Wang Qing’s Recruitment

Since then, the Body Sect had gone completely silent, with no major actions up to the present day.

Meanwhile, the powerful individuals summoned back by Shrek formed a new faction—Sea God's Pavilion.

In reality, the so-called "Great Catastrophe" was caused when the Body Sect sent people into the Star Dou Forest to hunt down seven 100,000-year soul beasts. Enraged, the powerful soul beasts launched a beast tide that indiscriminately attacked humans. The first to be hit was Shrek, being closest to the forest.

Shrek then used this as a pretext to launch an attack on the Body Sect, accusing them of committing atrocities and forcing the sect leader at the time to swear never to hunt 100,000-year soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest again.

To this, Huo Yuhao could only feel speechless. They forbid others from hunting, yet they themselves never stopped.

In his view, Shrek only started this war because they feared the Body Sect becoming too powerful and used it as an excuse to weaken them.

Later, Shrek formed the Sea God's Pavilion under the banner of maintaining balance on the continent. From then on, Shrek was no longer just an academy cultivating talents—it became the arsenal for the Sea God's Pavilion, continuously producing powerful fighters for them.

Of course, Shrek never forced students to join the Sea God's Pavilion—and regular geniuses wouldn't be accepted anyway—but proximity breeds influence. Everyone who enters Shrek gets subtly indoctrinated with loyalty to the academy.

The academy is your warm home. Entering the inner court is a great honor. Becoming one of the Shrek Seven Devils is an even greater honor. Once you enter the Sea God's Pavilion, you're expected to carry the burden of the world.

Huo Yuhao saw right through all of this and scoffed at those who would sell their lives for a bit of hollow prestige.

So to Huo Yuhao, there was really no difference between Shrek and the Body Sect—both were ambitious.

However, compared to the Body Sect, Shrek's methods were far more refined. No matter what they did, Shrek would always stand on the moral high ground, condemning others before acting.

It was hypocritical—but that's politics. And Shrek had mastered that art.

Three days later, Huo Yuhao landed in a remote area not far from Shrek. At his pace, he could reach there in two hours, but there was no way he would approach Shrek so openly.

One had to admit, the Bloodflame Sword's flying speed was impressive. It took him eight days to get there initially, but the return trip using the sword shaved five full days off.

By the time he walked into Shrek City, it was already noon. Naturally, Huo Yuhao went to his usual spot—Jun Zailai Restaurant—which looked much the same as it had a month ago. It was lunchtime, so people were coming and going in droves.

After ordering, Huo Yuhao found a relatively quiet spot to sit down. He leaned on the table with half-closed eyes, thinking back to recent events. His Bloodflame Sword was clearly faster than Cui Lian without using his fifth soul skill, yet the guy still managed to tangle with him for so long using the terrain.

Most of the blame actually lay with himself. The Bloodflame Sword wasn't a singular weapon—he had to control various Bloodflame Daggers to form different shapes. Maintaining those forms required a great deal of focus, which limited his freedom in battle.

How could he fix this flaw? Should he abandon the Bloodflame Daggers?

Huo Yuhao dismissed the thought. He still needed a reliable weapon. The Bloodflame Daggers, being external soul bones, could grow stronger along with him.

The real issue was how to enhance his control—not just general control, but something akin to split-conscious multitasking.

Split-conscious multitasking?

A flash of insight flickered in Huo Yuhao's mind, as if he were on the verge of grasping something important.

"Young Master Huo, my boss would like to see you."

At that moment, a voice interrupted Huo Yuhao's thoughts.

Straightening up, Huo Yuhao looked at the waiter and asked with mild irritation, "What is it?"

The waiter didn't seem to catch his displeasure and smiled, "Please come with me, sir. I promise it'll be a pleasant surprise."

Huo Yuhao wasn't impressed. What surprise could Wang Qing possibly offer? Give him more profit shares? That fat guy was not the type to take a loss.

Besides, Huo Yuhao wasn't short on money anymore. After taking out Cui Lian and his gang, he'd looted their storage soul tools. Aside from some impractical gear, the bulk of it was gold soul coins—no less than 500,000 by his estimate.

That really shocked Huo Yuhao. Who would've thought that a few of the Dai family's servants would be swimming in money? Thinking back to his own days being raised like a pig at the Duke's mansion, he couldn't help but feel a bit self-deprecating.

All in all, Huo Yuhao had scored a nice windfall. Robbery truly was the fastest way to get rich.

Five minutes later, under the waiter's guidance, Huo Yuhao arrived at a quiet forested area. The trees here weren't very tall, but their arrangement seemed deliberate, and their trunks were straight—clearly artificially planted.

Up ahead stood a delicate two-story building with white walls and red tiles. It blended ancient charm with modern aesthetics without clashing—quite harmonious, in fact.

Calling it a "building" was almost misleading—it was basically a villa. The base area alone was more than 300 square meters, not counting the courtyard. With that included, it was even bigger.

Most striking was the circular artificial pond not far from the villa. It wasn't large—about 200 meters in diameter—but it exuded a peaceful, serene vibe.

This must be the dream home of those who'd given up on ambition and just wanted to chill.

"Hey, little brother! Over here!"

Hearing the voice, Huo Yuhao looked over and saw Wang Qing waving enthusiastically at him from the courtyard gate.

"Uncle, what's all this?" Huo Yuhao walked over and asked with some confusion. He couldn't quite guess what the fat guy was up to.

"Come on, follow me inside." Wang Qing pulled Huo Yuhao into the house and then gave him a tour.

The place was huge. The first floor had a living room, kitchen, dining area, and four bedrooms. The second floor was entirely bedrooms too, but much larger—only three of them—and there was also a balcony with various potted plants and a long wooden swing that could easily seat four.

The floors were tiled in white ceramic, and the walls were plain white plaster. The furnishings were simple—no signs of anyone actually living there. The kitchen was empty of food, and the bedrooms had no bedding.

There was nothing particularly fancy—just a minimalist design. Huo Yuhao thought it looked more like a shared rental than anything else.

And he was right. Wang Qing explained that this was one of his properties in Shrek City. He had two more like it. This one was usually rented out, but the last tenant moved out two months ago.

Wang Qing's suggestion was simple—did Huo Yuhao want to rent the place? He even offered to charge only 70% of the usual rent.

At first, Huo Yuhao wondered why the fat guy was suddenly so generous and eager to please. But after a moment's thought, he understood—it must've been because Wang Qing had heard about the exam results and wanted to get on his good side.

(End of Chapter)