soul land: Huo Yuhao Inheriting Centipede Immortal

"We got her!" Wang Dong exclaimed excitedly.

Immediately, Wang Dong, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and Cao Jinxuan charged toward Lulu, aiming to eliminate her in one swift strike.

Focus fire on the enemy support!

At this point, Lulu, who possessed a domain ability, was clearly the most influential member of Cui Yajie's team. If they could take her out first, the rest would be easy to handle.

But at that very moment, Wang Dong and the others heard the same words echo:

"We got them!"

"What?" Wang Dong and the others' expressions changed dramatically. The next instant, they sensed a powerful surge of soul power descending upon them from above.

Looking up immediately, they saw a massive jade-colored net falling from the sky, directly toward them.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill — Heaven's Net!"

It was the martial soul fusion skill of the Lan sisters, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo!

From the start of the battle, the sisters had been holding back, waiting for the perfect opportunity to unleash their fusion skill.

And when Lulu was teleported into the center of the enemy group, and the four opponents had clustered together, they seized the moment.

Their goal: eliminate all four enemies in one go!

What? Accidentally hitting Lulu?

No — this was the perfect one-for-four trade!

Besides, Lulu wasn't defenseless. She instantly cast several soul skills on herself:

"Second Soul Skill — Buzzing Shield!"

 "Fourth Soul Skill — Moo-Moo Strength!"

 "Sixth Soul Skill — Hum-Hum Resistance!"

With shields, body enhancements, and damage resistance stacked, Lulu felt incredibly tanky!

Lulu: Come at me!

Heaven's Net finally landed.

Despite the Lan sisters' martial souls mutating into crystalline ice-jade forms, they could still use fusion skills — now even more powerful and harder to break.

Wang Dong shouted, trying to shatter the Heaven's Net with his Butterfly Wing Slash, but the only result was a sound like metal clashing against jade. The net remained intact.

Instead, Wang Dong looked like a trapped butterfly struggling in the net — beautiful but fragile.

If even the strongest attacker among them couldn't break it, what hope did the others have?

The Heaven's Net pinned all five of them to the ground, completely suppressing them while releasing soul power attacks that caused continuous damage. Cries of pain rang out from all within.

Even Lulu couldn't avoid the damage — the attack did not differentiate between friend and foe — but fortunately, she could tank it.

From the front row of the audience, Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.

 "Interesting strategy. I'll give that a try tonight."

"We won!" Cui Yajie smiled joyfully.

A successful one-for-four trade — this match was as good as won!

Then, everyone heard a heart-wrenching scream:

"Nannan!!"

Seeing Jiang Nannan hurt, Xu Sanshi seemed to have a switch flipped inside him. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, and he let out a furious roar.

An even more powerful soul force erupted from him, and a terrifying aura awakened from within, accompanied by an ancient beast's roar.

Xuanwu — Awakens!

Everyone in the audience perked up.

A reversal?!

After the gifted domain, now a divine beast bloodline awakening?

 How is this not a paid premium show?!

 Actually, even with tickets, this kind of event is a once-in-a-lifetime sight!

After his Xuanwu bloodline awakened, Xu Sanshi's martial soul fully evolved into the Xuanwu Martial Soul, and his Profound Nether Shield transformed into the Xuanwu Shield.

Xu Sanshi himself became taller and more imposing. His presence turned heavy and dangerous — like a mountain, immovable.

If previously his strength rivaled a Soul Sage, now — without even needing a Martial Soul Avatar — he truly had the power of one. Maybe even enough to challenge a Soul Douluo!

Xu Sanshi immediately launched a charge at the remaining opponents.

As a defense-type battle soul master, Xie Huan Yue naturally stepped up to block him.

"I'll stop you!"

But she was sent flying like a ragdoll by Xu Sanshi's shield, coughing blood mid-air. Elder Xuan Zi appeared in a flash and caught her in time.

Xie Huan Yue felt like her organs were about to shatter, and her consciousness nearly slipped away from the impact.

"You idiot, trying to take him head-on? You really don't know the meaning of death!" Elder Xuan Zi scolded.

Elder Zhuang also stepped in, summoning his martial soul to heal her. After a quick check, he sighed in relief:

 "No major damage, a half-month of rest should do."

But Xu Sanshi didn't stop.

