Let Me Tell You a Story

"Huh?"

Huo Yuhao was somewhat puzzled. Was this not pushing herself a bit too hard? Could it be that she felt she was at the bottom of the group and was panicking?

Thinking he had hit the nail on the head, Huo Yuhao immediately offered some comfort.

"Zhuqing, you don't have to be like this. Your efforts are among the best of us; you will surely be at the forefront sooner or later."

Zhuqing shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I just want to become stronger, and I hope you can guide me."

"Can you tell me why you're in such a rush?"

Huo Yuhao was even more confused. Zhuqing gave him the impression that she was being chased by demons, constantly driven to grow stronger.

Zhuqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded and explained her engagement to Dai Mubai, detailing the competitive nature of the Star Luo Empire royal lineage to Huo Yuhao.

"I heard my fiancé was at Shrek Academy, so I came to see if he was working hard. But as soon as I arrived, I saw him like this..."

"To be honest, I'm very disappointed. But for the sake of my own life, I have to seize every opportunity to become stronger. So please, help me."

After listening, Huo Yuhao suddenly understood. In his previous life, the Duke Mansion was no longer part of the royal family, and the competition was merely between the primary wife and the concubines.

The relationship between Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin was actually quite good, unlike this current life-or-death struggle.

"No wonder Dai Mubai is so... decadent. Does he think he can't win, so he's just given up?" Huo Yuhao voiced his speculation.

Zhuqing nodded. "It seems he has accepted his fate, which is 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 for a moment, then added.

"As long as you help me, I will pay any price."

Zhuqing's face was flushed as she said this, but her gaze remained fixed on Huo Yuhao with determination.

"..."

Another person whose fate was not in their own hands, Huo Yuhao sighed softly.

Zhuqing thought he found her troublesome, and her expression dimmed instantly.

As expected... he didn't want to help her either.

Just as she was about to speak.

"I will help you."

Zhuqing looked up abruptly. He was wearing a brilliant smile, his azure eyes seeming to hold the entire world. The pale moonlight spilled from behind the young man, casting his tall shadow upon the ground.

"As for what you need to pay..."

Zhuqing's hands trembled slightly. Even though she had made up her mind, she couldn't help but feel nervous at this moment.

Huo Yuhao smiled even more brightly. "It is all the effort you have to give."

"Huh?"

Zhuqing looked up, her face full of astonishment.

"Did I not make myself clear? You must pay with all of your effort. I will be very strict."

Huo Yuhao repeated himself, intentionally stiffening his face and acting stern as he said the last sentence.

"No... I heard you clearly... Thank you."

Zhuqing waved her hands back and forth, not knowing where to put them, and even her speech became a bit stuttered.

Huo Yuhao nodded, smiled slightly, and turned to walk outside. "Since that's clear, let's go."

"Where to?"

"The training ground. Let's have a real spar."

"Hmm? Who is still at the training ground this late?"

Flender, who was heading toward his quarters, noticed the sounds coming from the training ground.

Driven by curiosity, he snuck toward the field.

"Again! Don't be impatient. Use Spirit Detection to observe my muscle movements, use that to predict my actions, and build a habit. Even without my Spirit Detection, you must always pay attention to your opponent's movements..."

Seeing the two from afar, Flender was stunned. Are children these days this diligent? Adding extra training for themselves in the middle of the night?

He shook his head, a look of joy on his face as he headed toward his quarters.

"What terrifying little monsters. The waves behind push the waves ahead!"

Having been knocked down for who knows how many times, Zhuqing lay on the ground, ignoring her appearance, gasping for air as the stars in the sky reflected in her eyes.

A handsome face blocked her view, looking down at her with a smile. "Not bad, you've made great progress. Let's stop here for today."

He reached out a hand.

"Mm, thank you..."

Zhuqing took his hand, stood up, and brushed the dust off her clothes, blushing slightly as she looked at her own disheveled state.

"It's very late. Get some rest."

"You too... goodnight."

Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile, "Goodnight."

He had only taken a single step before he seemed to recall something.

"Right, we're changing the training venue tomorrow."

Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously, "Oh? Where to?"

"The Soul Fighting Arena. We're going to register as a duo. Even though you're only a Soul Grand Master, we'll be counted as a Soul Elder team once we pair up. We can fight two-on-two against Soul Elders; you'll take the lead, I'll provide support, and we'll review our performance after every match."

