Chapter 44: The Allure of the Taiji Realm! The Freshman Assessment Begins!

The matter was thus settled.

Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief and pressed the trunk bone directly into Wang Dong's hands.

This completely startled Wang Dong.

"What do you mean? You're just giving this to me like this?"

"I trust you won't renege on our agreement," Huo Yuhao said with a sincere smile. "Besides, the two of us are destined to accompany each other for a lifetime; there's no need to draw such clear boundaries."

This unintentional and direct remark made Wang Dong's face instantly flush red down to the roots of his ears.

Help!

Why was his heart beating so fast!

Why was his head feeling so dizzy!

His breathing was also becoming rapid!

"Oh ho!" Zhuge Lan exclaimed in surprise. "This little Yuhao, the way he talks is just like a confession. Which young girl's heart wouldn't flutter?"

"Such absolute trust is indeed the most heart-stirring," Elven agreed approvingly.

"That's right! Can the person chosen by Big Bro ever be wrong?!" the Sky Dream Iceworm said with immense pride.

...

After a flurry of flutters in his chest, Wang Dong—insisted upon by Huo Yuhao—finally put the trunk bone away.

However, he had no intention of absorbing it right away, temporarily even setting aside the dual cultivation with Huo Yuhao, and immediately stood up to walk out of the dormitory.

"I'm not running away, you know!" Wang Dong emphasized. "I'm heading straight back to the Clear Sky Sect right now. I'll definitely be back before the freshman examinations, and I'll bring you good news then for sure!"

Huo Yuhao frowned upon hearing this.

Wang Dong instantly panicked, thinking that just a moment ago he had said he trusted...

"If we can't do dual cultivation for so long, our progress will fall behind," Huo Yuhao said with a hint of regret. "Can't you just write a letter instead? Or should I accompany you on a visit?"

Wang Dong stammered for a moment, swallowing the words that were right on the tip of his tongue.

A—A visit?!

Don't make it sound so ambiguous!

"The Clear Sky Sect is extremely xenophobic, and traveling back and forth also wastes time. You should just stay put in Shrek."

"If it were ordinary resources, a single letter from me would suffice to requisition them."

"But for something as major as learning inherited soul skills, the elders within the sect would hardly agree unless I go back in person."

"However, Big Dad and Second Dad dote on me very much. As long as I pester them a bit more, they will definitely say yes."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to agree.

—Big Bro Lan said that this Great Clear Sky Hammer is worth a whopping 25,000 Fortune Points!

A genuine divine skill that allows a mortal to briefly rival the gods.

It was definitely worth looking forward to.

"Then go quickly and return soon, I'll be waiting for you at the academy," Huo Yuhao said reluctantly.

His original reluctance was purely due to missing out on the dual cultivation bonuses.

But in Wang Dong's ears, it took on an entirely different layer of meaning.

This time, even his neck turned crimson. He buried his head, made a dash out of the dormitory, and spread his wings, vanishing into the night.

And yet, Huo Yuhao remained completely oblivious to all of this.

...

"Wang Dong is really excited, his face turned red like that."

"Naturally. That's a highly compatible 240,000-year-old trunk bone. If it were me, I'd be flush with excitement too."

Inside the spiritual realm, the two individuals and one worm either chuckled or sighed.

Talk about being unable to see what's right under your nose, huh?

"That old fellow Mu En must have wanted to see this outcome as well," Zhuge Lan speculated. "This way, he's owed me a favor, promoted a good match between his two disciples, and also built a friendly connection with the Clear Sky Sect. That's killing three birds with one stone."

"There's also the intention of testing little Yuhao's character," Elven added.

Zhuge Lan nodded in agreement, proving that ginger truly grows more pungent as it ages.

"You humans have way too many winding turns in your guts," the Sky Dream Iceworm muttered. "Unlike us soul beasts, who are straightforward and simple."

"Yes, yes, yes. That's why you got caught and had your energy sucked for ten thousand years," Zhuge Lan retorted sarcastically.

That utterly infuriated the Sky Dream Iceworm!

"Take this entanglement from me!"

...

With Wang Dong gone and dual cultivation temporarily halted, Huo Yuhao became even more diligent. He would even pop a few hundred-year-old Vajra Bodhi fruits while reading to accelerate his progress in the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic.