Cui Yajie tried to use spiritual charm to disrupt him, thinking that would work on someone berserk.

But Xu Sanshi wasn't berserk — he had "gone full power." With Xuanwu's will merged into him, he shrugged off the mental interference with ease.

"Out of my way!" Xu Sanshi's Xuanwu Shield slammed toward Cui Yajie mercilessly.

Frightened, Cui Yajie used an escape skill, trying to flee quickly. But she suddenly felt a sticky force restraining her legs.

It was the dual water-and-earth properties of the Xuanwu Martial Soul — like a swamp, it limited enemy mobility.

In that critical moment, a figure rushed into the arena, pulling Cui Yajie away from Xu Sanshi's range just in time.

It wasn't Elder Xuan Zi — it was Huo Yuhao, who held Cui Yajie in his arms and escaped.

Cui Yajie blushed in his embrace but didn't resist.

The inner court students immediately booed and teased them playfully.

Elder Xuan Zi laughed and scolded, "You romantic fool!"

Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er now had confirmation about Huo Yuhao's special constitution — and his relationship with the girls of the Huo Alliance.

Xian Lin'er stayed silent but felt discomfort deep down. Still, she forced herself to suppress the emotion.

"It's fine. Once we return to the academy, the wrong relationship will end. We shouldn't have done that in the first place."

Xu Sanshi merely glanced at Huo Yuhao, then ignored him and charged toward the Heaven's Net.

Only the Lan sisters remained.

Seeing Xu Sanshi rushing toward them like a mountain, they immediately shouted:

"We surrender! We surrender!"

The Heaven's Net was dispelled right away.

"I surrender too!" Lulu quickly followed suit.

Boom!

 Elder Xuan Zi appeared, blocking Xu Sanshi's charge with one hand.

"Match over," he announced.

 "Xu Sanshi, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Jiang Nannan, and Cao Jinxuan — you are now officially part of the team. You are qualified to represent Shrek Academy as the new Shrek Seven Devils in the next Soul Master Tournament!"

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

This match had been incredible. The awakening of a gifted domain and a divine beast bloodline — both sides earned the audience's admiration.

The academy's leaders were also satisfied. Though Cui Yajie's team had higher average soul power, Xu Sanshi's awakened strength was simply overwhelming.

With Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi — two beyond-standard powerhouses — in the lineup, Shrek was well-positioned for victory in the next tournament.

Elder Zhuang descended to treat the wounded on both sides. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, and all recovered quickly.

Losing the match left Cui Yajie and the other girls deeply disappointed. However, with Huo Yuhao there to comfort them, their moods quickly brightened. Soon enough, they were all gathered around him, chattering and laughing like a flock of birds.

Wang Dong watched from the side, fuming.

 "We clearly won the match, so why does it feel like Huo Yuhao is the real winner here? This is so frustrating! Hmph, womanizer, hopeless playboy — one day, you're bound to mess up!"

"Wang Dong, are you jealous of him?" Xiao Xiao asked in a dangerous tone.

"Jealous? Me? Ha! Never. Not in this lifetime!" Wang Dong scoffed, oblivious to the danger in Xiao Xiao's voice.

Cao Jinxuan scratched his head and said, "But I really am envious, honestly~"

Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao cast looks of disdain at Cao Jinxuan.

Cao Jinxuan was left utterly confused.

 Xiao Xiao's contempt, sure. But you too, Wang Dong? You're a guy! Stop pretending to be some chaste saint!

Xu Sanshi's divine beast experience card also ended, and upon releasing his martial soul, he collapsed into unconsciousness. Elder Zhuang personally took him back to the Golden Ancient Tree for treatment. Xu Sanshi was now a precious member of the academy — they couldn't afford any lasting injuries.

Jiang Nannan chose to accompany him, since Xu Sanshi had unleashed his bloodline power to protect her.

Meanwhile, in the audience stands, Hua Yao and Wu Ming both glanced strangely at Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luocheng.

"Xiaotao, Luocheng, aren't you two mad about all those girls around Huo Yuhao?" Wu Ming couldn't help asking.

"Angry? Not at all," Ling Luocheng replied with a smile.

"But…" Hua Yao hesitated.

