Brother Sky Dream, You Don't Want Huo Yu Chan to Hate You, Do You?

The moment the city lord entered, he began promoting Star Brilliance City's advanced soul master academy and recounting its glorious achievements.

For instance, it had once made it into the round robin stage of a Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, then successfully withdrawn unscathed without any casualties when faced with Shrek Academy's interception.

Or how graduated seniors had joined the City Defense Army and fought Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts in bloody battles to protect the city's people. In the end, they had been welcomed by crowds bearing flowers, awarded the Star Crown Medal and Cross Purple Badge, and retired in glory.

He even said that Star Brilliance City had been the ancestral residence of the current Star Luo Royal Family many years ago. Anyone who did not enroll was no Star Luo native.

In short, it was supposedly an extremely prestigious advanced soul master academy within the Star Luo Empire, second only to Star Luo Royal Academy. Enrolling now came with all sorts of generous benefits, including a duplex property near the academy. It was practically a full-service package delivered right to one's door.

However, after the old city lord had talked himself dry and saw that neither child's expression had budged in the slightest, he gradually stopped and sighed. "I knew youngsters like you would be proud and ambitious. Fine, come with me."

He had seen several stubborn youngsters like them lately. They all wanted to try their luck at Shrek, and not a single one had been willing to stay.

But in three months, they would all come back. That was fine too. Once they went out to see the greater world and suffered blows from true geniuses, they would naturally understand how good a small place was.

Before long, the two signed duplicate contracts in the city lord's office. There were few clauses, and the entire document was only two pages long. The general terms were that if they continued studying at Shrek Academy as usual, then everything would count as an investment in them. This included, but was not limited to, recommendation letters, fully covered lodging, tuition, and travel expenses, as well as an annual subsidy of ten Gold Soul Coins. There was no cost.

However, if they were dismissed during Shrek Academy's New Student Assessment, they would need to give priority consideration to Star Brilliance Advanced Soul Master Academy. If they entered another academy, Star Brilliance City officials had the right to demand payment of the contractual breach penalty.

Alternatively, the contract could be handed over to their current academy for the academy to pay on their behalf. Otherwise, Star Brilliance City had the right to pursue the matter, and so on.

These local academies were quite open-minded about it. They could not compete with Shrek Academy for geniuses, but picking up a few talented people was no problem.

In any case, the soul master world ultimately depended on whose fist was harder. Usually, in situations like this, as long as the academy had a Soul Douluo-level dean come over to intimidate them, Star Brilliance City would basically no longer dare demand either people or money.

"Alright, this old man still has important matters to attend to. For now, I'll have a few guides show you around. Star Brilliance City has stood for thousands of years and has many places worth visiting. Haha."

The city lord came in a hurry and left in a hurry, departing before long.

Lin You and Huo Yu Chan exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of helplessness in the other's eyes.

This city lord truly acted with lightning speed. The moment he realized they had no intention of joining, he immediately left.

"Let's go. We need to set off quickly." Holding the two recommendation letters, Lin You led Huo Yu Chan out of the City Lord's Mansion without looking back.

Once they boarded the carriage, he stopped resting and took the reins himself, jerking his chin to indicate that the girl should go sit in the back.

"Hmph~"

Huo Yu Chan gave a soft snort, turned her head aside, and sat beside Lin You instead. Stubbornly, she said, "I'll do it. You go rest!"

At the word "rest," she practically gritted her teeth. Clearly, she was still bothered by how her mother had treated him earlier compared to how she had treated her.

"Heh, look at that stubborn temper of yours." Lin You laughed, raising a hand to press it onto her head and vigorously ruffling it several times, messing up her delicate hairstyle. At once, he received a murderous glare from her.

Yet Lin You merely laughed heartlessly as he urged the horses onward toward Shrek City. He even had the leisure to bicker and roughhouse with the girl beside him.

But he had overlooked something. For a girl, behavior like adding fuel to the flames was terrifying.

And her physical strength was even greater than his—terrifyingly so.

"Hehehehe~ Don't tickle me, it tickles! Ah! Don't pinch my waist!"

His miserable screams rang out continuously along the way.

Inside the carriage, Huo Yun'er watched the pair of enemies playing around. Seeing her daughter's expression gradually shift from distress to a smile, she could not help but reveal a wistful look.

This was a beautiful happiness she had never received, yet had desperately longed for and envied.

Still, being able to see her child bloom with the flower of happiness atop her own unfortunate life was enough for Huo Yun'er. More than enough.

Let it be this way. If time could simply freeze like this, that would be wonderful too—freezing happiness in this very moment.

The journey continued as time flew by.

Tired from playing around, Huo Yu Chan returned to the carriage and clingily nestled against her mother. The two quietly fell asleep together. For a time, everything was utterly silent, leaving only the unbroken sound of hoofbeats.

After noticing that both mother and daughter had fallen deeply asleep, Lin You was silent for a while before suddenly speaking. "Brother Sky Dream, are you there?"

"..."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm did not want to answer.

But given this brat's methods, he could only force himself to reply. "Lin You, do you really want to hear my wonderful voice that badly?"

Once the conversation started, Brother Sky Dream had already mentally prepared himself. He had clearly noticed that this brat had waited until Huo Yu Chan fell asleep before calling for him, so there was probably something important.

"Ahem, Brother Sky Dream, you're a million-year soul beast, right? How strong are you? Can you stand against a human Limit Douluo?"

Lin You knowingly asked, but he truly did not know what level this fellow's strength had reached.

After all, in the Far North, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been able to trap the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion using Spiritual Power alone for an entire day, leaving it without even the strength to resist. That likely said something.

According to the original work, after Sky Dream Ice Silkworm abandoned his body, his spiritual origin had become independent, allowing him instead to use certain abilities.

Furthermore, he had one final method. If danger appeared in the Far North, he could directly take Huo Yuhao across space and teleport him over a hundred kilometers away to ensure his safety.

But Lin You still needed confirmation. This concerned Huo Yu Chan's future development.

"Why are you asking this, brat? Don't tell me you expect me to kill a human Limit Douluo? There are only three in this world, and none of them are easy to bully. Their forces are also incredibly powerful." Brother Sky Dream was somewhat confused.

However, unlike the confused Brother Sky Dream, Lin You's eyes instantly lit up when he heard those words.

He had not denied it.

Lin You had caught the implication.

Brother Sky Dream had said they were not easy to bully and had powerful forces, not that it was impossible.

Then, with a smile on his lips, Lin You said, "Brother Sky Dream, since you have that kind of strength, I don't think you wanted to become Yu Chan's Soul Ring for no reason, right? Can you tell me about it? Of course, if you don't want to say it, Yu Chan will tell me later anyway."

"Brother Sky Dream, I think you don't want Huo Yu Chan to hate you either, do you?"