My Name Isn't Hey, It's Huo Yuhao!

"Mmm, little Yuhao, this stir-fried vermicelli is delicious! What exactly did you put in it? When we get back, I'm going to have Bei Bei learn to make it for me!"

Shrek City's east gate was still bustling that evening. Boys and girls in Shrek Academy uniforms streamed out through the gate, chatting and laughing, brimming with youthful vitality.

Huo Yuhao's stall was as wildly popular as ever that day. Although he had bought quite a few more folding tables and chairs, many students who queued up for barbecue still had to take their food back to their dorms or stand there to eat.

Even so, plenty of students still chose to feast at Huo Yuhao's stall, even thinning out the evening crowds at Shrek Academy's cafeteria.

Carrying a grilled fish, several skewers, and a few side dishes that went well with barbecue, such as Iron-Plate Eggs, Huo Yuhao set the whole lot on the table in front of Tang Ya.

"Sister Ya, Stir-Fried Vermicelli really isn't hard to make. Aside from controlling the heat, the most important thing is adding chicken bouillon powder. That's what gives the vermicelli its savory flavor," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.

"Then Bei Bei and I will try making it together when we get back." Tang Ya narrowed her eyes in delight, savoring the food in her mouth as she nodded repeatedly.

Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded to Bei Bei beside her, then went back to work.

Three months had passed in the blink of an eye, yet Huo Yuhao's cultivation still hadn't advanced beyond rank nineteen. Of course, it wasn't because Yao Lao had drained his cultivation as he had Xiao Yan's, but because of the Origin Pill he had taken.

The Origin Pill Yao Lao had refined possessed extraordinary medicinal potency. Combined with the wood attribute laws of heaven and earth within it, it had wrought an earth-shattering transformation in Huo Yuhao's constitution.

First were his meridians. The Azure Liquid Yao Lao had refined earlier had cleared his originally sluggish meridians of all obstructions, giving him cultivation talent on par with Soul Masters who possessed other top-tier Martial Souls.

Or rather, this was the innate talent Huo Yuhao should have possessed in the first place, with his eyes being a top-tier Body Martial Soul.

After taking the Origin Pill, Huo Yuhao's talent had undergone yet another transformation, as though he had shed his old body and been reborn. If the Azure Droplet had restored his talent to the equivalent of rank eight or nine innate soul power, then his innate soul power now exceeded rank ten, reaching the level of a Soul Master with a divine Martial Soul.

Of course, this referred to the change in his talent, not his strength.

However, the Origin Pill's medicinal power had completely opened all Twelve Primary Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians within Huo Yuhao's body. His meridians were not only several times wider than those of Soul Masters of the same rank, but also exceptionally resilient, with a tremendous capacity for carrying soul power.

Huo Yuhao's body had also been strengthened to the level of Golden Bones and Jade Flesh. A single punch could even leave a mark on a block of iron. Thus, all the soul power he had cultivated over these three months had gone toward nourishing his body and strengthening his flesh.

The capacity of one's meridians to carry soul power and the strength of one's body directly determined the age of the Soul Ring a Soul Master could absorb. As he was now, Huo Yuhao could absorb even a Soul Ring over six thousand years old without the slightest strain.

"Give me five meat skewers."

A familiar voice rang out. Huo Yuhao looked up from his work and met a pair of pale pink eyes.

Dressed in red like blazing fire, with that imposing figure-who else could it be but Ma Xiaotao?

"You have time to come find me to absorb your evil fire today, too?" Huo Yuhao glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered his voice.

"I ran into a Soul Saint from the Holy Spirit Cult on my last mission. He wasn't easy to deal with, so when things got desperate, I still had to use my full strength to kill him," Ma Xiaotao said with a light laugh.

"But I didn't come away at a loss. I gained quite a bit on this trip. At least I earned enough to pay you."

With Huo Yuhao around, Ma Xiaotao had cultivated without restraint for the past three months. Although she usually lived on Sea God Island, she had even gone out on five Inner Academy student missions in that time.

Naturally, fighting others caused Ma Xiaotao's evil fire backlash to flare up sooner. But with Huo Yuhao around, she no longer had any worries holding her back. Every time, she struck with all her strength and refused to stop until her enemies had been reduced to drifting ash.

Huo Yuhao was naturally happy to see Ma Xiaotao behave this way. Not only had he gained another three Thousand-Year Soul Bones, but the Core Flame of her phoenix evil fire was also approaching its perfect state, ready for the Flame Mantra to devour.

