It Felt Good to Have Someone Standing in Front of Him

"Achoo..."

Hua Yichen sneezed and instinctively frowned.

Who was talking about him?

"Pagoda Master Hua? Pagoda Master Hua?"

"Oh, sorry, my mind wandered. Please continue, Dean Yu."

Hua Yichen looked at the old man before him.

He was of medium build and looked unremarkable, with graying hair, glasses, and a scholarly air about him.

Eastsea Academy's dean—Yu Zhen—was also an old acquaintance of his.

"What do you think? Could Huo Yuhao join Eastsea Academy? He's already reached school age, and if he doesn't plan on leaving Eastsea for the time being, our Eastsea Academy would be a good choice."

Yu Zhen looked eagerly at Hua Yichen.

Ever since one of the academy's teachers had encountered Huo Yuhao while taking students to the Spirit Ascension Platform and then told him about it, Yu Zhen had been waiting for this day.

A possessor of a Body Spirit, the kind that would only appear at top-tier institutions, and a local of Eastsea City at that. If he joined their academy, perhaps he could help their academy turn things around in the Heaven Sea Alliance Grand Competition a year from now and make the academy's name known!

He really envied those academies in top-tier major cities that could recruit students across the entire alliance...

"..."

With an old man looking at him like that, even though Hua Yichen was actually older than the other man, he still felt a little awkward and could not help coughing lightly.

"Ahem, I'll respect Yuhao's choice. If he's willing to enter Eastsea Academy, I won't stop him."

"This..." Yu Zhen was momentarily at a loss for words.

Huo Yuhao was a core child of the Spirit Pagoda. He lacked neither resources, teachers, nor money. What could their academy use to attract him?

Or rather, what could they give someone like him?

Yu Zhen sighed. He knew he was indulging in wishful thinking, but he still could not help saying, "There is a teacher at the academy from Shrek Academy's Inner Court. Because of some conflicts, he happens to be transferring from the High School Division to the Intermediate Division. With him teaching, Huo Yuhao won't be held back..."

A knock sounded at the door, cutting off Yu Zhen's words.

"Teacher Hua, I'm back."

The corners of Hua Yichen's mouth lifted slightly.

"Come in."

Huo Yuhao opened the door and walked in. He saw Hua Yichen and Yu Zhen seated across from him, his gaze flickered, and he smiled and nodded to the latter. Then he looked at Hua Yichen, as if asking whether he had interrupted their conversation.

"It's fine. I was the one who had the staff call you back and then come over, since this matter has to do with you."

Hua Yichen nodded to Huo Yuhao, then looked at Yu Zhen and smiled.

"He's here, Dean Yu. Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

"Thank you, Pagoda Master Hua!"

As Yu Zhen spoke, he stood solemnly and looked at Huo Yuhao. "Student Huo Yuhao, may I ask, do you have any intention of enrolling in Eastsea Academy?"

"Our academy will provide you with the best resources and environment, and have the academy's finest teaching staff instruct you..."

Yu Zhen listed many of the academy's advantages, but he knew perfectly well that compared to the Spirit Pagoda's environment, Eastsea Academy had no advantage at all.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then shook his head, making Yu Zhen's heart go half-cold. But then he heard Huo Yuhao say, "I will join Eastsea Academy, but I don't need any special treatment. Just handle me like an ordinary student."

"This..." The sudden surprise hit Yu Zhen in the face, leaving him somewhat excited. "But you're different from the other students..."

"What's different? A specially recruited student?"

Huo Yuhao chuckled and shook his head. "Dean, if only I'm given special treatment, it'll instead stir up dissatisfaction among the other students and parents. I certainly don't want to be cornered the moment I join the academy and questioned about whether I got in through the back door."

Yu Zhen: "..."

Hua Yichen: "..."

With your current Soul Power cultivation, who in your grade would dare corner you?

In the end, Yu Zhen left in joy and excitement.

Only after he left did Hua Yichen look at Huo Yuhao and ask, "Have you really thought it through? Eastsea Academy isn't outstanding among the Federation's Intermediate Division academies."

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "If you didn't want me to go, you wouldn't have called me over."

"That's true as well."

Hua Yichen smiled and voiced his thoughts. "I've already told you about the headquarters. Going there now isn't the right time. If you go study at an Intermediate Division academy in another first-tier city and borrow the Spirit Pagoda's resources, you'll still have to mind other people's moods. That would be less than ideal."

"If you go to Eastsea Academy, at the very least, this Spirit Pagoda branch will be your background, your backing. You won't need to act according to anyone else's mood! Here, I've got you covered!"

