At those words, waves surged through Dai Youheng's heart.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring? Another Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring! And from what Snow Empress said, the skill this ring granted would be something truly special?
But he immediately calmed down and raised the most crucial question. "A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring? With my current physical strength and soul power level, how could I withstand its energy surge? Even with Xiao Bai helping suppress it, I'm afraid..."
"Under normal circumstances, unless the soul beast willingly offered a soul sacrifice like your big sister here and sealed away most of her power, someone with your Soul Ancestor cultivation would indeed have absolutely no chance of absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring." Snow Empress affirmed his concerns, then shifted her tone. "But now you have me by your side. I can help seal away part of that soul ring's power and increase your chances of successfully absorbing it!"
"Its characteristics are practically a match made in heaven for you as you are now!" Snow Empress sounded utterly confident.
Dai Youheng's curiosity was thoroughly piqued. "Oh? What kind of soul beast could be so special?"
"Don't be so impatient." For once, Snow Empress kept him in suspense, a hint of amusement in her voice. "You'll find out when the time comes. Telling you now would only spoil the surprise. Your most pressing task is to reach level forty as soon as possible."
Dai Youheng was calm by nature. Seeing that Snow Empress was unwilling to elaborate, he stopped pressing her. There was still some distance between him and level forty, anyway. He had plenty of time.
Besides, he placed considerable trust in Snow Empress's judgment.
"All right," he replied simply, already putting "reach level forty as soon as possible" and "find a reasonable excuse to leave the academy" at the very top of his priorities.
Just as his soul-to-soul conversation with Snow Empress came to an end, he felt Zhou Sichen gently nudge his shoulder with an elbow.
"Youheng? Youheng! What are you spacing out for? Class is over, and you didn't even notice. You actually dared zone out in Old Hag Zhou's class? Good thing she didn't come down to inspect us today." Zhou Sichen kept his voice low as he warned him.
Dai Youheng snapped back to his senses. Only then did he notice that the students around him had already begun packing up, preparing to leave the classroom in twos and threes. Zhou Yi was long gone from the lectern.
Without realizing it, he and Snow Empress had spent an entire class discussing their plans. As for what soul master theory, combat techniques, or academy rules Zhou Yi had covered... he had absolutely no idea.
He rose with a composed expression and began packing away the textbook he had barely opened, as though he had merely taken a brief nap.
Seeing him like this, Zhou Sichen could not help muttering, "You're acting really weird today. Still, what you told me earlier about developing my martial soul made so much sense! Thanks, brother!"
Dai Youheng gave a noncommittal grunt, but his gaze had already drifted out the window, as though he were looking toward the Far North-or plotting a route out of the academy and toward greater power.
Classroom lessons? Trivial matters between classmates? Those things had long since ceased to matter to him.
Early one morning a few days later, a modest commotion broke out at the gates of Shrek Academy. A travel-worn boy finally appeared before everyone's eyes. It was none other than Huo Yuhao, who had been missing for so long.
Wang Dong, who had been waiting eagerly near the gates, was the first to spot him. She rushed over in excitement, scolding him and rejoicing all at once, then pulled him into the academy at a run, afraid he might miss anything else.
Dai Youheng stood by a corridor window in the teaching building, watching the scene from afar. His gaze was calm, but his soul perception scanned Huo Yuhao as carefully as the most precise instrument.
Just as I thought... he mused. His soul power fluctuations only put him somewhere above level twenty, but the power itself is profound and icy cold. His Sea of Consciousness is even more vast. Looks like the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion is already in place.
The fellow currently had a Million-Year Soul Ring, a four-hundred-thousand-year soul ring, and a four-hundred-thousand-year Torso Soul Bone. In terms of soul ring ages alone, his total was nearly twice Dai Youheng's.
Youheng sighed inwardly. Since that fellow inside the Heavenly Rift had decided to throw him here, why couldn't he have done it a little earlier? Never mind the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm-even bringing both the Ice Empress and Snow Empress together was now an extravagant hope.
As for Huo Yuhao himself, Dai Youheng honestly felt nothing in particular. He had neither an instinctive fondness or sympathy born from the original story nor any excessive dislike.
In his eyes, the early Huo Yuhao was an ordinary person who worked hard, persevered, had a little cleverness, and knew where to draw the line. Though he had a bit of a cheating habit, that hardly counted as a major flaw in a world where the strong devoured the weak.
Unfortunately, after the Qiankun Asking Love Valley, he had fallen step by step into the net Tang San had painstakingly woven. His supposed trials, his supposed opportunities-even his love and destiny-had all been calculated down to the last detail by that lofty God King.
As the chosen son of fortune of his age, he should have possessed limitless possibilities. Yet in the end, he had practically become Tang San's most loyal dog, maintaining his family's rule and perpetuating the Divine Realm's authority. Truly pitiful, truly lamentable.
While his thoughts churned, news of Huo Yuhao's return had already reached the academy's higher-ups.
Sure enough, events unfolded just as they had in the original story. Zhou Yi and Fan Yu, the vice dean of the Soul Tool Department, immediately stepped forward. Citing Huo Yuhao's status as a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, they fought to keep him from being expelled for his late return.
Naturally, this drew fierce objections and challenges from Zhou Yi's old rival, Mu Jin, the homeroom teacher of Class Two.
The two argued endlessly in the academic affairs office. One insisted that the rules must be enforced, while the other emphasized the special status of the Soul Tool Department's core disciples and Huo Yuhao's value.
Though Dai Youheng was not there, he could easily imagine the scene, swords drawn and bows bent. The grudges between Mu Jin and Zhou Yi were no secret in the academy. There were romantic entanglements as well as the old resentment over Zhou Yi expelling Mu Jin's younger brother years ago. The two were practically as incompatible as fire and water.
"Core disciple?" Dai Youheng rubbed his chin. He recalled that he, too, seemed to be one of the core disciples.
That was hardly surprising. Although that lovesick fool Youheng's soul power in the thirties at fourteen could not compare with monsters who reached Soul King at fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen, he was still quite impressive by the standards of ordinary geniuses.
What was more, his martial soul was the Evil Shadow Demon Tiger, which had undergone a beneficial mutation-a top-tier Power Attack System beast martial soul with tremendous potential.
During last year's freshman assessment tournament, that lovesick fool had not been among the strongest individually, but he had been lucky enough to get reasonably capable teammates. Eager to show off in front of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the others, he had also given it everything he had. In the end, they had stumbled their way into the semifinals, earning him core disciple status.
I could put this status to good use. A sharp gleam flashed in Dai Youheng's eyes. Core disciples not only enjoyed protection from expulsion, but also had numerous advantages when exchanging resources, accessing the library, seeking teachers' guidance, and even requesting leave. It provided a useful layer of camouflage for his future plans.
He
watched Huo Yuhao downstairs finally leave the academic affairs office with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao clustered around him, heading toward the classroom. His gaze was deep.
Huo Yuhao's cheats are already in place. I need to pick up the pace, too. Level forty... I have to reach it as soon as possible! That special hundred-thousand-year soul beast Snow Empress mentioned will be mine!
He lingered no longer, turning toward the classroom. To him, the peaceful life at Shrek Academy was merely a period of lying low, accumulating strength, and waiting for the right moment. The true stage lay beyond the academy, in that vast and dangerous world.
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