"First Soul Skill: Spiritual Sharing."
Spiritual Detection Sharing appeared precisely in Zhang Lexuan's field of vision. Everything around her changed, its newfound clarity making her feel as though she had stepped out of a fog. Everything became clear and orderly, and could even be described with data. That precise judgment, as if she had gained a second brain, shifted constantly along with the direction of her gaze.
After scanning the entire teaching building, Huo Yuhao withdrew his Soul Skill.
Zhang Lexuan stared blankly for a moment, then murmured, "What a marvelous skill."
With her wealth of experience as a Soul Master, she naturally understood how enormous a role Spiritual Sharing could play in battle.
This single Soul Skill alone was enough to earn Huo Yuhao the attention of the higher-ups.
"This is my second Soul Skill: Simulation."
Then Zhang Lexuan saw Huo Yuhao's three purple Soul Rings turn white...
"Huh?"
Then the three Soul Rings changed again, turning yellow, purple, black, and red...
"Clatter."
Zhang Lexuan shot to her feet, sending her chair crashing to the floor. She stared fixedly at those three Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, her body trembling slightly.
Then the three Soul Rings turned purple again, and Huo Yuhao stood there with an innocent, harmless look.
Zhang Lexuan gave a bitter smile. "You... those three Soul Rings aren't merely a thousand years old, are they?"
"Haha, I'll let Teacher Zhang guess for herself."
Zhang Lexuan couldn't help smiling too. Everyone had their own secrets, and she naturally had no interest in interrogating him.
But honestly, this little fellow's Soul Skills and talent were quite impressive. He wasn't far behind where she had been at his age.
A possibility suddenly occurred to her, and her heart began racing several times faster.
Could she... could she use Huo Yuhao's Soul Skill to make a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest?
For some unknown reason, the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest had undergone an explosive increase in cultivation. There weren't even any Soul Beasts below a thousand years old in the outer region anymore.
The mixed region and core region went without saying. Even with all the confidence in the world, Zhang Lexuan would be walking straight to her death if she went there.
But if she used Huo Yuhao's Simulation to fool those high-level Soul Beasts, it might be possible.
She wasn't going there to hunt Soul Beasts. She...
She only wanted to collect the remains of her fallen fellow inner-court disciples.
Of course, perhaps their bodies were already gone, swallowed whole by the Soul Beasts... But at the very least, she wanted to build them a monument.
As she thought this, her jade hands clenched instinctively. She wanted to drag Huo Yuhao to the Star Dou Great Forest right then and there, but reason held her back.
"My third Soul Skill is Soul Shock. Its effect is exactly what the name suggests, so I won't demonstrate it for you, Teacher Zhang."
That was where Huo Yuhao was clever. The Soul Skills he showed her weren't actually his strongest, but they were the most useful in team battles.
Those were the skills the Shrek higher-ups wanted to see as well.
In truth, every Soul Skill Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Golden Hawksbill Turtle had given him was more astonishing than the last. His third Soul Skill, Epitaph, was especially extraordinary. After experimenting with it, even Huo Yuhao himself had been amazed by how terrifying it was.
This Soul Skill had nothing to do with spiritual power. According to Electrolux, it was connected to [time] and [fate], and its true source was the auspicious power within the Golden Hawksbill Turtle.
He absolutely couldn't tell anyone about this Soul Skill. It was one of Huo Yuhao's current trump cards for staying alive.
Zhang Lexuan took a deep breath. Huo Yuhao's cultivation was still far too weak, and the Star Dou Great Forest was perilous in the extreme. She wasn't even sure she could protect herself, let alone bring along a little Soul Elder.
What if something went wrong? How would she explain it?
She didn't want people calling her the next Xuan Zi...
Suppressing the stirring in her heart, Zhang Lexuan raised a hand and patted Huo Yuhao's head. "Your Soul Skills are all quite good, leaning toward support and control. But you've probably noticed what you're lacking, right?"
Huo Yuhao nodded silently. "I lack effective offensive Soul Skills. Um... But I'm not too worried about that for now. I'm still fairly confident in my strength."
"Oh, is that so..." The corners of Zhang Lexuan's mouth curved into a lovely smile. "All right. Over the next few days, I'll choose some teammates for you in the freshman competition based on your strengths. Um... Then you'll help me form teams for your classmates using my method. That's a kind of cultivation, too."
"Mm-hmm, I understand, Teacher."
"All right, go back and continue cultivating. The teacher might need your help again before long."
The Star Dou Great Forest, the Land of Great Evil.
Giant beasts of every shape and size crouched along the shore of the Lake of Life, each radiating an utterly terrifying aura.
At the very front stood a black-clad, middle-aged man with a stern, resolute face. Long black hair hung down his back, and a single golden strand stood out as it fell beside his face.
No human could possibly appear in this Land of Great Evil, so his identity was obvious.
The continent's number one Ferocious Beast, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian.
Yet at that moment, he was kneeling on one knee, gazing with utmost reverence toward the center of the Lake of Life.
The Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, kept all three eyes closed, as if asleep. Golden flames beneath her lifted her into the air, while rose-gold halos spread outward from her body in rings.
The rose-gold halos carried no energy fluctuations, but when they swept over the giant beasts present, every one of them wore an expression of utter bliss.
Above the Three-Eyed Golden Lion floated a graceful figure. Through the silvery glow, one could see her long silver hair cascading all the way to her ankles, while a pair of pale jade feet hung suspended in the air.
"That's enough."
A clear, melodious voice rang out. "With the Auspicious Beast's fortune aiding you, your cultivation has been stabilized. At least for the next ten thousand years, you needn't worry about heavenly tribulations."
Led by Di Tian, the Ferocious Beasts bowed and cried out in unison, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Auspicious Beast!"
The Silver-Haired Woman nodded silently without saying anything more. Her skirt fluttered as she lightly descended onto the soil, now soaked with the water of the Lake of Life.
Her delicate, pale jade feet seemed to be supported by something, remaining untouched by the dirt.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion still floated in midair with her eyes closed, as if truly asleep.
Di Tian rose and hurried to the Silver-Haired Woman's side, his words full of concern. "Lord, there shouldn't be anything wrong with the Auspicious Beast's sudden surge in cultivation, should there?"
The Silver-Haired Woman silently shook her head, then looked up at the sky. "I'm not entirely sure what's happening either. I can only make a few guesses. The reason the Auspicious Beast's cultivation surged is that she absorbed energy that was exceptionally compatible with her attributes, and the source of that energy was most likely..."
"A Super Divine Artifact!"
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