Xiao Hongchen exchanged a look with her younger sister, Meng Hongchen, then laughed bitterly. “Shrek.. what an Academy. Did you hear? Those little fellows are only 12 years old; over 2 years younger than us! They will be our rivals in 5 years.”

Meng Hongchen was still unconvinced. “So what? They’ll never rival our abilities.”

Xiao Hongchen forced a laugh. “But I’m fearful. Not because of their prowess, nor because of their twin martial souls, but because of their unwavering and intimidating spirit, something that’s unique to Shrek Academy. As for us, we lack of all these.”

Meng Hongchen chewed on her words, and after a moment of silence, she lowered her voice and said, “Brother, can you understand why are they so stubborn? Is it worth it? This is only a competition! Are they not worried that they will end up sustaining critical injuries that will lead to a regression in their abilities, or even permanent disability?

Ma Rulong appeared beside them suddenly and said in a deep voice, “We are unaware because we are not members of Shrek. Yesterday, we received news from the academy that Shrek Academy sent us invitations. They cordially invite members of our academy over for an exchange. The academy has already chosen the two of you to lead the group, and we hope that the two of you can satisfy your thirst for knowledge and find what you seek in Shrek Academy.”

Xiao Hongchen’s eyes betrayed a look of obvious astonishment. She nodded her head after a moment of stupefaction and said, “Okay.”

When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he felt intense pain pulsing through his body. The pain seemed to originate from his bone marrow, and from there to his skeleton, his passageways, his organs, and even his brain. Every single part of his body was throbbing in agony.

He groaned from the acute discomfort. Fortunately, his mind was clear. He relied on his resolute determination and gradually repressed these painful sensations, eventually adapting to them.

He did not rush to look outside as he closed his eyes. The soft and comfortable mattress told him that he was already back in the hotel. His first observation was the state of his physical body. He was able to acutely sense the changes in every part of his body with only his immense spiritual power and without using any skills at all.

Upon closer inspection, Huo Yuhao realized that there was nothing amiss with his body. Even his soul power had regenerated on its own, to around 20% of its full strength. He also had no idea why his body ached so much, especially the swelling pain in the trunk of his body and in his passageways. He couldn’t help but recall the time when he had fused with the bones and essence of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion; he didn’t just feel pain, he also had to endure an intense itch – that was the most unbearable feeling.

The bones of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion? Huo Yuhao had a sudden epiphany. Yes, it must be because the Ice Empress had channeled the power of her bones, and he himself had actually used a four hundred thousand year soul bone’s power twice in a row within a short period of time. It was no wonder his body was rebelling; it was already a miracle that his passageways and his bones were not majorly affected.

With that in mind, Huo Yuhao immediately concentrated on channeling the soul power in his body according to the Mysterious Heaven Technique. The technique itself had rejuvenating qualities in and of itself, and was thus the most optimal choice.

Indeed, once his soul power circulated through his body, he began to feel cool sensations coursing through his body, and his pain was instantly reduced considerably.

As the pain receded, his mind became clearer and more lucid. The first question he thought of was, “Did we win?”

There was no way he could answer his own question. All he could remember was that he seemed to call for aid from the Ice Empress, and when the Ice Empress made her move, he blacked out, and everything that came after that was unknown to him.

He had sacrificed way too much for this competition. How could he not be concerned about the outcome? He murmured under his breath even before he opened his eyes, “Did we win?”

“Don’t worry, victory is ours. We defended the honor and glory of Shrek,” a tender voice rang out from beside his ears. Once he heard these words, a wave of indescribable relief flowed through his entire body. He felt his entire body relax as he was bathed in tranquility.

We won, we won. We managed to protect the honor and dignity of Shrek.

After a tiny moment of exhilaration with that reply in mind, he wanted to open his eyes. However, he eventually fell into a deep sleep – the toll on his body was simply too great, and he needed some time to recuperate.

“You guys are so powerful!” The person that was sitting beside Huo Yuhao’s bed, and who had conveyed the news of their victory to him was the appointed group leader of the squad sent forth to participate in the competition, Ma Xiaotao.

The competition was over, and Huo Yuhao and all the others were either injured or expended. Wang Dong’s condition was the most positive, but even he had gone out like a light and fainted in the end. Only Jiang Nannan was able to retain her consciousness.

Under such a circumstance, how could Wang Yan cope on his own? He could only inform Ma Xiaotao, whose injuries had recovered significantly by now, as well as Dai Yaoheng and Ling Luochen. As for the situation with the competition, he could no longer conceal the truth, and neither did he want to do so anymore.

