Huo Tian had lain unconscious in the Golden Ancient Tree's secret chamber for three days and three nights. No one had disturbed him during those three days, letting him rest in peace.
"What happened to me... did the Evil Fire go out of control again?"
Aching all over, Huo Tian braced his hands against the bed and slowly sat up, his upper body completely bare and his face filled with melancholy.
The Evil Fire inside him had plagued him for seventeen years. Huo Tian had reincarnated into the Douluo Continent during the Peerless era, when becoming a god was harder than ascending to heaven.
In this era, Tang San had completely blocked the Douluo Plane's path to godhood for the sake of his ten-thousand-year plan. It was both tragic and lamentable.
"Luckily, the system is here. If I can't inherit a divine seat, can't I create my own godhood?"
Looking utterly lost, Huo Tian gazed at the wind in the Golden Ancient Tree, both bewildered and excited. For now, however, his main goal was to purge the Evil Fire within him.
"System, are you there?"
The system had arrived just as Huo Tian broke through to Soul Saint, truly delivering charcoal in the snow. Now he needed to study it properly.
[I'm here! The Disciple-Accepting System is at your service!]
A blue, high-tier system panel appeared out of thin air before Huo Tian. The system's energy took the form of a rice-ball kangaroo, floating before his eyes.
Huo Tian immediately tapped the system panel with his finger. For now, he could only select his personal profile panel. The other functions could not be unlocked yet; he had to complete the beginner mission.
[Name: Huo Tian] [Sex: male] [Cultivation: Quasi-Soul Saint]
"System, what is this beginner mission?"
Huo Tian stared blankly at the currently useless panel, swatting the system with his right hand to make it hurry up and issue the beginner mission.
[Host, your nerve is positively plump!] [Ding!] [Beginner mission successfully issued!] [System mission: Host, please accept Huo Yutong, daughter of the Douluo Plane, as your disciple and teach him the correct worldview, outlook on life, and values!] [Mission rewards: Five-Hundred-Thousand-Year Fire Sparrow Torso Bone, Vermilion Bird Domain!]
"These rewards are pretty good!"
"System! Are there any conditions for accepting disciples?"
"Huo Yuhao, Huo Yutong? This world's child of destiny is a girl?"
Huo Tian pressed his palms together and rubbed them, excitement appearing on his face. With the system, perhaps he could create his own godhood in the future.
[This system has three essential criteria for accepting disciples!] [First, great fortune.] [Second, exceptional cultivation talent.] [Third, the system hasn't thought of it yet!]
Huo Tian stared at the system panel, speechless. He would visit the White Tiger Duke's Mansion after obtaining his seventh soul ring, and buy the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife from the Star Luo Auction House while he was at it.
Huo Tian put on his red robe, rose, and left the secret chamber, heading toward the top floor of the Sea God Pavilion. As the next Sea God Pavilion Master, he could enter and leave the Sea God Pavilion at will.
Huo Tian followed the stairs inside the Golden Ancient Tree upward, reaching the top shortly afterward. The Sea God Pavilion's top floor was not very large, with only two rooms.
Huo Tian came to the door of Mu En's room and knocked gently. A surge of Soul Power from inside pushed the wooden door open automatically.
"Teacher!"
Huo Tian gave a disciple's bow to the old man inside, who already had one foot in the grave. Mu En sat upright in his wheelchair, his deep eyes gazing out the window at the Golden Ancient Tree, which radiated rich life elements.
"Xiaotian, you're here! Your cultivation has broken through to Soul Saint, too. I'll have Xuan Zi take you to hunt for your seventh soul ring in a moment!"
"For the next year, cultivate less and focus on resting and recuperating. Otherwise, the backlash from the Evil Fire inside you will grow even worse!"
Mu En turned his wheelchair around and looked at Huo Tian with a smile, then sighed deeply, troubled by his Evil Fire.
