Tang Ya watched helplessly as the Mandala Snake lunged at her. Her body went rigid in an instant, and she stood rooted to the spot as though a spell had frozen her in place.
Fear engulfed her like a tidal wave, leaving her mind blank and her completely unable to react. The sudden peril seemed to have stunned her senseless.
At that critical moment, Huo Yuhao witnessed everything from a tree. After all, she had been his friend in his previous life, and he could not stand by and watch her come to harm.
There was no time to think. He kicked hard against the trunk and sprang from the tree like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Just as the Mandala Snake was about to strike Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao arrived in a flash, moving with nimble speed.
He spun, raised his left leg high, and chopped it down at the Mandala Snake with fierce force.
The tremendous force behind the kick sent the Mandala Snake flying, rolling several times across the ground.
Immediately afterward, Huo Yuhao rapidly chanted an incantation. As his voice rang out, the Soul Ring on his body slowly floated up, giving off a dazzling light.
At the same time, the surrounding air rapidly cooled. Several sharp ice spikes condensed out of the air and shot toward the Mandala Snake.
The ice spikes came with ferocious force, engulfing the Mandala Snake in an instant. After a series of agonized roars, the Mandala Snake finally fell still under the assault, though it had one breath left. He had never intended to take this Soul Ring.
Bei Bei rushed over in a panic and carefully helped Tang Ya up from the ground. His face full of concern, he asked, "Xiao Ya, are you all right?"
Hearing Bei Bei's voice, Tang Ya slowly came back to her senses, a trace of fear still lingering in her eyes. She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said slowly, "I'm all right."
Bei Bei helped Tang Ya over to Huo Yuhao, his gratitude plain on his face. "Thank you for stepping in and saving Xiao Ya's life, little brother. If not for you, Xiao Ya would really have been in danger this time."
Seeing who had come, Huo Yuhao smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "It was nothing. You two don't need to be so polite."
Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao and continued, "Hello, my name is Bei Bei, and this is Tang Ya." After politely introducing Tang Ya, he asked curiously, "May I ask your name, little brother?"
Huo Yuhao answered slowly, "My name is Huo Yuhao." Then he pointed at the half-dead Mandala Snake and said, "This Soul Ring is yours, right?"
"This Mandala Snake isn't completely dead yet."
Bei Bei nodded. "Yes, we really need this Soul Ring to improve our strength. Please let us have it, little brother. We'll definitely compensate you with something else."
"Compensate me?" Huo Yuhao was briefly taken aback and quickly said, "That won't be necessary."
By the time Tang Ya had finished absorbing the Soul Ring, the sun was sinking in the west, and a brilliant sunset colored the horizon. The fading light of dusk spilled over the earth, gilding everything around them. The group then set off on the journey back, walking side by side along the road.
As they walked, Tang Ya suddenly stopped and looked at Huo Yuhao, her eyes full of anticipation. "Little brother, you're so capable. Join our Tang Sect! Our ancestor was none other than the famous Sea God Tang San!"
"Ten thousand years ago, the Tang Sect was the number one sect under heaven on the Douluo Continent, renowned far and wide. If you join, we'll teach you the cultivation techniques exclusive to the Tang Sect. Besides, you're so young. Once you join the sect, we can all look after one another."
Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback by Tang Ya's words. Memories of the Tang Sect's past surfaced in his mind, and a barely perceptible sneer suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He quickly recovered and politely declined. "I've heard some legends about the Tang Sect before, but I don't plan to join a sect for the time being. Sorry, both of you."
Seeing that the atmosphere had grown awkward, Bei Bei hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "If you don't want to join, Brother Huo, we won't force you. If you ever need help in the future, you can come find us at Shrek Academy. If it's within our power, we'll definitely consider it our duty to help."
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment, then said, "There is something I'd like to ask you two for help with. I'm on my way to Shrek Academy, but I'm not very familiar with some of the admission procedures, and I'm also missing something important."
"You're both students at Shrek Academy. Is there any way you could help me?"
"Brother Huo, you must be talking about a letter of recommendation from a city lord, right?"
Bei Bei pondered the matter and, after weighing it over, glanced at Tang Ya. Then he said, "Xiao Ya is very important to me. You saved her life, so I'll agree to your request and help you take care of it."
Then he added sincerely, "Still, I truly hope you'll join our sect. The Tang Sect's doors are always open to you."
In truth, with Huo Yuhao's abilities, he could have entered Shrek Academy even without their help.
Forging a letter of recommendation would have been as easy as turning over his hand. After all, in his previous life, he had held positions including Sea God Pavilion Master and Spirit Pagoda Master. Nothing could have been simpler for him than forging a letter.
It just so happened that he needed an opportunity to enter the academy now, and he did not want to go to all that trouble. He might as well have Bei Bei and Tang Ya take him in directly, which would also save him quite a bit of trouble.
The next day, the group hurried toward Shrek Academy. They traveled in haste and made few stops along the way.
Most of the Star Dou Great Forest lay within the Star Luo Empire, with only a small portion extending into the Heavenly Soul Empire. Shrek Academy was situated to the northwest of the Star Dou Great Forest, not too far from it.
"We're almost at Shrek Academy."
A hint of excitement colored Tang Ya's voice. She turned to Huo Yuhao and continued, "Yuhao, our Tang Sect's sect master and spouse both came from Shrek Academy! They were also members of the Shrek Seven Devils, and most of the Shrek Seven Devils joined our Tang Sect as well."
As Tang Ya spoke, she watched Huo Yuhao's expression. Clearly, she had not given up on bringing him into the Tang Sect.
Huo Yuhao naturally understood what she had in mind. He merely gave a polite, perfunctory smile and said nothing.
Before long, they arrived at Shrek Academy's eastern city gate. Huo Yuhao knew the registration procedures better than anyone; after all, in his previous life, he had known everything here like the back of his hand.
What was more, Bei Bei and Tang Ya were accompanying him this time, so the entire registration process went smoothly and did not take long.
After registering, they continued into the academy. Before they had gone far, several towering statues appeared ahead, solemn and imposing in the sunlight. Huo Yuhao was extremely familiar with their faces; in his previous life, he had passed in and out of the academy every day and seen them countless times.
Bei Bei was like a conscientious tour guide, giving Huo Yuhao an endless stream of introductions. "Yuhao, look at the first three statues. The one in the middle is Flender, the first dean of our Shrek Academy."
"Back then, he founded Shrek Academy single-handedly, providing a cradle of growth for countless Soul Masters. The one on the left is Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang. He was also one of the ancestors of our Tang Sect. Grandmaster created the foundation for teaching the various branches of Martial Souls at Shrek Academy and proposed the ten core theories of the Martial Soul world."
"It's no exaggeration to say that the Shrek Seven Devils could never have achieved what they did without Grandmaster's dedicated guidance. And the one on the right is Grandmaster's wife, Liu Erlong."
Bei Bei was still enthusiastically carrying on with his introductions.
But Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed fiercely on one of the seven statues behind them. Hatred blazed in his eyes, as though it might at any moment spread and engulf everything around him.
He swore silently to himself, Tang San, one day I'll tear you limb from limb and use your blood to pay tribute to my past, to avenge the killing of my teacher and me! Tang San's statue wore a smile, its gaze profound.
The day I become a god again will be the day you die, Tang San. I'll make everyone around you-your family, your friends, your parents-be buried with you.