Huo Yuhao didn’t know what to say anymore. The academy was concerned for his safety, so it was hard for him to object to that. However, he actually needed a soul ring, and Wang Dong’er still wanted to monitor and investigate Wang Qiu’er.

Cai Mei’er pondered momentarily before saying, “Alright, let’s do it this way. I will report this to Elder Xuan after I return to the Sea God’s Island, and it should be fine as long as Elder Xuan agrees. Lexuan is leading this group, but if the two of you do participate in the end, we might have to add one or two more teachers to tag along.”

They left Cai Mei’er’s office, and Wang Dong’er couldn’t help but laugh and comment, “See, you’re now a VIP. The academy is making a big fuss about this, but it’s not about me! It’s clear that this is all about you.”

Huo Yuhao laughed along and said, “Don’t undervalue yourself. Don’t forget that you’re also the heir to the Clear Sky Sect, and the academy must ensure your safety as well. Dean Cai is trying to guard against surprises. We have been to the Great Star Dou Forest many times, and if we don’t meet hundred-thousand year soul beasts, we will definitely be able to escape with our lives with our current cultivation.”

They returned to the Sea God’s Island, where they went straight to Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi’s dorm.

They could hear the cacophony of laughter and banter as soon as they walked through the door.

“You have to treat everyone, Caitou. I wonder how a pretty flower like Xiao Xiao could have chosen you.” Xu Sanshi’s hearty laughter could be heard.

He Caitou didn’t back down at all. “That’s right, a pretty flower like Nannan has chosen to plant herself on a pile of shit like you. You shouldn’t have walked away with him that day, Nannan! Look at him – he’s so proud and happy that his eyes have almost grown to the top of his head.”

Xu Sanshi was sprawled out inside the living room, while He Caitou was sitting on a chair not far from him, bickering with him. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were cleaning up the room on the other side, and they casually ignored the banter as they whispered into each other’s ears.

“Second senior brother, third senior brother. Fourth senior sister, fifth senior sister!” Huo Yuhao called out the moment he walked in.

All four of them looked over, but the first person they looked at was Wang Dong’er.

Wang Dong’er evaded everyone’s gazes and hid behind Huo Yuhao. “What are you looking at? Have you never seen me before?”

Xu Sanshi laughed out loud and said, “We’ve seen you before, but we only recognize Wang Dong, and not Wang Dong’er. Where’s this pretty lady from? Come on out, let me tease you a little… Aiyo!”

“Your skin must be itchy,” Jiang Nannan said as she withdrew the duster she had just whipped across Xu Sanshi’s back.

Xu Sanshi hurriedly smiled at her and said, “Wang Dong has lied to us for so long, don’t you think she deserves to be teased? I don’t mean anything else, you’re the only one I love in this entire world.”

“Get lost.” Jiang Nannan kicked him angrily, and then circled behind Huo Yuhao and dragged Wang Dong’er out.

“You’re so beautiful, Dong’er. Everyone will fall in love with you when they see you! Why are you hiding?” Jiang Nannan laughed as she spoke softly.

Wang Dong’er lowered her head and said, “You’re mocking me too, fourth senior sister.”

Jiang Nannan said, “The truth has been revealed, and the two of you are truly fated. Love will be victorious in the end. What a fantastic outcome! You have to be nice to our Dong’er, Yuhao. She’s so pretty... if you are not nice to her, she might just run away, and you’re going to regret that.”

Huo Yuhao could only laugh along foolishly, and say nothing. No answer was better than him just keeping quiet and giving his silent consent.

Bei Bei’s voice could be heard from upstairs at this moment. “That must be Yuhao and Wang Dong’er! Alright, everyone’s here.”

Bei Bei came down from upstairs. He was still dressed like he had always been, and one couldn’t tell anything was different from his expression. However, everybody else’s expressions changed a little, and the three couples toned down their intimacy and affection.

There was still no news about Xiao Ya, even today. Everyone knew how painful Bei Bei’s heartache was, so nobody wanted to provoke him or upset him in that way.

Bei Bei walked down the stairs and came before everyone. “It’s been more than two years, and we’re all finally back together again. It hasn’t been easy! We have a few more months before the next season’s competition will begin. I know we are all very confident, but we cannot be too complacent and careless. We have to look down on our opponents as part of our strategy, but we have to be careful with our battle tactics. Come, let’s find a place to exercise a little. Everyone will take this chance to show each other how we have improved over the years.”

Xu Sanshi jumped to his feet and said, “I’m with Huo Yuhao and Nannan! You can pick the rest however you like.”

These two equally reputable prodigies would lead one team respectively during every one of their sparring sessions. Xu Sanshi didn’t forget to make the first move to gain the upper hand. Eeveryone had seen Huo Yuhao’s display of prowess during Sea God’s Fate, and his Spirit Eyes naturally provided extremely formidable support. The presence or absence of Huo Yuhao’s support would determine which side would win the fight.

Bei Bei snapped, “You think you’re clever? Let’s go, we’ll talk about it later.”

