After finishing cleaning, Huo Yuhao, despite feeling hungry, went to collect the monthly stipend of one Gold Soul Coin granted by the school. He bought the cheapest set of tableware and hurried to the cafeteria.
Looking at the dazzling array of dishes, each with its own unique flavor, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but swallow hard. Especially the most expensive dishes—all made from top-tier ingredients. If Huo Gua had been eating these since childhood, how could his innate soul power only be at the first level? With the potential of a Spirit Eye, he could easily be at levels eight or nine.
Unfortunately, after squeezing the still cold Gold Soul Coin in his pocket and realizing he wouldn't start earning money until tomorrow afternoon, Huo Yuhao had only that one Gold Soul Coin and some loose change to use. So, he focused his attention on the window on the right side of the cafeteria, where a dish was made from a ten-year-old soul beast known for its strength. Eating it would strengthen the body and help with soul power cultivation.
Because of the school's subsidy for ordinary students, this dish cost only two Silver Soul Coins. Gritting his teeth, Huo Yuhao spent a fifth of his money to solve his lunch problem.
Now was not the time to save money; if he ran out of energy and couldn't finish his running laps on time, that would be truly disastrous!
Huo Yuhao kept comforting himself. Perhaps because he had absorbed Huo Gua's memories, he seemed reluctant to spend money now—something he hadn't had a problem with before crossing over.
After eating his lunch, a mixture of pain and pleasure, Huo Yuhao ran back to the dorm to continue training. He had temporarily given up cultivating "Controlling Crane and Dragon," "Ghost Shadow Step," and "Mystic Jade Hand," focusing all his efforts on soul power cultivation. He aimed to convert all the soul power in his body into internal strength from the "Xuanyuan Technique" before class.
"Hm, this technique is really good, quite suitable for your current situation. You humans are truly talented!" Just as Huo Yuhao entered his meditation state, the scene before his eyes turned completely white, and the tender voice of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm echoed in his mind. He was once again drawn into his spiritual sea.
"Tianmeng-ge?" Huo Yuhao called out, using the original work's way of addressing Tianmeng Ice Silkworm. In his previous life, he even called his roommate who helped bring food his 'godfather.' So what was wrong with calling a million-year-old soul ring and second martial soul "brother"?
"What did you call me?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was stunned, doubting whether Huo Yuhao's mind had been damaged during a turf battle with that big grey orb.
Its plump silkworm face showed a suspicious expression as it carefully observed Huo Yuhao's consciousness projection.
No problems detected?
"Call me Sister Tianmeng!" After confirming Huo Yuhao's mind was fine, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm lazily resumed its relaxed state.
"Tianmeng… Sister?" Huo Yuhao called out instinctively.
_?
⊙▽⊙
Σ⊙▽⊙川
Wait!
Is something wrong with me, or has this world gone mad?
Ignoring Huo Yuhao's shock, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm continued lazily, "Your body condition has changed a lot these past few days. Finally, a good start. Your physical endurance is gradually increasing. Not bad, not bad. The abilities you've been cultivating all suit you well. Especially the meditation technique and that eye training method."
"You must have felt the four skills I gave you. Practice often, especially the last one combined with your eye training. The effect should be good, and it will at least give you a basic offensive soul skill. Better than I expected."
"Tianmeng… Sister, I will train hard."
Though he couldn't quite understand what was wrong, Huo Yuhao, experienced in reading, quickly accepted this new setting… What a joke! Which mediocre writer messed with this? Even though he had read some Douluo fanfics before crossing over and seen Huo Gua turn into Huo Yutong, he had never seen Tianmeng Ice Silkworm turned female in any story.
Forget it… Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's gender doesn't matter. As long as Huo Gua's cheat is intact, it's fine.
While pondering how much this world had been altered, Huo Yuhao wondered: Would Wang Dong become male? Probably not… After all, she was the goddess of light's Butterfly Martial Soul!
Unaware of Huo Yuhao's thoughts, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm yawned again: "I'm sleepy and need to rest for a while. Keep training the way you are. When you break through and need a second soul ring, I will naturally awaken. Then the ice attribute martial soul I gave you should be able to serve as your main martial soul, causing a qualitative leap."
Huo Yuhao replied, "Okay, got it. Oh, Tianmeng… Sister, I might need your help with something these days."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm yawned again: "If you face an insurmountable danger, I'll definitely help you. Don't worry. As long as you live, I live! Going to sleep now…"
"But… although I feel this thing isn't very dangerous, it seems connected to something terrifying—possibly related to a god."
"What did you say!" Tianmeng suddenly jolted awake from drowsiness, feeling like her hearing was off.
Why did she sacrifice her cultivation to become a soul ring? For charity?
Impossible! Why would she give her hard-earned million-year cultivation to someone else?
She hoped to gather the power of many soul beasts, push a soul master to the throne of gods, and then ascend the divine realm with him—everyone benefits.
And now you tell me the final plot clue appears before even leaving the newbie village?
"I'm not sure either. It's just a vague feeling. I had it once before, just when I was ready to enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul rings. I inexplicably felt it wasn't the right time, prepared some useless stuff, and lost two days."
