On Sea God Island at the center of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er stood respectfully before a small cottage. Directly ahead of them were an old man reclining in a lounge chair and a slovenly old man biting into a chicken drumstick, with a wine flask braced in his other hand.
"So that child turned you down for that reason?" Hearing Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er's account, the old man in the lounge chair could not help chuckling.
"He didn't just turn him down that way. He turned me down the same way too. He said he wanted to pursue both paths side by side, rather than follow a single path," Xian Lin'er said.
"If you ask me, that brat is just too arrogant. A spiritual-type Body Martial Soul paired with an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul is certainly impressive, but wanting to pursue both the Soul Master and Soul Engineer paths means he has far too much confidence in his talent. Sooner or later, he'll take a nasty tumble over it. A person's energy is limited." The slovenly old man took a swig of wine.
But this displeased the old man in the lounge chair, who rebuked him. "How can you fail to understand something even a child understands? Soul Tools are the great tide of the future. The combination of Soul Masters and Soul Tools that child spoke of is the path forward. All those years you've lived have been wasted.
"And have you forgotten Shrek's founding principle? It isn't just to train monsters, but to turn people into monsters.
"The academy doesn't exist to recruit those monsters, but to cultivate them-to turn geniuses into monsters, and even ordinary people into monsters. Only when our school can truly turn ordinary people into monsters will it deserve to be called the continent's foremost academy.
"What is a monster? Someone who accomplishes things ordinary people cannot imagine. That's why people call them monsters. Why do you assume others cannot do what you cannot?"
Faced with being scolded to his face in front of everyone, the slovenly old man did not dare utter a single word in protest. He even shrank back a little.
Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er desperately wanted to laugh at the sight, but dared not. They had nearly run through every sorrowful event in their lives in their minds, yet still could not quite stop the corners of their mouths from curling upward.
The man lying there could point at the slovenly old man's nose and scold him, but they dared not.
However, when they noticed the look the slovenly old man cast their way, they immediately straightened up.
What greeted him, however, was a fierce glare from the old man reclining in the wheelchair. The old man did not rise, remaining where he lay as he said calmly, "In short, if that child wants to try, let him try. If he really isn't suited to it, or if Soul Tools affect his cultivation speed, we can guide him back then.
"Besides, he hasn't even joined Shrek yet. What's the rush? Being impatient might only stir up his rebellious streak. His family and friends are all here. Joining Shrek is only a matter of time. There's no hurry.
"He has talent. Since he wants to explore Soul Tools, open the Soul Tool Department's facilities to him before he formally enrolls, and let him get an early taste. He's still young; it may instead help him understand himself better.
"Beyond that, stop fighting over students from now on, especially core disciples. In the future, either both sides select core disciples together in their third year, or the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department select them together in their first year. Anyone suited to the Soul Tool Department should go there. The Martial Soul Department shouldn't hide them away either.
"We'll discuss this at a later Sea God Pavilion Meeting."
"Understood." Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er nodded in agreement.
At Cao's Rice Bowl, after returning to Shrek City, Huo Yuhao and Strawberry said goodbye to Yan Shaozhe and the others and returned to the restaurant, letting Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan know they were safe.
Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan arranged a welcome-home feast for Huo Yuhao and Strawberry, which simply meant everyone sitting down together for a good meal.
At the table, everyone enjoyed the food and discussed what had happened during their time away.
Naturally, though, Huo Yuhao and Strawberry did not mention having separated along the way. After all, that had been too dangerous. They only said that they had gone to the Far North, safely awakened the Martial Soul, and found Huo Yuhao a Soul Ring. Everything had gone smoothly, without any danger.
Most of their conversation concerned what had happened in the Far North.
The Ice God's Divine Seat had found a successor.
But to ordinary people like Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan, gods were merely figures from legends, a realm spoken of in stories. They had only heard of them and had never even seen one with their own eyes.
It was only the many major events of late that had brought gods, beings who had existed solely in legends, into their everyday conversations.
