Book 16: The Great Star Dou Forest
Chapter 137: Re-entering the Great Star Dou Forest!
Wang Dong thought for a moment, then said, “We should avoid hunting and killing soul beasts like Yuhao said. We’ll only hunt what we need. However, it’s another story altogether if we encounter hostile attacks.”
Huo Yuhao smiled. He didn’t know what kind of soul ring he was going to get for his third one, but he wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t be able to find a soul beast suitable for himself. What kind of soul beast would be able to escape the Skydream Iceworm’s gaze?
This was his second expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest. However, his mood was entirely different from the first time he’d entered, when he’d been full of negative emotions.
He’d left the Duke’s Mansion over a year ago and ventured into the Great Star Dou Forest by himself. He’d been determined to give his life to succeed, and had been ready to die inside of the Great Star Dou Forest if he didn’t find a soul ring for himself; he’d been prepared to fertilize the plants
inside. The only two emotions in his heart back then had been extreme resolution and a desire for revenge.
His mentality was completely different now. Even though it had only been a year and half, he felt like an eternity had passed. Both his personal abilities and his mindset had undergone drastic transformations.
His miraculous encounters had begun the day that he’d met Skydream, at which point his destiny had been completely changed. During his two months of closed-door cultivation, Huo Yuhao had reminisced on his experiences and the vagaries of his life over the past year-and-a-half, and had used the word “fortunate” to sum up his life.
He was fortunate to have met Skydream, and was also fortunate to have met Teacher Xiao Ya and his eldest senior brother. He was fortunate to be part of Shrek Academy, and to have met his many exemplary teachers and excellent partners. He’d probably experience more over the past year-and-a-half than the ten plus years before combined. It had only been a year-and-a-half, and he wasn’t even thirteen years of age, yet he had a conspicuous feeling that he’d somehow matured.
“Don’t worry, mother. I will forge a life for myself. I’ll accomplish your most cherished desire; the one that you never voiced, and the one that I know you’d rather die than forget about.”
Huo Yuhao’s eyes were filled with deep longing and nostalgic sentiments when he thought about his mother. If she were alive to witness his accomplishments today, how happy would she be? Huo Yuhao’s eyes started to turn red as such thoughts spun around in his head.
Xiao Xiao didn’t notice much, but Wang Dong was sensitive enough to notice the changes in Huo Yuhao’s emotions. He knew much more about what Huo Yuhao had experienced than Xiao Xiao did, and could vaguely guess what Huo Yuhao was thinking. He reached out and gently grasped Huo Yuhao’s hand.
Huo Yuhao turned towards Wang Dong, who flashed a faint smile at him. There was no pity in his eyes, only encouragement.
Huo Yuhao responded with a smile. The tacit understanding and chemistry between them meant that they could
understand each other’s thoughts without voicing them.
“Hey you two, that’s enough. I’m clearly the only girl here; could you guys not make me feel like I’m third-wheeling?”
Huo Yuhao didn’t even react to her comment, but Wang Dong’s face immediately flushed red as he turned to glare at her. “What, do you like him? Why do I remember that I’m the one you like? Have you fallen for someone else already? Eh, the hearts of women…”
Xiao Xiao’s face blushed as she scoffed and replied, “Stop it. The two of you are extraordinary; there are several girls in our grade who like the two of you. Can you still even count the number of girls who’ve discreetly slipped pieces of paper into your hands? Yet what’re you doing? You immediately head back to the dormitory after school if you aren’t selling fried fish with Yuhao. Everybody says that you don’t even know what the word ‘like’ means. As for Yuhao, he’s simply obsessed with training; I’ve never seen him interested in anything besides cultivating. The two of you otherworldly beings could’ve been a match made in heaven, but it’s a pity that the two of you are male.”
Huo Yuhao rubbed his nose and forced a laugh. “Obsessed with training? Am I that insane? So that’s what people think about me.”
