Ten Thousand Year Dream Tapir Beast Skull

Zhang Lexuan was stunned for a moment before realizing that the Huo Yuhao before her had just defeated a six-ring Spirit Emperor head-on.

A mere freshman assessment really seemed to hold no difficulty for Huo Yuhao.

"In that case, I have nothing to worry about. After the freshman assessment in three months, I will be waiting for you in the Inner Court," Zhang Lexuan said with a gentle smile.

"Alright, I'll be counting on you to wait for me then, Senior Sister," Huo Yuhao said with a nod and a smile.

"Oh, right, Senior Sister, could you take a look at this spirit bone for me? Tell me what kind of spirit beast it came from and its age. I don't want to be fooled by Zhou Yi just because she handed me any random spirit bone."

Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered the purple spirit bone in his storage Spirit Guidance Device and spoke in a hurry.

He immediately took the purple spirit bone out of the ring and handed it to Zhang Lexuan without hesitation.

"Alright, just a moment." Zhang Lexuan held the spirit bone in her hand, closed her eyes, and began to sense it carefully.

A quarter of an hour later, she opened her eyes, her brows slightly furrowed.

Seeing her expression, Huo Yuhao asked quickly, "Senior Sister, what's wrong? Is there a problem with this spirit bone?"

Zhang Lexuan shook her head. "There is no problem with the spirit bone itself. In fact, its quality is even better than you expected. It is a head spirit bone from a ten-thousand-year Dream Tapir Beast. It is of the mental attribute and is incredibly compatible with your martial soul."

Huo Yuhao was puzzled. "Then why do you look so dissatisfied, Senior Sister?"

Zhang Lexuan continued, "I am not dissatisfied, but the spirit beast that produced this bone is simply too special, which is why I am slightly worried for you."

"This spirit bone comes from a spirit beast called a Dream Tapir Beast. This species is extremely unique; they live in the Sunset Forest and are mental-attribute spirit beasts. They are incredibly rare, and because they can manipulate the dreams of others at will, they are also known as Dream Eater Beasts."

"Many mental-attribute spirit masters try to hunt these beasts to obtain their spirit rings, but they often fall into a dream state through a moment of carelessness. By the time they are discovered, decades or even centuries have passed, and those spirit masters have long since turned to dust. This shows just how powerful the Dream Tapir Beast is."

"Only a spirit master whose strength far exceeds that of the Dream Tapir Beast can break through its dreamscape to obtain its spirit ring."

"As for this Dream Tapir Beast spirit bone, it is a head bone. If one can successfully fuse with this mental-attribute head bone, the boost to the user's mental power would be unimaginable."

"I suspect this was something Zhou Yi prepared for her own breakthrough to Spirit Saint. She likely intended to fuse with this head bone to increase her mental power, hoping to make her breakthrough to the Spirit Saint realm smoother."

"But despite possessing this bone, she never absorbed it, likely because she wasn't confident. With the residual will of the Dream Tapir Beast contained within, one wrong move could cause the user to fall into an eternal dream, never to wake up again."

"Fortunately, you showed this bone to me. I was lucky enough to encounter a Dream Tapir Beast once, which is how I recognized the spirit power aura of such a unique beast. I suspect Zhou Yi intended for you to absorb this bone when you thought you were ready, at which point you would likely fall into a slumber from which you could never wake."

Zhang Lexuan gave a cold laugh as she recounted the origin of the spirit bone and Zhou Yi's sinister intentions.

"Yuhao, do not attempt to fuse with this spirit bone until you are absolutely certain of your success."

Zhang Lexuan said sternly as she handed the spirit bone back to Huo Yuhao.

In truth, Zhang Lexuan had guessed nine-tenths of the origin of the spirit bone. The only part she got wrong was that the person who originally obtained it wasn't Zhou Yi, but her husband.

That was Fan Yu, the deputy dean of the Spirit Guidance Department at Shrek Academy and a Level 8 Spirit Guidance Master.

By a stroke of luck, he had killed a ten-thousand-year Dream Tapir Beast and obtained this head bone.

And because the men in the author's works all possess a strong "simp" attribute, Fan Yu had handed this precious head bone to his wife, who barely paid him any mind, without a moment's hesitation.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yi was incompetent; every time she tried to fuse with the bone, her low mental power nearly caused her to die on the spot.

This was also part of the reason why she handed over the spirit bone after losing the bet to Huo Yuhao.

Since she couldn't fuse with it anyway, she might as well use it to sabotage Huo Yuhao.

Her goal was exactly what Zhang Lexuan had guessed: to make Huo Yuhao fall into an eternal slumber from which he could never wake.

In any case, through a twist of fate, the spirit bone now belonged to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao took the purple spirit bone from Zhang Lexuan, feeling not a shred of anger toward Zhou Yi's sinister intentions.

On the contrary, he was actually somewhat grateful to her.

I only wanted an eight-thousand-year spirit bone, and she just handed me a ten-thousand-year one.

If Zhou Yi isn't a good person, then who is?

It was absolutely impossible for Huo Yuhao to be controlled by any dreamscape. Not to mention that his own Sharingan already had the ability to see through illusions.

Even if that failed, he still had the Sky Dream Iceworm and Elder Yi—one worm and one half-god—residing in his mental sea.

There was no way he would ever fall into an eternal dream.

The only thing he needed to worry about was that his body currently couldn't withstand the immense energy contained within the bone. Aside from that, this spirit bone posed virtually no threat to him.

Huo Yuhao placed the purple-glowing, arrowhead-shaped spirit bone into his storage Spirit Guidance Device.

He thanked Zhang Lexuan once more.

Zhang Lexuan shook her head, looked at Huo Yuhao, and said earnestly, "Yuhao, when I first met you, I thought your views on Shrek Academy were a bit extreme. But now, it seems many of your points are correct. There are too many problems within the academy right now; Zhou Yi alone reflects a great many flaws."

"When I return, I will report Zhou Yi's actions to the academy's higher-ups in detail. As for you, if you don't want to stay in Freshman Class One, I have a recommendation."

"I know an Outer Court teacher named Wang Yan, who is currently the head teacher of Freshman Class Three. You can go report to him starting tomorrow; I will give him a heads-up in advance."

"Yuhao, your talent is truly the greatest I have ever seen. I may be going into seclusion for a while, but I hope that when I emerge, I will see you in the Inner Court. Until we meet again, take care!"

After saying this, Zhang Lexuan smiled slightly at Huo Yuhao, transformed once again into a cold, white streak of light, and traced a path through the air toward the depths of Sea God Lake.

Watching the white streak of light soar into the sky, Huo Yuhao secretly made a resolution.

Win first place in the freshman assessment in three months and join the Inner Court!

Within the Inner Court, besides the life energy of the Golden Tree that he coveted, there was now another matter that weighed heavily on his mind.

That was the whispering voice that kept calling for help in his ears after he activated the Cursed Seal of Heaven.

Whatever that was, he needed to go to the Inner Court himself to confirm it.

He had a premonition that once he entered the Inner Court, all his questions would be answered.