"What?"
Huo Yuhao was a little puzzled. Wasn't this a bit too much hard work? Did she think she was at the bottom of the group and was panicking?
Thinking he'd figured it out, Huo Yuhao immediately reassured her.
"Zhu Zhuqing, you don't need to do this. Your efforts put you among the best of us. Sooner or later, you'll be one of the strongest."
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "That's not what I mean. I just want to get stronger. I hope you'll train me."
"Can you tell me why you're in such a hurry?"
Huo Yuhao was even more puzzled. Zhu Zhuqing gave him the impression that a demon was chasing her, driving her to get stronger without pause.
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, then nodded. She told him about her betrothal to Dai Mubai and explained the competition among the direct descendants of the Star Luo Imperial Family.
"I'd heard that my fiancé was at Shrek Academy, so I came to see whether he was working hard. But as soon as I arrived, I saw him like that..."
"To be honest, I was disappointed. But my life is at stake, so I have to seize every chance to get stronger. Please, help me."
Huo Yuhao finally understood. In his previous life, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion was no longer part of the imperial family, and the rivalry was only between the principal wife and the concubines.
Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin had still gotten along quite well. It was nothing like the deadly struggle unfolding now.
"No wonder Dai Mubai is so... dejected. Does he think he can't win, so he's given up?" Huo Yuhao voiced his guess.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "It looks like he's accepted his fate. That's why he's so obsessed with pleasure. But I want to control my own destiny. I still want to see more of this world."
She paused, then continued.
"If you help me, I'll give you anything."
Zhu Zhuqing's face flushed as she spoke, but she kept her gaze fixed firmly on Huo Yuhao.
"..."
Another person whose fate was beyond their control. Huo Yuhao sighed softly.
Zhu Zhuqing thought he found her request troublesome, and her expression immediately dimmed.
Of course... He doesn't want to help me either.
She was about to say something when—
"I'll help you."
Zhu Zhuqing jerked her head up. Huo Yuhao wore a dazzling smile, his blue eyes seeming to hold the whole world. Moonlight spilled down from behind him, casting his tall shadow across the ground.
"As for what you'll have to give..."
Zhu Zhuqing's hand trembled slightly. She'd made up her mind, but she still felt nervous at that moment.
Huo Yuhao's smile grew even brighter. "Your very best effort."
"Huh?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked up at him, utterly bewildered.
"Was I not clear? You'll have to give it your all. I'm going to be very strict."
Huo Yuhao repeated himself. At the last sentence, he deliberately put on a stern face, acting the part.
"No... I understood. Thank you."
Zhu Zhuqing fidgeted with her hands, unsure where to put them. She even stumbled over her words.
Huo Yuhao nodded with a slight smile, then turned and headed out. "If that's clear, let's go."
"Where?"
"The field. We're having a sparring match."
"Hm? Who's out on the field this late?"
Flender noticed the sounds coming from the field as he made his way back to his quarters.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he crept over to take a look.
"Again! Don't rush. Use Spirit Detection to watch my muscle movements and predict what I'll do. Make it a habit. Even without my Spirit Detection, you need to keep your eyes on your opponent's movements..."
Flender spotted the two of them from a distance and was stunned. Were kids these days all this hardworking? Training on their own in the middle of the night?
He shook his head, beaming with delight, and headed back to his quarters.
"What terrifying little monsters. The next generation really does surpass the last!"
After being knocked down for who knew how many times, Zhu Zhuqing lay on the ground without a care for appearances, panting heavily as the stars reflected in her eyes.
A handsome face blocked her view, smiling down at her. "Not bad. You've improved quite a bit. That's enough for today."
As he spoke, he held out a hand.
"Mm, thank you..."
Zhu Zhuqing took his hand and got up. She brushed the dust off herself, then blushed at how filthy she was.
"It's late. Get some rest."
"You too... Good night."
Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile. "Good night."
He took a step, then seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. We'll have to train somewhere else tomorrow."
Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously, "Hm? Where?"
"The Soul Fighting Arena. We'll register as a team. You're only a Soul Grandmaster, but together we'll count as a Soul Elder team, so we can fight Soul Elders in two-on-two matches. You'll take the lead, and I'll support you. Then we'll review every match afterward."
