This was the first time Huo Yuhao had ever harvested a cauldron without restraint—not a mutually beneficial dual cultivation, but an all-out extraction that lasted an entire day and night.
As sunlight once again filtered into the small building—
Huo Yuhao lounged lazily, stark naked, against the bamboo-framed window. He was reminiscing about the benefits of the harvest while gazing at the rising sun, idly toying with a soul bone that radiated a terrifying aura.
Zi Ji's figure had vanished without a trace. Not a single sign of her remained in the room. To put it bluntly, she had been utterly and completely consumed by Huo Yuhao.
Not only her yin essence—but all her vital energy had been completely absorbed by him. Even her soul was not spared; it had been fed into the Ghost Banner Martial Soul. At the moment the harvest ended, her body crumbled into sand and dispersed with the wind.
He didn't even need to use Snow Lotus.
Huo Yuhao hadn't expected the harvesting technique to be this overpowering. He had only ever seen Pudu Cihang use it on ordinary women, where draining them dry wasn't surprising. But using it on a powerful being like Zi Ji, with the same result, was terrifying.
The key difference lay in the time and efficiency.
Pudu Cihang could drain a hundred women in a single night. In contrast, Huo Yuhao needed a full day and night just to harvest Zi Ji.
Still, it was acceptable.
The gains from harvesting just Zi Ji far surpassed those from a hundred mortal women.
Spending more time wasn't a problem. With Huo Yuhao's current identity, even if he disappeared for a day and night, it was easy to make excuses. Even longer disappearances wouldn't shake his position in Shrek Academy, so long as he reappeared in time.
No one would suspect him.
Thus, he could quietly stay in the small building and reflect on the gains.
This harvesting method was less efficient than letting Snow Lotus directly devour the target, but the pleasure it brought Huo Yuhao was far superior. If his will wasn't so firm, he might have easily become addicted to the experience.
No doubt about it—Zi Ji was... sublime.
Even after becoming a puppet under his control, the pleasure of playing with her was irresistible, and the aftertaste lingered endlessly.
Moreover, this kind of harvesting allowed Huo Yuhao to instantly digest the absorbed energy, bypassing the need to slowly refine and absorb blood-qi seeds afterward.
Activating his Evil Eye Martial Soul—
A gold and a red soul ring revolved around Huo Yuhao. The newly added red ring shimmered with two golden lines, marking it as a 200,000-year soul ring.
Zi Ji's soul ring!
Her bloodline and essence had been fully absorbed, and during the process, her soul ring had been refined into Huo Yuhao's Evil Eye Martial Soul.
Although still focused on the spiritual attribute, the Evil Eye could now absorb soul rings of any attribute, much like Huo Yuhao's bloodline abilities. No longer just a Martial Soul, its evolving potential was evident in the awakening of various mystical eyes.
Thus, his only requirement for choosing new soul rings was simple—power.
As long as the ring was powerful, the Evil Eye could unlock its full potential.
Zi Ji was a perfect match. Not only was she a high-level soul beast, but a pureblood true dragon with talents on par with Di Tian. Outside of a few even rarer beasts and special entities, there were few on the continent whose soul ring could rival hers.
Her second ring, obtained from the Hell Demon Dragon King, brought Huo Yuhao two signature soul skills—just like the ones Bai Xiuxiu received in Ultimate Douluo. However, these were now modified by the Evil Eye's power to better suit his abilities.
The two soul skills were:
Death Withering: A large-area domain imbued with powerful dark-elemental corrosion. All attacks gain dark corrosion effects. Anything within the domain is subject to decay. It can also be focused through the eyes to inflict intense corrosion on a single target.
Heaven Demon Domain: Instantly activated without charging. Its range is equal to Huo Yuhao's spiritual sense. Within the domain, he can perform Heaven Demon Reversal on multiple targets simultaneously using spiritual locks.
Heaven Demon Reversal mimics the Fight Fire With Fire technique—using the enemy's power against them.
If Huo Yuhao hadn't used the Seagod's divine pressure to suppress Zi Ji, and she had been able to unleash her domain and reversal instantly, he wouldn't have been able to subdue her so easily. He might've even been injured.
This proved how crucial control and anti-control skills are in both duels and group battles.
The soul ring wasn't even the most important gain—
The critical breakthrough was in condensing a new blood-qi soul ring.
