Outside Suotuo City, dusk was deepening. Huo Yuhao stood on a narrow path amid a crisscross of fields, his brow slightly furrowed. Shrek Academy's name would resound like thunder in later generations, but now it was like a mysterious island hidden in the mist, its whereabouts hard to trace.
Following the scattered clues he had gathered through inquiries, he repeatedly checked his way through the maze of streets and villages before finally pinning down its approximate location.
Before setting out, Huo Yuhao had used a profound technique to quietly reshape his face. His ink-black hair was loosely tied back, and flecks of golden light shimmered in his eyes. His black robe accentuated the cold, aloof bearing that surrounded him, while his sharply defined features and handsome face were in no way inferior to "Tang Wu's."
"After leaving Suotuo City's south gate, I should find it soon enough..." he murmured. His gaze swept over the vast farmland before him, but apart from waves of rice swaying in the wind, there was no sign of a building.
He followed the winding ridges between the fields and passed several scattered farmhouses. At last, a little over a li away, an inconspicuous village came into view.
When he drew closer, he saw a weathered, faded wooden sign hanging crookedly on a low courtyard wall. The characters "Shrek Academy" were blurred, but still just legible.
Huo Yuhao could not help raising an eyebrow. The sight before him was vastly different from what he remembered: crude thatched roofs and crumbling stone walls. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he could scarcely have connected this shabby courtyard with the elite academy whose fame would one day shake the continent.
A winding line coiled along the dirt road like a long gray snake. Parents clutched their children's hands, the sweat on their palms soaking the children's rumpled collars.
The youngsters, who should have been full of anticipation for cultivation, now hung their heads and curled their lips at the crooked wooden stakes and drafty fence in the courtyard. Their looks of disdain had almost taken on substance.
The parents, on the other hand, gazed at the white-haired old man in the bamboo chair, who was waving a battered cattail-leaf fan. Their eyes were full of ingratiation and hope.
"I want to register!" A burly man with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear dragged his son through the crowd to the table. His rough palm slapped the dusty wood, making the faded registration forms rustle.
The old man did not even raise his eyelids. Pointing to the side with a finger like a withered twig, he said, "The wooden box is over there. Ten gold coins." When the weighty coins fell into the box with a crisp clatter, the boy straightened his back and puffed out his chest.
But the old man merely felt the boy's wrist, then waved him away impatiently. "Unqualified." "Why?" The veins stood out on the man's neck. "My boy clearly meets every one of your admission requirements!"
The old man leisurely picked at the dirt beneath his nails and sneered. "Shrek takes monsters, not mediocrities. If you don't even understand that, go home and take up a hoe while you still can."
Just as the man's face reddened and he prepared to argue, a cold flash of white light suddenly burst open in the center of the courtyard. Dai Mubai instantly activated his Martial Soul, and three Soul Rings slowly rose around him.
Two Hundred-Year Soul Rings and one Thousand-Year Soul Ring made the man's eyes widen; he knew he could not afford to provoke him. Even the noisy cicadas fell abruptly silent. The man opened his mouth, then finally dragged his son back into the crowd with his tail between his legs.
Huo Yuhao leaned against the crooked courtyard wall, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the pattern of his Red Water Chestnut Martial Soul inside his sleeve. To him, the farce was no more than an uneventful little interlude, until two familiar figures entered his view. Tang San was looking down, listening to Xiao Wu whisper in his ear, while the girl bounced and gestured, the pink ribbon in her hair fluttering in the wind and undisguised affection filling her eyes.
Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted slightly, and his lips curved into a dangerous smile. Beyond the shackles of time and space, fate had pushed him to the very beginning of the story.
The urge to kill rose and was swiftly suppressed. He sneered inwardly. If I kill Tang San now, the history of the future will surely collapse. When that happens, whether I'll even exist will be an open question. (I definitely can't kill him. A time paradox like that might cause me not to exist because of the history I'd be absent from. That really would be more trouble than it's worth.)
But... Having a good "spar" (giving him a vicious beating) shouldn't count as breaking the laws of time and space, right? (I've already traveled through time, so it'd be a real pity not to beat him up at least once.) He rubbed his knuckles, which gave a faint crack.
When Tang San and Xiao Wu stepped forward side by side, the white-haired old man's cloudy eyes shifted. He glanced over the two of them, then waved them through.
When Huo Yuhao stepped forward and gave his Martial Soul as "Red Water Chestnut," the old man took his wrist as a matter of routine. He let him in without difficulty. Huo Yuhao's Soul Power was originally around level twenty, but his strength was another matter; a little trick to deceive the eye was enough to fool the old man.
As the assessment proceeded stage by stage, Huo Yuhao's patience gradually wore thin. When it came time to test Soul Power, a brilliant light suddenly erupted around him, and level twenty-eight Soul Power burst forth like a tide.
Fallen leaves in the courtyard were swept into the air by the powerful blast. The onlookers were visibly shocked, and cries of amazement rose and fell, echoing through the crude courtyard.
In the blink of an eye, they reached the fourth trial, where the Immovable Wisdom King, Zhao Wuji, stood like a mountain in the center of the grounds. Though this stocky Soul Master was not particularly tall, his body was packed with thick muscles, and his imposing presence was like that of a giant beast lying in wait.