"Same rules as always. Book a hotel room tonight and wait for me. Be there or be square," Huo Yuhao said with a wink and a smile.

Ma Xiaotao's cheeks flushed faintly at his words. She rolled her eyes at Huo Yuhao, took her meat skewers, and turned to leave.

Before leaving, she made sure to walk over to Xu Sanshi, that night's Barbecue King, and tear a leg off his whole roasted lamb. Only then did she return to Shrek Academy in satisfaction.

Xu Sanshi: Why am I always the one who gets hurt?

"Xiao Xiao, all I did was lose to Huo Yuhao last time, and that twisted old spinster Zhou Yi hasn't gone a single day without yelling at me these past three months. I really can't take it anymore! Just wait. I'm ready to write to Big Dad and Second Dad. This time, I'll make sure she bites off more than she can chew!"

Another familiar voice. Huo Yuhao shook his head with a quiet chuckle. He didn't even need to look to know who had arrived.

God King Tang's daughter (incomplete form) · young mistress of the Clear Sky Sect (unfortunately bearing the surname of Old Wang next door) · class monitor of Freshman Class One (a complete sucker)-Wang Dong!

"Oh, Wang Dong, don't be angry. Teacher Zhou has expelled so many people that our class only has fifteen students left. If even you get expelled, I probably won't be able to pass the Freshman Assessment either."

A delicate, adorable girl stood beside Wang Dong, looking at her with a hint of shyness. When Wang Dong met her gaze, the girl's face reddened, and she quickly lowered her head.

Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction. I'm shipping it. I'm really shipping it.

"Wow, that smells amazing! What's that smell?"

Wang Dong had been utterly drained these past few months. Even though she had done everything she could to save her classmates, the double blow dealt to Zhou Yi by Huo Yuhao and Mu Jin had made her even more twisted, and her treatment of the students had become even harsher.

Over those three months, a student had been expelled from Freshman Class One almost every other day. There had even been a record of three students expelled in a single day.

Whenever a student was expelled, Zhou Yi would give Wang Dong, the class monitor, a vicious tongue-lashing. She even blamed every expulsion on Wang Dong's failure to better lead her classmates in their cultivation.

The fear of being berated by Zhou Yi every day, combined with the guilt of seeing classmates around her expelled from the academy time and again, had nearly driven Wang Dong mad.

With the Freshman Assessment fast approaching, Wang Dong had decided to unwind a little, which was why she had come out for a stroll beyond Shrek Academy with Xiao Xiao after class.

"Hey, you're..."

Xiao Xiao stepped forward first, pointing a delicate finger at Huo Yuhao as she spoke in surprise.

Still turning the skewers on the grill, Huo Yuhao shrugged. "My name isn't Hey, it's Chu Yu Xun. Oh, wait, it's Huo Yuhao."

"Huo Yuhao..."

Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao, the fish seller standing before her in a neat apron, and couldn't utter a word.

Although, logically speaking, Zhou Yi's worsening temper and all the abuse she herself had suffered over the past three months were thanks to Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong still couldn't help feeling a little envious when she saw him.

Envious of what? Of course, she envied how early Huo Yuhao had jumped ship!

Huo Yuhao, please come back! Freshman Class One is handing out Soul Bones to its students!

"What would you like? Grilled fish is twenty Gold Soul Coins each, meat skewers are five Gold Soul Coins each, and vegetable skewers are two Gold Soul Coins each. Small business here-no credit," Huo Yuhao said with a light laugh.

As the young mistress of the Clear Sky Sect, Wang Dong naturally had deep pockets. Xiao Xiao also came from a major power, so neither of them begrudged spending a few Soul Coins.

They each ordered a few things, then carried their plates to a spot fairly close to Huo Yuhao and sat down.

"Oh, little Yuhao, are these your friends?" Seeing unfamiliar freshmen greeting him, Tang Ya hurried over.

"No, these are my enemies," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Wang Dong nearly choked on a mouthful of grilled meat and coughed repeatedly. Beside her, Xiao Xiao covered her little mouth and giggled.

Wang Dong rolled her eyes helplessly at Huo Yuhao, then stood and said to Tang Ya, "Hello, senior. My name is Wang Dong."

Tang Ya smiled. "What a pretty little boy! I like you. Want to join our Tang Sect?"