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Yuwen Tuo was quite satisfied with this choice. After all, it was fire; he didn't want anything flashy, just strong attack power. With Gong Changlong, the Beast King, there, he didn't need to fight. If Gong Changlong could immobilize him with pressure, he could certainly suppress a soul beast under a thousand years old.
His martial soul was similar to that of the Spirit Hall's Lion Douluo from ten thousand years ago. It had considerable suppressive power over beasts and beast martial soul masters with insufficient cultivation.
"Thank you!" Yuwen Tuo wasn't pretentious and didn't insist on a fight to obtain the soul ring. He didn't lack combat experience, having killed many demons in the past.
He cupped the flame in his hand, channeled it to his fingertip, and pointed. The firelight, like a sharp blade, pierced the immobilized Flameblade Demon's heart. This move was the Profound Yang Sun Finger from the Divine Fire cultivation technique.
Gong Changlong was impressed. "Such precise finger technique. This child has no soul ring, so this can't be a soul skill. Could it be a self-created soul technique? A twelve-year-old creating such a skill…truly a genius."
He also thought about many things. Trapped in the inner court for six years, soul power cultivation was useless, it would be absorbed by Ma Xiaotao. It seemed that out of boredom, the child had developed this self-created soul technique.
Yuwen Tuo didn't bother explaining. He walked to the demon's corpse and, when the yellow soul ring formed, pulled it towards himself with soul power and absorbed it.
He immediately sat cross-legged, circulating his energy to withstand the soul ring's impact.
A mere century-old soul beast; the soul ring's power wasn't that strong, and there wasn't any high-level soul impact. It only had a bit of hateful resentment that stimulated Yuwen Tuo's body like a knife.
But within Yuwen Tuo's spiritual sea, the Xuanyuan Sword, his second martial soul, slashed down and cut open all the resentment.
From the outside, Yuwen Tuo flashed with golden light and instantly passed the most difficult stage of soul absorption.
Gong Changlong was astonished. "This child absorbed that soul ring too easily! He withstood the soul power impact and is already absorbing the soul power and forming a soul skill? That's a soul ring that exceeds the age limit!"
In his spiritual sea, Yuwen Tuo looked at the Xuanyuan Sword floating in the air.
"The heart follows intent, soul resonance. Haha, as expected, you're not the Xuanyuan Sword from before, nor are you a tool martial soul. I think that guy will be very excited to see me," Yuwen Tuo smiled.
About half an hour later, Yuwen Tuo came out of his meditative state, the soul ring's power now internalized.
"Senior Beast King, can I get my second soul ring here as well?"
"This brat, he's level twenty already." Though surprised, Gong Changlong wasn't too shocked. After all, Yuwen Tuo had gone through the level ten to twenty cultivation range countless times in those six years, reaching level twenty dozens of times only to have it absorbed by Ma Xiaotao.
Despite the wasted effort, Yuwen Tuo's foundation was exceptionally strong now. Cultivating from level ten to twenty was no longer a challenge for him. Even if Ma Xiaotao drained him again tonight, he could probably recover in a few days.
"Kid, you just got your first soul ring, your foundation isn't stable yet. You should consolidate your cultivation first before coming back again." Gong Changlong praised Yuwen Tuo's foundation in his heart but said the opposite.
He had to find an excuse to refuse. Yan Shaozhe's instructions were to let Yuwen Tuo choose one fire-type soul beast as his first soul ring, not two. He wouldn't act without the Dean's approval.
"By the way, kid, what's your first soul skill?" Gong Changlong changed the topic.
"It increases attack power. Nothing special. Well then, I'll come back after consolidating my cultivation!" Yuwen Tuo was concise, not wanting to explain further. He wouldn't force the issue of the second ring; he had no real expectations of Shrek Academy anyway.
"Alright, then go to the outer court and complete your enrollment. Young man, don't be so gloomy at your age. Have some more passion and make some friends," Gong Changlong advised.
"I understand, Senior Beast King. Thanks for today! See you!" Yuwen Tuo waved and left the beast arena.