Xiao Xiao snickered and said, “You didn’t know that, did you? The person that we talk about the most in our grade isn’t our handsome Wang Dong—it’s you. There’s a saying about the underdogs’ vengeance. I still remember that your soul power was one of the weakest when you first entered the academy. But afterwards? Over the course of a year and a half, you’ve managed to become Class 1’s class monitor, and defeat Dai Huabin, who also happens to be a top-tier fighter. I don’t even have to ask anyone to know that you’re the most powerful individual in Year 2, especially considering the fact that we destroyed Class 2 in that contest. You’ve consolidated your status as the outer courtyard’s number-one star. Our classmates are all saying that you’re the embodiment of how perseverance and determination leads to success, and our classmates have become especially hardworking in their cultivation. There might not be not be many three-ringed students in our grade right now, but don’t worry. My guess is that at least ten people from our class, or that even half of our entire class, will become Soul Elders by the time we graduate from Year 2. And all of this is because of you.”
Huo Yuhao was stupefied when he heard this, and his mouth hung agape. “Seriously?! You were with us in the competition for a long time; how do you know so much?”
Xiao Xiao smiled teasingly and said, “The two of you are always living in your own worlds, and never really interact with the others. Meanwhile, I have several good friends—I heard about this from Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. The two of them look like they’re head over heels for you.”
Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, “Seems like I’m quite the popular guy.”
Xiao Xiao giggled. “You’re popular indeed, but your affinity for love isn’t as good as the guy next to you. Even though the two of them admire your abilities, they actually like Wang Dong. They also asked me to probe Wang Dong on his thoughts before we left.”
Wang Dong put his hands behind his back and cast his gaze toward the far horizon. His gaze was as if he’d transcended life
—as if the academy was all about him even though he wasn’t
there. However, he really looked like he needed a beating to Huo Yuhao, thus he immediately violently broke his bubble.
“You dare to hit me, Huo Yuhao? Don’t you run!”
“Haha!”
The three of them proceeded forwards as they continued to laugh and joke around. Gradually, the Great Star Dou Forest’s outer regions appeared before them.
Vestiges of the endlessly dense forest could be seen in the distance, and Huo Yuhao saw the wooden warning sign that he’d seen once before.
He wasn’t as afraid the first time around because he’d been ignorant. However, he’d almost met his end at the hands of a mere ten year soul beast, and immediately felt a stifling feeling when the Great Star Dou Forest drifted into view. He subconsciously stopped in his tracks.
Huo Yuhao’s relaxed expression became a lot more solemn, and Wang Dong couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, “Don’t you guys feel that the Great Star Dou Forest is enigmatic and unfathomable?”
Xiao Xiao frowned and replied, “I don’t. Maybe you learned a painful lesson the first time you were here, and now you have a psychological barrier.”
Wang Dong pondered momentarily, then said, “I do, but only a little, and it’s not obvious. Your Spirit Eyes are spiritual-type, and your perception is superior to ours. The Great Star Dou Forest is the number-one habitat for the Continent’s soul beasts, so it’s normal to feel stifled. Who knows how many powerful soul beasts are hidden inside? If soul beasts weren’t necessary for a soul master’s cultivation, this enormous forest would’ve been cleared out by the empires, as it’s located on a large flat plain, and takes up a lot of space.”
An expression of disbelief appeared on Xiao Xiao’s face. “The empires could take down the entire Great Star Dou Forest? There are so many powerful soul beasts inside!”
Wang Dong answered, “Of course, though it couldn’t be done instantly. What if several sovereignties formed an alliance?
They could start with the outer regions and whittle down the dense vegetation. This would gradually affect the ecological balance, and in turn would eventually grind down the soul beasts’ power inside of the Great Star Dou Forest. Humans wouldn’t need that many years to make the Great Star Dou Forest a part of history with our intelligence.”
Huo Yuhao tilted his head a little and said, “The existence of soul masters and the inability for soul beasts’ to get older quickly will become a serious conflict in the future.”
Wang Dong nodded and continued, “That’s what I’m worried about. How can there be soul masters if soul beasts go extinct?”
Huo Yuhao shook his head. “No. Soul beasts might not be unified, but they’ll always retaliate when they’re faced with death and annihilation. Who knows—it’s possible that the soul beasts will fight back one day, and that humans will face a great calamity.”
