"Xiaoyuhao, release your martial soul and let me take a look," Gong Changlong said to Huo Yuhao with a smile.
Huo Yuhao obediently released his mutated Ice Jade Centipede martial soul.
"Come out, my Ice Jade Centipede!"
Skydream Iceworm: I shall strike in the form of a mutated Ice Jade Centipede!
Cold air spread out as the mutated Centipede stood on its legs, a purple thousand-year soul ring floating around its body, making it look quite impressive.
However, Gong Changlong was stunned upon seeing the independent, physical form of the mutated Ice Jade Centipede .
"This..."
Gong Changlong looked hesitantly at Yan Shaozhe.
Yan Shaozhe's expression grew serious, and he nodded gently. "Xiaoyuhao's martial soul is a mutated one."
Gong Changlong frowned slightly.
A mutated martial soul? Not unheard of.
But this type of mutation was something he had never seen before, and he couldn't quite figure out Huo Yuhao's development path.
When adding soul rings, a soul master must not only consider the martial soul's type and attributes but also their chosen cultivation direction, to pick the most suitable soul rings and maximize the martial soul's potential.
"Xiaoyuhao, do you have any thoughts on your future cultivation path?" Gong Changlong asked.
Before Huo Yuhao could respond, Yan Shaozhe answered on his behalf.
"Xiaoyuhao can pursue either a Control-type or an Assault-type path."
"His first soul skill, Centipede 's Venom, can release a chilling poisonous mist to attack and restrict enemies, while also having decent lethality."
The effect of the first soul skill had been explained by Huo Yuhao to Mu En and Yan Shaozhe the previous day.
Yan Shaozhe continued, "For future soul skills, Xiaoyuhao should lean toward projectile-type abilities. If the Centipede martial soul's ice and poison attributes can be enhanced together, it will become even more formidable."
Yan Shaozhe had pulled an all-nighter for Huo Yuhao's second soul ring—reading books, consulting others, and weighing options before making a decision.
Since the mutated Ice Jade Centipede couldn't possess Huo Yuhao's body or directly strengthen his physical combat ability, the soul ring selection had to take Huo Yuhao's actual capabilities into account.
Thus, Yan Shaozhe believed the best choice was for the martial soul to gain projectile-type abilities, focused on long-range attacks.
Records described a powerful master from ten thousand years ago with a similar martial soul, who also chose this kind of ability.
The texts even noted that when independent martial souls were injured, the damage would reflect back on the soul master.
That made it even more impossible for Yan Shaozhe to let the Ice Jade Centipede charge into battle recklessly.
In his view, if the Centipede could attack from a distance, it could stay near Huo Yuhao and even help protect him if enemies came close.
Since it was a physical entity, its body was definitely more durable than Huo Yuhao's flesh and blood.
To choose the right projectile-type soul skill, it was critical to ensure synergy in both attribute and effect.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao possessed the Ultimate Ice attribute—meaning any projectile-type ability, regardless of its specific form, would be quite powerful.
And they couldn't neglect the poison attribute either. If the ranged attack carried poison, the soul skill's effect would be even deadlier.
Gong Changlong nodded slightly, not objecting to Yan Shaozhe's proposal. He found the approach reasonable.
"Then what kind of soul skill should the second soul ring have?" Gong Changlong asked.
Yan Shaozhe smiled confidently—he had already thought it through.
"My suggestion: the second soul skill should either enhance his ice control to assist the first skill, or be a low-cost, long-range, single-target attack—something that boosts Huo Yuhao's current offense and can still be useful even after he grows stronger."
"Hmm... Let me think," Gong Changlong muttered, deep in thought.
With Yan Shaozhe's explanation, Huo Yuhao had no need to speak further.
Control-type and Assault-type paths both suited the mutated Ice Jade Centipede , and this aligned with Shrek Academy's goal of cultivating Huo Yuhao into a powerhouse.
Shrek Academy was determined to train Huo Yuhao into a formidable soul master—someone with strong personal combat ability to intimidate external threats.
Thus, Huo Yuhao had to have offensive power that enemies would fear.
What surprised Huo Yuhao was that Yan Shaozhe had actually considered his poison attribute. He'd thought the plan would blindly focus on ice.
"But this actually fits my expectations," Huo Yuhao thought.
If it were up to him, he might have chosen to specialize in poison.
The Ice Jade Centipede martial soul had three potential development paths: ice, poison, and bloodline.
It carried Dragon Clan blood, which Huo Yuhao could enhance by absorbing soul beasts with dragon bloodlines—no need to target that via soul rings.
As for the ice attribute, it was already Ultimate Ice, so absorbing normal ice-type soul rings early on wouldn't boost it much. Better to wait until he's stronger and go after the soul rings of the three Great Kings of the Extreme North—they could raise his Ultimate Ice to a whole new level.
