Xiao Xiao

Huo Yuhao looked up at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao was looking at him as well.

To be precise, ever since she had walked through the door, this young girl's attention had remained fixed on him.

Her gaze was not impolite, and even carried a hint of caution, but Huo Yuhao could still sense that she was studying him very seriously.

As though she were looking at something she did not quite understand.

Huo Yuhao held out his hand and smiled. "Hello, my name is Huo Yuhao, a level twenty-one control-type Great Soul Master."

Xiao Xiao froze for a moment.

She had not expected Huo Yuhao to take the initiative. She hurriedly reached out and lightly shook his hand.

"Hello, my name is Xiao Xiao, a level twenty-eight control-type Great Soul Master. My martial soul is the Three Lives Soul-Subduing Cauldron."

As soon as she finished speaking.

The private room suddenly fell silent.

Tang Ya blinked.

The smile on Bei Bei's face also paused for a moment.

Twelve years old.

Level twenty-eight.

What did that mean?

Even in a place like Shrek Academy, where monsters gathered, such talent would absolutely be one in ten thousand.

Not to mention, her martial soul did not sound ordinary at all.

Tang Ya could not help leaning closer, her face full of shock. "You're only twelve, and you're already level twenty-eight?"

Feeling a little embarrassed under her gaze, Xiao Xiao said softly, "Mm."

Tang Ya drew a sharp breath.

She suddenly felt that, as the Tang Sect's leader, she was becoming less and less impressive.

First, she had picked up an eleven-year-old junior disciple at level twenty-one.

And now came a twelve-year-old girl at level twenty-eight.

Were geniuses these days all this unreasonable?

Bei Bei smiled gently and said, "Miss Xiao Xiao's talent would definitely place her among the very best of Shrek's freshmen."

Xiao Xiao nodded lightly.

Yet from the corner of her eye, she was still watching Huo Yuhao.

She was actually rather puzzled.

So this is the person Sister Ju Zi has taken a fancy to?

There was indeed nothing to criticize about his appearance. He was clean-cut and handsome, with pleasant eyes. He did not seem like an unpleasant person.

But that was all.

A level twenty-one Great Soul Master was naturally outstanding among peers.

But beside Sister Ju Zi, he seemed somewhat lacking.

Xiao Xiao came from a once-great but declining clan. The strongest person in her family was her grandfather, Xiao Ding, a Soul King-level expert.

According to her grandfather, four thousand years ago, the Xiao Clan had been immensely powerful, with several titled Douluo guarding the clan.

But during the Holy War three thousand years ago, all the clan's titled Douluo had died, and its inheritance had been severed. For some reason, the inherited Soul-Calming Cauldron martial soul had also begun to decline. Among later generations, those who awakened the Soul-Calming Cauldron martial soul had never possessed innate soul power beyond level seven.

It was only when Xiao Xiao awakened twin martial souls that the fallen and decaying Xiao Clan finally saw hope of rising again.

However, both of Xiao Xiao's martial souls were mutated martial souls. Combined with the clan's severed inheritance, even her grandfather, a Soul King-level expert, did not know how to train her.

Then, two years ago, when Xiao Xiao's soul power reached level twenty, the clan's experts, together with her grandfather Xiao Ding, planned to attach a soul ring to her second martial soul so she could cultivate faster and raise her soul power. It was then that Ju Zi appeared.

Ju Zi directly brought a Soul Emperor and forcefully took control of the entire Xiao Clan. She injected a large amount of funding into the clan and found an unusual use for the Xiao Clan's Soul-Calming Cauldron martial soul, ensuring that the entire clan would not merely spend without earning.

At her grandfather Xiao Ding's request, Xiao Xiao followed Ju Zi and learned from her, recognizing her as an older sister.

At first, she had only thought Ju Zi was beautiful.

But after spending more time with her, she discovered that Ju Zi's true strength had never been her appearance.

Though she was only about a year older than Xiao Xiao, Ju Zi handled matters with a maturity and steadiness that did not belong to someone her age.

She could organize the Spirit Medicine Pavilion's accounts, judge the prices of medicinal herbs from different regions, and negotiate terms with merchants as sly as old foxes without changing expression.

Xiao Xiao had personally watched Ju Zi support such a vast power, arrange everything in perfect order without leaving the slightest gap, and resolve one crisis and difficulty after another.

These things had deeply influenced Xiao Xiao. She believed that this was what an outstanding woman should be like.

In Xiao Xiao's heart, Ju Zi was her lifelong role model.

Why would such a perfect Sister Ju Zi treat Huo Yuhao so specially?

Xiao Xiao could not understand it.

Huo Yuhao glanced at her.

For some reason, he felt that the way this young girl looked at him was rather subtle.

There was curiosity.

