So, the next day, Huo Yuhao followed Fan Yu into the Inner Court.
Fan Yu led him directly to Qian Duoduo's office. The vice-dean of the Soul Tool Department had a lot of work to handle, and according to Fan Yu, he was currently in a very important meeting and thus wasn't available.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the office door was pushed open from the outside, and two young men walked in, one after the other.
These two were naturally the other two pre-selected Shrek Seven Monsters, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.
Huo Yuhao had previously speculated that these two were the most likely candidates for this generation's Shrek Seven Monsters, but he truly hadn't expected that they had already been pre-selected by the academy.
This at least indicated that their talent surpassed even Huo Yuhao's older brother, Dai Yueheng, considering Dai Yueheng, as the captain of the previous generation's Shrek Seven Monsters, had not been designated as a pre-selected member by the academy.
Bei Bei was a young man with a refined appearance and a gentle smile, easily leaving a good impression on people.
Xu Sanshi, on the other hand, had his hands in his pockets, looking rather nonchalant. If Qian Duoduo hadn't mentioned it to Huo Yuhao beforehand, he would have found it hard to believe that Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were actually good friends.
Both of them were inherently handsome, and their differing temperaments created a striking visual contrast when they stood together. If they weren't inside an office, many female students would surely have stopped to watch.
While Huo Yuhao was observing the two of them, they were also sizing him up.
When Qian Duoduo had called them over, he hadn't told them why. Therefore, upon seeing Huo Yuhao, numerous conjectures immediately arose in their minds.
Fan Yu gestured to the two of them, indicating for them to sit down, and then began speaking:
"I know you two are wondering right now. I'm not good at formalities, so I'll get straight to the point. This first-year junior is named Huo Yuhao. Following you two, he will become the third pre-selected member of this generation's Shrek Seven Monsters. You will be companions from now on, so I've brought you together to get to know each other beforehand."
Hearing Fan Yu's words, both Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei widened their eyes in surprise. Xu Sanshi exclaimed:
"Teacher, you're not kidding, are you? The first year has only just started for a month, and he's already been designated by the academy as a new Shrek Seven Monster?"
"Of course. I can vouch for his strength and talent with my personal reputation. He reached the level of a Class 3 Soul Engineer right after enrolling. I wonder if you understand what that concept means."
At Fan Yu's words, Xu Sanshi's expression didn't change much, but Bei Bei's look immediately turned serious.
"Is that true?"
Fan Yu nodded heavily.
"Yes, he is a super genius recognized by both vice-deans."
"I see."
Bei Bei let out a long breath, looking as though he had understood something.
Seeing this, Xu Sanshi, who knew nothing about soul tools, couldn't help but ask:
"Bei Bei, what's up? Is that achievement really that amazing? While there aren't many students in our academy with Soul Venerable cultivation upon enrollment, there are some, right? I heard there are as many as three among this year's freshmen."
Bei Bei shook his head and sighed.
"Let me put it this way: as far as I know, he should be the first genius from the Douluo Continent's original three empires to become a Class 3 Soul Engineer at the age of eleven. The kind who is unprecedented."
"...Huh?"
Xu Sanshi couldn't help but open his mouth wide.
He certainly considered himself a genius, but even he would never dare to claim he was unprecedented in any field.
If Huo Yuhao truly possessed such a level, then he certainly had the qualifications to be recognized as a pre-selected Shrek Seven Monster as a first-year freshman.
Bei Bei looked at Huo Yuhao with admiration.
"Little brother Yuhao, may I ask where you studied?"
As a disciple of the Tang Sect, he had also tried to learn about soul tools for Tang Ya's sake, but unfortunately, he had no talent and eventually had to give up.
Therefore, he found it hard to understand how Huo Yuhao managed to become a Class 3 Soul Engineer at such a young age.
Huo Yuhao smiled sheepishly:
"Actually, I'm not as amazing as you two think. Not long before school started, I was just at the level of an ordinary Class 2 Soul Engineer. It's just that the second soul skill I obtained recently has been a huge help in soul tool crafting, allowing me to leap to Class 3 Soul Engineer."
"Even so, that's still incredibly impressive."
Seeing that Huo Yuhao had avoided his question, Bei Bei tactfully didn't press further. He asked seriously:
"Little brother Yuhao, if I may be so bold as to ask, have you heard of the Tang Sect?"
As soon as he heard the word 'Tang Sect', Xu Sanshi beside him immediately wore an expression of speechlessness, as if saying, "Here we go again."
Clearly, Bei Bei's efforts to recruit people for the Tang Sect were already common knowledge.
Huo Yuhao pretended not to know about it and nodded cheerfully.
"Yes, I've heard of it. It's said to be an organization created by Ancestor Tang San ten thousand years ago, which once played a crucial role in the war against the Spirit Hall. Unfortunately, it seems to have gradually declined after the collision of the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent. Why, Senior, are you a member of the Tang Sect?"
"That's right."
Bei Bei clenched his fist and took a deep breath, saying:
"I know this is sudden—could you join our Tang Sect?"
Huo Yuhao frowned and asked:
"This... Senior, what are the benefits of the Tang Sect? What is its current scale?"
Bei Bei quickly replied:
"There are the Six Great Tang Sect Techniques passed down from ten thousand years ago. As for the scale..."
His tone turned bitter.
"Currently, including me, there are only two people."
"..."
The atmosphere in the office instantly became heavy.
What Bei Bei said was truly disheartening.
A sect with only two people, let alone the number one sect on the continent ten thousand years ago, even a small sect found randomly on the roadside would have dozens of times more members than the Tang Sect.
With such conditions, how could they possibly recruit an ultimate soul tool genius like Huo Yuhao?
Bei Bei actually understood this principle, so his question was really just made with the mindset of "no harm in asking."
After a moment of silence, estimating that he had lowered Bei Bei's psychological expectations to a certain degree, Huo Yuhao spoke with a heavy tone:
"I'm sorry, Senior Bei Bei, I cannot join your sect."
"...Mm."
Bei Bei nodded gently.
He wasn't overly sad about being rejected; rather, if Huo Yuhao had agreed immediately, he would have found it strange.
However, Huo Yuhao's next words directly rekindled his hope.
Huo Yuhao said with a smile:
"Although I can't join your sect, if it's just to offer some help as a friend, personally, I have no problem with that."