That left poison.
Poison was a common attribute, but if Huo Yuhao could continually build its foundation, then encounter the right opportunities later, it might evolve into Ultimate Poison.
Then, the Ice Jade Centipede would become a dual ultimate-attribute martial soul!
That was exactly the result Huo Yuhao hoped for.
As for the type of soul skill, Huo Yuhao wasn't too concerned.
After all, he wasn't planning to rely on soul skills to get by forever~
"Ice attribute, poison attribute, Centipede -type martial soul, projectile-type skill, tolerance for 2,000 to 3,000 years of soul power... Got it!"
Gong Changlong suddenly whispered to himself, eyes lighting up.
"Haha, I've got it. There's a soul beast in the beast pens that matches the criteria."
"Oh?" Yan Shaozhe's face lit up with joy. "No time to waste, Senior Gong—please lead the way!"
Gong Changlong personally led Yan Shaozhe and Huo Yuhao into the beast pens.
They passed through the soul tool gates and a heavily guarded passage and entered the facility.
According to the original story, the beast pens were divided into surface and underground levels. Huo Yuhao and the others were in the surface area.
Inside, the pens were divided into separate enclosures, each protected by different soul tools.
It was, quite frankly, like stepping into a zoo.
Each soul beast was held in its own reinforced area, with cages and soul tools ensuring they didn't escape.
Honestly, all it needed were some "Do Not Feed" signs to complete the image.
Caretakers moved between enclosures, feeding fresh meat—and sometimes even live cattle or sheep—to the soul beasts to keep their wildness and combat abilities sharp.
After all, these soul beasts would be used to train upper-grade students.
It was clear that even feeding the soul beasts required a hefty budget.
Following Gong Changlong deeper into the beast pens, Huo Yuhao saw a variety of soul beasts and looked around curiously.
He spotted a group of Wind Baboons living in one enclosure. The leader had already cultivated for five hundred years.
A fake mountain stood in the center, with the baboon leader perched on top.
"What is this, the monkey mountain from a zoo?" Huo Yuhao couldn't help but joke inwardly.
Gong Changlong and Yan Shaozhe noticed Huo Yuhao's curiosity.
They exchanged a glance but said nothing. Instead, they both smiled faintly, filled with pride.
No words were needed.
See that? That's the strength of Shrek Academy!
Impressed yet, little bro?
Soon, under Gong Changlong's guidance, the three of them arrived at a snowy area.
Here, the temperature plummeted, and a layer of fine snow covered the ground—
which shocked Huo Yuhao greatly.
After all, it wasn't winter in Shrek City!
Fortunately, Gong Changlong provided an explanation.
"The beast circle is divided into several zones for raising different types of soul beasts. This area is specifically for ice-attribute soul beasts. The snowy weather here is maintained using soul tools."
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but admire the soul tool technology of the Douluo continent.
But that admiration was short-lived.
As for studying soul tool technology himself like in the original story?
Huo Yuhao figured that time would be better spent on cultivation.
And if he truly needed weapons or equipment, there were forging inheritances within the memories of Pudu Cihang.
Gong Changlong didn't elaborate further—any more would touch on the secrets of the beast circle, which Huo Yuhao wasn't yet authorized to know.
Next, Gong Changlong led Yan Shaozhe and Huo Yuhao to a specific beast enclosure.
The beast garden, surrounded by iron bars, was eerily quiet.
Inside was a bramble forest dusted with snow, dyed white. From the outside, it seemed completely normal, as if no creatures lived within.
"Could it be... a plant-type soul beast?" Huo Yuhao wondered.
"Hmph!"
Suddenly, Gong Changlong snorted coldly, releasing his aura toward the brambles.
Whoosh—
Stimulated, the bramble forest exploded. Countless thorns shot out in all directions like spears aiming to pierce everything.
Naturally, some flew toward Huo Yuhao and the others.
Huo Yuhao immediately shielded Yan Shaozhe.
But Yan Shaozhe remained unfazed—he even looked amused.
In the next instant, the iron cage lit up—
a triggered soul tool activated, forming a barrier that blocked all the oncoming icy spears.
The spears shattered on contact with the barrier, revealing they were actually disguised ice thorns!
Through his spiritual detection, Huo Yuhao sharply noticed that the shattered ice emitted a thin white mist.
The feedback from his spirit told him—this wasn't cold air, but… poison!
The areas touched by the white mist immediately frosted over.
Peeking from behind Yan Shaozhe again, Huo Yuhao looked toward the beast garden.
The bramble forest had vanished, revealing the enclosure's true resident.
A half-meter-tall spider soul beast. Its eight legs were thin and long; the round body split into two segments, each about the size of a human head—icy white and jade-like.
