Tang Ya was still absorbing the Soul Ring. Sweat covered her forehead, but her face was full of ease and delight.
The most grueling and painful part had passed. In a little while, she would absorb it completely.
Bei Bei asked again, "Little Brother Huo, what path will you take in your future cultivation?"
Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, "The power attack system."
Bei Bei: "..."
He had thought Huo Yuhao would choose the support system or control system. He hadn't expected such a surprising answer.
And he had answered so decisively. Huo Yuhao must have thought about this question long ago.
The doubts in Bei Bei's heart deepened.
In his eyes, although Huo Yuhao was young, he had broad horizons and thought through problems with remarkable depth and clarity.
How could he not know that his Martial Soul was unsuited to power attacks?
"Little Brother Huo, why would you choose the power attack system?" Bei Bei asked. "Your first Soul Skill is clearly a support skill. If you develop along the support path, that skill alone would absolutely make you the core of a team."
Huo Yuhao didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "When you say core, do you mean the core of the team's tactics, or the core of its power?"
Bei Bei froze for a moment, carefully considering the difference between the two.
Huo Yuhao continued, "The core you're talking about should be someone responsible for giving orders and devising tactics, something like the team's brain, right?"
Bei Bei nodded.
"Here's my answer: the true core of a team isn't its tactical core, but its power core! And the most direct source of power..."
Huo Yuhao raised a hand and clenched it into a fist before his chest, enunciating every word.
"Is violence!"
Bei Bei was truly stunned. He mulled over those words, and once he understood their logic, his eyes filled with shock.
"And unfortunately, the power attack system usually holds the greatest capacity for violence. Rather than rely on someone else's strength, I prefer to do it myself!" Huo Yuhao's gaze was resolute. "The bigger fist is the only ironclad truth!"
Bei Bei argued, "But teamwork is extremely important too! How could one person's strength compare with a team's? Besides, wouldn't your Soul Skill have the greatest effect when used for support?"
Huo Yuhao said, "As someone in the support or control system, however well you provide support or control the situation, of course you contribute enormously to the team. But I won't entrust my safety to someone else!"
"Would the Three Great Empires let Shrek City station troops in their capitals?"
Bei Bei shook his head. "Of course not."
"It's the same principle." Huo Yuhao shrugged. "Whatever my Martial Soul is, my choice won't change. It'll always be the power attack system. Even if I'm unsuited to power attacks, I still want to maintain my offensive edge."
"All tactics turn to all-out attack!"
Bei Bei sighed. "You've given me a very different way of thinking. Although I don't know how to convince you, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Little Brother Huo. Shrek Academy places great importance on teamwork. If you're unwilling to cooperate with others, I'm afraid there will be many assessments you can't pass."
Huo Yuhao smiled and asked, "When did I ever say I disagreed with teamwork?"
"I just want to ensure that my role remains offensive. I never said I was going to abandon teamwork, Brother Bei Bei."
"Ah, forget it. Let's stop talking. You guys don't understand any of this..."
Bei Bei: "..."
He had been exceptionally clever since childhood. When had anyone ever looked at him as though he were an idiot?
He carefully digested Huo Yuhao's remarks, finding them terribly abstract. Just as he wanted to argue, he found they did have a certain logic, but before he could figure it out, he was drawn into the maze again.
Bei Bei shook his head. Seeing that Tang Ya was nearly finished absorbing the ring, he prepared to walk over to her, then suddenly remembered something and thanked Huo Yuhao again.
"Little Brother Huo, thank you for teaching me the Lightning Poison Dragon Drill. I feel this technique suits me very well. It's just... although the Dragon Tiger Sect has disbanded, this is still your sect's ultimate technique. Isn't it a little inappropriate to teach it to an outsider like me?"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
The whole affair had already left him speechless. Now that Bei Bei brought it up again, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
How could telling someone to mash random buttons actually produce a super move?!
Despite his inward griping, he still put on a serious face. "It's fine. If you can carry this ultimate technique forward and bring it glory, I'm sure the sect master's spirit in heaven would be comforted."
"Bei Bei!" A girl's sharp cry rang out. It was Tang Ya, who had just finished absorbing her Soul Ring.