He wasn't gloomy, just indifferent to those he didn't care about. When he was with his teacher, or his grandparents and relatives in this world, he was as warm as the sun.
Unfortunately, he couldn't muster enthusiasm here.
After six years at Shrek Academy, this was his first time truly observing Shrek City.
Built on the vast Lima Plain, Shrek Academy was a city in itself. Shrek City was one of the largest on the Douluo Continent, with over two million inhabitants, and Shrek Academy had independent governing rights, paying no taxes to any country. This was unmatched by any other academy.
Shrek Academy was situated in the eastern part of the city, facing the Star Dou Forest. With its extensive transportation network, Shrek City had become the most important city on the Douluo Continent, a commercial hub for the three empires.
The south, west, and north gates were open to the public, but the east gate was exclusively for Shrek, restricted to students and staff.
As he approached the east gate, Yuwen Tuo overheard a conversation and a particular name caught his attention.
"Junior Brother, the academy's new student enrollment is in a few days. You're lucky to catch the last wave. The Tang Sect has special privileges; normally, new students not only have to take an exam, but they also need a recommendation letter from a city lord of the three empires. Shrek City is bustling these days. Take some time to look around and familiarize yourself with it," a man with a deep voice said.
Yuwen Tuo instinctively turned and looked at the three approaching figures.
A heroic-looking young man and a pretty young woman, dressed in blue.
And a smaller, thinner boy in gray.
They must be Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao, the protagonist of the original story.
Yuwen Tuo looked at the three, especially Huo Yuhao. He was here, and he had met Tang Ya and Bei Bei. It seemed he had already obtained the Heavenly Dream Iceworm and Electrolux.
He sighed silently. His original plan had been to intercept this boy's destiny.
He'd planned it perfectly: Awaken his martial soul, then rush to the Duke of White Tiger's mansion in the Star Luo Empire, lie in wait every day until Huo Yuhao reached level ten and left the mansion, secretly follow him to the Star Dou Forest, then snatch the million-year soul beast for himself.
After all, if he appeared together with Huo Yuhao, considering Huo Yuhao's malnourished state at the time, the Heavenly Dream Iceworm might choose Yuwen Tuo instead, especially with his special, non-tool martial soul "Xuanyuan Sword!"
As for Electrolux, he didn't really care. He only needed a powerful soul ring to activate the power of the special "Xuanyuan Sword" within him.
Unfortunately, being imprisoned by Shrek, his plan hadn't even begun before it was washed away.
He would add this to Shrek's tab as well.
As for Huo Yuhao himself, Yuwen Tuo felt nothing towards him, neither good nor bad. The Heavenly Dream Iceworm's soul ring was originally his in the story. Yuwen Tuo wanted to steal it purely because cultivation was about striving, competing for destiny, resources, and treasures between heaven and earth.
His master had taught him the Four Essentials of Taoism. Taoism believed that to achieve enlightenment, one must fulfill four conditions: Method, Ground, Wealth, and Companion.
"Method": The cultivation method, the secrets to practicing the Way.
"Ground": The environment of cultivation.
"Wealth": The resources necessary for cultivation.
"Companion": The people who assist or guide one's cultivation journey.
One had to fight for each of these. Those who didn't strive would only become further and further from becoming strong.
Didn't Huo Yuhao become "Huo Gua" (Huo Cheat) in the original story just because he had many fortuitous encounters and abundant resources? Now, these opportunities and resources were unclaimed; anyone could compete for them.
Therefore, Yuwen Tuo didn't have any particular opinion about Huo Yuhao. No good feelings, no bad feelings, just cultivation.
This guy was a normal person in the early stages, at most a bit of a cheater, but unfortunately, after the Dry Sky Asking Love Valley, he was manipulated by Tang San step by step. A dignified Child of Destiny of this era ended up becoming Tang San's dog.
Fortunately, Yuwen Tuo was indifferent by nature. Since he couldn't get it, so be it. He could still find amusement in hardship.