After deactivating the Evil Eye and dismissing the rings, a tiger's roar and dragon's cry erupted from Huo Yuhao's body.
Three golden blood-qi soul rings appeared one after another.
Zi Ji's yin essence had greatly benefited him, boosting both his cultivation and physique. He was already on the verge of forming a third blood-qi soul ring, and now he'd not only condensed it but was already nearing the formation of a fourth.
However, this new third ring wasn't tied to the White Tiger bloodline. Instead, his dragon bloodlines activated to form it.
The Ice Jade Scaled Dragon, the Radiant Holy Dragon, and the Frost Centipede Dragon—now joined by Zi Ji's Hell Demon Dragon King bloodline—were all fused into a higher form: the Golden Dragon King bloodline.
And that rarest of bloodlines had now undergone transformation.
Thanks to his Demonic Buddha techniques and his visualized Celestial Dragon, the bloodline wasn't merely advancing—it was evolving.
Beyond the Golden Dragon King, Silver Dragon King, and Dragon God bloodlines, it had given birth to a fourth path.
Because it was derived from the visualization of the Celestial Dragon, this unified dragon bloodline could be called:
Heavenly Dragon Bloodline!
It had a terrifying power of fusion and devouring over all dragon types. All bloodlines it absorbed would ultimately strengthen this new one.
The third blood-qi ring's attached ability was named:
Heavenly Dragon Transformation!
It could ignite the blood-qi, release draconic might, and manifest a dragon avatar—or even transform directly into a dragon—massively boosting physical strength.
This bloodline was so active and powerful that within half a month, Huo Yuhao would likely form his fourth blood-qi soul ring.
And that, too, would most likely stem from the Heavenly Dragon Bloodline.
But the uniqueness of this third ring didn't stop there—Huo Yuhao sensed that it could combine with his first ring, meaning the White Tiger and Heavenly Dragon bloodlines could be unleashed simultaneously, likely with unimaginable effects.
This was a powerful warrior's instinct—and it was intense.
Unfortunately, his instincts also warned him that such a fusion, if used now, would destroy this building—possibly even the entire courtyard.
So, for the sake of secrecy, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to postpone the test.
After savoring the lingering essence of Ziji, Huo Yuhao prepared to absorb her soul bone as well.
At present, Huo Yuhao was only missing a torso soul bone.
Once he absorbed Ziji's soul bone, he would complete the six major components of a full-body soul bone set.
The torso bone, being the most vital, would connect all his limbs and meridians, allowing his power to flow more seamlessly. After absorbing this soul bone, Huo Yuhao's strength would surely see a significant boost.
Moreover, the soul bone carried the Yin Water attribute, which could be enhanced further by fusing with water-attribute or dark-attribute soul bones, giving him tremendous room for growth in the future.
Huo Yuhao didn't demand all of his soul bones to reach the million-year level—but his most important torso soul bone must reach that level to support his full combat potential.
Additionally, all kinds of enhancement techniques required a robust body to withstand the strain.
Ziji's soul bone was a deep violet, almost black, appearing as though carved from crystal. It looked both regal and domineering, seductive yet elegant. It was both a priceless treasure and a work of art—just like Ziji herself, beautiful in both appearance and temperament.
This soul bone was based on the spine, complete with outward-extending branches resembling ribs, encompassing even the sternum.
Huo Yuhao could feel that the soul bone possessed a strong devouring attribute, as well as a destructive force.
Shockingly, Ziji's soul bone contained three powerful attributes: Yin Water, Devouring, and Destruction.
Before beginning absorption, Huo Yuhao snapped his fingers and summoned Ziji's ghostly spirit.
"Guard me," Huo Yuhao commanded.
Ziji nodded blankly and obeyed loyally.
Indeed, Ziji's soul still existed—just like Mu En's. Both remained under Huo Yuhao's control through his "Demonic Reign Over the World" technique.
Huo Yuhao took a long look at Ziji. Perhaps due to her final transformation before death, her spirit now radiated a mature allure.
"Maybe I should try an out-of-body soul projection practice…" he mused.
Clearing his mind of distractions, Huo Yuhao adjusted his body slightly, then began absorbing the soul bone.
The process went smoothly, though it took time. Interestingly, the soul bone and soul ring—since they originated from the same source—reacted in a unique way, causing Huo Yuhao to become deeply immersed in the process.
