Are You from the Tang Sect Too?

Huo Yuhao felt as though he had been dreaming for a very long time.

He dreamed of entering a strange space where ten enormous golden orbs floated silently. As his mind gradually cleared, a sea of gold filled his vision.

Then two voices suddenly rang out in his Sea of Spirit.

"Strange. Your remnant soul is so weak a breeze could scatter it. You couldn't have been much of a powerhouse when you were alive, so how did any of your soul survive?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's lazy voice was full of undisguised confusion.

Crouched in a corner, Yu Xiaogang flushed crimson. A sense of humiliation he had not felt in ages rushed straight to his head.

A mere bug dared pass judgment on Yu Xiaogang, the God-Teacher?

"How dare you!" Yu Xiaogang drew himself up and declared haughtily:

"I am the God-Teacher! Do you know Tang San, who became both the Sea God and the Asura God? He was my direct disciple! The War God, the Food God, the Speed God... They were all my students!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm paused.

Ten thousand years ago, he had indeed vaguely sensed the auras of those human powerhouses.

But looking at the flat-topped man whose soul was trembling with agitation, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked, baffled, "If you taught so many gods, how did you end up as a remnant soul on the verge of falling apart? Why didn't you go to the Divine Realm with them?"

Yu Xiaogang's face turned blue, then white. After a long struggle for words, he flicked his sleeve in humiliated fury. "What do you know? How could a Soul Beast like you, who cares only about clinging to life, understand the great aspirations of the God-Teacher?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm curled his lip, losing all interest in talking to him.

After those few exchanges, he was fairly certain of one thing: apart from bluster and putting on airs, this flat-topped man was useless.

Ignoring the furious remnant soul in the corner, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm turned to Huo Yuhao's consciousness. His tone grew proud as he began recounting his origins as a Million-Year Soul Beast.

"A... a Million-Year Soul Ring?"

Yu Xiaogang, still sulking nearby, froze where he stood.

A Million-Year Soul Ring had offered itself up to him?

How could anyone have such outrageous luck?

Back then, Yu Xiaogang had devoted himself to studying theory, yet he had never managed to obtain even a Martial Soul with a decent mutation. Why should this good-for-nothing get one?

Just because Huo Yuhao had been born with half a level more Soul Power?

Jealousy made Yu Xiaogang's soul twist slightly out of shape.

Then Sky Dream Ice Silkworm offered an even greater temptation. "And that's not all. I'll give you a new Martial Soul."

"I knew it!"

Yu Xiaogang sprang up on the spot and pointed at Huo Yuhao. "I knew you had Twin Martial Souls! That's the foresight of Yu Xiaogang, the God-Teacher! Without my earlier guidance, how could you ever have gained such an opportunity?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was thoroughly irritated by the noise. If not for the possibility that the man really had taught Deities, and might therefore prove useful to his future plan to create a god, he would already have tormented him mercilessly with spiritual power.

Even so, he had no desire to hear another word from him.

With a cold snort, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm silently pressed down on Yu Xiaogang with a vast surge of spiritual power.

Yu Xiaogang's soul sank, pinned to the edge of the Sea of Spirit. Unable to move or utter a word, he finally fell quiet.

"All right, it's time for you to go back out." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked at Huo Yuhao. "The three humans outside have been waiting for you for a while."

Three humans?

Huo Yuhao blinked. There had been no one around before he passed out. But before he could think it through, the golden sea before him began to warp and blur.

At the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Tang Ya held up the stamped paper, her eyes lighting up. "You really are a new student at Shrek Academy this year!"

Once she had confirmed that Gu Mingyuan's letter of recommendation was genuine, Tang Ya immediately gave him a warm smile and leaned closer. "Then would you consider joining our Tang Sect? Our sect was founded ten thousand years ago by our ancestor, Sea God Tang San. We have a rich heritage, and—"

Gu Mingyuan smiled at her practiced sales pitch. "The Tang Sect?"

"What a coincidence. I think I have some connection to the Tang Sect too."

"Hm?"

Tang Ya, who had only meant to make her usual recruitment pitch, stared at him and blinked her large eyes. "Bei Bei and I are the only two people left in the Tang Sect. What connection could you have to us?"

"Well..."

Before Gu Mingyuan could answer, Huo Yuhao let out a soft groan from where he lay on the ground and finally opened his eyes.

"I'll ask you about that later!" Tang Ya dropped the question at once, turning to crouch beside Huo Yuhao and check on him.

Gu Mingyuan merely shrugged. Not far away, Bei Bei said nothing, but a trace of scrutiny and wariness had quietly entered his gaze as he watched Gu Mingyuan.

Beneath the tree, Huo Yuhao sat up and rubbed his aching head.

As his awareness returned, he instinctively checked the changes in his Soul Power. The next instant, a flood of information poured into his mind, and his breathing quickened.

Four!

A full four Soul Skills!

"I did it!" Huo Yuhao could not help shouting in excitement.

A Soul Ring as white and lustrous as jade slowly rose from beneath his feet. At the same time, a faint golden gleam flashed in his eyes, and a pure spiritual pulse rippled outward from him.

Once his excitement had eased a little, Huo Yuhao noticed the unfamiliar young man standing beside Bei Bei.

"Sister Tang Ya," Huo Yuhao said, looking at her with a hint of confusion, "did he come here with you too?"

"No." Tang Ya handed him a water flask. "His name is Gu Mingyuan. He was the first to find you unconscious here. When we arrived, he was checking on you. Oh, and he's a new student at Shrek Academy this year."

At the words "new student at Shrek Academy," Huo Yuhao immediately felt a measure of respect for Gu Mingyuan and hurriedly nodded his thanks.

Inside his Sea of Spirit, Yu Xiaogang, who had been pinned down all this time, finally found a chance to speak.

"A Shrek student?" Yu Xiaogang's voice carried its usual arrogance. "Since he's from Shrek, I suppose he can just about be counted as an unofficial disciple of mine."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke right after him, his tone faintly grave.

"Yuhao, don't say I didn't warn you. When I was about to fuse with you, that kid was standing not far away."

Yu Xiaogang had also recognized Gu Mingyuan as the first young man who had been there, but he said nothing. Yu Xiaogang could hardly admit he had been rejected, could he?

Huo Yuhao's hand paused around the water flask.

He looked up at Gu Mingyuan again. The young man met his gaze with a gentle expression and a smile that seemed beyond reproach. Even so, a quiet wariness rose in Huo Yuhao's heart.

Just then, Tang Ya clapped her hands, drawing Huo Yuhao's attention back to her.

"Little Yuhao, now that you've successfully obtained your first Soul Ring..." Tang Ya's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled at him.

"Would you consider joining our Tang Sect?"