Chapter 17: Divine Thought Seal
The experiment ended, and He Caitou still felt unsatisfied, but cannonballs cost money and could not be squandered recklessly.
The two came before Fan Yu and Teacher Zhou Yi. Huo Yuhao took the initiative to speak, "Teacher Fan Yu, I want to learn about spirit tools, I wonder if..."
Fan Yu was just worrying about how to get this child, and seeing him take the initiative, he was overjoyed. "Good, from now on, come to the Soul Tool District to find me in the afternoons. This is the Golden Key to the testing area. You come tomorrow... no, starting this afternoon, come here to learn."
As Huo Yuhao's homeroom teacher and a teacher in the Martial Soul District, Teacher Zhou Yi had to be responsible for Huo Yuhao's assessment tasks. "Yuhao, balancing both Spirit and spirit tools will consume a great deal of your energy; it's very likely you won't be able to manage both. However, even if you don't pass the freshman assessment for the Martial Soul Department, you'll still be a student of the Soul Tool Department and, likewise, a student of Shrek."
Although she was somewhat biased toward Fan Yu, the Heavenly Eye Spirit, in her view, leaned more toward the support system. Huo Yuhao's early exposure to spirit tools would be beneficial for him. Combined with his own willingness to learn, she could let him go ahead.
Huo Yuhao could also see Teacher Zhou Yi's thoughts. She was a good teacher, just a bit too strict. "I understand, Teacher. I will Cultivate diligently."
"Diligence isn't as simple as just saying the words. spirit tools require knowledge accumulated over time and experience in painstakingly carving cores. Prove it to me with your actions." Fan Yu's large hand stroked Huo Yuhao's head.
"Does my head have some kind of magic? Why does everyone keep stroking it!" Huo Yuhao grumbled inwardly, but since he was still a child, he could only endure it.
Teacher Zhou Yi brought Huo Yuhao back to the Martial Soul teaching area at high speed. Since it was exactly lunchtime, she took him to the cafeteria for a good meal.
Returning to the dormitory, Wang Dong was covered in a quilt, sleeping soundly. "Is this what a Genius is? Ranking first in cultivation in Freshman Class 1 without even needing to Cultivate hard..." Huo Yuhao didn't make much noise. After massaging his calves, which were sore from the morning run, he sat cross-legged on the wooden bed. Having just eaten well, he decided to practice the Eight-Nine Arcane Art for a while to not waste the nutrition.
"Brother Tianmeng, wake up and get to work, stop sleeping!" Huo Yuhao communicated with the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness.
"I'm here, I'm here. Just start; my mental force will help ease the pain." The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was clearly not fully awake, his voice sounding groggy and sluggish.
Huo Yuhao mentally cheered himself on. After preparing himself, runes began to leap from the Heavenly Eye on his forehead. But just as he was about to start Cultivating, the Heavenly Eye unexpectedly activated on its own, directing a beam of Illusion-Breaking Golden Light toward Wang Dong.
A beautiful blue-gold butterfly shadow and a dull bronze-gold hammer shadow appeared. Beneath the Spirit Origin of both, within the Sea of Consciousness, a powerful and obscure Divine Thought Seal was hidden.
Tang San!
Huo Yuhao recognized the owner of that Divine Thought aura at a glance. "This must be the Seal he used to lock away his daughter's memories... and her Divine Sense feels slightly short of Perfection."
"To use such methods on his own daughter... Heh, what a 'great' father. Using everything just to keep a firm grip on her?"
Although the divine force Seal was complex, the Heavenly Eye Spirit could discern the patterns of energy flow within it. However, he currently lacked the ability to challenge this Divine Thought. "This must be the 'chastity lock.' In the original story, it seemed they couldn't even kiss while dating."
Tsk, tsk. Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly, pitying Wang Dong for being a tool as well.
A sleeping face with soft lines, long and curved pink-blue eyelashes, a delicate nose, and rosy cherry lips. Huo Yuhao was dazed for a moment. She was truly beautiful, with a face so lovely it was hard to tell her gender.
"Hey, Yuhao, are you going to practice or not? If not, I'm going back to sleep!" the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said irritably. Did he call him out just to watch someone sleep?
"Amitabha, Amitabha... I was almost led astray by beauty." Huo Yuhao snapped out of it, thinking it was a close call, then focused his mind and began practicing the Eight-Nine Arcane Art.
This time he didn't dare practice for too long. Enveloped by golden runes, intense pain radiated from every cell in his body. In the Sea of Consciousness, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm used his mental force like a gentle hand to soothe the agony, but it could only reduce the pain by twenty percent.
Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed tightly, his face twitched incessantly, and low groans escaped his lips. The faint moaning lasted for over fifty seconds.
Wang Dong, who had been half-asleep with her eyes closed, had actually noticed when Huo Yuhao entered the dorm; she just wanted to keep sleeping. As the noise continued, she opened her eyes slightly to peer at Huo Yuhao in the opposite bed.
A groan or two would have been fine, but he had been whimpering for a long time. Could he be doing something... unseemly? She was right there next to him, for goodness' sake!
Upon looking, Wang Dong realized something was wrong. Huo Yuhao was pale, his face was trembling, and he was still in a Cultivation posture, appearing to be enduring great pain.
"Could it be... Qi Deviation!"
At that thought, Wang Dong threw off her quilt and sat up abruptly.
"Huo—"
Just as she spoke, she forced herself to stop. Her Eldest Uncle had said one must not rashly touch or disturb someone experiencing Qi Deviation. Because their mind is highly focused on the out-of-control spirit power, any disturbance could cause the spirit power to flow backward and shatter their Meridians. At best, they'd be unable to Cultivate; at worst, they could die!
But in this situation, she didn't know if she'd have enough time to find a teacher.
While Wang Dong's thoughts raced, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes, concluding his practice of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art. Practicing for just over a minute was harmless, though the rest interval between sessions needed to be longer. Replenishing his Qi and blood could shorten this time.
Huo Yuhao felt that the Eight-Nine Arcane Art was quite like working out—train, then supplement with protein and carbs, though the rest between sets was quite long... "You... are you okay? Student Huo? Did you just have a Qi Deviation? Let me help you circulate your spirit power to recover first, and then I'll go inform a teacher to come and treat you."
Her Eldest Uncle had taught her that if someone recovers from Qi Deviation on their own, the first step is to help stabilize their spirit power and Meridians, followed by medical treatment.
As Wang Dong spoke, she immediately stood by Huo Yuhao's bed, circulating her spirit power and placing her palm against his back.
"Wait... I'm not, don't..." Huo Yuhao realized Wang Dong had misunderstood and was about to refuse.
"Don't be embarrassed. Look how weak you are; even your voice is faint. Although we've had our conflicts, I can't just stand by and watch you in danger, can I?"
Although Wang Dong was quite annoyed with Huo Yuhao, a life was at stake, and she didn't want to have to change roommates on the very first day of school.