Wang Dong replied, “That possibility is gradually diminishing as we further develop and advance our knowledge of soul tools.”
Huo Yuhao said, “Let’s hope that the equilibrium isn’t destabilized. It’s fortunate that the number of soul masters has always been maintained at a reasonable level, and that many soul masters have also begun to pay attention and stop killing soul beasts for no reason. From now on, the two of you need to stay within five feet of me, and need to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. My Spiritual Detection Sharing will be activated for a prolonged period of time. We’ll have to keep our guard up at all times while we’re inside, and we can only roam about ten kilometers into the forest, give or take; we can’t venture too deep. We also need to leave the Great Star Dou Forest every night and sleep outside. Please remind me if I’m not following these rules—safety always comes first.”
“Yes.” Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao acknowledged at the same time. Huo Yuhao’s importance as group leader was put on full display in these sorts of situations.
Huo Yuhao allowed Xiao Xiao to position herself in the center, while both he and Wang Dong stood respectively to her left and right behind her. The three of them maintained this small triangular formation as they finally arrived at the dense and thick Great Star Dou Forest.
The air all around was full of vitality, and was full of moisture. As they walked into the forest, and immediately felt as if their bodies were being nourished by some unique force.
Huo Yuhao immediately activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing, which he could perfectly maintain at two hundred meters in diameter with his current cultivation level. Physical images immediately surfaced in their minds. Everything was as detailed as could be, the only exception being that it was colorless
Several weak soul beasts were watching them discreetly from somewhere nearby. They seemed afraid as the three of them approached, and none of them approached them.
Huo Yuhao smiled. He’d devised many plans and schemes targeted at their movement through the Great Star Dou Forest while they’d been travelling over the past two days.
Huo Yuhao released a low roar, and a concentrated fire-red radiance emanated from his body immediately afterwards. A powerful aura then expanded outwards, and the low-level soul beasts that were secretly observing them instantly scattered in all directions, frightened and terrified.
Huo Yuhao had copied the aura of a thousand year Flame Lion using the power of Imitation. Seeing as most of the soul beasts in the outskirts of the forest were ten year soul beasts, the fearsome aura of a thousand year soul beast left them terrified. This saved the group a lot of time as they ventured deeper into the outer regions of the forest.
Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing and Imitation were two soul skills that could be considered miraculous tools for expeditions. The three were able to move onwards for about an hour unimpeded with the combined effects of these soul skills.
Huo Yuhao activated his Imitation from time to time, releasing a thousand year Flame Lion’s aura. There was a deeper meaning to his actions: The soul rings they were
looking for needed to be at least a thousand years old. Of course, only those with at least three thousand years of cultivation were considered suitable. The Flame Lion was considered a powerful thousand year soul beast with incredible offensive capabilities, thus the soul beasts that were afraid of it weren’t suitable targets. Soul beasts that weren’t afraid, on the other hand, were likely to be close in cultivation to what they
needed.
Wang Dong said, “Take a break, Huo Yuhao.”
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had been fairly relaxed throughout the entire journey, seeing as all they’d had to do was follow Huo Yuhao. Contrarily, Huo Yuhao had had to activate two of his soul skills repeatedly, which had consumed a considerable amount of his energy.
Huo Yuhao knew that he had to maintain his peak condition at all times, thus he immediately nodded.
They found a vantage point on a hill and stopped to rest.
“We’ll rest here.” Huo Yuhao said, and signaled for Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to take a break.
Wang Dong came to his side and pressed on Huo Yuhao’s shoulder with his left hand. Their Haodong power instantly fused, and radiant light energy flowed from Wang Dong’s body. The dense vegetation around them almost seemed to exude an aura of euphoria when it felt the aura coming from them.
Circle after circle of golden light poured forth from Wang Dong’s body, pulsed from his shoulder, then traveled down his arm and into Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao glanced at him in shock when he felt his exhaustion being immediately dispelled as the thick light aura enveloped his body, and his soul power being filled with a vigorous liveliness. With the support of their Haodong power, the ten percent of his soul power that he had consumed earlier recuperated in about ten breaths of time.