Furthermore, several vertebra-attached soul bones he had previously absorbed, including ribs fused with the Ice God Crystal, were actually devoured and fused by Ziji's torso soul bone!
In short, Ziji's torso soul bone absorbed them all.
Just like that, more than half a day passed.
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again,
the morning sun had already transformed into the evening glow, dyeing the sky with a warm golden hue.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Absorbing the soul ring and soul bone from the same beast had always provided additional benefits—and Huo Yuhao had known this from experience.
But Ziji's soul ring and soul bone were unique. When absorbed together, their devouring properties interacted in an unexpected way—
They could continue devouring energy to increase their age!
Although this method wasn't as efficient or fast as the Bone Fusion Secret Technique—and it required Huo Yuhao's own cultivated energy to fuel the process—it had no other conditions, and didn't require transcending any tribulation.
Huo Yuhao purposely spent a portion of his energy to let the soul ring and soul bone devour it, and in just one day, both surpassed the 300,000-year mark!
This smooth breakthrough was mainly due to Ziji's originally high cultivation age and the synergy of absorbing both ring and bone in sequence.
Going forward, the pace of growth would slow down, and the improvements wouldn't be as dramatic.
Ziji's torso bone also retained two of her powerful abilities:
—Her innate ability: Devouring Domain
—Her ultimate technique: Abyssal Devour!
With that, Huo Yuhao had collected all six major soul bones:
21,000-year Ice Radiance Left Arm Bone
330,000-year Titan Snow Demon King Right Arm Bone
150,000-year Tyrannosaurus Right Leg Bone
100,000-year Forest Deer King Left Leg Bone
70,000-year Terror Demon Dragon Skull Bone
300,000-year Hell Demon Dragon Torso Bone
The sub-100,000-year skull bone would later be upgraded using Mu En's skull bone—fulfilling a promise, since it was Mu En who had originally chosen that bone for him.
The Forest Deer King's left leg bone, which possessed wood and life attributes, was preparation for eventually fusing with soul bones from the Myriad Beast King and Bi Ji. Once the Myriad Beast King's wood element was added, Huo Yuhao would master another ultimate element: Extreme Wood.
Standing up, Huo Yuhao's body radiated a tight muscular pressure, even producing faint sounds of thunder.
His physical strength had taken another leap!
With all major bones now integrated, his physique had broken through a new limit.
His mutant Frost Wug Martial Soul emerged, and its first innate soul ring now surpassed 400,000 years!
That meant—Huo Yuhao could now absorb Bing Di's soul ring!
"Bing Di… The humiliation you once left me—it's time you paid for it."
Huo Yuhao's gaze turned cold and proud.
Back then: "She's too powerful—run!"
Now: "Time to repay the debt!"
…
Huo Yuhao's two-day disappearance was brushed off as a closed-door cultivation session.
No one doubted him.
Some, out of curiosity, asked what he had gained—he merely revealed that his Frost Wug Martial Soul's first soul ring had broken the 100,000-year barrier, which immediately silenced any questions and even stirred excitement among the members of the Sea God's Pavilion.
According to Huo Yuhao's explanation, the age of this soul ring dictated how high the age of the next soul ring he could absorb would be.
Which meant—he might soon absorb a 100,000-year seventh soul ring!
Don't ask how he broke through—just say it was thanks to watching Mu En's final technique: Dragon Emperor's Righteous Rupture, which inspired him to break through, master "Sovereign Reign Over the World," and even evolve further.
It's all thanks to the teacher!
With Mu En no longer watching, and Xuanzu temporarily inactive, Huo Yuhao could start showing off his exaggerated talent—something that would only help him earn more trust and resources from Shrek Academy.
As expected, everything went according to plan.
Elder Lin and the others were even moved to tears, thinking it was a turning point for the Academy.
Soon after, Xuanzu came to find him.
Seeing him again, Huo Yuhao noticed that Xuanzu looked much better—his eyes were brighter and more spirited.
Huo Yuhao could sense the drop of his own blood inside Xuanzu, indicating that Xuanzu had successfully absorbed the Dragon Pill.
"Good, good, good!" Xuanzu said three times in a row, clearly aware of Huo Yuhao's breakthrough.
Overcome with emotion, he nearly wept tears of joy.
Huo Yuhao quickly moved to comfort him.
