Everyone stared in stunned silence as Huo Yuhao performed on stage. He forcefully portrayed himself as a vivid caricature of a cowardly, incompetent rookie. To reinforce the image of weakness, he even activated his simulation soul skill, revealing only a single white soul ring.
Of course, no one could tell that this was a million-year soul ring.
The students exchanged looks of disbelief. If they hadn't known he was acting, they might've genuinely fallen for his pathetic image and forgotten just how powerful he really was.
"Huo Yuhao, do you think we actually believe that?" Cheng Chang'an gave a gentlemanly yet subtly sarcastic smile. He had also been among those affected by Huo Yuhao's earlier release of spiritual pressure.
Clearly, Huo Yuhao had used some sort of illusion to make it seem like he had only a ten-year soul ring.
With his performance complete, Huo Yuhao returned to his seat, greeting people casually along the way. Even Mu Jin was at a loss for words. Every elite student in the room was eager to shine, desperate to show their best side.
Yet here was Huo Yuhao doing the exact opposite—trying to look as unimpressive as possible. And the most frustrating part? Everyone knew he wasn't simple, yet no one could see through his true strength.
Mysterious—that was the common sentiment among everyone present. Huo Yuhao was clearly the type who loved to play the pig to eat the tiger.
Mu Jin hadn't required absolute honesty in the self-introductions, so Huo Yuhao was well within his rights to hide his strength.
"Alright, that concludes our introductions. Next—" Mu Jin was about to move on when a figure burst through the classroom door like a bolt of lightning.
"Sorry, I'm late!"
It was a skinny boy, just over 1.7 meters tall, with a pair of silly but incredibly bright eyes.
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly when he saw him, then smiled silently, as if he had just realized something.
"Ninth class freshman, Xie Huanyue. My student number is 101," the boy loudly reported to Mu Jin.
Xie Huanyue?
The name was well-known among the freshmen. Due to his chaotic behavior that had trashed the dorms, the academy had reluctantly dispatched a cleanup crew to restore order—resulting in a brand-new dormitory environment that the rest of the freshmen benefited from. In a twisted way, he had become a hero.
"Introduce yourself," Mu Jin said. She remembered this boy as a chubby figure from just two days ago, and more importantly, as Huo Yuhao's friend. So she didn't make a fuss about the tardiness.
"Hey everyone, I'm Xie Huanyue. I'm gonna be the King of the freshmen!" he grinned, flashing a row of white teeth. "My martial soul is the Solar God Ape, and I'm a level 40 assault-type Battle Soul Ancestor!"
The classroom fell into absolute silence. You could hear a pin drop.
Mu Jin couldn't help but tremble slightly, accidentally poking a hole through her attendance book with her pen. The other students' jaws dropped so wide you could stuff an egg in them.
Level 40? Are you kidding?
Yes—after being in a coma for two days, Xie Huanyue had awakened the Solar God Ape martial soul. His soul power skyrocketed all the way to level 40. All he needed now was to hunt a suitable soul beast and he'd officially be a Soul Ancestor.
What did it mean to be a twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor? It meant that he already met the graduation standards of Shrek Academy's outer court.
A true monster. The other students looked at Xie Huanyue with growing unease. With that level of talent, he was almost guaranteed to enter the inner court someday.
And indeed, after the academy's upper management examined him, they discovered his martial soul had undergone a secondary awakening into the unknown Solar God Ape. His soul power had broken the level-40 barrier, and they immediately dropped all talk of punishing him for the dorm incident. Instead, they reserved a direct inner court placement for him.
With proper training, this kind of talent could reach Titled Douluo level by the age of twenty.
Xie Huanyue scanned the room until he spotted Huo Yuhao at the back. Huo Yuhao smiled, nodded, and patted the seat next to Nanmen Yun'er, gesturing for him to come over.
This exchange was caught by several watchful eyes, increasing their wariness of Huo Yuhao. To be acquainted with such a prodigy—this boy's background and strength were clearly extraordinary.
"Yuhao," Xie Huanyue sat down and gave him a heartfelt smile. "Thank you."
