Heading to Shrek Academy!

"What are you still standing there for?"

"Pack your things and get out, now."

"That storage room leaks; figure out how to fix it yourselves."

"Also, starting tomorrow, both of you will be working."

"You, go to the kitchen and help out."

"You, go clean the stables."

The steward waved his hand impatiently.

He pointed at Huo Yuhao, a mocking smirk curling his lips: "Little trash, you should at least do the work trash is meant for."

Huo Yuhao looked up at him.

His gaze was calm.

So calm that it didn't look like that of a six-year-old child.

The steward felt inexplicably unnerved, then flew into a rage, snatched a teacup from the table, and hurled it!

"What are you looking at! Get lost!"

The teacup smashed against Huo Yuhao's forehead, shattering across the floor.

Fresh blood trickled down his cheek.

Huo Yun'er let out a cry, lunging over to hold him, pressing a handkerchief tightly against the wound.

Huo Yuhao didn't move, letting his mother hold him.

He just kept looking at the steward.

He kept looking until he was pulled away by his mother.

The storage room was dilapidated.

The roof had several holes, the walls were covered in moss, and the floor was damp, reeking of mold.

Huo Yun'er busied herself cleaning the room, stuffing rags into the drafty cracks in the walls, and taking off her own coat to spread over the rickety wooden bed frame.

"Yuhao, sit for a moment. Mother is going to fetch tonight's meal."

She stroked her son's head and forced a smile.

Huo Yuhao looked at the exhaustion on his mother's face and her hands, which were too rough for a woman of thirty, and suddenly spoke:

"Mother, I will become strong."

Huo Yun'er was stunned.

"I definitely will."

"When that time comes, I will take you away from here."

"We will go to a place where no one can bully us."

Huo Yuhao repeated it, his voice quiet but firm.

Huo Yun'er's eyes turned red instantly.

She crouched down and pulled her son tightly into her arms.

"Alright, Mother will wait."

She didn't say how many years she had left in her current state of health.

She didn't say that from washing and sewing until late every night, her back could barely straighten anymore.

She just held her son, stroking his hair over and over again.

The moonlight from outside filtered through the holes in the roof, shining down on the mother and son.

It was very cold.

And very chilling.

At the same time.

On the main road.

Bai Lan was sitting under a large tree, resting and gnawing on dry rations.

He didn't know why he had suddenly thought of Huo Yuhao.

Perhaps it was because the impression left from reading the novel in his past life was too deep; that boy who climbed from the very bottom of the Duke's Mansion to eventually become a god was truly legendary.

"I wonder how old Huo Yuhao is now?"

"What is the exact time I've transmigrated into?"

Bai Lan chewed on his dry rations, silently calculating in his mind.

According to the timeline, Huo Yuhao enters Shrek Academy at around the age of eleven.

Following the trope in most novels where the protagonist is the same age as the side characters.

If he truly is the same age as Huo Yuhao.

Then the current Huo Yuhao should still be in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, having just awakened his Martial Soul not long ago.

He awakened the Spirit Eye.

With an Innate Soul Power of level one.

From this point on, he begins his long, dark years.

Should I go and fish him out?

The moment this thought popped up, Bai Lan dismissed it himself.

First, he could barely protect himself right now; as a six-year-old child, what could he possibly use to rescue someone from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion?

Second, Huo Yuhao's growth trajectory relied heavily on those miserable experiences.

It was precisely those hardships that forged his Tenacity.

It was precisely his mother's death that ignited his determination to become stronger.

If he were to forcefully interfere, it might not necessarily be a good thing.

Everyone has their own path to walk.

I am not a savior, nor do I have any obligation to change the fate of others.

Being able to take care of myself is already good enough.

If I grow strong in the future, I'll help if I can.

At the very least, he won't be groomed into a dog by Tang San.

At the very least, this guy can become a god.

Although the Douluo Continent is a low-tier world, it is also the easiest world among all fantasy novels to achieve immortality and eternal life.

How many people in this world fail to become gods!

Bai Lan stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

He continued on his journey.

Half a day later.

Bai Lan stood before a city gate, looking up at the three large characters above the gate:

Nuoding City

"Finally here."

He let out a sigh of relief.

Nuoding City, the administrative center of Fasinuo Province, was also the necessary path from Shenhun Village to Shrek Academy.

According to his plan, he needed to find a merchant caravan in Nuoding City and head north with them; this would be both safe and convenient.

Traveling alone was too dangerous.

If he were to encounter a Soul Beast or run into an Evil Soul Master, his little life might just be forfeited.

"I'll find a place to stay first, then go ask around at the merchant guild."

Bai Lan stepped into the city.

After ten thousand years of development, and with the help of the fame of the Sea God Tang San.

The current Nuoding City was more prosperous than he had imagined.

Shops lined both sides of the street, pedestrians flowed in an endless stream, and from time to time, one could see Soul Masters dressed in sturdy attire walking by.

Bai Lan's simple clothing made him look a bit out of place here, but he didn't care, finding a cheap little inn to stay in on his own.

After settling in, he went out to inquire about information regarding the merchant guild.

He was in luck; three days later, a merchant caravan was heading north, with Shrek City as its destination.

The leader was a man in his fifties, surnamed Wang, known as Fatty Wang. It was said that he was a Soul Master when he was young, but after getting injured and retiring, he changed his profession to business.

Bai Lan found him and explained his intentions.

"Little kid, you're going to Shrek City all by yourself? Where are the adults in your family?"

Fatty Wang looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the Sickle at his waist and the bundle on his back.

"I am the adult," Bai Lan said calmly.

Fatty Wang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Interesting! Fine, I like you. Pay five Silver Soul Coins, and I'll cover your meals on the road."

Bai Lan nodded and paid the money on the spot.

Fatty Wang pocketed the money, took one more look at him, and suddenly lowered his voice to say, "Little kid, a word of advice: the roads haven't been safe lately. There are Evil Soul Masters about, so stick close to the caravan and don't wander off."

Evil Soul Master?

"Many thanks for the warning."

Bai Lan felt a jolt of alarm inside, but his expression remained impassive.

Three days later, the caravan set off.

Bai Lan followed the group out of Nuoding City, heading north.

The caravan was quite large, consisting of over twenty carriages loaded with a wide variety of goods.

There were a dozen or so guards, all of whom were two or three-ring Soul Masters. The leader was a man in his forties, a four-ring Soul Ancestor surnamed Liu, whom everyone called Boss Liu.

Bai Lan was the only child in the group, and at first, some people teased him, asking if he had run away from home.

But Bai Lan didn't talk much, and when pressed, he would simply give the other person a calm, chilling look. After a few times, no one bothered him anymore.

Fatty Wang, however, quite liked him and often pulled him aside to chat.

"Little kid, you're heading to Shrek City—you're going to Shrek Academy, right?"

"Yes."

"What is your Martial Soul? What level is your Innate Soul Power?"

"A Book."

"Level ten."

Fatty Wang nearly fell off his horse.

He stared at Bai Lan with wide eyes, taking a long moment before he could choke out a single sentence: "...Say that again?"

"Innate Full Soul Power." Bai Lan repeated it calmly.