"Students, there are only three days left before the first academic year comes to an end. After that, you will have a one-month vacation."
On the podium, Mujin and Wang Yan stood side by side, smiling at the class. These words were spoken by Mujin.
"Hooray!"
Hearing Mujin's announcement, the students in the class erupted in cheers. Although the academic workload at Shrek Academy wasn't overly heavy, who wouldn't be happy about having a month-long vacation to return home and reunite with their families?
No one would refuse a whole month of relaxation.
"However, don't think that just because you're on vacation, you can rest easy. The mandatory requirement for advancing to the second year is obtaining a second soul ring and breaking through to the Great Soul Master level. So, those of you who haven't reached the 20th rank yet need to work hard—otherwise, you won't be able to enroll next year," Wang Yan reminded them.
Wang Yan's words struck a chord with many. Shrek Academy's admission standard was level 15 or above, and quite a few students had barely met this threshold when they enrolled. For many, advancing five levels in eleven months was a daunting task.
Of course, this situation was relatively rare in Class One. Only a small fraction—less than one in twenty or thirty—had yet to obtain their second soul ring, and many of those were already at level 20 and just needed to acquire the ring.
Among them, Huo Yuhao was one of the few who hadn't reached level 20.
Although Bei Bei had still managed to swindle a Xuan Water Pill from Xu Sanshi for him, unlike in the original timeline, he hadn't received two pills, nor had he gotten the Mosquito Leg Ascending Soul Pill as compensation from Yan Shaozhe. As a result, Huo Yuhao's current soul power was only at level 18.
And that was already terrifying progress.
When he first enrolled, he had been only at level 11. Advancing seven levels in eleven months—averaging more than one level per month—was the result of his relentless training.
Huo Yuhao truly spared no effort. At the very least, Lin Yun had never seen him rest. If he wasn't studying, he was cultivating. Aside from occasionally selling grilled fish to earn money, he treated himself like an emotionless machine.
If not for the nourishing effects of the Heaven Dream Ice Silkworm's origin energy, Huo Yuhao would have long since ruined himself.
The Heaven Dream Ice Silkworm had also noticed Huo Yuhao's problem, but it wasn't worried. Minor hidden injuries and overexertion were nothing. As long as they successfully recruited the Ice Empress in the end, her 400,000-year soul ring, soul bone, and vast origin energy would make these issues trivial.
In contrast, Wang Dong, that lazy bum, was only at level 28—a full two levels lower than in the original timeline.
Perhaps it was because the two of them hadn't developed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. In the original story, their fusion compatibility had been 100%, allowing their cultivation speed to double when they trained together.
Without the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, it was natural for their progress to slow down. Without Huo Yuhao dragging him along to cultivate, there was no way Wang Dong would have persisted on his own.
"Heaven Dream Bro, I'm still two levels short. What do I do?" Huo Yuhao asked anxiously. "There are only three days left before the vacation. Right now, even breaking through to level 19 would take me another month, let alone reaching level 20."
"Relax, Yuhao. Your growth speed has already exceeded my expectations," the Heaven Dream Ice Silkworm replied lazily. "Those last two levels are nothing. I can use my origin energy to forcibly raise you to level 20."
"Will there be side effects?" Huo Yuhao asked worriedly.
"Of course there will be. Since these levels aren't achieved through your own cultivation, your foundation will be somewhat unstable," the Heaven Dream Ice Silkworm explained. "But it's not a big deal. Once you obtain your second Martial Soul, these issues will be trivial."
"The reason I didn't infuse you with energy earlier was because your body was still too weak. But after eleven months of training, your physical strength has improved significantly under the influence of my origin energy. That just happens to be enough to absorb my power and forcibly raise you by two levels."
"I understand. Thank you, Heaven Dream Bro."
…
"Honored One, I sensed a faint spiritual fluctuation—a familiar one. It must be that fat worm's," the Ice Empress' voice sounded in Lin Yun's ear.
"Oh?" Lin Yun raised an eyebrow and glanced at Huo Yuhao's back.
Communicating, huh?
Probably discussing the upcoming vacation. According to the original plot, Huo Yuhao was supposed to head to the Extreme North Ice Plains. But now, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress had been taken away by Lin Yun years in advance. He wondered what kind of second Martial Soul Huo Yuhao would end up with this time.
How intriguing.
"Bing'er, did you arrange for your clansmen to stay within their territory and not leave for the next six months, as I asked?" Lin Yun's lips curled into a faint, eerie smile.
"Of course. I've already instructed them to prepare half a year's worth of food in advance. During this time, they will remain within the borders of our territory and not venture out," the Ice Empress replied seriously.
"But Honored One… why make such arrangements?"
"No need to worry about that. Just make sure your clansmen don't leave their territory."
Still hoping for an Ultimate Ice attribute? In your dreams!
The Snow Maiden lineage had only one descendant in the entire Douluo Continent—the Snow Empress. And all the Ice Jade Scorpions would remain within the Ice Empress' territory, never leaving. Lin Yun wanted to see how, under these circumstances, Huo Yuhao could possibly obtain an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul!
It was true that Lin Yun held no hostility toward Huo Yuhao, but he also had no intention of letting the Ice Empress' clansmen die just to become Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul. The Ice Empress was his now, and the Ice Jade Scorpion tribe was under his protection.
Even after Huo Yuhao became a god in the original timeline, he never resurrected the Ice Empress or the others, keeping them in the form of soul spirits. Lin Yun highly doubted that an ordinary Ice Jade Scorpion would be worth Huo Yuhao's effort to revive!
Want Ultimate Ice?
Keep dreaming!
Among the Ice Jade Scorpion tribe, there were still several 100,000-year Ice Jade Scorpion Kings. Lin Yun was eager to see whether, without being able to lure out the Ice Empress, the Heaven Dream Ice Silkworm would dare lead Huo Yuhao into forcibly invading the Ice Empress' territory!
For the first time since arriving at Shrek Academy, Lin Yun was genuinely looking forward to ramping up the difficulty for Huo Yuhao.
A protagonist who had strayed from his destined path—could he still maintain his heaven-defying luck?
Lin Yun didn't even pay attention to what Mujin and Wang Yan were saying on the podium. It was probably just the usual reminders about the promotion exams after the vacation. The highest-ranked soul beast available for the test would only be at the thousand-year level, which posed no challenge to Lin Yun.
He could even spice things up by taming a soul beast live during the exam.
"Alright, that's all for today's announcements. The teachers wish you all a wonderful vacation and hope you return in your best condition!" Mujin concluded with a smile.
"I hope to see every single one of you back in this classroom a month from now!"
(End of Chapter)
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