Part 1
By the time Huo Yuhao was soaked with sweat and had started his tenth lap, w.a.n.g Dong was already ahead of him by three laps. Other students had all surpa.s.sed him by a lap, too. Many even threw scornful glances at him since they knew he was the weakest in cultivation.
But, at this time, the students at the front started slowing down. The more time pa.s.sed, the more the effects of the metal suits started showing. Even w.a.n.g Dong had a sweaty face.
The first few male students who were closely following w.a.n.g Dong had now fallen behind and even been surpa.s.sed by the students who were at the back.
Drops of sweat started to wet the ground. By the time half an hour had pa.s.sed, a weak-looking girl yelled out and collapsed on the ground. She tried to crawl up, but couldn’t do it no matter what.
w.a.n.g Dong was next to her at that moment and pulled her up easily while giving her a questioning glance. The female student shook her head and sat back on the plaza, refusing to get up again. She was so tired that she didn’t even have the energy to speak.
Where there is a first, there will be a second. Maybe it was because people thought Huo Yuhao would be the last; many students tried to keep going but did not have a strong enough determination.
Shouldering the heavy metal suit while running was a big burden. Especially when everyone ran with their highest speeds in the beginning. Most had quickly expended all their Spirit Power. To endure this with their bodies alone was a bit too much for these young children.
By the time an hour had pa.s.sed, almost half of the students were collapsed on the ground. Zhou Yi continued standing there, expressionless, and did not urge them to continue.
Huo Yuhao was also reaching his limit. Even though he had carried on at a steady pace and he expended comparatively less energy, his Spirit Power was still the weakest and his const.i.tution was not that great, either. To endure for this long was already an accomplishment. Counting by the number of laps, he was no longer last place since he had been running for so long.
Everything in front of him started to turn black, and a ball of flames seemed to burn within his chest. His mouth felt dry and his body felt uncomfortable from the stickiness of sweat. The heavy metal suit rubbed against his uniform, causing waves of burning pain.
*I can’t, I can’t hold on anymore.* A constant voice repeated within Huo Yuhao as he circulated Spirit Power into his Spirit Eyes.
A cool breeze came over from his Spirit Eyes and made him slightly more awake.
*No, I can’t fall like this. I need to hold on.* Seeing that there were still many students running and remembering how much his cultivation was able to improve after exhausting himself in the morning, Huo Yuhao bit the tip of his tongue to clear his mind and kept running.
Just at this time, he suddenly felt a warmness coming from his lower abdomen. Even though he had exhausted most of his Spirit Power, this warm feeling somehow circulated toward his limbs and relieved his soreness.
This…..
The power of the Mysterious Heaven Skill?
Huo Yuhao quickly identified the source of the warm current. When cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, energy would gather in the lower abdomen. Even though he had not practiced it for long, he still had some Spirit Power foundation. After converting his Spirit Power to Mysterious Heaven Skill, he had completed the first level of the skill.
Both Elder Brother and the Daydream Iceworm had said that the Mysterious Heaven Skill really suited him and could nourish his vessels. Is this the moment it is showing its usefulness?
As he wondered, Huo Yuhao’s consciousness felt the cultivation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill and the warmth from his abdomen move through his vessels.
Huo Yuhao noticed that there was a faint hint of Mysterious Heaven Spirit Power. As he cultivated, the power slipped through his vessels, which explained the reason for the warmth.
What shocked him even more was that his own vessels greedily absorbed the Spirit Power and alleviated his fatigue.
Although his body isn’t good, Huo Yuhao was very smart. For the Mysterious Heaven Skill to be absorbed by his body under extreme conditions meant that he could circulate the skill even while moving. It doesn’t have to be during meditation. There are still some differences in circulating under these conditions and normal ones. The rise in his Spirit Power is not great but it can be better combined with his body.
With this discovery, Huo Yuhao quickly gathered his attentions to circulate his Mysterious Heaven Skill as he slowly ran.