Slender long legs, snowy skin, and a graceful figure...
If only it weren't a spider.
The spider bared its fangs aggressively at the trio—clearly hostile.
"A 2,000-year Cold Thorn Poison Spider. Good at camouflage, can launch poisoned ice spikes. Possesses both ice and poison attributes. Its soul ring is highly likely to provide a ranged attack-type skill!"
Cold Thorn Poison Spider?
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes and asked inwardly, "Brother Tianmeng, do you know this kind of beast?"
Surprisingly, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm did know.
"Ah, the Cold Thorn Poison Spider. Not too rare in the Extreme North. It's near the bottom of the food chain."
Tianmeng was far more familiar with the soul beasts of the north than Gong Changlong.
"Don't ask. That intel was paid for with the lives of my fellow silkworms."
Though the Cold Thorn Poison Spider was low on the food chain, its status was still above that of the Ice Silkworm clan.
Tianmeng explained:
"They breed fast—hundreds in one nest. Excellent at hiding. Often disguise themselves as brambles to lure small soul beasts inside and ambush them."
"Even if the ambush fails, once their attack lands, the unique cold poison disables soul power flow, freezing the prey to death."
"Attribute-wise, this spider suits you, Hao."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly.
"Then I'm reassured."
Just then, Yan Shaozhe asked, "Xiao Yuhao, what do you think of this soul beast?"
What do I think?
I think it's decent, worth a try—what am I, on a soul beast blind date?
And if I say no, will you toss me in as spider food?
Huo Yuhao replied, "I'll leave it to Uncle Yan and Elder Gong to decide."
Yup, playing the obedient card.
Both elders smiled with satisfaction—clearly pleased with Huo Yuhao's good behavior.
To many elders, an obedient child is a good child.
"Then let me personally take care of it," Gong Changlong said.
They hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to fight a 2,000-year-old beast solo.
Gong Changlong first deactivated the soul tool barrier, then opened the iron cage.
The spider instantly lunged for the opening.
Cold Thorn Poison Spider: "Freedom or death! Today, I break free!"
And then... that was the end of that.
"Filthy beast! You dare resist?!" Gong Changlong shouted, unleashing scorching soul power to suppress it.
He grabbed and slammed the spider to the ground before Huo Yuhao, breaking all eight legs. It coughed blood repeatedly, nearly dead.
Yan Shaozhe handed a dagger to Huo Yuhao.
"Xiao Yuhao, finish it. Pierce through the eye—smash the brain directly."
Huo Yuhao accepted the blade and nodded. "Yes, Uncle Yan."
Approaching the spider, he tapped its head—
surprised to find a tough outer shell.
"No wonder we have to go through the eyes."
Taking a deep breath, he put on a rookie act, gripping the dagger unskillfully with both hands—then stabbed it hard into the spider's eye, crushing the brain.
The spider stopped struggling.
Cold Thorn Poison Spider: G'day... gone.
A purple soul ring slowly emerged from the spider's body.
"Quick, absorb it," Gong Changlong smiled. "Let's see what skill you get."
"Yes, Elder Gong."
Huo Yuhao sat down and began the soul ring absorption.
Technically, his limit was a 3,000-year ring. As this was only a 2,000-year ring, the difference was negligible.
Nitpicking over that 1,000 years wasn't worth it—
unless it was 99,000 vs 100,000 years. Then it'd matter.
Absorption wasn't difficult.
Huo Yuhao barely felt any pain—it was smooth.
That's because his meridians had been widened. This wasn't his limit, and the spider wasn't especially powerful or dangerous.
Two hours later...
Absorption complete.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes.
He summoned his Mutated Frost Wyrm Martial Soul, now bearing two thousand-year rings!
With this second ring, his bottleneck lifted again.
His level jumped directly to Level 25!
Three levels came from the 2,000-year ring, two more from residual effects of the 100,000-year Snow Lotus' previous refinement.
"Five levels?!"
Yan Shaozhe and Gong Changlong were stunned.
Second-ring thousand-year talents weren't unheard of,
but jumping five levels at once? That was rare.
"You think you ate a divine herb or something?"
Normally, even with a thousand-year ring, second-ring users gained two or three levels max.
And they'd confirmed—no soul bone had been produced.
Still, it was a 2,000-year ring—not too outrageous.
Yan Shaozhe didn't dwell on the level issue. Even if Huo Yuhao had taken some heavenly herb—it didn't matter.
Now, he was more concerned with the new soul skill and any mutations in the Martial Soul.
In fact, Yan Shaozhe looked a bit nervous.
After all, assigning a soul ring was like opening a blind box—
What you get might be treasure… or a curse.
There was always the risk of bottlenecks, or defects in mutated martial souls.
