Huo Yuhao from The Peerless Tang Sect is incredibly talented.

Standing on the podium, after everyone had entered the virtual realm, Mu Jin tapped the chalk three times on the dark green board.

"Okay, quiet down."

The chattering classroom gradually quieted down.

After all, the significance of the Golden Tree is still too far removed from the lives of these kids who don't even have a fourth ring road to live in.

Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En was browsing books uploaded by the Body Sect via the internet.

Books such as "The Three Treasures of the Human Body: Essence, Qi, and Spirit," "Detailed Explanation of the Human Body's Meridians," and "Records of Herbs" suddenly and unexpectedly introduced the Golden Tree's mission.

Moon felt a headache coming on. When Bebe returned, she brought back a folk song—

The eternal throne in the heavens welcomed its master, and the world was renewed. Then the Emperor, that one, began to wage war against the masters of the old world—three great mountains and seven terrifying gods. Those terrifying gods were the ancient gods from ten thousand years ago. The primordial one created his own luminous shadow. And the number of shadows was four, three.

The initial version announcement was not wasted; it was used by that extraordinary wisdom as a folk rhyme and prophecy, and spread among the people of Tiandou City.

After Beibei finished speaking that day, Mu En felt that the god of Tiandou City had a lot of opinions about his seven gods.

Now, it's clear that the unknown god is going to take action against the golden tree left behind by the seven gods.

Fortunately, they are only gathering intelligence so far and haven't taken any direct action yet. But it's still giving Moon a major headache.

I'm just an old man on the verge of death, and somehow I've run into the enemy forces of my own ancestor. Sea God, please save me!

Mu En just felt that the Sea God was unreliable. After all, what had become of the Tang Sect? The Haotian Sect had secluded itself from the world, doing nothing and caring about nothing.

But as the head of the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En could not remain uninvolved.

"Xuanzi, convene a meeting of the Sea God Pavilion."

"At the same time, have the outer academy strengthen the screening of new students entering the country. Pay attention to people coming from Tiandou City."

He added the last sentence after a moment's hesitation.

"You've all mastered the basic operations," Mu Jin tossed the chalk into the chalk box, dusted off her hands, and said, "Go back and figure out the specific usage of the Virtual Realm after class."

"Also, let me get to something more important."

Mu Jin's gaze swept across the entire class.

"The freshman competition starts next month. Students will be grouped into teams of three, organized by class. Submit your group lists to me by today."

The classroom erupted in chaos.

"Three people per group?" A boy sitting in the front row immediately turned to his roommate next to him, "Shall we pull one more?"

What is the format of the Freshman Competition? Is it an elimination tournament or a points-based system?

"Okay, listen to the teacher!"

Mu Jin was clearly used to this kind of scene and wasn't in a hurry. After everyone had finished discussing, she slowly added, "The group assignments are due before school ends today. Late submissions will not be accepted, and those who haven't submitted will be randomly assigned by me."

Randomly assigned.

These three words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the classroom, and it fell silent instantly.

Random team assignments mean you might be paired with complete strangers, or even one of the two worst performers in the class. Nobody wants to leave their fate to luck.

After everyone quieted down, Mu Jin added another sentence.

"A new rule has been added to this year's freshman competition: the use of soul tools is permitted, but the soul tools used must be reported to the Soul Tool Department and assembled by the user under the department's supervision, with all materials provided by the user."

Huo Yuhao was sitting by the window, preparing to pull Xiao Xiao in so that she could team up with him and Wang Dong.

But Xiao Xiao had already arrived at Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao's side first.

"Excuse me, are you also a member of the mutual aid society?"

The moment Xiao Xiao logged into the virtual realm, besides the regular class group, she also found herself in a Shrek Aid Society group. To her surprise, she discovered that there were two classmates in the group.

After all, Wang Dong's appearance as a woman disguised as a man was quite striking, which also drew attention to Huo Yuhao, who was beside her. Many girls tried to take a roundabout approach, hoping to get in touch with Wang Dong through Huo Yuhao.

Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao was very busy. Besides selling food during mealtimes, he also had to attend classes in the Soul Guidance Department, so the girls couldn't connect with him at all.

All members in the mutual aid group are verified with their real names.

"How about we form a group of three?" Xiao Xiao said to Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, "After all, we're all from the mutual aid society."

"Okay." Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Great!" Xiao Xiao immediately made a victory sign under the table—finally, she could legitimately team up with Wang Dong.

Wang Dong simply hummed in response, as if the matter had little to do with him.

I trust you to get things done if you don't smile.

This was the experience Wang Dong had gained over the past few days. The two of them set up a food stall together at the school gate, with Wang Dong doing the hard work and Huo Buxiao giving her a lot of pointers on physical skills.

"I'll go first!" Xiao Xiao raised her hand, as if she were answering a question first. "My name is Xiao Xiao, and my martial soul is the Nine Phoenixes' Auspicious Arrival Flute and the Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. I'm a second-ring control type."

