The wisdom of a teacher is a lantern in the dark. For Huo Yuhao, Elder Yi's words did not just illuminate the path forward; they burned away the choking fog of his despair, leaving behind the clear, cold air of purpose.
He had not failed. He had learned.
The cracked bracer was not a monument to his inadequacy, but a signpost, a clear and undeniable marker of his current limits. And a limit was not a wall; it was simply a line waiting to be crossed.
He awoke the next morning before the first hint of dawn, his heart not heavy with shame, but alight with a fierce, renewed determination. The humiliation had been a bitter pill, but it had cleansed him of the subtle poison of pride that had begun to seep into his soul after the success of the pendants.
He retreated into his Spiritual Sea, the familiar, shimmering expanse now a training ground rather than just a sanctuary. Elder Yi's spectral form awaited him, a faint but steady presence.
"You are ready, then," the ancient necromancer stated, his voice a calm echo.
"I am, Teacher," Huo Yuhao replied, his mental voice firm. "Please, show me how."
"The flaw was not in your hands, but in your power," Elder Yi explained patiently. "Your Soul Power is a lake. To carve the finer arrays, you need to turn that lake into a geyser. The volume is not as important as the pressure. We will teach you to compress it."
The training began. It was a process that was purely mental, yet more exhausting than any physical labor he had ever endured.
Under Elder Yi's guidance, Huo Yuhao sat in meditative silence. He began to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Technique, feeling the familiar, gentle river of Soul Power flowing through his meridians.
"Now," Elder Yi's voice instructed, "use your spiritual energy. Your mind. Do not just guide the river. Squeeze it. Imagine your Spiritual Sea is a great hand, and it is clenching around that flow of energy. Force it to become smaller, denser, more potent."
Huo Yuhao focused his will. He imagined his entire Spiritual Sea, a vast expanse of light and power, focusing down on the stream of Soul Power circulating within him. He pushed.
The sensation was bizarre. He felt a tremendous resistance. His Soul Power, which had always flowed so obediently, fought against the pressure, like water refusing to be contained. The effort sent a dull, throbbing ache through his mind. It was spiritually exhausting.
"Maintain the circulation," Elder Yi commanded. "Do not let it stop. The moment you lose focus, the pressure will vanish. This is a battle of will, disciple. Your will against the very nature of your own power."
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his physical brow even though he was deep within his own mind. He pushed harder, pouring more and more of his spiritual energy into the act of compression.
Slowly, agonizingly, he began to feel a change. The river of Soul Power started to thin, its gentle blue light intensifying, becoming a sharper, more brilliant azure. It felt hotter, more volatile. He was succeeding. He managed to maintain this compressed state for a full circulation of the Mysterious Heaven Technique before his focus shattered, leaving him with a splitting headache and a feeling of profound mental fatigue.
"Good," Elder Yi's voice was filled with approval. "That is a start. This is your new training. Every day, you will practice this. You will link the strength of your spirit, honed by your Purple Demon Eyes, to the flow of your Soul Power. In time, you will be able to compress your power at will, and the path to higher-class Soul Tools will open to you."
Huo Yuhao emerged from his meditation, his head pounding but his spirit resolute. He understood. This was the true foundation. This was the work that had to be done.
With his new goal set, a sense of maturity settled over him. He looked at the pile of unused Heavy Silver and Sunken Gold, and instead of feeling the sting of failure, he felt a sense of patience. He was not ready for them. Not yet.
He would return to the basics. He would master Class 1 tools, not just by copying them, but by innovating, by perfecting them.
His first thought was of Xiong Jun. The Bear Lord's gruff disappointment had hurt, but Huo Yuhao understood it. The beast craved power and strength. An apology was in order, not of words, but of action.
He spent the next two days in the workshop, the rhythmic clang of his hammer once again filling the air. He was not making a single, complex tool, but a pair. He designed and forged two sleek, powerful looking vambraces from the leftover Blue Cloud Steel. They were thick, durable, and shaped to fit perfectly over a forearm.
He did not attempt a Class 2 array. Instead, he engraved each vambrace with a masterfully crafted, high-quality Class 1 Kinetic Deflection array, the same simple circuit he had first practiced on. But this time, he poured his newfound focus into it. The lines were flawless, the energy pathways perfectly smooth.
He presented the finished pair to Xiong Jun that evening, as the other beasts began to gather for their meal.
