Divine Origin Realm

"Yuhao, come find me when the time comes." Mu En gave Huo Yuhao a kindly smile before leaving with the other elders.

After watching Mu En depart, Huo Yuhao had no other plans and returned to the soul tool laboratory.

As he reached the laboratory entrance, he saw Teacher Fan Yu.

"I was just about to come find you. I've improved the Two-Word Battle Armor quite a bit. Later, I'll remake that piece of battle armor of yours."

Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Fan Yu smiled warmly, then replied with a somewhat serious expression.

"Yuhao, don't you think you've been pushing yourself too hard? Ever since you entered Shrek Academy, I've never seen you rest."

"Teacher, as you can see, I'm not tired. Besides, my responsibilities are so great that missing a couple of days of rest won't matter."

"Then it's settled. Don't make my battle armor for now. I'm not far from becoming a Titled Douluo myself, so use that time to rest and accompany me around Shrek City."

Hearing Fan Yu's words, Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly. He knew Fan Yu had already made up his mind, but warmth rose in his heart.

No matter when or where, being cared for always felt good.

"Alright, I'll do as you arrange, Teacher."

Hearing Huo Yuhao agree, Fan Yu stepped forward and patted his shoulder, smiling. "The holiday is about to begin, and I'll happen to be free. Come stay at my house for a few days."

"Then I'll be imposing on you, Teacher."

"Why are you being polite with me, kid?"

Amid their casual conversation, Huo Yuhao set foot in the outer academy again after a long absence.

The new students had just begun their holiday, and the campus had become somewhat empty.

Though he had only spent a few months in the outer academy, Huo Yuhao strangely felt as if he had been away for a long time.

He wandered around the outer academy with Fan Yu before heading to Fan Yu's residence.

Inside, Zhou Yi was cooking in the kitchen while He Caitou helped at her side.

Seeing Zhou Yi without her mask, Huo Yuhao was still stunned despite having been prepared for it.

How should he put it? She somewhat resembled the grown-up lolis he had seen while scrolling during breaks in his previous life. She had the face of a child and looked rather adorably dazed.

On the other side, He Caitou heard the door open, turned around, and greeted Huo Yuhao, who had just entered.

"Yuhao, you came at the right time. Dinner will be ready soon."

Looking at the harmonious scene, Huo Yuhao sat beside the dining table and chatted with Fan Yu while waiting for the meal.

"I wanted to help, but you stopped me."

"Who starts helping in the kitchen on the very first day they come over for dinner? You can do that in a couple of days."

"Teacher Zhou doesn't expel students anymore, does she?"

"She doesn't. Ever since that day, when you had Caitou relay your thoughts to her, she stopped expelling them."

"That's good. As long as Teacher Zhou doesn't hold anything against me."

"Don't worry, she's always wanted to thank you. She realized her previous actions could ruin people's futures, and she regrets it. Fortunately, Director Du placed all the students she expelled into other classes."

"I'm guessing Director Du was afraid a group of students would gather at Shrek Academy's gates and shout about injustice, damaging Shrek Academy's reputation."

"Du Weilun is extremely rigid. If students violate the academy rules, he insists on expelling them. But if they haven't violated the rules, he'll naturally fight tooth and nail to protect them."

"I really didn't expect that a few words from me could actually persuade Teacher Zhou."

"If everyone were diligent and intelligent, why would they need teachers? They could become successful through self-study. A teacher's purpose is precisely to teach the foolish to become wise and the lazy to become diligent. Those words are quite profound."

"I only said them casually, yet you remembered them. Even I feel a little embarrassed hearing them."

"I don't find them embarrassing at all. I benefited greatly from them too. Over time, I only thought of myself as one of Shrek Academy's strong experts and had indeed begun to forget my identity as a teacher."

In the kitchen, Zhou Yi listened closely to Huo Yuhao and Fan Yu's conversation. In truth, there had been another sentence that deeply moved her that day.

"The lazy are not beyond redemption. How many people have never been lazy or slackened off? If you cast them aside with a single word because of that, their futures will be ruined. When they are old and frail one day, and recall it again and again, will your heart truly be at peace?"

Those words finally pulled Zhou Yi back from her obsession with teaching elite students. If they were truly expelled, some students' lives might really be over.

She asked herself whether she truly would not regret it in the future. The answer was no, because she already regretted it somewhat.

Fortunately, because of Du Weilun's rigidity, those students had not truly been expelled.

At the dining table, under Huo Yuhao's powerful spiritual perception, their sincere smiles and concern felt so real.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao seemed to finally put down roots in this world.

As they drank and exchanged cups, only He Caitou had a hint of sorrow hidden deep in his eyes.

Huo Yuhao knew the reason and could help, but this senior brother needed to say it himself.

If he could not open his heart even to the teacher who had guided him for years, then it was not Huo Yuhao's place to interfere.

Trouble was like that. Either one faced it alone, or, if one needed help from others, one had to offer true sincerity.

Huo Yuhao drank several cups with Fan Yu. Fan Yu did not use soul power to dispel the alcohol, and a faint drunkenness came over him.

"Yuhao, taking you as my disciple was truly the most correct decision I've made in my life."

Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, "Thanks to your one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and core disciple badge. Otherwise, I don't know how long it would have taken me to gain momentum."

After exchanging compliments for a while, Huo Yuhao returned to the room Fan Yu had prepared for him and fell into a deep sleep.

This was the first time Huo Yuhao had slept since coming to Douluo Continent. He did not meditate; he simply rested.

Within the Spirit Sea, Electrolux smiled in relief. "Those who bear fate always live such heavy lives. Rest well today."

At the side, Ice Empress and Tian Meng nodded in agreement.

Huo Yuhao had worked nonstop for an entire year without any leisure activities. Especially after arriving on Sea God Island, he had practically never left the laboratory.

Even they were alarmed by such diligence, but it was difficult for them to persuade him otherwise. At last, he was finally resting today.

The next morning, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes, and his spiritual power instantly began to fluctuate violently.

Ever since he had absorbed Life Gold for the second time, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power had undergone another enormous increase.

Yet strangely, even such a tremendous increase had not helped Huo Yuhao break through to the Divine Origin Realm. He had always believed that his total spiritual power was still insufficient.

Now, it seemed that his previously excessive mental strain had likely restricted his spiritual breakthrough.

As the fluctuations grew increasingly intense, a massive eye floated above Shrek Academy, and powerful spiritual power fluctuations enveloped the entire academy.

Some students who had remained at the academy merely glanced at that eye before becoming so frightened that they lost all composure.

Within the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En slowly opened his eyes and looked at Huo Yuhao with satisfaction.

"Calm." With a low shout, the students in the academy suddenly felt their hearts settle, and their panic vanished.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao had also completed his breakthrough. His spiritual power slowly withdrew, and the phantom of the Spirit Eye gradually dissipated from the sky.