Ma Xiaotao, however, just grinned and said, "That's because you don't know Yuhao's talents and virtues. If you're curious, you could find out for yourselves~"

Both Hua Yao and Wu Ming were left speechless and awkwardly declined the offer. They had always thought Ma Xiaotao was hot-tempered — they hadn't expected this… wild side.

Even after her martial soul evolved, giving her a more elegant demeanor, it seemed old habits die hard.

Shrek Academy's official team lineup for the next Soul Master Tournament is out!

Official Team —

Captain: Huo Yuhao, Level 76, Martial Soul: Frost Centipede, Control-type.

Vice Captain: Xu Sanshi, Level 64, Martial Soul: Black Tortoise, Defense-type.

Member: Jiang Nannan, Level 60, Martial Soul: Soft-Boned Rabbit, Agility Attack-type.

Member: Wei Na, Level 65, Martial Soul: Snow Lotus, Healing-type.

Member: Wang Dong, Level 60, Martial Soul: Goddess of Light Butterfly & Clear Sky Hammer, Power Attack-type.

Member: Xiao Xiao, Level 60, Martial Soul: Three-Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron & Nine Phoenix Melody Flute, Support-type.

Member: Cao Jinxuan, Level 53, Martial Soul: Clock of Fleeting Time, Control-type.

Two control-types, one power attacker, one agility attacker, one defender, one healer, one supporter —

 A fairly well-balanced team.

Except for Cao Jinxuan, the rest of the team's strength exceeded previous generations by a long shot. In fact, Cao Jinxuan's level was more reflective of normal progression — the others were just absurdly overachieving, thanks in part to Shrek Academy's generous investment of resources.

After the previous beast tide, Shrek provided a large number of valuable items — including soul bones — to quickly bolster its core Soul Master ranks. Most of these resources were obtained during the beast tide.

So although the tide had been a catastrophe, it also presented a rare opportunity — yielding many rare materials from soul beasts.

The reserve team was composed of the "Seven Jades" — seven girls, all Soul Kings. Their captain, Bai Shanshan, was even expected to break through to Soul Emperor before the tournament.

The official and reserve teams trained together, often rotating members for classic mock battles and joint exercises. As always, Elder Xuan Zi oversaw the training.

But this time, Elder Xuan Zi was even more hands-on, directly instructing them in combat techniques.

Huo Yuhao's achievements in combat arts had inspired the academy to recognize their value. With a deep trove of techniques at its disposal, the academy selected several less confidential ones to teach both official and reserve teams.

During this period, Huo Yuhao obediently followed the academy's training plans — like a model student.

Of course, he still visited his Centipede Garden and Shrek City.

His demonic descendants had now reached the sea. Rather than diving into underwater hunts recklessly, they first occupied some islands and built cave dwellings.

Since most of them weren't aquatic, they could use water-repelling techniques for battle, but couldn't survive long underwater.

They soon began organized sea hunts, steadily growing stronger.

Elsewhere, Ning Tian's older female cousin — promised to Huo Yuhao — had finally arrived.

She was Ning Zhirou, daughter of Ning Tian's uncle, two years older than Ning Tian, and just as talented. Sent by the clan to conceive a child with Huo Yuhao in hopes of evolving her martial soul into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Ning Zhirou wasn't entirely willing, but chose to accept for the clan's sake.

But her goals were far from simple. Ning Zhirou not only aimed to upgrade her martial soul, but also wanted to gain control over Huo Yuhao — and eventually contend for the Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect's leadership.

Simply put, Ning Zhirou was a highly ambitious woman.

Even if Huo Yuhao were a gorilla, she'd still accept him — so long as he could help her awaken the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

But the moment she arrived in Shrek City, Ning Tian betrayed her.

She tied her to Huo Yuhao's bed — skipping all the preliminary "get to know each other" nonsense.

After Huo Yuhao had "harvested" her, Ning Tian began, under Yuhao's guidance, mentally manipulating Ning Zhirou.

The result? Mission accomplished.

On the surface, Ning Zhirou seemed unchanged, but from now on, her decisions would subconsciously favor Ning Tian — slowly becoming her supporter from within.

And Huo Yuhao discovered a surprising bonus:

Ning Zhirou had a fascinating life fate.

Like Ning Tian, she possessed the [Glazed Fate] and [Wealth Magnet] fates — but her third fate wasn't [Gem Maiden], it was [Blooming Woman].

[Blooming Woman] — a furnace fate!

