For the next three days, Huo Yuhao immersed himself almost entirely in the Lotus Sea of Divine Soul.
The first day's battle with Third Prince Nezha, was extremely difficult for him—the modified Fire-Tipped Spear was like an untamed wild horse, consuming a large amount of Soul Power with each swing, and he eventually succumbed to exhaustion. But the flames dancing in the boy's eyes were even more intense than the Samadhi True Fire.
Within the Lotus Sea of Divine Soul, Third Prince Nezha's Fire-Tipped Spear transformed into a Huo Yu. Huo Yuhao hastily swung his modified Fire-Tipped Spear to parry, the spear's interwoven ice and fire rays tracing a magnificent trajectory in the void.
However, each time their weapons clashed, he felt his Soul Power burst forth like a flood. "Too greedy!" Nezha knocked his weapon away with a spear, the tip pressed against his throat. "Trying to control ice and fire at the same time?"
"Learn to control one thing first; the union of two people is something you need to think about carefully!"
The next day, the situation subtly changed. Huo Yuhao's spear technique began to show some order, and the switching between ice and fire attributes became smoother. Although the consumption of Soul Power was still astonishing, at least the trajectory drawn by the spear tip was no longer chaotic.
Third Prince Nezha, saw this and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.
Huo Yuhao changed his strategy. He wanted to make full use of the characteristics of both sides, and importantly, not to use them simultaneously, but to cleverly switch between them during the battle to achieve a counterattack and catch the opponent off guard.
But he soon knelt on one knee, panting heavily—this delicate maneuver had consumed even more of his Soul Power than yesterday. "You've improved," Nezha said, a rare look of approval in his eyes, "But you're still far from it!"
By the third day, Huo Yuhao's progress was astonishing. He used every bit of his Soul Power with great care, and when Huo Yuhao raised the Fire-Tipped Spear again, the patterns on the spear suddenly lit up with a strange light.
The Fire-Tipped Spear seemed to come alive in his hands. In the trajectory of the spear tip, ice crystals and sparks coexisted and perished, forming a perfect balance.
When the final counterattack landed precisely on Nezha's throat, even the well-informed Third Prince couldn't help but applaud and praise, "Good lad, you've finally figured it out!" That night, the Sea of Consciousness transformed into a victory celebration, the aroma of roasted meat and the rich flavor of fine wine filling the entire space.
In reality, Ju Zi had been restless for the past three days. Her lab notebooks were filled with absent-minded doodles, and she had installed the soul guidance components backwards several times. What surprised her even more was that she had started to habitually bring an extra dinner—shrimp and eel stir-fry, sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed sea bass... changing the dishes every day, yet always managing to suit Huo Yuhao's taste.
"Thanks~" Every time Huo Yuhao woke up from his cultivation and received the food box, his bright smile made Ju Zi's heart skip a beat. She made excuses for herself, saying that she just didn't want to waste food, but she couldn't help but let her gaze drift to that corner.
On the third night, when Ju Zi pushed open the laboratory door with a food box in her arms, she was stunned by what she saw.
Huo Yuhao slumped in his chair, his cheeks flushed, his body reeking of alcohol, muttering drunken ramblings like "Hahaha, another cup." In reality, Huo Yuhao Huo Yuhao n't drunk at all, and he had set up a forbidden spell beforehand.
Even if one's soul is Soul Search, one's secrets will never be revealed; that's the essence of confidentiality.
Nezha had, of course, left himself a backup plan to prevent this guy from actually doing anything that would leak secrets, which is why he felt comfortable entrusting the item to him.
"Hey! You..." She had just gotten close when she was pulled into a strong embrace. Huo Yuhao held her like a large doll, rubbing his chin against the top of her head. "Smells so good... it smells like Ju Zi..."
"Let go of me!" Ju Zi struggled in embarrassment and anger, only to find that this drunkard was surprisingly strong. What was even more terrifying was that the more she twisted and turned, the tighter Huo Yuhao held her, until finally he simply wrapped her up in his coat.
"Don't go..." The drunken boy held her tightly, his hot breath spraying on her neck. Ju Zi was both ashamed and anxious, but she couldn't break free from this sudden embrace. In the end, she was held by Huo Yuhao and slept like that all night.
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a silvery glow on the two embracing figures, while the Soul Tool components in the corner of the laboratory shimmered with a faint blue light in the night.
The morning sunlight streamed through the laboratory's glass windows, casting a golden glow on the messy room. Huo Yuhao was rubbing his temples, trying to shake off his hangover headache, when he was suddenly startled by a rapid knocking on the door.
" Teacher Xuan is here really early today..." he muttered as he stood up, but froze on the spot the moment he opened the door.
Three unfamiliar faces stood outside the door, the burly young man at the head of the group almost blocking the entire doorway. His dark face gleamed healthily in the morning light, and his muscles were clearly defined beneath his tight school uniform, making him look like a black panther ready to pounce.
Those piercing eyes, sharp as a hawk's, swept across the laboratory.
Before Huo Yuhao could answer, a petite figure slipped under the burly man's arm. Though small in stature, the girl had a commanding presence. Standing at about 1.6 meters tall with bright, lively eyes, she looked like a cat with its fur standing on end when she stood with her hands on her hips. When she saw Ju Zi sleeping soundly on the sofa and Huo Yuhao standing to the side, her round eyes widened even more instantly.
"Oh my god! Sister Ju Zi!" she screamed and lunged at the sofa, her voice so shrill it hurt Huo Yuhao's eardrums.
The last boy to enter was tall and slender, slightly taller than Huo Yuhao. His loose hair shone brightly in the sunlight, and beneath his high-bridged nose were unfathomable eyes. Although he was handsome, he paled in comparison to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao searched his memory for information about the three people— Wang Shaojie, Ke Ke, and Zi Mu. Apart from Ke Ke, whom he vaguely remembered from his previous life as an exchange student, the other two were complete strangers to him.
At this moment, the three of them stared intently at the sleeping Ju Zi in Huo Yuhao's arms, their gazes so sharp they could pierce holes in him.
"Everyone, this is a misunderstanding, do you believe me?" Huo Yuhao smiled awkwardly, carefully trying to pull his hand out from under Ju Zi.
"Misunderstanding my foot!" Ke Ke's petite body erupted with a surprisingly loud voice as she rushed forward. "You dare bully Sister Ju Zi? You're asking for trouble!" She waved her little fists, looking ready to pounce at any moment.
Huo Yuhao quickly explained, "I'm Huo Yuhao, the new exchange student at Shrek. I don't know how things turned out like this..." He looked down at Ju Zi, who was still fast asleep in his arms, and said helplessly, "Can we wait until Ju Zi wakes up before we talk about it?"
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, trying his best to maintain his last bit of patience. "There is indeed a misunderstanding. Once Ju Zi Sister Ju wakes up, everything will naturally become clear."
"Misunderstanding my ass!" Wang Shaojie slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, his two-meter-tall frame looming over him like an iron tower. "I'm not blind! We only believe what we see with our own eyes. You little beast, you just need to be disciplined."
"You've only just arrived and you're already doing such despicable things. Your family didn't raise you properly, so I'm here to teach you a lesson."
Ke Ke's face turned red with anger. She stomped her feet and shouted, "Do you think we're all fools? Don't we understand the situation? Or do you want us to believe that Ju Zi ran into your arms on her own?" Her slender fingers almost poked Huo Yuhao's nose.
Zi Mu gracefully smoothed her long hair, but her voice was as cold as ice. " Shrek's exchange student, daring to be so presumptuous on your first day here?"