He didn't know how Huo Yuhao had awakened the Solar God Ape bloodline within him, but it was undeniably Huo Yuhao's intervention that triggered his will to live at the brink of death and pulled him back.
To Xie Huanyue, this was a life-saving debt.
Huo Yuhao didn't need flattery—he valued genuine friendship. At Shrek Academy, personal strength alone wasn't enough; one also needed a capable and reliable team.
At that moment, Mu Jin began her lesson.
"All freshmen, follow me to the training grounds. I'm going to give you your first class—in a very hands-on way." With that, she turned and walked out of the classroom.
The students didn't know what she was planning, but her approachable demeanor had already earned their trust. They followed her out one after another.
Sure enough, at the training grounds, Huo Yuhao saw another class running laps in the distance. Leading the group was a youth with sky-blue hair—it was Wang Dong, or Wang Dong'er, whom he had briefly met the day before.
Despite her relatively low soul power—just over level 20—Wang Dong, due to her tri-element martial soul, far outstripped her peers in both physical fitness and soul power. Even stronger classmates like Wu Feng or Nanmen Yun'er might not be able to defeat her in a one-on-one duel.
Huo Yuhao only glanced briefly before turning away. He didn't want to mentally probe Wang Dong too much. No one knew how many tricks the gods of the Douluo Plane had up their sleeves. It was far too early for him to draw divine attention.
"Class Nine, split into two groups: one for assault, agility, and defense types—anyone with direct combat ability. The other for support and control types—those without direct combat roles. You have one minute to sort yourselves." Mu Jin glanced at the elderly woman in the distance commanding the other class and made a face before turning back to her students.
Most who passed the entrance exam were combat types—especially agility and assault types. Only a small handful were support or food-type soul masters. Including control-types (a hybrid role), there were barely twenty in total.
Naturally, Huo Yuhao stood among the twenty, with Ning Tian next to him at the very back.
"All support, food, and control-type students, come over to me," Mu Jin called out. Then, under puzzled stares, she took out a pile of soul devices from her storage tool.
To be specific—these were Grade-2 Soul Devices: Propulsion Shoes that increased speed through soul power-driven jets.
"We're only running five laps. Those of you without combat ability, wear these. Get a feel for them using your soul power. In ten minutes, everyone is to complete five laps at top speed. You may use soul power, but not martial souls—and no underhanded tricks. I'll be evaluating your results."
Mu Jin grabbed a nearby support-type girl, helped her put on the shoes, and gave a detailed demonstration on how to use the device.
Meanwhile, most of the combat-type soul masters looked down on soul tools. They didn't believe non-combatants wearing fancy gadgets could compete with their naturally superior bodies—especially the agility-types.
But the smart ones among them quickly understood Mu Jin's true intent: she was guiding these students to accept soul tools.
Following the technological advancements brought by the Sun Moon Empire, the three great empires of the original Douluo Continent still largely rejected soul tools. Despite the convenience these tools brought to everyday life, pride in their martial souls made many look down on soul engineers.
Only through real experience and firsthand use could one understand, accept, and eventually study and develop soul tools.
Huo Yuhao put on a pair of propulsion shoes. Aside from his storage-type tool, this was the first time he personally used a soul device. Following Mu Jin's instructions, he infused his soul power into the shoes. Instantly, flames about a foot long burst from the soles, lifting him off the ground.
Though he didn't rise far, the fun factor was undeniable—just like being Iron Man! Huo Yuhao adjusted his balance midair and took off at high speed. The other non-combatants, though lacking physical prowess, still had decent soul power. With that and the soul tools, they realized they might actually rival combat types in speed.
"You humans really are astoundingly creative," came the voice of the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor in Huo Yuhao's mind. As a soul beast, even he couldn't help but admire human craftsmanship.
"This is truly a fine invention. Compared to the Tang Sect's hidden weapons, these are on another level," praised Bibi Dong, sensing the intricate design through their soul link.
Who would've thought a mere Grade-2 soul device could earn the praise of both a million-year-old soul beast and a divine being? If the propulsion shoes had feelings, they'd be crying tears of joy—declaring that their existence had not been in vain.
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(End of chapter)
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