The Tang Clan’s Mysterious Heaven Skill was something that the founder, Tang San, brought to this world. From its origin, it did not belong to the Douluo continent. However, it was a high level cultivation technique that could also improve one’s body.
Huo Yuhao just accidentally created a new way to cultivate without having to meditate. Under this cultivation method, Mysterious Heaven Skill’s main effect became a way to nourish the body using Spirit Power.
Since he could recover during the circulation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he created a miraculous cycle to cultivate while moving.
Huo Yuhao didn’t know that even the founder of the Tang Clan could not achieve this because Tang San naturally had unrivaled advantages. However, Huo Yuhao’s cultivation was weak which allowed his body to reach this limit. He also had strong mental power and a Battle Spirit that could detect and utilize this new discovery.
The Tang Clan had produced countless elites, but none had the same qualifications as Huo Yuhao. Since they were already strong, of course their bodies would never reach this limit and they wouldn’t try to explore the faint warmness in their abdomen. It can be said that the Mysterious Heaven Skill experienced an evolution in Huo Yuhao’s body.
With this warm feeling’s adjustment, Huo Yuhao’s exhausted body could experience some recovery. Not only did it reaffirm his will, but allowed him to focus more on guiding this force.
The warm feeling followed the route of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. When it reached the end of a cycle, the hint of warmness would become almost completely exhausted. But just then, the cycle would finish and the warmness would suddenly become stronger and continue.
Even though his body became more tired, Huo Yuhao was becoming more excited. For the Mysterious Heaven Skill to nourish him under these conditions was what he needed the most! The vessels that he had to be careful with in the past gained elasticity and even widened. Where the warmness pa.s.sed, a never before felt smoothness told Huo Yuhao that he was doing the right thing.
Around Shrek Plaza, more and more students had collapsed. Even the ones at the very front could not endure much longer. Sounds of the metal suits. .h.i.tting the ground could be heard occasionally.
Part 2
w.a.n.g Dong pa.s.sed Huo Yuhao once again. By now, he was struggling to move forward. But he was shocked to discover that Huo Yuhao had both eyes tightly closed leaving only a strip open. Inside, faint golden light flowed. Huo Yuhao’s steps were very slow but he still gradually moved forward. Many students with higher cultivation than him had already collapsed but he was still struggling to keep going. Each step he took would leave a water print from his sweat.
“If you’re at your limit then don’t force yourself.” w.a.n.g Dong said with a low voice before continuing ahead. By the number of laps, he was far ahead of everyone but his body was also reaching the limit.
After another half hour, the time to when the bell rings was drawing closer. There where only nine students left running around the plaza. The one who was last in the beginning, Huo Yuhao, was one of them.
Zhou Yi had paid attention to Huo Yuhao this entire time. When an hour had pa.s.sed, she began to be surprised. With her estimation of Huo Yuhao’s const.i.tution and Spirit Power, he should have reached his limit. However, he was able to keep going. Even though he controlled his speed well, which gave him an advantage, his natural limits should have still prevented him from going so far!
Can a person’s determination really achieve this much? And he is so young, too.
“Plop, plop…” Two more students fell. Their falls created a domino effect and many more fell after them. One of them touched w.a.n.g Dong who was pa.s.sing by.
w.a.n.g Dong staggered. His sore legs could hold on no more and he also sat on the ground. His determination crumbled in an instant. He had already run the most laps and it was impossible for anyone to surpa.s.s him.
Now, including Huo Yuhao, there were three left.
After another five minutes, the other two students fell to the ground. In the end, only the weakest student, Huo Yuhao, was left on the field. Even though his steps were faltering and he could not go any faster, he still kept moving; even when everyone else had already fallen. This made many students look at him with surprise.
Truthfully, Huo Yuhao had already reached his limit. The Mysterious Heaven Skill may have been able to nourish his body and lessen his exhaustion, but it did not make him stronger.