Just like that certain "master" from ten thousand years ago—stuck at level 30.
Yan Shaozhe had done his homework: Huo Yuhao's innate soul power was only level 1. Even if his body and talent had changed since awakening, no one could guarantee there wouldn't be drawbacks.
Under the curious gaze of both elders, Huo Yuhao activated his second soul skill.
"Second Soul Skill—Mystic Hidden Poison!"
The second soul ring on his Frost Wyrm lit up.
The beast looked energized and released a faint white mist—
...and that was it.
Yan Shaozhe's pupils trembled. "The soul skill malfunctioned?!"
Gong Changlong was also shocked. "How could it not be a ranged attack? That's not what the records say!"
Huo Yuhao just shrugged.
What else can I say?
The skill got gacha'd wrong.
Huo Yuhao had never studied the relationship or principles behind martial souls, soul rings, and soul skills, nor did he intend to. After all, Huo Yuhao was no scholar—he didn't need to study them to improve himself.
But that didn't mean he was completely ignorant.
According to the original story, the type of soul skill granted by a soul ring is mainly influenced by two factors:
The first is the martial soul itself. Soul skills will adapt to the martial soul, altering the way they're activated or even the effects themselves. In some cases, they may completely change into skills unrelated to the original soul beast.
Examples include the Nine Heart Begonia's pure healing skills, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's support-based skills, or even that infamous senior's flatulence-based Luo Sanpao skill—these are all examples of this kind of influence.
The second is the soul beast. The soul skill that comes with a soul ring is typically based on one of the beast's core abilities. If the soul master's martial soul is highly adaptable, the soul ring may even directly grant a soul skill from the beast.
This is why assault-type soul masters usually choose beasts strong in offense, agility-types prefer speed-based beasts, and fire-attribute soul beasts usually grant fire-based skills...
Martial souls like the Blue Silver Grass, known for their high adaptability, can even grant soul skills directly from the soul beast.
For example, a certain God-King absorbed his wife's soul ring and gained two skills—Void and Eight-Fold Explosive Throw—that had nothing to do with Blue Silver Grass but were directly inherited from the 100,000-year Soft-Boned Charm Rabbit.
There may be other factors involved, but Huo Yuhao wasn't sure. He could only speak from what he knew.
In terms of martial soul, the Variant Ice Jade Centipede Wuhun didn't have any unique characteristics that would forcibly change the soul skill.
So the main influence had to come from the soul beast.
As a result, the soul ring randomly solidified one of the Ice Thorn Poison Spider's main abilities and transformed it into a skill compatible with the Variant Ice Jade Centipede .
Gong Changlong's prediction wasn't wrong—the Ice Thorn Poison Spider was indeed skilled at launching ranged attacks.
The problem was—it wasn't just good at ranged attacks.
The Ice Thorn Poison Spider had another powerful ability: poison-infused ice spikes.
The ice spikes it created weren't inherently poisonous. The poison came from its unique toxin-infusing ability.
Since only one skill could be solidified, the ring randomly granted this toxin-infusing ability.
"小雨浩, tell us the exact details of your soul skill," Gong Changlong asked eagerly.
Huo Yuhao nodded. "My second soul skill is called Hidden Venom. Its effect is that normal attacks or soul skill attacks become laced with cold poison. I can also infuse this cold poison into objects—anyone who touches them will be poisoned. The residual poison on objects weakens over time, but as my strength increases, the duration the poison remains effective will lengthen."
Yan Shaozhe and Gong Changlong both frowned. Clearly, this wasn't the kind of soul skill they had hoped for.
After a while, Gong Changlong managed a comment: "Well... it's good for poisoning, at least."
"But it's a bit underhanded—not the kind of technique that's honorable or straightforward," Yan Shaozhe said with a hint of displeasure.
But his displeasure was useless.
Huo Yuhao almost broke into a smirk. He was quietly laughing to himself inside.
He was actually quite satisfied with the skill.
Put simply, this skill was poison enchantment.
It didn't deal direct damage and wasn't a buff-type skill either.
But with a bit of creativity, it had massive potential—possibly even becoming the core of his combat strategy.
And this wasn't all he had gained from the second soul ring.
The Variant Ice Jade Centipede had some compatibility with the Ice Thorn Poison Spider.
Thus, after absorbing its ring, the martial soul itself was enhanced.
As expected, the extreme ice attribute remained unchanged.
But the poison attribute was strengthened—its toxicity became more potent.
And now, the Centipede had gained a second type of cold poison.
The cold poison from the first soul skill came from the Centipede itself—it was highly corrosive.
This could be called Corrosive Cold Poison.
The second soul skill granted poison from the Ice Thorn Poison Spider—it had powerful freezing properties.
