Seven days later.
A completely naked Huo Yuhao lay on the ground, staring up at the clear sky now purged of darkness with a bitter smile.
It hurt like hell; he truly couldn't move a single finger... if it weren't for the protection of the Skydream Ice Silkworm within his Sea of Consciousness, such torture would likely have caused his Sea of Consciousness to shatter.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao silently offered his thanks to the now-slumbering Skydream Ice Silkworm.
Of course, this suffering wasn't for nothing. The baptism of light and darkness had allowed Huo Yuhao's mental power to grow significantly. According to the mental power realms defined by Baili Du, his current mental power was already extremely close to the Spirit Abyss Realm.
Seven days and nights of relentless torture had finally allowed him to gain preliminary mastery over this powerful martial soul that commanded the two ultimate elements of Light and Darkness. In terms of sheer strength, this martial soul was not at all inferior to the Deep Blue Glazed Dragon martial soul, which possessed the bloodline of the Dragon God.
To commemorate the world he once lived in, Electrolux named this martial soul—Holy Demon Angel.
Strictly speaking, this martial soul was composed entirely of power from another world, so soul rings could not be attached to it. However, the three halos generated by the powers of the two greats—the Demon Lord Alba and Electrolux—already covered their respective abilities. While they appeared to be three halos on the surface, the actual number of skills they possessed likely exceeded twenty.
Disregarding his naked state, an utterly exhausted Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
It was fortunate that there were few soul masters in the Demon Sealing Forest; otherwise, little Huo would surely have been hauled away as a little pervert...
This sleep caused Huo Yuhao to perfectly miss a major event concerning his life.
With destiny derailed from its original track, how would the gears of history turn now?
...
Meanwhile, at the border of the Star Constellation Great Forest.
Having left the Xuanming Sect in a rather dishonorable fashion, Lan Xuanyu had traveled over land and water to finally reach his long-awaited Star Constellation Great Forest.
Relying on his wisdom and exquisite elemental control, Lan Xuanyu successfully hunted a thousand-year-old Young Rock Drake in the outer region. Using the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he devoured its bloodline and obtained Earth element control.
Originally, his plan was to obtain Wind element control, but he hadn't found a suitable wind-attribute soul beast. Knowing that further delay would cause him to miss the enrollment for Shrek Academy, he had no choice but to settle for the Earth element.
During this time, more than one soul beast with over ten thousand years of cultivation had passed by, but Lan Xuanyu had used the plant affinity of the Blue Silver King to hide his presence.
"Why haven't they come yet?"
Standing by a small stream, Lan Xuanyu looked around anxiously.
He was waiting for someone: Huo Yuhao.
In his era, the Federation's media focused more on promoting his grandfather, Tang San, and his father, Tang Wulin. Their accounts of Huo Yuhao's life were often intentionally belittling, but the records kept by the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy regarding Huo Yuhao were quite accurate.
Those records stated that Huo Yuhao had encountered the million-year soul beast, the Skydream Ice Silkworm, in the outer reaches of the Star Constellation Great Forest, and it was here that he met the then-sect master of the Tang Sect and joined them.
As the grandson of the Tang Sect founder Tang San, one could imagine how strong Lan Xuanyu's sense of belonging to the Tang Sect was. He was determined to join.
Of course, if possible, he also wanted to make contact with the Skydream Ice Silkworm.
Even though it was a million-year soul beast with little combat power, it could at least provide a martial soul and a wealth of knowledge. Until he found Xiao Bao (the parasite from the original Dragon God, a major "cheat" for Blue Salted Fish that allowed him to act bossy), he would reluctantly settle for it.
After waiting for several days without seeing Huo Yuhao, he instead encountered two students who had come to hunt soul beasts.
After some interaction, Lan Xuanyu was pleasantly surprised to learn that these two were disciples of the Tang Sect! The one named Tang Ya was actually the current Sect Master!
Though it was strange that Huo Yuhao wasn't there, Lan Xuanyu couldn't miss such a rare opportunity to join the Tang Sect.
Mainly, he lacked a recommendation letter from a City Lord and needed a Tang Sect slot to enter Shrek Academy.
When Bei Bei asked about his family situation, Lan Xuanyu told the truth.
"There's no one left in my family now. I'm all alone."
Right—none now, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be in the future.
At this moment, Tang Ya began to display her "art of conversation"...
Tang Ya was overjoyed and blurted out:
"That's wonderful!!!"
...
Lan Xuanyu was stunned, while Bei Bei looked completely speechless. The scene fell into an eerie silence.
"!!!"
An indescribable rage rose within Lan Xuanyu's heart, his eyes widening. Wait... about having no parents... Tang Ya actually thought... it was wonderful?!
Is there something wrong with her brain? No—does she even have a brain?
With Tang Ya's level of emotional intelligence, it was a miracle she had lived this long... how had she not been beaten to death in the streets yet?
"Watch your mouth," Bei Bei said wordlessly, tapping Tang Ya on the head. He then turned to Lan Xuanyu with an apologetic smile, but before he could offer a polite excuse, Lan Xuanyu's angry roar cut him off.
"If you don't know how to speak, keep your filthy mouth shut!!!"
Tang Ya & Bei Bei: "..."
Tang Ya finally realized she had misspoken. She stuck out her tongue playfully, shrank her neck, and muttered softly, "I didn't mean it on purpose..."
At this artificial display of acting cute, Lan Xuanyu turned his head away in anger, seemingly unwilling to look at Tang Ya and Bei Bei. He took several heavy breaths to calm the fury in his heart.
Bei Bei gave Tang Ya a speechless roll of his eyes. In his eyes, Xiao Ya was lively, cute, and kind—practically perfect—except for her habit of speaking without thinking. It was because of this flaw that she hadn't recruited a single disciple at Shrek Academy...
And now, she had offended Lan Xuanyu, whom they had recruited with great difficulty.
Just as Tang Ya and Bei Bei thought this recruitment mission was about to fail, Lan Xuanyu spoke, his voice suppressed with anger: "...I can join the Tang Sect, and I will do my part for its revival, but I will not take a master."
That was his absolute bottom line.
Acknowledge a fool like Tang Ya as a master? Forget it... she wasn't worthy.
Of course, she wasn't worthy of the position of Tang Sect Master either.
Bei Bei rubbed his nose awkwardly. Tang Ya, on the other hand, didn't mind much as long as someone joined the sect.
Bei Bei tried to smooth things over: "Ahem... Xuanyu, I'm really sorry. That's just Xiao Ya's personality; please bear with her. By the way, this soul tool—modeled after the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges held by the Tang Sect ancestor Tang San—is for you. Consider it a greeting gift from your Senior Brother."
Upon seeing the soul tool offered by Bei Bei, Lan Xuanyu's expression finally softened.
Fine, forget it. No point in arguing with a fool.