There was scrutiny.

And there was also a tiny bit of defiance.

Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly.

What kind of script did Sister Ju Zi arrange for me this time?

Not long afterward.

At Ju Zi's request, Tang Ya and Bei Bei brought Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao to enroll at Shrek Academy.

There were many people at Shrek Academy's registration area.

Young boys and girls stood in line, most of them wearing expressions of nervousness and anticipation.

Tang Ya folded her arms and stood to the side. "Junior Brother, once you officially enroll, don't bring shame to our Tang Sect."

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Rest assured, Teacher Xiaoya. I'll try not to leave anyone psychologically scarred."

Tang Ya:?

She had told him not to embarrass them.

She had not told him to scare people.

Bei Bei gave a light cough and smiled. "It's good for Junior Brother to be confident, but Shrek's freshmen are no simple people. You should still be cautious."

Huo Yuhao nodded obediently.

"Understood, Eldest Senior Brother."

Xiao Xiao stood beside them, silently watching the scene.

She suddenly realized that Huo Yuhao was not simply gentle.

This person looked easygoing on the surface, but every sentence he said seemed to contain something slightly strange.

She could not put it into words.

In any case, he did not seem like an honest man.

The registration process was not complicated.

With Tang Ya and Bei Bei present, the recommendation letters had long since been prepared.

There were no issues with Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao's ages, cultivation, or martial soul information, and they soon completed their enrollment registration.

When the teacher handling the registration saw Xiao Xiao's level twenty-eight cultivation, his eyes visibly lit up.

When he heard that Huo Yuhao was level twenty-one, he looked at him twice as well.

Eleven years old and level twenty-one.

That was not bad either.

It was just that with Xiao Xiao standing beside him, the contrast was slightly tragic.

Huo Yuhao did not care.

After all, if he revealed the truth about his ten-year soul ring, the registration office would probably explode on the spot.

After completing the procedures, Tang Ya and Bei Bei brought the two of them to the foot of the freshmen dormitory building.

The dormitory building looked rather old.

The walls had faded with age, and several large trees grew in front of the building. Their shade fell over the ground, making the place seem quite peaceful.

Tang Ya patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder.

"Junior Brother, we still have to go back and report in, so we won't accompany you inside."

Bei Bei also said, "If anything comes up, you can find us in the outer academy, or go directly to the Tang Sect."

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Alright."

Tang Ya looked at Huo Yuhao, then at Xiao Xiao, and suddenly revealed a meaningful smile.

"You two will be classmates from now on. Remember to look after each other."

Xiao Xiao's little face reddened slightly as she hurriedly said, "I understand."

Huo Yuhao, however, responded quite naturally.

"Rest assured, Teacher Xiaoya. I'll look after her."

Xiao Xiao looked up at him.

Who would be looking after whom was still uncertain.

After Tang Ya and Bei Bei left, only Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao remained in front of the dormitory building.

The two looked at each other.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little quiet.

"Then I'll head up first," Xiao Xiao said softly.

"Mm."

Huo Yuhao nodded.

Then, with perfect unspoken understanding, they turned around and headed toward their respective dormitories.

There was no small talk.

Nor did either of them force a conversation.

That made Huo Yuhao feel quite comfortable.

Inside the dormitory.

After Huo Yuhao pushed open the door, his first reaction was silence.

The room was not large. The table, chairs, and bed were all ordinary.

Most importantly, dust was everywhere.

Huo Yuhao stood in the doorway for quite a while before silently rolling up his sleeves.

He was already here.

He could not exactly sleep in dust.

He fetched some clean water and wiped down the tabletop, bedframe, and windowsill, then carefully swept the floor clean.

By the time the room was finally fit to live in, the sky had already grown considerably darker.

Huo Yuhao sat at the edge of the bed and slowly let out a breath.

How far had Ju Zi gotten by now?

The Spirit Medicine Pavilion had already spread into Shrek City, and Xiao Xiao had also been brought under her wing ahead of time.

The things she had done over the years were probably far more than he knew.

Although they had been together all these years, Huo Yuhao had spent most of his time cultivating in a border town of the Sun Moon Empire, studying pills and soul tools.

Ju Zi had never fully explained many of her arrangements.

It was not because she did not trust him.

It was because there was no need to tell him everything.

She was responsible for laying out the plans, while he was responsible for growing stronger.

That seemed to have become some kind of unspoken division of labor between them.

Huo Yuhao rubbed his brow.

Given Ju Zi's personality, there had to be more than one Spirit Medicine Pavilion branch in Shrek.

Xiao Xiao was merely the person she had openly sent to his side.

What about in the shadows?

How many more pieces did she have?

Thinking of that, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a headache coming on.

His fiancée was not very old, but she truly had no shortage of schemes.