Hitting his limit again and again, he would clench his teeth and keep going. Huo Yuhao knew very well that in this cla.s.s, he was the weakest. If he wants to stay, he will have to give two hundred or even three hundred percent of their efforts. But training at his limit was also able to widen his vessels and increase his Spirit Power. No matter what, he wanted to endure a bit longer.
*Endure, endure.* Huo Yuhao constantly screamed in his heart. By now, he had even exhausted the Spirit Power to send to his Spirit Eyes in order to clear his mind.
Faintly, he sounded out the words to help him endure.
“Mom, mom….” For his mother’s will. For one day when he can officially carry his mother’s remains out of that place. For one day when he can wash off his mother’s humiliation. For revenge. No matter what, he must endure.
Bang! Bang! Huo Yuhao’s steps became extremely heavy and his legs and body shook uncontrollably. However, he did not give up. Even in this extreme situation, he still repeatedly raised and moved his feet.
Gradually, the hint of mockery disappeared from the eyes of the students that had already given up. The power of a model is significant. They all started to get up one by one, staring at Huo Yuhao’s persistence.
It took a moment for w.a.n.g Dong to realize what was happening. Then he ran up to Huo Yuhao; this time following him instead of pa.s.sing by him.
With the lead of w.a.n.g Dong, there was gradually a second person, then a third person… Slowly the entire cla.s.s returned to the tracks, running with their already stiffened legs.
Zhou Yi was moved. Since she became a teacher, she was rarely moved by the performance of her students. However, this time she was really moved by Huo Yuhao and the ninety students who joined him. This was no longer a simple exercise for their bodies, but also for their minds. From the faces of the eleven or twelve years old children, Zhou Yi saw persistence overcome fatigue.
This lesson was much better than she had antic.i.p.ated.
“Ring Ring~”
The bell finally rang.
Crash! Crash! This time it was exactly like dominoes. The metal suits crashed onto the ground, causing a series of clanking sounds. The falling students also made clouds of dust rise into the air.
Hu Yuhao fell down at last. The bell gave him a happy ending to his persistence. However, he did not fall instantly to the ground. Instead, w.a.n.g Dong grabbed his metal suit from behind. Both of them rolled down together with heavy breathing that could be heard.
Tilting his head to look at the sky, Huo Yuhao’s eyes momentarily went dark but his vessels were warm with comfort. The Spirit Power within his body was completely depleted and he was also physically exhausted. However, his vessels brought him comfort and he sensed that there should have been great improvements in all aspects within him.
w.a.n.g Dong fell next to Huo Yuhao. Although he was much higher in cultivation and physically stronger, he was also too tired to move.
“I really don’t know what kind of power can sustain you till now. All you have is a ten-year spirit ring, and yet, you were more persistent than a grandmaster level Spirit Master like me. Such a weirdo.”
Zhou Yi slowly took a deep breath and waved to the distance. A white-clothed man flew over. With just a few taps on the ground, he arrived next to her. He nodded his head and turned towards the students.
Numerous dazzling spirit rings rose from under his feet. Two yellow, two purple, three black; there were seven of them!
Spirit Saint! He turned out to be a Spirit Saint greater than level seventy. Within Spirit Masters, he was almost at the peak. Judging from the way he looked, he couldn’t have been much over thirty. Yet the vicissitudes of life showing in his eyes did not quite match his young appearance.
As he raised both hands, a soft shade of green began to come out of his palms. The seventh ring filled the s.p.a.ce with streams of black light. He quickly turned and the lights disappeared. Green leaves grew with lightning speed. Within seconds, the seventh ring turned into a huge tree.
There almost seemed to be a breeze pa.s.sing by. Leaves flew out from the huge canopy. Exactly ninety-one leaves gently fell on the ninety-one students.
