"First soul skill: Spiritual Sharing."
Spiritual Detection & Sharing accurately manifested within Zhang Lexuan's vision. Everything around her transformed; the vivid texture of the world gave her the sensation of stepping out from a thick fog. Everything became clear, organized, and could practically be described through pure data. That precise judgment—akin to possessing a second brain—shifted continuously along with the movement of her gaze.
After scanning the entire teaching building, Huo Yuhao withdrew his soul skill.
After a moment of daze, Zhang Lexuan murmured: "A miraculous skill."
With her veteran soul master experience, she naturally understood the immense role this spiritual sharing could play in battle. This single soul skill alone was enough to make Huo Yuhao a priority for the academy's higher-ups.
"This is my second soul skill: Simulation."
Zhang Lexuan then watched as Huo Yuhao's three purple soul rings turned white...
"Eh?"
Then those three rings shifted to yellow, then purple, then black, then red...
Crash.
Zhang Lexuan stood up so abruptly her chair fell to the floor. She stared fixedly at those three 100,000-year soul rings, her body trembling slightly.
Then, the three rings reverted to purple. Huo Yuhao stood there with a face of innocent, honest calm.
Zhang Lexuan gave a wry smile: "You... the color of these three rings probably isn't just at the thousand-year level, is it?"
"Haha, well, I'll leave that to Teacher Zhang to guess."
Zhang Lexuan couldn't help but smile back. Everyone had their secrets, and she had no interest in interrogating him. Honestly, this little guy's soul skills and talent were truly impressive; they weren't much inferior to her own at that age.
A possibility suddenly occurred to her, causing her heart to race.
Could she... could she use Huo Yuhao's soul skill to make a trip to the Star Constellation Great Forest?
Currently, for unknown reasons, the cultivation of the soul beasts within the Star Constellation Great Forest had undergone an explosive increase. Even in the outer regions, there were no longer any beasts below the thousand-year level.
The mixed and core areas were even more formidable. No matter how much confidence Zhang Lexuan had in herself, going there now would be a death sentence.
But with Huo Yuhao's Simulation, it might be possible to deceive those high-level soul beasts.
She wasn't going there to hunt. She...
She just wanted to retrieve the remains of her fallen Inner Court companions.
Of course, the bodies were likely gone, devoured by the soul beasts... but she could at least establish a cenotaph for them.
Thinking of this, her slender hands instinctively clenched. She wanted to take Huo Yuhao to the forest right now, but her rationality held her back.
"My third soul skill is Spiritual Shock. The effect is exactly what the name implies, so I won't demonstrate it on you, Teacher Zhang."
This was where Huo Yuhao was clever: the skills he displayed weren't actually his strongest, but they were the most useful for team combat. These were exactly what the Shrek higher-ups wanted to see.
In truth, the soul skills provided to him by the Skydream Ice Silkworm and the Golden Tortoise were each more heaven-defying than the last. Especially "Epitaph," one of his third soul skills; after experimenting with it, Huo Yuhao himself was shocked by how terrifying it was.
That skill had nothing to do with the spiritual attribute. According to Electrolux, it was a soul skill related to [Time] and [Fate], derived fundamentally from the auspicious power of the Golden Tortoise.
The effect of this skill could never be told to anyone; it was Huo Yuhao's current trump card for survival.
Zhang Lexuan took a deep breath. Huo Yuhao's cultivation was still too weak, and the Star Constellation Great Forest was fraught with danger. She wasn't even sure she could protect herself, let alone a mere Soul Elder.
If something went wrong, how could she explain it? She didn't want to be called "Xuan Zi the Second..."
Suppressing the agitation in her heart, Zhang Lexuan reached out and patted Huo Yuhao's head: "Your soul skills are excellent, leaning toward support and control. But you've probably noticed what you lack, right?"
Huo Yuhao nodded silently: "I lack effective offensive soul skills. Though, I'm not too worried about that for now; I have some confidence in my physical strength."
"Oh, is that so..." A beautiful arc curled on Zhang Lexuan's lips: "Alright. Over the next few days, I will select teammates for you for the Freshman Competition based on your characteristics. Also... you'll need to help me organize the rest of the class into teams using my methods. Consider it a form of training."
"Understood, Teacher."
"Good. Go back and continue your cultivation. Perhaps Teacher will need your help with something in a while."
...
Star Constellation Great Forest, Core Area.
Giant beasts of various forms prostrated themselves by the shores of the Lake of Life, each radiating an unparalleled, terrifying aura.
At the very front stood a middle-aged man in black. His features were resolute and cold, with long black hair falling behind him. A single strand of golden hair was particularly prominent, hanging quietly by his face.
Since humans could not possibly appear in the Core Area, his identity was obvious.
The continent's number one Ferocious Beast, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian.
At this moment, he was down on one knee, looking toward the center of the Lake of Life with extreme piety.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-eyed Golden Lion, had its three eyes tightly shut as if asleep. Golden flames beneath its feet held it aloft in mid-air, while rings of rose-gold light radiated outward from its body.
There was no energy fluctuation in these rose-gold halos, but as they swept over the gathered giant beasts, every one of them wore an expression of extreme enjoyment.
However, further above the Three-eyed Golden Lion, a graceful figure floated. Through the silver radiance, one could see she had silver hair reaching her ankles and a pair of fair, jade-like feet suspended in the air.
"It is finished."
A clear, melodious voice rang out: "With the aid of the Auspicious Beast's power of fate, your cultivation has stabilized. For at least ten thousand years, you need not worry about the Heavenly Tribulation."
Led by Di Tian, the gathered Ferocious Beasts shouted respectfully in unison: "Our thanks to the Sovereign! Our thanks to the Auspicious Beast!"
The silver-haired woman nodded silently. Without another word, her skirt fluttered as she landed lightly on the soil moistened by the waters of the Lake of Life. Her exquisite, fair feet seemed to be supported by something unseen, never actually touching the mud.
The Three-eyed Golden Lion remained suspended in the air with its eyes closed, appearing truly asleep.
Di Tian rose and quickly approached the silver-haired woman, his voice full of concern: "Sovereign, is there any issue with this sudden surge in the Auspicious Beast's cultivation?"
The silver-haired woman shook her head slowly, then looked up at the sky: "I am not entirely sure of the specifics either; I can only speculate. The reason for the surge is that she absorbed energy perfectly compatible with her attributes. Furthermore, the source of this energy is likely..."
"An ultra-divine artifact!"