"Little Yuhao, you were so cool just now. You beat Xu Sanshi until he looked like a turtle."
Tang Ya's eyes sparkled as she chattered nonstop along the way.
She had long found Xu Sanshi's nauseating manner unbearable, especially since he had relentlessly pestered Jiang Nannan before. That disgusted Tang Ya to the extreme.
If Xu Sanshi had not been Bei Bei's brother, she would never have had anything to do with someone like him.
After Xu Sanshi fainted, Bei Bei had taken him alone for treatment. As for Tang Ya, she could not care less whether that fellow lived or died.
Tang Ya's lively eyes shifted again as she moved closer to Jiang Nannan, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"Nannan, you need to hurry up. Yuhao is so outstanding—be careful, or some senior sister might one day 'snatch' him away."
As she spoke, she made an exaggerated silly face.
If she and Jiang Nannan had not pulled Huo Yuhao free from that group of enthusiastic senior sisters earlier, he might really have been "devoured alive" by those overly eager girls.
"So, Nannan, do you want to join my Tang Sect? Let me tell you, the Tang Sect has a secret art called Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. It suits you perfectly, Nannan."
Tang Ya earnestly recommended it to Jiang Nannan, clearly still unwilling to give up on reviving the Tang Sect.
She was even secretly calculating that if she could first recruit Jiang Nannan into the Tang Sect, she might naturally be able to bring Huo Yuhao in later as well. Then the Tang Sect's revival would finally be within reach.
"All right, Sister Xiao Ya. Don't make things difficult for Sister Nannan. Joining a sect is a very serious matter, so there is no need to rush it."
Huo Yuhao helplessly spoke up, interrupting Tang Ya's fantasies. He had clearly not expected her to remain so persistent about recruiting people into the Tang Sect.
Seeing Huo Yuhao speak, Tang Ya playfully stuck out her tongue at him, intending to muddle through by acting cute and clueless.
Jiang Nannan watched the two of them, but a trace of doubt arose in her heart.
Unlike the carefree Tang Ya, the attentive Jiang Nannan could sense that Huo Yuhao seemed somewhat wary of the Tang Sect. Yet he did not display any dissatisfaction or disgust toward Tang Ya, which left her deeply puzzled.
Jiang Nannan smiled gently without saying anything, but she had already decided to find a suitable time to speak with Huo Yuhao.
After all, she did not want Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya to develop a rift over the Tang Sect, or even break apart one day in the future.
Just then, a middle-aged male teacher blocked their path.
The teacher looked to be around forty. His appearance was utterly ordinary, and he carried no imposing aura. With a smiling face, he appeared exceptionally amiable.
"Student Huo Yuhao, would you be interested in speaking with me alone for a moment?"
Wang Yan smiled warmly at Huo Yuhao.
Earlier, he had heard about a new student challenging the Twin Stars of the Outer Court and had gone to the Soul Fighting Zone to watch out of curiosity.
Yet what surprised Wang Yan was that, even with the discerning eye of a senior academy teacher, he could not tell what Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul actually was.
That made him even more curious. What sort of Martial Soul could be so powerful? Unable to restrain himself, he wanted to speak with Huo Yuhao.
Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya naturally recognized Wang Yan, one of the most distinguished senior teachers in the Outer Court.
At Shrek Academy, advancing in teacher rank was even more difficult than advancing as a student, and the hierarchy was even clearer.
As a senior teacher, Wang Yan was qualified to teach Inner Court students.
With such a senior teacher taking an interest in Huo Yuhao, neither Jiang Nannan nor Tang Ya wished to disturb their coming conversation any longer.
Tang Ya linked arms with Jiang Nannan. "Then, Teacher Wang, take your time talking with Little Yuhao. We won't disturb you."
After saying that, she winked at Huo Yuhao, then pulled Jiang Nannan away at a brisk pace.
Once Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya had disappeared from sight, Wang Yan went straight to the point.
"Student Huo Yuhao, could you tell your teacher what your Martial Soul and soul skills are? Of course, I will not reveal your information to any unrelated parties."
In the world of Soul Masters, casually inquiring about another person's Martial Soul and soul skills was a major taboo. Naturally, Wang Yan had to assure Huo Yuhao that he would keep it confidential.
"Teacher Wang, my Martial Soul is the Spirit Eye, a spiritual-attribute Martial Soul. As for the effects of my soul skills, please allow me to keep them secret."
