Regrets of the Past, a Smile in Retrospect

Hearing Huoyao's explanation, Chang Feng couldn't help glancing at the spot where she had just pointed. After seeing that the flames had already burned out, he looked toward the place where Yueyan had been hiding.

Behind her, he had only made two moves, and both had struck the ground. He hadn't done anything that could have caused Huoyao any harm.

Everyone had been walking with their heads down, and only after Yueyan was gone did they realize what had happened.

Thinking back to how Yueyan had acted like a dignified and unmoving king, and how she had been an eminent elder of the Soul Venerables, Chang Feng couldn't help feeling that her behavior during the test had been disgraceful. He couldn't help wondering if he had simply been too harsh.

The look on Chang Feng's face was dark.

"Vice captain, let's start over!"

For a moment, everyone heard Chang Feng's words and turned to stare at him in shock. Some couldn't believe that he actually wanted to start the test again.

Hadn't he already passed?

"Old Chang, do you have some kind of misunderstanding?"

Huoyao's smile never faltered as she looked at Chang Feng. At the same time, she quickly recorded the events in her diary.

[As expected, the fools from Taolangke are all hopeless. From beginning to end, they're all one-note characters. The tricks I used to teach Huohuo and the others seem to have worked pretty well.]

[The funniest thing is, these fools have never considered themselves fools. Instead, they think they're clever. They really are something else.]

[I wonder if Han San can play along with him, because Han San is an idiot himself.]

Even without Huoyao's commentary, Zhu Zhuqing could tell that Chang Feng had only passed the test because Yueyan had gone easy on him. Now that Huoyao had made things worse, her opinion of the group had only grown more certain.

Zhu Zhuqing's expression remained cool.

"Didn't you just say that as long as we held on a little longer, we'd pass the test? Aren't you the one refusing to admit defeat now?"

Duoxu spoke with a confidence that brooked no argument.

"Old Chang, it seems your history with the Shrek Academy means you don't want us to pass. If that's the case, why not just say so? We don't have to join Taolangke just because you say we do."

"Even if we went to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, we'd never let you bully us like this."

Chang Feng was so choked up that he could barely find the words to answer his old friend.

He knew Duoxu was only teasing him. The five of them were all talented, especially Huoyao. At twelve, she had already reached the rank of Soul Venerable. With talent like theirs, even the Spirit Hall would welcome them.

If his own actions drove them away from the Shrek Academy, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Thinking of this, Chang Feng put on a sheepish smile and quickly explained.

"I was only joking with you. You've already passed the test and become students of the Shrek Academy."

To change the subject, Chang Feng looked at Luo Yao.

"Kid, was that mental power trick just now your doing?"

Huoyao rolled her eyes and pointed at herself, laughing.

"My martial soul is an eye, so my mental power is just a little stronger than other Soul Masters'."

Just a little stronger?

The expressions on everyone's faces grew strange.

That was what she called a little stronger?

He'd been caught in her mental power and had been dazed for quite a while. Even if he had been caught off guard, she'd still done it quite easily.

Chang Feng rubbed his chin, then asked another question.

"I want to know how you found the flaw in me. You went straight for it, and your timing was so good that I barely had time to react."

Hearing that, everyone's gaze fell on Huoyao.

Chang Feng scratched his head and said with a slightly rueful expression, "You again?"

Huoyao had no intention of keeping it a secret. She used her mental detection and mental sharing again, sending the explanation to Chang Feng.

"Don't resist, Old Chang. You'll understand once you feel it."

Chang Feng had felt an unfamiliar mental power enter his sea of consciousness. He had wanted to drive it out, but Huoyao had told him not to resist, so he let it stay.

When Huoyao connected their mental powers, Chang Feng saw everything through his own eyes. Time seemed to slow down, and everything around him became incomparably clear.

Every detail within his field of vision appeared in his sea of consciousness.

Even the area three hundred meters around him was visible without needing to use his eyes. Everything seemed to take shape within his mind, and any change in his surroundings would be noticed at once.

"Good grief!"

After experiencing the effect of Huoyao's mental power, Chang Feng blurted out in shock. His eyes were full of disbelief.

It was as if he had spent years trying to reach the threshold, only to suddenly receive the answer he'd been searching for. The feeling was simply impossible to describe.

Chang Feng's reaction didn't surprise Huoyao. Even Zhu Zhuqing and Duoxu seemed impressed.

The others had already seen how powerful Huoyao's mental power was, but Huohuo didn't know.

Seeing Chang Feng's astonished reaction, Huohuo felt as if he'd just been slapped in the face. He wanted to know what Huoyao's mental power was for, but he couldn't bring himself to ask, and could only stew in his own frustration.

Besides, the better Huoyao seemed, the more uneasy he became. He had even more reason to bring Zhu Zhuqing back with him now.

"Ahem..."

Chang Feng cleared his throat, then looked at Huoyao with undisguised appreciation.

"Not bad, kid. I like your mental power. Even if you've already passed the test, I still want you to join Taolangke!"

As an elder of the Soul Venerables, Chang Feng understood the importance of mental power better than Zhu Zhuqing and the others. He had immediately grasped just how useful it could be.

That was right. As long as Huoyao was there, the Shrek Academy would be practically unbeatable among its peers.

With scouting, detection, and the ability to find an enemy's weaknesses, how could they possibly lose?

Faced with Chang Feng's calm expression, Huoyao's reaction was mild. She even began jotting down a story in her diary.

[Regrets of the Past, a Smile in Retrospect. That's Taolangke for you.]