The Curtain Rises

Time flies like an arrow, fleeting as a white horse passing a crack in the wall, often leaving poets and scholars sighing in regret.

Yet, not everyone wishes for time to slow down.

Just like...

"Uncle Ning, you've gone too far!"

"Do you really take me for a free beast of burden?"

Glancing at the line of academy deacons bowed at ninety-degree angles before him, Ning Huan felt a splitting headache and roared at the top of his lungs.

No wonder Ning Hao had smiled so maliciously before he left.

So this was where he had been waiting for him!

Fine, fine, fine!

You old geezer, just you wait!

At this moment, the more Ning Huan thought about it, the angrier he became, venting all his pent-up frustration directly onto this group of unlucky souls.

"What are you all standing there for! Don't you want the family business anymore? Get back and keep watch!"

As his words fell, the deacons looked at one another.

They collectively took a step back, all eyes turning toward the oldest-looking man among them.

Every face was plastered with the words: 'You have the seniority, you go.'

The elderly deacon: "..."

These little brats!

They only know how to bully the elderly!

But grumbling aside, he couldn't hesitate in responding to his direct superior.

"Ch-Chief, about those ledgers..."

"Keep them!"

"Yes!"

Seeing the old man drenched in cold sweat and snapping to attention on the spot, most of Ning Huan's anger from being set up dissipated.

He waved his hand expressionlessly, signaling for them to withdraw.

"This subordinate takes his leave!"

In an instant, the dozen deacons seemed to have been granted a new lease on life, bowing repeatedly.

Then, they scrambled out of the room in a hurry.

In the blink of an eye, only Ning Huan remained in the room, along with a stack of ledgers that were a headache just to look at.

"Life is not easy~"

He shook his head helplessly, pulled out a volume at random, and began to read.

"..."

"Hiss~ How strange..."

The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.

He clearly felt that something was wrong, yet he couldn't grasp that fleeting spark of intuition.

A moment later...

"Wait, no! I spent my life before rebirth learning how to cook the books, why am I the one looking at ledgers now!"

SLAP!

As if recalling the days of burning the midnight oil, Ning Huan's mind suddenly cleared.

He slammed the ledger shut, as if that could block out the memories of past torment.

"Sigh, I should tidy up and go pick up Tian'er, otherwise that girl will start pretending to be pitiful agai—"

BANG! (The sound of a door being kicked open)

"Xiao Huan, I'm here!"

"My door!! Zhang! Le! Xuan!"

"Hehe~"

And so, a new nightmare began.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest...

"It's a thousand-year Datura Snake! Bei Bei! I want it!"

"Alright! Xiao Ya, protect Yu Hao!"

Hearing this, Bei Bei let out a sharp shout. As his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit possessed him, his first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously.

First Spirit Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!

Second Spirit Skill, Thunderous Might!

The next second, a web of lightning blanketed the area as the dragon claw lunged forward.

He himself stepped on Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and rushed up, tangling with the Datura Snake.

The two traded blows, and with their speeds evenly matched, they fell into a stalemate in the short term.

Seeing this, Tang Ya could not help but feel deeply worried, completely ignoring the fleeting purple light in the eyes of the boy beside her.

Huo: "Fox Brother! Fox Brother! Phantom Nether Fox!"

Fox: "What are you shouting for! I just finished the sacrifice, I'm exhausted!"

Huo: "I want to help Senior Brother Bei Bei!"

Fox: "Heh~ you? It's not that I look down on you, but you have no level, no combat power, and even your crippled leg was just healed by the Spirit Bone I gave you! What are you going to use to help?"

Huo: "..."

Huo: "The hundred-thousand-year spirit skill you bestowed upon me!"

Fox: "You wait...!"

After finishing the last sentence in his heart, Huo Yuhao, who had already been reborn, ignored the roars of the purple-furred fox in his Sea of Consciousness.

He climbed directly up the tree beside him and released his yellow spirit ring, which had been heavily sealed.

Spirit Eye first spirit skill, Mental Link!

The spirit ring flickered, and in an instant, Bei Bei, who was fighting fiercely ahead, suddenly discovered that a top-down view had appeared in his mind.

The range covered the entire battlefield perfectly.

Is this Huo Yuhao's spirit skill...

Although it's a bit difficult to get used to focusing on two fields of vision at once, being able to easily capture the Datura Snake's movement trajectory is enough!

Bei Bei thought to himself, his movements accelerating by another thirty percent.

In just a few minutes, he had beaten the Datura Snake to its last breath.

"Xiao Ya, come and absorb the spirit ring."

"Coming! Bei Bei, you're amazing!"

"It's also thanks to Huo Yuhao, otherwise the outcome would have been hard to determine."

"Mm! Hm? Where is little Huo Yuhao? Where did my big little Huo Yuhao run off to!"

Only then did Tang Ya realize that Huo Yuhao, who had been hiding behind her, was nowhere to be seen.

She was instantly frightened, her face pale as she hurriedly searched for him.

She had finally managed to take on a disciple; she couldn't just lose him!

"I'm here."

Suddenly, a voice rang out from above. The two looked up instinctively and happened to see Huo Yuhao climbing down from the giant tree with great effort.

"Little Huo Yuhao, what were you doing up in the tree!"

"Teacher Xiao Ya, I..."

"It should have been to better assist me using his spirit skill."

Seeing that Tang Ya was a bit angry, Bei Bei had to quickly explain for him.

"Huo Yuhao, that third-party perspective just now, that must be the effect of your spirit skill."

"Yes!"

Huo Yuhao nodded repeatedly after hearing this, a hint of pride appearing on his pale little face at the right moment.

"My first spirit skill is [Mental Link]. The effect is to link my mental power with my teammates! The quantity is linked to my strength. It can share the five senses, distribute damage, and we can even talk directly in our hearts."

"What a strong first spirit skill! Bei Bei, did you hear that! We've found a treasure!"

"Indeed, but Xiao Ya, you should absorb the spirit ring now."

"Ah! I forgot, I'm going now!"

Watching Tang Ya's boisterous and cute appearance, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei looked at each other in silence, both feeling the burden on their shoulders grow heavier.

As for the Tang Sect master, it would be better if she just remained a mascot!

However, just as this harmonious scene unfolded, the Phantom Nether Fox was no longer as excited as before.

Curled up in the depths of the Sea of Consciousness, its slightly hideous mouth curled upward, a smile of extreme irony on its face.

As expected, he's not an honest kid! He can actually call actively transferring damage 'distributing' it... Heh heh!

But he didn't expose the other spirit skill... at least he knows how to listen.

Cultivate quickly! When you break through to the Spirit Saint realm, that will be the day of this Seat's harvest!

The next day...

Ning Huan walked side by side with Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who had just arrived, as they strolled slowly toward the registration office of Shrek Academy.

There were no attendants and no guards.

Even Wind Douluo, who had intended to protect them from the shadows, had been left behind in Shrek City and did not follow.

"I really don't know what our Chief Ning is thinking. Why leave our own academy where everything is fine just to come here and suffer!"

"Alright, Feng, when have you ever seen Brother Ning Huan suffer a loss? He must have his own reasons."

Hearing Ning Tian's comfort, Wu Feng habitually pursed her lips, her increasingly heroic and pretty face filled with defiance.

"Clearly possessing terrifying strength, yet being so frighteningly cautious..."

"Wu Feng~ is your skin itching again?~"

"Stingy! This girl will shut up, alright!"

Ning Tian: "..."

Saying the toughest words in the most cowardly tone...

That's you, alright!