Fates Intertwined

The early autumn at Shrek Academy is always dyed exceptionally vibrant by the smoke of the freshman examinations.

Three months into the semester, the autumn breeze carries the damp scent of Sea God Lake, sweeping through every corner of Shrek, yet it fails to disperse the tension and excitement permeating the entire academy.

As the most important trial for freshmen at Shrek Academy, the annual freshman examination has arrived right on schedule.

This examination not only determines the class assignments and resource allocation for the freshmen's coming year but also decides who will secure a preliminary spot in the Inner Court; it is the first true hard battle all freshmen have faced since enrollment.

The rules for the examination were long ago posted on the academy's bulletin board, written in black ink on a red background, clear and concise: all freshmen must form teams of three and participate in a team-based elimination tournament.

The competition follows a single-elimination format, and from the preliminary rounds to the final, the three teams that win all the way to the end will directly earn the status of Inner Court preparatory students, enjoying core-level resource provisions.

At the very end of the rules, there is a special supplementary note: any freshman whose soul power reaches the level of a Soul Ancestor before the examination begins may apply for an exemption.

In previous years, this rule was nothing more than a mere formality.

Everyone knows that most freshmen admitted to Shrek Academy are twelve years old; those who can reach the level of a Soul Grand Master in their twenties are already considered little geniuses in the outside world, and a Soul Elder at level thirty is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

As for a level forty Soul Ancestor, at the age of twelve or thirteen, it is simply a fantasy; such monsters have never appeared in the ten thousand years since the school was founded.

But this year is different.

On the day the examination rules were announced, the academy's Academic Affairs Office released a notice that instantly ignited the entire Shrek Academy, even startling the seniors in the Inner Court.

The notice contained only a single line: Freshman Class One students Gu Yuan, Gu Yuena, and Jin Ruiqiu have all reached the Soul Ancestor realm, meeting the exemption criteria, and are granted an exemption.

Once the notice was out, the entire academy exploded.

"My god! Am I seeing this right? Three Soul Ancestors! Twelve-year-old Soul Ancestors!"

"Oh my mother! They've only been enrolled for three months, and they're already Soul Ancestors?!"

"I remember when they enrolled, they were already at level forty-something, right? It's been three months, so they're probably well past level forty! Are they even human? I hadn't even broken through to Soul Elder when I was twelve!"

In the courtyard of the freshman dormitory area, Jin Ruiqiu was bouncing around with the newly posted notice, shaking Gu Yuan's arm, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled: "This Seat, look! We don't have to participate in that freshman examination thing!"

The little girl's golden curls swayed back and forth, her face full of joy. She had no interest in such squabbles between freshmen to begin with, so being directly exempted was exactly what she wanted.

Gu Yuan took the notice, glanced at it, smiled faintly, and handed it to Gu Yuena beside him.

For these three ten-thousand-year-old monsters, if they were to participate in such childish bickering, the scene would be unimaginable. Besides, Gu Yuan had no interest in participating at all.

"It was only ever meant to be a formality anyway." Gu Yuena took the notice, her cold eyes devoid of any ripples, and placed it casually on the stone table.

"With our strength, participating in the freshman examination would be unfair to the other students; exemption is the best outcome."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze turning to Huo Yuhao, who was standing to the side, clutching his martial soul manual, looking somewhat distracted.

In these three months, the changes in this young man have been enough to shock everyone.

His soul power has steadily increased from level 23 at enrollment to level 25, his ultimate spiritual power has become increasingly refined, and his control over the Spirit Eye martial soul is no longer what it once was.

His proficiency in Soul Tool technology has progressed by leaps and bounds; not only has he perfectly mastered the engraving of level two core arrays, but he can even independently complete the production of level three Soul Tools. Even Fan Yu has remarked more than once that he has stumbled upon a once-in-ten-thousand-years Soul Tool prodigy.

Yet at this moment, this usually steady and reserved young man was somewhat distracted, a hint of imperceptible tension in his eyes.

"What's wrong? Nervous?" Gu Yuan asked with a smile, interrupting his thoughts.

Huo Yuhao snapped back to reality, scratched his head in embarrassment, nodded, and then quickly shook his head: "A little... it's not exactly nervousness, it's just... Brother Yuan, you've all been exempted, and I also want to achieve good results; I don't want to lose face for you."

He was speaking from the heart. Gu Yuan and the others were promoted directly through exemption; while he was happy for them, he couldn't help but put pressure on himself.

He didn't want to live under Gu Yuan's protection forever; he wanted to rely on his own strength to secure a spot in the Inner Court and prove that he wasn't someone who could only stand here by relying on Gu Yuan's shelter.

"Silly boy." Gu Yuan smiled and ruffled his hair, his tone gentle yet firm.

"Your talent and your strength are enough for you to achieve the results you want in this examination. Don't put too much pressure on yourself; just treat this examination as an ordinary practical battle."

"I understand, Brother Yuan!" Huo Yuhao nodded heavily, the confusion in his eyes dissipating, replaced once again by a firm light.