Wang Dong sounded a little proud. “This is the true essence of my Golden Light spirit bone. I’ve decided to call this true essence ‘Omnipresence’; it’s extremely useful for offence, defense, soul power recovery, or even treating others. My
Golden Light Left Arm Bone can rival even a hundred thousand year soul bone’s effects. The more I learn about its Golden Light skill, the more profound it seems. It’s able to accomplish many things with the power of light.”
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “Are you trying to make me want to cultivate with you more? It seems like our cultivation speed can be even further increased.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Wang Dong replied, “earlier you said that once you break through to Rank 30, your cultivation speed would plummet because of your Ultimate martial soul, right?”
Huo Yuhao grinned and said, “Who knows? We can’t be certain.” He wasn’t an ordinary soul master with an Ultimate martial soul; the Ice Empress’ former power was still present in his body, constantly refining it. This was in addition to the Life Gold’s effects, which made Huo Yuhao confident that his cultivation speed wouldn’t be affected too much by his Ultimate martial soul if it even was.
“Eh?” Huo Yuhao froze and he immediately shifted his attention without using Imitation.
“Be careful,” Huo Yuhao remarked, then stepped forward, his hands turning white.
A tangible ripple of soul power had appeared within Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing’s area of effect, which was also reflected in Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s minds. This obscure silhouette seemed to have already discovered them, and was bounding towards them at a breakneck speed.
Light flickered in the distance as a green shadow soundlessly appeared atop a tree branch roughly thirty meters away. A wild cat with a small frame came into view; its fur was greenish- black, while its eyes were purplish-red and gleamed with hostility. Its fur had a pattern similar to that of a tiger’s, while the hues of the fur were unbalanced.
It was only two feet long, but a considerable amount killing intent weighed down on the three of them.
Only soul beasts could survive inside of the Great Star Dou Forest. One could tell from its speed and aura that it was at least a thousand year soul beast.
Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and said, “That’s a Deviltiger Cat. Seeing as its fur is greenish-black, its must have around two thousand years worth of cultivation at the very least. A Deviltiger Cat’s fur will turn completely black and show lustrous green glimmering patterns once it reaches ten thousand years worth of cultivation.”
The knowledge he’d obtained in the academy was put to good use. Huo Yuhao’s quick explanation also helped Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong recall the soul beast.
Shrek Academy taught them about soul beasts in four of their classes per week. The Deviltiger Cat wasn’t considered exotic, thus they’d heard of it from their classes before.
If the Deviltiger Cat were to be described from a soul master’s perspective, it would be seen as an agility-type soul beast with high lethality.
“I’m afraid we can’t avoid this battle. Remember not to kill it,” Huo Yuhao reminded everyone with a whisper. As they hadn’t encountered a thousand year soul beast so far, he didn’t expect to be able to scare this Deviltiger Cat away very easily. Because there were hundred thousand year soul beasts with
strong territorial instincts lurking in the depths of Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao couldn’t use his hundred thousand year soul beast’s aura, lest he run the risk of attracting a real one to him. Elder Xuan had previously reminded him that he should only do so as a last resort.
The Deviltiger Cat pounced forward like a green lightning bolt the moment that Huo Yuhao had finished speaking. Its target wasn’t Huo Yuhao, who was in front, but rather Wang Dong at his side.
The “Devil” in the Deviltiger Cat’s name was because it was both wind-type and darkness-type, which in turn was the reason for its ferocious nature and formidable strength.
Its front claws sprung out, while its greenish-black fur exuded a glow that wasn’t all that brilliant, but lightly shimmered. It lunged through the air, somehow managing to switch directions, avoiding Huo Yuhao as it flew straight towards Wang Dong. Wang Dong was a light-type soul master, and it really hated the light attribute.
Small wings protruded from its ribs. However, they were extremely narrow, which meant that it couldn’t fly.
Maneuvering itself in mid-air however, was still very possible.
Wang Dong had already unleashed his Radiant Butterfly Goddess by this point. He didn’t evade the Deviltiger Cat’s lunging strike. Instead, he swiftly moved his hands in front of his chest while his wings sparkled with an intense golden light as he activated his second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
A black cauldron suddenly appeared about three meters away from Wang Dong and blocked the Deviltiger Cat’s assault. The Deviltiger Cat was exceedingly agile however, and tapped the surface of the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with one claw, intending to leap over it and continue towards Wang Dong. However, the cauldron trembled violently the moment it did so.
