Speaking of this, Huo Yuhao sneered, "Perhaps I was expecting too much. Everyone has their own selfish desires, but in my opinion, Shrek is just a gathering place for elites. They don't have the ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, nor can they turn mediocrity into genius. Those who have achieved success, which of them wasn't already exceptionally talented? Would they have been wasted if they were at another academy? What Shrek relies on is nothing more than the reputation of the original Shrek Seven Devils. Would Sea God Tang San have lived a mediocre life if he hadn't joined Shrek? Heh, heh heh."
"And there's something else we might have all forgotten. Before the Heaven Dou Empire split, Shrek Academy's full name was the Heaven Dou Royal Shrek Advanced Soul Master Academy."
Huo Yuhao's words were like a wake-up call, deeply shocking Jiang Nannan. She stood there, stunned, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.
Recalling the past, everything aligned with what Huo Yuhao had said. Since when had she started valuing that so-called glory so much?
She quickly caught up to Huo Yuhao and bowed deeply, "Thank you for telling me so much; I've learned a lot." However, Jiang Nannan forgot that she was wearing a low-cut dress today, and with that bow, a large expanse of her fair skin was exposed.
This gratitude... is really white. Ah, no, it's deep. No, that's wrong. She's clearly sincere. Feeling a little guilty, Huo Yuhao turned his head away from Jiang Nannan and scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, putting it in his mouth to cool down.
"You're welcome. You should thank yourself for being of commoner descent," Huo Yuhao chuckled. He knew Jiang Nannan's past. She was of commoner origin, but she had been forced to marry Xu Sanshi to save her critically ill mother, which was a pity.
Perhaps many people would immediately think she was impure and didn't love herself, but Huo Yuhao, who had experienced something similar, didn't think so. He had once personally experienced that feeling of helplessness.
Therefore, he was willing to give Jiang Nannan some guidance. He didn't want such a kind girl to become a tool for Shrek and lose herself.
However, what Huo Yuhao didn't know was that his words were heard, word for word, by someone in a corner.
At this moment, Xuanzi felt that the fine wine had no taste, and the chicken in his mouth was like chewing wax. He wasn't deliberately monitoring Huo Yuhao; he just happened to see him and paid a little more attention. He happened to overhear the conversation between Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan.
"Zhou Yi, what a fool." Xuanzi was furious. This was simply a single mouse dropping ruining the whole pot of soup. He knew she was disobedient before, but the academy had turned a blind eye because her husband was Fan Yu from the Soul Guidance Department. He couldn't indulge that old hag's reckless behavior anymore after returning this time.
Xuanzi thought resentfully, automatically ignoring the problems within Shrek itself and blaming all the mistakes on Zhou Yi alone.
He completely forgot that Zhou Yi's behavior wasn't an isolated case, and it was also something he, and even the entire Inner Court and Sea God Pavilion, had tacitly approved.
"So, it's understandable that you left the academy, Yuhao, but why did you join the Body Sect?" This was also what Jiang Nannan most wanted to know. Honestly, since the last time she heard Wang Yan describe the Body Sect's past actions, Jiang Nannan deeply loathed this sect. They caused the suffering of countless lives for their own selfish interests; they were all a bunch of bad people.
Huo Yuhao could feel Jiang Nannan's hostility towards the Body Sect and guessed the reason. "I joined the sect when I was in the academy. My master approached me personally. Do you think I had a choice?"
Jiang Nannan fell silent. Even though she was inexperienced, she knew about the policies of major sects towards commoners: either recruit or eliminate. Especially a domineering sect like the Body Sect.
It wasn't that Huo Yuhao wanted to smear his own sect; the facts were just that way. Don't think that because Undying Poison treated Huo Yuhao well, he was a good person. In this world of the survival of the fittest, those with soft hearts would have been devoured long ago.
Where there is light, there is darkness. Any major power would have its share of dirty dealings, and the Body Sect was no exception. This couldn't be denied, but it couldn't be condemned with a single stroke either. Huo Yuhao wasn't the type to think that his side were all good people and his enemies were all evil.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao changed the subject. "But after getting along with him for a while, my master treats me like his own. Those unpleasant feelings from before have long since dissipated. Without my master, I don't know how long it would have taken me to get this far."