After saying that, Xiao Xiao blushed and glanced at Wang Dong.

Huo Yuhao, standing to the side, shook his head, thinking to himself: Silly girl, read more books, otherwise you won't be able to tell the difference between men and women.

Wang Dong leaned back in his chair and said in a nonchalant tone, "Wang Dong. Martial Soul: Goddess of Light Butterfly, Three-Ring Power Attack Soul Master." He then fell silent.

Xiao Xiao waited for a long time, but when she realized that he really didn't intend to continue, she had no choice but to turn her gaze to Huo Yuhao.

"Huo Buxiao, Martial Soul Ice Silkworm, first ring."

After Huo Yuhao finished introducing himself, Xiao Xiao seemed to suddenly remember something and looked at Wang Dong again.

"By the way, Wang Dong, I didn't understand much about the virtual realm during class just now. Could you explain it to me? Teacher Mu Jin's explanation was too general."

Wang Dong didn't say anything, but silently turned his head and pretended to be pitiful to Huo Yuhao.

She bit her lower lip, slowly turning her face towards him, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with tears as she looked at Huo Yuhao, her eyelashes still damp with the embarrassment from earlier. She didn't speak, just looked at Huo Yuhao with such a pitiful expression.

In her interactions with Huo Yuhao over the past few days, Wang Dong discovered that as long as she acted pitiful, Huo Yuhao would answer any questions she had.

Huo Yuhao looked helpless. Wang Dong, oh Wang Dong, there's just no way to deal with you.

"The matter of the virtual realm cannot be fully explained in a few words. Let's go to the training ground first, and talk as we walk."

The three of them left the classroom, and Huo Yuhao led the other two toward the playground.

"Xiao Xiao, log into the virtual realm and open the shop," Huo Yuhao said.

Xiao Xiao logged into the virtual realm as instructed by Huo Yuhao.

She only felt a slight suction coming from inside her body, and then the login was successful.

Since the virtual realm did not cover the entire Douluo Continent, non-Tian Dou City users need soul power to log in to the virtual realm.

"Sacred coins aren't easy to earn," Huo Yuhao said. "Handing over soul power isn't a pleasant experience. You give it a try."

Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, but still placed her hand on the store's redemption interface.

A wisp of soul power flowed slowly through her meridians. The process was not painful, but there was an indescribable feeling of fatigue—like the soreness that comes from the bone marrow after running five kilometers.

"That's enough, stop." Huo Yuhao called out to her in time.

Xiao Xiao withdrew her hand, her face slightly pale. Looking at the 0.3 Holy Coins increase in the balance on the light screen, her lips moved.

"Just 0.3 pieces?"

Xiao Xiao finally understood what Huo Yuhao meant when he said it was hard to earn money.

"Items purchased from the Virtual Realm Shop are directly transferred to you," Huo Yuhao continued calmly. "You can then refine them directly. Members of the Mutual Aid Association get discounts on purchases—all three of us do."

"In addition, members of the Mutual Aid Association can enter the Virtual Realm Great World for free. The monsters there can directly enhance soul power and spiritual power. However, the energy produced by monsters of different attributes can only be absorbed by soul masters of the corresponding attributes."

"What if the attributes are wrong?" Xiao Xiao asked.

"It can be handed over to the Void Realm for refinement, but the refining process is very costly. If you hand over ten portions, you'll only get three at most. If you directly absorb the wrong attributes, it will waste several days of hard training for someone else, which is like eating shit."

"A 30% conversion rate," Wang Dong calculated and commented, "What a loss."

"So before you go into the Great World, check the map according to your own attributes. The Mutual Aid Association's database has monster distribution maps, and the Heaven Dou City official website also has shared information." Huo Yuhao paused here, his gaze falling on Xiao Xiao, "One last piece of advice..."

Huo Yuhao glanced at the soul power fluctuation value displayed on Xiao Xiao's login device through the backend.

"Your physical strength is too weak right now. Given the growth rate of your twin martial souls' soul power, you wouldn't be able to go if your physical strength were good."

Xiao Xiao's expression changed slightly.

"Go back to the Void Realm, search for basic physical training in the Mutual Aid Association section, and choose a body tempering program suitable for twin martial souls." Huo Yuhao's tone wasn't like advice, but more like a doctor's order. "The body is the container for all soul power. Don't forget the fate of the first twin martial soul in history."

"There was too much soul power, and it exploded with a bang," Wang Dong added from the side.

Xiao Xiao's face turned pale; she was clearly terrified.

"But you're only in the Second Ring Road, you still have time."

Xiao Xiao pulled out her notebook and quickly jotted down the keywords she had just heard. Her eyes, which usually held a hint of naivety, now showed a rare seriousness.

"Alright, that's enough about the Void Realm. We're at the training ground now; it's time to work on our physical fitness."

