As the bell rang, even Wang Dong plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath.
Huo Yuhao simply shook his head and sat casually on the floor.
Seeing that all the students had collapsed, Zhou Yi waved her hand toward the distance. A man in elegant white robes floated toward them.
Two yellow, two purple, and three black rings,seven in total. A Soul Sage. His martial soul was the Tree of Life, a powerful support-type soul master.
When he released his martial soul's true form, countless leaves drifted down like feathers, landing softly on the exhausted students.
A cool, refreshing feeling spread through their bodies. Their damaged meridians and muscles, as well as the fatigue and minor injuries from the intense training, were rapidly healed.
As the saying goes, "a slap first, then a sweet date." Zhou Yi wanted to establish her authority in this first lesson, but not to the point of cruelty.
So she had used her connections through Fan Yu to invite this Soul Sage to assist.
Naturally, there would be no such luxury in future lessons. Zhou Yi herself was only a Soul Emperor from the outer court, while this man was an inner court Soul Sage,a very different level.
"Wow, the Tree of Life! That's impressive," Wang Dong said in amazement as his strength gradually returned.
Huo Yuhao glanced at her expression and couldn't help but doubt whether Tang San's spirit had once again lowered her IQ. Otherwise, how could the young princess of the Clear Sky Sect say something so naïve?
Seeing the teasing in Huo Yuhao's eyes, Wang Dong's face flushed. "What are you looking at? The Tree of Life martial soul really is rare! Aside from the Nine-Heart Begonia, it's one of the most powerful healing-type martial souls out there."
Once the healing was complete, the white-robed Soul Sage nodded briefly and left without a word to Zhou Yi, who bowed respectfully to him.
The students slowly got to their feet, marveling at the refreshing changes in their bodies. Zhou Yi's intimidating image from earlier was temporarily forgotten as they whispered among themselves.
That was exactly what Zhou Yi wanted. By alternating between strictness and leniency, these naïve children would soon fall into her rhythm. Once she expelled another "unqualified" student, her authority would be firmly established.
Because Huo Yuhao hadn't caused any incidents this time, Zhou Yi directly expelled a student whose physique was the weakest due to their martial soul.
"Alright, pack your things and get out," Zhou Yi said coldly.
"The rest of you, don't get too happy yet. My rule was that you had to keep running until the bell rang, and only then would I count your laps."
"Except for Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, everyone else failed. Normally, I'd punish all of you, but since this is your first day, I'll let it slide this time."
"But remember, the punishment still stands. I'm just postponing it. Understood?"
"Yes!" the class replied quickly.
"Good. Class dismissed. Take your iron vests back with you. Tomorrow, you'll have theory lessons with another teacher, but the day after tomorrow, I'll be back. I don't want to see any more useless trash by then."
With that, Zhou Yi turned and left, leaving behind a group of students sighing in relief.
"She's not that bad after all."
"Yeah, at least she didn't punish us again."
"Teacher Zhou seems kind of nice, actually."
Listening to these childish comments, Wang Dong, who had been warned by Huo Yuhao before, couldn't relax.
Although Zhou Yi had seemingly gone easy on them, she _had_ expelled one student,and according to her own rules, not the academy's. Yet no one seemed to notice.
Wang Dong frowned. How could everyone just accept her standards so easily and even think she was a "good teacher"?
Huo Yuhao patted her shoulder. "Alright, don't overthink it. Class is over. Let's go back. You've got plenty of time to figure it out later."
Back in the dormitory, Huo Yuhao grabbed his change of clothes and went to the public bathhouse, leaving Wang Dong alone in the room.
While washing up, Huo Yuhao's mind wandered.
"So that was a martial soul true form... But isn't it just projecting the structure of the martial soul outside the body, with soul power as energy and soul rings as the framework?"
"It seems to amplify the power of soul skills using that structure as a medium."
"But if that's all it is, couldn't I analyze and reconstruct someone else's martial soul true form,or even their martial soul itself,and use it to enhance my own skills?"
"Or who says the martial soul true form must be used by a soul master? What if I could imprint it as a soul tool core array instead? Would that replicate the same amplification?"
"And could the amplification stack with a user's real martial soul true form?"
His thoughts drifted on. After finishing his bath, Huo Yuhao sat outside the dorm, continuing to refine these ideas.
As for why he didn't go inside,it wasn't because he had any strange intentions. He simply wasn't interested in a twelve-year-old kid and didn't want unnecessary misunderstandings.