This rare fate, exclusive to women, grants a special "Floral Furnace Physique" with nine layers of hidden seals, referred to as the Nine Blooming Petals.

Each layer helps the user break through a bottleneck, with all nine said to clear a path to immortality — though that may be an exaggeration.

Even so, this physique genuinely helps overcome cultivation bottlenecks.

Huo Yuhao didn't unlock all nine layers — he kept the final one in reserve for his own future breakthroughs. Besides, Ning Zhirou was too weak. He instructed her to return and raise her strength before proceeding further.

Still, the first eight layers yielded Huo Yuhao solid gains and significantly refined his power.

In return, Huo Yuhao gave Ning Zhirou a gift: a chance to upgrade her martial soul to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Just like Ning Tian, all she had to do now was return to her clan, train hard, and gradually absorb the essence Yuhao left behind. Then her transformation would be complete.

From that day forward, the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect and the Star Luo Zhu Family began regularly sending their women to Shrek City as cauldrons for Huo Yuhao.

Naturally, Ning Tian and Zhu Lu handled these arrangements, showing great enthusiasm for involving their clans' women.

Even if these women lacked cultivation talent, they often possessed unique destinies, with a significant proportion having cauldron physiques.

Twenty percent of the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect's women and fifty percent of the Zhu Family's had cauldron physiques.

As expected of a millennia-old support sect and a former imperial supplier, the quality of their women was exceptional.

There were likely many similar families and sects across the Douluo Continent, awaiting discovery. For now, the Nine Treasure Glazed Sect and Zhu Family sufficed for Huo Yuhao's needs.

Most of these cauldrons were ordinary.

For the current Huo Yuhao, ordinary cauldrons offered little in terms of strength enhancement but served other purposes.

For instance, balancing yin and yang to aid comprehension.

Cultivators believe that harmonizing yin and yang generates a mystical force of creation, enabling life and enhancing cultivation.

Huo Yuhao's experiments confirmed this. Though the boost was small, it accumulated significantly over time.

After merging the thirteen Holy Spirit Feathered Serpent feathers with soul bones to form divine armor, Huo Yuhao's work wasn't done. He continued to study the divine skills and powers within the feathers.

This wasn't just to master the skills but to comprehend the thirteen corresponding attribute forces, expanding his potential.

More attributes didn't guarantee greater strength, but only by mastering more could one gain deeper insight into the universal dao.

At least, that held true in the Douluo Continent's world.

The five God Kings of the God Realm, including Tang San's successor, weren't standalone entities. Their divine roles were interconnected, allowing them to combine for greater power and wield the God Realm's true trump cards.

The nine Dragon Kings, along with the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings, were fragments of the Dragon God's power.

Thus, mastering more attributes was the path to glimpsing the universal dao.

The God of Wisdom had realized this, collecting and comprehending diverse attribute forces, drawing inspiration from the Dragon God and the five God Kings.

It was an open-book exam.

But reaching the end was immensely challenging.

Comprehending these attributes was difficult enough, and even success required constant development. Without refinement, a scattered focus could hinder cultivation, exhaust potential, and lead to mediocrity.

Fortunately, the God of Wisdom took the first step, and Huo Yuhao, inheriting his legacy, saved vast time and effort. Standing on his shoulders, the second step was within reach.

Using cauldrons to comprehend these attributes benefited both parties.

Cauldrons passively absorbed the attribute forces Huo Yuhao explored, making their martial souls more likely to transform, often aligning with his comprehended attributes.

Huo Yuhao discovered this with Zhu Zijin.

Zhu Zijin, the first Zhu Family woman Zhu Lu brought, had poor talent. In her twenties, she was only Level 15, with a mutated martial soul, the Golden Thread Spirit Cat. It lacked special attributes, merely adorned with gold patterns—a degraded mutation.

With the *Nether Gold Brilliance Technique*, Zhu Zijin broke through to Level 20, became Huo Yuhao's cauldron, and fully submitted.

Under Huo Yuhao's influence, in less than a month, she reached Soul Elder status.

When Huo Yuhao used her to comprehend the light attribute, her martial soul mutated on the spot into the Golden Light Spirit Cat, gaining light attributes.

Perhaps due to her low strength or her already mutated martial soul, Zhu Zijin's soul was prone to further mutation.

