Naer: You're about to become a Spirit King?!
Huo Yuhao felt a heavy pressure suddenly fill the air as Yun Ming released his aura. His entire body became stiff under the weight of such power. This was the true strength of a Limit Douluo; even a tiny bit of his energy was enough to make anyone feel a deep sense of fear. Huo Yuhao felt his muscles tighten and the hair on his arms stood up as his survival instincts kicked in. While his body reacted to the danger, his mind was working even faster to understand the situation. In just a second, he realized why the man was acting so aggressive toward him.
Yun Ming was clearly upset because he believed that Naer had been kidnapped or tricked into leaving the academy. Beyond that, the man likely suspected that Huo Yuhao was trying to pursue a romantic relationship with his precious disciple. This was a complete misunderstanding of the actual events that had taken place! Gu Yue was the one who brought Naer here; Huo Yuhao had only met the girl one time before during his visit to Sea God Island. He forced himself to stay calm and spoke up quickly to clear the air. "Senior, you have misunderstood the situation. Naer and I do not have that kind of relationship at all..."
He tried to explain, but Yun Ming cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"Are you already trying to make excuses for yourself?" Yun Ming asked as he frowned slightly. He looked at the boy with a clear sense of annoyance and disappointment. "You seem to have no sense of responsibility for your own actions."
Huo Yuhao stayed silent, feeling a bit helpless. He wanted to defend himself, but he realized that anything he said might just make the older man angrier. Seeing the boy remain quiet, Yun Ming looked even more disappointed than before. He took a short pause before he continued speaking.
"Naer has lived by my side for many years. During that time, many talented geniuses at the academy have tried to win her over." Yun Ming looked off into the distance as he spoke. "She was always very cold to every single one of them and never gave them any attention."
"However, when she is around you, she seems to act like a completely different person." Huo Yuhao listened to these words without saying a word, processing the information. He thought back to his brief time spent with the girl and wondered if she truly acted differently toward him. Yun Ming kept talking, his voice sounding thoughtful. "Maybe Naer does not love you yet, but it is clear that she has a very good impression of you."
The man looked directly at Huo Yuhao with a very complicated look in his eyes. "If the two of you were to be together, you would truly be a perfect match for each other." Huo Yuhao felt a bit exhausted by this conversation; it was just another teacher worrying about a disciple's future. But Naer was not like Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao had a dangerous fire in her blood that he needed to control, but Naer did not have that problem. Why was Yun Ming so concerned about this?
Did the man actually like him enough to want him to marry into his family? No, that did not seem right. A sudden thought entered Huo Yuhao's mind as he considered the possibilities. Naer did not have evil fire, but his special energy could strengthen her dragon bloodline and make her much more powerful! After they practiced together today, Naer's strength had grown by a huge amount because of his Golden Dragon King energy. He looked at Yun Ming and wondered if this man was a selfish teacher like Yan Shaozhe.
Huo Yuhao knew that Yan Shaozhe acted nice, but the man was actually very calculating and only cared about results. Even though Yan Shaozhe never told him to date Ma Xiaotao directly, the girl had accidentally mentioned her teacher's plans before. Because of this thought, Huo Yuhao's expression became a little strange as he looked at the man in front of him. Yun Ming noticed the change in his face and felt a bit annoyed.
"Why are you looking at me with that strange expression?" Yun Ming asked. Huo Yuhao snapped out of his thoughts and immediately pushed his random guesses to the back of his mind. He looked at the powerful master with a very serious face, wanting to end this confusion once and for all.
"Senior, you have truly misunderstood. Naer and I are just friends, and I already have someone else that I care for." Yun Ming raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked, "Are you talking about your junior sister, Gu Yue?" Huo Yuhao gave a simple nod in response. It was clear that the man had researched his life before coming here to confront him.
Yun Ming's frown became deeper, and his voice sounded quite sharp. "If you already have a girl you like, then you should have never messed with Naer's feelings." Huo Yuhao felt a bit frustrated by the hypocrisy of these words. He knew from stories that Yun Ming was quite a troublemaker with women when he was a young man. Aunt Leng had told him all about the man's past romantic affairs and the many women he had chased.
Now, this man was trying to lecture him about being responsible with girls? Huo Yuhao knew that arguing with a man like Yun Ming was a waste of time and energy. Once this man made up his mind about something, he would never listen to the logic of others. He simply replied in a respectful tone, "Senior, please do not worry. I will make sure to keep a proper distance from Naer."
A flash of anger appeared in Yun Ming's eyes because he felt like Huo Yuhao was rejecting his disciple. The man stood up and let out a cold snort to show his displeasure. "You should take better care of yourself." As soon as those words were spoken, the man vanished instantly, leaving no sign that he had ever been there. Huo Yuhao sat alone in the small pavilion and let out a long sigh of relief.
It seemed that Yun Ming's surprise visit was really just about checking on the safety of his favorite student. After talking to Huo Yuhao, the man went to the Spirit Pagoda to see Naer in private. Nobody knew what the two of them discussed during their secret meeting. He left the city shortly after that and did not force the girl to return to the academy with him. Naer was happy to stay because she rarely had the chance to travel and explore on her own.
For the next few days, Gu Yue took her around to see all the interesting sights in East Sea City. This continued until six days later when Huo Yuhao made a sudden announcement. "Are you really planning to go back to Shrek City right now?" Gu Yue asked with a surprised look on her face. She had expected him to stay and relax for the entire duration of their school vacation.
Huo Yuhao nodded his head. "I made some good progress with my soul power last night and I need to return for my breakthrough." Naer was standing nearby and had become much more comfortable around him over the past week. When she heard his words, a look of pure shock appeared on her beautiful face. Her purple eyes went wide as she spoke in total disbelief. "Wait... are you saying you are about to become a Spirit King?"
An eleven-year-old Spirit King was a terrifying concept that defied all common sense. Huo Yuhao just smiled at her reaction and gave a small nod to confirm that she was correct. He did not actually need to be at the academy just to level up his soul power. His ten thousand year Spirit Soul was capable of giving him a new ring wherever he happened to be. However, this specific breakthrough was going to be extremely dangerous for him.
Huo Yuhao was planning to condense a Soul Core at only level fifty! To an outsider, reaching level fifty at age eleven seemed fast, but he felt he could have been faster. He had spent a lot of time on forging and soul tools, which had slowed down his actual cultivation speed. His teachers had warned him that growing too fast could damage his young body and his developing meridians. If his power grew faster than his bones could handle, it would cause permanent physical problems for him.
Because of this, he had been constantly compressing his soul power to make it as dense as possible. Even though he was only a Spirit Ancestor, the quality of his power was already equal to a Spirit Douluo. This high density gave him the confidence to try and form a Soul Core while becoming a Spirit King. This was the main reason why he needed to return to the safety of Shrek City. During such a risky process, he needed Leng Yaozhu to watch over him and keep him safe.
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