Part 3
Everyone felt an incomparable coolness. This coolness spread to the entire body and quickly healed both sore muscles and wounds on the skin made by friction against the metal suit. Even their strength was recovering little by little. The only thing unaffected was their Spirit Power.
w.a.n.g Dong’s cultivation was the highest, so he recovered the fastest. Sitting up, he looked at the towering tree and sucked in a breath of cool air, “This… this is one of the pinnacles of plant type Battle Spirits, the Tree of Life! A level seventy Battle Spirit true body. Teacher Zhou actually found us a level seventy plus Plant Spirit Master to help us recover.”
Jade-colored light shrouded the area. After releasing ninety-one leaves, the towering tree quickly retracted and turned back into the white-clothed man. He nodded toward Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yi respectfully bowed back to him. Like when he came, he disappeared with the wind. From start to finish, he didn’t say a single word to Zhou Yi.
The students got up from the ground. Even though they were still exhausted, they felt an unspeakable pleasure after overcoming the limits of their bodies.
Huo Yuhao also recovered from his half-dazed state. When he felt the nourishment of that spirit ability, a cool feeling made his muscle soreness disappear and his vessels were still filled with the warmness of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. With the power of ice and fire, he felt an immense comfort that he had never felt since he awakened his Battle Spirit at the age of six.
Supporting himself, he managed to get up. His entire body was soiled but his pair of Spirit Eyes became brighter. Unconsciously, he started to circulate his Spirit Power along the route of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. He could actually still do it. It was imperceptibly nourishing his vessels without being in meditation and did not use up any of his Spirit Power. As the Mysterious Heaven Skill’s energy pa.s.sed by a nourished vessel, some bit would return to the meridian. It also continued circulating after a cycle was finished.
Zhou Yi watched as the students got up and said faintly, “I need to say that you guys gave me a surprising answer today. So, no one will be expelled.”
With these words, the students couldn’t help but celebrate, especially those who had run the least number of laps.
Zhou Yi said, “You all should thank Huo Yuhao. Originally, I was already prepared to give you guys punishment. My task was for you to run until the end-of-cla.s.s bell rang and then calculate the number of laps. However, other than Huo Yuhao, none of you were able to run from start to finish. But, seeing that you all were able to gain some pa.s.sion from his motivation, I will not give you any punishment. w.a.n.g Dong come forward.”
“Teacher.” w.a.n.g Dong stepped forward.
Zhou Yi faintly said, “As cla.s.s president, you only cared about yourself and did not act as a good role model. From now on, I will strip your position as cla.s.s president and let Huo Yuhao take over. Before the next physical training session, Huo Yuhao is cla.s.s one’s cla.s.s president. If anyone wants to challenge him, then w.a.n.g Dong will subst.i.tute him to take the challenge.”
Hearing Zhou Yi’s words, w.a.n.g Dong was somewhat taken aback.
Zhou Yi said coldly, “What? Do you disagree?”
w.a.n.g Dong just realized now and shook his head with force, “No, Teacher Zhou. I accept it wholeheartedly.”
Zhou Yi shook her head, “Cla.s.s dismissed. Everyone take your metal suits back. Tomorrow, other teachers will give you theory cla.s.ses. I suggest that you all to meditate well and use today’s training session to gain a better understanding and increase your potential. Tomorrow afternoon will be my cla.s.s again. At that time, I don’t want to see any trash.”
“Yes.” The students answered. They did not scatter, but gathered toward Huo Yuhao and lifted him up.
To these youngsters, excitement and joy were very straightforward. Because of Huo Yuhao, no one was expelled. Even more, they all avoided punishment. In this moment, Huo Yuhao was their hero.
Furthermore, after experiencing this painful physical training cla.s.s, Zhou Yi brought over a miraculous plant type Spirit Saint to help them recover and they clearly felt the immense power of a high level Spirit Master. Their bodily pains disappeared and it also lessened their ill-will toward this Teacher Zhou.
They were rowdy for more than ten minutes, until other students were also dismissed, before stopping to go back to their dorms to clean up. The way they looked was really a bit too pitiful.