A section of the training field was cleared. After Mu Jin's class ended, most of the freshmen returned to their dormitories or went to the cafeteria, leaving only a few people scattered around the training field.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Xiao Xiao spoke first: "Let's go for a run."

Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao remained unmoved, only staring at her with strange looks.

"What...what's wrong? Why aren't you moving?"

Huo Yuhao spoke up: "Xiao Xiao."

"Um?"

How do you usually train your physical fitness?

"Going for a run?"

How many times a week do you train?

Xiao Xiao stopped what she was doing and gave a slightly guilty smile: "As for the control system... we mainly train soul power and control, so we don't really train physical fitness much."

"How little?"

"Hmm, running once a week?"

"Training alone is too inefficient. As you grow older, your physical strength growth will slow down, and if your physical strength growth is lower than your soul power growth, there will be problems."

"Then how do you train?"

"Just follow us for today." Huo Yuhao said, and started leading the two of them on a slow jog to warm up. As they ran, he corrected Xiao Xiao's breathing rhythm. "After we finish running, I'll teach you a set of gymnastics moves. When you get back, go to the Void Realm to check out the body-refining movements. Come find me tomorrow, and I'll give you some pointers. You have too many problems with your cultivation right now. Your physical body is weak, and your soul power is also weak."

How can I entrust the nation's destiny to you in the future?

Huo Yuhao couldn't help but think to himself.

Xiao Xiao ran behind, panting, but felt inexplicably at ease. These two, one handsome and the other expressionless, were surprisingly reliable.

By the time I finished running, it was already getting dark.

Huo Yuhao wiped his sweat and looked at the sky: "I should go set up my stall."

"Set up a stall?" Xiao Xiao blinked in confusion.

"He sells food at the school gate," Wang Dong answered for Huo Yuhao, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "His family isn't well-off, so he has to earn his own money."

Xiao Xiao opened her mouth, several thoughts clashing in her mind for a while, finally settling into a strange idea—she tilted her head and looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, her expression suddenly becoming somewhat subtle.

You two are getting a little too close. Ever since Wang Dong joined the class, and I've been paying attention to you two, apart from Huo Buxiao going to the Soul Guidance Department for private classes, when have you ever been apart?

Then Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao went to sell food at the school gate together.

On the way to the school gate, Wang Dong suddenly spoke up: "Hey, Bu Xiao, do you know a lot about the virtual realm?"

"A little bit."

"When I logged onto the network today, the virtual world said I was the 999th login user. I don't remember exactly, but I do remember it gave me something—the Flawed Butterfly template. What is that?"

Huo Yuhao paused slightly as he walked. It was so subtle that Wang Dong almost didn't notice.

"A template is similar to a kind of imitation magic," Huo Yuhao's voice sounded no different from usual, "It's one of the special products of the Void Realm. The more you overlap with the elements of a template character, the more you can bring out the template character's abilities."

"What kind of character is Xia Die, and what are her abilities?"

Huo Yuhao did not answer immediately, but instead spoke slowly as if recalling something.

"Log in to the virtual realm and read it yourself in the book 'Written as I Am' in the book 'Travels Through the Myriad Realms: Onpharos Chapter'."

Wang Dong was taken aback.

Huo Yuhao's tone was clearly calm, as calm as if he were casually reciting a list of books. But Wang Dong sensed something was off.

The sadness in his voice was heavy and profound, as if it had risen from the deepest depths. Those few words lingered in the air, even causing Wang Dong, walking beside him, to feel a sudden, inexplicable pang of heartache.

This feeling is so awful.

Wang Dong opened his mouth as if to ask something, but ultimately remained silent.

As night fell, the two closed their food stall. They sold a few leftover dishes at half price to a group of senior students from the Soul Guidance Department who had just finished their special training.

That evening, Wang Dong returned to his dormitory and began his cultivation practice as usual.

She opened her eyes in the sea of ​​spirit.

Beneath her feet lay endless shards of mirror, each reflecting her face—her face from different angles, her face with different expressions.

But no one had a happy, joyful smile on their face.

The fragments filled the entire field of vision, stretching into the depths of darkness, as if someone had smashed a giant mirror from the sky into countless pieces.

Wang Dong felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Everyone's sea of ​​spirit is different, as Mu Jin had mentioned in class. Perhaps this was just how her sea of ​​spirit was.

Hi, how are you?

A voice suddenly appeared.

Wang Dong suddenly turned around.

There was nothing behind me. Only more shards of mirror, and countless reflections of myself turning around within those shards.

"It's here."

The sound came from below.

Wang Dong lowered his head.

Her reflection was smiling at her in the shards of mirror beneath her feet.

The person in the mirror didn't match Wang Dong at all.

"Nice to meet you."

The reflection tilted its head, its movement a beat faster than Wang Dong's own reaction.

"I am……"