"Who are you? Are you my roommate?" Huo Yuhao asked.
*(This boy is way too pretty. I never thought a boy could be this beautiful. Is he really a boy? He's just too beautiful. Pinkish-blue hair, such elegant attire, and even his clothes look good—he's far prettier than Teacher Xiao Ya.
Is this person my roommate? I should get acquainted with him first.
Those who could enter Shrek were basically no pushovers. They either had ability or a powerful background.
I was able to enter Shrek and become a Shrek student because of Teacher Xiao Ya and Brother Beibei. On top of that, I had already joined the Tang Sect, which was why I qualified for admission.)*
Huo Yuhao truly had not expected a "man" to be so beautiful, even more beautiful than Tang Ya, the Tang Sect's sect master.
Tang Ya could be considered pretty, but not exceptionally so. Yet the "man" before him was even more beautiful than Tang Ya, a woman.
A "man" more beautiful than a woman—it was enough to show just how stunning this "man" was.
"Looks like you're my roommate. Since you cleaned this dorm so nicely, I'll set five rules. First, you can't be naked in this dorm. Second, you can't snore and disturb me. Third, you can't bother me. Fourth, you can't bring outsiders into the dorm whenever you want. Fifth, you'll clean the entire dorm from now on. But you're not allowed to touch my bed, my cabinet, or anything like that."
Huo Yuhao was furious when he heard what his roommate said. Back at the Duke Mansion, he had suffered all kinds of unfair treatment and had been treated like a slave. He was clearly the White Tiger Duke's child. Even if he had been born to a mistress, shouldn't he at least have received some normal treatment? Being made to work as a servant was one thing, but even where he lived was terrible—worse than a servant's quarters.
How was this person any different from the Duchess and the others at the Duke Mansion?
"You! What gives you the right to order me around?" Huo Yuhao was truly enraged.
"If you don't agree, then let's fight. We'll settle it with our fists."
When Huo Yuhao heard the "man" say that, he prepared to fight immediately. The two then went outside the dorm.
"Trash like you isn't even fit to be a servant. Your mother wasn't even a servant. Next time you see us, get on your knees, understand? Got it? Otherwise, I'll beat you every time I see you!"
In Huo Yuhao's mind echoed the voices of the Duchess and those people from the Duke Mansion—mocking his mother, ridiculing him, and humiliating him. It made him feel miserable. The pain inflicted by the Duke Mansion was a lifelong wound.
His mother, Huo Yun'er, was already dead. What he had to do was avenge her and take revenge on the Duke Mansion.
Now, someone no different from those people at the Duke Mansion had appeared before him, acting exactly as they had back then. How could he possibly give him a pleasant look? They would fight.
The two then arrived near where the old man was lying.
"Young men, if you're going to fight, watch the people around you. Be careful not to hurt anyone nearby. You should also be careful yourselves. There's no need to risk your lives."
That was what the old man said.
"Understood. Then let's begin! My name is Wang Dong."
"My name is Huo Yuhao."
After introducing themselves, the two began fighting at once. Huo Yuhao charged first. He had learned some Tang Sect techniques and grasped a few combat skills, but Wang Dong was no pushover either. The two fought back and forth.
However, it was obvious that Wang Dong might have received stronger combat training, so he quickly gained the upper hand over Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was gradually suppressed by Wang Dong. Thinking of the unfair treatment he had suffered at the Duke Mansion made him even angrier, and he refused to lose to Wang Dong.
"Yuhao, this guy is skilled in leg attacks. When he attacks with his legs, use the Tang Sect techniques together with the Purple Demon Eye and spiritual interference. Then you can defeat him."
"Alright, Brother Sky Dream."
Then, when Wang Dong raised his leg to attack, Huo Yuhao seized the opportunity and used that move. Wang Dong was struck immediately. Huo Yuhao then found an opening, grabbed Wang Dong, and threw him to the ground.
"I'm telling you this right now: I am not your slave. If you dare provoke me like this again, it'll be a fight to the death! Even if I can't kill you, I'll still bite a chunk of flesh off you!"
Huo Yuhao's anger stemmed from the unfair treatment he had suffered at the White Tiger Duke Mansion. So at this moment, he would no longer choose to run away. When someone tried to hurt him, he would definitely fight back.
"..."
Huo Yuhao then left. But Huo Yuhao did not know that his future fate would ultimately be to live as a dog. This brief improvement was nothing more than a fleeting bloom.
When Wang Dong saw that he had been defeated by Huo Yuhao, and saw Huo Yuhao's backbone, he did not know what to say.
"Young men, why did you children quarrel and start fighting? Can't you calm down and talk things out? Was there really a need to fight?"
"None of your business."
After Wang Dong said that, he left. In his eyes, the old man before him was merely an ordinary Shrek resident. But Wang Dong did not know that this old man was Shrek's Limit Douluo, the master of Sea God Pavilion, the Dragon God Douluo—Mu En.
