In a daze, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt someone tapping his face. The slight stimulus gradually brought him back to awareness of the outside world.
At the same time, outside…
"Why aren't you waking up yet?" The leader of the Tang Sect anxiously glanced at his disciples as he tried to rouse the unconscious boy.
Beibei smiled gently and explained the boy's condition to the young girl beside her: "His vitality is very stable, and the soul power within him is strong and normal. If I'm not mistaken, he must have just broken through from Soul Fighter to Soul Master level. His body needs time to assimilate this new power and adjust to the breakthrough. Such a pity it's only the ten-year-old Wind Baboon."
Tang Ya snorted dismissively. "What's there to pity? It's normal for the first soul ring to be weak. He's done well to kill a Wind Baboon on his own."
Beibei chuckled, unfazed by Tang Ya's retort. "Who would have thought a mere chance encounter would make you so concerned? It seems the way to a woman's heart is indeed through her stomach. Especially for someone like you, whose heart and stomach are connected."
Tang Ya's cheeks flushed slightly. "Hmph, you're the one with your heart and stomach all mixed up! Don't forget, I'm your teacher."
Beibei didn't argue, only watching her with a gentle smile.
Under Beibei's gaze, Tang Ya's voice softened, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"Hmm…" A soft sound came from Huo Yuhao, breaking the subtle tension between the two.
"You're finally awake, Xiao Yuhao! I was so worried," Tang Ya exclaimed joyfully as Huo Yuhao's eyes fluttered open.
Still groggy from regaining sensation, Huo Yuhao looked toward the source of the voice.
Xiao… Yuhao? Who calls me that? And whose face is this? If it were someone I knew, I wouldn't forget such a handsome face.
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his mind. Memories that weren't his own flooded in, allowing Huo Yuhao to roughly piece together what had happened.
Unexpectedly, crossing over — something usually fictional in novels — actually happened to him. And not just any crossing over, but directly possessing the soul of the novel's protagonist, Huo Guai!
Huo Yuhao felt his mind spinning, memories from two lives blurring together. Biting his tongue lightly to steady himself, he reviewed the newly acquired memories and whispered in disbelief, "Am I really not dreaming?"
"Ouch!" Suddenly, a burning pain flared in his arm. "Xiao Ya, what are you doing?"
Tang Ya laughed. "I'm just checking if you're dreaming! So, feeling more awake now? You've got some nerve going alone into the Star Dou Great Forest."
Huo Yuhao had no response. He couldn't exactly say it wasn't him who recklessly ventured into the forest alone, so he awkwardly scratched his head.
As they spoke, Huo Yuhao's control over his body gradually returned. Putting embarrassment aside, he summoned his soul power following the feeling from his memories.
Smooth soul power surged out, a faint golden light flashing in his eyes — his Martial Soul, the Spirit Eye. Wherever the Spirit Eye reached, everything became clearer. A translucent white ring appeared around him, and several instinctive imprints surfaced in his mind — skills. These were the four soul skills attached to the first soul ring in the novel!
Acting on instinct, Huo Yuhao injected soul power into the soul ring. As the white glow pulsed rhythmically, his mind seemed to gain a second perspective. Within a thirty-meter radius, he didn't need eyes to see — everything around him was projected in three dimensions inside his brain. Any subtle change in the environment was immediately reflected in his mind.
Only now did Huo Yuhao truly believe all he had experienced was real. He really had crossed over, not dreamed. After all, no dream could conjure such vivid and intricate details. A surge of joy exploded uncontrollably in his heart.
As Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, savoring the godlike view, outside, Beibei and Tang Ya watched him closely.
Sensing the spiritual fluctuations from Huo Yuhao's soul skill release, Tang Ya looked at Beibei in shock, noticing her subtle change in expression.
Catching Tang Ya's gaze, Beibei instantly understood the meaning behind the look and nodded slightly to confirm her suspicion, whispering:
"A Spirit-attribute Martial Soul! He's a Spirit-attribute Soul Master who absorbed the soul ring of a ten-year Wind Baboon. Although we don't know the specific effects of the soul skills, judging from the spiritual wave he released, he clearly obtained Spirit-attribute soul skills. Strange… I never heard that Wind Baboons have Spirit attributes. Could it be a mutated Wind Baboon affecting the brain?"
At the center of the conversation, Huo Yuhao finished experiencing the soul skills. The pale golden light in his eyes faded, and he came back to his senses, jumping up excitedly.
"It's real! So this is what it feels like to become a Soul Master! Amazing!"
Seeing Huo Yuhao's joy, Tang Ya couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Yuhao, is your Martial Soul a Spirit attribute? I just sensed strong spiritual fluctuations."