"And without my master, the moment I revealed my Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, I would have been on some people's kill list. You might not even be seeing me right now."
In fact, if it weren't for Undying Poison backing him, Huo Yuhao wouldn't have participated in the Soul Master Tournament in the first place.
Jiang Nannan tilted her head, feeling that Huo Yuhao was being a bit smug. "That's true. If you hadn't become his disciple, where would you have gotten a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"
Her tone was a little sour. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, something she didn't even dare dream of. After all, she was just a commoner.
Huo Yuhao's words came from the heart. Perhaps in the eyes of most people, Undying Poison was a superior Title Douluo, the Sect Master. But in treating Huo Yuhao as a disciple, he was truly impeccable. He gave him the inheritance mark, helped him with a second Martial Soul awakening, and tossed out ten million gold soul coins without batting an eye.
Furthermore, after Huo Yuhao revealed his hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone today, Undying Poison didn't press him for answers. Instead, he fiercely protected his disciple, suppressing all the troublemakers.
What more could Huo Yuhao ask for in a master? Even if Huo Yuhao's heart was as cold as ice, it should have melted. The reason Huo Yuhao accepted the ten million today was because he already owed Undying Poison and the Body Sect too much. As the saying goes, "Once you have many lice, you don't itch; once you owe a lot of debt, you don't worry." He could only repay these debts slowly in the future.
Although there was no need to be so clear between master and disciple, Huo Yuhao couldn't allow himself to always be the one taking.
Looking at the silent Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao said softly, "Sister Nannan, you seem to hate our Body Sect?"
Jiang Nannan suddenly snapped back to reality. She had been too obvious. "Our Body Sect," Huo Yuhao had just said. Indeed, Huo Yuhao was the Body Sect's young sect master. Wasn't she courting death by being so open in front of him?
Jiang Nannan looked nervous, her eyes darting around. She waved her hands in a panic, saying, "No, of course not. I'm just a commoner, and I have nothing to do with a big sect like the Body Sect."
"Sister Nannan, there's no need to be nervous. I'm not blaming you. I suppose you were misled by someone. If I'm not mistaken, someone told you that three thousand years ago, our Body Sect sent many Title Douluo into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, which angered the Soul Beast overlords in the depths of the forest, leading to a war between Soul Beasts and humans, right?"
"How did you know?" Jiang Nannan asked in astonishment, but she regretted it as soon as she finished speaking. Wasn't that the same as admitting it?
Huo Yuhao suddenly sneered, "Although the Body Sect hasn't done any good deeds, we can't be considered to have committed numerous evils. The incident was indeed caused by the sect, but the sect has also tried its best to compensate. The sect resisted the Soul Beasts, and countless disciples died in battle."
"But some people twisted the facts, defining my sect as murderers. Furthermore, some people took advantage of the sect's weakness and stood at the moral high ground, demanding that the sect's disciples not hunt the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. What's the logic behind that? Is the Star Dou Great Forest their backyard?"
"They can light fires, but we can't even light a lamp. Others can hunt Soul Beasts, but the Body Sect can't? If we hunt Soul Beasts, we're committing heinous crimes and becoming villains?"
"Sister Nannan, let me ask you, would you give up cultivation because you're worried about the Soul Beasts' revenge? Would you give up hunting Soul Beasts?" Huo Yuhao stared intently at Jiang Nannan.
Jiang Nannan lowered her head in shame, not daring to look at Huo Yuhao. She realized at this moment that she had been led astray by Wang Yan. Yes, Soul Masters needed to hunt Soul Beasts to cultivate. Why could they, at Shrek Academy, hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, but others couldn't?
Standing there, Jiang Nannan thought of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring that had appeared on the dean's body, and then of the two new students who had been killed by Ma Xiaotao.
Jiang Nannan smiled self-deprecatingly. Without any opinions of her own, she wasn't as clear-sighted as a child. It was time for a change. Looking at the young man who was walking further and further away, Jiang Nannan secretly made a decision in her heart.
Sensing that Jiang Nannan hadn't followed, Huo Yuhao didn't bother with her anymore. He'd said enough; he'd done all he could. If Jiang Nannan still refused to see reason, there was nothing more he could do. After all, you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.
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(End of Chapter)