Thankfully, Xuanzu wasn't there just to cry. He looked seriously at Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, I'm about to enter secluded cultivation. The only thing I worry about is you. I'm grateful you gave up the Dragon Pill. I won't be able to protect you anymore, so the only thing I can do for you now… is to pass on to you my self-created soul skill."
"Ordinary soul masters can't handle too many self-created skills—it splits their focus, and such techniques usually demand specific martial souls and elemental affinities. But with your talent, I believe you'll be able to forge your own path through mine."
"What I'm about to teach you is a soul skill I created based on my martial soul—"
"Devour Ring!" Out of respect for Xuanzu's heartfelt sincerity, Huo Yuhao didn't reject him and reluctantly began to learn the Devouring Ring Secret Technique Xuanzu had developed.
On the training grounds of Sea God's Island.
"Have you ever heard of the Exploding Ring Secret of the Clear Sky Sect?"
Xuanzu's first sentence was surprisingly about the Clear Sky Sect.
Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned but then nodded and replied, "I read about it once in a book from the outer courtyard library. It said that it's a secret art that draws tremendous power from soul rings and can grant Clear Sky Hammer soul masters immense combat power. It's considered one of the top secret techniques on the Douluo Continent."
The books in the outer courtyard didn't go into much detail about the Exploding Ring.
They only mentioned its existence—that it could bring immense strength to those with the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul and was a core secret of the sect, seemingly exclusive to Clear Sky Hammer users.
It was true that the Exploding Ring could grant a soul master enhanced combat power, but whether it was truly the pinnacle of secret techniques on the Douluo Continent was debatable.
In truth, the Exploding Ring wasn't all that profound. Or rather, most combat skills, self-created soul skills, and so-called secrets on the Douluo Continent weren't all that deep either.
Because they were all just "techniques" at best, rarely touching upon "principles."
Techniques are mere methods.
Principles lead to understanding.
Only when something can guide one to true enlightenment can it be called the Way.
The Exploding Ring only had recorded methods for cultivation and usage—it didn't explain the underlying principles. It couldn't guide one toward an understanding of the laws of the world.
In Huo Yuhao's eyes, Fusion Ring was more worth studying than the Exploding Ring.
But as long as no one had developed a technique more powerful than the Exploding Ring, it would remain considered the strongest on the continent.
After all, soul masters in Douluo pursued only one thing: combat strength, above all else. And very few techniques could surpass the explosive power of the Exploding Ring.
Frankly, now that Huo Yuhao understood how the Exploding Ring worked, he was confident that with just a few days and his All-Seeing Eye, he could replicate the technique—and even improve it.
After all, wasn't it just a glorified self-sacrificing burst style?
Xuanzu had no clue what was going on in Huo Yuhao's mind. He simply nodded lightly at Huo Yuhao's answer, then spoke more seriously, revealing some confidential information.
"In fact, the inner courtyard library holds more detailed records. To be precise, the Exploding Ring Secret is about shattering soul rings, using their energy directly in a powerful burst. It was created by Tang Chen, the great-grandfather of Ancestor Tang San and former sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect. He was known as the Invincible One on Earth—and nearly ascended to godhood. Sadly, he sacrificed himself for Ancestor Tang San in the end."
Huo Yuhao paused, then cooperated with Xuanzu by putting on a look of shock. "That powerful?"
Sure enough, Xuanzu was very pleased by Huo Yuhao's reaction. He loved this kind of wide-eyed, inexperienced look.
It wasn't impressive when regular people looked shocked—but when a genius showed that expression, it gave teachers a great sense of accomplishment.
Still, Xuanzu smiled and comforted Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, with your talent and fortune, you might truly attain godhood one day! After all, like Ancestor Tang San and the others, you've consumed celestial herbs and are an extreme-attribute soul master! To be blunt, the Shrek Seven Devils of ten thousand years ago, at your age, were nowhere near your level."
Huo Yuhao quickly put on a humble expression.
"Senior Brother Xuanzu overpraises me. We juniors are simply beneficiaries of Ancestor Tang San's legacy. If he hadn't destroyed the evil Spirit Hall, we'd still be living in torment. We wouldn't have the chance to train in such a nurturing environment."
"Besides, we're only living in a world without Ancestor Tang San."
