"Come on, my third Soul Ring!" Bei Bei's dragon claw blazed with light. In that instant, golden lightning intertwined with the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Under the flow of Bei Bei's Soul Power, the ring gradually turned ethereal, growing more and more illusory.
The Soul Power contained within it began to seep into his body as Bei Bei sat cross-legged.
"A two-thousand-year Soul Ring... Big Brother Wang Hong, that's far beyond the limit for a third Soul Ring, isn't it?"
The two sat beside Bei Bei to protect him. A pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring appeared beside Wang Hong, and a pure black bubble enveloped all three of them.
"Lord Bei Bei must have told you that his Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power are both special."
"Together, they give Lord Bei Bei a constitution far beyond that of ordinary people. In fact, he's been hiding a little secret from you." Wang Hong looked at Bei Bei and pointed to the Hundred-Year Soul Ring that had first appeared beside him.
"That was Lord Bei Bei's first Soul Ring. It was eight hundred and sixty-three years old."
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened slightly, but this was still within his expectations.
"It seems you've already guessed, Lord Huo Yuhao."
"Lord Bei Bei's second Soul Ring was also at the thousand-year level. Lord Bei Bei is a true genius, the greatest the Spirit Hall has seen in ten thousand years. A Soul Ring beyond the highest limit is nothing to him."
Huo Yuhao nodded deeply. Then, at his request, Wang Hong began teaching him the cultivation method currently used by the Spirit Hall.
After just one circulation, Huo Yuhao noticed how different it was from the Mysterious Heaven Skill he'd used in his previous life, though he could still sense a connection between the two.
"Big Brother Wang Hong, could this cultivation method be..."
"You guessed right. It's still connected to Pope Chen Mo." Wang Hong's answer didn't surprise Huo Yuhao.
"Word has it that he revised this technique based on the Mysterious Heaven Skill used by his dear friend, the Sea God. The cultivation speed didn't increase, but the resulting cultivation was more stable."
"Comparisons with the research institute's records show that this technique clearly strengthened Soul Masters across Douluo Continent. Some even say that if a Soul Elder from this era went back ten thousand years, they might be able to defeat a Soul Ancestor through sheer strength. Haha."
Huo Yuhao listened patiently. When he heard the words "dear friend, the Sea God," his body suddenly trembled.
"So Tang San and Pope Chen Mo were actually dear friends..."
There were far too many things about that statement that didn't add up for Huo Yuhao. Based on what he knew so far, Chen Mo was undoubtedly a good person in the Soul Master World—he might even be called a saint.
How could someone like that be dear friends with the Tang San he remembered?
And he clearly remembered that, in his previous life, Tang San and the Spirit Hall had been mortal enemies. In the end, Tang San had personally destroyed the Spirit Hall's legacy. What reason could he have had to let go of his hatred and become Chen Mo's friend?
There were too many unanswered questions, and for now he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.
Setting them aside and focusing on learning the new cultivation method, he let his consciousness slowly sink into his Sea of Consciousness.
About three hours later, evening had fallen.
A flash of lightning lit up the entire bubble. Bei Bei slowly opened his eyes. The gold in them had grown more pronounced and seemed to have deepened.
Bei Bei channeled the Soul Power within him. One yellow and two purple Soul Rings appeared around his sturdy golden dragon claw. Their light flashed as thunder rumbled from within them.
At the same time, Huo Yuhao and Wang Hong began to applaud.
"Congratulations, Lord Bei Bei."
"Congratulations, Big Brother Bei Bei!"
Bei Bei gave them a confident smile and showed off his third Soul Ring.
"Lord Bei Bei, I'd love to celebrate right now, but the Star Dou Forest is still one of the largest gathering places for wild Soul Beasts. Now that both of you have successfully obtained your Soul Rings, it's best to leave as soon as possible."
Wang Hong wasn't trying to spoil the mood. He was simply concerned for their safety.
Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao had no objections. They soon followed Wang Hong back to the entrance of the Star Dou Forest. By then, the moon hung high in the night sky.
The Sky Soul Horse Soul Tool Carriage raced toward Huo Yuhao's home, reaching its destination in just a few minutes.
"There's not much time before school starts. You can spend the next few days at home getting used to your Spirit Skills." Before leaving, Wang Hong held Huo Yuhao's hand and went over everything again and again, acting every bit like an elder.
"I know, Big Brother Wang Hong. But... I'll be able to see Big Brother Bei Bei at school. Will we still have a chance to meet after this?"
"Don't worry. I have a relative who teaches at Spirit Soul Academy. If you ever need to take care of something at the Spirit Hall, you can contact me through that teacher."
"Oh, and his name is Wang Yan. Don't forget it." With that, the Soul Guidance Flying Carriage sped away into the distance. Still in shock, Huo Yuhao pushed open the door to his home.
"Wang Hong... is actually Teacher Wang Yan's relative?" Huo Yuhao had thought Wang Hong was a complete stranger, but it turned out he was connected to someone he knew.
And if Wang Yan was with Spirit Soul Academy now... what had happened to Shrek Academy?
"Wait... I don't think anyone's mentioned Shrek at all since I was reborn..." Huo Yuhao quickly realized something was wrong. In his previous life, Shrek Academy had been the number one academy on the continent. It couldn't possibly have gone completely unnoticed.
As he wondered about this, Huo Yun'er had already come to stand before him.
"Yuhao? It's only the second day. How did you..." Huo Yun'er remembered that her son had only set out yesterday morning. As far as she knew, hunting Soul Beasts was both exhausting and dangerous. She was glad he'd returned home in less than two days, but it still seemed strange.
"Mom, here's what happened..."
After setting his doubts aside for the moment, Huo Yuhao told Huo Yun'er everything that had happened over the last two days. But... he didn't tell her everything about Brother Sky Dream. Instead, he said it had been a Dream Silkworm.
He had to keep some things hidden to spare Huo Yun'er any unnecessary trouble.
"..." When she'd heard it all, Huo Yun'er said nothing. She only gently stroked Huo Yuhao's cheek.
"You really are Heaven's darling. Not many people in this world could ever be blessed with such incredible luck."
Looking at the Thousand-Year Soul Ring that had appeared behind Huo Yuhao's head, Huo Yun'er remembered the first time she'd ever seen one: on Huo Yuhao's father.
But she didn't say so. She'd always known that Huo Yuhao felt no familial affection for his father, only deep hatred.
She understood how Huo Yuhao felt, too. So when her son wrote "Huo Yuhao" on his school registration, she said nothing.
After all, even she couldn't be sure whether the feelings she held for that man at this very moment were still a deep love, or hatred buried beneath that love.
She didn't know, and she didn't want to know what she truly felt, because it would affect Huo Yuhao's growth.
Day after day passed, and before they knew it, the day of the official school opening had arrived.
Spirit Soul Academy was a fully residential school. Aside from holidays and necessary classes, students spent nearly all their time on campus.
So Huo Yun'er had prepared a suitcase for Huo Yuhao that was initially taller than he was. Fortunately, before they left, Huo Yuhao remembered the Storage Soul Tool Bei Bei had given him and stuffed the whole pile of belongings inside.
Before you continue