What these ninety-one students didn’t know was that because of this first lesson, they have already started to form a sense of camaraderie. To have camaraderie when the cla.s.s was only formed a day ago is, without doubt, due to Zhou Yi’s great guidance. Adding Huo Yuhao’s exemplary actions, cla.s.s one had already come ahead, and Huo Yuhao became the weakest cla.s.s president.
Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong went back to their room, wearing the metal suits. To wash themselves, they need to go to the restrooms at the two sides of the hallway. w.a.n.g Dong let Huo Yuhao go first, and only got a basin of water to wash himself in the room.
At this time, Huo Yuhao was still deep in thought, considering his unique understanding of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. He didn’t think much else and went directly to wash his body without even stopping the Mysterious Heaven Skill circulating within him. However, he discovered that the continuous warm flow from before began to get weaker.
*Why? Is it because my body recovered?* Huo Yuhao did not understand. By the time he had finished washing himself, he had managed to guess some of the reasons. The warm flow seems to only appear when his entire store of Spirit Power is used up and when his body reaches extreme exhaustion. Now that his body had recovered and his Spirit Power was also in recovery, the warm flow can no longer be generated.
If I knew that earlier then I shouldn’t have tried to recover. Huo Yuhao thought helplessly. That way, it might have been even better for his vessels.
However, the teacher left the metal suits for us. Later, I can try more. Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but get excited again.
“Huo Yuhao.” Just then, a voice called out and brought him back from his excitement.
Huo Yuhao privately said, “d.a.m.n, how did I forget about her,” and quickly called out into the hallway, “Teacher Xiao Ya, I am coming out.” Afterwards, he quickly rushed into the dorm room, planning to change into a new uniform set.
Because he was rushed, he forgot to knock on the door before entering. When he pushed the door open and entered, he couldn’t help but stare blankly…
He saw a shining white light and…. a figure.
Under the not wide, but smooth and round, shoulder, his waist curved in a gentle arc until it reached the hips; under which existed a longer than normal, slim, straight thigh. Nothing was exaggerated due to age. There were also droplets of water flowing down white, crystal clear skin. The visual impact was really too powerful.
Part 4
“Ahh!” A sharp voice yelled out in surprise. Right after, everything in front of Huo Yuhao’s eyes turned into a dazzling blue.
A pair of humongous wings abruptly opened and he saw the golden colored rings on it starting to glow. The royal blue wings also turned into a blue-purplish color. Fierce waves of Spirit Power burst out and swallowed him.
Fortunately, the wave like Spirit Power stopped after a while.
“What are you doing? Why didn’t you knock?” w.a.n.g Dong said angrily. When the blue light disappeared, Huo Yuhao saw that he had already put on a set of school uniform. Rushing over, he didn’t harm Huo Yuhao because Huo Yuhao had just finished washing as well and was only wearing underwear, revealing a clean, smooth body. However, there was a great difference between his skin and w.a.n.g Dong’s. His bronze skin glowed with a healthy color, but far from from w.a.n.g Dong’s attractive white skin…
“I…, there is someone calling for me outside. I’m in a hurry. Sorry!” Huo Yuhao didn’t know why, but his heart was beating really hard. After rushing to his bed to grab another clean uniform set, he immediately turned and ran.
w.a.n.g Dong stood there blankly and did not try to stop him. Only after Huo Yuhao left did he come back to his senses with changing colors of red and white on his face.
Hurrying out of the dorm, Huo Yuhao finally calmed down a bit. What he saw before continuously replayed in his mind. Especially those slightly raised hips….
*What am I thinking?* Huo Yuhao chided himself and quickly turned his attention to think about the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Suddenly his ear hurt and Huo Yuhao painfully screamed, “Oww!”
Tang Ya’s playfully angry voice sounded, “You still know to come out? I have been waiting for a while.”
Huo Yuhao pitifully responded, “Teacher Xiao Ya, let me go first. I sweat a lot during our physical training and I came out right after washing up.”
