Graduation, Suotuo City

[Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing.]

A wave of spiritual energy instantly linked with Xiao Wu, who was trapped in a desperate position midair.

A boom went off in Xiao Wu's head, and everything within ten meters became a three-dimensional image.

The flying Lime Packet magnified countless times in her vision. Even the grains of powder inside were clearly visible.

Not only that, a gentle burst of spiritual power struck Xiao Wu's waist, giving her a point to push off from.

Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, after all. Her battle instincts were strong.

With the view from Spiritual Sharing and the leverage provided by the Mental Support Point, she twisted her slender, snake-like waist in midair and forced herself half a foot aside.

Smack!

The Lime Packet grazed Xiao Wu's clothes, then hit the ground and burst into a cloud of white dust.

Having dodged the sneak attack, Xiao Wu landed steadily, her large eyes blazing with fury.

With Huo Yuhao's Soul Skill backing her up, what the hell did she have to fear?

"You're playing dirty!"

Xiao Wu kicked off the ground, her gaze locking onto the person who had attacked her from the shadows.

He had not recovered from his shock when he saw a foot growing larger and larger before his eyes.

Bang!

Xiao Wu's merciless flying kick struck him square in the face.

He screamed as blood sprayed from his nose, flew five or six meters backward, then rolled his eyes and passed out.

With that, every person Liu Long had brought was down.

The entire training ground fell silent. A dropped needle could have been heard.

The students watching nearby stared in disbelief.

Three first-year work-study students had taken down seven or eight upperclassmen without a scratch.

More astonishing still, two of them had Hundred-Year Soul Rings.

"Phew... That was close."

Xiao Wu withdrew her Martial Soul, patted her flat little chest, and hurried back to Huo Yuhao. Still shaken, she tugged at his sleeve.

"Cousin! Good thing you were there just now, or that lime would've blinded me."

Tang Sanmei also hurried over after withdrawing her Blue Silver Grass. Her young face was full of guilt and lingering fear as she said softly,

"Senior Brother, I didn't coordinate well enough. Xiao Wu almost got hurt..."

Huo Yuhao looked at the two uneasy girls before him and flicked each of them on the forehead.

"Ow!"

"That hurt!"

Both girls covered their foreheads and looked up at him with aggrieved expressions.

"You did well. Let's call it a day."

Huo Yuhao turned and strolled away with the two girls.

Only after their figures vanished around the corner did murmurs ripple across the training ground.

"My god... What kind of monsters are those two girls? Two Hundred-Year Soul Rings?"

"That boy might be the scariest one. Those girls listen to his every word..."

"They're too strong... We work-study students might finally turn things around..."

The three had barely gone any distance from the gates of Notting Academy when a figure who refused to leave them alone blocked their way.

Yu Xiaogang stood before the gates, his face bruised and swollen.

Although Tang Hao had beaten him so badly his own mother would not have recognized him, the obsession rooted deep in his bones would not let him swallow this humiliation.

He was determined to take Tang Sanmei as his disciple!

Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up when he saw Tang Sanmei, and he hurried two steps forward.

"Tang Sanmei, listen to me..."

Before he could finish, a cold snort came from nearby.

Tang Hao approached slowly, smelling of iron and carrying a great iron hammer.

His eyes, utterly devoid of emotion, stayed fixed on Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang shuddered. The bridge of his nose throbbed.

At the sight of Tang Hao's menacing face, memories of his earlier beating flashed through his mind.

"Y-you... Just wait..."

Yu Xiaogang did not dare say another word. He turned and fled, stumbling and scrambling, terrified that one step too slow would earn him another brutal beating from Tang Hao.

"Tch. What a coward."

Xiao Wu stuck her tongue out in the direction Yu Xiaogang had fled.

Tang Hao walked over with the hammer on his shoulder and spat on the ground.

"That worthless pest. If he dares go near Sanmei again, I'll break his legs! Come on, let's go home and eat."

For the next six years, Yu Xiaogang kept quiet at the academy. In fact, he did not show his face at Notting Academy at all during the final three years.

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao, Tang Sanmei, and Xiao Wu settled into a regular training routine in Nuoding City.

With guidance from Huo Yuhao's Pseudo Soul Core, Tang Sanmei's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Combined with the Tang Sect's techniques, she was practically invincible among those at her level and could even fight opponents above it.

Xiao Wu's Soul Power also rose steadily, thanks to the foundation she possessed as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

As for Huo Yuhao, he was in no hurry to break through. Instead, he patiently used his spiritual power and Soul Core to temper his body again and again, widening his meridians.

Suotuo City, Heaven Dou Empire.

Crowds streamed through the bustling city, its streets lined with all manner of strange stalls and shops.

"Wow! Cousin, look! Candied hawthorns!"

Xiao Wu wore a pink dress, her hair braided down her back. Tall and slender, with a rosy face, she held Huo Yuhao's arm and skipped through the crowd.

Beside them, Tang Sanmei wore her black hair in a neat ponytail. Her features were delicate, and she carried the things they had just bought.

Though she had become a bona fide Soul Elder, she was still like an obedient little girl around Huo Yuhao.

"Sanmei, how many times have I told you? Heavy things can go in the Soul Tool."

With his hands in his pockets, Huo Yuhao reached for the parcels she carried, helplessness in his voice.

"I can't do that! Senior Brother's Soul Tool is precious. How could I put things like these in it?"

Tang Sanmei backed away repeatedly, her resolve firm.

"It's Sanmei's duty to take care of Senior Brother!"

Huo Yuhao shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Heh, that girl's grown more and more respectful toward you these past few years."

In his spiritual sea, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm chuckled at just the right moment.

"But Yuhao, where exactly is the place in that letter Tang Hao gave us?"

Huo Yuhao answered him inwardly,

"Heaven Dou City. Tang Hao left a letter a while ago and then vanished. It said Sanmei and I should go to Heaven Dou City, where someone would meet us."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly understood.

"Oh, Heaven Dou City. Never heard of it."

While the two talked in the spiritual sea, an unpleasant voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Heh, little lady, what's the fun in eating barbecue alone? Why not come chat with me at the hotel next door? I'll show you my goldfish."

The three looked toward the voice and saw a chubby young man with a Mohawk Hairstyle blocking a commoner girl's path, a lecherous look in his eyes.

Strangely, waves of dry heat seemed to radiate from him, and he looked restless and agitated.

"Where did this fat creep come from? He looks like a potato, and he still has the nerve to harass a girl in the street?"

Xiao Wu's eyes widened. She immediately stepped forward to challenge the injustice.