Today, the area outside Shrek Academy's east gate was still bustling with activity.
Although the Body Sect's attack last night had been grandiose, Du Busi's target was solely Shrek Academy. Most of the vendors outside the east gate and the residents within Shrek City were completely unaware of what had happened.
In fact, not only the vendors outside the east gate and the people in Shrek City, but many students in Shrek Academy only knew that a powerful enemy had attacked and, under the organization of the academy's teachers, had gathered toward Poseidon Lake.
Because Elder Xuan and Du Busi had intentionally used their soul power to seal the surrounding space during their battle, trying their best to prevent the aftermath of their fight from leaking out, the subsequent conversation while vying for Yu Tianhuang was only known to the powerhouses of the Body Sect and Shrek Academy.
Coupled with Yan Shaozhe personally coming forward to appease everyone, the entire population of Shrek City, including those vendors, continued with their usual activities. They were not affected in the slightest by last night's events.
It could be said that with Shrek Academy stationed here, the vicinity of Shrek City was the safest place. Naturally, they had complete trust in the words of Yan Shaozhe, the dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department.
Huo Yuhao, who had just walked out of Shrek Academy's east gate, identified his direction and hurried nonstop to a spot about five kilometers outside the academy. Looking up, he saw a clear stream about five meters wide.
His right hand touched the belt-shaped storage soul tool, the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges that Beibei had given him. A soft white light flashed, and an iron fish harpoon and a wooden bucket appeared in front of him.
Holding the fish harpoon in his right hand and carrying the wooden bucket in his left, Huo Yuhao rummaged through the dense grass by the stream and pulled out a simple wooden raft.
With all his strength, he pushed this somewhat heavy wooden raft onto the water's surface. Then, holding the fish harpoon and bucket, he stood on the raft and drifted downstream along the slowly flowing stream.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath to maintain his balance on the raft. He gripped the fish harpoon tightly in his right hand, assuming a poised striking position, while his deep blue eyes began to brighten.
Suddenly, all the details in the clear stream water magnified in his view. The subtle changes in the water's flow and the small fish and shrimp in the crevices of the stream bed could not escape the gaze of his Spirit Eyes.
Abruptly, the muscles in his right arm contracted fiercely, and the fish harpoon in his hand shot out like lightning.
"Pfft—" He lifted his hand and flipped his wrist, bringing a nearly one-chi-long plump mandarin fish out of the water.
"Great."
Huo Yuhao's face lit up with joy. He quickly grabbed the struggling mandarin fish and placed it into the wooden bucket.
Mandarin fish had delicate meat, and when grilled, it had a crispy exterior and tender interior. In the past, whenever he set up his stall, this grilled mandarin fish was always the most popular. One of these large could sell for one silver soul coin.
The Soul Guidance Department charged ten gold soul coins per year in tuition. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could save up for next semester's fees.
Back then, Beibei had personally given Huo Yuhao a Mysterious Water Pill. For a soul master like Huo Yuhao, whose physical condition was extremely poor and whose innate soul power was only level one upon awakening, the effects of this Mysterious Water Pill could be described as cleansing his essence and marrow without exaggeration.
After refining the pill's effects, Huo Yuhao's soul power had broken through two levels in a row, reaching level thirteen. Over the nearly one and a half years of cultivation since then, his soul power had recently broken through to level sixteen.
Calculating it, in these one and a half years, his soul power increased by one level every half year on average. This cultivation speed was undoubtedly much faster than before. After all, from the time he awakened his martial soul with innate level one soul power, it had taken him a full five years to reach the level ten bottleneck. Although it seemed like about two levels per year, the amount of soul power required to break through in the Soul Master realm was definitely not on the same scale as in the Soul Scholar realm.
Logically, a one-ring soul master should have more efficient methods for catching fish. But unfortunately, he was a spiritual attribute soul master, and his first soul skill, Fear, was merely a single-target mental attack skill. This skill originated from the powerful sub-dragon soul beast, the Fear Demon Dragon. With his current level sixteen soul power, he could only sustain using this skill once. Using it to catch fish was too impractical, so he had to resort to this most primitive method.
After some effort, Huo Yuhao completed his task for the day, catching twenty fish and filling the bucket halfway. Excitedly, he processed the twenty fish by the stream, wrapping them in cleaned, large leaves.
Though busy, he felt incredibly relaxed. In Shrek Academy, where geniuses abounded, even in the Soul Guidance Department, his soul power was at the bottom. The pressure he endured was unimaginable. Only during these brief escapes from the academy could his suppressed emotions ease a bit.
He hid his simple wooden raft in the grass and returned with the prepared ingredients. Along the way, he ate the white steamed bun he had brought from the Soul Guidance Department's cafeteria, washing it down with clear water.
As he got closer to Shrek Academy, the smile on his face gradually faded. In Shrek Academy, all he felt was oppression and suffocation.
Huo Yuhao found a good spot outside the east gate to set up his stove and skillfully started the fire. He skewered the fish with prepared bamboo sticks and stuffed their bellies with perilla and various seasonings. Under the roasting of the red-hot charcoal, a rich aroma soon filled the air.
A male student in a purple uniform spotted Huo Yuhao from afar and approached excitedly. "Junior brother, you're here so early today? I thought I'd have to wait a while. Huh, mandarin fish today? Quick, give me two."
As he spoke, he handed Huo Yuhao two silver soul coins. He was clearly a regular customer.