Only then did Huo Yuhao snap out of his crossover excitement and confirm her guess.
"Yes! My Martial Soul is the Spirit Eye — a mutated Martial Soul with Spirit attributes."
Tang Ya's eyes lit up. "Spirit Eye? Your original Martial Soul?"
Beibei also seemed to realize something, shaking her head regretfully.
"Unexpectedly, it's the original Martial Soul. Too bad we're a step late. Otherwise, we could have helped Xiao Huo find a better soul beast to fuse with."
A ten-year-old Wind Baboon… definitely doesn't match an original Martial Soul.
Huo Yuhao naturally caught the regret in their words. Beibei and Tang Ya assumed his first soul ring belonged to the Wind Baboon, which was the best cover story for now. He certainly wasn't foolish enough to explain otherwise.
Although it was a shame to waste the first soul ring slot, since it was a Spirit-attribute original Martial Soul, Beibei and Tang Ya tried subtly probing Huo Yuhao's background during their conversation.
Huo Yuhao recalled the original plot and answered their questions as closely as possible. In the end, Beibei and Tang Ya decided to try to recruit Huo Yuhao into the Tang Sect.
After much thought, Huo Yuhao chose to follow the original storyline and join the Tang Sect. Although joining might expose him faster to a certain Shura God King he preferred to avoid, what other choice was there? Could running away to other countries make the Tang God King overlook this "Child of Destiny"?
Impossible. Tang San had specifically placed his daughter on Douluo Continent to lure the newly born Child of Destiny. Even if he didn't join Shrek Academy, escaping Tang San's backup plans would be unlikely.
Besides, aside from Shrek Academy, the only other suitable school for Huo Yuhao was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. While it had fewer traps than Shrek, the Sun Moon Empire itself was rife with dangers.
Huo Yuhao was unfamiliar with the land. If he ran into evil soul masters on the way to the Sun Moon Empire, there would be nowhere to run!
Huo Yuhao had read some fanfictions about the second Douluo Continent, and he simply couldn't understand those reckless crossovers who entered the Soul Beast Forest and then the Sun Moon Empire's borders.
Leaving aside whether they could survive the soul beasts, those areas were hotspots for evil soul masters — just like the Evil Eye Forest.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire was the base of the evil soul masters. They couldn't openly act or train within cities, so the borders and soul beast forests became their main playgrounds.
He definitely didn't want to gamble on whether he would encounter the Sun Moon Empire's officials first or run into an evil soul master first!
It was far better to follow the proper steps and join Shrek Academy. Although there were many pitfalls there, none were deadly. Plus, he had the advantage of knowing the storyline well. As long as he didn't stray too far from the plot, Tang San probably wouldn't set up any extra traps. After all, the darkness under the lamp was the best place for mischief.
Moreover, joining the Tang Sect offered plenty of direct benefits.
In short, Huo Yuhao joined the Tang Sect and gained access to their cultivation techniques: Qi Refining method "Xuan Tian Gong," hand techniques "Xuan Yu Shou," eye techniques "Zi Ji Mo Tong," grasping techniques "Kong He Qin Long," agility techniques "Gui Ying Mi Zong," as well as proficiency with hidden weapons through "Hidden Weapons Mastery – Hundred Solutions." On top of that, Beibei gifted him a replica Storage Soul Guide Device called "Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night."
Besides these, he also received a main quest item: an exemption ticket for Shrek Academy entrance exams, along with a debuff: "Sea God's Watchful Gaze"…
After shaking off the shock of crossing over, Huo Yuhao began recalling memories related to the Douluo series stored in his mind, as if suffering from hyperthymesia — vividly remembering all his experiences from his previous life…
"Sigh… The reputation of Shrek Academy wasn't great in my last life. It's full of traps. I have to be careful. If things get too tough, I might have to escape. Maybe I can find a way to get an official pass and go through proper channels. That's way safer than sneaking around…"
"The Sun Moon Empire is inevitably the choice of the times. Even if the gods tried to stop it, they only delayed the unification. Once the divine realm fades away, the Sun Moon Empire will unify the Douluo Continent for sure…"
Thinking about the various pitfalls in Shrek Academy and the grueling, painstaking growth process of the original Huo Guai in the novel, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh.
Why did crossing over still mean living such a tough life like Huo Guai's? Going to school was one thing, but balancing both literary and martial studies, having to work odd jobs in free time, and facing strict attendance pressure — failing the Martial Soul assessment meant immediate expulsion…
Back in his previous life, he'd finally landed a well-paid job with a monthly salary over ten thousand and weekends off, but before he could enjoy it, he was thrown into this world.
And after all this time, not even a single "golden finger" had appeared. A system or something would be nice…
System! System! System bro, are you there? If so, please respond!