It was still early, so Huo Yuhao decided to head to the inner courtyard library to do some research.
Although he was now an inner courtyard disciple, he still had to return to the outer courtyard to continue his classes.
But there was no rush to go back just yet. Since he was already here, he might as well make the most of it.
After all, Yan Shaozhe and the others had already informed Du Weilun, Director of the Martial Soul Department in Shrek Academy's outer courtyard, about Huo Yuhao's situation.
With such backing, Huo Yuhao could be said to be "leaning on a big tree to enjoy the shade" in the outer courtyard. Director Du would handle anything for him.
Huo Yuhao's soul power level was not low now, and he was even among the top of his peers.
However, when it came to theoretical knowledge, Huo Yuhao could be considered a complete "slacker."
There was no helping it. Before he started using his "cheat," he had only focused on cultivation, managing to raise his innate soul power from the bottom of the first level to the starting point of genius—level ten—in six years.
Generally, the courses in the outer courtyard included combat skills, soul beast knowledge, soul master theory, martial soul cognition, and more. For Huo Yuhao, the education in Shrek's outer courtyard was not a waste of time.
To become an excellent soul master, one couldn't do without these foundational theories.
Especially when it came to adding soul rings, which directly affected the foundation of a soul master's martial soul.
As the premier academy on the continent for martial soul research, Shrek might not have extensive records on soul tools, but its collection of materials related to martial souls was undoubtedly the richest on the continent.
The inner courtyard library housed tens of thousands of books, with countless volumes on martial souls, soul beasts, and notable figures of the continent.
Many of these books were unique copies, making them incredibly valuable resources. It would be a waste not to take advantage of them.
Although Skydream and the others had reminded him, Huo Yuhao knew that if he wanted to hunt for soul rings alone in the Star Dou Forest, he needed to familiarize himself with records of relevant soul beasts.
The spiritual, space, and time attributes required for his Spirit Eye were all extremely rare.
Without sufficient knowledge, he might not even recognize a suitable soul beast if he encountered one.
This was why Shrek's soul-hunting operations were always conducted in groups, led by experienced teachers.
Arriving at the inner courtyard library, Huo Yuhao was struck by how quiet it was.
The entire first floor was empty.
"Well, this is Shrek for you," Huo Yuhao sighed to himself.
The learning attitude here was... not great.
In truth, the learning atmosphere in the outer courtyard library was quite good.
When Huo Yuhao had visited once before, it had been bustling, similar to the libraries in his previous life. Most of the students there were soul tool researchers, and it was common to see books occupying seats.
But the inner courtyard was a different story.
Soul masters had already learned most of the necessary knowledge in the outer courtyard. If they didn't know something, they could simply ask Shrek's experts directly.
Why waste time in the library?
Compared to the simulated training area and the combat arena, the library was indeed a place that inner courtyard students rarely frequented.
After all, there were only a few hundred students in the entire inner courtyard.
Between daily training and regular missions, inner courtyard students were more focused on improving their soul power and honing their combat skills.
Strength was their foundation.
"For this reason, they prioritize improving their survival rate," Huo Yuhao concluded.
After a quick tour of the first floor, Huo Yuhao slowly made his way up the stairs, intending to visit the restricted section on the second floor to deepen his knowledge.
At the entrance to the second floor, there was a soul tool access control system. Only those with specific permissions could enter the restricted area.
Even ordinary inner courtyard students were limited to the first floor—though they rarely came here anyway.
Last time, due to his status as a freshman, Huo Yuhao hadn't been able to borrow books from the outer courtyard library, even though the soul tool system hadn't outright rejected him.
Later, he had asked Wang Yan to get him library access.
To his surprise, Wang Yan had secured him permission to access the inner courtyard library.
Huo Yuhao took out his student badge.
It was a yellow-green badge with an image of an odd little creature engraved on it—the Shrek monster, symbolizing the academy's motto: "Only monsters are accepted, not ordinary people."
He gently tapped the badge against the access control system.
A crisp, pleasant voice sounded.
"Student Huo Yuhao, you possess red-level reading authority for the inner courtyard library. You are welcome to enter the second-floor restricted section for borrowing and research. Please take care and protect all books in this area."
'Red-level authority?'
If Huo Yuhao remembered correctly, Wang Yan had secured him the next-level black-level authority.
Shrek was indeed generous.
Pushing open the slightly heavy door, Huo Yuhao entered.
To his surprise, a beautiful woman was already seated in a quiet corner by the window.
She sat upright, her posture elegant, holding a heavy book in her hands. Her eyes were gently immersed in the text, and the corners of her mouth curved into a serene smile, as if it could dispel all the worries in the world.
The warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, casting a golden glow on her hair, making her look like a carefully arranged painting—so beautiful that it made one stop and admire.
She didn't look very old, certainly not like a teacher.
She must be one of the inner courtyard seniors, Huo Yuhao speculated.
Before he could think further, the woman spoke first.
"Are you the new junior brother?"
She closed her book and looked at Huo Yuhao, her dark pupils like deep springs, her rosy lips curving into a gentle smile.
"Hello, Senior Sister. My name is Huo Yuhao. I just joined the inner courtyard not long ago."
"So you're Junior Brother Yuhao. Le Xuan mentioned you to me yesterday. I'm Han Ruoruo. You can call me Senior Sister."
"Hello, Senior Sister Han," Huo Yuhao replied naturally.
Han Ruoruo—wasn't she the first controller of the inner courtyard in the original story?
She was part of the older generation of the Shrek Seven Devils, and her martial soul was the Golden Rope.
She was even a little older than Zhang Lexuan, probably around twenty-six, and her current strength had likely reached the level of a seven-ring Soul Saint.
"Mhm," Han Ruoruo nodded with satisfaction.
She and Zhang Lexuan had once represented Shrek in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament and won the championship. The two were very close, almost like best friends.
Last night, Zhang Lexuan had told her that the inner courtyard had specially recruited an eleven-year-old Spirit Grandmaster junior brother and asked Han Ruoruo to look after him in the future.
Han Ruoruo had agreed without hesitation.
As the most knowledgeable student in the inner courtyard, Han Ruoruo's abilities were impressive. She even occasionally served as a guest teacher in the inner courtyard.
Taking care of a junior brother who had just entered the inner courtyard was naturally a piece of cake for her.
But...
"I really didn't expect that you, Junior Brother, would also be interested in the library—and even have the authority to enter the restricted section," Han Ruoruo couldn't help but remark.
…
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