"Lord Xiong Jun," he said, bowing his head slightly as he offered the gift. "I apologize for the failure of the last tool. I am not yet strong enough. But I made these for you. As a peace offering."
Xiong Jun looked down at the vambraces in the boy's hands, then at the boy's earnest face. He grunted, taking them. They were heavy, solid. He strapped one onto his massive, tattooed forearm. It looked almost comically small.
"What's this supposed to do?" he rumbled, unimpressed. "Block a tickle?"
"It will offer a small repulsive jolt when struck," Huo Yuhao explained. "It is not powerful, but… I thought it might be useful."
The Bear Lord looked at him, then at the vambrace. With a shrug, he balled his other hand into a fist and gave his own forearm a light tap.
Thwump!
A soft pulse of force, far stronger than the pathetic fizzle of the cracked bracer, pushed against his fist. It wasn't enough to move his arm, not even slightly, but he felt it. A distinct, kinetic pushback.
He blinked. He tapped it again, a little harder. Thwump! The force was a little stronger this time.
A slow, thoughtful expression began to dawn on his perpetually grumpy face. He wasn't thinking about himself. He was thinking about the forest.
"Hmph," he grunted, but the sound was different now. It was contemplative. "This… is not useless."
Bi Ji and Di Tian looked on with interest.
"The power is insignificant for a beast of my level," Xiong Jun continued, turning the vambrace over in his hand. "But the cubs…"
His eyes lit up with a sudden, practical insight. "The hundred-year-olds, the new thousand-year-olds… they fight with nothing but brute force. They claw and bite. They don't understand abilities or tactics. If they sparred with these…"
He looked at Huo Yuhao, his eyes holding a new, grudging respect. "This jolt… it would force them to think. It would teach them that raw power isn't everything. It would show them the difference an ability can make. It would be… a good lesson. Good for training them, in case they ever have to fight those sneaky humans with their strange powers."
He stared at Huo Yuhao, his gaze intense. "Make more of them. A lot more. The cubs need these."
Huo Yuhao's heart soared. He had turned his failure into a success. He had not only earned the Bear Lord's approval but had also created a valuable new training tool for the forest. He bowed deeply, a wide, genuine smile on his face. "Yes, Lord Xiong Jun!"
That evening, the meal was a celebration. The nightly gathering had become the central social event for the reclusive and powerful rulers of the forest. Huo Yuhao, now their official cook and forgemaster, found a deep joy in preparing their food. It was a simple act of service that solidified his place in their family.
He grilled a massive pile of savory fish and roasted a variety of fragrant spirit vegetables over the Auspicious Beast's golden flames. The aroma drew the mighty beasts in, their powerful forms taking on an almost domestic air as they gathered around the fire.
Xiong Jun, as always, demanded the biggest share, grabbing a dozen fish at once and devouring them with a gusto that shook the ground.
Zi Ji, the terrifyingly beautiful Abyssal Demon Dragon, ate in her customary elegant silence, taking small, delicate bites, her purple eyes watching the fire with a distant, unreadable expression.
Chi Yan, the fiery Scarlet King, engaged in a silent, intense competition with Xiong Jun, trying to snatch as much food as possible, his movements a blur of red.
Bi Ji would praise Huo Yuhao's skill, ensuring he ate as well, her maternal presence a warm and comforting constant. The Auspicious Beast would lie near the fire, nibbling on a piece of grilled fish offered by Huo Yuhao, her tail giving a slow, contented swish.
And Di Tian, the supreme leader, would sit slightly apart, eating with a quiet dignity, his golden eyes surveying the scene.
Far away, in a world of manicured lawns and rigid rules, the preliminary rounds of the Shrek Academy New Student Examination were in full swing. For Wang Dong, it was an exercise in supreme, mind-numbing boredom.
The matches were a blur of mediocrity. He saw students with passable talent and clumsy techniques fighting with a desperate ferocity that he found almost pathetic. He saw it all as beneath him, a waste of his precious time.
Worse, he had been forced into an alliance. The examination required teams of three. His partners were the quiet, diligent Xiao Xiao, whose three cauldrons he found moderately interesting, and another girl named Ling Wei.
Ling Wei was a bubbly, energetic girl with a decent Wind-type Martial Soul. She was also, to Wang Dong's unending annoyance, completely and utterly infatuated with the handsome, aloof "Wang Dong."