She threw her arms around Bei Bei and buried her head in his chest, her voice muffled. "Are you going to leave the Tang Sect?"
Bei Bei looked flustered. "When did I ever say I was going to leave the Tang Sect?"
Before he could even congratulate Tang Ya, her question left him at a complete loss.
"This Lightning Poison Dragon Drill suits you so well... are you going to leave me and revive the Dragon Tiger Sect?"
Bei Bei: "..."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
How was this woman's brain wired? What had she managed to dream up in such a short time?
Huo Yuhao coughed lightly. "Before Sect Master Wang Xiaohu died, he told me that the Dragon Tiger Sect's birth had been a mistake to begin with. If it disappeared, then let it disappear."
After saying that, Huo Yuhao looked calmly at Tang Ya.
One lie required a whole pile of lies to cover it up. If he had known, he wouldn't have spouted nonsense in the first place.
He was a responsible person, after all. He wouldn't let Bei Bei go off to revive the fictional Dragon Tiger Sect.
Bei Bei comforted Tang Ya as well. "Xiaoya, don't worry. I promised to restore the Tang Sect's glory with you, and I'll definitely keep walking that path by your side."
His gaze was gentle and utterly firm, bringing Tang Ya immense peace of mind.
"Mm." Tang Ya smiled and playfully stuck her tongue out at Huo Yuhao. "Don't even think about stealing Bei Bei from me, Little Brother Huo~"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Just what had she been imagining...?
The three stopped lingering in the forest and headed out.
As the dense forest receded a short distance behind them, a streak of fish-belly white appeared far away in the dark sky. Before they knew it, dawn had arrived.
"Sorry, Little Brother Huo. Wait for us a moment."
Bei Bei smiled slightly and sat cross-legged alongside Tang Ya. They gazed eastward, a faint trace of purple flashing in their eyes.
Huo Yuhao said nothing. It was dawn, and he needed to prepare breakfast.
He deftly lit a fire. As he debated whether to grill fish or pork belly, he suddenly remembered the Wind Baboon's forearm and snapped his fingers.
"All right, Brother Hao's trying a new flavor today."
Ten minutes later.
"Dry and tough, and the skin isn't crispy or crunchy either..." Huo Yuhao chewed with an ugly expression. "This tastes awful... shouldn't ingredients with a higher capture level taste better?"
"Yuhao."
"What is it, Tian Meng?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"You're only eleven this year. Even counting your previous life, you've only lived twenty-something years in total," Tian Meng asked curiously. "Why does it feel like you know everything? I feel like I've lived a million years, yet I haven't thought nearly as deeply or far ahead about so many things..."
"Heh." Huo Yuhao asked in return, "Tian Meng, where do you think wisdom comes from?"
"Um... you're born with it?"
Huo Yuhao waved a hand. "Genes are indeed a crucial factor, but wisdom comes more from learning and thinking."
"During my twenty-something years of life, I've spent almost all my time constantly learning and considering problems from different angles. Of course I'd be a little smarter than other people."
"On the other hand, if someone spends every day eating their fill and sleeping, then waking up and eating again, never learning or thinking, even if he lives a million years, he won't be much different from a turtle."
Tian Meng nodded thoughtfully. "So that's how it is."
Only belatedly did he catch the meaning behind Huo Yuhao's words.
"Wait! Yuhao, are you secretly calling me a turtle?"
"I never said that. You said it yourself." Huo Yuhao shrugged innocently.
"They say turtles live a thousand years and tortoises ten thousand. A million years is only the combined lifespan of a thousand turtles. Looking at it that way, a million years doesn't seem all that long. Brother Hao's slaughtered at least eight hundred turtles, if not a thousand. That counts as taking down a million-year soul beast."
"Is that so... wait, Yuhao, you're saying Lord Tian Meng is a thousand turtles!"
"I never said that. You said it yourself."
While Huo Yuhao and Tian Meng bickered, Tang Ya and Bei Bei watched the purple fade from the horizon and let out long breaths of stale air.
"All right. Since Xiaoya has obtained her Soul Ring, let's take Little Brother Huo back to Shrek Academy."
"Mm."
Shrek Academy, huh?
A faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's face. A trace of interest surfaced in his eyes, and even a trace of... disdain.
"Then let's see what's so mysterious about you!"