Feeling the "vitality" of his Soul body fading second by second, and his form becoming increasingly translucent, the thought of wanting to teach Huo Yuhao a lesson had long since vanished from Nightmare's mind.
At this moment, even self-preservation had become a luxury, let alone trying to get back at him.
Yet, even so, he still refused to yield.
That gradually blurring old Face wore a stubborn expression of refusing to submit even in death, and his murky eyes stared fixedly at Huo Yuhao.
He shouted in a hoarse voice: "You won, this old man admits defeat; do as you please, kill me or slice me up."
Huo Yuhao slowly descended from mid-air back to the ground, raised his eyes to look at the stubborn Nightmare Old Demon in front of him, with no trace of a victor's arrogance on his Face.
If it weren't for his teacher, Electrolux, he would have been the loser. Nightmare's previous actions had indeed angered him, but he was not someone who held grudges, nor did he intend to take the other's life over a momentary dispute.
A small punishment, a warning, and stopping at that—this was the measure he had already decided upon.
Besides, after all, he was sent here by Yun Ming to obtain an Opportunity; if he turned around and wiped out the people here, it would be a bit unreasonable.
Huo Yuhao looked at Nightmare, remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Shrek Academy is just an academy. Over the years, the Students who come here for training, only a minority truly choose to stay in the academy after graduation; the vast majority end up going to the major forces of the Federation."
Nightmare and Destruction both raised their heads, not understanding why Huo Yuhao was suddenly saying these things.
They had assumed that after gaining the upper hand, this brat would either humiliate them with arrogance or directly finish them off.
But he didn't; instead, he seemed to be preaching some great principles.
Huo Yuhao did not explain, but continued: "So, what the Senior was truly angry about just now was not the fact that I am leaving the academy."
"The reason the Senior was angry was because I once caused Shrek Academy to fail, and once caused Shrek Academy to lose Face."
"What the Senior cannot tolerate is that I, who once damaged the Face of Shrek, am now standing on Devil Island, peacefully enjoying the Opportunity that should belong to Shrek Students."
He paused, met Nightmare's gaze calmly, and said word by word: "In the end, what the Senior is angry about is nothing else, but the pride of the so-called Shrek Academy in your hearts, which has been stepped on by a kid from the Spirit Pagoda like me."
The two did not reveal their identities, but from the unbridled anger they had just shown, Huo Yuhao had accurately determined their origins.
These two Old Devil Heads must also be from Shrek Academy.
Destruction and Nightmare, two Old freaks with a combined age of over three thousand years, were now rendered speechless by a fourteen-year-old youth.
As the victor, Huo Yuhao did not utter any insults and still addressed them as Senior, which left them unable to say anything harsh.
The expressions on their Faces changed from initial anger and unwillingness to silence and contemplation, evidently weighing the weight of Huo Yuhao's words in their hearts.
Seeing that both seemed to have calmed down, Huo Yuhao softened his tone a bit and continued: "I am still a Student of Shrek Academy, and coming to this Devil Island for training is also following the rules."
"Since that is the case, the two Seniors do not need to shout about killing and fighting from the start, making it seem as though Shrek Academy has suffered a great loss."
After speaking, Huo Yuhao waved his hand.
The golden runes sealing Destruction and Nightmare instantly collapsed, turning into specks of golden light that drifted away like fireflies in the night sky.
The terrifying power that had suppressed the two until they couldn't breathe also dissipated, causing both of them to feel a sense of relief.
Destruction and Nightmare regained their freedom, but had no intention of attacking again.
Huo Yuhao did not pay attention to them anymore; some things were enough to point out. They had lived for over a thousand years; what they should understand, they would naturally understand. If they couldn't understand, saying more was useless.
He shifted his gaze away from the two Old Devil Heads and looked at his five companions who were still immersed in their respective Nightmares on the grass nearby.
Tang Wulin and the others were normal, still struggling in the "Nightmare". But when Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over Na'er and Gu Yue, his eyebrows twitched slightly.
On the surface, Na'er and Gu Yue, like the other three, seemed to be immersed in the terrifying Nightmares woven by Nightmare Old Demon.
But at one moment, Huo Yuhao clearly caught a flash of clarity in the eyes of Na'er and Gu Yue.
He was too familiar with that kind of look; it was clearly that they had already seen through the illusion, but were pretending to know nothing, continuing to cooperate and act in the dream.
Seeing this, the corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly, and he laughed inwardly. He turned his head and cast his gaze toward Nightmare again: "Senior, let Gu Yue and Na'er out; this training is no longer of any use to them."
Having lost the suppression of the magic, Nightmare's previously illusory Soul body, which had been almost on the verge of dissipating, had condensed significantly.