Huo Yuhao (internally): If I had lived in the same era as Tang San, I'd have smashed his head in!
How many deities did that useless "Xuantian Record" even produce? Would it dare challenge demonic or Buddhist cultivation systems?
Xuanzu had no idea what Huo Yuhao was really thinking. He was simply very pleased by his modesty—such a rare trait in one so young and gifted.
If I'd had that kind of talent when I was young, Xuanzu thought, I would've shouted, "I will surpass the ancestors!"—utter blasphemy!
Still, despite his satisfaction, Xuanzu patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and advised him earnestly.
"Yuhao, now that you're the successor to the Sea God's Pavilion, you must display sufficient dominance in the outside world to uphold Shrek's prestige. Understand?"
"…Alright. I'll try," Huo Yuhao replied with an expression of difficulty.
Xuanzu didn't push further. He trusted that Elder Lin and the others would guide Huo Yuhao appropriately.
As the Sea God Pavilion's heir, being too humble and gentle could be a problem.
Even Elder Mu, after all, struck with a heavy fist when facing the outside world—and so did Xuanzu himself.
If you have no grounds, still argue your case. But when you do have strength and reason—then all the more reason to assert yourself!
Then Xuanzu continued the lesson.
"My Devouring Ring Secret Technique was developed by referencing the effects of the Exploding Ring, combined with my Taotie Divine Ox martial soul. It's a method to draw power from soul rings and unleash it in a burst."
"The power of the Exploding Ring depends on how many soul rings are detonated. But my Devouring Ring can extract power from all nine soul rings simultaneously. Although it might not rival the ultimate might of detonating all nine rings at once, it consumes far less from the rings and allows for faster recovery."
"In short, both techniques have their strengths and weaknesses."
After saying all that, Xuanzu couldn't help showing a touch of pride.
Huo Yuhao once again cooperated with a look of admiration and amazement.
Not wasting time, Xuanzu said, "Yuhao, watch carefully. I'll only demonstrate once. This is my—Devouring Ring!"
He instantly activated his martial soul. This time, he only looked slightly more muscular, with a pair of prominent ox horns sprouting from his head.
Brilliant yellow light radiated from Xuanzu's body as he clasped his hands together, unleashing a burst of willpower. All nine of his soul rings suddenly flared up in a blaze of energy.
Huo Yuhao quietly activated his All-Seeing Eye, sharply detecting the boiling power within each of Xuanzu's soul rings being forcibly drawn out.
All the energy was gathered together. A yellow radiance began to grow above Xuanzu's head, eventually forming a strange weapon—wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. It actually resembled a chicken drumstick.
In the next instant, Xuanzu roared, his muscles suddenly swelling—his entire body enlarging by a size. The drumstick-shaped weapon in his hand slowly swung down toward a massive five-meter-tall stone in the training ground.
BOOM!
The whole training field shook violently. Even everyone on Sea God's Island felt it and came out to check the situation. Fortunately, Elder Lin and others stepped in quickly, calming the anxious crowd.
The impact of the recent beast tide hadn't fully worn off, so many were still on edge.
Back in the training ground, once Xuanzu dismissed the weapon in his hand…
The five-meter-tall boulder had already turned to dust, completely annihilated. The solid training field now had a two-meter-deep, five-meter-wide crater.
"Yuhao, I didn't even go all out. What do you think of the power?" Xuanzu asked proudly.
"So strong!"
Huo Yuhao (internally): But now—it's mine!
Xuanzi spent an entire day teaching Huo Yuhao.
Luckily, Huo Yuhao wasn't pressed for time at the moment. Having just completed a breakthrough, he needed to stabilize his cultivation and wasn't in a rush to improve further. This meant he didn't need to immerse himself in training just yet—otherwise, he really wouldn't have had the time to entertain Xuanzi.
Huo Yuhao didn't directly master the Devour Ring Secret Technique. He simply demonstrated that he had grasped its core principles.
Even so, Xuanzi still praised him.
If he had actually mastered the technique on the spot, it would have raised suspicion—because the core of the Devour Ring Secret Technique isn't just the method of extracting spirit ring energy, but the devour attribute itself!
It's perfectly normal for the Taotie Divine Bull to have a hidden devour attribute—but if the Mutant Ice Jade Centipede starts displaying devour traits, that would be a red flag.
How many legitimate martial souls are actually born with devour attributes?
