Soul Land: Xiao Yan Reincarnates as Huo Yuhao

"Shrek Academy!" Xiao Yan murmured softly, glancing around. He noticed that most passersby gazed at the academy with respect and admiration. Meanwhile, a few people directed curious glances toward him as he stood before the academy, staring up at its towering gates with a somewhat dazed expression.

Ignoring the surrounding looks, Xiao Yan reached up to pat the heavy ruler on his back before leisurely walking toward the academy's entrance.

It was the perfect timing—Xiao Yan had arrived just in time for Shrek Academy's enrollment period. After successfully passing the academy's entrance exams and presenting his forged letter of recommendation, he was admitted as a new student.

With the admissions process complete, Xiao Yan patted the massive black ruler on his back, feeling a mix of affection and frustration, before stepping heavily into the academy grounds.

"Xiao Yan! You made it to Shrek Academy? And you passed the exams already?" a voice suddenly called out to him.

Xiao Yan turned to see a tall, well-built young man with striking deep blue hair that gleamed like sapphire in the sunlight. His handsome face carried a laid-back smile, and he wore a dark green school uniform adorned with a small green monster emblem on the left chest—none other than Bei Bei, whom Xiao Yan had met in Star Dou Forest.

"Bei Bei, it's you!" Xiao Yan clasped his hands in greeting with a smile. "Just barely made it through."

Bei Bei walked over and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, his eyebrows slightly furrowed with curiosity. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Xiao Yan, we only parted less than two months ago, but your spirit power has already risen to fifteen? Last time, when you absorbed that ten-year Wind Ape spirit ring, you were only around level ten. How did you advance so quickly?"

Bei Bei had no way of knowing that Xiao Yan's white spirit ring was actually a million-year ring. After absorbing the Sky Iceworm's ring, his spirit power had surged from level ten to fourteen. However, it had only increased by four levels due to the limit of his body's tolerance, roughly equivalent to the power of a 400-year spirit ring.

Combined with the effects of the foundation-enhancing elixir Yao Lao had concocted and his recent physical training, Xiao Yan's spirit power had reached level seventeen in just over a month. With the suppression of the Heavy Ruler on his back, it appeared to be only at level fifteen.

"Honestly, I don't really know what happened. I just kept cultivating, and I got lucky." Xiao Yan smiled and shrugged. "It might have something to do with the elixir my mysterious teacher gave me, which he said would speed up my training."

Bei Bei was momentarily stunned. In his mind, for someone to advance from level ten to fifteen in just over a month, even with a ten-year spirit ring, was nearly impossible—even with an elixir.

Could Xiao Yan be using some kind of forbidden cultivation method? Was he…an evil spirit master?

While Bei Bei pondered this, Xiao Yan interrupted, "Brother Bei, I'm still unfamiliar with the academy. Could you show me around and introduce me to the place?"

"Sure!" Bei Bei, snapping out of his thoughts, nodded. He decided to observe Xiao Yan further over time. Then, he began explaining Shrek Academy's history, from the clash between the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent four thousand years ago to the academy's current division into inner and outer schools.

"Since your spirit is Ling Mou, a spiritual attribute, you'll start in the outer school's control department. If you're interested, you could also take up soul engineering as a secondary focus—just a suggestion." After outlining Shrek Academy's structure, Bei Bei offered his advice.

"Soul engineering?" Xiao Yan asked, frowning slightly in confusion.

Bei Bei explained, "Soul engineering is about crafting soul-guided weapons, or soul tools. These devices harness soul power to function as powerful weapons. The stronger the soul tool, the more potent it becomes, and some can even threaten Titled Douluo."

"Soul tools revolutionized the soul master world. They can transform soul power into various elements like water, fire, or lightning. This way, even a fire-attribute soul master could unleash an ice-based skill."

As they continued into the academy, Xiao Yan noticed several towering statues up ahead, each intricately carved from solid granite. These figures looked almost lifelike.

Bei Bei pointed to the first three statues, explaining, "Xiao Yan, the central figure here is Flander, our founder and first dean. On his left is my ancestor, the renowned Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, celebrated for his contribution to spirit theory and as Tang San's teacher. To his right is Grandmaster's wife, Liu Erlong."

Yu Xiaogang's statue depicted a scholarly middle-aged man with a serious expression, while Liu Erlong was portrayed as a graceful woman.

"'There are no useless spirits, only useless soul masters,'" Xiao Yan murmured, savoring the words. Somehow, he found the phrase strange, though he couldn't quite pinpoint why. After a pause, he asked, "Brother Bei, I heard that Tang San, founder of the Tang Sect, ascended to the Divine Realm. Since the Grandmaster was his teacher, he must have been even stronger than Tang San, right? Did he follow Tang San and become a god as well?"

Bei Bei was momentarily at a loss for words before finally replying with a smile, "The Grandmaster was indeed Tang San's teacher, but his own strength was actually quite limited. His spirit power supposedly never surpassed level thirty. His greatness lies in his knowledge of spirit theory."

"Tang San once said he couldn't have ascended without the Grandmaster's guidance, showing the depth of his respect for him."

"So, did the Grandmaster go with Tang San to the Divine Realm?" Xiao Yan pressed. "After all, he was his teacher, like a father figure. Tang San, as a mighty figure, surely wouldn't have abandoned his teacher after achieving godhood, right?"

Bei Bei was once again at a loss and quickly changed the subject. He introduced the seven statues behind the Golden Iron Triangle, explaining, "These are the original Shrek Seven Devils. Leading them is the White Tiger Douluo, Dai Mubai, ancestor of the White Tiger Duke family. Next is…"

Xiao Yan recognized the White Tiger Douluo, Dai Mubai, having heard a bit about him from his upbringing in the Duke's household.

Bei Bei continued introducing each statue in turn. Behind them stood one final statue of a tall figure draped in a green robe, his gaze cold and piercing—the honorary elder, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

However, Xiao Yan's gaze lingered on the statue of the Thousand Hands Asura, Tang San, as if he felt it watching him back.

Moving on, they approached a fork. Bei Bei pointed left toward the martial spirit division and right toward the soul engineering division. "Since you passed the entrance test, I'll take you to register with the martial spirit division. You can apply for the soul engineering division as a secondary focus after the first assessment."

"Also, Xiao Yan, if you ever face any difficulties, don't hesitate to come to me for help." Bei Bei smiled warmly. "I'll do whatever I can."

"Thanks, Brother Bei." Xiao Yan clasped his hands in gratitude. "I'll reach out if anything comes up."

The academy was abuzz with the arrival of new students. With Bei Bei's guidance, Xiao Yan quickly completed his registration and received his dormitory key and uniform before heading to the dorms alone.

As he approached the dormitory entrance, he noticed an elderly man sitting nearby. Dressed in plain gray clothes, the elder's face was deeply lined with wrinkles, his eyes faint but gleaming. He lay on a bench basking in the sun, a warm glow illuminating his figure.

Just then, Yao Lao's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's mind, "Be careful. This old man is no ordinary person."

Xiao Yan tensed, whispering me

ntally, "Master, is there something unusual about this dorm caretaker?"