A Hatred Carved into His Bones

Five years earlier, when Huo Yuhao was six.

Inside a magnificent, golden building, two children stood side by side.

One child had golden hair, wore fine clothes, and was tall and well-built. His face was full of pride.

The other child, by comparison, wore a threadbare hemp outfit, washed so many times it had faded white, with several patches sewn into it. He looked shabby, and his frame was much thinner.

His hands were clasped together, and he seemed somewhat timid.

Standing before them was a beautiful woman in luxurious clothes, with a sharp, mean-looking face. She was none other than the White Tiger Duke's wife.

The White Tiger Duke's wife wore a palace gown and looked at the tall child with doting affection. "Huabin, you mustn't disappoint Mother during this Martial Soul Awakening. I'll be waiting outside for your good news."

Dai Huabin replied proudly, "Don't worry, Mother. I'll awaken the White Tiger Martial Soul without a hitch."

With that, he turned and walked into the room behind them.

The White Tiger Duke's wife watched her son enter the room with a doting expression. Then her eyes shifted to Huo Yuhao, who stood off to the side, and her face immediately twisted with disgust. She let out a loud, undisguised sneer. "Hmph, you little bastard."

Six-year-old Huo Yuhao stood where he was, timid and at a loss. Then he remembered the gentle smile his mother had given him before the Martial Soul Awakening: "Yuhao, whether or not you awaken Soul Power, you'll always be Mother's good boy. Go on, and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Mother will always love you."

Remembering his mother's frail body and how she coughed from time to time, Huo Yuhao summoned his courage, turned, and entered the room.

Inside, an elderly steward from the White Tiger Duke Mansion was performing the Martial Soul Awakening for Dai Huabin.

Dai Huabin stood before the steward with his eyes tightly shut.

A moment later, a majestic tiger's roar rang out behind Dai Huabin. The lifelike phantom of a white tiger appeared behind him.

The steward's face immediately lit up with joy. "Congratulations, young master! You've successfully awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul."

"Young master, let's test your Innate Soul Power Level too."

Dai Huabin placed his hand on the Soul Power testing orb, and a dazzling white light flashed.

The steward exclaimed excitedly, "As expected of the young master! Innate Soul Power Level eight—an exceptionally rare genius!"

Dai Huabin raised his chin high. "Of course."

With that, he stepped aside and glared at Huo Yuhao with ill intent.

Huo Yuhao stepped forward and politely bowed to the steward. "Grandpa Steward, sorry for the trouble. Could you help me awaken my Martial Soul?"

The steward gave him a lukewarm "Mm," then gestured for Huo Yuhao to stand in front of him. He placed a hand on Huo Yuhao's head. "Clear your mind and focus. Feel the Martial Soul within your body."

Huo Yuhao felt a warm current flowing through him. Before long, his eyes began to itch. Then he opened them. His eyes, already clear, now seemed astonishingly bright, and starlight appeared to shimmer within them.

The steward looked surprised. "A Martial Soul Mutation! It's a Body Martial Soul—the eyes!"

Huo Yuhao felt rather disappointed. He hadn't awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul after all.

Still, judging by the steward's tone, this mutated eye Martial Soul didn't seem too bad, did it?

A little hope stirred in his heart.

"Hmph." Dai Huabin, standing to the side, pursed his lips in displeasure.

"Let's test your Innate Soul Power too," the steward said in his same indifferent tone.

Huo Yuhao placed his palm on the Soul Power testing orb. Then came a moment that filled him with despair: the light from the orb was far dimmer than the light it had given off during Dai Huabin's test.

The glow was faint, like a firefly.

The steward shook his head. "Innate Soul Power Level one. Looks like the Martial Soul Mutation turned it into a useless Trash Martial Soul."

Huo Yuhao's face went white. It was as if five thunderbolts had struck him at once. He lowered his head in despair.

Dai Huabin, on the other hand, burst into unrestrained laughter. "A bastard really is a bastard. Even your Martial Soul is worse than garbage—what a worthless Trash Martial Soul! That's hilarious!"

Huo Yuhao left in a daze.

He couldn't remember how he got home. He only remembered that when he returned, his mother, Huo Yun'er, hadn't been disappointed at all. Instead, she exclaimed with delight, "Wow, my Yuhao is amazing! You have such beautiful eye Martial Soul. You'll definitely become a powerful Soul Master one day and be Mother's eyes, protecting me. Right?"