After Xuanzi left for closed-door cultivation, Huo Yuhao returned to his room and summoned the Mutant Ice Jade Centipede martial soul to test the Devour Ring Secret Technique.
He had long since mastered the technique fully.
What enabled him was, of course, the devour attribute from his torso bone.
As Huo Yuhao activated the technique, the seven spirit rings of the Mutant Ice Jade Centipede began to surge and burn with energy—almost identical in effect to what Xuanzi had demonstrated earlier.
However, due to the higher quality of Huo Yuhao's spirit rings, the explosive aura of his seven rings was even more powerful than Xuanzi's nine.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao had already set up isolation formations in his room to prevent the leakage of energy or aura.
Unlike Xuanzi, who condensed the extracted spirit ring energy into a weapon to attack, Huo Yuhao instead injected all the energy back into the Mutant Ice Jade Centipede itself.
Success.
The martial soul erupted with radiant light, its aura climbing rapidly, as though it were unleashing a power-up transformation.
After confirming the success of the technique, Huo Yuhao immediately withdrew the devour energy, restoring all the energy back to the rings and returning the martial soul to its normal state.
The Mutant Ice Jade Centipede , however, seemed unsatisfied—wanting more.
"This technique is actually pretty interesting," Huo Yuhao nodded slightly.
In truth, the Devour Ring Secret Technique had its drawbacks.
Once you extract spirit ring energy, unless it fully recovers, any skills used from that ring will be significantly weakened. Worse, over-extraction could make the soul skill temporarily unusable.
Xuanzi understood this, which is why he rarely extracted too much energy. This move was typically reserved for finishing battles in one decisive strike.
Still, it wasn't much of an issue. Huo Yuhao didn't rely heavily on soul skills for combat anyway—he had plenty of other techniques.
"This secret technique could be developed further. There's a limit to absorbing energy from your own spirit rings. But if I could absorb from others' spirit rings... then everyone else would be my loot drops," Huo Yuhao mused to himself.
The long night offered little leisure for Huo Yuhao.
Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luocheng, and Wei Na quietly slipped into his room. Wei Na had recently been specially promoted into the inner court and had joined Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luocheng's team.
A man and three women sharing a room—what happens next goes without saying.
Dual cultivation benefits both parties, but in practice, the weaker one gains more.
With the power gap widening between Huo Yuhao and the three women, each session of dual cultivation significantly boosted their cultivation and strengthened their physiques—especially since their foundational power levels were lower to begin with.
Moreover, the purity and strength of their bloodlines were also improving.
Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix bloodline had strengthened to the point that it helped activate the corresponding Phoenix components in Huo Yuhao's Frost Centipede Armor. She had already reached this level before the Soul Master Tournament, steadily enhancing the quality of her martial soul.
Ling Luocheng's ice attribute was being enhanced and was now evolving toward Ultimate Ice. Meanwhile, her Titan bloodline—imbued into her through her left arm—was beginning to merge with her body, remolding her physically. Despite her delicate appearance, she could now crush a human skull with her bare hands. As for the Ice God bloodline, it hadn't shown significant effects—yet.
Wei Na, thanks to the snow lotus aura from Huo Yuhao, had greatly enhanced her Snow Lotus martial soul in both strength and quality. Her cultivation increased the fastest—jumping from Soul King to level 53 in a very short time.
Although the three women gained more, Huo Yuhao also benefited:
Ma Xiaotao continuously provided Phoenix bloodline energy.
Ling Luocheng refined his Ultimate Ice attribute.
Wei Na contributed Phoenix Qi.
Time flew by.
The beast tide continued to spread, affecting the entire continent. Many soul masters grew increasingly worried about the Star Dou Forest's soul beasts, and even other soul beast habitats were under greater scrutiny.
Oddly enough, Shrek Academy became less affected.
Because Shrek's top experts were only injured, not dead, no ambitious powers dared to make a move.
What could they do? The same thing as before: nothing.
The Sun Moon Empire was the most disappointed. Still, since the Star Luo Empire's White Tiger Duke and two Title Douluo had suffered heavy damage, the Sun Moon Empire could further test the waters against Star Luo.
Life in Shrek City went on as usual. The damaged southern wall was gradually being rebuilt, and Shrek's prestige was slowly being restored.
