Brother Yuan's Words, I'll Obey Them All!

One year later, the Liu Family courtyard.

Within the spacious grounds, a phantom image of a willow tree stood tall.

Beneath the shade of the tree stood a youth of about eleven years old. His long black hair cascaded down his back like a waterfall, reaching his waist, and his slender, upright frame stood at roughly one meter seventy. Although his gaze was profound and sharp, his overall presence gave one the feeling of a gentle spring breeze.

And he was none other than Liu Yuan.

However, he was not alone at this moment. Standing opposite him was Huo Yuhao.

Ever since Liu Yuan had saved his mother, Huo Yun'er, with that essence crystal, Huo Yuhao would avoid the servants of the White Tiger Duke Mansion and come alone to the pharmacy's medicine room to help out. Not only did he refuse a single copper soul coin, but he even sacrificed his own cultivation time.

Seeing how pitiful he was, Father Liu and Mother Liu took him in for meals, allowing the thin, frail boy to put on quite a bit of weight.

After much careful consideration, Liu Yuan

passed the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record to Huo Yuhao.

As for whether this would alert the Tang Buddha Ancestor to anything amiss... there was no need to worry about that at all. Because under the influence of the platform erasing all traces, perhaps in the eyes of the Tang Buddha Ancestor, both the Liu family and Huo Yuhao were already linked to the Tang Sect in some way.

Obtaining the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record was reasonable and compliant.

After Huo Yuhao began practicing the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Liu Yuan had him focus all his energy on cultivation.

He even arranged medicinal baths for him.

After all, this kid, in order to repay the debt of saving his mother, had actually sworn a poisonous oath on his martial soul, claiming he would sell his life to him.

Liu Yuan: "..."

Since he had already said as much, how could he drive him away? Besides, taking in a Child of Destiny was hardly a loss.

At this very moment, "Yuhao, can you continue?"

Huo Yuhao tightened his horse stance, digging his feet firmly into the ground. Even though he gritted his teeth and cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and cyan bruises covered his bare body, he still forced himself to hold on. "I... I can still persist..."

"You have ambition."

Watching Huo Yuhao like this, Liu Yuan was satisfied. With a flick of his wrist, a willow branch tore through the air. Like a whip, it landed heavily on Huo Yuhao's shoulder.

"Snap—" Instantly, another long, cyan bruise was left behind, with even a trace of blood seeping out.

Feeling the stinging, burning pain, Huo Yuhao felt his entire body twitch. As he gasped for air, the corners of his mouth trembled violently, and his legs nearly gave way.

Before the pain could fade, he shouted, "Again!"

His face was filled with persistence and stubbornness.

Only by becoming a powerful Soul Master could he repay his debt!

Only then could he take his revenge!

Liu Yuan did not hold back, lashing out with the willow branch like a torrential storm. "Snap, snap, snap—" A series of chilling, muffled thuds, accompanied by low groans of pain, echoed continuously.

Not until Huo Yuhao could no longer hold on

did Liu Yuan finally stop.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..." A gentle breeze seemed to blow, and the willow catkins swayed in the wind. Willow leaves detached from the branch and fell lightly onto Huo Yuhao, an incredibly comfortable, cooling sensation instantly spreading throughout his entire body.

Whatever bruises, whatever wounds...

All vanished without a trace in that instant.

"Training over."

As one yellow and two purple soul rings vanished and the Origin Willow dissipated, Liu Yuan looked at Huo Yuhao and spoke.

The current Liu Yuan

was already a genuine Soul Elder.

"You did very well today."

At this moment, Liu Yuan praised him sincerely.

"Really?" Enduring his exhaustion, Huo Yuhao revealed a happy smile. His bright eyes flashed with anticipation. "Then when can I obtain my soul ring?"

In fact, as early as three months ago, Huo Yuhao had already reached level ten under the reinforcement of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

However, Liu Yuan had suppressed him, claiming his physical constitution was too weak to withstand the soul power of a hundred-year soul ring, telling him to wait until he had trained for a period of time before obtaining one.

Huo Yuhao did not hesitate and agreed decisively.

He even declared:

"Brother Yuan's words, I will obey without question!"

"Very soon."

Liu Yuan looked up, estimating the time.

The day for Shrek Academy's enrollment was almost here. When that time came, he would not only join Shrek Academy, but he would also strive to become the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion.

Because only in this way could he truly, and with proper justification, make contact with the Golden Ancient Tree on the island.

Over these past five years, Liu Yuan had combined the unique circumstances of his Source Willow Martial Soul with sufficient reason to suspect a connection between himself and the Core of Life; the [Son of Nature] trait on his platform was, in all likelihood, a genuine reality.

Therefore, Shrek Academy, was a place he had to visit no matter what.

Pulling back his thoughts, Liu Yuan retrieved a top from his storage Soul Tool and tossed it to Huo Yuhao. "Put this on first."

"Right."

Just as Huo Yuhao obediently took it, the voice of Father Liu suddenly drifted over from a distance. "Busy?"

Liu Yuan turned around. "Dad."

Huo Yuhao bowed slightly. "Hello, Uncle."

"Good, good..." Father Liu patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder with a chuckle, then turned his head to speak to Liu Yuan.

"Son, you are already eleven years old; it is time for you to enter the outer courtyard of Shrek Academy to study."

At the mention of this, Father Liu felt a surge of pride in his heart.

To think that back then, his son only had an innate soul power of rank 7, yet now, at eleven, he had already become a Soul Elder.

Their Liu Family had produced a genius!

"It's just..." After the pride subsided, Father Liu's gaze shifted to Huo Yuhao. His previously fluid speech suddenly became hesitant, and after a pause, he asked, "As for Yuhao, he hasn't obtained his first soul ring yet, has he?"

Liu Yuan's eyes flashed, and he understood his father's thoughts.

"It's fine. Yuhao broke through to rank 10 three months ago. Given his level of cultivation, once he obtains a soul ring, reaching rank 15 will not be a problem."

"That's good then." Father Liu nodded slightly and retrieved two letters from his storage Soul Tool, handing them one by one to Liu Yuan and Huo Yuhao. "These are recommendation letters from the City Lord. Take them and head to Shrek."

"Understood."

Liu Yuan reached out to take them and handed one to Huo Yuhao. However, as the latter looked at the recommendation letter, a trace of hesitation appeared on his face, as if he had something difficult to say.

Noticing this, Liu Yuan asked, "Are you worried about your mother?"

"Mm..."

Huo Yuhao nodded with difficulty.

"I'm afraid that if I leave..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the City Lord's recommendation letter was shoved into Huo Yuhao's hand by Liu Yuan.

"Yuhao, I know you want revenge, but revenge requires strength as a prerequisite. If you aren't strong enough, how can you face a behemoth like the White Tiger Duke Mansion?"

The series of questions

left Huo Yuhao speechless.

Seeing him fall into silence, Liu Yuan did not press him further. He simply said, "If you can't make up your mind, go back and ask for your mother's opinion. Go on."

After watching Huo Yuhao leave, Father Liu looked at his retreating figure and couldn't help but sigh. "That child Yuhao is truly a pitiable soul."

Liu Yuan: "..."

There was no helping it; after all, being weak was the original sin.