Those poisoned would find their soul power sluggish, their vitality and strength slowly sapped, and eventually their bodies would freeze solid, dying a slow and painful death.
This could be called Freezing Cold Poison.
Just as expected, the poison attribute was enhanced—Huo Yuhao was more than satisfied.
What he didn't mention was that the poison granted by the second skill wasn't fixed—it would grow stronger as the toxicity of his martial soul increased.
This soul skill could essentially be considered growth-type.
Even though Yan Shaozhe wasn't thrilled with the result, there was nothing he could do to change it now.
At least it wasn't a useless soul skill.
"This soul skill might work well in combination with future abilities. The future looks promising," Yan Shaozhe said in consolation.
Whether he was comforting himself or Huo Yuhao, no one could tell.
The one bit of good news was that the Variant Ice Jade Centipede martial soul showed no clear side effects after receiving its second ring.
"Next time, we must find the perfect soul ring for Yuhao!"
"Hello everyone, my name is Huo Yuhao. My martial soul is the Ice Jade Centipede . I'm a level 25 Battle Soul Master. Pleased to meet you all."
Outer School, Class 2 for new students.
Huo Yuhao stood on the podium, introducing himself.
After acquiring his second soul ring, Yan Shaozhe sent him straight to class.
The students of Class 2 looked at Huo Yuhao with curiosity but still remembered to applaud politely.
They were really curious.
It had been more than half a month since school started—and yet a transfer student was being added now?
What kind of background did he have to be admitted into Shrek Academy mid-term?
But then…
"He's so handsome."
A girl whispered.
"Yeah, really handsome," another girl agreed.
"Only Wang Dong from Class 1 can compare with him."
"Finally, our class has a handsome guy!"
Class 2 boys: "???"
So… none of us ever made the cut?
The chatter grew louder and louder.
After all, Huo Yuhao's appearance was striking.
Just standing there silently, he looked like a cold and noble young lord—elegant and aloof.
What girl going through her first crush wouldn't be mesmerized?
Naturally, the boys in Class 2 began to eye him with hostility.
Though not all the boys...
"He's so handsome... I mean, even as a guy, I—"
Some male voices mingled with the girls.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
"All right, quiet down. Huo Yuhao, please take the empty seat in the back," the teacher said.
The teacher of Class 2 was a middle-aged man named Huang Tao. He silenced the chatter and assigned Huo Yuhao a seat.
Since Class 2 was already full, Huo Yuhao could only be placed in the back row.
Still, Huang Tao was gentle and respectful.
"Thank you, teacher," Huo Yuhao replied politely.
He walked to the last row and sat in the seat prepared for him.
"All right, let's begin class," Huang Tao continued.
Even though these students weren't officially full Shrek Academy students until the entrance assessment was completed, classes still had to proceed.
Outside the classroom, Du Weilun watched from the shadows. He nodded approvingly at Huang Tao's arrangements.
No drama—perfect.
If Huo Yuhao had been placed in Class 1, things might've gone awry.
Class 1 had already expelled half its students. Who knew if even half would remain by the time the entrance exams came around in two months?
But there was little Du Weilun could do—after all, Class 1's homeroom teacher Zhou Yi had powerful backing.
As just the outer school's teaching director, even with potential to become a vice dean, he had no authority over that matter.
After watching a bit longer, Du Weilun turned and left—he still had work to do.
"So it's Class Two for new students?"
Huo Yuhao was a bit surprised to find himself placed in the second class of the new student division. He had expected to be assigned to Class One again.
He had even prepared some strategies to deal with that old witch.
But it turns out… that wasn't necessary.
Huh? Why did he think "again"?
Anyway, it wasn't a big deal.
Not having to deal with that old witch's moods was quite a relief.
Given a choice, who wouldn't want peace of mind?
"Just goes to show, the so-called god-king isn't that reliable~" Huo Yuhao teased inwardly.
Shaking off his thoughts, Huo Yuhao focused seriously on the lesson.
His original body had very little educational background — most of his time had been consumed by menial labor. He had only learned to read because Huo Yun'er had secretly taught him.
So studying was a must.
Before long, it was time for a break.
Once they were free to move around, the girls in class immediately surrounded Huo Yuhao, bombarding him with questions.
"Huo, where are you from?"
"Huo, why did you start school so late?"
"Huo, want to grab dinner tonight? My treat!"
It had to be said — after all, Douluo Continent was a fantasy world. Anyone who could cultivate was never ugly.
The girls around Huo Yuhao were all above average in appearance at the very least.
Though still young, soul masters in this world matured faster. These eleven- and twelve-year-old girls were already budding beauties — cute and shapely.
"Brother Hao, beware! These girls are like wolves and tigers. Don't even think about touching them!" came Tianmeng Iceworm's dramatic warning.