"You saw it too, Sister Tianmeng. If you'd been waiting for the right chance all along, one or two days wouldn't matter. But the Shrek Academy enrollment slots are so precious, and with my current ability, I'd never have gotten in without meeting Teacher Xiaoya and the others."
"That's why I pay great attention to this vague feeling, and this time it's much stronger. It gives me a… very bad feeling. If last time your influence was involved, then now there might be an even stronger presence. Even if it's not related to a god, it's something that will greatly affect my future."
Hearing this, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm looked surprised: "What is this? Seeking fortune and avoiding disaster? Or predicting the future? Hmm, I'm not sure about fate either. If I want to study it, I can't. I'll just sleep lightly these days. Call me if you need anything. Going to sleep now."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm didn't care whether Huo Yuhao's words were true or not. Now they were like grasshoppers on the same string. Besides, from her memories, Huo Yuhao was sentimental, with hatred being his only dark side. Unnecessary suspicion would only create rifts. Better to save energy and sleep.
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again, six hours had passed. The cafeteria was probably closed by now. He ate some dry food to fill his stomach and left the dorm.
The night at Shrek Square was quiet. Under the glow of soul-guiding lamps, small groups of students strolled about, some couples from higher grades mingled among them. But none of that concerned Huo Yuhao. After a brief warm-up, he started running laps slowly around the square.
One lap, two laps… ten laps, twenty laps…
While Huo Yuhao focused on controlling his pace, a pair of girls walking side by side approached.
"Ning Tian, look! There's an idiot running laps at night!" The red-haired girl spotted Huo Yuhao jogging.
"Wu Feng, don't be rude!" Ning Tian frowned slightly, disapproving of Wu Feng's bluntness.
"I know," Wu Feng put on a sweet expression, but soon her true nature showed: "Is he even a Shrek student? So slow! When I just awakened my martial soul, I ran faster than him…"
Half an hour passed. Huo Yuhao pushed himself to run faster for a short while but barely completed thirty laps. Feeling the aching muscles, he sighed helplessly. This speed was nowhere near the two-hour hundred laps qualification line.
Shaking his head, Huo Yuhao trudged toward the school gate. The main entrance of Shrek Academy was also the east gate of Shrek City, where many vendors gathered—a place where he would later sell grilled fish in the afternoons.
Even though it was nearly nine o'clock at night, the streets outside were still brightly lit, the vendors' shouts echoing incessantly. Ho Yuhao watched for a while before finally finding a place that was—well, not quite cost-effective but cheap enough—to settle his dinner.
After finishing his meal, he naturally returned to the dormitory to continue his training. After some simple stretching to ease the soreness from running, Ho Yuhao immersed himself once again in practicing the Xuantiangong technique.
Time slipped away unnoticed. Just as the first faint light of dawn appeared on the horizon, Ho Yuhao completed one full cycle of energy circulation. He stopped his Xuantiangong practice, then immediately sat on the windowsill to continue training his Purple Extreme Demon Eye.
Later, he ran around Shrek Plaza for about an hour and stopped by the cafeteria for breakfast—this was just his morning routine.
While having breakfast, he chatted briefly with Beibei before his expression grew heavy as he looked toward the dormitory.
"Tiànmèng-jie, are you there? That strange feeling I mentioned keeps getting stronger. Maybe what I'm sensing is about to happen soon."
"I'm here," Tiànmèng Ice Silkworm's lazy voice echoed in Ho Yuhao's mind, still sounding half-asleep. "But what exactly do you need me to do to deal with this feeling of yours?"
"Mainly, keep a close watch on my Spirit Sea and physical condition. If you have any extra energy, also keep an eye on my surroundings."
"Got it. Leave it to me, then."
With Tiànmèng Ice Silkworm's assurance, Ho Yuhao gathered his thoughts.
Relying solely on the original story's plot could never accurately measure Tang San's control over Douluo Continent.
He didn't know whether it was coincidence or a premeditated plan that Beibei and Tang Ya had met him in the Star Dou Great Forest.
If Tang San's influence over the continent was stronger than expected, trying to escape his gaze by sneaking away would be outright suicidal.
Especially if he ran to Riyue — if Tang San really couldn't see him, that would be one thing; but if he could...
Tang San would just send members of the Haotian Sect to imitate the real sect's aggressive move into Mingde Hall, and Ho Yuhao's fate would be sealed.
Therefore, Ho Yuhao chose the path that would let him survive the longest—coming to Shrek. At worst, he'd follow the original storyline reluctantly but gain eternal life, and even a beautiful wife. No matter what, that was better than being a beast of burden in his past life, right?
Learn to quit while you're ahead.
What happened next would decide whether it was even worth trying to break free from Tang San's control.
Right now, Ho Yuhao could only rely on Tiànmèng. If she couldn't handle it, she could share some of her essence with Elekse to help him recover.
If the awakened Elekse couldn't deal with it either, then Ho Yuhao could just give up—he wasn't OP, and before crossing over he was just a minor player; he couldn't possibly be stronger than Elekse.
But if Tang San's power was limited, Ho Yuhao could adjust his plans, slowly trying to break free from Tang San's grasp.
Which path the future would take all depended on his first official encounter with Tang San.
Ho Yuhao took a deep breath and headed toward the dormitory.
Let me see just how skilled this Tang God King really is...