Huo Yuhao: If That's the Only Choice, Then I'll Leave...

"Four Ultimate Attributes?"

The three words struck like a thunderclap. The Sea God Pavilion fell instantly silent.

The elders looked at one another, bewilderment and disbelief filling their eyes—

In the ten thousand years of the Douluo Continent's history, even one Ultimate Attribute had been as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn. Four in a single person?

It was beyond anything they knew!

Mu En straightened slightly in his wicker chair, a rare flicker of astonishment crossing his deep-set eyes.

He knew Huo Yuhao possessed Ultimate Light, but he had no idea the boy held three other Ultimate Attributes. Such talent was without equal across the ages!

"Huo Yuhao, the freshman who enrolled a few days ago, has Twin Martial Souls!" Yan Shaozhe spoke rapidly, though he made an effort to sound composed. His gaze swept over the gathering before settling on Xian Lin'er, carrying a barely perceptible challenge. "His First Martial Soul, the Heavenly Eye, possesses both Ultimate Lightning and Ultimate Spirit. His Second Martial Soul, the Reignbow Arbiter, encompasses Ultimate Light and Ultimate Wind—four Ultimate Attributes in one person!"

"Hiss—"

Sharp intakes of breath rose around the room. Some elders gripped their armrests; others absently rubbed their sleeves. Only one thought remained in their minds: any one of those four Ultimate Attributes would be enough to carry Shrek's glory through another ten thousand years. And he had all four?

He was a treasure bestowed upon Shrek by heaven itself!

"Just imagine!" Yan Shaozhe's eyes burned, and excitement set his voice trembling. "If the Martial Soul Department carefully nurtures a genius like him, he will surely stand alongside our ancestor Tang San—perhaps even surpass the Sea God! Shrek will then become the continent's true sacred ground!"

The more he spoke, the more fervent he grew. It was as if he could already see Huo Yuhao becoming a god and himself going down in history as the boy's guide, just like that "divine turd," Yu Xiaogang. Then his tone turned sharply to exasperation. "But he went and joined the Soul Tool Department! Relying on those external objects is a reckless waste of heaven's gift. He's gone down the wrong path!"

Xuan Zi nodded heavily and slammed his half-eaten chicken leg onto the table, scattering grease. "Shaozhe is right! An Ultimate Martial Soul should be tempered through its owner's Soul Power. Soul Tools are nothing but a crooked side path. They'll only hold the boy back!"

To him, the Martial Soul Department was the orthodox path. The Soul Tool Department would never be fit for the grand stage.

"So I propose that Huo Yuhao leave the Soul Tool Department and transfer to the Martial Soul Department!" Yan Shaozhe finally showed his fangs, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Qian Duoduo's face turned ashen. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles went white. Xian Lin'er gritted her teeth, fury blazing in her eyes—

Yan Shaozhe was plainly saying the Soul Tool Department was unworthy of Huo Yuhao. He looked down on the entire department!

"I agree! Huo Yuhao must come to the Martial Soul Department!" Xuan Zi chimed in, sounding as though it were only natural and Huo Yuhao would gladly accept.

Several elders who favored the Martial Soul Department voiced their agreement. For a time, the hall rang with talk of the "orthodox Martial Soul Department" and "not wasting his talent."

Elder Song looked at her daughter Xian Lin'er's tense profile, then at Mu En. Her lips parted several times, but in the end, she lowered her eyes without a word—

Reason told her that Huo Yuhao remaining with the Martial Soul Department would benefit Shrek more. But how could she stand by and watch the Soul Tool Department her daughter and son-in-law had worked so hard to build lose a genius like this?

Everyone had selfish desires. The Soul Tool Department's glory was something she hoped for too.

Mu En sighed softly, a trace of complicated emotion passing through his eyes.

He had spoken briefly with Huo Yuhao before. The boy's eyes had been clear yet distant, as though he had seen through to the entrenched rot beneath Shrek's ten thousand years of glory.