Shrek Academy had two disciples who could go berserk at any moment. Their Evil Fire went out of control from time to time, giving Mu En a real headache with worry. Over the years, Huo Tian and Ma Xiaotao had thrown the academy into such chaos that chickens flew and dogs jumped.
"Teacher! After absorbing my seventh soul ring, I'd like to travel the continent!"
Huo Tian strode up to Mu En and crouched down, bringing his eyes level with Mu En's.
"Of course. As you wish!"
"Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe are waiting for you downstairs. Go on!"
Mu En agreed to his request without a second thought. He knew Huo Tian's strength well enough. After speaking, he rested his hands on his thighs.
Huo Tian nodded, immediately rose, and headed downstairs. He followed the stairs down; the Sea God Pavilion's second floor housed the inner court's library, filled with the wealth Shrek had accumulated over ten thousand years.
"Brother Tian, y-you're here!"
A woman's enchanting voice rang out on the Sea God Pavilion's first floor, and a fiery-red figure lunged toward Huo Tian.
She was a seventeen-year-old girl with red hair reaching her waist, a beautiful, captivating face, and a red robe that accentuated a figure enough to make mouths water.
Huo Tian immediately dodged aside. Ma Xiaotao's lunge missed, and her little face reddened as she paced about with her hands on her hips.
"Greetings, Elder Xuan, Senior Brother!"
Huo Tian approached Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe and greeted them. Yan Shaozhe was Mu En's disciple, so there was nothing wrong with Huo Tian calling him Senior Brother.
Looking utterly disheveled, Xuan Zi sat in a chair, sprawled drunkenly over the conference table with a wine flask clutched tightly in his hand.
"Xiaotian, let's go!"
Seeing Xuan Zi like this, Yan Shaozhe sighed speechlessly. Huo Tian followed close behind Yan Shaozhe, while Xuan Zi stood, stretched, and followed them.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
Ma Xiaotao was still in a daze. Seeing Huo Tian leave, she immediately hurried after him.
Because Huo Tian and Ma Xiaotao came from the same place, and their Martial Souls were very similar, Ma Xiaotao had always harbored romantic feelings for Huo Tian.
But Huo Tian had always treated Ma Xiaotao as a younger sister, which distressed her immensely.
Huo Tian activated Martial Soul Possession. Vermilion Bird wings spread behind him, and as his Soul Power circulated, he shot into the sky.
Four figures flew above Sea God Island, their destination Blazing Fire Valley in the Star Dou Great Forest's Core Circle.
Shrek City was very close to the Star Dou Great Forest, and before long, they landed on its outskirts. After ten thousand years of development, Shrek Academy knew the Soul Beast habitats in the outer and mixed zones like the back of its hand.
"Xiaotian, the Soul Beast you need for your seventh soul ring this time is a hundred-and-fifty-thousand-year Blazing Fire Sparrow!"
"This Soul Beast only broke through recently, and he also has the bloodline of the ancient divine beast, the Vermilion Bird. He couldn't be more suitable."
With his hands clasped behind his back, Yan Shaozhe looked at Huo Tian in high spirits. This junior brother of his truly had extraordinary talent; his soul rings had been hundred-thousand-year ones starting from the sixth.
The four continued toward Blazing Fire Valley. Half an hour later, they finally arrived, and the temperature kept rising.
"Look at that big bird!"
Yan Shaozhe pushed aside the bushes beside him and pointed at the Blazing Fire Sparrow inside the cave. It was eight meters long, with a wingspan reaching fifteen meters, and its entire body was covered in golden-red feathers.
"Xiaotao, Xiaotian, you two wait here. Yan Shaozhe and I will go cripple it!"
Xuan Zi, who had been gloomy all along, suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice. He and Yan Shaozhe immediately left the spot.
"Xiaotao, can you still suppress the Evil Fire inside you?"
"I can still suppress it for now. What about you, Brother Tian?"
Ma Xiaotao moved close to Huo Tian, her eyes bright and limpid.