Signing Up for Shrek

Xu Sanshi left, though not before being practically stripped clean by Huo Yuhao.

After offering his thanks to Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo, he slunk away with a face full of grief and indignation.

In his place stood Huo Yuhao, beaming as he toyed with Xu Sanshi's storage soul tool.

Zhang Lexuan's mouth twitched.

This kid was nothing short of a bandit.

With the matter concluded, the surrounding crowd began to disperse.

Before leaving, everyone was still buzzing about the fight they had just witnessed, casting deep, lingering glances at Huo Yuhao, etching his name into their memories.

A one-ring Spirit Master defeating a three-ring Spirit Venerable; a snack stall owner beating the daylights out of a genius student from Shrek Academy.

They were certain this would become a legend in Shrek City for a long time to come.

"Not bad, brat, you've got some real strength," Han Ruoruo said, her face etched with surprise.

Huo Yuhao's expression remained unchanged, showing little reaction.

Given Sasuke's strength during his time in Team 7, it would have been pathetic if he couldn't even beat a Xu Sanshi.

However, Huo Yuhao knew he had gained a massive advantage; his Spirit Power was still too thin, only at rank 15. Had Xu Sanshi managed to unleash his second or third spirit skills, things would have become quite troublesome.

"Yuhao, I forgot to introduce ourselves earlier. We are students of Shrek Academy. I am Zhang Lexuan, and this is my junior sister, Han Ruoruo. What happened today was indeed an impulsive act by someone from our academy. I apologize to you, and I thank you for showing mercy to Xu Sanshi," Zhang Lexuan said with a hint of apology.

Zhang Lexuan? Han Ruoruo?

Weren't these the senior and second senior sisters of Shrek's Inner Court from Douluo Dalu II? So it was them!

Huo Yuhao kept his face impassive, though ripples stirred within his heart.

"It's fine. Since he paid a sufficient price, I won't hold it against him," Huo Yuhao replied.

"Yuhao, what are your plans for the future? If you wish to join Shrek Academy, we could actually be of some help to you," Zhang Lexuan said expectantly.

Huo Yuhao had intended to agree immediately, but after a moment of thought, he put on a dejected look, shook his head, and said, "I originally thought that since Shrek Academy held the title of the number one academy in the world, it must have something unique. But just now, I realized that the students of Shrek are nothing more than this. It's quite disappointing."

"Rather than joining Shrek, I might as well go to the Sun Moon Empire and join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. At least their achievements in soul tools are unparalleled on the continent."

"The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?" Zhang Lexuan's mouth hung slightly open.

"You brat, what's so good about the Sun Moon Academy? We at Shrek are the best fit for you! That Xu Sanshi was just an Outer Court student. Shrek Academy has an Inner Court, and that is where our true foundation lies. With your talent, if you don't stay at Shrek to cultivate and instead run off to become some soul engineer, it would be a complete waste of heaven's gifts!" Han Ruoruo said, her eyes widening.

"Oh? The Inner Court? Can I become an Inner Court student directly, then?" Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow.

"Directly become an Inner Court student? This..." Han Ruoruo was stunned.

She had wanted to say that becoming an Inner Court student required passing an assessment, but upon reflection, the fact that a one-ring Spirit Master could defeat a three-ring Spirit Venerable was monstrous. The Outer Court clearly held little appeal for someone of his caliber.

"Yuhao, I will explain your situation to the teachers in the Inner Court. Why don't you register for Shrek with us tomorrow? I guarantee that with your talent, you will definitely be able to enter the Inner Court," Zhang Lexuan said earnestly.

Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright then. I'll wait for you at the gates of Shrek Academy tomorrow."

With these two Inner Court seniors leading the way, it would be much easier for him to enter the Inner Court in the future.

After the conversation concluded and they agreed to meet the next morning to enter Shrek, Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo departed immediately.

Once they were gone, Huo Yuhao was about to find a nearby hotel, only to see Jiang Nannan still waiting quietly to the side.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Huo Yuhao asked, somewhat surprised.

Jiang Nannan was still holding that cup of milk tea, looking rather embarrassed. "Sorry, young man, I dragged you into this today."

In the original story, Jiang Nannan's fate was tragic. At thirteen or fourteen, she sacrificed herself to the Black Tortoise Sect to save her mother. After Xu Sanshi committed such a scummy act, she inexplicably fell in love with him, sacrificing herself again to help him fully evolve his martial soul.

One could only say that the original plot was truly absurd. To be able to do such things at thirteen or fourteen—and the key was that Jiang Nannan had no presence in the later stages of the story. Her existence was merely a plot device to make the audience feel the story was melodramatic and to help Xu Sanshi awaken his martial soul.

