It was actually the Domain of Perpetual Ice that exposed his soul ring. Huo Yuhao looked at him quietly. He was calmer now. Since Elder Mu was too powerful, he couldn"t resist no matter how he dealt with him. After realizing this point, he didn"t try to correct anything, and allowed Elder Mu to deal with him. His calmness also made him much more composed. He could subtly feel that Elder Mu didn"t harbor any ill intentions towards him though he had exposed him.
Elder Mu exclaimed, "I have cultivated for my entire life, and roamed the continent for more than 200 years. I have seen countless soul masters and even more martial souls. But it"s my first time seeing a situation like yours."
"I sensed the special characteristic of your second martial soul. I even went to the Extreme North for it and caught an Ice Jade Scorpion. It"s indeed different. Although your martial soul is similar to an Ice Jade Scorpion, there were no Ice Jade Scorpions that possessed the azure-green, five-joint tail like your martial soul. After a period of observation, I discovered that stronger Ice Jade Scorpions had greener tails. That"s why I"m certain that if your second martial soul belongs to an Ice Jade Scorpion, it must be the king of the Ice Jade Scorpions. It may even be the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, the second among the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North and the top among the Ten Great Savage Beasts."
A deep fear rose from Huo Yuhao"s heart. Elder Mu actually went to the Extreme North to verify his martial soul, and even conducted research on the Ice Jade Scorpions in the Extreme North. He had made an accurate a.n.a.lysis. Elder Mu was indeed too brilliant. Huo Yuhao felt as if he was entirely exposed in front of Elder Mu.
Elder Mu continued saying, "When I returned, I a.n.a.lyzed this condition that appeared on your body. The only answer that I have is that you possess a hundred thousand year soul ring and a hundred thousand year soul bone. To better observe your condition, I watched the tournament in Star Luo City, especially the few important rounds. Your abilities were revealed when you faced strong opponents, especially when you unleashed your domain-type ability. I can clearly feel that your bones have surpa.s.sed normal conditions. This has also further verified my judgement. But your Imitation skill was good, and you concealed it well. Even I couldn"t get the complete picture."
"It"s been at least 50 years since something has aroused my curiosity. But you"ve aroused it now. I wondered then how was it possible for a teenager like you to fuse with an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion"s soul ring and soul bone? And this Ice Jade Empress Scorpion must have had a cultivation of at least two hundred thousand years. You even made it your martial soul. I am certain that less than five people in Shrek Academy can bear the fusion of that kind of optimal soul ring, and those people already have nine rings to themselves. Nine rings is the limit of an ordinary soul master, and we don"t have twin martial souls. The fact is that even if we could find and kill an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, we couldn"t put its soul ring to use."
"I discovered later on that the power of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion should exist in your body. But it"s just that this power has been sealed. How did this seal come about? You"ve indeed piqued my curiosity! I thought for a good 6 months before coming up with a forced guess. Before you went to the Extreme North and planned to obtain the second soul ring for your Spirit Eyes, you met the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, who couldn"t break through its bottleneck. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion couldn"t bear for its formidable strength to disappear before it pa.s.sed on, thus it sealed its powers and gave them to you. That"s how you got your second martial soul. You were also given its soul ring and soul bone. It seems like this is the only logical explanation."
"But here comes the question: why did you go to the Extreme North to hunt for soul beasts and soul rings even though you possess a spiritual-type martial soul? Even though the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion sealed your powers, it"s not something that someone as small as you should be able to bear! And how did the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion become your martial soul directly? I can"t find the answers to these."
Huo Yuhao pursed his lips and did not speak. Elder Mu"s guess wasn"t entirely correct, but it was close to the answer.
Elder Mu smiled and said, "There are too many peculiarities on your body. If I didn"t observe your body and verify that you were human, I might really suspect that you were a soul beast reborn. Everyone has their own destiny. I can"t fully tell your condition, but I can see steadiness and sincerity on you. Your performances in the tournament left me extremely comforted too. If you"re willing to, I hope to play the role as your listener before I leave this world. But I won"t force you."
"Aren"t you going to ask me?" The unexpected turn of events left Huo Yuhao feeling incredulous.
