The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron came hurtling over, enveloped in thick black mist. The force behind it was so strong that Xiao Xiao couldn't control it to stop. Still, she remained calm. Without any visible movement, the massive cauldron flying toward her suddenly split into three. The two on the sides slammed into the one in the middle.
Boom!With a deafening crash, the cauldron finally came to a halt. This round of probing ended in a draw—neither side had the upper hand.
Huo Yuhao analyzed the situation carefully. When he had grabbed the cauldron earlier, he felt a shockwave that left his hands slightly numb. As for the dizziness effect Xiao Xiao had mentioned, that was a joke—dizziness is fundamentally a mental attack, and this was Huo Yuhao's specialty. What Xiao Xiao had done was akin to showing off a knife in front of a sword master.
While Huo Yuhao was still deep in thought, a sudden sense of danger surged through him, sending chills down his spine. He didn't panic. With a burst of soul power from his right hand, a white glowing orb the size of a duck egg appeared in his palm. It was the Spiral Pill, a technique he had used when hunting the Bloodsoul Boar for his second soul ring. Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao flung the glowing orb behind him and quickly rushed forward.
Boom!Blinding white light flared, dust filled the air, and thunderous explosions rang out. When the dust settled, a pit over two meters wide and half a meter deep had appeared in the ground. Not far away, Dong Xinyi emerged—disheveled, her hair messy, and her once pristine white school uniform covered in dirt.
Rewind a few moments—after Xiao Xiao blocked the returning cauldron, Dong Xinyi had seized the moment while Huo Yuhao seemed distracted to launch a surprise attack. What she hadn't expected was that Huo Yuhao had been on alert the moment she vanished. Otherwise, how could he have reacted so quickly?
She thought she'd found an opportunity, not realizing Huo Yuhao had already set a trap. The moment she appeared, a Spiral Pill was already flying her way. Sensing danger, Dong Xinyi decisively retreated—otherwise, she would've been injured.
And why did Huo Yuhao retreat too? Because the Spiral Pill is a non-discriminatory area attack—too close, and he'd also be caught in the blast. So it's not suited for close combat, at least not the version he created. Too far, and it's too slow to hit a moving target. Timing and distance are everything.
After just a few minutes of combat, Dong Xinyi and Xiao Xiao voluntarily gave up. They realized that no matter how well they coordinated, even giving it their all didn't gain them any real advantage. Although Huo Yuhao was forced to scramble at times, they both had a gut feeling—he hadn't used his full strength yet.
"Yuhao, when we do the assessment, you better hold back a little. Let me and Xinyi have our fun first, okay?" said Xiao Xiao on the way back to the academy.
Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched slightly. This girl's a bit violent. The assessment hasn't even started and she's already thinking about pummeling people.
As they passed by the "Come Again Restaurant," they saw it was still bustling from a distance. Of course, it wasn't as popular as when grilled fish was first introduced. Even the tastiest dish gets boring after a while. The current steady business was due to Huo Yuhao adding a few new dishes over the past three months. He never intended to get filthy rich in this world, but he also wasn't about to waste time grilling fish at a stall for survival like Dai Yuhao did in the original story. That was brainless and a waste of precious time—aside from the occasional chance to meet a beauty, it was basically useless.
By the time they returned to Shrek Academy, it was already evening. Just as the group was about to head back to their dorms to rest, a young girl blocked their path. She looked about twelve, with short brown hair, fair and smooth skin, and wore the same white school uniform as Huo Yuhao and the others. The girl wasn't a stranger—her name was Ning Ruoxue, a fellow student from Class One.
Before anyone could speak, Ning Ruoxue took the initiative.
"I want to talk to him alone."She stared straight at Huo Yuhao.
Dong Xinyi and Xiao Xiao exchanged glances, didn't press further, and nodded at Huo Yuhao before heading upstairs.
"What do you want to talk about?" asked Huo Yuhao, slightly puzzled. He had no real interaction with Ning Ruoxue, just knew her name. In fact, besides Dong Xinyi, he only recognized the other classmates—there was no real connection.
"Hello, Student Huo. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ning Ruoxue, I'm eleven years old. My martial soul is the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, I have a soul power level of twenty-two, and I come from the Heaven Soul Empire," she said, extending her hand with a gentle smile and adorable dimples.
Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda—Huo Yuhao instantly tuned out everything else. That martial soul was legendary. A thousand years ago, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan was a dominant force, with every direct descendant possessing that same martial soul. At its peak, the clan rivaled empires. The soul's treasure-identifying abilities made the clan obscenely wealthy.
More importantly, it was hailed as the strongest auxiliary-type martial soul on the continent, providing outrageous boosts to allies—a miracle among support-type spirits. Ning Rongrong, the auxiliary-type member of the original Shrek Seven Devils, had this soul. She even became a god like the others.
Of course, there was a catch. The soul had a fatal flaw—it couldn't surpass the eight-ring bottleneck. Even after thousands of years, this limitation remained.
Ning Rongrong didn't overcome this curse because of innate talent. It was because she consumed a divine herb, the Delicate Immortal Fragrance, a top-tier medicinal plant. As its name suggested, anything dubbed "immortal-grade" was bound to be extraordinary. Thanks to this herb, her martial soul evolved into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, breaking the eight-ring ceiling once and for all.
But sadly, immortal herbs are insanely rare. That particular Delicate Immortal Fragrance was one of a kind. Ning Rongrong had no descendants, so the clan never produced another who broke the limit. Over time, even the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Clan faded, becoming half-hidden from the world.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Huo Yuhao politely extended his right hand and shook hers with a faint smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Huo Yuhao, martial soul: Spirit Eyes, level 29 Grand Soul Master, from the Star Luo Empire."
Their handshake was brief. Huo Yuhao smiled mildly, but Ning Ruoxue was clearly stunned. She had already guessed he'd be strong, but hearing his soul power level firsthand still shocked her. They were around the same age—how could the gap be so wide?
"Student Huo, are you interested in the champion reward for the assessment?"
Ah, so that's what this was about. The moment she spoke, cunning Huo Yuhao instantly understood her intent.
"Student Ning, that's a bit of a rhetorical question, don't you think? Someone as knowledgeable as you surely understands the value of a soul bone. Of course I'm going to compete for it if I can."
(End of Chapter)