"We're finally almost at the Sun Moon Empire."
After spending some time traveling, Zhong Kui finally arrived on the road leading from the Star Luo Empire to the Sun Moon Empire. However, it had to be said that the Sun Moon Empire's relationship with the other Douluo Three Kingdoms was truly poor. Though the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire were geographically close, the Sun Moon Empire wanted to annex the Douluo Three Kingdoms and unify the continent.
That was why the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire—or rather, the Douluo Three Kingdoms and the Sun Moon Empire—could never have a good relationship. Soldiers were stationed along the border between the two nations.
Crossing over was difficult, or rather, it required a great deal of time.
"Brother, are you going to the Sun Moon Empire too?"
On the road to the Sun Moon Empire, Zhong Kui heard someone calling to him. He turned and saw a plainly dressed man. He seemed to be a merchant, though, because he bore the insignia of a merchants' guild.
"I want to go to the Sun Moon Empire and join one of its Soul Master Academies to become stronger."
There was truth and falsehood in those words. With the system's help, Zhong Kui could become very strong even without receiving a complete formal education, so he did not need to join an academy at all. But he needed to build connections and protect his family, so what he said was both true and untrue.
"I'm going to the Sun Moon Empire because I hope to settle down there, get married, and have children. Mainly because in the Douluo Three Kingdoms, only nobles and sects with exceptionally powerful martial souls are qualified to live as people. Commoners and merchants like us basically aren't even qualified to be people. Without formidable strength, we can only be considered slaves.
We might even be worse off than slaves. Awakening a martial soul is expensive too—it costs a lot of Gold Soul Coins. I heard that awakening martial souls in the Sun Moon Empire costs nothing. They provide everyone with the chance to awaken a martial soul for free.
In the Douluo Three Kingdoms, there are many commoner villages where people do not even know what martial souls are.
That alone shows that the nobles and imperial families of the Douluo Three Kingdoms never treated ordinary people like us as human beings.
There's no hope left in the Douluo Three Kingdoms. We might as well go to the Sun Moon Empire."
After hearing the merchant say that, Zhong Kui could not help but sigh. The Sun Moon Empire was far more advanced than the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Martial soul awakenings were free. Back when Spirit Hall still existed, it had also provided free martial soul awakenings. No matter how remote a village or region was, as long as people lived there, Spirit Hall would dispatch its deacons to help them awaken their martial souls. It even gave free aid to commoner Soul Masters.
But what happened? After Tang San defeated Spirit Hall, no one did that anymore. The imperial families of the Douluo Three Kingdoms also refused to help commoner Soul Masters awaken their martial souls for free.
As a result, commoners in many impoverished villages across the Douluo Three Kingdoms did not even know what martial souls were.
At this rate, how could the Douluo Three Kingdoms possibly defeat the Sun Moon Empire?
They were practically turning back the wheel of the times.
No wonder so many people were heading to the Sun Moon Empire now. There was nothing they could do. The imperial families and nobles of the Douluo Three Kingdoms refused to act like human beings themselves. If the common people had even a mouthful to eat, would they have ended up like this?
Before long, Zhong Kui arrived at the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire, where he saw the border crossing.
Soldiers were stationed there.
"What are you here for? Why are you going to the Sun Moon Empire?"
A soldier stationed at the Sun Moon Empire's border asked.
"I'm here to attend an academy in the Sun Moon Empire. I want to become stronger."
"Sir, I'm a merchant. I've come to the empire to develop my business," the merchant from earlier said.
"Come with me."
The two then entered a room. Zhong Kui did not know what the room was used for.
"You go in first. He'll enter afterward."
"Alright."
The merchant entered the room first. After some time, he came back out and was permitted to enter the Sun Moon Empire.
"Come in. As long as you pass the test, you can enter the empire."
Upon hearing that, Zhong Kui chose to enter. Inside, he discovered a spiritual-type Soul Master whose cultivation was at least at the Soul Saint level.
"Don't be afraid. Just tell me your true purpose. If you came to the Sun Moon Empire to become stronger, we welcome you warmly. But if you're a spy, don't blame us for being merciless."
"You're a spiritual-type Soul Master, and a Soul Saint at that. You want to use a spiritual-type Soul Master to interrogate me and see whether I'm lying, right?"
"That's right."
"Go ahead."
The spiritual-type Soul Saint then began using his soul skill. Zhong Kui pretended to be affected and began answering their questions.
"What did you come to the Sun Moon Empire for? Did you truly come here to become stronger?"
"I came to the Sun Moon Empire because I want to join the Royal Soul Guidance Academy. I hope to become stronger."
"Are you an undercover agent sent by the Douluo Three Kingdoms?"
"I was born a commoner. I have nothing to do with the nobles of the Douluo Three Kingdoms.
I came to the Sun Moon Empire to become stronger."
After being interrogated for some time, Zhong Kui was confirmed to pose no problem and was permitted to enter the Sun Moon Empire.
Before you continue