Chapter 111 Wanting to Buy Osmanthus Flowers and Carry Wine Together.
The next morning, as sunlight shone through the thin mist onto the earth, Huo Yuhao and his two companions quickly packed their belongings and set off for Shrek Academy.
Along the way, Ning Rongrong was like a little bird, chirping and asking questions incessantly; her curiosity seemed never to be satisfied.
In stark contrast to Ning Rongrong was Zhu Zhuqing, who remained as aloof as ever, occasionally lost in thought.
The three walked through the bustling street, where shops on both sides had already opened for business, and the cries of vendors rose and fell.
Walking through the fields, watching wild bees fluttering around them, smelling the fragrance of flowers, and feeling the gentle breeze on their faces, the three of them felt refreshed and invigorated.
"Yuhao, by the way, why are you going to Shrek Academy too?" Ning Rongrong turned her head with a curious look.
Huo Yuhao smiled slightly, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes: "I just heard that Shrek Academy is an academy that only admits monsters, so I wanted to come and take a look."
Huo Yuhao's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible nostalgia.
Although Huo Yuhao didn't have a good impression of Tang San, he had deep feelings for Shrek Academy. It was the place that held his entire youth.
Dong'er, Qiu'er, Sister Xiaotao, Teacher Xiaoya, as well as Beibei, Caitou, Xiaoxiao, Senior Sister Nannan, Xu Sanshi, Senior Sister Dashi, and my own teacher Mu'en.
The mere mention of Shrek Academy immediately conjured up images of them in Huo Yuhao's mind, as if they were right in front of him.
Those days, filled with both joy and regret, were the days Huo Yuhao cherished most. The time they spent together, whether it was the sweat on the training field or the laughter around the campfire at night, was deeply etched in his memory. It's just a pity that those days are gone forever.
I long to buy osmanthus blossoms and share wine, but it will never be like the carefree days of my youth.
Ning Rongrong looked at Huo Yuhao with some suspicion, her eyes filled with doubt and confusion. Although Huo Yuhao had never set foot in Shrek Academy, when he mentioned the academy, his eyes revealed a deep sense of reminiscence and nostalgia, as if it held some precious memories for him.
Looking at Ning Rongrong's adorably suspicious expression, Huo Yuhao smiled and asked, "And you? As far as I know, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is quite a distance from Soto City. Why did you travel all that way to Shrek Academy?"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Ning Rongrong smiled shyly, her cheeks slightly flushed, and began to tell her story: "I studied at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy for a while before. I often heard a teacher named Qin Ming talk about Shrek Academy. Just recently, I had a fight with my family over some things, so I ran away from home. Since I didn't know where to go, I simply came to Shrek Academy."
After Ning Rongrong finished speaking, she secretly glanced at Huo Yuhao and asked softly, "Yuhao, you don't think I'm willful and immature, do you?"
Ning Rongrong's voice revealed a hint of unease, as if she was afraid that Huo Yuhao would develop a bad impression of her because of this.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and looked down at Ning Rongrong's nervous little face: "Haha, isn't this the real you? What's the point of a person if they don't even have their own unique personality?"
Huo Yuhao changed the subject and continued, "Besides, aren't we friends? Since we're good friends, we should naturally be tolerant of each other."
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Ning Rongrong's face immediately blossomed into a sweet smile.
Zhu Zhuqing, standing beside Huo Yuhao, couldn't help but feel a ripple in her heart when she saw Huo Yuhao's sunny smile.
Looking at Huo Yuhao, an indescribable emotion welled up within her. This was the person she admired, someone who could understand and accept someone with a personality so different from her own. As long as their values aligned, Huo Yuhao could get along harmoniously with different people and perfectly adapt to people of all kinds of personalities.
"By the way, Yuhao, I... I have some questions I'd like to ask you."
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but look at Huo Yuhao and say.