This mutation elevated her martial soul to a high-grade one, comparable to the Zhu Family's inherited Nether Spirit Cat.

Huo Yuhao tested this with Ning Zhirou.

Together, they explored the stability attribute fused into his body. After days of dual cultivation, Ning Zhirou's martial soul not only evolved early into the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda but gained the stability attribute.

No, it was no longer the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda—it was the Nine Treasure Mountain-Suppressing Pagoda!

It lost some of the Pagoda's elegance but gained heft, stronger defense, and earth attribute affinity, glowing with golden light.

It bore a trace of the Mountain Dragon King's power.

This thrilled Huo Yuhao.

He also found that cauldrons with matching or similar attributes enhanced comprehension efficiency.

Could he mass-produce suitable cauldrons?

The enhanced comprehension with attribute-aligned cauldrons was observed with Nan Shuishui.

Nan Shuishui's annihilation attribute was a lesser form of destruction. Through repeated cultivation with Huo Yuhao, her annihilation attribute strengthened, approaching true destruction. Her Rouge Jade Dragon martial soul was evolving toward a true dragon.

Nan Shuishui hoped her daughter, Nan Qiuqiu, could benefit too, but Huo Yuhao deemed it unnecessary. Nan Shuishui was sufficient for now.

The "enhanced" effect was akin to siphoning cultivation insights from the cauldron, and Nan Shuishui was still too weak.

Mass-producing cauldrons required boosting their strength—quantity could compensate for quality.

But joyful cultivation time was fleeting.

As Huo Yuhao indulged, Elder Xuan Zi summoned all regular and reserve team members, announcing a new mission.

"I've witnessed your growth and unity, and I'm pleased. The Shrek Seven Monsters have always shared blessings and burdens alike."

"Some of you need soul rings to advance. Form teams to hunt suitable soul rings for those in need!"

"Huo Yuhao, step forward!"

Huo Yuhao stood tall, serious. "Here!"

"As captain of the regular team, you'll lead. Are you confident?" Elder Xuan Zi asked sternly.

Huo Yuhao's gaze was resolute, as if pledging allegiance. "Rest assured, Elder Xuan Zi. I'll secure fitting soul rings for all teammates and bring everyone back safely!"

Elder Xuan Zi smiled, nodding approvingly, then added, "This is also a trial. Teachers will follow in secret to ensure your safety. But unless you face a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, they won't interfere!"

He glanced at Huo Yuhao, who returned a reassuring look.

Xuan's confidence stemmed from Huo Yuhao's unreasonable prowess.

Huo Yuhao got things done, and he trusted him! After making the necessary preparations for soul hunting, Huo Yuhao led his team of fourteen into the Great Star Dou Forest.

The recent period of special training had brought everyone closer together. Even Wang Dong found Huo Yuhao more agreeable, thinking that aside from being a bit of a flirt, Huo Yuhao had some redeeming qualities.

At the same time, all team members—except Huo Yuhao—had shown noticeable improvement from the training.

This was especially true for the seven reserve team members. Four of them had leveled up, largely thanks to Huo Yuhao's support behind the scenes.

After all, they served as Huo Yuhao's furnaces for understanding elemental powers.

Their martial souls had begun to show signs of mutation, though this fact remained hidden.

Even those like Zhu Zijin and Ning Zhirou, whose martial souls had already mutated, hadn't disclosed that they had gained new elemental attributes.

To the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Zhirou simply explained that her martial soul had normally evolved into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. As long as she didn't expose her martial soul actively, no one would question the golden glow it emitted.

After all, even martial souls of the same type could vary slightly, depending on soul rings and innate talent.

These differences could even indicate the overall quality and strength of a martial soul within its category.

Upon entering the Great Star Dou Forest, Huo Yuhao first led the group through several loops around the outskirts. The outer zone posed no real threat, but the idea was to help everyone adapt to the environment and pace of soul hunting in the forest.

Most of the members from both teams had spent their time training at the academy and weren't particularly skilled at or accustomed to soul hunting in the wild.

Huo Yuhao took the opportunity to educate them on various soul beasts, plants, and practical soul-hunting experience.

It seemed like he truly wanted to impart all his knowledge to the team.

Even though Huo Yuhao was powerful, had hidden protectors, and found soul hunting easy, he still demonstrated his professionalism.

