Chapter 4: Soul Guidance Core Disciple
"Alright, Yuhao, no need for formalities. You can look around the Soul Guidance Department some more; I'll go report your information."
Huo Yuhao watched Fan Yu leave and began to browse the spirit tools again. He Caitou also had a look of joy, having grown much closer to Huo Yuhao, as they would now be fellow disciples.
After Huo Yuhao became his disciple, Fan Yu went to find Qian Duoduo, the Vice Dean of the Soul Guidance Department.
"Dean Qian, this child is a new student enrolling this year, and I'd like to directly recruit him into the Soul Guidance Department. His Spirit Ability might be able to change the firing problem of fixed-form Spirit cannon shells. If successful, it would be a leap forward in the development of spirit tools." Fan Yu handed a document to Qian Duoduo.
Qian Duoduo looked at Huo Yuhao's information on the document. Qian Duoduo had extensive experience fighting Yan Shaozhe for talented individuals, so he immediately recognized the uniqueness of the eye Spirit.
"Fan Yu, what do you think about us specially approving this child as a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department? This would also prevent the Spirit Department from having any ideas."
"Are you saying, directly promote him to a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department? Isn't that a bit fast? Will the Spirit Department also compete for this child?"
Core discipleship meant that dual cultivation was not allowed; in other words, once Huo Yuhao became a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department, the Spirit Department could no longer recruit him.
However, Fan Yu had not discerned the uniqueness of Huo Yuhao's Spirit from the information.
"You are still too inexperienced. To become a dean, you need to supplement your theoretical knowledge; just researching spirit tools isn't enough. Huo Yuhao has a Body Spirit, and the strength of a Body Spirit is related to its importance to the body. An eye Spirit, with 16 levels of spirit power, has great potential for the future. Especially with the possibility of a second awakening, the Spirit Department will not let go of such a talented disciple."
"Then, if we directly give Huo Yuhao core disciple status, won't that instead draw the attention of the Spirit Department to him?"
"It doesn't matter. By the time the Spirit Department discovers him, I will have already made arrangements. You don't need to worry about this; give Huo Yuhao this core disciple badge from the Soul Guidance Department and this invitation to the Treasure Appreciation Fair."
Qian Duoduo took out a badge and a resplendent hard paper, handing them to Fan Yu.
After Fan Yu returned to the Soul Guidance Department, he found that Huo Yuhao had not yet left and handed the items to Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, this badge represents the status of a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department; you must keep it safe. The address of the Treasure Pavilion is on the back of this invitation. School is about to start, so you can go and see if there's anything you need."
Fan Yu explained briefly and then went to attend to his own matters. It was almost time for the first-year students to enroll, and Fan Yu was not relaxed.
On the other side, He Caitou exclaimed in shock, "Junior Brother, this is the status of a core disciple! It represents the academy's intention to vigorously cultivate you. To obtain core disciple status right after enrolling, Junior Brother, you've made history!"
Listening to He Caitou's words, Huo Yuhao was just recovering from his surprise.
He hadn't expected the Soul Guidance Department to think so highly of him, giving him core disciple status on his first day of enrollment.
"Senior Brother He, I'll go check out this Treasure Pavilion first; you can continue with your work." Huo Yuhao pinned the Soul Guidance Department's core disciple badge to his chest, took the gold coins Fan Yu had given him, and bid farewell, preparing to visit the Treasure Pavilion first.
Inside the Treasure Pavilion was a ten-thousand-year whale glue that had been mistaken for a thousand-year whale glue. Huo Yuhao needed to buy it first.
Upon entering Shrek City, Huo Yuhao quickly found the address of the Treasure Pavilion on the invitation.
As Huo Yuhao arrived at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion, a young girl greeted him. "Spirit Master, sir, are you here to purchase items at the Treasure Pavilion?"
"Yes, take me inside to look." After entering the Treasure Pavilion, Huo Yuhao saw the dazzling array of natural treasures and felt an instant urge for a "zero-dollar shopping spree"—there were simply too many good things.
Listening to the girl's introduction of various items, Huo Yuhao asked, "Do you sell whale glue here? Even those with poor appearance are fine."
"Yes, we do. A piece of thousand-year whale glue costs fifty thousand gold coins. There's also a piece with a poor appearance, priced at six thousand gold coins." The girl said, leading Huo Yuhao to look at the two pieces of whale glue.
Upon seeing the piece of whale glue that was black and dull, Huo Yuhao was instantly delighted. "I'll take this one; I'll pay now."
Huo Yuhao recognized it at a glance as the ten-thousand-year whale glue from the original story, so he unhesitatingly took out six thousand gold coins and bought it.
After placing it into his storage spirit tool, he rushed back to Shrek Academy to find Senior Brother He Caitou.
Absorbing whale glue required melting it with high-temperature flames, and at this stage, Huo Yuhao could only rely on He Caitou to figure out a solution.