He glanced at the images in the light clusters above Gu Yue and Na'er's heads. A moment later, a sharp glint flashed through those murky old eyes.
Just now, he had focused all his attention on Huo Yuhao and hadn't looked closely at the dreams of these two girls.
Now, reminded by Huo Yuhao, he naturally discovered the abnormality upon closer inspection. Nightmare was silent for a moment, and with a slight shift in his thoughts, the light clusters above Gu Yue and Na'er quietly shattered.
Subsequently, the two also slowly woke up, their long eyelashes trembling, and two pairs of clear eyes opened almost simultaneously.
The two stood up from the grass unhurriedly, reached out to pat the grass clippings on their skirts, and then simultaneously took steps, slowly walking to Huo Yuhao's side and standing still.
The whole process was so calm that it seemed as if they hadn't just woken up from a Nightmare, but had naturally woken up from an afternoon nap.
Nightmare looked at the scene of these three standing side by side, his lips moved for a long while, and he finally couldn't help but sigh: "Such Little freaks, there are actually three of them at once."
Huo Yuhao's words just now had indeed awakened the two old devils, Nightmare and Destruction.
However, the two were ultimately concerned about Face; asking them to lower their old Faces to apologize to Huo Yuhao was absolutely impossible.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao seemed to see this point and did not continue to dwell on the previous topic.
With the tacit understanding of both sides, the conflict that had almost become life-or-death was gently brushed aside by an invisible hand, and no one mentioned it again, as if it had never happened.
After Gu Yue walked to Huo Yuhao's side, she naturally held Huo Yuhao's hand. Her purple eyes reflected the purple-black light column that soared into the sky in the distance.
She tilted her head slightly and transmitted her voice to Huo Yuhao: "On Devil Island, only that place is worth you going to."
Huo Yuhao looked in the direction of Gu Yue's gaze; the end of his line of sight was exactly the center of this valley, where the purple-black light column soared into the sky.
Just looking at it from afar made one's heart involuntarily feel a sense of palpitation. After arriving here, his teacher Electrolux had said that the power of a god existed here.
And in Huo Yuhao's perception, that purple-black light column was clearly the source of the Divine Power.
He retracted his gaze, looked at Nightmare and Destruction, and asked calmly: "We shouldn't need to participate in this trial anymore, right?"
Nightmare was silent for a moment, then sighed heavily. All three had seen through the illusion he had set up; what was the point of continuing this trial?
He waved his hand and spat out a sentence in a hoarse voice: "Since you have seen through the illusion, then consider it as you having passed."
Huo Yuhao nodded and said nothing more. He tightened his grip on Gu Yue's hand slightly, lifted his feet, and walked towards the center of the valley.
Seeing this, Destruction flashed and blocked the three of them.
He warned with a serious expression: "It is dangerous there."
Huo Yuhao stopped and said: "It is dangerous, but it is also an Opportunity, isn't it?"
Destruction's gaze flickered slightly. Even if Huo Yuhao and the others didn't take the initiative to walk over now, he would have arranged for these youths to come into contact with that Destruction aura in the subsequent trials.
He pondered for a moment, raised his withered hand, and pointed from afar at the purple-black light column soaring in the center of the valley.
His old voice carried a hint of solemnity: "The birth of Devil Island was because a batch of Destruction fragments fell from the sky a thousand years ago and crashed into this sea area."
"The black islands, black vegetation, and black seawater you saw when you landed on the island are all the result of being eroded by the aura of those Destruction fragments for many years."
"And this one in the valley is the largest piece of Destruction fragment in the entire surrounding archipelago."
Speaking of this, he paused, and his tone became even more serious: "As long as you approach that area, you will be eroded by the pervasive Destruction aura."
"That erosion does not only act on the physical body; even your Soul will suffer endless pain."
Feeling the rare kindness emanating from Destruction, Huo Yuhao smiled, and his tone was also softer than before: "Thank you for the reminder, Senior, but I would rather see it with my own eyes."
After speaking, he turned his head again, his gaze falling on Nightmare Old Demon. "Senior, tempering the mind also requires methods; some means are better left unused."
Nightmare knew what Huo Yuhao was referring to. His old Face stiffened slightly, and he let out a heavy snort from his nose. He turned his head to the side, looking as if he couldn't be bothered to pay attention, but he did not refute.
As soon as Huo Yuhao saw his expression, he knew that although this Old Devil Head did not admit it, he had taken the words to heart.
He said no more, turned back, held Gu Yue's hand tightly, took a step, and strode towards the purple-black light column soaring into the sky in the center of the valley.
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.