Chapter 62 Experiment

"Strange."

Just as the three of them finished their gathering and returned to their dormitories, the hunched-backed old man also followed his intuition and looked toward the direction of the Outer Courtyard.

For some reason, he had an inexplicable sensation, as if some extraordinary existence had arrived at Shrek.

To call it a sense of threat did not quite fit.

"A storm is brewing..."

Leaning back tiredly into his reclining chair, enjoying the immersion of the surrounding golden light specks, Mu En could not shake the lingering sorrow in his eyes.

His life had reached the stage where the months were counting down.

Backed by this Golden Ancient Tree, he might be able to extend his life by another two or three years, but that was far from enough.

Yan Shaozhe's potential was reaching its limit, and without an additional fortuitous encounter, it would likely be difficult for him to make any further progress in this lifetime.

Xuanzi's strength was decent, but he was hard-pressed to shoulder heavy responsibilities, which worried him the most. Over the years, too many things had failed under Xuanzi's watch. If he were to just let go and pass away like this, Shrek would inevitably face trouble.

"If I could push myself a little further and completely evolve my Martial Soul into the Taotie, perhaps there would still be a chance to turn the tables..."

"Xiaotao's demonic nature is far too heavy. If a suitable Ice-attribute Soul Master cannot be found to suppress it, she will eventually be forced to halt her cultivation."

Gently rocking the reclining chair, one figure after another surfaced in his mind, only making his sighs deeper and heavier.

"Qian Duoduo's knot in his heart remains unresolved, and he will likely be trapped in a bottleneck for the rest of his life. Yet Xian Lin'er cannot let go of her obsession, making her unsuited for heavy responsibilities either... Zhang Lexuan..."

At this thought, Mu En's slightly closed eyes opened a fraction. Though he still felt some guilt and regret toward this person, he had to admit that she was the only one with the highest hope of reaching the ultimate boundary in a short period of time.

Her eighth soul ring could be a hundred-thousand-year one, and this soul beast had even been hunted by her own hands.

Such talent and strength surpassed even those of Yan Shaozhe, Xuanzi, and the others.

"...Can I only pin my hopes on her?"

Mu En's gaze gradually sharpened as he turned to look toward the distant west, his sight seeming to cross thousands of miles of land to lock onto Ming City.

If there truly was no hope left, he would not mind ending his life brilliantly in the Sun Moon Empire, drawing a less-than-perfect full stop to his existence.

"Perhaps it is time to visit Ming City and see how much they have developed over the years..."

Mu En slowly propped up his withered body.

***

"How is it, classmate Huo Yuhao?"

Qian Duoduo opened a room filled with metal instruments, leaning against the doorway as he watched Huo Yuhao look around: "This is a meticulously designed research facility, primarily used to record the triggering principles and effects of different soul guidance arrays."

After Huo Yuhao came to report for duty, Qian Duoduo immediately took him on a tour of the various architectural sites of the Soul Guidance Department, introducing him to different teachers and students so he could become familiar with faces.

After all, there were only some thirty or forty living people in the Soul Guidance Department anyway, so there was no need for so many useless procedures. Coincidentally, as the Dean with nothing better to do, giving a tour served as a way to pass the time.

"Boom!"

Right at that moment, a resounding vibration echoed through the entire testing area.

"That is—"

Huo Yuhao subconsciously released his spiritual detection, but instantly realizing the presence of Qian Duoduo as the Dean, he cut off his soul skill on the spot, leaving only a brief, ambiguous spiritual fluctuation.

"Don't be nervous~ Such things are very common!"

Qian Duoduo suspected nothing, assuming Huo Yuhao had just been startled: "That must be Teacher Fan Yu and his disciples researching a higher-level stationary soul guidance cannon... This kind of soul guidance device possesses extraordinary power, so a loud noise is completely normal."

"Actually~ I originally prepared an independent soul guidance research facility for you, but who knew you would choose to cultivate your soul power first and temporarily have no use for it."

Pausing for a moment, Qian Duoduo pulled out a rather thin book: "Inside are some simple soul guidance common sense and blueprints for basic arrays, considered standard introductory textbooks across the continent. You can flip through them occasionally outside of your cultivation. If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."

Looking across the entire Soul Guidance Department, very few people came here specifically to become soul masters of technology.

Either they could not compete with the top geniuses of the Martial Soul Department and came to occupy a cultivation quota, or they were like Huo Yuhao, possessing soul guidance talent but taking soul power cultivation as their primary focus.

Qian Duoduo genuinely hoped his department could produce a few soul guidance masters who could shoulder heavy responsibilities...

Even though his initial goal was merely to spite Xian Lin'er and Yan Shaozhe, through years of painstaking effort and dedication, he truly hoped that Shrek's soul guidance technology could flourish.

"Thank you, Dean!"

Huo Yuhao nodded earnestly, then tossed the book directly into his storage soul guidance device without the slightest urge to open and read it, leaving Qian Duoduo sighing with mixed emotions.

"Alright, then the tour and introduction ends here! You can arrange your remaining days as you please, but you must report when leaving the school gates. If you have any cultivation questions, you can also come ask me—I am, after all, a nine-ringed powerhouse."

Qian Duoduo regretfully departed. Before stepping out the door, however, he detoured into the neighboring experimental area, intending to ask how the Ultimate Soldier Plan was progressing.

For the Soul Guidance Department, that was the top priority.

If sufficient results could be achieved, perhaps it would change the perspective of the old fogies inside the Sea God Pavilion.

"Soul guidance arrays..."

Huo Yuhao, left behind in the research laboratory, reached out and tapped various metal plates. The array patterns engraved upon them flickered for a few seconds as a small portion of soul power was injected.

"Interesting... But cultivation is more important."

The days that followed were relatively uneventful.

After all, once one officially became a first-year freshman, there were no more messy tests, strange exams, or competitions—only monotonous, dull classes and physical training.

While continuing to endure Zhou Yi's torture in the newly reorganized Freshman Class 1, Huo Yuhao sat quietly on his bed every day, meditating and occasionally acting as a human timekeeper for Wang Dong.

"Ugh—! How can you be so relaxed?!"

For who knew how many times, Wang Dong suffered a mental breakdown in the early morning, suddenly throwing a tantrum with only ten-odd minutes left before class: "I refuse to accept this! I want to transfer to the Soul Guidance Department!"

"That depends on whether Dean Yan is willing to let you go."

Huo Yuhao, who had spent the entire night in meditation, lifted his eyelids: "With your talent, you will likely have to stay in the Martial Soul Department until graduation."

"Jerk!"

The grief and indignation in Wang Dong's eyes deepened a fraction: "I hate Shrek! I want to go home!"

"Oh."

Huo Yuhao calmly closed his eyes. He had already heard the exact same complaints from Xiao Xiao several times and couldn't be bothered to offer the same response again.

Clearly.

During this period, he had frequently exchanged cultivation experiences of the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Tang Sect secret techniques with Xiao Xiao, while also learning more flexible application methods from each other.

That technique of running the cultivation technique slowly anytime and anywhere was naturally mastered by him very quickly.

"Now... perhaps I can try more applications?"

Huo Yuhao focused his mind on internal introspection, and a snow-white lotus rested quietly within his dantian.

It was precisely the hundred-thousand-year snow lotus brought by the Snow Emperor earlier!