Second Madam's gaze immediately locked onto Huo Yuhao.
"Hello, Second Madam."
Facing Second Madam, Huo Yuhao appeared quite respectful. No matter what, Second Madam was his benefactor.
Because he didn't know how to address her, Huo Yuhao used the general term.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's demeanor was quite good, Second Madam immediately smiled, "You can call me Aunt Chu. Calling me Second Madam is too formal."
"Aunt Chu."
Huo Yuhao immediately changed his address, without a moment's hesitation.
Aunt Chu nodded very gently. She stood up, her voice soft, "Then I won't disturb Old Chen any further."
Old Chen nodded slightly.
Soon, the Second Madam said nothing, but gave Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli an encouraging smile before leaving quietly.
"Alright, follow me to the training ground." Old Chen stood up and walked towards the training ground at a steady pace.
Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli followed closely behind.
Today's lessons were divided into combat training and theoretical knowledge.
It wasn't like you could ignore combat skills just because you were a Soul Master; they were quite helpful.
The Hall of the Body was a prime example, as they highly valued combat skills, because they could use it to develop and create their own battle techniques.
Then there was theoretical knowledge. Well, everyone with some background would learn it.
As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.
What Huo Yuhao didn't understand was that many freshmen who went to Shrek Academy seemed as if they hadn't studied any theoretical knowledge. When they started class, they acted all innocent. When the teacher said something, they all went "wow, wow, wow," as if what the teacher said was incredibly amazing.
My goodness!
It would be normal for freshmen from poor families like Jiang Nannan not to understand these things. But the other freshmen, not all of them, but at least ninety percent of them, must have studied basic theory at home.
Shrek Academy's teaching for freshmen wouldn't start with the difficult stuff. They would definitely start with the simple things. Why bother acting like they knew nothing?
Oh, of course, they wouldn't know about soul tools. This wasn't a criticism, as Shrek Academy internally had very mixed opinions on soul tools.
Those who liked them, loved them to death, and those who didn't, loathed them to death.
Speaking of which, there was another doubt. Wang Dong's Light Goddess Butterfly was one of the most beautiful martial souls on the continent. This martial soul could only be inherited by exceptionally beautiful girls, but in the early stages of the original novel, apart from the teachers and higher-ups of Shrek, no one noticed the problem.
He didn't know if these outer court students didn't like to study this obscure knowledge, or if they really didn't know about its special nature.
The following few days were spent in high-intensity training. Huo Yuhao didn't dare waste a moment; it could be said that except for eating and using the restroom, he spent all his other time studying and cultivating.
However, the poor conditions he was in also made him sigh with emotion. The original Huo Yuhao had it incredibly tough before he encountered the big worm.
Several days of intense cultivation didn't even increase his cultivation as much as Dai Luoli's.
But without a doubt, for Huo Yuhao, the five days he spent with Old Chen were almost the most comfortable days he'd had in a while.
The meat of the thousand-year soul beast had also made Huo Yuhao's originally thin body much stronger, at least he wasn't as fragile as in the original story.
It seemed that the White Tiger Duchess and Dai Huabin had truly forgotten about him, but that was good. Huo Yuhao knew that he wasn't capable of going against them right now; they would have to take things one step at a time.
Morning.
The sun hadn't even risen yet. The earth was gradually waking up, and a sliver of light had already appeared on the horizon.
Huo Yuhao finished his meditation early and meticulously cleaned the room.
He didn't have many belongings, just the few things he'd brought with him when he came to Old Chen's place; a simple bundle was enough to hold them all.
"Finally finished cleaning," Huo Yuhao said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the clean and tidy room.
"Knock, knock." Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Huo Yuhao knew it was Old Chen, so he hurried to open it.
Sure enough, when he opened the door, Old Chen was standing in the hallway.
"Old Chen," Huo Yuhao greeted respectfully.
"Come and have breakfast. After you're done, I'll take you to leave," Old Chen said with a light smile.
"Yes."
Breakfast was plentiful: tender, delicious roasted soul beast meat, a large bowl of jade-white corn juice, and three Golden Pheasant eggs.
"Clang."
Just as Huo Yuhao was gulping down the corn juice, a clear sound of something falling rang out, right beside him.
Huo Yuhao looked over in confusion and saw a money pouch.
"There are a hundred Gold Soul Coins in there. Take it for your travel expenses. The cost of living in Shrek City isn't cheap. I'm afraid you'll end up a beggar instead of an apprentice." Old Chen said, looking at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao didn't refuse. With his left hand holding the bowl, he drank the corn juice and with his right hand grabbed the money pouch and stuffed it into his trouser pocket.
"If you can't settle down in Shrek City, then go to Star Luo City." Old Chen drank his tea, his tone serious as he instructed.
"Okay." Huo Yuhao finished the last sip of corn juice and put down the large bowl.
At the gate of the Maple Courtyard.
The sky was already beginning to brighten. Huo Yuhao followed Old Chen. As Old Chen opened the gate, Huo Yuhao subconsciously glanced back at the place he'd lived for several days.
Suddenly, a morning breeze blew, tearing a leaf from the maple tree and landing it on Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
Picking up the leaf from his shoulder, Huo Yuhao gazed at the fiery red leaf and fell silent.
"Let's go," Old Chen's voice broke Huo Yuhao's silence.
He smiled and released the leaf, letting it fall freely. But perhaps because of the wind, the leaf didn't fall to the ground as usual, instead, it drifted away with the wind, out of the Maple Courtyard.
The Duke's Mansion wasn't quiet in the early morning. As Huo Yuhao followed Old Chen, especially when they reached the outermost part of the mansion, they could see many servants moving about.
It was just after six in the morning.
Huo Yun'er used to wake up even earlier than this, working nearly seventeen or eighteen hours a day. She wasn't just sick; she was utterly exhausted.
However, Dai Huabin's kick had completely shattered what little life Huo Yun'er had left.
Along the way, all the servants would greet Old Chen respectfully.
Within the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, the servants were also ranked. The lowest ranked lived and worked on the outermost perimeter.
The slightly better servants were in the outer courtyards, serving as direct servants within different courtyards.
The maids who served the Duchess and the direct descendants of the White Tiger family held an even higher status.
As they walked, Huo Yuhao's gaze suddenly grew serious when they passed a large courtyard. This courtyard was the Firewood Room.
Outside the Firewood Room, many servants were heading inside, roughly thirty in total. They were preparing to start their work for the day.
Many of the people there, Huo Yuhao recognized.
Similarly, after these people had originally saluted Old Chen, they were all intending to go about their own business. But when they saw Huo Yuhao behind Old Chen, expressions of surprise appeared on everyone's faces.
After Huo Yuhao walked past the Firewood Room, these people finally withdrew their gazes, and most of them looked at each other, not knowing what they were thinking.
At the gate, two of the servants even widened their eyes. They stared intently at Huo Yuhao's back, and the next moment, they quickly ran into the courtyard.
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