Only after running out of Shrek City did Huo Yuhao's pace gradually slow down.
Standing at the intersection outside the city, he gazed at the familiar silhouette of Shrek City, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.
He suddenly thought of Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
They were the ones who gave him the chance to enter Shrek; they were the ones who reached out to help when he was most helpless, placing great expectations on him.
But now, he had been expelled from the academy and was leaving in disgrace. How could he have the face to see Teacher Xiao Ya and his Senior Brother?
He had failed their expectations and wasted the Tang Sect's slot.
This guilt and shame left him with absolutely no courage to look back.
"Since Shrek looks down on me, I'll go somewhere else!" Huo Yuhao gripped the white tiger dagger in his hand, his gaze becoming firm once more.
During his two months at Shrek, he hadn't come away empty-handed; at least he understood the rules of the Spirit Master's world and knew the origin of his Spirit.
Spirit Eyes belonged to the Body Martial Soul category.
In the Spirit Master's world, the Body Sect claimed that 'all Body Martial Souls are one family' and served as the Holy Land for all Body Martial Soul Spirit Masters.
Although the Body Sect had been in seclusion for many years and its tracks were hard to find, he vaguely remembered from the materials he'd read that the Body Sect was in the north of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
"As long as I don't give up, I will find the Body Sect one day and prove myself!"
With a direction in his heart, Huo Yuhao was no longer lost.
Carrying his bundle, he turned resolutely and walked toward the north.
He didn't notice that not far behind him, a figure was quietly following.
Dai Huabin, hidden in the woods by the roadside, watched Huo Yuhao's lonely back, a cold smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
He had waited for this day for a long time; he had long wanted to properly teach this trash, who didn't know the heights of the heavens, a lesson.
Before, in order to maintain his persona in front of Tang Wutong, he hadn't made a move. But now...
Now that Huo Yuhao was expelled and out of Shrek City, it was the perfect time to strike.
"Little trash, now that you're out of Shrek City, I'll let you know what true cruelty is!"
Dai Huabin's voice was bone-chillingly cold, and a flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes.
He followed unhurriedly behind Huo Yuhao, like a tiger stalking its prey, patiently waiting for the best moment to strike.
Huo Yuhao headed all the way north, his pace getting faster and faster, wanting only to leave this place of humiliation as quickly as possible.
Just as he reached a deserted small wood, a figure suddenly stepped out from the trees ahead, blocking his path.
Huo Yuhao looked up, and when he clearly saw the person's face, a raging fire of hatred instantly ignited in his eyes. He growled through gritted teeth, "Dai Huabin!"
Dai Huabin stood with his arms crossed, looking down at him from a height, his face full of disdain and mockery:
"Trash is trash. Being expelled only now is truly a waste of Shrek's resources."
These words were like a fuse, instantly igniting all the fury in Huo Yuhao's heart.
His eyes turned blood-red in an instant, spirit power surged around him, and a yellow hundred-year spirit ring slowly rose from beneath his feet as his Spirit Eyes Spirit was quietly released.
"What did you say?!"
Huo Yuhao's voice carried extreme anger, and the mental force of his Spirit Eyes spread out without reservation, locking onto Dai Huabin.
Seeing this, the mockery at the corner of Dai Huabin's mouth grew stronger.
He slowly raised his hand, light flashed around him, and three spirit rings—two yellow and one purple—emerged in sequence.
The dazzling light of the spirit rings complemented his arrogant posture, forming a sharp contrast with Huo Yuhao's solitary yellow spirit ring.
"White Tiger Possession!" With a low shout, Dai Huabin directly possessed his Spirit.
Fur covered his body, the 'King' character pattern appeared on his forehead, and his hands transformed into sharp tiger claws with cold light glinting from the tips.
A powerful Three-Ring Soul Elder Aura erupted, pressing down toward Huo Yuhao.
"Today, I'll make you understand that trash has no right to look directly at a Genius."
"I really don't like your gaze. Those eyes of yours... you might as well not have them anymore."
Dai Huabin's tone was cold and cruel. The moment his words fell, his figure suddenly moved.
His speed was as fast as lightning, and with a fierce tiger's roar, he lunged directly at Huo Yuhao.
Facing the crushing Aura of a Three-Ring Soul Elder, Huo Yuhao was greatly shocked, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.
He knew he was no match for Dai Huabin at all, but he had no way out and could only fight for his life.
"First Spirit Ability: Spirit Shock!"
Huo Yuhao roared, and a strong white light erupted from his eyes. An invisible mental force, like a sharp blade, shot violently toward Dai Huabin.
This was currently his only means of attack and his last hope.
However, Dai Huabin didn't even intend to dodge, his face full of contempt:
"A mere one-ring Spirit Master's Spirit Shock wants to hurt me? What can it possibly do to me!"
He took the Spirit Shock head-on; his figure only paused slightly, a faint dizziness passed through his mind, and he recovered instantly.
To him, who possessed Rank 32 spirit power, Huo Yuhao's attack was like an ant trying to shake a tree—utterly insignificant.
The next second, Dai Huabin had already rushed in front of Huo Yuhao.
*Bang!*
Sharp tiger claws, carrying majestic spirit power, slammed hard against Huo Yuhao's chest.
With a dull, heavy thud, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had been hit by a high-speed carriage. His body instantly flew backward like a torn sack.
Huo Yuhao traced an arc in the air and crashed heavily onto the ground, a mouthful of blood spraying out and staining the earth before him.
With just one strike, Huo Yuhao was completely defeated, without even the slightest room to resist.
The gap between Rank 11 and Rank 32 was like a chasm that could not be crossed.
Dai Huabin walked slowly to the dying Huo Yuhao and looked down at him.
Huo Yuhao lay on the ground, his whole body in unbearable pain, the bones in his chest feeling as if they had shattered.
Blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were still fixed on Dai Huabin, filled with bloodshot veins and hatred.
Seeing his stubborn appearance, the cruelty in Dai Huabin's eyes intensified.
He slowly crouched down and extended a tiger claw, the cold glint at the tip shimmering in the sunlight as he aimed it at Huo Yuhao's left eye.
*Puchi!*
A tooth-aching sound of tearing rang out as the tiger claw stabbed ruthlessly into Huo Yuhao's left eye.
"Aaaaahhhh—!"
Extreme agony instantly swept through his entire body, and Huo Yuhao let out a heart-wrenching scream.
His body rolled frantically on the ground, blood mixed with the black and white of his eye gushing from the socket, staining the ground red.
The intense pain in his left eye almost made him faint; his mind went blank, leaving only endless agony and despair.
Dai Huabin watched him wailing and rolling, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
He didn't blind both of Huo Yuhao's eyes; he only destroyed the left one, as if he were deliberately humiliating him, forcing him to live on with this defect and pain.
"Pathetic trash, this young master is in a good mood today, so I'll spare your life," Dai Huabin said in a cold tone as he stood up and patted the blood off his hands.
"Remember, in the future when you see this young master, keep your head down, lest you dirty my eyes."
After speaking, Dai Huabin stopped looking at the struggling, pained Huo Yuhao on the ground and quickly disappeared into the depths of the woods.
Leaving behind only a mess on the ground and a youth wailing in despair amidst a pool of blood.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling upon Huo Yuhao's ruined left eye as blood slid down his cheek.
From then on, his World lost half its light and gained a hatred that penetrated deep into his very marrow.