After dinner, when Ju Zi led Huo Yuhao and the others back to the Xinghuang Grand Hotel, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy had already arranged five luxurious single rooms for them. The reason there were five and not six was simple—this arrangement was made by Xiao Hongchen.
He mischievously imagined the scene of Huo Yuhao and Xie Huanyue—two grown men—squeezing onto one bed. That must be delightful, right?
Huo Yuhao glanced at him. How could he not guess Xiao Hongchen's true intention? Unfortunately for him, any one of Cui Yejie and the other three girls would be more than eager to have Huo Yuhao all to themselves.
"Brother-in-law, you're still too young..."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and followed the Sun Moon team to the competition plaza to prepare for the match.
As Shrek Academy's strongest competitor, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team was a tournament favorite. In previous matches, their soul engineers had won over the audience with their dazzling and flexible combat strategies, leaving opponents struggling to grasp their tactics. Even Wang Yan, who closely studied their battle plans in the original story, couldn't offer much advice—such was the complexity and diversity of soul tool combat, something traditional soul masters simply couldn't comprehend.
After the drawing of lots, the Sun Moon team's opponent for this round-robin match was a well-known advanced soul master academy team from the Star Luo Empire. The format was one-on-one elimination. Each side sent seven contestants, and the match continued until all of one team's participants were defeated or surrendered.
Huo Yuhao, naturally, was slotted as the first to compete. Apart from him, with his simulated soul skills, the other five were disguised and renamed as members of the Sun Moon reserve team.
One-on-one duels were already disadvantageous for soul engineers, and this time their opponents had two Soul Kings, one of whom was already half a step into the Soul Emperor level—making this battle especially anticipated.
Sun Moon's only Soul Emperor was Ma Rulong, and to prevent Huo Yuhao from going overboard, Ma Rulong was positioned as the second combatant.
As all eyes watched, Huo Yuhao and his opponent stepped onto the stage. For this match, Huo Yuhao used the alias "Huo Yuanjia" again.
"Both contestants, prepare!" the referee's amplified voice rang out. Instantly, his opponent revealed five soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—clearly a Soul King.
In response, Huo Yuhao, in disguise, released his own four white soul rings.
"HAHAHAHAHA…"
Laughter immediately erupted across the plaza. Countless spectators were nearly laughing themselves sick at the sight of four white soul rings beneath Huo Yuhao.
The Star Luo Empire's traditional soul masters were already biased against soul tools. Now, seeing the Sun Moon soul engineers equipping themselves with four ten-year soul rings just to quickly raise their soul power level seemed utterly disgraceful.
In contrast to the roaring laughter, Wang Yan—secretly watching from the crowd—and the Sun Moon team members in the waiting area, all looked grim. The former out of fear, the latter out of shame—or both.
Normally, no soul master, no matter how destitute, would settle for four white ten-year rings. Even a rank-4 Sun Moon engineer would at least have one or two yellow century rings.
Plus, Huo Yuhao hadn't immediately started assembling a soul tool like others did—he was standing calmly, hands behind his back.
Even as the entire stadium mocked him, he remained unflustered, even waving and smiling at the crowd. Wang Yan instantly sensed something ominous.
Some discerning individuals started to notice him—this person was no ordinary contestant.
"Begin!"
With the referee's order, the Soul King opponent activated his martial soul—and instantly collapsed.
Huo Yuhao, still recovering from injury and avoiding intense physical activity, had simply launched a spiritual impact.
"What just happened?"
"Did he surrender?"
Confusion spread like wildfire in the audience. They had come expecting a thrilling duel, only to see one side drop dead on the spot. Even a "feigned death" takes time, yet even as the countdown ended, he still hadn't gotten up—he'd clearly passed out.
Now all eyes turned to Huo Yuhao, lazily stretching. Could he have done this?
His unconscious opponent was quickly dragged offstage by blushing teammates—it was a disgrace of the highest order.
"Next contestant, please," the referee continued, still unsure what had happened.
The second opponent jumped up, face flushed red, perhaps from shame. But again—as the match began, he collapsed instantly.
By now, even the dullest spectator understood something was very wrong.
All eyes turned to Huo Yuhao with his four white soul rings—he was doing something.
"It's spiritual power!" someone finally realized. The ability to knock out a Soul King in one hit… just how strong was his mind?
The original Sun Moon team members looked on, stunned. They had known Huo Yuhao's spiritual power was abnormal, but this was next level. Xie Huanyue and the others looked calm—they knew better.
Ju Zi stared at his unbeatable figure, dazed. Since coming to the Sun Moon Academy, she'd met many prodigies, and had gradually stopped believing in invincibility.
But now, that feeling was back. If "invincible" had a name among their generation, it would be Yuhao.
Each successive opponent tried to guard against spiritual attacks—but fell just like the rest.
A bizarre cycle emerged: contestant steps up, match starts, contestant collapses…
Until only the Soul Emperor-level student remained. He took the stage with a dark face—this match had been nothing but suffocating.