But just like the golden ancient tree that hadn't fully recovered—some things, once broken, are easy to patch but hard to truly restore.
Without Mu En, no one could wield the power of the golden ancient tree. Unless some divine miracle occurred, Shrek Academy could no longer pose any threat to Huo Yuhao.
Shrek was no longer an obstacle to him. All he lacked was one opportunity—an opportunity to consume Shrek Academy whole.
After internal affairs were settled, Shrek Academy began rewarding its heroes.
The families of those who sacrificed themselves received generous compensation. Their descendants were guaranteed unconditional enrollment.
Those who survived were granted lavish rewards—including soul bones.
This great distribution of wealth quickly restored Shrek's reputation and public favor, even making rival powers admire its deep foundations.
Inner court disciples received especially generous rewards.
Shrek needed more powerful cultivators—and only the inner court disciples were considered Shrek's true core.
Even if some of them didn't stay to work for the Academy, they would remain loyal, always responding to Shrek's summons.
That was enough.
Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luocheng, and Wei Na also received rewards, including soul bones and cultivation resources—just below Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo.
Ma Xiaotao and Wei Na now both had five soul bones each.
Ling Luocheng couldn't absorb a soul bone with her left arm, but was granted a 50,000-year Violent Baboon right arm bone. It synergized with her left arm, greatly enhancing her melee combat ability.
Currently:
Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luocheng still lacked head soul bones.
Wei Na still lacked a torso bone.
These slots were intentionally left open.
The Academy had promised each of them a 100,000-year spirit ring upon reaching level 90.
And from those rings, a 100,000-year soul bone would surely drop—completing their sets.
Although Huo Yuhao, as the successor to the Sea God's Pavilion, didn't receive any explicit rewards, the identity itself was the greatest reward!
It signified that Shrek Academy would now cultivate him with everything they had.
Not only could Huo Yuhao access all cultivation resources freely, but Elder Lin had even stated that once he reached Rank 70, she would personally lead a team to help him acquire a 100,000-year seventh spirit ring!
A seventh ring of 100,000 years wasn't unheard of. The last person to achieve this feat was Mu En.
Now, the senior figures at Shrek Academy already saw Huo Yuhao as the next Mu En—many even believed he would surpass Mu En.
After all, Mu En had never consumed immortal herbs, nor was he an ultimate attribute Spirit Master.
But with position and power comes responsibility and duty.
Huo Yuhao hadn't enjoyed a few days of leisure before being pulled out as Shrek Academy's figurehead and representative to receive various guests coming to visit and express their concern for the Academy.
Many of these guests were former disciples of Shrek Academy, now high-ranking figures in their respective factions. Upon hearing of their alma mater's crisis, they came in person to offer support—bringing along plenty of supplies.
Naturally, Shrek Academy accepted everything, no questions asked.
And Huo Yuhao quickly realized the Academy's motive in assigning him this reception role: to help him build connections with graduates and expand his influence, while also making it clear to those graduates who would represent Shrek Academy's future.
None of the graduates objected to being received by Huo Yuhao. On the contrary, they were quite warm toward him.
They had all heard of his performance in the Spirit Master Tournament and his crucial role during the Beast Tide. Without exception, they praised him effusively—many even brought him generous "local specialties."
He received quite a pile of gold cards.
"What could I do? I had no choice but to accept it all!"
Huo Yuhao hadn't expected Shrek Academy to hand him such a valuable opportunity.
This was a top-tier talent pipeline—too good to pass up. Anyone who managed to graduate from Shrek Academy wouldn't have weak talent or bloodlines, and many came from families brimming with gifted individuals waiting to make their mark.
Some were even disciples from hidden sects rarely seen on the continent, greatly expanding Huo Yuhao's channels for acquiring rare goods.
"Heavenly Soul's hidden sect Tianyin Sect, which accepts primarily musical-spirited female Spirit Masters. The sect leader's line inherits the top-tier Martial Soul Prisoned Ox Resonance Chime, and they seem to possess Prisoned Ox blood."
"Star Luo's Lion Clan, a family line with the top-tier Martial Soul Blazing Flame Lion. The current patriarch is a general in the Star Luo Empire. They may be descendants of the Lion Douluo Clan from the ancient Spirit Hall."