Huo Yuhao responded by giving the spirit beast a slap, sending Tianmeng flying back into the spiritual sea.
"You can't find a partner, and now you don't want me to have one either?"
"As they say, form is emptiness, emptiness is form. If I don't descend into the abyss, who will? This is part of my cultivation!"
With noble resolve, Huo Yuhao decided to follow his heart's desires.
But on the outside, he played the part of a shy, innocent boy, face flushed like someone new to social interaction.
This made the surrounding girls even more excited.
"Oh my, you're blushing!"
"I–I am not…"
"Let me see~!"
"Nooo~"
The boys in class watched with twitching eyelids and gritted teeth, wanting desperately to switch places with him.
But alas — they couldn't even get close!
…
From that point on, Huo Yuhao's school life settled into a peaceful rhythm.
Each day was packed to the brim.
Huo Yuhao's Daily Schedule:
6:00 AM: Wake up and head to Sea God Lake. While exercising, absorb the fortune of Sea God Island — the place where Shrek Academy's spiritual energy is most concentrated.
7:30 AM: Breakfast — funded by Yan Shaozhe's generous gift of 100 gold soul coins. Not luxurious, but always enough meat.
8:00 AM: Morning classes, usually theoretical. Greatly enhanced Huo Yuhao's understanding of soul master cultivation.
11:00 AM: Lunch break — dining with the girls in class, training both mind and body.
1:00 PM: Afternoon classes — practical combat and physical training.
5:00 PM: End of class — another meal with the girls, further "training."
8:00 PM: Head to the outer court's library to read and broaden his knowledge. What's taught in class is limited — true learning comes from initiative.
11:00 PM: Back to the dorm to rest, using cultivation in place of sleep, training both soul power and the demonic-Buddhist path simultaneously. Though not the same system, they turned out to be surprisingly compatible.
That was his full-day schedule.
Huo Yuhao was thriving. Yan Shaozhe even called him a hardworking kid.
And so, another half-month passed.
Huo Yuhao's life had become more and more comfortable.
Compared to the original storyline, it was night and day.
No oppressive old hag, no financial stress, strength steadily improving, girls everywhere, and even care from Yan Shaozhe — Huo Yuhao was dangerously close to being corrupted by this decadent lifestyle.
What cultivator could resist such temptation?
Huo Yuhao: You call this a test for a cultivator? Who do you think I am?!
One afternoon, Huo Yuhao was attending a regular training class.
At Shrek Academy, training classes consisted of physical training and combat training.
Physical training was the focus; combat training was supplementary.
Shrek's current physical training included exercises that seemed a bit flashy — like lifting stone weights or frog jumps — giving the impression of a gym workout.
Running laps or weighted sprinting wasn't a standard part of the curriculum, but was instead introduced by Zhou Yi, who admired a certain "great master" from a thousand years ago and copied their methods.
Huo Yuhao didn't claim to know which method was superior.
While Zhou Yi's training was clearly taxing on the body, it did quickly improve students' stamina and mental toughness.
For low-level soul masters with limited power and techniques, physical strength and mental resilience were their strength.
By contrast, the "normal" training seemed easier and well-balanced, but left Huo Yuhao feeling unfulfilled — probably because it lacked any real challenge.
So he took it upon himself to add extra training.
Understandable, though — these new students weren't formal academy members yet. The school and teachers weren't going to invest valuable resources in them at this stage.
This, too, was a kind of hidden test.
To formally enter Shrek Academy, you either had to have top-tier talent or work hard on your own.
No talent and no effort? Shrek had no use for you.
Only Zhou Yi genuinely wanted more of her students to pass, even if her methods were extreme.
For weaker students, a teacher like Zhou Yi was a blessing — at least she gave them a fighting chance.
But to the other instructors, Zhou Yi's approach was over the top.
Why are you making the rest of us look bad?!
So the other homeroom teachers neither opposed nor supported her.
Only Mu Jin, who already had a grudge with Zhou Yi and headed Class Nine, took training seriously — but without going to extremes.
As for the combat training?
It was mostly repeating specific techniques and strategies.
Instructor Huang Tao would personally guide everyone. As a Soul Emperor (60+ level), training Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders was a breeze.
Yes — the second class of new students wasn't all Soul Grandmasters. One was even a Soul Elder: Xie Huan Yue, a defensive-type soul master from the original story.
Just like the original, Xie Huan Yue was already 1.7 meters tall at twelve, but also overweight — practically a walking mountain of meat.
That was due to his spirit: the "Pipi Elephant."
Because of his appearance, the girls gave him a wide berth, despite his strong cultivation.
They simply couldn't handle it.
He'd crush us!
Still, both he and Huo Yuhao received extra attention from Huang Tao.
