Soul Land: Xiao Yan Reincarnates as Huo Yuhao

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

In a small forest by the main road, a figure darted nimbly between trees. In a flash, a young man in a black robe appeared in front of a large tree, his fist poised mid-air before he struck forward with a powerful blow.

With a resounding thud, the tree trunk splintered as fragments of wood scattered, spider-web cracks spreading outward from the point of impact. The tree groaned and swayed for a moment before toppling over with a heavy crash.

After delivering the punch, Xiao Yan felt as if all the energy had been drained from his body. A sharp, tingling soreness spread through his muscles, and the veins in his arm pulsed visibly—clear signs of overexertion.

Gazing at his reddened fist, Xiao Yan took a sharp breath and chuckled bitterly. "No wonder I had to go through all that endurance training. Without it, I'd be the one breaking, not the tree."

"Eight Extremes Collapse is practically a contest of who has the tougher body."

Just then, a flash of white light appeared, and Yao Lao's figure materialized before Xiao Yan. With a slight smile, Yao Lao nodded approvingly. "Impressive. You're already able to knock down a tree with one punch. With that level of explosive force, even a Soul Elder with three rings would struggle against you one-on-one."

"All thanks to your teaching, Master." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming. "By the way, Master, if we're heading to Shrek Academy, besides needing to reach a spirit power level of fifteen, I heard I'll also need a letter of recommendation from the main cities of one of the three empires. Where are we supposed to get one of those?"

Yao Lao chuckled slyly, "You're worried about that? Simple. On our way to Shrek Academy, we'll stop by any major city. We can just sneak in and forge a letter with the city lord's seal."

"Is that really okay?" Xiao Yan grinned, "You must have done this sort of thing a lot when you were young, right, Master?"

"You cheeky kid! Anyway, I also have something for you to carry. From now on, even while you sleep, you're not allowed to take it off." With a wave of his hand, Yao Lao summoned a massive black object from his ring. It landed on the ground with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

Xiao Yan stared at the enormous black item, roughly as tall as himself, and gulped, "Uh… Master, what is this supposed to be?"

"This is something I found back on the Dou Qi Continent, in an ancient ruin. It's incredibly sturdy and heavy, but more importantly, it has the unique property of suppressing Dou Qi. If you can get used to its weight, when you finally remove it in battle, your true power will shock everyone." Yao Lao stretched, smiling as he explained.

"Also, the Earth-tier Dou Technique I plan to teach you is linked to this item."

"An Earth-tier Dou Technique?!" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up with excitement. Unable to contain himself, he asked, "Master, when will you start teaching me this Earth-tier Dou Technique?"

With a quick step toward him, Yao Lao chided, "Not for a while! You still need to train hard. Earth-tier Dou Techniques are different from Xuan-tier ones; they require a certain level of mastery before you can even begin."

"Come on, let's head to Shrek City."

"I hope you find what you're looking for there, and that the auction houses have something to restore my spirit power. I'm feeling weaker by the day, and it seems like I could slip back into hibernation at any time."

With that, Yao Lao transformed into a wisp of white light and returned to the ring.

…

After leaving Star Dou Forest, Xiao Yan reached a small nearby town, where he briefly rested before hiring the fastest carriage available to head toward Shrek City. Along the way, with Yao Lao's help, he managed to secure a recommendation letter from the lord of a major city—by sneaking into the lord's mansion and forging a letter with his seal, of course.

During the journey, Yao Lao also taught Xiao Yan a second technique: the Flaming Palm!

After several days of travel, Xiao Yan finally saw the enormous silhouette of Shrek City in the distance. Standing atop the carriage, he let out a breath of relief as he gazed at the massive city walls, tinged with a soft, reddish hue under the setting sun.

As the carriage drew closer, Xiao Yan noticed the city walls were built from giant stones, rivaling the capitals of the three great empires. The walls stood at an imposing height of eighty meters, giving the city a sense of majesty and security, with a thickness of over twenty meters.

After paying a tax at the city gates, they were allowed entry.

Emerging from the dark passageway in the wall, Xiao Yan was greeted by a bustling street scene. People crowded the streets, and shops lined either side.

He hopped off the carriage, made a few inquiries, and began heading toward Shrek Academy. Each step he took landed with a heavy thud, raising small clouds of dust.

A closer look would reveal that Xiao Yan was carrying a large, black ruler on his back. Covered with faint, intricate patterns, the ruler's surface was almost completely black, and its length matched his height. Its sheer size drew curious glances from passersby, who often whispered among themselves as they watched him.

"First, go register at Shrek Academy," Yao Lao's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's mind. "After that, if we have time, we can visit the city's auction houses to search for rare treasures that can help restore my spirit power."

"Auction houses?" Xiao Yan was taken aback, "Master, I'm nearly broke. The gold soul coins my mother left me are almost gone."

There was a brief silence before Yao Lao's amused voice responded, "Did you forget what your master does for a living? I'm an alchemist. Alchemy is rare in this world, so we can sell a few low-grade pills and have them treated like treasures."

"Sell a few pills, and we'll be flush with gold."

Xiao Yan paused mid-step, breaking into a grin, "Master, you always think of everything. I guess I'm the one who's been short-sighted."

Following the directions he'd gathered, Xiao Yan made his way through several lengthy streets before finally stopping. Raising his gaze, he took in the sight of a grand and imposing struct

ure before him, eyes narrowing slightly in focus.

"Shrek Academy…"