Freshman Class Nine

After learning of what he would experience in the future, Huo Yuhao worked even harder at cultivation so that his future would no longer be so miserable. With the memories brought back by his future self, he also had a much clearer understanding of how to cultivate.

No matter what, improving his strength was always the most important thing. Only with strength did he have the means to resist.

Wang Dong was surprised to discover that Huo Yuhao had changed.

The former Huo Yuhao had appeared confident and flamboyant on the surface, yet there had always been an indelible sorrow between his brows. But now, when she was around him, she could not sense any emotion from him at all.

There were still two days before classes officially began. Huo Yuhao took advantage of this time to compare the future with the present, hoping to find a better future—one not bound by fate.

The days drifted by, and at last, the day Shrek Academy began arrived...

Following the handbook's directions, Huo Yuhao arrived at Class Nine. The classroom was almost full already. Feeling the lively atmosphere within, he felt as though his body and mind had been cleansed and made young again.

He quietly walked over and sat by the window in the last row. Closing his eyes, Huo Yuhao continued organizing everything he had learned.

The four abilities Tian Meng had provided—detection and sharing—had fused together. Spiritual Shock had vanished outright and become Spiritual Link. When he had first obtained it, before understanding the state of his soul skills, Huo Yuhao had naturally assumed that this skill merely served as a team brain for mutual communication.

But after studying it, he found that was not the case.

Spiritual Link could connect to the Sea of Spirit of others, with the number increasing as his spiritual power grew. It could transmit what was in his mind to them, causing misjudgment. If the gap in spiritual power was too great, it could even alter the other party's will!

"Ah, Brother Tian Meng, why didn't you tell me about such a powerful ability earlier..." After discovering the strength of Spiritual Link, Huo Yuhao could not help but sigh.

Who would have thought that the Skydream Iceworm, who had been silently keeping his head down in Huo Yuhao's mind, would suddenly jump out? He yawned lazily in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit. "I forgot, okay? I slept for a million years. How could I remember so many details? Besides, this ability only appeared after I became your soul ring. If I really had such a powerful ability, how could I have been bullied by those soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes helplessly. That was true. When he had absorbed his first soul ring in the Star Dou Great Forest, if not for the system's help, he would at least have fainted immediately. How could he have waited until he was conscious to choose the soul skill attached to his soul ring?

At first, he could not even use Spiritual Detection properly. Every time he activated it, the enormous amount of information flooding into his mind nearly shut his brain down. How could he have imagined that this seemingly ordinary skill was so comprehensive—not only could it transmit information, it could interfere, mislead, and even alter another's will through overwhelming spiritual power. This was not some team-brain support skill at all. It was practically a top-tier control technique.

After sorting through it in his mind, Huo Yuhao raised the training priority of Spiritual Link. He opened his eyes, but before he could match the information about Class Nine from his future memories to the scene before him, he sensed a gaze carrying curiosity and scrutiny settle on him.

He looked up and saw a blond-haired girl in a Shrek Academy uniform walking toward him with a red-haired girl.

Both girls were tall and finely featured. Huo Yuhao raised a brow. "Class Nine... right. Ning Tian and Wu Feng were indeed students of Class Nine."

Ning Tian stood before his desk with Wu Feng, her voice crisp. "Hello, I'm Ning Tian, from the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect. This beside me is Wu Feng."

Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. "Hello, I'm Huo Yuhao."

Ning Tian and Wu Feng, huh? Huo Yuhao raised his brows. Old friends.

Ning Tian keenly caught that momentary distraction. She raised a brow, seemingly not expecting Huo Yuhao to react so calmly upon hearing the name Nine Treasures Glazed Sect. She studied him, her gaze drawn to his brilliant eyes, as if all her attention had been captured by them.

It was only when Wu Feng beside her nudged Ning Tian's hand that she came back to herself. "Huo Yuhao, you should have a spiritual-type martial soul, right? And your Soul Power should not be low. What is your Soul Power rank?"

"It is indeed a spiritual-type martial soul. I'm currently Rank 27," Huo Yuhao answered. He did not hide it, but neither did he say much. The characteristics of the Spirit Eye, along with the second martial soul hidden within his body, did not need to be exposed too early.

"Rank 27!" Before Ning Tian could speak, the girl beside her cried out in delight. "Young Mistress, he should be the one with the highest Soul Power in the class besides you!"