While the academy didn't offer resources or benefits to new students, instructors could personally "invest" in promising ones — through experience and mentorship, which were valuable in their own right.
Though for Huo Yuhao, that help wasn't all that useful.
Thousands of years of combat experience from Pudu Cihang far surpassed anything Huang Tao could offer — especially when it came to guiding the unique Frost Centipede
Still, it was helpful that Huang Tao frequently had Huo Yuhao spar with Xie Huan Yue. Even Tianmeng Iceworm, a total combat noob, was starting to pick up experience as a punching bag.
As long as he didn't use his poison, that is.
In yet another sparring session:
Huo Yuhao smoothly summoned the mutated Frost Centipede.
Xie Huan Yue activated his spirit.
The next second, Tianmeng Iceworm formed a body of ice, materializing two large battle axes, and charged at Xie Huan Yue.
Xie Huan Yue instinctively raised his defense.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but cover his face as he watched the four-legged Frost Centipede sprinting — two of its legs now wielding battle axes.
"The more I look at it, the more it looks like that centipede demon from Calabash Brothers…"
Ah Hao's test scores… were not great.
There was a reason why the Ice Jade Centipede (Tianmeng Ice Silkworm) chose the Xuanhua Axe.
After all, Xie Huan Yue's defense was just too strong.
Using light weapons couldn't break through Xie Huan Yue's defenses, so she had to go with something heavier. But if the weapon was too heavy, Tianmeng couldn't swing it properly.
Simply put…
"She's completely abandoned the combat style of a centipede," Huo Yuhao thought to himself with a touch of helplessness.
Without a doubt, Tianmeng's approach to battle had gone completely off course.
If she could just harness the innate combat power of the Variant Frost Centipede, even without poison or soul skills, defeating Xie Huan Yue wouldn't be too hard.
Don't forget—the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul has its own cultivation level. The age of the first soul ring corresponds to the martial soul's own cultivation.
After obtaining the second soul ring, the first one's age had increased to 2,500 years.
Which meant, the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul was essentially a 2,500-year-old soul beast—an elite one at that!
Most Soul Elders wouldn't be able to take it on.
Even a thousand-year Mandala Snake was enough to take out Bei Bei and Tang Ya. A 2,500-year Variant Frost Centipede should be completely overwhelming against a Soul Elder.
Unfortunately, the one controlling the centipede was the battle-idiot Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
Her combat style was the exact opposite of what it should be—using her weaknesses against her opponent's strengths.
Even if the centipede had full combat potential, she was barely using 20% of it.
Of course, part of this was because Tianmeng wasn't using any soul skills. If she did, Xie Huan Yue wouldn't last even a minute—literally.
But Huo Yuhao had no intention of changing Tianmeng's fighting style.
He figured it was a good chance for her to experience what combat would be like once she fully took on her own form.
In Huo Yuhao's plans, the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul wasn't just going to be a simple beast martial soul in the future.
And if a real fight ever broke out, Huo Yuhao would control the Variant Frost Centipede himself—no way he'd leave it to Tianmeng.
As for his real body?
If things were serious enough to require full power, it meant danger was near. His real body would run, of course!
What, was he supposed to just stand there and take a beating? Don't be stupid!
He would use most of his focus to control the centipede to hold off the enemy and a small part to control his real body to escape. The range his spiritual power could extend to was the area in which he could manipulate the centipede martial soul.
Even if the centipede died in battle, it wouldn't immediately strip Huo Yuhao of his fighting power—after all, the martial soul wasn't complete and wasn't deeply bound to him yet.
Back on the training field, the Variant Frost Centipede was locked in a fierce battle with Xie Huan Yue.
Huang Tao's brow was twitching as he watched.
As a seasoned teacher, he could clearly tell that the centipede's fighting was off. He had even considered suggesting Huo Yuhao change its combat style.
But Huo Yuhao had flatly replied:
"But I'm a human. How would I know how a centipede fights?"
Huang Tao was instantly speechless.
And this was exactly what worried him.
He wanted Huo Yuhao to use his soul skills, but Huo Yuhao kept insisting that his soul skills were too destructive and not appropriate to use against classmates.
He was dead set against it, and Huang Tao couldn't force him.
As a result, Huang Tao still didn't know that Huo Yuhao had an Ultimate Ice attribute or that both his soul rings were millennium-grade.
He just thought Yuhao had talent—but needed guidance.
This same worry also plagued Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun, who were secretly observing.
Before, Yan Shaozhe had just thought the centipede's stance was a bit off, but now he realized—something was very wrong.
"Why fight like that?" Du Weilun voiced his question.
"Maybe it's because little Yuhao and his martial soul don't actually know how a centipede fights," Yan Shaozhe analyzed. "After all, his is a detached martial soul, not one that attaches to the body. Detached martial souls are somewhat influenced by the soul master."
