Douluo Continent, I, Huo Yuhao, defy fate with my spiritual eyes.

Before returning to school, Huo Yuhao absorbed a ten-thousand-year-old Ice Illusion Snow Deer in the far north as the second soul ring for his Eyes of Truth.

This is the benefit of Huo Yuhao's continuous improvement of his physical fitness. For others, it would take at least five rings to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring, but Huo Yuhao possessed one at the second ring.

The Ice Illusion Snow Deer is a creature unique to the far north. It has little combat ability and relies on creating illusions to escape life-threatening situations.

The soul skill it provided to Huo Yuhao was called Ice Illusion Mirror. Unlike the previous simulation, the illusion not only simulated various forms and auras by distorting space through mental fluctuations, but also changed the color of the soul rings.

Its greater strength lies in its ability to create an illusion outside of Huo Yuhao himself.

In front of Shrek City, a boy with long, messy hair and bright eyes stood at the gate, explaining to the gatekeeper.

"Uncle, I really am a student there. I just had a little accident on the way and didn't bring my ID."

Huo Yuhao explained for the eighth time, but the gatekeeper remained unmoved, sneering.

"Don't try to fool me. I haven't seen you at all during the freshman competition, and you haven't had a place to stay for at least ten days. How can a freshman get such a long leave!"

"I really am a freshman!"

Huo Yuhao's eyes were lifeless, and his mouth was dry from talking, but it was all in vain.

On his way back, he found that his ID card was still in the dormitory. He thought it was no big deal, but the dutiful security guard firmly stopped him outside.

A gentle yet cool voice came from beside my ear.

"You are... junior Yuhao?"

He looked up and saw a beautiful face, like a fairy under the moon, looking at him with some hesitation.

"Senior Lexuan! It's me!"

The two had only met once, and Zhang Lexuan wasn't quite sure if the homeless man in front of her was Huo Yuhao. She only realized it when she heard his voice.

After explaining to the gatekeeper, Huo Yuhao was led into Shrek City, with questions asked as they walked.

"What happened to you? You look so disheveled."

Huo Yuhao scratched his head sheepishly and recounted his fabricated story about going out to obtain a spirit ring, as well as the fact that he hadn't brought his student ID.

Zhang Lexuan was also amused, and covered her mouth with a light laugh as she spoke.

"Oh, I see. Well, there's no way around it. The freshman competition just ended, and quite a few soul cultivator families are trying to find sons-in-law through the rankings, so they're being a bit strict."

Huo Yuhao was somewhat dazed and asked in surprise.

"Is the freshman competition over?"

"Yeah, it's a real shame that the junior didn't participate. There's a junior named Wang Dong who really shone this year, but I don't know why she's always so angry. I wonder who upset her."

Upon hearing this, the culprit tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth and pretended to know nothing.

"I see. Maybe he's just naturally bad-tempered."

Zhang Lexuan glanced at Huo Yuhao, her tone somewhat playful, directly exposing Huo Yuhao's pretense.

"Still pretending? Wang Dong declared during the finals that he would challenge Huo Yuhao. After Teacher Mu Jin told him that you had taken leave, Wang Dong's face almost turned green."

Having been exposed, Huo Yuhao stopped pretending and chuckled.

"Hehe, how did you know I'm Huo Yuhao, senior?"

The two hadn't introduced themselves beforehand, but Huo Yuhao was recognized as soon as they met.

Zhang Lexuan smiled.

"That's easy. You've already been registered as an inner court disciple. Guess who did it?"

"Was it organized by a senior student?"

"Yes, your registration is a bit special, so I'm handling it all by myself. Okay, you can go back now, I have some things to take care of."

At a fork in the road, Zhang Lexuan and Huo Yuhao said goodbye and left.

…………

After returning to his dormitory and tidying up briefly, Huo Yuhao went back to his long-missed class.

But this time he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar face, someone he didn't want to see.

The newcomer had blond hair and heterochromatic eyes, with an arrogant expression that seemed to disregard everything; his contempt for all things could be felt from afar.

Dai Huarong, whose talent is second only to Dai Huabin, is from the lineage of the Duchess of Baihu.

He strode over and stood in front of Huo Yuhao, a head taller than him, looking down at him.

"You're that bastard? How dare you kill my brother, Dai Huabin?"

Huo Yuhao was no longer the Huo Yuhao of the past. He felt no fear and looked back indifferently.

"Dai Huabin is dead? That's great, hehe."

Upon discovering that her opponent was equally determined, Dai Huarong frowned, but quickly relaxed and a smile appeared on her lips.

"I should thank you. If you hadn't killed Dai Huabin, I wouldn't have been able to replace him and become the person Madam chose to groom."

Huo Yuhao remained unfazed, instead sneering and mocking.

"Then why aren't you enjoying the benefits of being mentored? Why are you coming to me? Aren't you afraid I'll just find another mentor?"

Hearing his blatant provocation, Dai Huarong's expression changed slightly, and his eyes narrowed.

"Heh, you think you're so tough! Offending the Duke's authority, attacking and killing your trainee inside the Duke's mansion—you're practically slapping the Duke's face in the dirt!"

His tone carried a hint of threat and rebuke, and Huo Yuhao refused to back down, confronting him head-on.

"He brought it on himself. Let the Duke's mansion come at him if they dare!"

Staring into Huo Yuhao's eyes, seeing the determination and resolve within them, Dai Huarong suddenly smiled.

"You've changed a lot, you've become even crazier!"

Halfway through his sentence, Dai Huarong suddenly moved closer, his face almost touching Huo Yuhao's, his heterochromatic eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao's eyes, and said, word by word.

"So you're crazy enough to not even care about your mother's grave? Hahahaha!"

Huo Yuhao fell silent. He hadn't expected the Duke's Mansion to be so despicable, nor had he expected that bastard Dai Hao would allow them to tamper with Huo Yun'er's grave.

Veins bulged slightly on Huo Yuhao's arms, his eyes were gloomy, and he exuded a violent and cruel aura.

Suddenly, he grabbed Dai Huarong by the neck, which was inches away from his body, and slammed her to the ground, angrily questioning her.

"Come find me if you want revenge! What are you going to do to my mother? That beast Dai Hao can't even protect the grave of the woman who was with him her whole life?!"

"Uh...ah..."

Dai Huarong's neck was tightly gripped, not a breath of air could get in, his face turned red, his martial spirit lit up, and his two tiger claws forcefully slapped Huo Yuhao's hands.

However, Huo Yuhao's hand was like ancient ice, gripping Dai Huarong tightly, and no matter how hard the tiger's claws were used, they could not move an inch.

Huo Yuhao only let go when he realized that Dai Huarong couldn't answer him while he was holding her like that.

He collapsed to the ground, his face flushed, coughing violently, snot and tears streaming down his face.

Staring at Huo Yuhao with fear, Dai Huarong knew very well that Huo Yuhao truly dared to kill him, and was capable of doing so.

He retreated repeatedly, his voice trembling as he hurriedly spoke.

"It was...it was the Duchess who said it! She said you have to return to the Duke's mansion within seven days, kowtow and admit your mistakes in front of Dai Huabin's grave, and cripple your martial spirit. Otherwise, she'll dig up your mother's grave and expose it to the sun, so that she can never reincarnate and will suffer torment for eternity."