Huo Yuhao gently patted Zhu Zhuqing's head, and Zhu Zhuqing's heart involuntarily quickened. She felt a warm current flowing from Huo Yuhao's palm. A faint blush immediately spread across Zhu Zhuqing's cheeks, and she lowered her head shyly.
Huo Yuhao asked with concern, "What's the problem?"
Zhu Zhuqing raised her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes: "Yuhao, I remember you told me before that I shouldn't have too high expectations for Shrek Academy, but seeing how excited you are now, I don't quite understand."
Hearing Zhu Zhuqing's words, Ning Rongrong also perked up her ears, as she was equally curious about what Huo Yuhao had said.
Huo Yuhao seemed lost in memories, his voice carrying a hint of deep emotion: "An elder of mine once told me that everything has two sides. I have some unknown connections with Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy is like a tree now, with many crooked branches. What I need to do is prune all the crooked branches and make the tree grow into the shape I want it to be."
Huo Yuhao had promised Mu En that he would protect Shrek Academy, make it flourish, and eliminate those parasites.
Even if time were to rewind and return to ten thousand years ago, Huo Yuhao would still remember this promise.
To be honest, after carefully reading Audewonwill's memories, Huo Yuhao was filled with disbelief. He never imagined that Shrek Academy ten thousand years ago would be like this.
In his memory, Shrek Academy should have been full of glory and splendor, but reality was quite different from his expectations.
Let alone comparing it to Shrek Academy, which will become the number one advanced soul master academy on the entire continent ten thousand years later, Shrek Academy today is probably not even as good as any junior soul master academy.
The college buildings were dilapidated and looked like they could collapse at any moment. The college was pitifully small and had very few students. The entire college seemed to be on the verge of bankruptcy and teetering on the brink of collapse.
Huo Yuhao and his companions continued on their way, but Ning Rongrong began to show signs of impatience. She pouted and complained, "We've been walking for so long, why haven't we reached our destination yet? Hey, there's a huge crowd gathered around the village over there. Why don't we go ask those villagers?"
Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly and replied, "No need to ask, that village is the Shrek Academy we're looking for."
Zhu Zhuqing: "?"
Ning Rongrong: "!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened in surprise: "This, this place can be a school?"
She looked around and saw a desolate village, dilapidated houses, and streets overgrown with weeds, which made her widen her big, beautiful eyes in disbelief.
Zhu Zhuqing was equally shocked: "This, this place is really a school? This is too..."
Zhu Zhuqing knew that Huo Yuhao had special feelings for Shrek Academy. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not fully express her thoughts.
However, Ning Rongrong made no attempt to hide her thoughts. She almost immediately voiced Zhu Zhuqing's doubts: "This is too dilapidated! This is no academy; it's clearly a slum!"
Huo Yuhao: "That's about it. Shrek Academy is practically no different from a slum now. Alright, let's hurry up and register..."
Ning Rongrong immediately looked aggrieved: "Is it too late for me to leave now?"
Finally, after Huo Yuhao said, "Since you're already here," Ning Rongrong reluctantly dragged her heavy steps toward the village. At first glance, a tattered plaque hung above the wooden archway at the village entrance, bearing five simple characters: Shrek Academy.
Before these five characters, there is a green head that looks like the head of a humanoid monster; it is the Shrek Academy emblem.
Like Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, many parents and students who came to register here also had faces full of disappointment. Some of them came from distant towns, and some had traveled a long way to come here full of hope, only to find that they felt as if they had been deceived.
How should I put it? It's like you've studied diligently for over a decade, and finally managed to get into a remote mountain village from your rural hometown – that would be quite presumptuous.
In just a short while, many students and parents had left one after another. The disappointment and anger on their faces seemed to be silently accusing this place of being a scam!
They had heard that Shrek Academy was a powerful academy for Soul Masters, and that students could obtain the title of Viscount of the Empire after graduation.
But now that they've arrived at the scene, they simply don't believe Shrek Academy has this ability.