A while later, Wang Dong emerged, freshly washed and glowing. Dressed in a clean white shirt, her face was rosy, her pink-blue hair damp, and droplets of water clung to her cheeks as she dried her hair with a towel.
If he didn't know she was actually a girl, her androgynous charm would've made even Huo Yuhao want to say, "Bro, you smell nice."
But knowing her true identity, Huo Yuhao naturally had no improper thoughts. "Three years minimum, death penalty at most," he joked inwardly. No matter the world, his principles held firm.
"Done?" he asked casually, then walked past her into the room, tidied up his things, and left again.
His destination was the outer court library. He needed to record and organize as much valuable information as possible to plan his next steps.
Meanwhile, with the help of his new formations,the Level 1 Soul Power Aggregation Array and the Level 1 Soul Power Conversion Array,Tianmeng Iceworm had successfully merged their benefits.
This allowed Huo Yuhao's cultivation speed to increase significantly, though his internal soul power circulation had become more complex than ever.
"Alright, that's enough for today." Exhaling, he closed the book he had been pretending to read and borrowed several more before leaving.
By the time he returned to the dormitory, it was already night. Wang Dong was still awake, apparently waiting for him.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you asleep yet? We've got class tomorrow," Huo Yuhao asked, sitting down lazily.
"I was waiting for you. I have a few questions," Wang Dong said hesitantly.
"Alright," Huo Yuhao replied. "Ask away. Whether I answer depends on my mood."
Before they knew it, they were chatting late into the night. Starting from Zhou Yi and their classmates, the conversation drifted to families, nations, and even the entire world of soul masters.
What began as casual talk turned into a deep exchange. Huo Yuhao shared insights Wang Dong, who had grown up in the sheltered Haotian Sect, had never heard of.
By the end of the night, their relationship had grown closer, and Huo Yuhao's long-held tension as a newcomer in this world eased somewhat.
"Maybe this world isn't as bad as I thought," he mused. "Aside from Tang San, things aren't so terrible. Still... strength is what matters most."
Lying in bed, Huo Yuhao's consciousness slipped into his spiritual sea once again to continue his training.
The next morning, despite their late night, both were up early for breakfast.
"I'm stuffed," Wang Dong said contentedly. "We still have some time before class,want to walk by Sea God Lake to digest?"
"No thanks," Huo Yuhao replied with a grin. "Instead, read the books I gave you last night. They're treasures I picked out just for you."
Sea God Lake? Not a chance. Not with that lunatic Ma Xiaotao lurking around.
Remembering those books, Wang Dong looked embarrassed. "What treasures? They're just unofficial histories of the Shrek Seven Devils and other academy legends."
"I don't get why you even borrowed those."
Huo Yuhao chuckled. "You don't understand. Official histories are polished. You can't see the truth through them. But cross-referencing unofficial histories with the official ones often reveals the real story."
"Only by reading between the lines can you uncover what was meant to stay hidden."
"If you can grasp that, it means you're truly thinking for yourself. Anyway, those should keep you busy. I'm off to borrow more books. See you in class."
He waved and walked away.
The day passed uneventfully. The morning's martial soul classification and the afternoon's soul beast age identification classes went by quickly.
However, Huo Yuhao noticed that many teachers seemed rigid in their thinking,traditional soul masters whose heads were stuffed with muscle and ring theory.
Their lessons were even less practical than the books.
"If you actually followed this advice into the Star Dou Forest, you'd die for sure," he thought. "No wonder the inner court loses so many students each year."
"Maybe this is just Shrek's unique philosophy,reckless but bold. After all, only a place like this can push soul masters to leap from century rings to millennia rings, and from millennia to ten-thousand-year ones."
When class finally ended, Wang Dong groaned, "Ugh, that was so boring."
She tugged on Huo Yuhao's sleeve. "Let's go eat before we miss dinner."
As they hurried down the hall, Huo Yuhao overheard some other students talking.
"Did you hear? Several students went missing this morning!"
"Maybe they dropped out?"
"No way, I heard they vanished near Sea God Lake!"
"Yeah, it's one of Shrek's Ten Mysteries. Every year, a few new students disappear in the mist."
"Don't scare me! Where'd you hear that?"
"From the upperclassmen, of course."
Huo Yuhao smirked to himself. "Looks like that's one danger avoided. Better stay far away from that cursed place."
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