But upon interacting with her, Huo Yuhao felt that this girl was actually decent. At the very least, her values were normal; she was simply being mercilessly toyed with by the arrangements of fate.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

Huo Yuhao waved his hand. "It's fine. Today's matter had nothing to do with you. That guy was just a bully who feared the strong and picked on the weak, using me as a stepping stone to curry favor with you. It's not your fault."

"However, I am a person who believes in repaying kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. If someone treats me with kindness, I will repay it tenfold; if someone treats me with enmity, I will pay it back a hundredfold. I am not the type to return evil with good."

"As the saying goes, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; don't bully the young because they are poor,'" Huo Yuhao said with deep meaning.

"Since you're alright now, I'll be going." After bidding Jiang Nannan farewell, Huo Yuhao walked away directly.

Jiang Nannan remained where she was, her expression dark and unreadable.

She savored the weight of Huo Yuhao's words.

"Repay kindness with kindness, vengeance with vengeance!"

"Bullying the weak and currying favor!"

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; don't bully the young because they are poor."

At that moment, something seemed to clear in Jiang Nannan's mind, and she secretly clenched her fists.

In truth, after the incident several years ago, Jiang Nannan had held no hatred for the Black Tortoise Sect. Although she felt bitter, it had been a transaction agreed upon by both sides, and she had nothing to say.

But after that, when the Black Tortoise Clan discovered that their young sect master's martial soul had not fully awakened, they had actually pressured her to do that with Xu Sanshi again, all so that his martial soul could fully awaken.

Jiang Nannan naturally refused, but the Black Tortoise Sect turned around and used various means to threaten her, even mentioning her mother several times in their verbal exchanges.

This situation only began to improve after Jiang Nannan was admitted to Shrek Academy.

However, she encountered Xu Sanshi once again within Shrek Academy.

I will no longer be a tool. Xu Sanshi, Black Tortoise Sect, one day, I will take back everything I have lost!

Blazing flames burned within her eyes.

Early the next morning, Huo Yuhao met Zhang Lexuan at the gates of Shrek Academy.

She was still dressed in a white gown, a gentle smile gracing her face.

Upon meeting, Zhang Lexuan led Huo Yuhao directly into Shrek Academy.

Unlike the modern atmosphere of Shrek City, the environment inside Shrek Academy was much closer to nature.

The vegetation within the academy was lush and abundant. As the two walked along the wide boulevard, they traveled about two hundred meters forward until several giant statues blocked their view.

The statue at the very front was an elderly man wearing glasses, his hooked nose quite distinctive.

Zhang Lexuan introduced them to Huo Yuhao, "These are the founders of our Shrek Academy, known as the Iron Triangle: Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong. The one at the very front is Flender, and to his left is the Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang. He can be considered the core figure of our Shrek Academy; he pioneered the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls, and one of his famous quotes has served as Shrek's school motto, inspiring us all."

"That is: there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters!"

Zhang Lexuan's gaze held a hint of reverence; after all, it was they who had brought Shrek its current glory, and she naturally took pride in that.

Huo Yuhao was noncommittal, suddenly asking, "Since there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters, why does Shrek have such high requirements for martial soul quality during admissions? Forgive my bluntness, but if there are no useless martial souls, Shrek should recruit more soul masters with inferior martial souls who are more hardworking. Cultivating a genius into a genius isn't particularly rare; cultivating an ordinary person into a genius is what would truly demonstrate Shrek's caliber."

Zhang Lexuan was instantly rendered speechless. "Uh..."

After a long silence, Zhang Lexuan seemed at a loss for how to answer this question and offered an awkward smile.

She then continued the introduction, "The statues behind these three are the Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago."

"Ranked first is the White Tiger Douluo, Dai Mubai; the second is the Sausage Douluo, Oscar; the third is the Sea God, Tang San, the one who ended the chaotic era ten thousand years ago; the fourth is..."

Among the seven, the one at the head was a tall man with long hair, his eyes naturally imposing and heroic.

Is this the ancestor of the Dai family? Huo Yuhao looked at the statue of Dai Mubai, and memories of the bullying he had suffered at the Dai residence over the past decade, along with the scene of his mother Huo Yun'er's death, surfaced in his mind.

A surge of anger burned in his heart, and he secretly swore to avenge his mother.

He then looked at the statue of Tang San, who had long blue hair cascading down his back, surrounded by rings of Blue Silver Grass, a faint smile on his lips.

Huo Yuhao let out a cold sneer and followed Zhang Lexuan as they continued deeper inside.