Busy Huo Yuhao

Gu Mingyuan put away the Soul-Tracking Disk, a violet-gold gleam rising in his eyes.

Through his Purple Emperor Eyes, he saw more than the terrifying frost left by the Ice Empress's burst of Ultimate Ice. A trail of uneven, haphazard footprints also marked the ground.

Judging by how unsteady those footprints were, Huo Yuhao was little better off than a dog fleeing with its tail between its legs.

But Gu Mingyuan did not immediately follow the tracks to finish him off.

The Ice Empress had fallen unconscious, but no one could guarantee that the four-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast had no tricks left. Besides, a living Huo Yuhao would draw far more attention from every side than a dead one.

Gu Mingyuan looked away and turned his attention to the three corpses on the ground.

He crouched and carefully searched the remains of the Soul Saint encased in ice. Before long, he pulled a bone that gave off a faint dark glow from the man's left leg.

"A left leg bone." Gu Mingyuan weighed it in his hand and sensed its Soul Power fluctuations. "Nothing special about its age. Looks barely over a thousand years old."

Still, it was better than nothing. A Soul Bone was a Soul Bone.

There were also quite a few Gold Soul Coins and various materials...

As for anything connected to the Holy Spirit Cult, he simply threw it away.

After stripping the bodies of everything valuable, he turned into the southbound wind and snow and headed straight back the way he had come. It was time to return to Shrek Academy.

At the edge of the Far North, inside an ice cave half-buried by a blizzard.

Huo Yuhao woke from unconsciousness feeling as though he were being tormented by fire and ice in turns.

His fever had not broken, yet the uncontrolled Ultimate Ice within him made him shiver violently. Wisps of black energy seeped from the wound where a Soul-Locking Nail had pierced his left shoulder. His meridians throbbed from the Ice Empress's forced fusion, leaving him far weaker than he had been when he left the duke's estate.

At last, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice sounded in his Sea of Spirit.

"At least it worked, more or less." Tian Meng made no attempt to hide the disappointment and helplessness in his voice.

"The Ice Empress's Torso Bone and Martial Soul did fuse with you, barely. But she cut the process short to save you. She couldn't compress and seal away her four-hundred-thousand-year essence layer by layer. A great deal of energy dispersed. Her essence is damaged, and she's fallen asleep. That red Soul Ring has dimmed again, and you won't be able to use it reliably anytime soon."

Yu Xiaogang's voice came from nearby at just the right moment. "What matters is that you survived. Yuhao, you have your second Martial Soul now. There will be chances to recover slowly. From this day on, you are truly my personal disciple."

Tian Meng ignored Yu Xiaogang. "Yuhao, you can't go back to the academy with that red ring showing. There's no way to explain it.

"We need to hunt a second Soul Ring for your Spirit Eyes. First, that will let you take the second-year advancement assessment as a Soul Grandmaster. Second, if you get a Simulation-type Soul Skill, you can conceal what's unusual about the Ice Empress Martial Soul."

Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth against the tearing pain in his meridians and nodded.

Only a few days remained before school started. He would be late even if he set off now, but he had no choice and no more time to waste.

With Tian Meng briefly awake to guide him, Huo Yuhao found a roughly three-thousand-year-old Snow-Hiding Ice Silkworm near the edge of the ice plain.

Despite its age, its attack power was not even equal to that of a hundred-year-old Lone Bamboo.

Huo Yuhao poured everything he had into a fatal strike with the White Tiger Dagger. His Spirit Eyes finally gained their second Soul Ring: [Simulation].

He activated the skill at once, disguising the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's red Soul Ring as an ordinary thousand-year purple ring.

Yu Xiaogang then helped him work out what to say when he returned. "Tell them you got lost on your way north. After you passed out, you unexpectedly gained the Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul and a Torso Bone. On your way back, you were lucky enough to kill a spiritual-attribute ice silkworm."

"If they dare expel you for being late, this grandmaster will show them who their elder is!"

"Yes, Teacher!" Huo Yuhao replied.

With everything settled, Tian Meng fell asleep again. Only Yu Xiaogang could still speak in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit. Huo Yuhao dragged his battered body onto the road home. By his reckoning, even if he pushed himself to the limit, he would not reach Shrek until the sixth or seventh day of term.

Shrek Academy.

The second-year advancement assessment was officially underway in the Great Beast Arena.

In Class Two's ranks, Wang Dong frowned and looked toward the Beast Arena entrance for the fifth time. She had been back at school for days without seeing any sign of Huo Yuhao, and she had kept losing focus during training.

"Stop looking. That guy's hard to kill. He won't get into trouble that easily," Xiao Xiao reassured her quietly.

Dai Huabin, standing nearby, glanced over and sneered. "A piece of trash who hasn't even reached level twenty went off to hunt Soul Beasts alone. It wouldn't be surprising if he died on the way."

It was less a provocation than the White Tiger Duke's legitimate son showing his instinctive contempt for a lowly servant. Anger flared in Wang Dong's chest, and the image of the Light Goddess Butterfly flickered behind her. She was about to step forward and confront him when Xiao Xiao grabbed her.

"This is the assessment venue. Don't cause him any more trouble," Xiao Xiao whispered.

Dai Huabin gave a dismissive snort and turned away, leaving it at that. Inwardly, though, he was pleased. What right did a one-ring Soul Master have to order him around?

Inside the Great Beast Arena, more than a hundred students from Classes One and Two were entering in turn.

The rules were clear: each student would enter the Beast Arena alone to challenge a Soul Beast. Thousand-year Soul Beasts were the highest tier and awarded the most points.

The assessment judged more than victory or defeat. It also weighed each student's performance in combat and response to changing circumstances. Twenty teachers handled beast release, rescue, and record-keeping, with two referees assigned to each match. Chief examiner Du Weilun and four grading teachers sat on the raised platform, while Mu Jin and Zhou Yi stood beside the arena with their respective classes.

"First up, Class One: Gu Mingyuan."

Gu Mingyuan stepped out of line, handed his assessment form to the referee, and said, "Thousand-year tier."

The referee glanced at the "three-ring Soul Elder" marked on his file, recalled Du Weilun's earlier instructions, and nodded before opening the gate.

A roughly three-thousand-year-old Earthsplitter Ironclad Bear roared as it charged from its iron cage. The Soul Beast had few flashy abilities. It was known for sheer Strength, thick armor, and head-on charges. Its innate ability sent shock waves through the ground with a slam of its paws, making it ideal for testing defense and Strength.

"Roar!"

The Ironclad Bear reared up and slammed both paws into the ground. A shock wave swept toward Gu Mingyuan along the arena floor.

Gu Mingyuan merely activated his Golden Jade Body. A jade-like sheen covered him as he lowered his stance and took the shock wave head-on.

Several grading teachers on the platform narrowed their eyes. He had withstood a three-thousand-year-old Strength-type Soul Beast's attack with his body alone. His defense was as formidable as ever.

The failed attack enraged the Ironclad Bear. Its massive body hurtled toward Gu Mingyuan like a heavy war machine, charging him with all its might!