The protectors following behind couldn't help but praise his expertise.

Wang Dong was forced to admit, "You really do know a lot."

"I just use my free time for reading," Huo Yuhao replied with a smile.

Wang Dong: "..."

Crap, he's showing off again!

The protectors trailing behind had already been identified by Huo Yuhao. This time, Xuan Zi hadn't come—instead, it was two Titled Douluo: Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er.

How the two managed to coexist peacefully was a mystery.

Once the group had fully adapted, Huo Yuhao led them into the mixed zone of the forest.

Their soul ring targets could only be found in this area.

Along the way, whenever they encountered soul beasts, Huo Yuhao ordered them to be scared off. Only when this failed would he allow a swift and painless kill.

"As humans continue killing soul beasts, their numbers will dwindle. We must take responsibility for protecting them. Even if we can't do much individually, if everyone does a little, we can achieve sustainable development of soul beast resources," Huo Yuhao declared righteously.

"Even though the Great Star Dou Forest once launched a beast tide against Shrek Academy, ordinary soul beasts are innocent. The real culprits are the unrestrained evil soul masters and those arrogant vicious beasts!"

"Taking our anger out on ordinary beasts only shows weakness. The weak lash out at the weaker; the strong challenge the strong!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Wang Dong's view of Huo Yuhao continued to improve.

Onward.

Three people needed new soul rings: Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Jiang Nannan, all seeking their sixth soul ring.

Wang Dong's Goddess of Light Butterfly required a power-type ring, preferably from a butterfly-type or light-element soul beast.

Xiao Xiao's Three-Life Soul Suppressing Cauldron needed a support-type ring, ideally from a powerful or heavy soul beast.

Jiang Nannan's Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul required an agility-type ring, best sourced from a rabbit-type soul beast.

Jiang Nannan's training path clearly imitated that of Xiao Wu from 10,000 years ago. Four of her first five soul skills were identical to Xiao Wu's.

But the sixth was harder to replicate, as Xiao Wu's sixth ring had been a 100,000-year ring. While Jiang Nannan didn't expect to match its quality, she hoped to find a suitable substitute, ideally also from a Soft Bone Rabbit.

Huo Yuhao sent hisVariant Ice Jade Centipede martial soul ahead for reconnaissance while the main group of fourteen advanced cautiously.

Without his martial soul active, Huo Yuhao stayed in the center of the group, protected by the others.

Around him were the support and healing-type soul masters: Wei Na, Xiao Xiao, Wang Qian, and Ou Ou.

Bai Shanshan and Cao Jin Xuan, both control-type soul masters, took front and rear positions to ensure full-range crowd control.

Xu Sanshi, a defense-type soul master, led the way.

Wang Dong followed close behind, ready to block any enemy that got past Xu Sanshi.

The flanks were covered by the agility-type Jiang Nannan and Sha Huayan, providing both defense and scouting.

At the rear were the long-range attacker Dantai Jiayao, supported by Jin Yu and Huyan Xue.

Under Huo Yuhao's command, the group moved methodically, maximizing safety.

From time to time, Huo Yuhao would pause, close his eyes, and use a "special ability" to connect with his scouting martial soul and confirm their path and the presence of suitable soul beasts.

Watching from the rear, Xian Lin'er and Cai Mei'er nodded in satisfaction. They could see that the two teams genuinely trusted Huo Yuhao and had begun to center themselves around him.

This is the charisma of a future Sea God Pavilion Master.

The two women clearly had the same thought—except... they stood at least ten meters apart, avoiding each other completely.

It wasn't that they had reconciled—it was that they'd learned to keep their distance to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Suddenly, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes with delight and looked toward Jiang Nannan.

"Sister Nannan, there's a soul beast up ahead that's perfect for you!"

Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up with joy—but before she could respond, Xu Sanshi shot up with excitement and urged, "What are we waiting for? Yuhao, let's go—don't let it get away!"

"Haha, sure thing, Brother Sanshi," Huo Yuhao replied with a grin.

Though Huo Yuhao was team captain, Xu Sanshi was the senior in age. Lately, Huo Yuhao had taken to affectionately calling him Brother Sanshi, putting him on par with Bei Bei.

Jiang Nannan was a bit exasperated by Xu Sanshi's enthusiasm, but still said,

"Yuhao, everyone—please take care of it."

