Chapter 11 – Shrek Is Just a Double-Standard Dog
At this moment, in the seats of Class 3, Grade 1, many students had already started whispering.
"He's so handsome, especially his eyes. It's like there's a galaxy inside them!"
"Exactly! And he's got such a unique temperament. I think I saw the Dean personally escorting him. He even got enrolled after the admissions period was over. Not only is he good-looking, but he has some serious backing."
"What should I do? I think I'm falling for him..."
"Careful, girl! The Empire's law doesn't mess around!"
Compared to the infatuated girls, many of the boys were unimpressed.
"Tch. So what if he's handsome? Just another pretty boy."
"His looks rival mine. He's a threat and must not be allowed to stay!"
"To be in the same class as me, he even resorted to being a transfer student? You, Huo Yuhao!"
Listening to the noisy chatter, Huo Yuhao twitched the corner of his mouth. He identified them as a bunch of cringy teenagers with a couple of girls thirsty for attention. Seems like student life is going to be easier than expected.
He stepped forward calmly.
"Hello everyone, my name is Huo Yuhao. I'm eleven years old. My martial soul is a spiritual-type body martial soul—Spirit Eye—with soul power at rank fifteen. I've never studied soul guidance devices before, but I hope to get along with all of you and make progress together."
He never thought that after so many years, he would have to give another self-introduction.
Welcomed by the curious gazes of his classmates, Huo Yuhao found his way to his seat. Teacher Xuan had wanted him to sit in the front, but he politely refused, choosing a quiet window seat in the back. It was peaceful, and he wouldn't be constantly under everyone's eyes.
Class began quickly.
At first, Huo Yuhao thought he might struggle to keep up, but as he watched the soul guidance device tutorial on the soul guidance screen, he realized the knowledge was quite basic.
After all, the semester had just started, and this was 1st Year. The lessons weren't advanced yet.
It became clear to him: not every citizen of the Sun Moon Empire has access to complete soul guidance device knowledge from birth.
To keep everyone on the same page and accommodate different backgrounds, the academy started all students—regardless of their initial soul engineer level—with the fundamentals. Only those with exceptional talent and solid basics would be promoted early.
Just like the pair of siblings from the Hongchen Family, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, whom he had overheard people talking about in the cafeteria earlier.
These two were already Level 3 Soul Engineers upon entry. Now, at just thirteen, nearly fourteen years old, they were already Level 4 Soul Engineers—just a step away from reaching Level 5. Both were hailed as once-in-a-millennium talents of the Sun Moon Empire. Once they achieved Level 5 Soul Engineer, they'd easily qualify for advanced studies at Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Not only that, the siblings were also the brightest stars of the teaching department—absolute geniuses.
Xiao Hongchen: a Level 47 attack system Soul Ancestor, martial soul: Three-Legged Golden Toad.
Meng Hongchen: a Level 46 control system Soul Ancestor, martial soul: Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, with dual attributes of ice and poison.
Even in Shrek Academy, they would be top-tier talents.
But here's the thing...
'So when Shrek students take Mystic Water Pills and Soul Ascension Pills, it's called strengthening their foundation and improving their aptitude. But when we are in the Sun Moon Empire, using medicinal pills, it's considered pulling up seedlings to help them grow, leading to an unstable foundation?'
'Please! I, Huo Yuhao, took three of them in succession, and my foundation is rock-solid. My combat power is off the charts! What a bunch of hypocrites—double-standard dogs!'
"Peh!"
"Huo Yuhao, please answer the next question."
Teacher Xuan's voice snapped him back to reality.
Huo Yuhao stood up calmly and waited for the question.
"Yuhao, the teacher knows you've never had contact with soul guidance devices before. That's why I'd like to hear your opinion—do you believe the future belongs to soul masters or soul engineers?"
All eyes turned to him. Everyone could tell he wasn't a native of the Sun Moon Empire. After all, the teacher had said he had no experience with soul guidance devices—which was unheard of here, where soul guidance technology dominated.
Huo Yuhao didn't respond immediately. He thought for a moment, then spoke:
"Teacher, I can't say for sure what the future holds. But as soul guidance technology continues to develop, I believe it will increasingly benefit the common people. If one day, soul guidance devices can operate without relying on soul power as an energy source, then perhaps that would be the true dawn of a soul tool era."
He paused, then added:
"In my opinion, no matter how powerful a soul master becomes, or how advanced a soul engineer becomes, they are both limited by the level of their soul power. And to raise soul power, both still require soul rings. But obtaining soul rings still involves hunting soul beasts."
"The more soul masters and soul engineers there are, the fewer soul beasts survive. That conflict is nearly impossible to reconcile. But if soul beasts continue to decline, then both soul masters and engineers will inevitably hit a ceiling. One day, soul beasts may lose their place in the world. And when that day comes, does it matter whether you're a soul master or a soul engineer?"
His words stunned the class.
They had never connected the survival of soul beasts with the advancement of soul masters and soul engineers. Was this too pessimistic?
After all, there were still many soul beasts in the world. Would it reach the point of extinction?
If Huo Yuhao had known what they were thinking, he would've given them a precise answer: ten thousand years.
But noticing their uneasy expressions, he added:
"Of course, that's just the most pessimistic outcome. As times change, one day we may find an alternative energy source. When that happens, soul engineers will have far more room for growth than soul masters."
"If soul masters are the privileged class of this world, then soul engineers—through their inventions—may bring real change to the common people. Soul masters contribute nothing to production, but soul engineers can transform society through technological revolutions. They offer hope for real progress."
After replacing the original Huo Yuhao, he had often wondered—was he born into this era by the will of the Douluo Plane itself?
Was he the answer to usher in the soul guidance device age?
It all felt too convenient—his mutated spiritual-type body martial soul was perfect for soul guidance device research, and then he immediately encountered the million-year spiritual beast, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, not to mention receiving a fragment of Electrolux's soul from across time and space.
It was like fate was spoon-feeding him opportunities. It wasn't impossible that some higher force was guiding all this.
Teacher Xuan silently wrote on a piece of paper at the podium:
"Wisdom far beyond his peers. Clear self-awareness. Impressive strategic vision."
By the time the students snapped out of their thoughts, Teacher Xuan smiled and waved at Huo Yuhao to take a seat.
"A very novel perspective, Yuhao. Even if you don't become a soul master or engineer, you may well have a future as an excellent strategist."
"Thank you for the compliment, Teacher." Huo Yuhao nodded calmly.
After all, this world still followed the rule of the strong. Even with the Sun Moon Empire's technological advancement, it remained a feudal aristocracy at its core.
In such a world, if you don't have personal power, what's the use of strategy? He wasn't trying to be some kind of War Goddess like Ju Zi.
Besides, if he ever did have ambitions to unite the continent, On War, The Influence of Sea Power, and The Command of the Air would be more than enough to dominate the lower- and mid-tier battlefields.
As for the current level of military strategy on the Douluo Continent? Honestly, he wouldn't even need to bring out The Art of War—their intelligence simply couldn't handle it.
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End of Chapter