Mimicry Training Ground

Huo Yuhao suddenly understood. Now he also knew why Dai Huabin had been so furious yesterday and beaten him up. It turned out Dai Huabin had taken a beating from Feng Piaoling, then come back and taken his anger out on him.

At the thought of this, Huo Yuhao—already resentful toward Feng Piaoling for making him absorb a ten-year Wind Baboon as his First Spirit Ring and humiliating him in front of Tang Ya and Bei Bei—grew even more bitter toward him.

Feng Piaoling, first you made me absorb a ten-year Wind Baboon Spirit Ring, then you humiliated me, and now you've even gotten me beaten up by Dai Huabin. Sooner or later, I'll pay you back for all of it.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's expression, Bei Bei had a vague idea of what was going on, but he said nothing. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Since you're unwilling to say who beat you, we won't press you. You've already started practicing the Tang Sect Secret Arts. I believe that one day, you'll be able to defeat the person who bullied you. Xiao Ya and I came to see you this time not only to ask how you were doing, but also for another reason."

"Senior Brother Bei, just say the word. If it's something to do with our Tang Sect, I'll do whatever it takes."

Thinking of how Feng Piaoling had called him an ungrateful wretch, Huo Yuhao worried that Bei Bei and Tang Ya might see him that way too, so he agreed without a second thought.

Bei Bei smiled faintly. "It's nothing difficult. In fact, it'll do you some good. If everything goes well, it might greatly increase your cultivation speed."

"A great increase in my cultivation speed?" Huo Yuhao's eyes immediately lit up. His greatest worry at the moment was how slowly he cultivated.

Even after practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill, his progress was still terrible.

According to Brother Sky Dream's estimate,

before he obtained his Second Martial Soul, at the Soul Grandmaster stage, raising his soul power by two levels a year would already be pretty good.

An average of one level every six months.

At Shrek Academy, that put him a little above average.

But for him, it was still too slow.

He wanted to defeat Dai Huabin, defeat Feng Piaoling, and defeat everyone who had bullied him and his mother. In the end, he wanted Dai Hao to kneel before his mother's grave, repent, and beg for her forgiveness.

There was still a long road ahead.

Bei Bei nodded and smiled, keeping him in suspense. "That's right. But first, go eat and fill your stomach. I'll tell you about it afterward."

"All right, Senior Brother Bei. I'll go eat right now."

Huo Yuhao immediately perked up. He stopped pretending to look pitiful and hurried toward the cheapest serving window in the cafeteria. He spent two Copper Soul Coins on a serving of vegetables and rice, then wolfed it down.

Watching how quickly Huo Yuhao had changed, Tang Ya couldn't help thinking of what Feng Piaoling had said earlier: that Huo Yuhao was an ungrateful wretch who loved to play the victim.

She turned to Bei Bei. "Bei Bei, you're not planning to give him the Mysterious Water Pill you got out of Xu Sanshi, are you?"

Bei Bei nodded. "That's right. If Xu Sanshi wants to beat Feng Piaoling this time, he'll need Yuhao's Spirit Detection Sharing support. I'm only giving Huo Yuhao the reward that should have been his in the first place."

"Besides, Huo Yuhao is part of the Tang Sect now. If he fails the Freshman Assessment because he isn't strong enough, it'll hurt the Tang Sect's reputation. This is simply something we have to do."

Since Bei Bei had put it that way, Tang Ya couldn't very well argue, even though she wasn't entirely happy about it.

She could only let things take their course.

Besides, he was right. If Huo Yuhao had to drop out because he couldn't pass the Freshman Assessment, it really would affect the Tang Sect's reputation.

In front of a grand, old-fashioned building, people streamed in and out. Some nobles entered as easily as if they were going to eat or drink, while commoners could only gaze at it from afar.

Even getting close seemed like a luxury.

Feng Piaoling stopped and turned his head. "This should be Shrek Academy's Mimicry Training Ground."

"Mm. The Mimicry Training Ground was built at great expense by Shrek Academy. Like the Soul Fighting Arena, it's one of the academy's main sources of income."

Jiang Nannan toyed with a Mimicry Training Ground token. Feng Piaoling had just paid for another year for her.

It had cost more than three hundred Gold Soul Coins in total.

Before now, she wouldn't even have dared imagine it.

It proved the saying: money might not be everything, but without it, you could do nothing.

Jiang Nannan didn't like money, but what she disliked was money from the likes of Xu Sanshi.

When the one giving her money was the man she loved, it was a completely different story.

Her affection for him soared by leaps and bounds.

Feng Piaoling had merely treated Jiang Nannan to a lavish breakfast and paid for a year at the Mimicry Training Ground.

Yet that was enough to leave her reeling, so dizzy with happiness she could barely tell east from west.

At that moment, Jiang Nannan gazed at Feng Piaoling with an affection she could hardly conceal, her eyes practically brimming with love.

"Let's go in."

Feng Piaoling said no more and headed toward the old-fashioned building.

"Welcome. Are you two junior schoolmates here to use the Mimicry Training Ground? Please show us your tokens." In the lobby, two beautiful female Soul Masters sat behind a desk.

These female Soul Masters were usually students from Shrek Academy who hadn't managed to enter the Inner Courtyard. They had dropped out and stayed at the academy to take on safe jobs.

Feng Piaoling nodded. "That's right."

After ten thousand years of development, the Mimicry Training Ground was no longer like it had been ten thousand years ago, when food-type Soul Masters practiced in kitchens and plant-type Soul Masters practiced in forests, and so on.

Now, Soul Tools had been installed.

By using Soul Tools to simulate different environments, a Soul Master's cultivation speed could be increased to a certain extent.

After they took out the tokens they had received upon paying outside, one of the beautiful female Soul Masters led them to two adjoining, sealed rooms.

The beautiful female Soul Master said, "The room on the left is Mimicry Training Ground No. 35, and the one on the right is Mimicry Training Ground No. 36. Until you come out, no one has the right to enter without your permission."

"Understood." Feng Piaoling took out a Gold Soul Coin and tossed it to her.

"Thank you. I hope you both make great progress in your cultivation, junior schoolmates." The beautiful female Soul Master smiled. She was only a Soul Elder, and in an era without Soul Master subsidies, a single Gold Soul Coin was already quite a lot to her.

After the woman left, Feng Piaoling said, "I've already made plans for my cultivation over the next few days. As for having you assist me, let's wait until classes officially begin. Also, I'll be cultivating until late this time. If you get hungry before then, go to the cafeteria and eat by yourself. Don't wait for me."

"All right." Jiang Nannan quietly resolved to carry some food with her. That way, she wouldn't waste the Mimicry Training Ground Feng Piaoling had rented for her.

It would also give her more time to spend by his side.

After parting from Jiang Nannan, Feng Piaoling entered Mimicry Training Ground No. 36.

"This Mimicry Training Ground is pretty good. It's every bit as good as the one at the Crown Prince's Mansion."