His gaze flashed like lightning as he swept it over the five youngsters before him. "Five above level twenty-five. Good, very good. It seems our academy has found some remarkable Little Monsters this year. But-"
Changing tack, he took a stick of sandalwood incense from his waist and lit it. "This final trial won't be so easy. Within the time it takes this incense stick to burn, as long as one of you can withstand my attacks, all of you pass!"
While Tang San and the others gathered to discuss their strategy in low voices, Huo Yuhao leaned against the wall with his arms folded, his expression indifferent. He watched his companions' tense expressions coldly and scoffed inwardly. Did entering Shrek Academy back then really require such a tedious test? A dull formality like this is such a waste of time.
Bored out of his mind, he kicked aside a pebble at his feet, considering how he would "toy with" everyone later. His lips curled into a playful smile without his noticing.
The battle had already erupted like a clap of thunder. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass burst from the earth, Xiao Wu's rabbit ears trembled as she darted forward, and the other three each used Martial Soul Possession. Five figures surrounded Zhao Wuji in a fan formation. Surging Soul Power whipped dust into the air, while the clash of fists and feet and the thunder of Soul Skills shook dead branches from a withered tree in the courtyard's corner.
Zhao Wuji swung his thick arms with a fierce rush of wind, easily neutralizing the youngsters' attacks. In the heat of battle, however, he suddenly frowned: there was always an empty spot in the formation that was supposed to surround him with five people.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Huo Yuhao leaning against a stone mill with his arms folded, his black robe flapping in the gusts, a hint of a smile on his lips. Only when Zhao Wuji's attacks headed for Tang San did Huo Yuhao lazily raise a hand. He seemed to be blocking them, but in truth he was using their force against them, discreetly redirecting the fierce attacks toward Tang San.
The Blue Silver Grass shattered inch by inch under the crushing pressure. Tang San rolled desperately out of the way of flying stones, the web between his thumb and forefinger numb from the impact despite his Mysterious Jade Hand. He raised his head, panting, and met Huo Yuhao's careless gaze.
There was a trace of mockery in that gaze, and beneath it a hint of calculation, as though the battle before him were no more than a farce for his own amusement. Xiao Wu's fair face flushed red with anxiety. Several times she tried to rush over and confront him, only to be forced back again and again by Zhao Wuji's attacks.
Amid the flying dust, Tang San's green robes were already streaked with blood. Even the Tang Sect Secret Arts, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Purple Demon Eye, used together, could barely fend off the relentless attacks.
Huo Yuhao, by contrast, had only a few specks of mud on the hem of his black robe. Not a hair was out of place as he strolled around the edge of the battlefield as though taking a leisurely walk, casually flicking out a burst of force now and then to direct danger precisely toward Tang San.
"Too much! What kind of teammate is that?!" The candidates watching were outraged, their angry shouts rising one after another. Huo Yuhao merely raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Under their furious stares, he leisurely turned in a circle, deliberately showing everyone his undamaged robes. His manner seemed to taunt them: "Come and hit me if you can! Come on, hit me!"
He grumbled inwardly, I can't help it. My original reason for entering Shrek was to give Tang San and Xiao Wu a good thrashing. I didn't expect one trial after another. What a nuisance. I finally found an easy way to enjoy myself in body and mind, and now you're all cursing me for setting people up.
Go on, curse me. I don't care anyway. I've already achieved my goal.
The Soul Rings around Zhao Wuji trembled violently, and his immense Soul Power burst forth as though it had substance, cracking the ground beneath his feet in a spiderweb pattern. Veins bulged on his neck as his iron-tower frame swung abruptly toward Huo Yuhao.
His deafening roar nearly ripped the thatched roof off. "I've seen so many students at Shrek-defiant ones, slippery ones-but never a shameless wretch like you! Instead of trying to pass, you use your teammates as shields, and you even have the nerve to look so pleased with yourself!"
Huo Yuhao brushed nonexistent dust from his black robe and calmly met Zhao Wuji's fiery gaze. His tone was flippant, as though he were chatting about everyday matters. "The battle between you and my fellow students is truly spectacular, Teacher. With my meager skills, joining in would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. I might as well watch from the side, ready to cheer you all on."
As he spoke, he even began to clap with an air of solemnity. The crisp applause was especially grating in the tense atmosphere.
"Shut up!" Zhao Wuji furiously swung a fist, and the gust it raised tossed Huo Yuhao's black hair into disarray. "Shrek's assessment is no game! If you rely on cheap tricks, don't ever think of setting foot in the academy!"
At that, an exaggerated look of surprise flashed across Huo Yuhao's face, followed by an expression of sudden understanding. "So I can't pass? Sorry to bother you, then. I'll just..." Before he finished speaking, he made as if to turn away.
His utter indifference completely ignited Zhao Wuji's fury and stirred the watching candidates to outrage as well. "Stop!" Zhao Wuji stepped forward like an enraged bear, making the ground rumble.
"From now on, the five of you will take turns fighting him one-on-one! If any of you can knock this brat down, you all pass!" He glared viciously at Huo Yuhao, then turned to Tang San and the others. "Don't hold back. Let this little bastard learn that Shrek's monsters aren't soft persimmons for anyone to bully!"