"Dou Ling's Tuoba Clan, inheriting the high-tier Martial Soul Golden Armored Earth Dragon. Their current head is the city defense commander of Dou Ling Empire. They may descend from the Sacred Dragon Sect of ten thousand years ago. The Martial Soul seems to be an evolved version of the White Armored Earth Dragon, now stabilized into a branch of the Earth Dragon bloodline."
And so on…
Huo Yuhao carefully recorded every guest's identity and background in his personal notebook.
To Electrolux, however, this notebook didn't look like a "Friend Ledger"—more like a Book of Life and Death.
It was the first time he'd seen people bring gifts only to end up getting written into the death ledger.
Once you made it onto that book… the life and death of your entire family was no longer in your hands.
"Old Yi, I've discovered something," Huo Yuhao said after finishing his notes.
"What is it?" Electrolux asked, puzzled.
What now?
"There are a lot of familiar names on here." Huo Yuhao shook his little notebook. "Many of them have deep ties to clans and sects from ten thousand years ago. Some may even trace back to the 'evil' Spirit Hall!"
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Electrolux still didn't get it.
"Ten thousand years ago, these people stood at the top. Ten thousand years later, they still stand at the top! At most they went into hiding or changed from sects to families—sometimes not even bothering to change the name."
"Given how strong Martial Souls can be, a ten-thousand-year inheritance isn't that strange on Douluo Continent," Electrolux replied, still unsure what Huo Yuhao was driving at.
"What I mean is—these people have been in power for too long! It's time to sweep them into the dust and liberate the oppressed masses at the bottom!" Huo Yuhao declared righteously.
Electrolux: "..."
Just say you want to rob them!
But Electrolux knew he couldn't stop Huo Yuhao. All he could do was advise:
"Yuhao, I hope you don't lose yourself. Take only what you need—don't make killing a game."
"Come on, Elder Yi! Am I the kind of guy who wastes things? I even lick the bowl clean when I eat!" Huo Yuhao declared, sounding very much like a well-behaved child.
"Yeah, yeah…" Electrolux responded, utterly resigned.
After receiving the graduates, three more important delegations remained for Huo Yuhao to receive.
Naturally, they were the representatives of the three former kingdoms of the Douluo Continent.
But unlike their earlier visits to offer condolences, this time they came bearing supplies—so the meetings were conducted with more formality.
It had taken a little over half a month for the three kingdoms to deliver their aid. Given Douluo's transportation speed, this was already quite fast.
After all, this wasn't front-line military logistics—no need for emergency express delivery.
While the materials were generous, they were strictly limited to supplies. Not a single piece of soul bone or soul-guided artillery—no strategic assets at all.
The first to arrive was the Heavenly Soul Empire, the closest kingdom, since Shrek Academy was located within its borders.
Their representative was an elder from the royal clan, a Soul Douluo by cultivation. He treated Huo Yuhao with great kindness, like he was looking at a beloved junior.
Well, Huo Yuhao was basically a son-in-law of the Heavenly Soul Empire, after all.
Though formal, the meeting felt more like a family chat. The elder showed great concern for Huo Yuhao's relationship with Weina, like a typical grandparent fussing over their grandchild's marriage.
Huo Yuhao responded in kind, respectfully describing his happy life with Weina.
When the elder heard that Weina had been specially promoted to the inner court and often cultivated alongside Huo Yuhao, his old face practically glowed with joy.
He looked rejuvenated.
Almost like… he didn't already know how Weina was doing at Shrek Academy.
But in truth, Weina had been sending letters back to the Heavenly Soul Empire frequently. She reported both her relationship with Huo Yuhao and detailed updates on the Academy.
Don't ask how Huo Yuhao knew—he could just peek straight into her memories. No need for interrogation.
What's funny is that Shrek Academy thought they could win Weina over through Huo Yuhao, while the Heavenly Soul Empire thought Weina was their plant inside Shrek Academy.
In truth, Weina was loyal to no one but Huo Yuhao. Even she herself didn't realize it—thinking their bond was just pure love.
But whether in body or mind, she had long since become an extension of Huo Yuhao.
Her letters contained nothing that would harm him. Instead, she sold out Shrek Academy completely.
Which was exactly what Huo Yuhao wanted.
He wasn't afraid of chaos—what he feared was a lack of opportunity.
No matter how things ended between the Heavenly Soul Empire and Shrek Academy, to Huo Yuhao…
It was just the left hand passing to the right.