After listening to Wang Yan’s recounting of what had happened, Ma Xiaotao and the two others fell into a deep silence. Along with Wang Yan, they bore the heavy responsibility of taking care of Huo Yuhao and the others.

Wang Yan accompanied the therapists sent forth by the Star Luo Empire to care for Xiao Xiao and Bei Bei, who were both heavily injured. Dai Yaoheng was responsible for He Caitou, while Ling Luochen took care of Wang Dong. Ma Xiaotao was naturally watching over Huo Yuhao.

Jiang Nannan had to take care of Xu Sanshi (that lucky chap!); no matter how reluctant she was, as she couldn’t just leave him to die. There was nobody else left, and in light of his heavily damaged vitality and outstanding performance, she took it upon herself to take care of Xu Sanshi.

This was the night after the competition, and Huo Yuhao woke up momentarily in a daze. Wang Dong was just as expended and exhausted, but for some reason, he was still stuck in a deep sleep. He Caitou was naturally stronger, and was in a much better state after a series of treatments.

Even Bei Bei, who was more heavily injured, was awake by now. Only Xiao Xiao, who was in a far more dire state, remained unconscious, though her injuries had stabilized – it was hard to say how long she would need to fully recover.

The Star Luo Empire deployed their best medical resources to aid them in their recovery.

Ma Xiaotao drew a blanket over Huo Yuhao and caressed his hair. Her face was extremely serene and endearing as she whispered, “Yuhao, do you know? Do you know that I am angry, and I’m angry with myself? I am the group leader, and all this should’ve been my responsibility, but I gave it all to you guys instead. Rest assured, we will soon bear the mantle of defending Shrek’s glory, and I will let everyone know that Shrek Academy will not be bullied or disgraced.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, but one could see a cold fog of in the deepest recesses of her eyes.

Her loss of ground against the Evil Soul Master had heavily affected her. In this competition, Huo Yuhao and the others’ performance also made her extremely agitated. She had never felt such belligerence before.

The next time Huo Yuhao came to, it was already the next morning. His physique had undergone a drastic change after the infusion of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s bones. This time, his exhaustion did not just stem from the expenditure of his soul power; more substantially, it came from when the Ice Empress was manipulating his body and channeled the true power of the bones – his body was nearly unable to withstand the pressure.

After a day and night of recuperation, in addition to the natural regenerative abilities of his bones and bodily functions, he felt a lot better than before.

Ma Xiaotao drifted into his sight the moment he opened his eyes.

Ma Xiaotao was not clad in red like she usually was. Instead, she was wearing a cascading white dress and was just quietly sitting there, with her flowing pink hair hanging loosely behind her back. There was an enchanting beauty and tranquility about her.

“Sister Xiaotao,” Huo Yuhao shouted in shock.

Ma Xiaotao grinned and said, “What? Are you feeling better?”

Huo Yuhao sensed the state of his body. His soul power was almost fully replenished, and even though he could feel throbbing aches all over his body, his passageways were intact. The sentence spoken by the Ice Empress when she took over his body floated into his mind.

Control – you must be able to control every single ounce of power in your body with meticulous accuracy, and only then can you defeat a stronger opponent.

The true power of the Ice Empress was not something that his current body could handle. However, after the first channeling of her power, the reason why his body was hurt but not damaged was due to the Ice Empress’ perfect control! The impeccable manipulation was simply spectacular and breathtaking to him.

“I’m feeling a lot better.” Huo Yuhao struggled to get up, and his blanked slipped down from his shoulders. He suddenly realized that there wasn’t a single thread on his body as he gasped and reflexively hugged himself across his chest.

“Haha.” Ma Xiaotao chuckled as she watched his awkward display of embarrassment. “Seriously? It’s not as if I haven’t seen your little ‘peanut’ before.”

Huo Yuhao’s mouth hung agape as he felt his face flush with hot blood. His cheeks were red and puffed out as he exclaimed once again, “It’s not a peanut!”

Ma Xiaotao couldn’t control her amusement any longer as she laughed heartily. Her actions were faintly elegant as she said, “I guess it’s true that no matter how old you are, males will always have an unrivaled ego about that thing. Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Since there’s nothing you need to do, go wash up and grab a bite. Then you will rest,” she stood up as she spoke and stretched her back lazily.

She had been watching over Huo Yuhao for an entire night. No matter how powerful her abilities were, she hadn’t fully healed from her own injuries, and it was inevitable that she felt a little exhausted. Her stretch instantly placed her perfect and even slightly exaggerated curves in front of Huo Yuhao, and caused his little guy to flush even more.

At this moment, the door opened, and somebody walked in. From that person’s perspective, he just witnessed Ma Xiaotao stretching her back, and the half-naked Huo Yuhao, whose cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.