Huo Yuhao ignored the students who were leaving and instead looked at the front of the line, where an old man was sitting in a chair, leisurely having his bone age measured.
The college's enrollment process is proceeding smoothly.
The three of them, naturally, witnessed Shrek Academy's outrageous behavior of refusing to refund the registration fee from the back of the group.
This behavior has angered and frustrated many parents and students, many of whom came here with their life savings, only to be met with such a situation.
Upon witnessing Dai Mubai unleash his martial spirit to threaten the applicants, both Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong frowned in unison. Zhu Zhuqing, in particular, looked at Dai Mubai with utter disgust.
As for Huo Yuhao, he only felt ashamed.
"This, this is blatant robbery! It would take an ordinary person so long to earn ten gold soul coins, this is just too much!" Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled slightly.
Huo Yuhao silently put ten gold soul coins into the pocket of the parent who had just been chased away by Dai Mubai.
It seems that Shrek Academy really needs a good overhaul; otherwise, can such an academy still be called an academy?
Soon it was Huo Yuhao and his two companions' turn. Upon seeing Huo Yuhao, Dai Mubai's body involuntarily trembled a few times, as if it were a conditioned reflex. Ever since being severely punished by Huo Yuhao yesterday, the shadow in Dai Mubai's heart had lingered.
Yesterday, after being severely defeated by Huo Yuhao, Dai Mubai was filled with anger and frustration.
He vented his anger on the twins, treating them in a near-mad manner.
However, the twins' fighting power far exceeded his expectations. The two were like two bottomless pits, almost sucking Dai Mubai into a paper doll.
Fortunately, Dai Mubai had plenty of money, so he went to the pharmacy and bought a lot of tonics to take. Afterwards, he went to Chunshui Tower and rescued Ma Hongjun.
That night, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun got completely drunk at the tavern and indulged themselves at Chunshui Tower all night, which allowed Dai Mubai to temporarily forget about Huo Yuhao.
However, Dai Mubai never expected that he would see the figure that had given him nightmares again after only one night. When Dai Mubai faced Huo Yuhao again, he realized with horror that he didn't even have the courage to look Huo Yuhao in the eye.
How could Dai Mubai know? When Huo Yuhao was teaching him a lesson yesterday, he used the "Ruling the World" technique, which not only dealt Dai Mubai a heavy blow physically, but also planted an indelible inner demon deep in his heart.
Dai Mubai didn't even dare to look up at Zhu Zhuqing, fearing that Huo Yuhao would slap him twice more.
Dai Mubai was inherently a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. This guy named Huo Yuhao was not only more arrogant than him, but also far stronger. Dai Mubai had only just recovered from yesterday's setback, so naturally he dared not provoke Huo Yuhao again. After all, he truly couldn't beat him!
The moment Zhu Zhuqing saw Dai Mubai, her expression immediately turned cold, and she moved closer to Huo Yuhao again.
Ning Rongrong naturally noticed the unusual situation. A hint of gossip involuntarily flashed in her eyes.
The old man sitting in the chair also noticed Dai Mubai's unusual behavior. He remembered that Ma Hongjun had told him that Dai Mubai had been defeated by a teenager yesterday.
The old man originally thought that the boy should be older than Dai Mubai, after all, in his eyes, there were very few people of the same age in Douluo Continent who could surpass Dai Mubai.
However, when he saw the boy in person, he was surprised to find that the boy seemed to be even younger than Dai Mubai. Clearly, the boy in front of him was another extraordinary genius.
The old man was already quite old, and he had long since become indifferent to the struggles and grudges between young people, and he had no intention of interfering in the affairs of Dai Mubai and Huo Yuhao.
He simply sat silently in his chair, thinking that Shrek Academy was about to produce another genius. This thought brought him a sense of relief; after all, he had poured so much time and effort into Shrek, and the more prosperous Shrek became, the happier he naturally felt.