The Deviltiger Cat’s body was momentarily hindered by the vigorous shaking beneath it which, while it wouldn’t hurt the Deviltiger Cat, would certainly slow it down. The moment it was slowed, a streak of purplish-golden light flashed through the sky and struck it, causing the Deviltiger Cat to scream in agony and lose control of its body as it continued to glide through the sky.
Huo Yuhao had employed his Spiritual Shock with the utmost efficiency. Because his ever-growing spiritual power— when channeled through his Spiritual Shock—had a highly synergistic effect with his Purple Demon Eyes, the end result was much more powerful than Huo Yuhao had expected.
The Deviltiger Cat plummeted towards the ground. Some of Wang Dong’s Light of the Butterfly Goddess struck the cat’s body and detonated, while the rest flew over Xiao Xiao’s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and exploded when it hit the ground.
“Mmph.” The Deviltiger Cat crashed into the ground, black burns present where Wang Dong’s Light of the Butterfly Goddess had struck it. When Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection on the Deviltiger Cat, he was surprised to find that the Deviltiger Cat’s blood essence and soul power were in a chaotic mess; the cat was effectively incapacitated.
“What happened?” Xiao Xiao glanced at Huo Yuhao doubtfully.
Huo Yuhao was also astonished. “The Deviltiger Cat seems to have fainted from my Spiritual Shock. Take a look—its body is
still seizing.”
He walked forward once he’d finished speaking and flipped the unconscious Deviltiger Cat over.
The Deviltiger Cat’s appearance was a little peculiar; its body was still seizing, and there specks of dark green blood were trickling from its nose. Its eyed had rolled back into its head, and it was completely unconscious.
Wang Dong was taken aback. “Since when did your Spiritual Shock become so powerful?”
Huo Yuhao shrugged and replied, “I have no idea. If I’d known it was, I would’ve used it right from the get-go and saved us some trouble.”
He immediately connected the large boost in his Spiritual Shock’s power to the growth of his spiritual power. His abilities were always improving, while his cultivation level had constantly grown as well. However, the growth of his spiritual power was much more prominent than the growth of his soul power.
His spiritual sea had been transformed several times, and a second consciousness had been established between his eyebrows once he’d fused with the Life Gold. The fact that the three powerful entities residing within his spiritual sea could no longer directly control his body showed the great progress his spiritual power had made, and was also further indicative of his growth.
The Skydream Iceworm was more than happy that Huo Yuhao had become stronger. He’d been discreetly opening his seal throughout the expansion of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea and during the consolidation process, and had also been constantly fusing his sealed origin power with Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power.
Huo Yuhao could only increase his cultivation bit by bit, and had to gradually grow accustomed to his origin power. However, Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power had experienced rapid progress due to a long period of accumulation. This was especially so during his recent closed-door cultivation, where he’d consistently been enlightened, causing his spiritual level to skyrocket. His spiritual sea was now ten times larger than that of most Soul Elders; even Soul Kings couldn’t rival him in terms of pure spiritual power—and this was excluding his second one.
The four powerful soul skills that Skydream had bestowed upon Huo Yuhao with his first soul ring had been greatly boosted as well, and now both soul rings on his Spirit Eyes had transcended five thousand years in power.
His spirit-type martial soul directly complemented his spiritual power, and he also had a million year soul beast—the Skydream Iceworm—constantly refining it. Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power had therefore reached a relatively astounding level. However, one’s spiritual power had more growth limitations than soul power, thus advancing would become
harder and harder as time passed. Despite this, if Huo Yuhao managed to completely absorb the Skydream Iceworm’s million years’ worth of spiritual power one day, he’d become the number one individual in the world in terms of pure spiritual power.
“What do we do now?” Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao with a shocked look.
Huo Yuhao answered, “The Deviltiger Cat’s injuries aren’t severe, its spirit just took a powerful hit. He’ll recover after a while. Let’s just put it on the tree it launched itself from and keep moving; we’ll just avoid it.”