In his spare time, he would lead believers like Xiao Xiao to practice Tai Chi Chuan while maintaining Spiritual Detection Sharing.

As for how much they could comprehend, it all depended on individual aptitude.

Yan Shaozhe never failed to show up, and in the distance, figures like Xuanzi and others could often be seen lingering.

Yet no one ever broached the topic of joining the Holy Fire Cult.

It wasn't that they didn't want to—it was that everyone in the academy above the Soul Douluo rank wanted to join!

Who should be allowed in, and who shouldn't?

Or should everyone be let in?

If so, whose territory would Shrek Academy actually be?

Xuanzi wasn't the Pavilion Master of the Sea God's Pavilion just yet, and he didn't dare make the final call on such a monumental matter.

They could only watch from afar, hoping to glean even a shred of its profound mysteries.

However, since Huo Yuhao's every instruction was transmitted via Spiritual Detection Sharing, even with such direct personal guidance, figures like Xu Sanshi and Xiao Xiao were still progressing at a snail's pace.

How could mere onlookers possibly hope to comprehend the profound realm of Tai Chi?

So much so that...

"In my opinion, it's just a technique of leveraging strength against strength. Is it really as mystical as Shaozhe claims?" Qian Duoduo questioned.

"That's just because you're too dull and haven't grasped the essence!" Xuanzi said, taking a swig from his flask of liquor. "Shaozhe is about to make a breakthrough."

Everyone present was utterly astounded by this revelation!

Yan Shaozhe had been stuck at his bottleneck for nearly a decade, showing no signs of breaking through whatsoever.

And after practicing with Huo Yuhao for just a single week, he was about to break through?

In an instant, the gazes of everyone in the vicinity burned with intensity!

Xuanzi was equally moved, taking a massive bite out of a roasted chicken leg.

What concerned him even more, however, was this—the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic tempered the body and altered innate talent, while Tai Chi Chuan used intent to assist in breaking through bottlenecks. Just how terrifying of an existence was that supreme majesty behind the scenes?

Choosing Huo Yuhao—was it truly because he valued the boy as a person, or was he merely using him as a pawn for some grander scheme?

Was the Holy Fire Cult just a fleeting whim, or were they plotting a massive game of chess?

He simply couldn't see through it.

'I wonder if Elder Mu has found the Land of Ice and Fire yet...'

'The foundation for the original Shrek Seven Monsters to attain godhood was rooted in a single fairy herb. If I could also acquire one...'

...

In the blink of an eye.

Three months had passed since Huo Yuhao enrolled, and the freshman examinations finally commenced.

Yet right up until the moment the first duel was about to begin, there was still no sign of either Wang Dong or Mu En.

"It's going to be fine!" Xiao Xiao said full of confidence. "With the monitor here, the two of us alone can steamroll right through them!"

Huo Yuhao smiled faintly; his concern wasn't about the match itself.

It was just that the two most important people in his life had yet to return.

It was inevitable to feel a sense of lingering worry.

At that moment, the public address system rang out—

"First round, first match—Freshman Class 1: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao. Freshman Class 3: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen!"

"Monitor, let's go!"

Little Xiao Xiao held her head high and chest out, walking onto the soul combat stage alongside the calm-faced Huo Yuhao.

Wang Yan, the examination proctor for Sector 33, scanned the area behind them.

Indeed, there were only the two of them.

"Student Huo Yuhao, has your other teammate overslept? You can formally request to delay the match."

The trio representing the Freshman Class 3 opposing them all wore expressions of displeasure.

"Teacher! Didn't you say that being late counts as a forfeit? Why are they being granted a delay?"

Wang Yan glared at the three of them.

Why?

The other side consisted of two disciples of Elder Mu and one disciple of Dean Yan.

You ask why?

"Thank you for the teacher's kind offer, but it won't be necessary," Huo Yuhao politely declined.

"That's right, Teacher! To deal with these three, just the two of us—no, just me alone is more than enough!" Xiao Xiao boldly proclaimed.

This immediately provoked the Class 3 team into glaring daggers at her!

"Fine! I'd like to see how you plan on taking on three of us by yourself!"

"Teacher, they said it's fine themselves, let's start already!"

"Don't go crying when you get beaten up later!"

Xiao Xiao stuck her tongue out at the opponents and turned to Huo Yuhao.

"Monitor, just leave this to me later, you don't even have to lift a finger!"