The inner courtyard students had a place set aside specifically for sparring; they didn’t have to go to the outer courtyard. They couldn’t be vying with the outer courtyard students for a sparring venue.

The inner courtyard’s venue for practice battles was located on a hill that was roughly a hundred meters high, near the eastern side of the Sea God’s Island.

The top of this hill seemed like it had been shaved and flattened. Besides the Sea God’s Pavilion itself, this was the highest location in the entire Sea God’s Island. There was a patch of flat irregular land on the hilltop that was about a hundred meters in diameter. Tough but uneven granite of stunning durability was laid out over the ground. It was connected to the hill itself, and thus the flooring was exceptionally tough.

The inner courtyard had its own rules. If the inner courtyard’s Sparring Arena was damaged or destroyed, whoever did it would be responsible for getting more granite and repairing it. For this reason, the inner courtyard students were quite careful when they sparred in this area, and they typically only came to this place to test out or demonstrate new soul skills. Everyone would rather leave the city if they wanted to spar properly.

When the seven of them climbed up to the inner courtyard’s Sparring Arena, they realized to their surprise that were already people there, even though people rarely came here.

There were four of them, and everyone knew one another.

Two people were having a practice battle. More accurately, one was chasing the other, while the other was trying to escape.

“Hey, are you even a man? All you know how to do is run! Can you fight me head-on?” Wu Ming exclaimed as she raised her hand and fired off a stream of Golden Crow Primordial Fire. A pillar of fire swept across the entire arena, and lightning sparkled as it nimbly evaded this attack…

Chu Qingtian’s voice could be heard in response. “You want to talk about reason, eh? You’re an assault-type soul master, and your Golden Crow Primordial Fire is not far from Ultimate Fire. I’m an agility-type soul master, so how can I face you head-on? If I make a go for it, then it won’t be a practice battle anymore, but suicide. You can’t murder your own husband, can you?”

“What husband? Are we married?”

The sparring pair were Chu Qingtian and Wu Ming. After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’er left the other day, the two of them also successfully completed the last segment, Eternal Love. With Wu Ming around, who would want to fight her for her man? That person would have been asking for trouble.

Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo were spectating on the other side. They watched Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian, and they smiled faintly from time to time while they occasionally glanced at each other, at which point their smiles would become a little warmer. It was apparent that they were having a good time together.

“Teacher Wang, senior sister Han!” Bei Bei took the lead as he greeted them both.

Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo naturally saw them as well, and they both stood up to greet everyone.

Han Ruoruo didn’t have an obvious reaction, but Wang Yan began to feel a bit surreal. He knew the Shrek’s Seven Monsters too well, after all, and the entire process of him courting and wooing Han Ruoruo had fallen into these little fellas’ eyes.

But Wang Yan quickly returned to normal, however, and he asked with a subtle smile on his face, “Why are you guys here?”

Bei Bei said, “The competition is going to start, and everyone is here. We should take this chance to spar and practice, so we can all see how we have improved over the years. We can also take this chance to train our coordination and teamwork.”

Wang Yan had a look of revelation on his face as he said, “Yes! Time really flies. It’s been five years in the blink of an eye, and everyone has grown up. I still remember Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were only this tall during the last competition.” He gestured with his hand to show height as he spoke, and he turned towards Wang Dong’er. “I have only just found out that you are a girl, and you’re so pretty. Did you know about this before, Yuhao, and you’ve been hiding it from us? Puppy love is not right.”

Huo Yuhao blushed and forced a laugh as he said, “I’m also a victim!”

Wang Dong’er shot a glare in his direction and whispered, “How are you the victim?”

“Alright, you’re the victim!” Huo Yuhao changed tack as quickly as he could.

Beside Wang Yan, Han Ruoruo was amused by their bickering as she laughed and said, “Don’t forget about the Spirit that you’re supposed to explain to everyone, Huo Yuhao.”

Huo Yuhao replied, “Don’t worry, senior sister. I’ve already reported the business with Spirits in detail to the Sea God’s Pavilion, and I believe it won’t take long before the inner courtyard disciples will be setting up for trials and experimentation. However, how it’s going to be carried out exactly is still up to the academy. Dean Yan is directly responsible for this.”

Wang Yan’s eyes sparkled. “That’s going to be a new topic for our curriculum. Dean Yan has told me to look for him tonight about this matter. That was an impressive innovation, Yuhao!”

Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “That has nothing to do with me, it’s the academy’s research. I’m just the first guinea pig.” He had already thought this through. Since he had announced that he would give everything to do with Spirits to the academy, then the way he discussed it would also have to change. He would rather accord all research credit to the academy as a way of him giving back to the academy.

Wang Yan stared deeply into his eyes. He was the vice-head of Shrek Academy’s Martial Soul Research Institute, and was extremely clear about what direction the academy’s research had taken in recent years. However, he didn’t question how Huo Yuhao had explained things.

On the other side, Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian stopped when they saw everyone. Chu Qingtian seemed like he was drenched with sweat, and he wore an expression as if he had been liberated while he walked over with Wu Ming.

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