Bound by Fate, Granted Secret Arts

If he wanted to live in peace, stand at the pinnacle of the continent, and become a god who lived forever, he had no choice but to use unconventional means.

Besides, he would never harm Huo Yuhao. He would treat him even better, care for him, protect him, stand up for him, and build a deep bond between master and disciple.

When he had first arrived in this world and realized he was Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, he had wanted to curse his luck.

The fate awaiting him was simply too miserable.

To keep his family in this life from being dragged down by him, he had persuaded his father to sever ties with the clan when he was five. With his clansmen's help, he had come to Shrek City and posed as a wandering orphan.

His extraordinary talent soon caught the attention of Shrek Academy's leaders. They brought him into the academy and raised him as one of their own.

Ever since he joined, nothing had gone smoothly for Shrek Academy. All kinds of absurd things had happened. Because of him, even Dragon God Douluo Mu En probably had less than a year left to live.

As his cultivation rose and his understanding of his Martial Soul deepened, his ability to bring misfortune to others would only grow stronger. The greater the fortune of the person he afflicted, the faster his own strength would increase.

Sure enough, he had only just taken Huo Yuhao as his disciple, and his cultivation had already made another small breakthrough. At this pace, he would reach level 98 Super Douluo within two years.

"As expected of a Child of Fortune!"

Even as Huang Jinxu marveled, he weighed whether he should find a chance to take Wang Dong as his disciple too.

Surely he could not bring about the death of a God King's daughter?

Still, he needed to test that idea further and confirm his suspicions.

Taking her as a disciple rashly might instead bring death down on his own head.

While Huang Jinxu considered what to do next, Huo Yuhao had already taken the Mysterious Water Potion his teacher had given him.

Its gentle medicinal power flowed through his body, rapidly seeping into every limb and bone. It replenished what he lacked while washing the impurities from within him.

When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, a foul stench hit him.

"I... what is this..."

His first thought was not to check his condition. Worry and panic instinctively spread across his face as he stared at the sheets he had soiled, as though he had committed some terrible wrong.

Then he set about looking for something to wash them with.

Like a child raised under oppression, does he think the sky has fallen just because he accidentally broke a bowl?

Sensing Huo Yuhao's every move with his spiritual power, Huang Jinxu gained a deeper understanding of his new disciple.

Right now, Huo Yuhao needed more than greater strength. He needed confidence.

With that in mind, Huang Jinxu rose, went to Huo Yuhao's room, and knocked softly on the door.

Only after a long while did Huo Yuhao hurry to open it, fear and nervousness still plain on his face.

Huang Jinxu did not need to look to know that Huo Yuhao had hastily hidden the soiled sheets, terrified that someone might find them.

"Yuhao, go wash up first. When you're done, come find me on the top floor."

Huang Jinxu said nothing about the sheets. He merely smiled gently and ruffled Huo Yuhao's hair.

As he did, he quietly used his Soul Power to check the changes in Huo Yuhao's body.

There was no better way to describe it: he had been remade from the inside out.

The medicine had made up for his deficiencies and cleansed his impurities. Though his physique had not yet caught up with others his age, it was steadily growing healthier. At the very least, absorbing a Hundred-Year Soul Ring would be no problem.

As Huang Jinxu examined him, he also guided Stellar Power through Huo Yuhao's body to help stabilize the medicine's effects.

Huo Yuhao knew nothing of this. He only felt that his teacher's hand was wonderfully warm and comforting.

The unease in his heart gradually faded.

The hotel's top floor was Huang Jinxu's private domain. Not only could it gather starlight to aid his cultivation, it also housed a dedicated alchemy room and a Soul Tool research laboratory.

That was right. Besides being a level 97 Titled Douluo, he was an alchemy Grandmaster and a level 9 Soul Engineer.

He had learned alchemy at Shrek Academy. As for Soul Tools, he had secretly infiltrated the Sun Moon Empire to study them.

During his time undercover in the Sun Moon Empire, he and its imperial chief worshipper, Kong Deming, had become something between teacher and friend. For a moment, Huang Jinxu had genuinely wanted to become his disciple. But at the last moment, he had chosen to reveal his identity and flee the empire.

Thus, two men who had nearly become master and disciple had become mortal enemies.

Huang Jinxu had done so partly because of his identity, but there was another crucial reason: he did not want Kong Deming to be dragged down with him.

With Huang Jinxu's involvement and the ideas he had provided, Kong Deming should have become a level 10 Soul Engineer ahead of time. Yet every attempt had ended in failure, and on one occasion he had nearly died on the spot.

Huang Jinxu knew it was because he had stayed too close, bringing misfortune down upon Kong Deming.

Just then, Huo Yuhao finished bathing, changed into clean clothes, and arrived at Huang Jinxu's quarters.

"Yuhao, I had nothing suitable with me earlier. This is the gift I've prepared for you as my new disciple."

With a sweep of his hand, Huang Jinxu sent three items floating before Huo Yuhao.

"This book contains four secret arts I developed. The Zhou Tian Star Art draws in Stellar Power to aid cultivation, increasing your training speed while improving your physique and talent. Illusory Moon Star Eyes nourishes your eyes with starlight and the silver moon's power to strengthen your spiritual power, making it an excellent match for your Spirit Eyes Martial Soul. Moonshadow Step is a movement technique for combat. Once mastered, you'll move like a ghost, as elusive as a moonlit shadow, and can even form temporary doubles. Glazed Mystic Jade Body is a secret body-refining art. Once mastered, your entire body will take on the nature of mystic jade. You'll look no different from anyone else, but your defenses will be as hard as steel..."

Huang Jinxu spoke softly, explaining each of the four secret arts in detail.

Calling them his creations was not quite accurate. It would be better to say he had reworked them.

Using the Mysterious Heaven Skill as a foundation, he had gathered all sorts of information and combined it with his own insights to develop the Zhou Tian Star Art. He had based Illusory Moon Star Eyes on the Purple Demon Eye, Moonshadow Step on Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and Glazed Mystic Jade Body on Mysterious Jade Hand.

As a Titled Douluo, he had found it easy to obtain these things from the declining Tang Sect. He had not even needed to get involved personally. The information had reached him through various chance encounters and channels; unless a god was watching him every moment, no one would spot anything amiss.

These arts were what allowed him, a level 97 Titled Douluo, to overpower level 98 Super Douluo.

By teaching them to Huo Yuhao, he meant to bind their fates tightly together and link their fortunes completely.