Shrek: Genius or Good-for-Nothing?

After finishing the grilled fish, Huo Yuhao wiped his mouth, tossed the bones to a small beast foraging among the trees, and set off toward Shrek City.

He deliberately avoided the route where he would have met Bei Bei and Tang Ya in the original story—

If he meant to forge his own path, there was no need to cling to the original plot.

The midday sun shone through the leaves, scattering dappled light and shadow. Huo Yuhao raced onward and finally reached this legendary city with ten thousand years of history.

Shrek City's walls towered above him, built from an unknown black stone and scarred by the passage of time. Soul Masters and merchants streamed through its gates. The air held a distinctive blend of Soul Power and the bustle of everyday life, and the place was lively beyond measure.

Dusty from his journey, he did not head straight for Shrek's registration desk. Instead, he turned onto a relatively prosperous street and stopped before a clothing shop called the Glazed Pavilion.

The shop was tastefully decorated, its glazed sign glimmering in the sunlight. One look told him it was no cheap establishment.

"Hello! How may I help you?"

A gentle woman's voice greeted him as soon as he pushed open the door.

The young saleswoman wore a pale-purple dress and a warm smile. Her gaze fell on Huo Yuhao's rather worn clothes, but she showed not a trace of disdain. Instead, she stepped forward to welcome him enthusiastically—

That was the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's guiding principle in business: respect every customer.

After all, Shrek City was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

Who knew whether some ragged fellow might turn out to be Xuan Zi—the Shrek Taotie Douluo who forgot all decorum whenever he ate chicken legs? He was also the Holy Spirit Cult's supreme elder, the Great Chicken-Leg Elder.

To avoid trouble, build goodwill, and uphold the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's sterling reputation, the Glazed Pavilion had always offered impeccable service.

Huo Yuhao smiled gently. "I'd like some clothes that fit. Could you recommend something? Sorry for the trouble."

Yet he could not help thinking, The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's customer service would be top-tier even in the modern world! A powerhouse sect really is on another level. They've got the big picture down.

A short while later, a young man in a fitted black-and-gold outfit patterned with clouds emerged from the Glazed Pavilion—

The dark fabric outlined broad shoulders, long arms, and a narrow waist. Its cloud patterns shimmered with muted gold beneath the sun, while the cloud-shaped mark between his brows, seeming half-open and half-closed, lent him an air of mystery. Gentleness and restrained authority blended perfectly in him, drawing the eyes of countless young women on the street.

Those ten Gold Soul Coins were worth it. I'm turning as many heads as a modern celebrity on the red carpet! Huo Yuhao mused. Without slowing, he headed straight for Shrek's registration desk.

At the registration point, a young woman in a red school uniform was sorting documents. Huo Yuhao stepped forward and said, his voice gentle but clear, "I'm here to register."

He turned over his palm, revealing the Shrek Special Recruitment Token—the Grace Token—engraved with an abstract monster.

"Is that... a Shrek Grace Token?" Han Ruoruo's pupils contracted. She had plainly recognized the rare token, and her surprise was written all over her face.

"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded, his gaze calm.

"Your name?"

"Huo Yuhao."

"Martial Souls?"

"Heavenly Eye and Imperial Bow."

"T-Twin Martial Souls?!" Han Ruoruo's voice rose in shock, and the way she looked at Huo Yuhao changed at once.

Huo Yuhao neither confirmed nor denied it. "The Heavenly Eye is a Mutated Martial Soul with Ultimate Mental and Ultimate Lightning attributes. The Imperial Bow has innate judgment and execution traits, along with Ultimate Wind and Ultimate Light attributes."

He knew perfectly well that if he wanted Shrek to invest resources in him and help him safely through his vulnerable years, he had to reveal the trump card of his Ultimate Attributes.

"And what's your Soul Power level?"

"Thirteen."

"!!!" Han Ruoruo drew a deep breath, forced down the shock in her heart, and gave him a long look. "Please wait here!"

She vanished from the registration point in an instant and headed straight for the Martial Soul Department Dean's office.

She had only just reached the corridor when someone stopped her—a burly man built like a small mountain, with white hair standing up like steel needles. It was Qian Duoduo, Dean of the Soul Tool Academy.

"Ruo Ruo, what's the rush?" Qian Duoduo asked curiously.

"Dean Qian!" Han Ruoruo quickly explained Huo Yuhao's situation. When she mentioned "four Ultimate Attributes," Qian Duoduo's eyes flew wide. He sprang up, his booming voice setting the corridor humming. "What? Four Ultimate Attributes?!"

Ultimate Light and Ultimate Lightning! They were the natural bane of Evil Soul Masters!

What excited him even more was Ultimate Mental power—what lay at the heart of making Soul Tools?

Not Soul Power. Mental power!!

Without enough mental power, even a Level 90 Titled Douluo could only scrape by as a "pseudo-Level 9 Soul Engineer" (an addition to this version; the original work had no such concept, though Xian Lin'er was roughly at that level). They could never truly reach the highest ranks.

Qian Duoduo had devoted years to Soul Tools, yet he had only just reached the peak of Level 8 as a Soul Engineer. He had remained stuck at that bottleneck ever since.

With his Ultimate Mental power, Huo Yuhao was practically a genius born to make Soul Tools!

Given proper training, becoming a Level 9 Soul Engineer was all but certain for him. He might even reach the realm of a Limit Douluo; at the very least, he had the potential to become a Level 95 Super Douluo!