"Why don't we invite him to join our team?" Wu Feng was usually gentle and obedient toward Ning Tian, while she rarely gave others a pleasant expression. Yet the boy before her gave Wu Feng an inexplicable sense of danger. Her instincts told her that he was strong.

"Wu Feng, quiet." Ning Tian interrupted her.

Ning Tian cleared her throat and turned her gaze back to Huo Yuhao, carrying a hint of lofty scrutiny. "Wu Feng is right. We are preparing to form a three-person team and compete for first place in the Freshman Assessment. You should know about the support of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect. With me there, the team's Soul Power output can increase by at least thirty percent."

She paused, her tone carrying a faint, barely perceptible note of recruitment. "If your spiritual-type martial soul joins us and handles detection and control, our team's strength will be more balanced. With your Soul Power rank, you already stand among the best of the freshmen. Following us, you can avoid many detours."

Her words sounded equal on the surface, but every part of them implied, "It is your honor to join us." In Ning Tian's view, the support of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect was a resource countless Soul Masters desperately sought. Huo Yuhao had no reason to refuse.

Huo Yuhao looked at her. The girl's proud profile was reflected in his Spirit Eyes, but scenes from the future flashed through his mind—the image of Ning Tian in red standing amid a rain of petals at Sea God Fate; the shock and confusion on her face when she was forced to undergo a gender transformation in Heaven and Earth Valley of Inquiry. By then, she had lost the sharpness of youth and gained the composure of someone who had experienced the world.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Ning Tian," Huo Yuhao said calmly. "However, I have no plans to join any team for the time being."

The smile on Ning Tian's face froze. "You refuse?"

"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded without the slightest hesitation. "I'm used to cultivating alone. Besides, the characteristics of my martial soul may not be suitable for an ordinary team at the moment."

He was telling the truth. Once the Spirit Eye's Spiritual Link was activated, it imposed extremely high demands on his companions' spiritual strength. One careless mistake could cause information overload. Moreover, he still had his second martial soul concealed as a trump card. Though it was formless ice, under the system's influence, that formless ice was no longer controlled by Tian Meng. It had truly become part of his body.

After learning the future memories, the system naturally believed that Huo Yuhao could handle it, so it directly removed the restrictions within his body.

As a result, whenever Huo Yuhao activated his martial soul, it inevitably carried a trace of ice attribute.

When he had unconsciously activated Spiritual Detection just now, Huo Yuhao felt a cold sensation connect to his mind. If it had not been his own ability, it would likely have frozen and injured his spirit.

Wu Feng could not help frowning. A flash of anger passed through her eyes beneath her red hair. "Do you know who our young mistress is? The support of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect is something countless people cannot obtain even if they beg for it! You're merely a Rank 27 Great Soul Master. Don't mistake kindness for weakness!"

Wu Feng had always had a fiery temper and was fiercely loyal to Ning Tian. Seeing Huo Yuhao refuse so decisively, she immediately bristled.

"Wu Feng." Ning Tian raised her hand to stop her. The surprise in her eyes had already turned into astonishment. "It seems that Student Huo has great confidence in himself."

"It isn't confidence. I'm merely telling the truth. My soul skill currently has rather high requirements for my teammates' spiritual strength."

Though Ning Tian felt that Huo Yuhao's words were merely an excuse, and that his refusal made her lose face, she still maintained her smiling expression.

"I respect your decision. However, as far as I know, aside from the two of us, your Soul Power rank is the highest in the class. If our class wishes to compete for first place in the Freshman Assessment, Teacher Mu Jin will probably assign you to our team as well."

"Although you have refused for now, we can still be friends."

Ning Tian knew perfectly well why she had come to Shrek Academy. The Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had its own inheritance, so there was no need for her to come specifically to Shrek Academy to study.

She had come to recruit talented people for her sect. Furthermore, the spouse of a Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda wielder had to be a Battle Soul Master. Rather than wait for her family to designate one, she might as well seek out gifted students at the academy whom she liked.

Having guessed that Huo Yuhao's martial soul was his eyes and confirmed that it was spiritual in nature, Ning Tian could not help suspecting that he possessed a top-tier body martial soul of eyes and brain. Moreover, she had felt some initial goodwill toward him at first sight. Ning Tian did not wish to sour the relationship between them.

Without even raising his head, Huo Yuhao said, "Thank you both for your kindness, but there are currently some issues with my martial soul. My top priority right now is resolving the problems with myself."

