Zhang Lexuan froze for a moment, then realized that Huo Yuhao had just defeated a Six-Ring Soul Emperor head-on.
A mere Freshman Assessment seemed to pose no difficulty for Huo Yuhao.
"In that case, I don't have anything to worry about. After the Freshman Assessment in three months, I'll welcome you to the Inner Court." Zhang Lexuan smiled warmly.
"All right. Just wait for me there, Senior Sister." Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile.
"Oh, right, Senior Sister. Could you take a look at this Spirit Bone and tell me what kind of Spirit Beast it came from and how old it is? I don't want Zhou Yi to fool me by casually handing me some random Spirit Bone."
Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered the purple Spirit Bone in his Storage Soul Tool Ring and hurriedly asked.
He took the purple Spirit Bone out of the ring and handed it to Zhang Lexuan without hesitation.
"All right, give me a moment." Zhang Lexuan held the Spirit Bone in her hand, closed her eyes, and carefully sensed it.
Just a quarter of an hour later, she opened her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly.
Seeing her expression, Huo Yuhao quickly asked, "Senior Sister, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with this Spirit Bone?"
Zhang Lexuan shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with it. If anything, its quality should be even better than you expected. It's a Head Soul Bone from a Ten Thousand Year Dream Tapir Beast, and it's spirit-type. It's also an exceptionally good match for your Martial Soul."
Huo Yuhao was puzzled. "Then why do you look so troubled, Senior Sister?"
Zhang Lexuan continued, "I'm not troubled. It's just that the Spirit Beast this Spirit Bone came from is exceptionally unusual, so I'm a little worried for you."
"This Spirit Bone came from a Spirit Beast called a Dream Tapir Beast. They're an exceptionally unusual species that live in the Sunset Forest. They're spirit-type Spirit Beasts, extremely rare, and can manipulate other people's dreams at will. That's why they're also called Dream Eater Beasts."
"Many spirit-type Soul Masters have tried to capture these Spirit Beasts for their Spirit Rings, but one careless moment is all it takes to become trapped in a dream. By the time someone finds them, decades or even centuries may have passed, and those Soul Masters have already turned to dry bones. That shows just how powerful the Dream Tapir Beast is."
"Only a Soul Master whose strength far surpasses the Dream Tapir Beast's can break free of its dream and obtain its Spirit Ring."
"And this Spirit Bone is a skull. If someone can successfully fuse with this spirit-type Spirit Beast's skull, the boost to their Mental Power would be unimaginable."
"I suspect Zhou Yi was preparing to break through to Spirit Saint. She probably intended to fuse with this skull to increase her Mental Power and make her breakthrough easier."
"But even though she has this Spirit Bone, she's never absorbed it. I'm afraid she isn't confident she can handle the Dream Tapir Beast's lingering will within it. One slip, and she might be trapped in an eternal dream, never to wake again."
"Luckily, you showed it to me. I once encountered a Dream Tapir Beast, so I recognized the Soul Power aura of this extremely unusual Spirit Beast. As for Zhou Yi's intentions, I suspect she wanted you to absorb it when you thought you were ready. If you did, you'd probably fall into an endless slumber and never wake again."
Zhang Lexuan gave a cold laugh, then explained the Spirit Bone's origins and Zhou Yi's malicious intentions in detail.
"Yuhao, don't try to fuse with this Spirit Bone until you're absolutely certain you can handle it."
Zhang Lexuan spoke gravely and handed the Spirit Bone back to Huo Yuhao.
As it happened, Zhang Lexuan had guessed nearly all of the Spirit Bone's history correctly. The only part she got wrong was that the person who had obtained it originally wasn't Zhou Yi, but her husband.
That was Fan Yu, the vice dean of Shrek Academy's Spirit Tool Department and a Level 8 Soul Engineer.
By sheer chance, he had killed a Ten Thousand Year Dream Tapir Beast and obtained its skull.
And because men in the Third Young Master's works all had a powerful simp streak, Fan Yu had handed the precious skull without hesitation to his wife, who treated him with indifference.
Unfortunately, Zhou Yi was useless. She had tried to fuse with the skull several times, but her Mental Power was so weak that she had nearly died on the spot.
That was one reason she had handed the Spirit Bone over after losing her bet with Huo Yuhao.
Since she couldn't fuse with it herself, she might as well use it to set Huo Yuhao up.
And just as Zhang Lexuan had guessed, her goal was to trap Huo Yuhao in an eternal slumber, never to wake again.
In the end, by a twist of fate, the Spirit Bone had gone to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao took the purple Spirit Bone from Zhang Lexuan, but felt no anger at all over Zhou Yi's malicious intentions.
On the contrary, he was even a little grateful to her.
I only wanted a Spirit Bone from an eight-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast, and she went and gave me a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bone.
If Zhou Yi wasn't a good person, then who was?
There was absolutely no way Huo Yuhao could be controlled by some dream. His Sharingan could already see through illusions.
And even if that wasn't enough, his Spirit Sea held Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Elder Yi—a silkworm and a demigod.
There was no way he would end up trapped in an eternal dream.
The only thing he needed to worry about was that his body might not yet be able to withstand the powerful energy this Spirit Bone contained. Apart from that, it posed practically no threat to him.
Huo Yuhao put the arrowhead-shaped Spirit Bone, which glowed with a purple light, into his Storage Soul Tool.
He thanked Zhang Lexuan again.
But Zhang Lexuan shook her head and said earnestly, "Yuhao, when I first met you, I thought your views on Shrek Academy were too extreme. But now, it seems many of the things you said were right. There are far too many problems within the academy, and Zhou Yi alone is enough to expose a great many of its flaws."
"When I get back, I'll report Zhou Yi's actions to the academy's senior leadership in detail. As for you, if you don't want to stay in Freshman Class 1, I have a recommendation."
"I know an Outer Court teacher named Wang Yan. I believe he's currently the head teacher of Freshman Class 3. Starting tomorrow, you can report to Freshman Class 3. I'll speak to him beforehand."
"Yuhao, I've never seen anyone with talent like yours. I may be going into seclusion to cultivate for a while. I hope to see you in the Inner Court when I come out. Until we meet again, take care!"
With that, Zhang Lexuan smiled slightly at Huo Yuhao, then transformed into a cool white streak of light once more. It traced an arc through the air as she headed toward the depths of Sea God Lake.
Huo Yuhao gazed at the white streak shooting into the sky and silently made up his mind.
He would take first place in the Freshman Assessment three months from now and join the Inner Court!
Besides the life energy of the Golden Tree, which he coveted, there was now something else in the Inner Court that greatly concerned him.
It was the faint voice that had kept pleading for help in his ear after he activated the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
Whatever it was, he would have to go to the Inner Court himself to find out.
He had a feeling that once he entered the Inner Court, all his questions would be answered.
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