Chapter Six: The Protracted War

"Shrek Academy..."

Huo Yuhao gazed out toward the horizon.

A magnificent city sat nestled within the vast, sprawling plains. The dark, imposing city walls stood tall and resolute, making the scattered woods along their perimeter look like mere weeds and lichen. The walls stretched out to both sides, enclosing an area that shimmered with a faint, golden radiance.

The golden light emanating from the eastern side of the city flickered subtly, like a firefly. Even from several kilometers away, Huo Yuhao could catch a faint scent of the breath of light.

"That is the Golden Tree," Tianmeng explained from within his mind.

"Ten thousand years ago, a human who ascended to godhood transplanted a Golden Tree here. The entire Shrek Academy and this city were built around that very tree, clearing out this plain right at the doorstep of the Star Dou Great Forest."

"The ferocious beasts deep within the forest launched several beast tides because of this, hoping to reclaim their living space and pull out this thorn in their side—Shrek City. But for various reasons, those efforts always fizzled out, leaving them no choice but to let the city continue its endless expansion."

Perhaps because he had spent his life having his energy drained by those very beasts, Tianmeng felt no sense of belonging to the soul beast community, nor did he harbor any deep-seated hatred for humanity.

Thus, when mentioning these past events, his tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. The more he could make those bastards under Di Tian suffer, the happier he was.

"Beast tides?" Huo Yuhao lowered his head in thought, unable to stop himself from frowning. "That must have cost many lives, right? Soul beasts included. Why insist on building the city here at the cost of so many lives? Couldn't they have just moved further back?"

"Because this is a war—a life-or-death, long-drawn-out war." Tianmeng responded with a touch of smugness, showing off his limited knowledge—which he had mostly overheard while eavesdropping on the soul beasts and Di Tian.

"Ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent was filled with countless undeveloped soul beast forests; they even formed a continuous chain outside the imperial capital. Humans, on the other hand, were sparsely distributed across the land, existing mostly as isolated clusters, with cities as nodes and roads as lines."

"Back then, humans were like isolated islands living in an ocean of forests. Although they could briefly dominate the world due to their far superior organizational skills, whenever the kings dwelling within the great forests awoke..."

"Humans would be forced to realize the reality—this was, after all, the world of soul beasts!"

Tianmeng shook his head as he told his story, his tone tinged with regret. "However, that situation was broken forever by the human who ascended ten thousand years ago."

"He built Shrek City right next to Star Dou, using the bonds of mutual interest to unite the continent's top powerhouses and supreme factions, pinning those beast kings firmly in place. Whenever the soul beasts made a move, Shrek could rally the power of the entire continent to resist."

"Since then, humans have developed forests across the land in an organized and planned manner, purging the soul beasts wandering outside the cities. Apart from the few forests kept as 'treasure chests' for soul rings, everything else was wiped out."

"The era of humanity had arrived."

Tianmeng waved his short, stubby hands and bowed as if concluding a performance. "It is obvious that the disorganized soul beast clan lost this war completely."

Now, only a few forests remained on the entire continent that had not yet been conquered by humans, and Di Tian, hiding away in Star Dou, was on the verge of becoming a commander with no troops left to lead.

"A life-or-death war..." Huo Yuhao suddenly noticed a blind spot. "But if the soul beasts all die out, won't humans run out of soul rings? Wouldn't it be more important for long-term prosperity to leave behind more soul beast populations for future generations?"

"Who knows?" Tianmeng shrugged his non-existent shoulders. "How would I know what those humans are thinking? But, precisely because of what you just said, the soul beasts appear to have lost even more miserably."

Even though humans have to consider their descendants and leave behind as many high-year soul beasts as possible, the soul beast side has never launched an effective counter-offensive against humanity. Instead, they have been pushed back step by step, yielding at every turn.

"If things go on like this for another ten thousand years, perhaps even the Beast God Di Tian will end up being kept in captivity by humans," Tianmeng speculated with a dark tone.

"Alright, alright! Why is a human like you so concerned about soul beasts?" Seeing Huo Yuhao still deep in thought, Tianmeng dismissed the topic casually. "You are destined to ascend to heaven and become a god under my guidance. Instead of thinking about these things, you should practice the soul skills I gave you—they are top-tier, you know!"

"Right..." Huo Yuhao nodded, feeling somewhat discouraged.

As Tianmeng said, these profound problems were not things he should be pondering right now. Matters like the survival of a species were far too distant for a first-ring soul master like him.

...

"Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where the Shrek Academy enrollment office is?"

Huo Yuhao wandered around Shrek City, but seeing no signs for academy enrollment, he had to stop a passerby to ask.

"Tsk."

Caught by someone tugging on his sleeve, the old man, who was busy rushing along with a fishing rod on his shoulder, immediately changed his expression.

"This is for your trouble." Huo Yuhao took two fish out of his basket.

"Oh, you child! Why would you need to offer a reward for such a small matter?" The old man beamed. "Shrek Academy is built in the east of the city. If you want to apply, you need to go to the East Gate and ask there. Follow this road out of the city first, then turn north..."

Waving goodbye, Huo Yuhao’s mood visibly improved. "I didn't expect the people in this city to be so warm and kind."

He had assumed that in a place so gilded and magnificent, the residents would be sharp-tongued and stingy, perhaps even looking down on a poor kid dressed like a beggar.

It was quite unexpected.

What would the teachers and students of Shrek Academy be like? Would they be as united and supportive of one another as his mother had described before she passed?

A glimmer of anticipation flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes.

In his short eleven years of life, he had only met three people who were truly kind to him: his mother, an older sister whose name he didn't know, and Tianmeng, who resided in his head...

Regardless of anything else, the soul ring and soul skills Tianmeng had given him were genuine, and the spiritual sea he had opened up was real as well. Even if this silkworm had some hidden agenda, Huo Yuhao would accept this kindness.

"Tianmeng."

"Call me 'Big Brother'," Tianmeng replied instantly.

"..."

Huo Yuhao thought about it seriously, then nodded heavily. "Indeed, I'll count you as half a big brother for now."

"What do you mean, 'half'?" Tianmeng was stunned, feeling that the boy was being inexplicable.

"Thank you. But I can only thank you for half of it," Huo Yuhao said, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"Hey! I bestowed upon you four soul skills, and this is the attitude I get? You little ingrate!"

Tianmeng immediately began to protest.

Besides, this kid wouldn't even call him "Big Brother"!

And when questioned, the boy would just mumble something about "already having a big sister"...

He was simply an ingrate!