I want it all: envisioning Huo Yuhao's future

Yan Shaozhe repeated his three conditions.

Hearing that Yan Shaozhe had actually promised Huo Yuhao a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a full set of Soul Bones, Qian Duoduo was rather surprised. The Martial Soul Department really was willing to bleed its coffers dry.

With so much on offer, he truly could not make matching promises outright.

"We'll provide a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and Soul Ring too," a woman's voice rang out.

They turned to see a very beautiful woman walking in.

"Xian Lin'er, what are you doing here?" Yan Shaozhe felt a headache coming on at the sight of her.

"If you want to poach someone from the Soul Tool Department, you'll have to see whether I agree."

Seeing that the dean had arrived, Qian Duoduo breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could step aside and enjoy the show.

"So, both sides are now tied at three offers each. What else can you offer?" Wang Dong'er asked.

Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er both fell silent. They had already offered the best terms they could.

"How about this? Whichever side can provide Huo Yuhao with a hundred million Gold Soul Coins to fund his studies gets him," Wang Dong'er proposed.

"A hundred million? Do you have any idea how much a hundred million Gold Soul Coins is? That's three years of expenses for the entire Martial Soul Department!" Yan Shaozhe blurted out.

Spending the entire academy's budget for three years on a single student was far too outrageous.

"You don't have to hand over the hundred million right now. It means you'll have to support Huo Yuhao unconditionally throughout his future cultivation," Wang Dong'er explained.

"Fine, we'll provide it!" Xian Lin'er gritted her teeth and agreed.

The Soul Tool Department had been overshadowed by the Martial Soul Department for years. Now that she had finally glimpsed hope in Huo Yuhao, how could she give up?

Even if they had to tighten their belts for the next three years, she had to secure Huo Yuhao.

"We'll provide it too!" Seeing Xian Lin'er agree, Yan Shaozhe hurried to state his position.

No matter what, they could not lose Huo Yuhao. An ultimate martial soul could lead the academy into centuries of glory.

Wang Dong'er gave a wicked smile. "In that case, we'll take it all."

"What?"

Everyone turned toward Wang Dong'er at once, their expressions astonished. This was clearly a choice between two options, yet she had said she wanted both?

"That's impossible!" Yan Shaozhe immediately rejected it.

"What's impossible about it? Cultivating a martial soul doesn't conflict with studying Soul Tools. The higher your soul power, the more powerful the Soul Tools you can wield," Wang Dong'er countered.

"That may be true, but both martial soul cultivation and Soul Tool studies consume enormous amounts of time and energy. Excelling in even one field is already impressive. It's impossible to develop both well."

Xian Lin'er nodded. She thought so too.

Wang Dong'er raised a finger and wagged it. "That's just the limit of your understanding."

"Our Yuhao works incredibly hard. He became a Level 2 Soul Engineer in less than a year. That speed ought to be unprecedented, right? There's absolutely no problem with him devoting some of his time to his martial soul."

"But cultivating an ultimate martial soul is very slow. Becoming a Titled Douluo before forty is already extremely difficult. Add Soul Tool studies, and he might not get there until sixty."

A forty-year-old Titled Douluo and a sixty-year-old one were entirely different prospects.

"Didn't the First-Generation Shrek Seven Devils become Titled Douluo in their twenties? Do you think Yuhao's talent is inferior to theirs? Even with Soul Tool studies added in, he can absolutely become a Titled Douluo before thirty," Wang Dong'er said.

"Impossible!" Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er rejected the idea in unison.

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"This is one of Shrek Academy's secrets, so you don't know about it. In truth, the First-Generation Shrek Seven Devils were only able to become Titled Douluo in their twenties because they took part in a Divine Trial."

Standing nearby, Wang Yan and Qian Duoduo blinked. They genuinely had not known that.

Wang Dong'er smiled faintly. "Then what makes you think Yuhao can't take part in a Divine Trial?"

Everyone's eyes widened. They had never considered that possibility.

"Yuhao's talent might indeed be a little weaker than that of the First-Generation Shrek Seven Devils, but ten thousand years have passed, after all. Today's teaching environment and resources are nothing like what they had back then."

"So, as long as he has a Divine Trial, Huo Yuhao can develop both his martial soul and his Soul Tool skills without any problem."

"But no one on the Douluo Continent has become a god in many years. We don't even know how to trigger a Divine Trial. How can you guarantee that Yuhao will be able to participate?" Xian Lin'er asked.

"Because I come from Clear Sky Castle."

"To tell you the truth, the two Sect Masters of the Clear Sky Treasure Pavilion—my Big Daddy and Second Daddy—have always been able to contact the Divine Realm. Pulling a few strings to get Huo Yuhao into a Divine Trial won't be a problem."

Everyone present froze. What Wang Dong'er had told them was on an entirely different level from anything they knew.

Other people used back doors to get into Shrek Academy or become a Core Disciple. Yet Wang Dong'er's back door led to godhood. That back door was bigger than Shrek Academy's front gates!

Huo Yuhao's mouth fell open. He had never imagined that Wang Dong'er's connections ran so deep.

The gazes Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er fixed on Wang Dong'er grew intensely eager. Godhood was everyone's dream, especially for century-old people like them. Their martial soul cultivation had essentially reached its limits, leaving them no chance of becoming gods.

But if they could slip through a back door, attaining godhood might well become possible. The temptation was immense.

Still, they also knew that not just anyone could use such a back door.

"Teachers, please don't get your hopes up about becoming gods. Opening a back door for Huo Yuhao is already the limit. What do you think of my proposal?"

Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er considered it carefully. If they poured vast resources into Huo Yuhao, he might truly become a Titled Douluo before thirty while also becoming a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

A Level 9 Soul Engineer stood at the very pinnacle of the Douluo Continent and could lead Shrek's Soul Tool Department straight to the summit.

"Fine, we agree," Yan Shaozhe said.

"I agree too," Xian Lin'er declared.

Wang Dong'er smiled happily. "Then don't forget everything you both just promised."

Only then did the two realize that Wang Dong'er choosing "everything" meant two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones, two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, and another two hundred million in funding.

Simply piling up those resources could produce two Titled Douluo.

"Wait, never mind the rest. Huo Yuhao can't absorb two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!"

"Teachers, have you forgotten that Huo Yuhao has twin martial souls? Never mind two—even seven or eight would be no problem."

The two swallowed.

Twin martial souls, coupled with two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones—it was hard to imagine how powerful Huo Yuhao would be after becoming a Titled Douluo. He might even be able to trade blows head-on with a Super Douluo.

With his ultimate martial soul added to the mix, they felt that Shrek Academy might just produce another Limit Douluo.