He knew Huo Yuhao had never rejected Shrek itself. What the boy rejected was its long-decaying system.

"Let Huo Yuhao decide for himself." Mu En lifted his eyelids, his voice calm but carrying unquestionable authority. "Duoduo, bring him here."

"Yes..." Qian Duoduo replied, gratitude flickering in his eyes.

"Teacher! That's against the rules!" Yan Shaozhe protested at once. How could a freshman be allowed into the Sea God Pavilion?

Mu En slowly opened his eyes and fixed Yan Shaozhe with a gaze as cold as starlight.

In an instant, the pressure of a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo spread through the hall. The might of the Dragon God Douluo seemed to freeze everything in place. "I said, have Duoduo bring Yuhao here."

Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted. He swallowed, but in the end he dared not argue again and shut his mouth resentfully.

A short while later, Qian Duoduo led a bewildered Huo Yuhao into the Sea God Pavilion.

"Student Huo Yuhao greets the seniors." He bowed properly, though his gaze quietly swept over the room—

Yan Shaozhe's false smile, the urgency and pressure in Xuan Zi's eyes, and the grim faces of Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er told him at once what this was about.

"Don't be nervous, child," Mu En said warmly. "We called you here only to ask whether you would be willing to leave the Soul Tool Department and transfer to the Martial Soul Department."

"Think carefully, boy! This is the best opportunity you'll ever have!" Xuan Zi's voice was aged and resonant, with a faint threat beneath it. Grease still dripped from the chicken leg in his hand.

Huo Yuhao looked at Yan Shaozhe's false I'm doing this for your own good expression, then turned to Qian Duoduo, warmth flickering in his eyes.

He remembered that, in the original story, Qian Duoduo had stood against everyone on Fan Yu's recommendation alone to bring Huo Gua into the Soul Tool Department. He had not forgotten that trust.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me," Huo Yuhao said to the Martial Soul Department seniors, his tone gentle but every word firm. "But I know that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. Though I haven't known Teacher Qian and Teacher Fan Yu for long, they recognized my potential and have nurtured me. The Soul Tool Department has treated me well. I cannot turn my back on them. I refuse to transfer to the Martial Soul Department."

He smiled at Qian Duoduo and bowed again.

Inside, though, he was already grumbling: You've got to be kidding. That whole guilt-tripping "bowing craftsman" act Yan Shaozhe pulled in the original story was disgusting to the bone...

"Boy, what did you say?!" Xuan Zi slammed the table, spraying grease across the floor as he glared at Huo Yuhao. "You're wasting your talent! Throwing away your future!"

"Senior, this is my choice. It has nothing to do with anyone else." Huo Yuhao's voice was even, with a chill barely perceptible beneath it.

"Student Huo Yuhao, you..." Yan Shaozhe tried to speak again.

"If the academy insists that I transfer to the Martial Soul Department, then I can only leave the academy." Huo Yuhao cut him off and bowed, his voice calm but resolute.

The words "leave the academy" boomed through the Sea God Pavilion like a bell struck beside a drum.

"Outrageous! You dare threaten Shrek?!" Xuan Zi flew into a rage. Terrifying Soul Power pressure instantly engulfed Huo Yuhao, meant to teach him a lesson.

Huo Yuhao felt a rapid series of cracks run through his bones. The Nine-Turn Origin Art began circulating on its own, resisting the pressure.

A fine sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he kept his back straight and said nothing. He only stared coldly at Xuan Zi—

Shrek's rot really did live up to its reputation. They would even force a student into this.

"Enough, Xuan Zi." Mu En's voice was as soft as a fine rain, yet it dissolved Xuan Zi's pressure at once.

He looked at Huo Yuhao, his expression complicated. "Child, we don't mean to force you."

"Shrek is an academy, after all. Its purpose is to educate, not to coerce its students." Mu En paused, then swept his gaze over Yan Shaozhe and the others. "Since Yuhao has made up his mind, let him remain in the Soul Tool Department."