"Senior Brother He, I have to trouble you again. Can you help me melt this piece of whale glue? I really don't know any fire-attribute Spirit Masters."
"No problem, just leave it to me. Some flames from a spirit tool can melt it." After He Caitou finished speaking, he took the whale glue into a spirit tool laboratory.
Upon activating a certain instrument within, flames instantly shot out, and the whale glue gradually melted under the heat, turning into a golden-yellow liquid.
He Caitou placed it into a specially made bowl-shaped spirit tool and brought it out to Huo Yuhao.
"Junior Brother Yuhao, it's melted. Why don't you absorb it here? Conveniently, there are also spirit tools here to alleviate the side effects of whale glue."
Huo Yuhao naturally agreed without hesitation. Absorbing whale glue had the side effect of excessive yang energy. It was best if it could be resolved.
Eating the whale glue mouthful by mouthful, Huo Yuhao felt it was somewhat similar to the texture of donkey-hide gelatin from his previous life—quite chewy, but not difficult to swallow.
Soon, Huo Yuhao had finished eating the entire piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue.
After consuming the whale glue, feeling the slow improvement in his physical quality and meridians, Huo Yuhao was in a great mood.
A thousand-year whale glue could increase the maximum absorption limit of the second spirit ring by 500 years, while a ten-thousand-year whale glue could increase the maximum absorption limit by 1000 years.
This also meant that Huo Yuhao's second spirit ring could directly absorb a thousand-year spirit ring. Coupled with the Mysterious Heaven Skill's effect of nourishing the meridians, perhaps a two-thousand-year spirit ring could even be attempted.
Although whale glue itself had no effect on increasing spirit power, as Huo Yuhao's body strengthened, some spirit power that had accumulated in his body due to poor nutrition in his youth emerged.
Huo Yuhao, who was already not far from Level 17, successfully broke through to Level 17 by this means.
But it was at this moment that the side effects of the whale glue appeared. Huo Yuhao felt a burning sensation throughout his body, and he began to feel restless and irritable.
At this point, He Caitou took out a gun-shaped spirit tool and pressed its firing button.
Instantly, a freezing beam shot onto Huo Yuhao, covering his body with a layer of ice crystals.
This layer of ice crystals not only had a chilling effect but also a relaxing effect on the mind.
"This is an ice crystal spirit tool ray gun with some anesthetic properties. Its original purpose was to relieve pain for injured students, but it can also effectively alleviate the side effects of whale glue," He Caitou explained.
After recovering from the side effects, Huo Yuhao thanked He Caitou and left the Soul Guidance Department, walking towards the dormitory.
Although he had no luggage to pack, it was, after all, where he would live for the next year, so he had to clean it up.
Soon, Huo Yuhao reached the entrance of the dormitory building. Shrek Academy's new student dormitory building was a white building, much like university dormitories in his previous life. At the entrance of the building was a hunchbacked old man lying on a lounge chair, similar to a dorm supervisor from his past life.
However, one should not underestimate this old man; he was the true authority figure of Shrek Academy, one of the continent's highest combat powers, the Level 99 Limit Douluo, Dragon God Douluo Mu En.
"Hello, old sir. I'm a new student this year. Please take a look; this is my new student badge and dormitory key." Huo Yuhao greeted him politely.
"Dormitory 108 is on the first floor, the third room on the left. Floors four and above are for female students; male students are not allowed to go up, and if they do, they will be expelled."
The old man slightly opened his eyes, glanced at the key and badge, and responded gently.
"Thank you very much." After Huo Yuhao thanked him, he walked towards his dormitory.
"He's a polite child. Did he become a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department right after enrolling?" Mu En muttered as he watched Huo Yuhao leave.
Mu En had lived for over a hundred years, and hardly anyone could hide their inner thoughts from him.
It was just that although Huo Yuhao had some understanding of him, the concept of equality in Huo Yuhao's mind, influenced by his previous life, reduced his fear of the strong.
Therefore, in Mu En's eyes, it instead became respect for an ordinary old man.
Stepping into the dormitory, a feeling of a university dormitory from his previous life washed over him. It was still the familiar two-person room, but because it hadn't been cleaned for a month, there was a considerable amount of dust.
Huo Yuhao touched the dust on the bed and saw that it needed a thorough wiping with a rag.
Huo Yuhao took out the cleaning tools he had prepared earlier and began to meticulously clean. Soon, an hour passed, and the dormitory looked brand new.
Looking at the clean dormitory, Huo Yuhao took out his bedding from his storage spirit tool and spread it on the bed. Afterward, he got into bed and began to cultivate.
For dinner, he went to the cafeteria and ordered a top-tier meal costing 30 gold coins, which made the other students envious.
Ignoring the shock of others, Huo Yuhao returned to his dormitory to continue cultivating after eating.
Evening meditation could replace sleep, and Huo Yuhao did not intend to waste his evening cultivation time, meditating until the next morning.