Yan Shaozhe had done his homework recently, especially on martial souls with independent awareness, like the ones discussed in a famous ancient text.
Such souls couldn't attach to their hosts to enhance them, but they had one big advantage: independent consciousness.
But there was a problem…
"Under Yuhao's influence, his martial soul has started acting like a human," Yan Shaozhe concluded. "This is the downside of a soul with self-awareness. If the centipede only had instinct, it wouldn't be like this."
"You're truly insightful, Headmaster," Du Weilun flattered him briefly before asking, "So… any solutions?"
Yan Shaozhe had already made up his mind.
"There's only one way. Director Du, from now on, I'll personally oversee Yuhao's training. Please speak with Class 2's teacher."
Du Weilun was stunned, then quickly nodded. "I'll go arrange it now."
But inside, he was starting to suspect—was Huo Yuhao some elder's secret child? Or maybe Yan Shaozhe planned to take him as a personal disciple?
Because Du Weilun didn't know about Yuhao's Ultimate Ice or dual millennium rings either.
He could only judge from Yan Shaozhe's extreme level of attention that Huo Yuhao had a serious background.
After all, even Bei Bei didn't get this kind of treatment.
The fight on the training grounds finally ended.
It concluded with Xie Huan Yue exhausting all her soul power and being unable to continue.
The Variant Frost Centipede had won.
An otherwise unremarkable battle—but the girls in class cheered wildly.
Soon, Huo Yuhao was surrounded by excited female classmates.
He looked visibly embarrassed.
Their giggles rang out as he struggled.
Thankfully, Teacher Huang Tao was around. With a stern word, he got the girls back to training.
He didn't say much to the newbies who weren't focusing and had no self-awareness.
The results would speak for themselves.
Then, Huang Tao began giving Yuhao and Xie Huan Yue detailed feedback on the weaknesses in their duel.
The centipede martial soul stood beside Huo Yuhao, nodding seriously at every word.
Huo Yuhao was speechless.
You nod like you understand, but I haven't seen you actually learn anything.
That evening.
After dinner, and shaking off a crowd of teasing girls, Huo Yuhao—as usual—headed for the outer court library.
The library was a grand building filled with valuable texts—more than enough for outer court students.
Unfortunately, it was nearly deserted.
Few students came to study there.
Huo Yuhao picked a few books and sat in a quiet corner, quickly flipping through them.
Maybe because of his spiritual power, his reading speed was astonishing, and his memory had vastly improved.
He sat properly, legs together, holding a book with both hands, expression serious.
The Variant Frost Centipede moved silently behind him as Tianmeng Ice Silkworm whispered telepathically:
"Brother Hao, you're something else. Still keeping up the act even now."
"Better safe than sorry," Yuhao replied.
Indeed, his studious look was all an act.
Only in his dorm could he show his real self.
The books he was reading were mostly about various martial souls and soul beasts, with some on legends, geography, and culture.
He didn't want to be a scholar, but he didn't want to be ignorant either.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose a battle.
In fact, his recent reading had already helped him identify several soul beasts with poison attributes that could be future candidates for soul rings.
Nearby, the centipede soul retracted its icy aura and lay quietly by his side. Moonlight spilled through the windows onto its body.
It looked like it was loyally accompanying its master.
A beautiful scene.
But if one activated spiritual sight—
They would see the luck energy above Huo Yuhao's head greedily devouring the stray fortune floating through the library like a hungry worm.
That was one of the main reasons he kept coming.
The library held vast amounts of ownerless fortune, a testament to the value of knowledge within—yet it drifted untapped since few came to study.
Naturally, Huo Yuhao wasn't going to let it go to waste. After half a month of absorbing it, the fortune in the library didn't seem to have diminished at all.
Meanwhile, the Variant Frost Centipede wasn't idle either.
It was absorbing a different kind of power from the moonlight itself—
Moon essence!
It was cultivating!
Now that Tianmeng had a body, she could officially begin beast cultivation.
Absorbing sun and moon essence was the most basic method—slow, but pure.
As an ice-and-poison dual-element being, aligned with cold yin energies, it chose to absorb moon essence.
Human cultivation required balance: yin and yang, five elements, and so on.
But beast cultivation? It was all about maxing out your innate talent!
Put every point into your core strengths—go all in!
Other concerns could wait until after transformation.
Without a Dao Body, it wasn't even possible to practice advanced human techniques.
(Note: A human body is also called a "Dao Body," considered the ideal vessel for cultivation. That's why beast spirits aim to transform into humans—it's really about acquiring a Dao Body.)
Thanks to this all-in style of beast cultivation, once a spirit beast reached a certain level, it could even awaken unique divine abilities.