Whether it was the layer of snow that had covered the entire Douluo Continent over a year ago or the torrential rain that had swept across the whole plane not long before.
These events simply told ordinary people like them that gods truly existed, becoming topics of conversation over tea and after meals.
But Strawberry had witnessed it with her own eyes. That single distant glimpse of such peerless splendor in the Far North remained unforgettable to her even now.
"...I don't even know how to describe what it was like seeing her. It was so breathtaking. Although I only caught a glimpse from far away and couldn't even make out her true appearance, I just felt that she was beautiful. Or rather, that she ought to be the most beautiful and powerful being in this world.
"It's a shame I only saw her for such a short while. I feel that becoming a being like that is what someone should pursue all their life." Strawberry talked on and on, unaware that the person she was speaking of was sitting right beside her, quietly shoveling rice from his bowl.
"All right, all right. A lifelong pursuit, indeed. Having aspirations is a good thing, but you have to accept reality too. Find yourself a boyfriend and bring him home for us to have a look at, then go pursue that." Watching Strawberry's starry eyes, as though her entire heart were about to be swept away by that being she had never met, Aunt Lan immediately spoke in exasperation.
"Mom. Can you stop being so worldly?" Strawberry was rather speechless. This again. Did her mother have nothing else to talk about with her lately?
Aunt Lan gave a light snort. "Because your mother is a worldly person. Speaking of which, doesn't your Shrek Academy have that Sea God's Fate matchmaking event? You're attending this year and finding yourself a partner. I'm telling you, if you don't bring a partner home afterward, don't bother coming back."
"Then I won't come back. I can use the time to cultivate in seclusion and break through to Soul Saint sooner." Her mother's constant urging had stirred Strawberry's rebellious streak too.
Watching the scene that had lately played out almost every time Strawberry came home, Huo Yuhao had no idea how to join in. No matter how the conversation went, it seemed to follow the same routine every time.
After the meal, since he had only just returned that day, Uncle Cao and Aunt Lan did not ask Huo Yuhao to work. He returned to his room early and made certain no one else was nearby before sitting cross-legged on his bed. Instead of cultivating as usual, however, he raised his hand slightly. A green branch continuously radiating a vast aura of life appeared in his palm.
This was the budding branch of the Life Tree bestowed by the Goddess of Life.
As the Ice God had said, Huo Yun had ultimately given it to Huo Yuhao.
According to Huo Yun, even if they planted it on the Douluo Plane now, its aura of life would ultimately only benefit others. It would be better to let Huo Yuhao absorb it and deepen his foundations.
"Mom, Teacher, I'm ready," Huo Yuhao called to Huo Yun and Electrolux in his mind.
They had given him this budding branch of the Life Tree, but Huo Yuhao did not know how to use it. Huo Yun and Electrolux had only said they would teach him after they returned.
"Just place it against your chest. Hold your breath and focus your mind. Leave the rest to us." Huo Yun and Electrolux spoke at the same time, their answers identical as well.
"All right," Huo Yuhao answered, pressing the Life Tree's budding branch against his chest.
When the bud touched his skin, the first thing he felt was a gentle warmth. Immediately afterward, a vast surge of Soul Power radiated from his chest, flowing out through the acupoint there and into the Life Tree's budding branch pressed against it.
In an instant, the Life Tree's budding branch erupted with dazzling green light. A surge of vibrant vitality, concentrated to the utmost, instantly poured through Huo Yuhao's chest into his body.
In that instant, Huo Yuhao's entire body was dyed green, and even his Sea of Consciousness was no exception.
At that moment, the intense green shrouded even the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Origin and the consciousness Huo Yun had left within Huo Yuhao.
An unprecedented feeling of ease spread throughout his body. Huo Yuhao felt as though every cell in his body were moaning in bliss, greedily absorbing the rich vitality emanating from the Life Tree's budding branch.