"I won"t. I believe that my guess is not far from the truth. Since you have such a destiny, I am delighted for you as your senior. Before I verified that you were human, I really hoped that you really had such a destiny. Don"t forget that you"re now part of Shrek"s Seven Monsters. Shrek"s imprint has been carved onto your body. How? An elder"s train of thought is different from a young person"s, am I right? Haha."
Huo Yuhao took in a deep breath after remaining in a daze for a moment. He said seriously, "Thanks for your belief. I won"t let you down."
Elder Mu said, "You saw those hanging skulls. These are skulls from soul beasts called Terrifying Demon Dragons. The Terrifying Demon Dragons are earth and evil dragons, but are not very powerful. But they are a rare spiritual-type dragon species. After a Terrifying Demon Dragon pa.s.ses on due to natural causes, its skull will retain some of its spiritual power that won"t diminish over time. It"s not difficult to kill a Terrifying Demon Dragon, but it"s difficult to obtain the skull of a Terrifying Demon Dragon after it dies of natural causes. There are 1001 Terrifying Demon Dragon skulls in this room, and it took the academy 800 years to gather them. I will stimulate their spiritual auras later on, and you"ll feel an immense pressure amidst their auras. For your spiritual power to grow, you"ll have to bear the immense pressure. It"ll be very beneficial to your Spirit Eyes. I hope that you can comprehend more in the process of cultivation. There"s only one chance like this."
After he finished speaking, Elder Mu"s aura disappeared. But the pressure of the spiritual power earlier that had weakened grew stronger. Ripples appeared in Huo Yuhao"s Spiritual Sea, and an intense undulation of spiritual power caused him to resist it with all his might.
Underground Hall.
Elder Mu was still in the center of the hall. But he had laid back onto his reclining chair. Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin"er stood beside him.
Yan Shaozhe asked in a low voice, "Teacher, are you really not going to clarify things?"
Elder Mu shook his head and said, "There"s no need to. He"s a human, and his bloodline is obviously not from the Sun Moon Empire. With these two premises, the rest is unimportant. He"s still young, and can still be molded. We can"t chill his heart because of our doubts."
Yan Shaozhe creased his brows slightly and said, "If he"s a spy sent by the other side…"
Xian Lin"er suddenly snorted coldly, "If it were you, would you send someone with an Ultimate martial soul to be a spy? Furthermore, I a.n.a.lyzed Huo Yuhao"s progress and experience after he entered the academy. His powers only soared after he graduated from first grade. He must have met with that weird encounter during the holidays. If it were you, would you tell anyone if you had such an encounter?"
Yan Shaozhe wasn"t infuriated because of Xian Lin"er"s tone. He only replied as if something was on his mind, "Lin"er, I understand what you"re saying. But don"t you find it a coincidence that the Spirit Eyes" second soul ring came to possess Imitation at the same time he gained the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion as his martial soul? It"s so coincidental that it seems everything was planned."
Xian Lin"er said coldly, "I only know that I would recall my spy if he obtained an Ultimate martial soul from some miraculous opportunity and nurture him with all my strength. At the same time, I would not send an 11-year-old kid into my enemy"s camp. How unpredictable are kids? Yan Shaozhe, you"re always so narrow-minded and lack magnanimity."
"You…" Yan Shaozhe turned red and white from Xian Lin"er"s censure. But he didn"t dare to flare up in front of Elder Mu.
Elder Mu smiled and interrupted, "Alright, the both of you have squabbled for many decades already. I"ve already made my decision on Yuhao. This kid deserves to be nurtured by the academy. Even Tang San, the true core of the first-generation Shrek"s Seven Monsters, had his own secrets."
Yan Shaozhe nodded his head and said, "Teacher, regarding their future arrangements…"
Elder Mu said, "They will be in closed-door cultivation here for some time. Once they"re finished, allow them to return to the outer courtyard. After all, they"re still young, and it"s not good for their development if we put too much pressure on them. The two of you need to monitor the other four and give them the best aid and guidance. You must ensure that they enter the inner courtyard, but don"t make the test easier for them. After entering the inner courtyard, they can come here once. That"s why I let them return first. The Body Sect came to find trouble during the tournament. I estimate that peace will not reign in the short-term. The two of you must be wary."
"Yes."
……
Tang Ya packed her things and looked at the weather outside. Her normally smiling face revealed a sense of loneliness. She seemed to be bothered by many thoughts, and she lowered her head as she walked out of the cla.s.sroom.