But after his resolve, he couldn't help but frown, saying with some worry: "But... the examination requires teams of three. Since you don't have to participate, I haven't found any teammates yet."

In the three months since he enrolled, he had spent most of his time in the Martial Soul Department's classrooms and the Soul Tool Department's laboratories, and apart from Gu Yuan and the others, he hadn't had much interaction with his classmates.

Now that the examination was imminent and everyone had already found teammates and formed their own squads, he felt somewhat at a loss starting his search now.

Just as he was worrying, two sets of footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

Huo Yuhao looked up and saw two youths standing at the entrance, peering into the courtyard.

Walking in front was a pink-haired youth. He was exceptionally handsome, with fair skin and delicate features like a porcelain doll. A blue outfit accentuated his tall, straight figure, and a pair of bright peach-blossom eyes were currently fixed on Huo Yuhao, carrying a hint of imperceptible tension and anticipation.

It was Wang Dong.

Following behind him was a little girl with a ponytail, her round face looking well-behaved and cute; it was Xiao Xiao.

Seeing them, Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment before quickly rising to greet them: "Wang Dong? Xiao Xiao? Why are you here?"

He had seen Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao many times in class and had even crossed paths in practical training, though they weren't particularly close.

Especially with Wang Dong—every time they were in class, Huo Yuhao could always feel this pink-haired youth secretly watching him, and whenever their eyes met, the other would immediately turn away, acting quite strangely.

And at this moment, as Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao standing before him, his heart began to beat wildly and uncontrollably again.

He didn't know what was happening to him either. From the first day of school, when he saw this blue-haired youth sitting in the front row of the classroom, an inexplicable and indescribable sense of familiarity had sprouted in his heart.

Even though the two had never interacted, whenever he saw Huo Yuhao's eyes, he would feel his heart race; he couldn't help but want to get closer, to understand him, and to stand by his side.

This feeling had only grown stronger with each practical training session.

He had seen Huo Yuhao control the entire battlefield with his mental power during actual combat; even when facing the siege of three Soul Elders, he remained calm and composed, using precise mental shocks to turn the tide of battle time and again.

The more he watched, the more dazzling this youth seemed, and the strange feelings in his heart grew ever stronger.

For this freshman assessment, the first teammate he thought of was Huo Yuhao. Even though some said Huo Yuhao only had the cultivation of a level 20-something Soul Grand Master and, despite his ultimate mental attribute, could not support the core of a team battle, he remained firm in his desire to team up with him.

"Huo Yuhao." Wang Dong took a deep breath, suppressing the flutter in his heart, and spoke with a hint of imperceptible nervousness in his voice.

"We came to ask you, have you found teammates for the freshman assessment yet?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head and said with some embarrassment, "Not yet, I was just worrying about that."

"That's perfect!" Wang Dong's eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly added.

"Xiao Xiao and I haven't formed a team either. How about the three of us team up for the assessment? I am an assault-type, a level 29 Soul Grand Master with the Radiant Goddess Butterfly martial soul; Xiao Xiao is a control-type, a level 26 Soul Grand Master, and she even has Twin Martial Souls. The three of us together would definitely be the strongest lineup!"

Xiao Xiao, standing to the side, also nodded quickly and said with a smile, "That's right, Huo Yuhao! We've wanted to team up with you for a long time! Your Spiritual Detection Sharing is simply invincible in team battles! With you here, our win rate will at least double!"

Huo Yuhao looked at their sincere eyes, and a warm current surged through his heart.

He had originally been worrying about finding teammates, never expecting that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao would take the initiative to come to him.

He looked up at the two of them and nodded heavily, his eyes filled with joy: "Okay! I am willing to team up with you! Thank you for being willing to take me in!"

"What's there to thank!" Wang Dong smiled and patted his shoulder. His fingertips touched Huo Yuhao's shoulder, but he pulled them back as quickly as if he had been electrocuted. His earlobes turned slightly red, and he feigned composure as he said.

"We are classmates; we should support each other! With you here, we will definitely make it to the finals and secure a spot in the Inner Court!"

"Yeah! We definitely can!" Huo Yuhao nodded heavily, his eyes full of determination.

Standing in the courtyard, Gu Yuan watched the three of them chatting happily, a knowing smile curling the corners of his lips.

Those destined to meet would meet eventually. Even without the day-to-day life of being roommates, and without the misunderstandings and scuffles of their first meeting, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao still crossed paths because of this freshman assessment.

The threads of fate had bound the two of them together after all.

Gu Yuena walked to his side and watched the scene: "It seems we don't need to worry about him."

Her gaze swept over Wang Dong, and a trace of imperceptible killing intent surfaced unconsciously.

"We never needed to." Gu Yuan shook his head with a smile.

"His path is one he must walk himself."

Besides, this was the arrangement of the one above anyway; it would be better to go with the flow and satisfy him, letting him believe that everything was still under his control.