Tang Ya finally released him. Seeing Huo Yuhao’s pale face, she frowned, “Did that perverted hag trouble you guys? You should be careful. She has always been strict. If you fall into her hands, even if you don’t die, you’ll lose a layer of skin. So how are you? Is your body okay? If not, then forget about it. We can do this tomorrow.”
Huo Yuhao quickly shook his head, “Teacher Xiao Ya, I’m fine. Let’s go.” Today’s training made him realize the importance of good nutrition. The warmness of the Mysterious Heaven Skill had disappeared and been replaced by hunger. If he doesn’t have money, then how can he eat?
Tang Ya laughed merrily, “Then roast twenty herrings. I have prepared everything for you, so it won’t take long. It will definitely take less time than a job the academy can give you.”
“Teacher Xiao Ya, then where do we sell them?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Tang Ya obviously had everything planned, “The entrance to the academy, of course! The main gate of Shrek Academy is also the east gate of Shrek City. There are a lot of vendors outside of the east gate so they don’t care if students do business there. We will go there. With your skills at roasting fish, there is no fear of not selling out. Even if you don’t sell out, we can eat it ourselves.”
Huo Yuhao followed Tang Ya directly out of the academy. Right outside, Huo Yuhao was shocked by the number of peddlers gathered to the sides of the main road leading out of the east gate. There were people selling everything, most selling different types of food. Shouts of peddlers filled the ear. Obviously, they gathered here in order to do business with the students from Shrek Academy.
Tang Ya obviously could not wait much longer. Taking up an area close to the gate that even extended a bit into the main road, she took out everything she had prepared beforehand.
She really did prepare everything. There was a professionally made metal oven, metal racks, different spices, and cleaned herrings. She quickly set everything up and even obtained a small table.
Huo Yuhao helped her set up the oven and couldn’t help but smile inside. Teacher Xiao Ya had a very low resistance to good food.
Tang Ya also brought out some charcoal, “Okay, my task is complete. The rest is up to you. I will go buy some other things to eat first. Remember, two of these fish belong to me. Selling them for five bronze coins should be enough. Later, when you need more materials, just go find the auntie in your cafeteria.”
After saying this, she ran off with excitement.
Huo Yuhao first checked the spices then started treating the herrings. There really was a lot of spices. Tang Ya put in a lot of thought and even obtained some basil. Huo Yuhao minced the basil then mixed it with other spices, before putting everything into each herring’s belly and skewering the fish with bamboo sticks.
The lesson today gave him a lot of new insights. He wanted to hurry back to cultivate more and not waste extra time here.
Starting a fire was easy. After only a short while, the oven was filled with a lot of red, burning charcoal. The oven was pretty big so he could roast four fish at the same time. He immediately started roasting.
One has to say, Huo Yuhao’s skills in roasting fish really were special. After a short time, a thick aroma started spreading out. This was much more effective than advertising. Not only the students from the academy, but even the surrounding peddlers couldn’t help but look toward him with curiosity.
“Little brother, how much are you selling the roasted fish for?” A male student wearing a yellow uniform walked over to ask.
Huo Yuhao answered politely, “Senior, five bronze coins per roast fish.”
The student was straightforward, “It smells pretty good. Let me try one.” As he said this, he handed Huo Yuhao five bronze coins.
This was the first time Huo Yuhao succeeded in a trade and he was very excited. Taking the bronze coins, he became more serious in roasting the fish. Activating his recently recovered Spirit Power, he watched the heat of the fire with his Spirit Detection.
When there is one person asking, there will naturally be others. But it was the first time Huo Yuhao had appeared here. Even though it smelled nice, no one knew how it will taste. The surrounding people all seemed to be Shrek Academy students recently dismissed from cla.s.s.
When Huo Yuhao handed a freshly roasted fish to the student with the yellow uniform, everyone’s gaze fell on him.