"Don't worry, Sister Nannan. With me here, no problem!" Wang Dong said, puffing up his chest.

And with that, the team picked up speed.

A twenty-thousand-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit was quietly munching on some grass.

Suddenly, it raised its ears and looked around nervously, sensing danger.

It couldn't see anything unusual, but being naturally timid, it instinctively prepared to flee.

Then—out of nowhere—a voice boomed from the grass:

"Where do you think you're going?! Fourth Soul Skill: Mysterious Nether Swap!"

In the blink of an eye, Xu Sanshi appeared where the rabbit had stood.

And the rabbit—blink!—was now inside the grass, surrounded by humans on all sides.

Soft Bone Rabbit (panicking): Bunny, I'm gonna die! ~

Huo Yuhao smiled and shouted,

"Get it!"

Wang Dong was the first to charge in.

The others had already taken their positions.

Soft Bone Rabbit, defeated!

Moments later—

Huo Yuhao preserved the carefully portioned rabbit meat and packed it into containers. The meat from the twenty-thousand-year Soft-Boned Rabbit filled several large boxes, which he then stored in his soul tool.

"When we get back, we'll celebrate with a barbecue. I'll cook the rabbit meat myself," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.

"Yay! Yuhao's barbecue is the best. It's so good you'd want to eat your own tongue with it," Vena added proudly, clearly showing off.

All the Seven Jades wiped the corners of their mouths—they had all tasted Huo Yuhao's cooking before, and the flavor still lingered in their memories.

"Haha, then I'll be looking forward to Brother Hao's barbecue," Cao Jinxuan laughed. He clearly had great faith in Huo Yuhao.

"Pfft, it's just barbecue. How good can it possibly be?" Wang Dong muttered, annoyed by Huo Yuhao showing off. "But if you insist on making it, I suppose I can try a little bit."

Xiao Xiao chuckled behind her hand. In her eyes, Wang Dong was just like a little cat with bristling fur, unwilling to admit defeat. Adorable.

Meanwhile, Xu Sanshi was nervously watching Jiang Nannan absorb her soul ring.

But in truth, the risk for Jiang Nannan was low.

For a Soul Master's sixth ring, the typical range is between 10,000 and 20,000 years. Physically gifted Soul Masters might even handle 30,000 to 40,000 years.

Given Jiang Nannan's constitution, absorbing a 20,000-year soul ring was no issue.

Moreover, the Soft-Boned Rabbit was a weak soul beast—even at 20,000 years, its ring wasn't particularly difficult to absorb. A weak soul beast offers a weak soul ring.

Jiang Nannan's martial soul was also the Soft-Boned Rabbit, so there was no risk of incompatibility between her martial soul and the soul ring.

As expected, the process was very smooth.

In less than an hour, Jiang Nannan completed the absorption, and her soul power broke through to level 64.

This large jump was due to her having accumulated experience at level 60 for quite some time. Unlike Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who had just reached that level, Jiang Nannan had been grinding for a long while.

Her face lit up with a radiant smile—she was clearly very satisfied with this soul ring. She didn't hide it either. After standing up, she directly explained the ability granted by her new soul ring.

After all, they were teammates. In future battles, they would need to coordinate tactics based on each other's soul skills.

"My sixth soul skill is called Soft-Bone Avatar. It's a support amplification skill. When activated, it reduces the next incoming attack's damage by 40%, increases my speed by 20%, and boosts my attack power by 20%. Most importantly, the rabbit ring enhanced the strength in my legs and made my body more flexible," Jiang Nannan said happily.

"Damage reduction, speed boost, and attack boost—all in one, with significant percentages. This soul skill is perfect for an agility-type battle Soul Master. It's an excellent soul skill—one might even call it top-tier," Huo Yuhao analyzed seriously.

The soul beast might have been weak, but the soul skill it offered wasn't.

Because what suits you is what's best.

Among everyone present, Huo Yuhao had read the most books and was fully qualified to make such a judgment.

According to the Inner Court Library, even Zhu Zhuqing's sixth soul skill back in the day wasn't necessarily better. And Zhu Zhuqing's soul ring quality had definitely been higher.

Huo Yuhao's praise made Jiang Nannan even happier.

Xu Sanshi was grinning like a fool, as if he was more excited than if he had gained a hundred-thousand-year soul ring himself.