"Wow, Wang Dong, you were so amazing in that last match!" she would gush, her eyes wide with adoration. "You took them all out with a single wing-slash! You didn't even break a sweat!"
Wang Dong would simply nod, his expression a mask of cold indifference, and turn away, hoping his blatant disinterest would silence her. It never did. The constant, awkward fawning grated on his nerves, a constant reminder of the false persona he was forced to wear.
Their team, predictably, breezed through the early rounds. Most fights were over in seconds. Wang Dong would simply step forward, release a sliver of his immense Soul Power, and his opponents would be blown off the stage. His overwhelming strength made the matches trivial, which only served to deepen his complacency and reinforce his quiet arrogance.
Then came the semi-finals.
Their opponents were a well-known team. The twin sisters, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, and a stout, powerful-looking boy named Huang Chutian.
"Be careful, Wang Dong," Xiao Xiao warned quietly before the match, her usual calm face showing a hint of concern. "The Lan sisters have a rare Soul Fusion skill. And Huang Chutian's Martial Soul is the Herculean Ape. His strength is immense."
Wang Dong just shrugged. "It won't matter."
The match began. Huang Chutian roared, his body swelling as his Herculean Ape Martial Soul possessed him. He charged forward, a walking siege engine of pure muscle.
Ling Wei, eager to impress Wang Dong, foolishly tried to stop him with a flurry of wind blades. They struck Huang Chutian's body and dissipated harmlessly, like pebbles against a fortress wall. He simply swatted her aside, sending her tumbling from the stage with a single, contemptuous backhand.
One down.
At the same time, the Lan sisters acted. Their long, lustrous hair, their shared Martial Soul, began to glow.
"Soul Fusion Skill: Inescapable Net!" they cried in unison.
Their hair shot out, weaving together in mid-air at impossible speed, forming a massive, shimmering net of golden light. It descended from above, covering a huge portion of the stage, its target squarely on Wang Dong.
He tried to dodge, but the net was too fast, too wide. It fell over him, and the moment it touched him, it constricted, tightening around his body. The strands felt soft, but they were imbued with a sticky, draining energy that began to sap his Soul Power.
For the first time in the tournament, Wang Dong was caught. A flicker of genuine shock, followed by a surge of furious indignation, flashed across his handsome face.
Huang Chutian, seeing his opportunity, charged towards the trapped Wang Dong, his fists raised to deliver the final blow.
"Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron!" Xiao Xiao shouted. Her black cauldron appeared, intercepting Huang Chutian's charge with a resounding CLANG, buying a precious few seconds. Her second and third cauldrons began to pulse with power, ready to support.
Wang Dong struggled against the net, but it was incredibly resilient. It was a perfect counter to a single, powerful fighter. His arrogance was being strangled, literally.
He looked at Xiao Xiao, holding back the charging ape on her own, and a feeling he hadn't felt before—the desperate need to fight—surged through him.
A brilliant, holy light erupted from his body.
"Light of the Butterfly Goddess!" he roared.
His second Soul Ring, a vibrant purple signifying a thousand-year power, lit up with blinding intensity. The Radiant Butterfly wings on his back grew larger, more ethereal, and released a devastating wave of pure, holy light.
The light slammed into the Inescapable Net. The Lan sisters, whose Soul Power was far lower than Wang Dong's, cried out as the backlash hit them. The golden net, pushed far beyond its limits, sizzled, smoked, and then shattered into a thousand motes of fading light.
Freed, Wang Dong turned his blazing eyes on the stunned Huang Chutian, a genuine, exhilarating battle-lust now shining on his face.
The rest of the fight was short and brutal.
The finals, held an hour later, were an anticlimax. Their opponents, having witnessed Wang Dong's terrifying power, were defeated with a single, effortless attack.
Their team was crowned champions of the New Student Examination.
As Wang Dong stood on the podium, showered in the cheers and applause of the academy, he felt… different. The boredom was gone. The lazy complacency was gone. In its place was the lingering, thrilling echo of the battle. The memory of being trapped, of being challenged, of being forced to unleash his true power.
It was exhilarating.
For the first time, he felt a spark. A hunger for a real challenge, a real fight. The victory felt good, but the struggle had felt even better. It was a feeling he wanted to experience again.