He grabbed the Deviltiger Cat’s pudgy body once he’d finished speaking, then climbed up the big tree that they were resting beside and placed him on a branch that was relatively high up.
Thousand year soul beasts’ recovery abilities were relatively formidable, and Huo Yuhao could feel that the disorganized and scattered soul power inside the Deviltiger Cat was beginning to congregate and stabilize.
He came down from the tree and immediately departed with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, and the three of them ventured deeper into the Great Star Dou Forest.
“We’ve traveled about ten kilometers, Yuhao.” Wang Dong whispered to Huo Yuhao in front of him after about fifteen minutes of walking.
“Alright. We’ll proceed along the outer regions from now on.”
The Great Star Dou Forest was vast. Most of the soul beasts that were gathered within ten kilometers of the forest’s outer regions were mostly ten year and hundred year soul beasts. Besides the thousand year Deviltiger Cat that they had just encountered, they weren’t met with any other ambushes in the subsequent two hours. They did come across several thousand year soul beasts, but they were mild and had gentle temperaments. These soul beasts weren’t the kind to actively attack others, and they weren’t what the three of them needed either.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the sky. It was almost evening. “Let’s go back and rest outside the forest. We’ll stop here today.
Xiao Xiao couldn’t resign herself to fate. “It’s still early—the sky hasn’t turned dark yet.”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, “The forest trails aren’t easy to walk. We can’t move too fast either, as we have to maintain the Spiritual Detection’s area of effect, so it’s better if we go back slightly earlier. We can always come back at dawn. Have you already forgotten what I said? We can’t be hasty and impulsive, we have to place our safety before everything.”
“Alright.” Xiao Xiao immediately nodded her head.
They were still young, and their cultivation levels were at a bottleneck. It was natural that they desired another soul ring to boost their abilities, and even Huo Yuhao thought the same way. The only difference was that he was comparatively more patient.
They discerned the right direction and began walking out of the Great Star Dou Forest.
They traveled for about fifteen minutes before Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Dong knew that Huo Yuhao’s abrupt halt hadn’t been for no reason. However, his Spiritual Detection’s area of effect didn’t show anything threatening.
Huo Yuhao’s squinted and said, “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that someone’s watching us—someone dangerous.”
Xiao Xiao giggled and said, “You mean that they’re watching us from over a hundred meters away? With so many plants here, how could he even see us? Maybe you’re feeling our teacher’s aura.”
Even though the three of them hadn’t brought it up, everyone knew that Elder Xuan was definitely following them in the shadows to ensure their safety.
“No, it’s not. This is hostile.” Huo Yuhao spun around, grabbed Wang Dong’s hand this time and immediately stepped in front of Xiao Xiao.
“Meow…” A sharp and shrill sound rang loud, and patches of thick vegetation around them rustled as if a sudden gust of wind had billowed past them.
A powerful and intimidating aura immediately appeared in the next moment, and this intimidating pressure was also charged with the sharpness of metal.
Huo Yuhao raised his Spiritual Detection to the highest possible level in the blink of an eye. The area of effect that was originally one hundred meters instantly expanded to more than three hundred meters. He knew that doing so would greatly consume his soul power, but he also knew that an extra hundred meters of Spiritual Detection could possibly save their lives.
A shadowy figure appeared soundlessly about one hundred meters in front of them. Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection’s area of effect was three hundred meters in length and one hundred and fifty meters out to either side, but he didn’t feel much when this figure surged fifty meters within his range, and neither was he able to capture its movement – this speed was simply too frightening.
Huo Yuhao’s expression changed a little from the immense pressure, and the golden hues in his pupils grew more intense. The sky was starting to dim now that it was sunset, thus his concentration was raised to a maximum.
It was a Deviltiger Cat that was more than a meter long. Emerald-green patterns glowed faintly on the surface of its black fur, its blood-red eyes were filled with acute hostility, and its entire body emanated ferocity. There were subtle and plain greenish-black lights rippling within three meters of its body. There was also a Deviltiger Cat with purplish-red eyes and greenish-black fur on its back – wasn’t this the one they had just taken down earlier?