Huo Yuhao felt that training only with himself was too monotonous and would soon hit a plateau. It would be better for her to encounter different martial souls and soul skills to aid her growth.

Zhu Zhuqing immediately understood Huo Yuhao's intention and nodded, her eyes brightening.

Early the next morning, Huo Yuhao arrived at the cafeteria for breakfast. Although he wasn't the last to arrive, he noticed the atmosphere among the group was off.

Ning Rongrong and Oscar were missing, and Dai Mubai's expression was grim.

"What happened?" Huo Yuhao whispered to Xiao Wu beside him.

Xiao Wu pursed her lips and explained the situation to Huo Yuhao. It turned out that Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai had a conflict last night, resulting in Dai Mubai striking her. When she sought help from Tang San and Oscar, they offered no support and instead advised her to leave.

"??"

Huo Yuhao was bewildered. Why hadn't Zhu Zhuqing mentioned this yesterday?

He realized, however, that Zhu Zhuqing wasn't the type to gossip behind people's backs. Furthermore, she was single-mindedly focused on becoming stronger; she had no energy to spare for such matters.

To be honest, in Huo Yuhao's eyes, only Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing were mature—they clearly understood their goals and put in the effort, which was the hallmark of maturity.

As for the others... Sigh, Huo Yuhao felt he needed to find a way to unify the team.

When the bell rang, the group arrived at the training ground and saw Ning Rongrong already standing there. She looked haggard, her eyes red.

Before long, Oscar arrived and announced that he had reached level thirty, dealing another heavy blow to Ning Rongrong's spirit. She couldn't help but recall Huo Yuhao's words.

Every student here is exceptionally gifted; you are merely the one with the lowest soul power.

The little witch began to doubt herself. Am I really inferior to everyone in this academy? Is my only claim to fame the title of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect princess?

The morning lesson was supposed to be tasting Oscar's Sausage.

Upon learning that everyone had already tried the Sausage, Flender waved his hand, signaling the group to disperse and prepare for tonight's matches at the Soul Fighting Arena.

"Right, Huo Yuhao, in light of your performance yesterday, I'm rewarding you with another forty laps. Ning Rongrong, you are punished with twenty laps. Any objections?"

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, "None!" She then glared fiercely at Huo Yuhao and ran off.

Huo Yuhao sighed; he knew there was no escaping this.

Since running had no effect on him yesterday, he had taken the time in the evening to craft several metal rings to strap onto his ankles, a large one for his waist, and two for his wrists.

The metal rings were made of a special alloy; though small in volume, they were extremely heavy, weighing nearly one hundred kilograms in total.

He would adapt to this first, then add more if needed. He decided he would wear weights for all future runs to increase the difficulty; otherwise, relying on running alone wouldn't yield any progress even if he ran all day.

Huo Yuhao didn't run particularly fast, instead catching up to Ning Rongrong and maintaining her pace. He turned his head and asked softly.

"Decided to stay and prove yourself?"

He had already guessed Ning Rongrong's psychology; it was nothing more than defiance and a desire to prove her worth. While this could serve as motivation, it would also breed resentment and pose a significant hidden danger for the future.

"Hmph."

Ning Rongrong snorted, ignored him, and activated her martial soul to cast an acceleration buff on herself before surging forward.

Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly, "Such a childish temper..."

He increased his speed, once again running side-by-side with her.

"Even if you hate me, as long as you persist in training yourself like this, you'll at least have a better chance of surviving when you encounter danger."

Huo Yuhao paused, then continued, "Run according to the breathing rhythm I taught you yesterday. Let me tell you a story—a story I once dreamt of."

Without waiting for Ning Rongrong's response, he began to speak.

The story was about his past life as a member of the Shrek reserve team, heading to participate in the Elite Soul Master Tournament. It began with their group laughing and joking while carrying out a mission to exterminate an Evil Soul Master, only for their carelessness to lead to the serious injury and death of their seniors, leaving their reserve team to fight with everything they had to compete for the championship.

Appropriately omitting some details, the tragic tale flowed from Huo Yuhao's lips as if he had experienced it himself.

The young girl became immersed in the atmosphere of the story. When Huo Yuhao finished, she couldn't help but ask, "Did they win in the end?"

"That's not important. What I want to tell you is: don't let a lack of preparation leave you powerless to stop a tragedy when it happens, only to be left with regret."