Huo Yuhao's expression stirred slightly. He said nothing, merely nodding gently.

Tang God King, look at this. This was the attitude a normal person should have when supporting a junior, not torturous, winding torment and suffering!

After spending some time in the Spirit Pagoda's library, Huo Yuhao returned home, entered his Cultivation Room, and began reviewing everything.

"President Li's attention has been drawn to the Mecha Master Association. Now it depends on what happens next... But entering Eastsea Academy?"

Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered slightly.

Eastsea Academy ranked in the lower-middle range among the major soul master academies. It had always wanted to raise its reputation, so it was not strange that it would try to recruit a genius born locally in the Eastsea region once it discovered one.

And for him, as long as he had a quiet place to cultivate, it did not really matter where he was.

However, with the intelligence from the Spirit Pagoda, Huo Yuhao had already confirmed that Tang Wulin had been admitted to Eastsea Academy just as in the original course of events. If he appeared before Tang Wulin, then there was a chance he would be exposed to Tang San's Divine Sense.

In Tang San's eyes, what was Huo Yuhao?

The Child of the Plane from ten thousand years ago—someone Tang San wanted to invite to dinner, behead, and take in as a dog.

But ten thousand years ago, Huo Yuhao had kept running outside Tang San's designs. Back then, that could still be explained by the fact that Huo Yuhao had been abused since childhood, developing a reclusive personality.

But what about now?

Huo Yuhao, who should have died, just so happened to reappear after the Divine Realm vanished. If Tang San saw him, how could he not overthink it?

Tang San: Do you know something, brat? Do you have objections to the Divine Realm? Are you trying to rebel against me? You truly have a path to death!

It would not be strange at all for Tang San to have such thoughts when he saw him.

So Huo Yuhao appearing before Tang Wulin now was actually a dangerous thing. But since Huo Yuhao had agreed to Hua Yichen, he naturally had confidence.

In the original work, Tang San's Divine Sense had roughly three stages.

The first stage was when, because the Divine Realm had drifted far away, Tang San's Divine Sense had no main body to replenish its energy. The power it could use was limited, and it spent most of its time asleep, unaware of the outside world. It even needed Tang Wulin to provide information.

The second stage was when Tang Wulin obtained the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, allowing Tang San's Divine Sense to contact his main body in the Divine Realm through him. Its energy was replenished, and it even brought Tang Wulin's adoptive parents to the Divine Realm across an endless distance.

The third stage was the three chances to act that Tang San had left behind, the so-called God King's Three Strikes. The strongest strike ended up tricking the First Rank God Abyssal Sage King to death.

The second stage was the most dangerous. The first stage was the least dangerous. In fact, at this stage... with preparation, it might not be impossible to destroy that wisp of Divine Sense.

But after thinking it over carefully, Huo Yuhao gave up on the idea. If he really pushed Tang San into a corner, Tang Hao might very well act because of it, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

He carried a whole group of people with him, gathering the hopes of the entire village. A mutually destructive struggle was no fun. Before he had the ability to deal with Tang Hao, it was best not to touch that wisp of Divine Sense.

"In that case, I can only take the middle path: seize the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud and prevent Tang San's Divine Sense from having any chance to contact the Divine Realm..."

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao suddenly chuckled and shook his head. "Am I being too cautious? Between two harms, choose the lesser. Right now, someone is standing in front of me and taking the pressure."

The Abyssal Sage King had not even acted yet, but he had already made the God King's Divine Sense afraid to move recklessly and made the Plane Master protect himself wisely, not daring to show his face. As expected of a First Rank God!

So having someone standing in front really felt good.

At this thought, Huo Yuhao remembered another person who was, in a certain sense, standing in front, and his expression became rather interesting.

He had already heard the news from Hua Yichen. Gu Yuena was now thriving in the Spirit Pagoda and had not gone to Aolai City.

Had the Silver Dragon King's brain finally started working normally? She actually had not lost her memory and gone off to experience human life?

Hmm... thinking about it carefully, it did seem unnecessary.

The reason the Silver Dragon King had sealed her memories and strength to enter the human world was to make herself become like a human.

Huo Yuhao did not want to complain about how absurd that reason was.

Just speaking of the present, Soul Beasts had integrated into the human world for nearly ten thousand years. Di Tian's photos had even been published in newspapers and books. You were saying Soul Beasts did not know how humans lived? What kind of joke was that?

Without needing to enter human society, Soul Beasts could help her integrate into human society!

Then this time... why had she joined the Spirit Pagoda?

Huo Yuhao frowned.

Was it the same as in the original work?

Or did she have another plan?