Book 4: The Golden Road
Chapter 27.1: Revenge? Brother?
The teachers of Shrek Academy had seen many geniuses, but freshmen like Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong, who were this fixated on victory and this resolute in their beliefs… they were simply too rare.
The Director of the Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun, walked over to the stunned Zhou Yi. “Teacher Zhou, congratulations on teaching these two excellent students. Report them to the higher-ups. I believe that they both have the qualifications to become core disciples of the outer courtyard.”
Only then did Zhou Yi react. She hurriedly replied, “Director Du, there’s still Huo Yuhao. He’s the core of their team, as well as their team leader.”
Du Weilun was stunned, but he shook his head. “He only has a single soul ring. He’s too weak. Also, he should be one of those rarely-seen spiritual-type soul masters. Don’t you know how few spiritual-type soul beasts there are?” With that, he walked off the tall stage.
As the Director of the Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun wasn’t just strong, he was calculative as well. He naturally saw the role that Huo Yuhao had played during the match. He was the one that had stimulated the nearly-insane fighting spirits of Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. However, he had important responsibilities as a Director; he naturally wouldn’t choose a core disciple just for his personality and leadership skills.
After listening to Du Weilun’s words, Zhou Yi’s entire body shook. Right! She’d always overlooked this simple problem. Although Huo Yuhao’s first soul ring had a strong soul skill attached to it, he was still a spiritual-type soul master. Spiritual-type soul beasts were simply too rare, and strong ones were even rarer. Under these circumstances, the chances of Huo Yuhao becoming an expert was naturally much smaller than normal.
“No problem. If the Martial Soul Department doesn’t want him, our Soul Tool Department will take him.” A bright light flickered through Fan Yu’s eyes as he patted Zhou Yi’s shoulder. “It’s hard to find strong spiritual-type soul beasts, but it’s still possible to find ordinary ones. As long as he has enough soul power, he’ll still be able to become an outstanding student of the Soul Tool Department—even if he only has his first soul ring. I want this core disciple.”
In front of Fan Yu, Zhou Yi didn’t seem to have any of her usual iciness, “No, it’s not time yet. You need to give him three years. Yuhao is a specially-invited student who was recommended by the Tang Sect; he should’ve been a rogue soul master who grew up in a poverty-stricken family. That’s why he only has a ten year soul ring. He’s always been the most attentive student during class time, and although he’s had a somewhat late start, he’s the most hardworking and serious student I’ve ever met. His foundation is too weak, thus I need to stay by his side and continue teaching him. Three years will be enough for him to obtain a basic knowledge of how things are, and with his current level of diligence, he should be able to obtain three rings at the very least by that point. Once he obtains his third ring, he’ll naturally have brighter prospects. At that time, he can be the core disciple of your Soul Tool Department.
Fan Yu smiled. “I can see that you like this child a lot. Since you’ve already planned things out for him, I’ll listen to you. Once the freshmen assessment has ended, take him over to see me, and I’ll let him participate in the Soul Tool Department in addition to his regular studies. I’ll see whether or not he has any talent in that field.”
“Yup.” Zhou Yi nodded her head, “I’ll go check on Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong. Fan Yu, believe me, the Martial Soul Department will definitely regret not taking Huo Yuhao in as a core disciple.”
Fan Yu replied, “Then, let’s wait and see.”
Wang Dong was left in a slightly better condition than Xiao Xiao, as he’d only used up all of his energy. More importantly, he had his fusion partner, Huo Yuhao. Once Huo Yuhao hugged him, his soul power naturally flowed into Wang Dong’s body, allowing him to quickly recover a strand of his soul power. After using their Haodong Power, Wang Dong was able to wake up from his unconscious state in less than ten minutes.
However, Xiao Xiao’s condition was much worse than Wang Dong’s. She needed both soul power to active her Cauldron’s Trembling Quake, as well as an extremely strong amount of control over it to maintain it. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Xiao would only use her National Treasure to deal a single attack, sending her opponent flying while applying a forced stun effect. The strength of this single blow far exceeded that of using both of her soul skills one after another. However, she didn’t do this against Xie Huanyue. Instead, she’d used it to trap him. She’d done so for the sake of buying even more time for Wang Dong. Xie Huanyue’s defense was simply too strong, and Xiao Xiao had been scared that he’d charge straight back towards them if he was sent flying away. Furthermore, there was a high chance of that happening due to his body’s bouncing speed.
Because of that, Xiao Xiao hadn’t just overdrawn her soul power alone; she’d overdrawn her spiritual power as well. As soon as the match had ended, she’d instantly sunk into a deep coma.
Fortunately, they were in Shrek Academy, which had no shortages of healing medicines. After consuming a few medicinal pills, Xiao Xiao sank into a deep sleep. However, the teacher that treated her said that she’d have to rest for a full day, at the very minimum. Furthermore, she couldn’t be disturbed in any way at all, so that the medicinal pills that had been used on her wouldn’t leave any aftereffects. In other words, Xiao Xiao wouldn’t be able to participate in the following two matches… and that was a conservative estimate.
Zhou Yi personally carried Xiao Xiao back to her room for her to rest, while Huo Yuhao carried the weakened Wang Dong back to their dorm room.
“Wang Dong, should we give up on the next match?” As he looked at Wang Dong’s pale face, Huo Yuhao sighed gently.
“No way.” Wang Dong knew that Huo Yuhao was concerned about the state of his body, but his current will to fight was still as strong as it previously was. He’d never been as serious as this towards anything else as he was now.
“Yuhao, I know that you’re worried about me. But we have to continue on with this tournament. If we just gave up like this, how could we face Xiao Xiao? She may have fainted, but there’s still the two of us. And, don’t we have our Haodong Power? We’ll definitely be able to recover before the afternoon match. We have to fight for Xiao Xiao, and wait for her to come back.”
As he looked at Wang Dong’s determined eyes, Huo Yuhao’s heart was completely moved. True feelings had blossomed between them as a result of their hardships. The matches that had occurred yesterday and today had rapidly narrowed the gap between him, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. The feelings between the three of them were no longer those of fellow schoolmates, but those of comrades-in-arms who were willing to live and die together. Although this wasn’t a true battlefield, they already treated the tournament as one.
“What’re you waiting for? Hurry up.” As he spoke, Wang Dong raised his hands.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, then placed his palms on Wang Dong’s palms. He spoke with a resolute tone in his voice, “Let’s fight for Xiao Xiao.”
Sea God’s Island, the Lakeside.
“Xuan Lao, what do you think?” Wang Yan stood beside Xuan Lao and asked in a quiet voice.
Xuan Lao had already finished his chicken legs, and there were now chicken wings around him. It seemed as though he’d never be full.
“Those two fellas aren’t bad. As for that fella with the Body Soul you were talking about, he’s lacking by quite a bit. He should have a skill that’s similar to a spiritual detection-type skill, however it’s unfortunate that his first soul ring is only ten years old. This is a flaw that can’t be made up for.” As he spoke, Xuan Lao swallowed a mouthful of wine.
Wang Yan replied, “But, Xuan Lao, he still has a Body Soul!”