Huo Yuhao thought that training with only him was too limiting, and she'd soon stop improving. It would be better for her to see a wider variety of Martial Souls and Soul Skills. That would help her grow.
Zhu Zhuqing immediately understood what Huo Yuhao had in mind. Her eyes lit up, and she nodded.
Early the next morning, Huo Yuhao went to the cafeteria for breakfast. He wasn't the last to arrive, but he noticed that the mood among the others was off.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar were absent, and Dai Mubai didn't look well either.
"What's going on?" Huo Yuhao whispered to Xiao Wu beside him.
Xiao Wu pursed her lips and explained. The previous night, Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai had gotten into a quarrel, and Dai Mubai had hit her. She'd asked Tang San and Oscar for help, but they'd done nothing and had instead advised her to leave.
"??"
Huo Yuhao was baffled. Why hadn't Zhu Zhuqing mentioned this yesterday?
Then he thought about it. Zhu Zhuqing wasn't the type to gossip behind someone's back. Besides, she was focused on getting stronger. She had no time to worry about this.
Honestly, Huo Yuhao thought only Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing were relatively mature. They knew what they wanted and worked hard toward it. That was what maturity looked like.
As for the others... Sigh. Huo Yuhao thought he should find a way to bring the team together.
When the bell rang, everyone headed to the field and saw Ning Rongrong already waiting there. She looked haggard, her eyes red.
Oscar arrived shortly afterward and announced that he'd reached level thirty. It dealt Ning Rongrong another heavy blow, and she couldn't help recalling Huo Yuhao's words.
Everyone at this academy was exceptionally talented. She was simply the one with the lowest Soul Power.
Doubt began to gnaw at the Little Demoness. Am I really worse than everyone else at this academy? Is "princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect" all I have going for me?
The day's lesson had originally been a taste test of Oscar's Sausages.
When Flender learned that everyone had already tried the Sausages, he waved them off and told them to get ready for the Soul Fighting Arena that evening.
"By the way, Huo Yuhao, in light of your performance yesterday, you're being rewarded with another forty laps. Ning Rongrong, you'll run twenty laps as punishment. Any objections?"
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth. "None!" Then she shot Huo Yuhao a fierce glare and ran off.
Huo Yuhao sighed too. He'd known he wouldn't get out of it.
Yesterday's running hadn't done anything for him, so he'd spent some time that evening making several metal rings and fastening them around his ankles. He'd also strapped a large one around his waist and put two on his wrists.
The rings were made of a special metal. They weren't big, but they were extremely heavy, weighing nearly a hundred kilograms in total.
He'd start by getting used to them and add more if they weren't enough. From now on, he decided, he'd run with weights to make the training more challenging. Otherwise, he could run all day and still make no progress.
Huo Yuhao didn't run especially fast. Instead, he caught up with Ning Rongrong and kept pace beside her, turning to ask softly,
"Have you decided to stay and prove yourself?"
He'd already figured out most of what was going through Ning Rongrong's mind. She was simply unwilling to accept the situation and wanted to prove herself. Though that could motivate her, it could also breed resentment and become a serious problem down the road.
"Hmph."
Ning Rongrong snorted and ignored him. She summoned her Martial Soul, gave herself a speed boost, and dashed ahead.
Huo Yuhao sighed. "Such a childish temper..."
Then he sped up and pulled alongside Ning Rongrong again.
"Even if you hate me, if you keep training like this, at least you'll have a better chance of surviving when danger comes."
Huo Yuhao paused, then continued. "Run to the breathing rhythm I taught you yesterday. I'll tell you a story—a story I once dreamed about."
Without waiting for Ning Rongrong to answer, he began telling it on his own.
It was the story of his previous life, when he'd been part of Shrek's reserve team and gone to compete in the Elite Soul Master Tournament. He told her how their group had set off cheerfully to wipe out some Evil Soul Masters, then carelessness had left their seniors gravely wounded or even dead, until their reserve team had no choice but to give everything they had to fight for the championship.
He left out some details as he told the tragic tale, his voice soft and steady, as though he'd lived through every moment himself.
The girl was drawn into the story. When Huo Yuhao finished, she couldn't help asking, "Did they win in the end?"
"That's not important. What I want you to understand is this: don't let a lack of preparation leave you powerless when something happens, unable to stop it. Otherwise, you'll be left regretting it after the fact."