Huo Yuhao answered calmly.
"Spirit Eye? Your Martial Soul is your eyes?"
Wang Yan's reaction was far more dramatic than Huo Yuhao's calmness. He was so excited that he nearly jumped up, staring at Huo Yuhao with a face full of excitement.
But then he recalled that both of Huo Yuhao's Soul Rings were at the thousand-year level, and his expression turned tense as he hurriedly asked.
"Student Huo Yuhao, are you perhaps from the Body Sect?"
If Huo Yuhao were from the Body Sect, he naturally would not easily reveal the secrets of a Body Martial Soul, and the academy would not invest excessive resources in him.
"Teacher Wang, I am not from the Body Sect. If there is nothing else, I will be leaving first."
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, Wang Yan's eyes immediately filled with wild delight as he said repeatedly.
"Good, that is wonderful. Student Huo Yuhao, I will report your situation to the academy's upper management. You do not mind, do you?"
Wang Yan was truly too excited. Huo Yuhao was not from the Body Sect, yet he possessed such astonishing talent.
Perhaps the academy could truly use Huo Yuhao to completely uncover the mysteries of Body Martial Souls.
He even felt that the admissions office might not have realized just how terrifying Huo Yuhao was. No, he had to report this to Xuan Zi immediately.
Huo Yuhao answered indifferently.
"That is fine, Teacher Wang."
When he had enrolled, he had listed his Martial Soul as the Spirit Eye, so naturally he would not stop Wang Yan from reporting it to the academy's upper management.
Besides, compared to his previous life, where the Spirit Eye's first Soul Ring had only been ten years, he was now somewhat curious about how the academy would react to him.
After receiving Huo Yuhao's permission, Wang Yan took a deep breath and tried to calm his excited emotions.
"Good, good. Student Huo Yuhao, then I will not disturb you any further. I will come find you again later."
With that, he turned and hurried away.
Meanwhile, the Martial Soul Department Dean's Office was still brightly lit.
Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department, sat in his office chair, lightly tapping the desk with his fingers and producing a rhythmic sound.
At the same time, he flipped through the carefully organized list of new students requiring special attention that his teachers had prepared.
Du Weilun, the Martial Soul Department's director of instruction, was also seated on the animal-hide sofa before the desk.
As the person who had personally delivered these materials, he had naturally reviewed their contents long ago.
After considering his words, he spoke.
"Dean, there is a new student named Huo Yuhao. Both his first and second Soul Rings are at the thousand-year level. Do you think we should make contact with him early?"
At those words, Yan Shaozhe immediately showed interest and flipped the application form in his hand to the relevant page.
Huo Yuhao.
Martial Soul: Spirit Eye · Spiritual Attribute.
Soul Power Level: Level 25.
Soul Ring Colors: Purple, purple.
"Both the first and second Soul Rings are thousand-year rings. He truly is a rare genius."
Yan Shaozhe nodded, his tone holding a hint of praise, but then his tone shifted.
"However, his Martial Soul has a spiritual attribute. Finding suitable Soul Rings for it is extremely difficult."
Spiritual-attribute Soul Beasts were extraordinarily rare. This meant that raising a suitable spiritual-attribute Soul Master naturally required far more effort and resources than raising Soul Masters of other attributes.
As for this new student's first and second Soul Rings both being at the thousand-year level, while it was indeed stunning, it was not entirely impossible.
Hadn't that student named Wang Dong, whose form he had looked over earlier, also possessed a thousand-year second Soul Ring?
Moreover, he did not know whether this new student named Huo Yuhao had used some secret method that drained his own potential to obtain such an astonishing Soul Ring configuration.
At this thought, Yan Shaozhe moved his gaze away from Huo Yuhao's application form, looked at Du Weilun, and continued.
"Compared to Huo Yuhao, I think more highly of Dai Huabin. At less than twelve years old, he is already a three-ring Soul Elder.
"Such an achievement has already surpassed the ancestors of the Dai Family, and a young girl from the Zhu Family enrolled alongside him."
As the Martial Soul Department's director of instruction, Du Weilun naturally understood Yan Shaozhe's implication.
Clearly, that boy from the Dai Family and the girl from the Zhu Family likely possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"However, Dean..." Just as he was about to say more, Yan Shaozhe raised a hand and interrupted him.
"Enough, Weilun. As a professional Soul Master, I naturally dare to make a professional judgment."
Before you continue