Must Kill

Dai Huabin acted like a drowning man, his hands flailing wildly until he grabbed onto Du Weilun's robes.

"Referee, referee, save me! Please, save me! Dean, save me!" Dai Huabin looked toward the stands where Yan Shaozhe sat, screaming until his voice grew hoarse.

"Calm down, Dai Huabin. Your body is fine." Du Weilun used his soul power to scan Dai Huabin's body, but he found nothing wrong.

"Impossible! I'm dying! None of you can save me! Hahahaha!" Dai Huabin responded, acting as if he had lost his mind.

No one understood the sensation more deeply than he did. It was the feeling of being rejected by the world itself. He could clearly see his own death approaching, just like a drowning man feeling the final breath of air in his lungs being consumed.

"Huo Yuhao, you will be expelled from Shrek Academy! You..."

Before Dai Huabin could finish, Huo Yuhao interrupted him again. "All the students here can testify for me. I didn't do anything. Dean, why don't you come down and check for yourself?"

Yan Shaozhe hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but he entered the arena to examine Dai Huabin. "Student Dai Huabin's body is indeed perfectly fine."

"Huo—Yu—Hao, you..." Dai Huabin's voice trembled.

It was then that Huo Yuhao leaned in close to Dai Huabin's ear and whispered:

"Don't bother. Even if Dean Yan can't find anything wrong, he wouldn't say it even if he did. At most, he'll just give me a reprimand."

"Don't you understand yet? I am like you were back then. As long as I find a casual excuse, even if I kill someone, it's nothing more than an apology."

After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, he turned his head toward Du Weilun. "Referee, aren't you going to announce the result?"

Nearby, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had already ended their battle. Under the suppression of Wang Dong's level 30 soul power, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie had already been defeated.

"The winners are Huo Yuhao's team," Du Weilun announced, barely managing to keep his expression calm.

"Then, Dean, I'll head back to the dormitory first. I feel like my soul power is about to break through, so I need to go into seclusion." Huo Yuhao found a casual excuse and walked toward the exit of the arena.

Seeing that the champions had been decided, the freshmen below the stage began to whisper among themselves again.

"Huo Yuhao is truly formidable. Look at how terrified he made Dai Huabin."

"Yeah, didn't you see that last strike? Even Director Du couldn't stop it."

"Young Mistress, his strength is indeed very high. Should we consider recruiting him? Though, the Duke of White Tiger might be a bit of a problem," Wu Feng whispered to Ning Tian.

"Wu Feng, I have a feeling this isn't over yet." Ning Tian looked at Dai Huabin on the stage, feeling that something was not quite right.

Just as Ning Tian's voice faded, Dai Huabin, who had been unable to speak for a long time due to terror, let out a shrill, miserable wail. His entire body slowly dissolved into points of light and vanished.

The arena fell into absolute silence, and Huo Yuhao happened to reach the exit of the field at that exact moment.

Everyone watched that figure slowly walk away with eyes full of awe.

Complete Fate Deprivation. By using ten times the opponent's fate energy, I have completely erased them. Dying so easily is really letting you off too lightly, Huo Yuhao thought to himself.

As he reached the entrance of the freshman dormitory, Mu En's gentle voice called out to stop him. "Child, do not let hatred cloud your heart. Your path is still long; make sure you do not take the wrong turn."

"So you're laying your cards on the table with me, Elder? I thought you were going to lecture me with some grand principles."

"I have lived for so many years; what have I not seen? Love, hate, and grudges—I have experienced them all. This matter of yours is nothing rare."

"Then, will the academy protect me?" Huo Yuhao asked, testing the waters.

"Child, you already said 'our academy,' didn't you? What do you think? You are the future 262nd Dean of Shrek Academy."

"You flatter me. My current performance isn't enough to qualify."

Mu En's promise to protect him brought Huo Yuhao a sense of peace. Today's incident was now behind him.

"That day will come sooner or later, child. From the day you spoke about soul guidance devices, I began to pay attention to you. You have talent, wisdom, and loyalty. That is good."

"But make sure you don't choose the wrong direction. Loving someone and everything they love is a good thing, but hatred is not necessarily the same," Elder Mu said with a hint of nostalgia.

"I have been taught. Rest assured, Elder, I act with a clear conscience."

After speaking, Huo Yuhao walked slowly toward the dormitory. In a daze, it felt as if a younger version of himself was also moving forward.

In his memories, the nine-year-old Huo Yuhao watched his mother suffer from illness and struggle with all her might, yet no one cared. He could only watch helplessly as his mother left this world.

Such painful memories made Huo Yuhao's mind drift. Was it Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou? He couldn't quite tell anymore.

However, no matter what, "his" vengeance would be fulfilled.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power began to surge violently.

His spiritual power, which had been at the early stage of the Spirit Domain Realm, leaped to the peak of the Spirit Domain Realm.

Huo Yuhao returned to his dormitory and opened a book on soul guidance theory. He was confident he could raise his soul power to level 40 this year, so it was time to start the plan for his battle armor.

Huo Yuhao immediately entered his Spirit Sea to absorb the halo that had manifested on his twelfth birthday.

As he absorbed the halo, Huo Yuhao's soul power level rose once more. It broke through level 37 and continued to grow, though it unfortunately stopped at the peak of level 37.

At the same time, a vast amount of knowledge regarding battle armor flooded into his mind—the design, construction, and forging techniques all appeared clearly.

Following this, Huo Yuhao began to design the first set of battle armor in this world, combining the knowledge in his mind with the unique characteristics of his own soul power.

Generally, a soul master had to reach level 50 before their physical constitution could bear a full set of First-Class Battle Armor, which would grant them combat power equivalent to a Soul Saint.

But Huo Yuhao's physical constitution and spiritual power far exceeded those of his peers, so bearing battle armor at level 40 would not be a major issue.

While Huo Yuhao was busy crafting his battle armor, the reactions from various parties in the outside world were quite different.

Wang Dong, who had taken Xiao Xiao to the Sea God Lake to clear his head, looked terrified.

Thinking back to his argument with Huo Yuhao at the start of the term, combined with the image of Dai Huabin vanishing into thin air, Wang Dong's face had lost all its color.

Xiao Xiao, standing nearby, had no heart to think about why Wang Dong had accompanied her to the Sea God Lake; she was equally dazed.

At only twelve years old, it was her first time seeing a peer die right in front of her.

In the God Realm, Tang San was also feeling a bit panicked. He decided to quietly alter his plans—he might as well sacrifice the Duke of White Tiger's estate.

Huo Yuhao's ability to manipulate fate made the Tang God King feel a sense of unease; such an absurd ability held a certain level of restraint even against him.

In the Star Luo City palace, "Brother, the Duke of White Tiger's illegitimate son, Huo Yuhao, has avenged his mother by killing the Duke's legitimate son, Dai Huabin, during the Shrek Academy freshman assessment," a sweet female voice reported.

"Oh? That is a significant matter. What does Shrek Academy say?" Xu Jiawei asked Xu Jiujiu, his expression serious.

"Shrek Academy replied that Huo Yuhao is the future successor to the Sea God Pavilion Master, and that he has no further connection to Dai Hao."

"Furthermore, this incident was not a matter of revenge, but rather an accident where both sides failed to hold back during a full-power spar. Huo Yuhao also suffered great damage, and as an apology, Dean Yan is willing to compensate the Duke of White Tiger's estate with two ten-thousand-year soul bones."