Vena chimed in, "She probably got such a good soul skill because the ring came from a soul beast of the same species as her martial soul. When the soul beast and martial soul match, the skills gained are usually extremely suitable and enhance the soul master's base stats."

"Too bad my Light Goddess Butterfly is too rare on the continent," Wang Dong said, full of envy.

Indeed, among the 14 members present, aside from Jiang Nannan's Soft-Boned Rabbit, all the other beast-type martial souls were very hard to find corresponding soul beasts for—too rare.

Sha Huayan's original martial soul, the white crane, had common counterparts, but after it mutated into the Red-Crowned Crane, suitable soul beasts became nearly nonexistent.

Such soul beasts did exist on the Douluo Continent, but most white cranes poisoned themselves before completing their mutation. Successfully mutated and evolved red-crowned cranes at the ten-thousand-year level were extremely rare.

So rare, in fact, that Shrek Academy's current soul beast maps had no record of such a creature.

In Huo Yuhao's opinion, Jiang Nannan's new soul ring corrected her previously flawed soul ring lineup, putting her back on the right track.

Originally, she had modeled her choices on Xiao Wu's soul skills. But the problem was—Xiao Wu's martial soul wasn't just a Soft-Boned Rabbit, but a Soft-Boned Charm Rabbit. Plus, Xiao Wu was a power-type, whereas Jiang Nannan was agility-type. They were not the same.

This was a clear case of over-relying on experience—dangerous at best. Hiding key information was also harmful.

Yet Shrek Academy held that experience as gospel and never questioned it.

After Jiang Nannan successfully acquired her soul ring, everyone shared in the joy.

There was no soul bone obtained, but the meat and skin of the soul beast were still valuable. Huo Yuhao kept the meat, while Jiang Nannan took the pelt to make clothing—it also offered some defensive capability.

After a brief rest, the team continued looking for suitable soul beasts for Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong.

With Huo Yuhao around, finding soul beasts wasn't difficult.

Soon, everyone understood how Lin'er and Zhang Lexuan had felt back in the Demonic Forest.

Within just half an hour, Huo Yuhao found another suitable soul beast for Xiao Xiao—a twenty-thousand-year Golden Stag.

The Golden Stag was massive, standing ten meters tall at that age, and possessed a golden bloodline. It was a pure strength-type soul beast.

Xiao Xiao instantly fell in love with the glittering beast.

"I want it!"

"Alright! Follow me!" Huo Yuhao led the charge.

Because of the Golden Stag's massive size, Guanyin's Conversion method (玄冥转换) couldn't be used to trap it—it had to be taken head-on.

At the rear—

"Since when did soul beast hunting become so easy? How are they finding two suitable soul beasts so quickly?" Cai Meier couldn't help but be surprised by their "luck."

"Yuhao's martial soul not only locates soul beasts, but also scouts terrain. It covers a wide area and has excellent stealth. So they just have to follow behind it at a safe distance, and they'll find the target easily," Xian Lin'er explained.

Hearing this, Cai Meier suddenly understood. Looking over at Xian Lin'er, she saw the other woman wearing a smug expression, as if mocking her poor insight.

This only made Cai Meier angrier.

But Xian Lin'er didn't give her a chance to argue. She deliberately widened the gap between them, leaving Cai Meier fuming with nowhere to vent.

Left with no choice, Cai Meier turned her focus to Huo Yuhao's battle group.

Huo Yuhao didn't unleash his full power. Instead, he led the group through a coordinated team battle, honing their teamwork.

Though the Golden Stag was "only" twenty thousand years old, its golden bloodline gave it power comparable to a fifty-thousand-year beast.

Even so, the stag quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Under Huo Yuhao's command, the two teams fought as one. Their coordination was seamless, anticipating every move of the enemy and responding with perfect timing.

The stag could barely land a hit, while they struck with pinpoint accuracy at its weaknesses.

The only reason it hadn't fallen yet was its massive body, which gave it high stamina and a deep health pool.

On closer look, one would notice Huo Yuhao constantly emitting waves of spiritual energy—his thoughts transmitting into each team member's mind without delay.

Cai Meier couldn't help but exclaim, "So that's the mental communication method Yuhao developed? It's the perfect tool for commanding team battles. Watching him lead is like watching an art performance—precise and elegant."