As for his Soul Power being only level thirteen? Qian Duoduo scoffed—

Ultimate Attributes were invincible against opponents of the same level. Soul Power could be cultivated over time, and if there was one thing Shrek did not lack, it was resources!

Nurturing a genius like this would be a piece of cake!

Qian Duoduo's breathing turned heavy. Gripping Han Ruoruo's arm, he said urgently, "Quick! Get him into Shrek! No—I'll take him as my personal disciple! Now! Bring him to me at once!"

He looked as though he had found a treasure beyond price. Not a trace remained of a dean's composure.

"Yes." Han Ruoruo was about to turn when Qian Duoduo, too impatient to wait, asked, "He's at admissions, right?"

"Right!"

Before her voice had faded, a violent gust swept through the corridor. Han Ruoruo instinctively shut her eyes as her hair whipped around her.

When she opened them again, Qian Duoduo had vanished down the corridor, leaving only an afterimage—

At that speed, who would believe he was a burly middle-aged man? He was clearly an overgrown child racing off to claim a treasure!

Inside the admissions area, Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged in meditation, faint white mist curling around him. As the Nine-Turn Origin Art circulated, spiritual energy gathered from heaven and earth like streams flowing together, and he rapidly absorbed and refined it.

Sensing movement, he slowly opened his eyes. A figure like a small mountain stood before him, white hair bristling like steel needles. Eyes as large as bronze bells shone intensely as they fixed on him.

"Kid, are you Huo Yuhao?" Qian Duoduo's voice carried like a loudspeaker, setting the air humming.

"I am." Huo Yuhao rose and inclined his head, his expression still gentle.

"Quick! Summon your Martial Souls!" Qian Duoduo rubbed his hands together, as eager as a child waiting to open a mystery box.

Huo Yuhao did not hesitate. His eyes turned brilliant gold, and a vertical eye slowly opened between his brows. Golden light flowed within its pupil, radiating the authority to pierce all falsehood. At the same time, a purple Soul Ring rose beneath his feet—a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring?!" Qian Duoduo staggered half a step back, his voice climbing even higher. "Level-thirteen Soul Power and a thousand-year First Soul Ring? Kid, you're a freak!"

An ordinary Soul Master's First Soul Ring could be a hundred years old at most; having a thousand-year Second Soul Ring was already heaven-defying. Huo Yuhao truly was full of surprises!

Huo Yuhao quipped inwardly, My Soul Power lags behind, so the Soul Ring makes up the numbers. It's all about the contrast~

Outwardly, he said calmly, "After my Martial Soul mutated, its Soul Skills split as well. My Heavenly Eye Martial Soul has awakened two Soul Skills so far: Heaven's Apex: All-Seer Clarity and All Beings: Myriad-Sight Heaven."

"Soul Skills can split?" Qian Duoduo froze, then took it in stride. "Well, if you can have four Ultimate Attributes, why not split Soul Skills? So what do these two skills do, Yuhao?"

On the Douluo Continent, prying into someone's Soul Skills was rude, but Qian Duoduo could not contain his curiosity. This was a future Level 9 Soul Engineer in the making. The more he knew about Huo Yuhao's abilities, the better he could guide his training!

Huo Yuhao nodded gently, but he knew better than to reveal every card he held.

So Huo Yuhao spoke only of his non-offensive Soul Skills. "My first Soul Skill, Heaven's Apex: All-Seer Clarity, is a Spiritual Detection skill that grows with my Soul Power. My other skill, All Beings: Myriad-Sight Heaven, can simulate the forms of Soul Beasts or Martial Souls and comes with the suppressive force of absolute heavenly might."

As he spoke, the vertical eye between his brows flashed faintly. Heaven's Apex: All-Seer Clarity activated in an instant!

Qian Duoduo felt a buzz in his head, as though a fine needle had lightly pricked him. His instinctive mental barrier was the reason.

"Compulsory?" Qian Duoduo raised an eyebrow, surprise flickering in his eyes.

"Yes and no." Huo Yuhao shook his head and answered sincerely, "Your mental barrier triggered the skill's Thunderclap effect, which forcibly established a connection."

He concealed the rest of the effect: if Huo Yuhao did not withdraw the power of his Ultimate Lightning, it would directly erode the other person's Sea of Consciousness, ultimately destroying it.

That was a trump card that could save his life. How could Huo Yuhao reveal it so easily?

"Oh? Then let me try it!" His interest piqued, Qian Duoduo voluntarily lowered his mental barrier.

The next instant, Qian Duoduo went rigid. His eyes widened like bronze bells, and even his breathing quickened!

He could clearly see the cloud patterns on Huo Yuhao's outfit, down to the path of every thread. He could pick out tiny motes of dust drifting through the air and even "see" the particles of different elements moving through heaven and earth—

The fiery red of the fire element, the deep blue of water, the purple-black of lightning—they were everywhere, packed densely together and clear beyond belief!

The precision of this detection was more than ten times greater than Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing in the original story!

It could do more than detect physical objects. It could peer straight into the nature of the elements—a divine skill practically made for Soul Tool research!

"Holy shit... this Soul Skill is ridiculous!" Qian Duoduo muttered. The look he gave Huo Yuhao had changed from "I found a treasure" to "I struck a gold mine."

"Good boy! From today on, you're my personal disciple! Soul Tools, Soul Bones, cultivation resources—if you want it and I have it, it's yours!"