Everyone's Mockery

"I'm the sect master of the Tang Sect. This year's special admission slot from the Tang Sect was given to him. Is there a problem with that?"

Seeing that the situation was turning sour, Tang Ya immediately stepped forward to explain.

But it would have been better if she had said nothing. The moment she explained, the surrounding doubts only grew louder.

"The Tang Sect? Has anyone even heard of that sect?"

"A third-rate sect like yours deserves a special admission slot at Shrek Academy? What a joke."

"I remember that the other three special admissions this year are all Soul Elders. You're an eleventh-level Soul Master—how dare you sneak into Shrek through a special admission slot?"

"An eleven-year-old, thirty-seventh-level peerless genius just left, and now an eleven-year-old, eleventh-level special admission student shows up. The gap is ridiculous."

"What is this? You're asking to be compared."

Quite a few of the surrounding new students joined in mocking him.

After all, reaching fifteenth-level soul power before the age of twelve was a hard requirement for admission to Shrek Academy.

Quite a few of their friends had been turned away precisely because they had failed to meet that standard.

Now, seeing someone with only eleventh-level soul power enter Shrek Academy through a special admission slot, the imbalance in their hearts was completely ignited. They were just short of unleashing Douluo Continent's traditional specialty—bullying.

Those people might have merely been speaking casually, but to Huo Yuhao, every word felt like a fine needle piercing his heart.

He lowered his head, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white without him noticing.

When Ling Tianchen had been tested earlier, everyone's eyes had been filled with shock, awe, and envy. But when it was his turn, there was only doubt, ridicule, and mockery.

Such an enormous contrast ruthlessly tore open the inferiority he had always kept buried deep inside.

Why... was the gap between people so vast?

If I had talent like that too, would Mother not have...

At that thought, his eyes dimmed further. He silently lowered his head and stopped looking at anyone around him.

The small bit of joy he had felt at entering Shrek Academy vanished completely at that moment.

Tang Ya's pretty face gradually darkened as well. She had always been protective of her own, so how could she stand by and watch someone from the Tang Sect be bullied like this?

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

With her hands on her hips, she glared unceremoniously at everyone around them.

"Yuhao is a disciple of our Tang Sect, and I personally invited him to join Shrek! His soul power may be low now, but that doesn't mean it'll stay low in the future. What do you people know?"

"Yuhao, let's go! They've gone too far!"

Tang Ya shot the crowd a furious glare, then grabbed Huo Yuhao's hand and left the registration area without looking back.

After arriving at an empty forest path, Bei Bei gently patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder.

"Yuhao, don't take those words to heart."

Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before forcing out a smile.

"Senior Brother, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"I'll grow stronger step by step. One day... I'll definitely surpass that person."

"That's the spirit!"

Tang Ya immediately waved her little fist, her expression becoming lively once more.

"So what if he's an eleven-year-old Soul Elder? When the Sea God, Ancestor Tang San, the founder of our Tang Sect, was twelve, he was only twenty-ninth level. No matter how impressive that pretty boy is, can he really be more impressive than Ancestor Tang San?"

"Cultivation is all about building up steadily before making a breakthrough. Yuhao, you're still so young. There are plenty of variables ahead of you, and it's not impossible for you to overtake him later!"

Bei Bei could not help revealing a helpless smile at her words.

Although he did not truly think the possibility was very great, he still nodded seriously.

"Junior Brother, I believe in you too. But while your ambitions can be lofty, don't put too much pressure on yourself. The greatest taboo in cultivation is rushing for quick success. As long as you keep moving forward, you'll always gain something."

Warmth filled Huo Yuhao's heart, and some of the gloom in his eyes dispersed.

"Thank you, Teacher Xiaoya, Senior Brother. I'll definitely cultivate diligently and live up to your expectations."

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out in his spiritual sea.

"Yuhao, don't worry. I'm the only million-year soul beast in the history of Douluo Continent. Once you break through to twentieth level, I'll take you to the Far North and help you obtain an Ultimate Ice second martial soul. Catching up to that kid is only a matter of time. Besides, you're the executor of my god-creation plan. You're a man destined to become a god—how can you fear an ordinary mortal?"

Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.

"Brother Tianmeng, you're awake!"

"I've always been awake. I just spend most of my time sleeping. Unless there's a reason, I can't be bothered to come out and talk. But your spiritual fluctuations were so intense just now, little Yuhao, that I really couldn't help worrying."

"Thank you, Brother Tianmeng. I'll definitely cultivate hard and break through to twentieth level as soon as possible."

"That's more like it."

Tianmeng Iceworm nodded in satisfaction and lazily lay back down.

Bingbing, I'll be coming to find you soon. We haven't seen each other in so many years. I wonder if you've missed me.

At that thought, Tianmeng Iceworm involuntarily revealed a lovestruck grin before falling back asleep.

Huo Yuhao was also encouraged by Tianmeng's powerful reassurance. He seemed completely fired up, and his mind was now filled with nothing but cultivating madly, breaking through to twentieth level, then coming back and ruthlessly slapping the faces of those who had humiliated him.

Seeing Huo Yuhao become energized by their encouragement, Bei Bei and Tang Ya both breathed a sigh of relief and continued showing him around Shrek Academy.

A few hundred meters after entering the gates of Shrek Academy, enormous statues of the First-generation Shrek Seven Monsters and the Golden Iron Triangle appeared before Ling Tianchen.

"The person in the middle is—"

"Stop!"

Ling Tianchen raised a hand in a stopping gesture.

"Sister Luochan, why are you introducing these people like some scripted NPC too? To put it plainly, I know more about these ten people than you do. Do you believe me?"

"Tianchen, did you study Shrek's ancestors back at home? How diligent of you. Then I'll skip them and introduce the other parts of the academy."

Ling Luochan had clearly misunderstood what he meant and patiently began introducing other things to him.

"The Soul Tool Department... the Martial Soul Department... Sea God Lake..."

Fine, I'll just treat it as white noise...

Ling Tianchen turned his attention inward and silently circulated the Nine Heavens Genesis Phoenix Method.

This was the cultivation method left behind by the Phoenix God King. Both divine beast bodies and human meridians could cultivate it. Clearly, the Phoenix God King had spent long periods walking the world in human form. In fact, divine beasts often possessed bodies thousands of meters long, while the true forms of the Dragon God and Phoenix God King reached ten thousand meters. That was fine in battle, but in daily life, they basically used human bodies.

The most profound aspect of the Nine Heavens Genesis Phoenix Method was that it was almost unrestricted by posture.

Even while walking or conversing, as long as one was not overly distracted or trying to do two things at once, one could maintain roughly eighty percent cultivation efficiency.

Moreover, this was a genuine supreme God King-level cultivation method. Whether in cultivation speed or soul power quality, the Mysterious Heaven Technique could not compare to it at all.

It was precisely because of this that, despite the severe negative debuff of a god-tier martial soul being extremely difficult to cultivate, he had risen from fifteenth level to thirty-seventh level in only five years.