He seemed to see everything inside his body, and all of it had now turned a green brimming with life. His meridians grew more elastic, his internal organs became tougher, and his bones hardened. His entire being seemed to be undergoing a qualitative transformation.
The most obvious sensation came from his meridians. They had not been directly widened, but their constantly increasing resilience left Huo Yuhao utterly certain that they could withstand the impact of far greater Soul Power.
The green light continuously washed through his entire body, and traces of impurities began rapidly seeping from his pores.
Huo Yuhao had previously taken many medicines compounded from Heavenly Treasures, but those were all medicines Huo Yun had specifically sought out to assist his cultivation and nourish him as he trained.
Those medicines strengthened his foundations and nourished his vitality, but their effects unfolded slowly, gradually improving his potential without otherwise affecting him.
This time was different. The immense aura of life contained within the Life Tree's budding branch was like a pool of life-giving water, cleansing every corner of his body from the outside in.
This cleansing did not raise his cultivation, but it made Huo Yuhao feel as though his body had become as clear and translucent as green crystal.
Everything he had gained through two years of arduous cultivation seemed to meld together under the nourishment of that rich aura of life, becoming a unified whole.
Even many things he had failed to understand during his past cultivation suddenly became clear as his mind cleared.
Is this the marvelous power of vitality? Huo Yuhao was filled with delighted surprise. Through constant cultivation and study, his horizons had long since broadened considerably.
The Life Tree's budding branch had nourished his body for only a brief time, yet he could clearly feel that all the tonics he had taken in the past combined could not match the effects of that fleeting moment. In particular, that sensation of everything suddenly falling into place was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
This nourishment made him feel as though his entire body had entered a hot spring. Even his mind felt extraordinarily at ease.
It was not just Huo Yuhao. Even the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Origin within him felt indescribably comfortable beneath the washing flow of life force.
While Huo Yuhao was immersed in the way that vitality was improving his body, the branch he had placed against his chest slowly seemed to liquefy, merging into his body.
Then Huo Yuhao felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. In the end, immersed in that comfort, he lay down on his side on the bed and fell asleep.
But after he fell asleep, the changes in his body did not stop.
At his chest, the Life Tree's budding branch began putting out tiny roots, which spread and ultimately took root inside his body.
The sound of his heartbeat grew ever louder. Washed by that immense life force, wisps of crimson aura even began radiating from Huo Yuhao's body.
Huo Yun kept using her power to conceal the unusual phenomena emanating from Huo Yuhao, preventing them from alerting anyone else.
When she saw the crimson aura radiating from Huo Yuhao, she could not help chuckling. "To think Yuhao can already give off blood energy after only just merging with the Life Tree's budding branch. Although he'll have to supply it when he cultivates from now on, the aura of life it feeds back to him will benefit him for the rest of his life.
"Still, having Yuhao nurture the Life Tree's budding branch alone will indeed slow his cultivation somewhat. But that's better than feeding a spineless coward."
At the mention of that spineless coward, Huo Yun seemed to sense something. Looking toward Shrek Academy, she snorted coldly. "Get lost. What the fuck are you looking at? This aura of life isn't for you."
"It's wasted on a single person." Just then, an aged voice reached Huo Yun's ears.
"That's still better than giving it to a spineless coward like you. When I asked you to help nurture the Child of Destiny before, you wouldn't help. Now you want to snatch something good from my hands? Not a chance," Huo Yun retorted irritably.
At those words, the aged voice gave no reply, as though it had vanished completely.
Huo Yun paid it no further mind either. He was merely a spineless coward who had long since surrendered out of fear of his opponent's strength, unaware that the man had never intended to leave him a way to survive in the first place. Tang San had long since made arrangements for the position he represented.
His unwillingness to struggle did not mean Huo Yun was unwilling, nor did it mean the Douluo Consciousness was unwilling. There were still people in this world who refused to kneel.
Besides, could he survive simply by refusing to struggle? Knowing the original story's plot, Huo Yun could not help sneering.
He was merely waiting for a slow death.
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