Xiao Xiao mumbled, “We hurt the small one and attracted the old one. Looks like sometimes we just can’t be merciful!”
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s expressions had also become serious. They didn’t expect to run into such peril on their first day inside the Great Star Dou Forest, but they had brought this menace upon themselves with their benevolence!
This Deviltiger Cat that was over a meter long was clearly a ten thousand year soul beast. Its fur flickered with a layer of
flowing emerald-green light, and one could tell that it wasn’t a soul beast that had just entered ten thousand years.
This was their first time encountering a ten thousand year soul beast; how could they not be nervous? The lightning speed that this Deviltiger Cat had just displayed was far superior to that of a normal agility-type Soul King.
Soul beasts were vastly different from soul masters; their visceral capabilities probably trumped those of soul masters, while soul masters held an advantage in intelligence and mutable battle tactics.
This ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was the greatest danger they had ever encountered in their lives. This wasn’t a competition – it was a battle to the death.
This ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat wasn’t hasty to attack. Its blood-red eyes were charged with a terrifying aura, and its black vertical pupils contracted from time to time. According to Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection, the Deviltiger Cat’s vigorous aura could erupt with explosive power at any time, and they probably wouldn’t be able to defend themselves against this force.
Huo Yuhao murmured, “Seems like our opinions were a little wrong,”
Wang Dong said nothing, but pressed his lips tightly together.
These kinds of situations brought out their qualities as Shrek Academy’s core disciples. The three of them didn’t relax because Elder Xuan was protecting them from the shadows; the only solution they had to deal with this Deviltiger Cat was to rely on their own abilities.
“Meow!” The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s shrill roar rang out again and it began to move.
Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection had the right precognition.
This time, he was the Deviltiger Cat’s target of choice.
This ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was just too fast—it was almost too fast for the naked eye to follow. It left behind an after-image when it sprung forwards, even though its body
was clearly pouncing through the air, which only dissipated once it had arrived in front of Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao didn’t retreat. Xiao Xiao was behind him, and Wang Dong was beside him. He was their team leader; he couldn’t simply retreat. Furthermore, even if he did, how could he match his opponent’s speed?
Wang Dong stepped behind Huo Yuhao at the same moment that the Deviltiger Cat launched its attack, and the two of them moved together as if they were a single entity. The center of Huo Yuhao’s left hand curved inwards, while he pushed his right hand outwards, both of which were completely covered in a layer of compact ice as he used the Ice Empress’ Pincers.
“Hoot…” The Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute was extremely useful at this point. When the note from the flute rang out, even though the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was only slowed for a moment, it still gave Huo Yuhao another moment to adapt.
“Clang—” A series of sparks was created, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were thrown sideways. The Radiant Butterfly
Goddess’ wings opened when this happened so that the two of them didn’t slam into a tree.
The Deviltiger Cat’s body twisted the moment it clashed against Huo Yuhao, and was flung sideways and spun around as if it had lost its center of gravity, negating its fatal claw.
Huo Yuhao felt a wave of numbness in his arms. His palms throbbed painfully as if they were being torn apart, and a deep white gash appeared on the ice pearls that the Ice Empress’ Pincer had given him. Even though he had successfully defended himself against the Deviltiger Cat’s assault, his shirt was torn at his chest. One could only imagine how sharp the Deviltiger Cat’s attack was.
However, he couldn’t be bothered with his trembling and sore palms that had been amplified by the Ice Empress’ Pincer and the Mysterious Jade Hands. He hurriedly exclaimed, “Watch out, Xiao Xiao!”
The two of them were flung aside, and that meant the Deviltiger Cat was now closest to Xiao Xiao.
The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat landed on all fours. It didn’t make a sound, as if it were cotton flowers fluttering to the ground, before its body launched explosively in the next moment. It was still going after Huo Yuhao, but it would definitely cross Xiao Xiao’s path. It swiped horizontally with its right claw, and a dark green light light slashed right toward Xiao Xiao.
