Three Months Later

Huo Yuhao climbed out of bed and was surprised to find that his perspective seemed a little different.

He walked over to the mirror and saw that his body was covered in a thick layer of dead skin.

After shaking it all off, he looked at himself in the mirror again.

Huo Yuhao felt as if he were in a daze. Compared to before, the person in the mirror seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.

First, there was his height. Since the former Huo Yuhao was only twelve, he still had the build of a boy.

Now, though, everything was different. Huo Yuhao had grown a full ten centimeters, reaching around 1.75 meters tall.

His features had also grown more refined, and overall he looked more like a handsome young man.

Then there was his body. He clenched his fist and felt a surge of abundant strength within it.

His bare upper body looked sturdy and well-built, radiating strength compared to his former skinny frame.

"Teacher, is this what happens after refining the Whale Rubber? The effect is incredible! I can feel that my body has undergone a complete transformation!" Huo Yuhao exclaimed in delight.

But Electrolux's voice did not ring out.

The one who answered in Elder Yi's place was the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. "Yuhao, Elder Yi has gone to sleep."

Huo Yuhao froze. Then a white sea of clouds appeared before his eyes, and he entered his Spiritual Sea.

Within the Spiritual Sea, the gray pearl that represented Elder Yi's resting place had lost most of its luster. It had grown dimmer still.

Huo Yuhao's face filled with sorrow. He knelt and respectfully kowtowed several times to the pearl that symbolized his teacher.

"Yuhao, there's no need to be sad. Didn't Elder Yi say he'd wake up once you broke through to level twenty?" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm tried to comfort him.

"Oh, right, Yuhao. I have some good news for you. Remember those ten balls of my Life Source that I brought with me when I fused with you? They can increase the age of your Spirit Rings. Before, your body could only withstand Spirit Rings around the thousand-year level, so your four First Soul Ring skills were all around that age."

"But now that your body's grown so much stronger, you can withstand Spirit Rings over ten thousand years old. That means all four skills from your First Soul Ring are now at the ten-thousand-year level. Impressive, huh? Hehe."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wiggled its fat body as if fishing for praise.

"Mm-hm, I understand, Brother Sky Dream. That really is impressive!" Huo Yuhao smiled and stroked its plump body, praising it.

This time, he had forcibly used the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the toll on his body had been severe. Without Elder Yi and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, even if he had recovered, his condition would have been much worse.

So Huo Yuhao felt deeply grateful to them.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled its round body, but no matter how it wriggled, it couldn't escape Huo Yuhao's hand. It looked at him reproachfully. "Yuhao, I'm sleepy too. I need to sleep for a while. Wake me when you're ready and confident enough to go to the Far North. When the time comes, I'll take you there and give you a surprise."

As the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finished speaking, Huo Yuhao also left his Spiritual Sea.

To his surprise, dawn had already broken. It seemed to be the next morning, and it was almost time for his usual classes.

So he quickly got ready and hurried back to Shrek Academy.

At the same time, in a room on the island in the middle of Sea God Lake, a woman slowly came to.

"Don't!" The woman in red cried out, jolting awake from her unconsciousness.

"Don't kill me!" she murmured, her face still filled with terror.

In her dream, she had seen an endless expanse of Black Flame, and she had been trapped within that strange fire.

Within the Black Flame stood a figure. Ma Xiaotao had desperately tried to make out the person's face, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see it clearly.

Several minutes passed before she gradually regained her senses and sat up in bed, cold sweat running down her forehead.

Someone outside seemed to have heard the commotion in the room. The door opened, and they came in.

Yan Shaozhe looked at Ma Xiaotao's pale face and asked with concern, "Xiaotao, how are you feeling? You've survived a great disaster this time. Do you remember what happened before you lost consciousness? Did you encounter anyone?"

At his words, the image of that young figure and the bizarre Black Flame surfaced in Ma Xiaotao's mind again. She shook her head in confusion. "Teacher, I don't know who that person was either. I only remember that I couldn't suppress my Evil Fire anymore. Then I encountered a young man, who seemed to be a boy. He could use a terrifying kind of flame. My Phoenix Evil Fire couldn't resist it at all."

Yan Shaozhe pondered for a moment. "Mm, I know about that. That flame really was extraordinary. It was a higher level than your Phoenix Evil Fire and had already reached the level of Ultimate Fire. But that's not the most important thing. Xiaotao, do you remember who froze you with Ultimate Ice before you passed out?"

"Ultimate Ice?" Ma Xiaotao's expression changed. She remembered being frozen by a streak of blue light before she lost consciousness, but by then, she had already been completely out of it. She clearly remembered that the blue light had also come from the young man.

Could he possess both Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire Martial Souls?!

How was that possible?

An incredible guess surfaced in Ma Xiaotao's mind, one that even she found hard to believe.

In the end, Ma Xiaotao only shook her head and said, "Teacher, I don't know either. Maybe I'd already passed out after running out of Soul Power."

Yan Shaozhe's face was full of regret. "What a pity, what a pity. If we could find that Ultimate Ice Soul Master and have you cultivate together, perhaps it could solve the Evil Fire problem in your Martial Soul and help your flame reach the level of Ultimate Fire!"

"If we could find him, Xiaotao, I'd even want you two to become a good match. That way, you could finally break free of your Martial Soul's shackles and soar to new heights. But now... sigh."

Ma Xiaotao blushed. "Teacher, what nonsense are you talking about? I'd never marry someone I didn't like just for the sake of my Martial Soul."

Although she said that, Ma Xiaotao kept recalling the young figure she had seen by Sea God Lake that day. She hadn't gotten a clear look at his face, but she remembered his general build perfectly.

"I'll find you!" Ma Xiaotao vowed to herself.

In the classroom of Freshman Class 1, Wang Dong listlessly listened to the teacher at the blackboard lecturing, drowsy with boredom.

Why did I come to Shrek? If I'd known it'd be like this, I'd have been better off staying in the Clear Sky Sect. At least Big Dad and Second Dad would have been there to play with me.

Wang Dong regretted it.

Freshman Class 1 had gotten a new homeroom teacher long ago. The replacement was a middle-aged man with the cultivation of a Spirit Emperor. He was a little better than Zhou Yi, but his lessons were still routine and uninspired.

Wang Dong privately regretted coming to Shrek. The Clear Sky Sect taught this material too, so why had she bothered coming to this lousy academy?

For some reason, Wang Dong suddenly thought of someone. It was a face she found rather annoying.

Their first encounter had been the clash in the dormitory. The second time, she had watched him steal the spotlight in front of the whole class.

Remembering his somewhat arrogant personality and how he never took her seriously,

Wang Dong suddenly flared up. "Huo Yuhao! Now I know why I came to Shrek. I'm going to beat you!"

She made the decision silently.

Sitting beside Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao watched her change expressions over and over in her seat and thought to herself, Sigh, Wang Dong is great in every way, except she's such a chuunibyou. Compared to her, I think I like that Huo Yuhao a little more. I should've sat beside him back then. Sigh.

If Wang Dong had known what Xiao Xiao was thinking, she would probably have rolled her eyes again.

What a jerk!

And so, time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, the freshmen's first three months of classes had passed.

Awkward... I accidentally posted the wrong chapter yesterday and uploaded Chapter 40. So today I can only post one extra chapter; otherwise, I'll only have hit the 2,000-character daily quota. Good night, readers. Please add the book to your favorites, follow it, and vote with your monthly tickets. Sending love!