Just then, Huo Yuhao walked over, holding thirty gold soul coins in his hand, which was the registration fee for entering the academy.
The old man accepted the gold soul coin, nodded, and then began to measure Huo Yuhao's bone age with his hands. This was a tradition of the academy to ensure that each student's age met the academy's regulations.
However, when the old man's fingers gently glided across Huo Yuhao's wrist, he suddenly stopped, a look of confusion on his face.
"Huh, what's going on? Why can't I determine your bone age?"
The old man seemed somewhat skeptical. He squeezed Huo Yuhao's hand a few more times, but the result remained the same. Huo Yuhao's bone age seemed to be concealed by some mysterious force, and the old man simply couldn't measure it.
Undeterred, the old man touched Huo Yuhao's calf a few more times, trying to find some clues. But he still found nothing; Huo Yuhao's bone age seemed to be protected by an invisible barrier, making it impossible for anyone to discern it.
How could the old man possibly know? After being tempered by the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion and the Ice-Fire Dragon King, Huo Yuhao's entire skeletal structure is now completely different from that of ordinary people. How could the old man, with his limited knowledge, accurately measure Huo Yuhao's bone age?
Seeing that they couldn't determine Huo Yuhao's bone age, Dai Mubai quickly stepped forward, his voice tinged with urgency: "Since you can't even determine your bone age, you definitely can't enter the academy; that's against the rules."
Dai Mubai's tone revealed an undeniable firmness.
If there's anyone who least wants Huo Yuhao to enter Shrek Academy, it's definitely Dai Mubai. If Huo Yuhao were to actually enter the academy and have to face him every day, Dai Mubai feels he would absolutely collapse.
Huo Yuhao stood still, giving Dai Mubai a cold look. Faced with such a gaze, Dai Mubai felt a surge of fear and involuntarily took a step back, hurriedly hiding behind the old man.
Standing behind the old Soul Emperor, Dai Mu seemed to have regained some confidence. He straightened his back and spoke with a hint of pride and arrogance: "Our enrollment rule is that you must be twelve years old. Do you know that?"
Dai Mubai's words were full of contempt and disdain for Huo Yuhao, as if reminding him that he was the master here, while Huo Yuhao was just an unwelcome outsider.
The old man watching this scene felt conflicted. He knew Huo Yuhao's potential and talent well, and deep down he preferred to let the young man enter the academy. However, as a member of the academy, he couldn't openly violate its rules.
He pondered that perhaps the only way to help the boy in front of him was to make a back door for him afterward, allowing him to join the academy in some way. After all, if Huo Yuhao really was the boy who defeated Dai Mubai, Flander would probably be very excited.
As for the conflict between Dai Mubai and Huo Yuhao, the old man didn't think much of it. Young people are naturally hot-tempered; if they didn't clash a few times, what kind of young people would they be?
"Hey, did you hear me? You're not following the rules. Leave Shrek Academy immediately. Do you want our teacher to ask you to leave?" Dai Mubai's words were full of provocation.
Huo Yuhao shook his head in disappointment. In his view, his so-called ancestor was completely useless, and he could not understand how such a person could become a god.
Huo Yuhao sneered inwardly, deciding not to waste any more words with Dai Mubai.
Huo Yuhao slowly walked to the open space next to him. Just when Dai Mubai thought Huo Yuhao was going to give up, one spirit ring after another suddenly rose up under Huo Yuhao's feet.
Yellow, purple, purple, black!
As the last black spirit ring rose from Huo Yuhao's body, Dai Mubai felt a suffocating aura lock onto him, his breathing slowing down. His heart raced, and an unprecedented sense of fear surged through him.
Not only Dai Mubai, but everyone else present was also shocked.
This...this is actually a ten-thousand-year-old soul ring!
You can read 60+ advanced chapters right now on PA TREON.
Don't wait for daily updates
Support and unlock: [ patreon.com/FicToricOp ]
(End of chapter)