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Watching Ye Wen fall into a deep sleep, Huo Yu'er, though now free, no longer had the fiery determination she'd shown earlier. Her gaze was dark and foreboding, exuding an unsettling aura.
Gradually, Huo Yu'er began to laugh—a low, bitter chuckle.
As the saying goes, swallowing one's anger only makes it fester, and stepping back only amplifies feelings of loss. After fifteen years of painstaking cultivation, her "fruit" was finally ripe for harvest—but someone else swooped in at the last moment and snatched it away! How could Huo Yu'er possibly endure such humiliation?
But losing the first bite wasn't the end of the world. Huo Yu'er refused to let herself be completely excluded from the experience!
At this moment, Huo Yu'er slowly climbed onto Ye Wen's bed.
However, it was clear that Ye Wen was utterly spent, incapable of further action. But this posed no challenge for Huo Yu'er. Inhaling the scent that was both similar to hers yet distinctly different, she wrapped herself around Ye Wen like a coiled python, marking him with her own fragrance.
That night, the first half saw Ye Wen immersed in a world of tenderness, while the second half left him tossing and turning in restless slumber.
Ye Wen's combat prowess wasn't actually that weak. Having mastered his fifth soul skill—Creation Power—he could have used life force to strengthen himself and retaliate against Huo Yu'er at any time. However, seeing how assertive Huo Yu'er was—and knowing it was her first time—Ye Wen didn't want to push her too hard. He resigned himself to the fact that he'd lost the first round.
What Ye Wen hadn't expected was just how astonishingly powerful this seemingly delicate girl could be. Logically speaking, with his cultivation far surpassing hers, he should have been able to dominate the situation. Yet, in the end, Ye Wen was completely drained, collapsing without a single drop of energy left.
It was absurd! This felt less like fighting a frail maiden and more like wrestling with a seductive snake intent on draining him dry!
But losing was losing, and Ye Wen wasn't someone with an overly competitive nature. Still, when he woke up the next morning, he couldn't help but wonder: if she had already drained him completely, why did Huo Yu'er keep tormenting him through the night? Was she really that insatiable?
Feeling a bit irritable from lack of sleep, Ye Wen thought to himself, 'If you showed no mercy, don't blame me for retaliating. Today, I'll definitely reclaim my dignity!'
At that moment, Huo Yu'er was cradling Ye Wen tightly in her arms, treating him like a body pillow. Watching her drooling slightly in her sleep, Ye Wen felt both amused and exasperated.
"All right, little sleepyhead, it's morning. You were so energetic last night—how come you're out like a light now?" Ye Wen teased gently.
Seeing Huo Yu'er's adorable expression bathed in the soft morning light, Ye Wen's irritation melted away. Though she had been ferocious as a wolf or tiger the previous night, wasn't that just her way of showing love?
Considering that she was a Body Soul Master, her fierce combat prowess wasn't entirely unexpected either.
Thus, Ye Wen generously forgave Huo Yu'er. However, he resolved to reclaim his pride later that night.
Huo Laoshi (Teacher Huo), who had spent the entire night ensuring that Ye Wen wouldn't be covered in her scent, ended up drenched in sweat, her body limp and exhausted. She eventually passed out from sheer fatigue.
Had Ye Wen known the truth, he would have surely muttered sarcastically, 'After all that, all you managed to do was leave your scent all over me?'
Huo Yu'er gradually awoke, her eyes meeting Ye Wen's handsome face. For a brief moment, she was lost in thought, then blushed furiously, pulling the blanket over herself to hide.
Ye Wen chuckled softly. After everything they'd done, she was suddenly shy? Still, considering that she had likely mustered all her courage to act the way she did the previous night, Ye Wen forgave her. He tucked the blanket around her snugly before heading out to fetch breakfast.
Halfway there, Ye Wen paused, sensing something odd. If his memory served him correctly, Huo Yu'er had been wearing a sultry purple outfit last night, but what he'd seen earlier seemed different.
However, he quickly dismissed the thought. Perhaps Huo Yu'er had found the outfit uncomfortable to sleep in and changed midway through the night. Given how deeply he'd slept, it was understandable that he wouldn't remember.
When Ye Wen returned to his room, Huo Yu'er was already fully dressed.
Perhaps because their final barrier had been broken the night before, Ye Wen's attitude toward Huo Yu'er became increasingly affectionate and casual.
Huo Yu'er didn't find this strange at all. After all, she had seen and done everything she was supposed to—and even some things she wasn't. It was too late to feel embarrassed now.
And so, breakfast concluded in a warm and intimate atmosphere.
As usual, Huo Yu'er went to train with Huo Rui, while Ye Wen, finding himself alone, finally let out a sigh of relief. His expression turned peculiar as he placed a hand on his lower back.
"This is strange. In both my lifetimes, I've always been disciplined and restrained when it comes to desires. So why am I experiencing symptoms of kidney deficiency? Could it be… that I'm not capable in that department? To be completely drained after just one night?"
Gradually, Ye Wen's eyes hardened with resolve. As a man, you could call him short, poor, or ugly, and he wouldn't bat an eye. But if you questioned his abilities in that area, you were trampling on his dignity as a man!
Though the saying goes, "Only oxen die from exhaustion; fields never break," Ye Wen refused to believe it!
Ah! This cursed sense of competition!
After securing the doors and windows, Ye Wen opened a set of blueprints he had previously designed.
In fact, Ye Wen had long entertained a hypothesis about the cultivation of ultimate-attribute martial souls. Why, in the Douluo Continent thousands of years later, was Shrek Academy the only institution capable of teaching these soul masters?
Anyone familiar with the Douluo series knows that Shrek's teaching methods are absolute garbage!
This holds true for every iteration of the Douluo Continent.
After all, the Douluo Continent is a world where cultivation depends solely on aptitude. If you have talent, you can reach a certain level of strength. Guidance from a master helps, but even self-taught individuals can achieve great heights due to the simplicity of the overall cultivation system.
Take Shrek's admission criteria, for example. As long as the students aren't complete failures, they're practically guaranteed to reach the Soul Sage level.
But what does Shrek's current curriculum offer?
For battle-oriented soul masters like Dai Mubai, Ye Wen only saw them being sent off to compete in tournaments or assist during hunts. There isn't even a proper simulated cultivation environment. While such environments have minimal impact on advanced practitioners, they're excellent accelerators for beginners. Thus, Shrek's teaching doesn't just hold students back—it's utterly useless.
After all, if soul masters want to compete, they can do so on their own.
As for auxiliary soul masters like Oscar, the situation is even more laughable.
Running? Where can't soul masters run? Do they really need to pay hundreds of gold spirit coins to train in this shabby village?
Moreover, is reaching rank 30 at age fourteen really something to boast about for an auxiliary soul master? Ning Rongrong, the youngest among them, was two years younger than Oscar but had already reached rank 26 by that age.
So, whether it's for battle-oriented or auxiliary soul masters, Shrek's teaching methods are nothing but garbage!
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