His mother's loving words lifted Huo Yuhao's spirits again. He said firmly, "That's right. Yuhao will become a powerful Soul Master and protect Mother one day."

Mother and son were happy together, still enduring their difficult life.

But after the day Huo Yuhao awakened his Martial Soul, life grew ever harder for the Huo family mother and son.

The White Tiger Duke Mansion had once given them a few Copper Soul Coins each month. It wasn't much, but it was at least enough to cover their most basic living expenses.

After the Martial Soul Awakening, however, the Duchess began openly oppressing them, and the mother and son lost their only source of income.

They could only scrape together the bare necessities by having Huo Yun'er mend other people's clothes.

The price was that Huo Yun'er's already poor health grew even weaker.

Although their life was harder, little Huo Yuhao still felt that there was hope as long as he and his mother had each other.

But tragedy struck that day.

Huo Yuhao was fetching water when he happened to run into Dai Huabin, who was playing with a group of servants.

When Dai Huabin saw Huo Yuhao, a cruel gleam flashed in his eyes.

Then he led several servants over and surrounded Huo Yuhao.

"Hmph, you little bastard. Didn't I tell you not to let me see you again? And today you dared to get in my way here. Beat him!" Dai Huabin's lips curled into a cruel smile.

"I didn't!" Huo Yuhao protested.

The servants didn't care about his explanation. In just a few blows, they had beaten Huo Yuhao to the ground.

Only six years old and frail, Huo Yuhao had no way to fight back. He could only endure their punches and kicks.

"No! Don't hit my Yuhao!" Before Huo Yuhao passed out, he heard his mother cry out in a panic.

After who knew how long, Huo Yuhao slowly regained consciousness. He was lying in his mother's arms, and Huo Yun'er was covered in injuries, beaten unconscious.

That beating left Huo Yun'er, who had already been sickly and frail, with yet another lasting ailment.

The heavy labor wore her down further, until she became gravely ill and passed away not long afterward.

Back in the present.

The moment he saw Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao couldn't help recalling Huo Yun'er's gentle smile and voice, along with the humiliation he had endured over the past decade.

If it weren't for Dai Huabin and his mother, Huo Yun'er wouldn't have died so young!

Killing intent flooded Huo Yuhao's gaze.

It surged with enough force to drown Dai Huabin.

But a moment later, Huo Yuhao slowly exhaled and forcibly suppressed his hatred, regaining his composure.

I can't act rashly. There are too many eyes here. If I kill him here, it'll be far too easy to expose myself. And Shrek Academy has only just started the new term. A student dying now would put the academy's higher-ups on alert.

It isn't time yet. Huo Yuhao calmly shook his head.

But a moment later, as if he had thought of something, a faint smile crept onto his lips.

Still, it shouldn't hurt to collect a little interest, should it?

Then Huo Yuhao's figure gradually sank into the shadows and disappeared.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu rode their horses down the street.

"Huabin, why are these commoners looking at us like that?" the curvaceous girl in the black dress complained.

"Lu Lu, why care what these commoners think? Just ignore them. The most important thing right now is to find a suitable hotel." Dai Huabin sneered disdainfully at the pedestrians on the street, then turned to Zhu Lu, a lecherous glint in his eyes.

The girl in the black dress blushed in embarrassment. "You're awful. We've only just met, and you already want to do that."

Dai Huabin grew even more brazen. "It's for our Martial Soul Fusion Skill, after all. Don't forget, the better we know each other, the higher our Martial Soul Fusion compatibility will be."

Zhu Lu covered her face with one hand. "What are you saying? I never said no. We're still out on the street! You're so awful."

The two rode their horses along the way, looking for a suitable hotel.

"Why don't we stop here?" Dai Huabin suddenly pulled his horse to a halt.

Zhu Lu looked up at the building before them. It was a three-story hotel with an imposing entrance. A neon sign above the entrance flickered, displaying four large characters: "Rose Hotel."

"You're so naughty. Fine, we'll do what you say." Zhu Lu gave a coy little huff, then swung down from her horse along with Dai Huabin.

After handing their horses to the young attendant at the entrance, the two walked inside together.

No one noticed that less than a minute after they entered the hotel, a shadow flickered past its entrance like a ghost prowling through the night.