"Don't be like this… I just want to compete…"
He could only hope that after felling six people, Huo Yuhao would finally be worn out enough for a comeback.
But once the match began—he too collapsed.
The arena exploded.
Many teams stared at the calm Huo Yuhao, asking themselves: If I faced him, would I stand a chance?
This guy… is the Sun Moon team's secret weapon.
From this moment on, no one thought the Soul Emperor was the strongest competitor. Unless a Soul Emperor could defeat him, he was the standard.
Spiritual power was just as fearsome as soul power!
Clap… clap… clap…
The waiting area was first to applaud. The crowd soon followed with thunderous cheers.
Huo Yuhao turned and smiled at Ju Zi—the clapping had begun with her.
Ju Zi met his gaze, unflinching. This was the boy I dreamed of night and day. One day, he would descend to this world in his invincible form, crushing all before him.
"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy—wins!"
For the first time in the tournament, a single person achieved a seven-match sweep, each win a one-hit KO.
Watching in shock, Wang Yan finally realized—there was only one student with four white soul rings in his memory.
If he's really in the Sun Moon team now, then this is serious.
A year ago, even with just two rings, Huo Yuhao had unleashed an attack comparable to a Soul Sage. And now, he was many times stronger.
"I need to alert the headmaster…" Wang Yan swallowed hard and turned to leave.
"Teacher Wang."
Just then, Huo Yuhao casually approached the edge of the arena—closest to Wang Yan.
Wang Yan froze, not expecting Huo Yuhao to come to him directly. But as he turned back, he looked into Huo Yuhao's glowing left eye.
"Forgetting is a virtue, Teacher Wang. Forget everything about me."
His spiritual power far exceeded what Wang Yan could withstand, and his command hit like royalty.
"Yes…" Wang Yan murmured, his mind going blank.
With Wang Yan handled, Huo Yuhao left. Now other teams would surely begin preparing to resist his spiritual attacks—but so what?
Against anyone below Soul Sage level, his spiritual shock was unblockable.
As he took the spotlight, Xiao Hongchen was not pleased. He had been the Sun Moon team's trump card until now, and couldn't allow a peer to overshadow him.
"Elder Ma, let me enter the next match!" Xiao Hongchen pleaded.
Huo Yuhao's fame had just exploded, dimming Xiao Hongchen's reputation as a soul tool genius.
What annoyed him more—Huo Yuhao's closeness with Ju Zi.
"Nonsense!" Elder Ma scolded. "Have you forgotten your grandfather's instructions? You're still young. Your brilliance must be saved for the next tournament!"
"But—" Xiao Hongchen tried to argue, but his sister Meng Hongchen pulled him back. Between the two, she was the more mature one.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao ignored all this and took Ju Zi and the others back to the hotel.
Following the plot, unless they faced Shrek, the Sun Moon team was guaranteed to win. And the two teams were likely to meet only in the finals. Until then, Huo Yuhao's mission was—recovery.
After returning from the past timeline, he was nearly immobile, soul power, spiritual power, and stamina all severely drained. Even with his immortal body, recovery wouldn't be instant.
Ju Zi, having learned the full situation, brought him and Ning Tian to her room.
Ju Zi was a food-type soul master, and Ning Tian's Eight Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda could enhance his soul power, accelerating healing.
When they removed his shirt, they finally understood the severity of his injuries—as bad as years ago, when he had stormed the enemy camp alone to save Ju Zi's father.
Ju Zi's eyes welled up with tears.
But they had underestimated his body's recovery rate. With Ning Tian's boosts and Ju Zi's healing soul skills, his wounds began closing at visible speed.
Treatment lasted until late at night. Exhausted, Ning Tian left. Ju Zi fetched a basin of warm water and began carefully wiping his body.
As she cleaned, she felt his gaze. Looking up, she met Huo Yuhao's burning eyes.
In the next instant, she was in his arms.
"Yuhao!" she cried out, flustered but not resisting.
Feeling her heartbeat, he nuzzled her neck with his chin. Her skin was still soft—like tender tofu.
"How are Aunt Hua and Uncle Huang?" he whispered, inhaling her scent.
At the mention of her parents, Ju Zi's expression softened.
"Thanks to you, they're doing great. Dad works in Mingde Hall's kitchen. Mom opened a fruit shop near the academy. We're often together."
Huo Yuhao smiled. She had lived far better than he imagined—nothing was more precious than family reunited.
Without her family's ruin, Ju Zi hadn't wandered into Xu Tiannan's path, hadn't become his crown princess, his empress.
Even knowing Xu Tiannan was impotent, Huo Yuhao didn't want him to even touch Ju Zi's hand.
"Didn't I say? As your guardian of justice, I will make you happy."
He gently lifted her chin and kissed her soft lips.
This life, Ju Zi… you can truly have Huo Yuhao.