Not obtaining that soul ring might not be a bad thing. After all, as the current Child of Destiny, who took ten thousand years of accumulated luck on the Douluo Continent to be born, Huo Yuhao was probably already under Tang San's watch.
Yuwen Tuo could try for other opportunities, like the Ice Empress and Snow Empress. With Huo Yuhao's luck, even if he lost them, he would find substitutes. But if he lost the Heavenly Dream Iceworm, the biggest opportunity, which could even be called the foundation of his rise, Yuwen Tuo was afraid he would immediately attract Tang San's attention.
He didn't want to be trained by that bastard like Huo Yuhao. He still wanted to cultivate his Fire Martial Soul and the Xuanyuan Sword properly, so that if he encountered Tang San in the future, he could first evaporate his Sea God's power, then cut down his Asura Demon Sword.
The beautiful girl, Tang Ya, patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and said, "Little Yuhao, it's not easy to enter Shrek Academy. Although you successfully joined using my Tang Sect's quota, the key for you is how to stay in Shrek. Do you understand? This place is heaven for all students, but it's also hell. No academy on the continent has a higher elimination rate than our Shrek. You have to find a way to gain a foothold here. The elimination rate will gradually decrease only after the fourth grade. But not being eliminated is just the basics. You also have to strive to enter the inner court in the future to receive the best training."
Huo Yuhao nodded seriously, "Teacher Xiaoya, I will do my best. But with your and Senior Brother's abilities, are you still only outer court students?"
Tang Ya said, "Entering Shrek Academy's inner court is no simple matter. Shrek Academy's monster-cultivating tradition has never changed. The outer court was established later, at the request of the continent's nobles, to cultivate more talents. But only students who enter the inner court are true Shrek students. Every single one of them is a genius, or even a monster."
"So powerful!" Hearing this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a sense of yearning, thinking that if one day, he could graduate from Shrek's inner court, return to the Duke's mansion, and retrieve his mother's remains, his mother could finally rest in peace. Thinking of this, his heart was filled with determination.
Bei Bei said seriously, "More than just powerful. I once saw an inner court senior brother go to the Star Dou Forest alone, defeat three ten-thousand-year soul beasts without harming their lives, and bring them back to the academy. That kind of person is what we should aspire to be."
"But I did hear that there's an oddball in the inner court these past few years, who wasn't formally enrolled but has been kept in the inner court. Based on his age, he should be a year or two older than Little Yuhao," Tang Ya said, touching her chin. Since Shrek Academy opened, there had never been such a person.
To be honest, she was quite curious about what kind of person would receive such treatment.
If possible, she also wanted to see if she could trick another genius into joining the Tang Sect. After all, being able to stay in the inner court, this person's talent couldn't be too bad, right?
Bei Bei said, "You'd better not have any ideas about this person, Xiaoya. Otherwise, there's a senior sister in the inner court who will fight with our Tang Sect desperately. The whole inner court knows that boy is the senior sister's exclusive property."
Bei Bei was different from others. He was a descendant of Dragon God Douluo Mu En. Even though he hadn't entered the inner court yet, he knew more about the inner court's affairs than ordinary people.
"Exclusive… property?" Hearing this, Yuwen Tuo's lips twitched. The outer court had spread such ridiculous rumors about him.
He, a dignified man, had become Ma Xiaotao's plaything.
Yuwen Tuo didn't plan to go up and make friends with Huo Yuhao and the others. He stood silently at the back of the registration line. Right now, he needed to satisfy those Shrek higher-ups' requirement of enrollment first. To contact the person who could take him away from Shrek, he had to make a name for himself first, so that he would have a chance to meet that person. It would probably take more than a year.
"Hello, may I ask, are you also here to register for Shrek?" At this moment, a clear female voice came from behind Yuwen Tuo.
He turned around, but there was no one there.
Yuwen Tuo immediately frowned, "What profound cultivation. She's clearly far away, but her voice echoed as if right beside my ear. Listening to her voice, she should be very young. Shrek Academy still has such a genius?"