After taking the silver soul coins, Huo Yuhao handed over the two grilled mandarin fish. Ordinary green fish sold for about five copper soul coins each, while the better-quality mandarin fish usually went for one silver soul coin per fish, depending on size.
Fish caught in the wild couldn't be uniform in size. Fortunately, catching them didn't take much time and had no cost.
Selling twenty fish would net him over one gold soul coin. Part of this would be saved for next semester's tuition, and the rest would cover a week's expenses. Of course, in Shrek Academy, his expenses were only for food.
He only set up his stall on public rest days in the morning; the rest of his time was devoted to cultivation and learning to make soul tools. With one and a half years left until the end of third grade, raising his soul power by four levels was no easy task for him.
Though life was tough, he had hope. He could feel the Mysterious Heaven Technique subtly improving his physique, and his cultivation speed had slightly increased.
Huo Yuhao knew clearly that only by staying in Shrek Academy could he become a powerhouse and gain the strength for revenge.
The grilled mandarin fish turned golden yellow, with a faint layer of oil glistening on top. Beneath the crispy skin was tender, fully flavored fish meat. Biting into it produced a slight crunch and the sound of juices bursting.
The male student in the purple uniform was praised endlessly.
"Junior brother, your grilled fish is truly amazing. It was worth getting up so early to wait for you."
Hearing the praise, Huo Yuhao smiled shyly. This fourth-year senior had never looked at him strangely, like his freshman classmates had, giving him a sense of being treated equally and reducing some of the gloom in his demeanor.
Inferior, sensitive, and extremely paranoid about his pride—that was Huo Yuhao's personality. Perhaps his nature wasn't bad, but continuing to suppress himself like this would only twist his heart further.
Not long after the third-year senior left satisfied, a delicate voice suddenly rang in his ear without warning.
"Junior brother, four grilled fish."
Huo Yuhao instinctively looked up and saw a face full of smiles. It wasn't flawless beauty, but it had a spirited, showy charm. Wasn't it Tang Ya?
Beibei followed behind Tang Ya, wearing a lazy smile. Beside Beibei were Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian, whose behavior was very intimate.
Huo Yuhao's gaze passed over Tang Ya and Beibei, finally landing on Xu Zihuang.
Seeing the dazzling Xu Zihuang, he seemed to recall something, and his eyes dimmed. Both possessed Body Martial Souls and had entered the academy in the same year, yet Yu Tianhuang had become the top genius of the outer courtyard, while he struggled even to stay in Shrek Academy.
Amid his envy was an undeniable jealousy, and the negative emotions he had buried this morning began to surge again.
A trace of malice flashed in the depths of his eyes, and his entire aura instantly became extremely cold.
Seeing the red light flash in Huo Yuhao's eyes, Xu Zihuang himself showed no reaction, but Ning Tian and Beibei both frowned.
Tang Ya was also startled by Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, what's wrong?"
With her simple nature, Tang Ya's ability to read people was somewhat lacking. Just like when she and Beibei first met Huo Yuhao in the Star Dou Great Forest, she had excitedly shouted for him to join the Tang Sect, while Beibei had already seen that Huo Yuhao harbored deep concerns.
"Teacher Xiaoya, I'm fine." Huo Yuhao replied hoarsely. When he looked at Tang Ya again, the malice in his eyes had mostly dissipated.
He actually held no ill will toward Tang Ya, Beibei, and Xu Zihuang, who had helped him. But having accumulated various darkness in his heart for so long, he was too easily overwhelmed by negative emotions.
At this point, Beibei stepped forward to Tang Ya's side.
"Alright, Xiaoya, let's not disturb junior brother's business today."
As he spoke, he smiled gently and reached out to pat Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
"Junior brother, balance cultivation with rest. Don't tire yourself out."
With that, he pulled Tang Ya away and nodded slightly to Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian, signaling them to follow.
The four left the east gate and headed toward Shrek City's south gate. The south was the most prosperous commercial area in Shrek City and their agreed-upon destination for the outing.
Walking ahead with Beibei, Tang Ya thought for a moment and sighed softly. "Beibei, do you think Yuhao is under too much pressure at the academy? Sigh, I don't know if letting him study here was the right choice."
With her kind heart, she was still reflecting on her own actions.
"Xiaoya, don't overthink it. Who doesn't face pressure studying at Shrek Academy?" Beibei held Tang Ya's hand to comfort her. However, his gaze seemed profound.
How could he not have seen the jealousy in Huo Yuhao's eyes earlier? From the beginning, he had been subtly guiding Huo Yuhao, but now it seemed his guidance had no effect. Huo Yuhao's character was truly lacking.
He had a feeling that if Huo Yuhao continued like this, he might go astray.
But he had said all he could and done all he could. The future would depend on Huo Yuhao himself.
Perhaps letting Huo Yuhao join the Tang Sect was a mistake from the start.
Ning Tian, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Xu Zihuang behind Tang Ya and Beibei, cast an inquiring glance at Xu Zihuang.
Understanding Ning Tian's meaning, Xu Zihuang shook his head freely. Of course, he had seen Huo Yuhao's jealousy, but he didn't care at all.
Jealousy was a sign of incompetence. The current Huo Yuhao wasn't even worth his attention.
Hearing Beibei's words, Tang Ya felt a resonance. If not for the opportunity to enter the Poseidon Pavilion last night, she might still be suffocating under the sixth-grade graduation requirement of breaking through to the Soul Ancestor level.
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