him.

Moreover, Zhou Yi could have kept the soul bone won from this bet for herself, but she had not. In her eyes, as long as they worked hard, students with poor talent were still students.

"Come on, Yuhao. We're going to the Soul Guidance Laboratory." Zhou Yi still wore a cold expression. Her face had always been like that.

"Alright." Huo Yuhao took the second-level engraving knife Dugu Lu had given him earlier and followed behind Zhou Yi. The two quickly left the dormitory area and headed for the soul guidance testing area.

Zhou Yi moved very quickly, weaving through the testing area without the slightest hesitation.

Following behind her, Huo Yuhao could not help feeling surprised. Why did he feel that Teacher Zhou seemed even more familiar with this place than he was?

After passing He Caitou, who had been teaching him basic Soul Guidance Knowledge over the past three months, the two arrived before a closed iron door. Zhou Yi took out a small black cube and inserted it into an empty slot on the door.

"!!!" Where did Teacher Zhou get the key to this door? Looking at Zhou Yi's wrinkled face and white hair, a strange thought suddenly surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind.

Could it be that she and Teacher Fan... No, that can't be right. The age gap is far too big.

The iron door clicked softly. Still full of doubts, Huo Yuhao followed Zhou Yi inside. This was Fan Yu's personal Soul Guidance Laboratory, and he had only entered it a few times.

Fan Yu, who had been working on a seventh-level long-range Soul Tool, heard the soft click of the iron door. He set down the Soul Guidance Engraving Knife in his hand, looked up at the newcomers, and said, "You're here."

"Mhm." Zhou Yi nodded lightly and pushed Huo Yuhao forward.

"Yuhao, try out your soul skill." Fan Yu looked at Huo Yuhao as he spoke.

"Alright." Huo Yuhao nodded. A glowing white Million-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, and specks of white light appeared deep within his eyes. Information about everything within a hundred and fifty meters immediately appeared in Fan Yu's mind.

Having once again experienced the wonder of Huo Yuhao's soul skill, Fan Yu nodded in satisfaction before asking, "Yuhao, what is your Soul Power Level now?"

"I'm level fifteen now." Huo Yuhao withdrew his soul skill and honestly stated his Soul Power Level without hiding anything. He had nothing to hide.

"Are you confident you can reach level twenty by next year's assessment?" Fan Yu was somewhat surprised by the answer. In three months, he had only improved by two levels. That speed was indeed rather slow.

"Not really." Huo Yuhao shook his head. If it were only him, he truly would not be confident. But Xu Jie had said he would find a way to help him.

So even though advancing to the second year required at least two soul rings, he was not worried. He had Sky Dream Ice Silkworm for soul rings and Xu Jie for soul power. What did he have to fear?

Simply put, he had cheats. Who was he afraid of?

"Yuhao, to be honest, your talent is exceptionally suited for the Soul Guidance Department. If you aren't confident about passing the assessment, I can help you." After saying that, Fan Yu quietly watched Huo Yuhao.

After observing him for three months, Fan Yu had to admit that he was very satisfied with this disciple. Huo Yuhao was diligent and eager to learn, hardworking and intelligent.

"I..." Just as Huo Yuhao was about to speak, Fan Yu interrupted him.

"Don't answer so quickly. I do have conditions. First, you must join the Soul Guidance Department directly. Second, you must take me as your master. The Soul Guidance Department can directly grant you the status of a Core Disciple."

"Sorry, Teacher Fan, I refuse." Huo Yuhao lowered his head to think for a moment, but there was not the slightest hesitation in his voice.

"You..." The expressions of both Fan Yu and Zhou Yi slowly turned to astonishment.

"Teacher Fan, Teacher Zhou, I understand what you mean. Although my talent is poor, I don't want to obtain the status of a Core Disciple through the shortcut of taking a master. I would rather achieve it through my own efforts."

Huo Yuhao interrupted Fan Yu and said firmly.

"I..." Fan Yu looked at Huo Yuhao's resolute gaze. In the end, he said nothing more and merely nodded lightly.

"Alright, Yuhao. I look forward to seeing your efforts."

"Alright." Hearing that, Huo Yuhao looked toward Zhou Yi beside him.

"Yuhao, go back first. Teacher Fan and I still have something to discuss." Zhou Yi's stern gaze swept over Huo Yuhao.

"Alright." Huo Yuhao nodded and said to them, "Teacher Zhou, Teacher Fan, then I'll head back first." With that, he stepped out of Fan Yu's Soul Guidance Laboratory.

When he passed He Caitou, Huo Yuhao greeted him, but he did not stay behind to study Soul Tools.

Before the freshman assessment, Fan Yu had already given him ten days off.

Actually, even if he had been given time off, Huo Yuhao would have been willing to stay and study. But the previous exercises had been far too tedious. Learning Soul Guidance Knowledge was one thing.

But why did a Soul Engineer have to learn blacksmithing? That was something he could not understand at all.

Though he did not understand it, he was quite good at forging. With his Million-Year soul skill, Huo Yuhao could see the condition inside metal with perfect clarity, and thanks to the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, he was quite strong.

Forging a piece of metal capable of being engraved with a Core Array was far too easy for Huo Yuhao.

That was why Huo Yuhao did not want to waste his time on blacksmithing.