Ning Tian nodded in understanding and led Wu Feng to sit in the seats in front of Huo Yuhao, waiting for the teacher to begin class.

The noise in the classroom gradually subsided. The morning reading bell had yet to ring, and sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting a warm patch of light across the open pages of Huo Yuhao's book. His fingers unconsciously brushed over the title, "Spiritual Power and Elemental Affinity," but his mind was filled with that icy sensation from earlier—ever since the system had removed the restrictions, the fusion of his ice attribute and Spirit Eye had been like a tug-of-war. Whenever he used Spiritual Detection, it carried piercing cold. While speaking to Ning Tian just now, he could even feel that chill quietly creeping up the back of his neck along the path of his spiritual power.

[System Prompt: Ice attribute and spiritual power fusion rate 17%. Recommendation: Increase "Ice Breath Body Tempering" by one hour daily to improve compatibility.]

[Recommendation: Host should reach Rank 30 as soon as possible and obtain an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion soul ring to complete ice attribute solidification.]

Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly. This ice attribute had arrived without warning, like that sudden snowstorm in his future memories—beautiful, yet carrying the danger of freezing and shattering everything. He tried to mobilize a thread of Soul Power and circulate the ice attribute through his meridians. Sure enough, the moment it neared his temples, a sharp pain came from his Spirit Eyes, and a brief sheet of white even flashed before his vision.

"Tsk, Little Yuhao, that ice lump of yours has quite the temper." The Skydream Iceworm rolled around in the Sea of Spirit. "How about I help suppress it? Even though I'm afraid of ice, I'm still a Million-Year Soul Ring..."

"No need." Huo Yuhao replied, silently adding Ice Breath Body Tempering to today's cultivation plan. He knew this was a hurdle he had to cross—the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion soul ring from the future was incomparably tyrannical. If he could not even manage this initial fusion, how could he speak of controlling Ultimate Ice?

Wu Feng's lowered complaint came from the front row. "Young Mistress, look at him. He's obviously pretending! What martial soul problem? I think he just doesn't want to be beneath anyone!"

Ning Tian did not turn around, but the motion of flipping her book paused. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced toward the last row—Huo Yuhao had his head lowered, sunlight outlining his lean profile. His lashes were long, and when lowered, they cast a small shadow beneath his eyes. He truly did not seem to be putting on an act.

"His Soul Power fluctuations are indeed a little strange," Ning Tian murmured. "When I approached him just now, I vaguely sensed a trace of... icy coldness?"

"Icy coldness?" Wu Feng was even more confused. "Isn't he a spiritual-type martial soul master? How could he have an ice attribute?"

Ning Tian could not figure it out either. The records of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had never mentioned a spiritual-type martial soul being accompanied by an ice attribute. Could he have Twin Martial Souls? The thought had barely surfaced before she suppressed it—Twin Martial Souls were extremely rare. There were only a few in the entire continent. How could she happen to encounter one?

She turned her attention back to the page, yet she could not help calculating inwardly: if Teacher Mu Jin truly assigned him to her team, how should she handle it? If his spiritual soul skills really imposed extremely high demands on his teammates' spiritual strength, would he not become a hidden danger in actual combat? But if he was telling the truth... a Soul Master capable of simultaneously controlling spiritual power and an ice attribute likely possessed even more terrifying potential than she had estimated.

"Young Mistress, what are you thinking about?" Seeing her distracted, Wu Feng could not help asking.

"Nothing." Ning Tian closed her book. "Prepare for class." Her gaze inadvertently swept over the last row again, meeting Huo Yuhao's raised eyes.

The moment their eyes met, Ning Tian clearly sensed that those eyes contained not only the sharpness of spiritual power, but also a faint desolation as cold as an ice lake. That cold desolation vanished in an instant, so quickly that she wondered whether it had been an illusion.

Huo Yuhao had merely wanted to look at the sky outside, but he had not expected to meet Ning Tian's gaze. He could "read" the fleeting doubt and assessment in her eyes, and he could even catch the weak fluctuation of the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda phantom when her Soul Power circulated—an exceptionally pure support-type Soul Power, gentle yet powerful.

"This support-type Soul Power..." Huo Yuhao was secretly shocked. In his future memories, Ning Tian's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had indeed been top-tier support, but he had never personally experienced the enhancement it provided.

Now that he had personally felt the purity of this Soul Power, he was still somewhat surprised. No wonder Wu Feng was so proud. With such talent, she truly had the right to be proud.