Other two-ringed soul masters would have been slashed in half if they faced the Deviltiger Cat’s tremendously quick attacks; it just didn’t seem like anything else was possible. Two-ringed soul masters attempting to defend against a ten thousand year soul beast’s onslaught – wasn’t that just foolish?
Chapter 138: The Strong Eat the Weak, the Law of the Jungle
Xiao Xiao, however, wasn’t a normal two-ringed soul master, as her cultivation had already reached Rank 30. More importantly, she had the experience of participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, in addition to the consolidation during her previous closed-door cultivation. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing was also supporting her.
She had already begun to retreat the moment the Deviltiger Cat pounced forward. She was a Tang Sect disciple, and she knew how to use the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. She constantly changed directions as she flew backwards swiftly while the Spiritual Detection determined the light blade’s position the moment it was unleashed. Her body arched like a bow as she flew backwards and narrowly evaded the light blade.
A series of crackling sounds could be heard wherever the light blade crossed, and a great many plants met their ends.
Xiao Xiao broke out into a cold sweat even though she managed to dodge this attack. Fortunately, she wasn’t the Deviltiger Cat’s target, as she wouldn’t have avoided its attack so easily otherwise.
At this moment, the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat had arrived before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
Purplish-golden radiance flickered once more as brilliant light flames poured out from Huo Yuhao’s eyes. The Deviltiger Cat’s blood-red pupils also sparkled once following this shining outburst. It was apparent that it was aware of Huo Yuhao’s formidable spiritual-type abilities from its child, and it wanted to use its own spiritual power to fight against Huo Yuhao.
However, the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat soon realized its mistake, as Huo Yuhao’s target of choice was something else.
The thousand year Deviltiger Cat that was lying prostrate on the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s back was overflowing with murderous hostility, and lying eagerly in wait. “Tch –” Its hide suddenly crackled like a melon being smashed open, and blood instantly poured out from the seven apertures of its
head. The blood trickled down and flowed all over the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s body.
Huo Yuhao didn’t show a single ounce of mercy this time. The thousand year Deviltiger Cat had already taken a hit from his Spiritual Shock before this, and its spiritual sea was already severely damaged. It had no preparation at all, and when took another all-out strike from Huo Yuhao, its brain directly turned to mush.
This was the law of the jungle – if my enemy wants to kill me, I have to kill my enemy first. There was only cold light in Huo Yuhao’s eyes.
It hadn’t been long since they had faced the thousand year Deviltiger Cat, and then the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat caught up with them shortly afterwards. However, his opinions had transformed drastically, because he realized that the peril they were mired in was because of their tenderheartedness. Those that weren’t of the same species surely thought differently, and these were soul beasts, after all. This was an unchangeable fact.
The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was shocked by the thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s death. It roared into the sky as it subconsciously turned back towards the thousand year Deviltiger Cat on its back. It had ultimately been alive for ten thousand years, and its innate ability allowed it to turn its body
in midair at a time like this as it temporarily avoided Huo Yuhao.
However, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong made a move at this moment. Vigorous blue, purple and golden light sparkled on their bodies – The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence.
They were guided by the Spiritual Detection Sharing, and the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was also momentarily disoriented. This attack was aimed at a location that the Deviltiger Cat was bound to cross.
The brilliant Golden Road lit up a few hundred meters around them, and slammed directly against the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat, which was immediately transformed into a golden sculpture, and plummeted downwards with its forward momentum.
This was the first time they had used the Golden Road used against a soul beast, and its effects startled both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
A cat’s shadow seemed to depart from the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s body as it crashed against the ground, motionless. The shadow quickly lunged towards the body on the ground.
“This is…” Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged a look, and they both felt a little dumbfounded. This shadow surged into the Deviltiger Cat’s body within these two seconds, and the golden color on its body swiftly receded before it leapt to its feet once again.
The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat seemed a little wretched at this point. The Golden Road carried immense light power, and many charcoal-black spots had appeared all over its fur from the corruption, while its powerful aura was also greatly diminished. It tossed its head from side to side, as if it were struggling against something. The thousand year Deviltiger Cat dropped to the ground by its side, and a purple thousand year soul ring gradually took form.
It was apparent that the Golden Road had a different effect on soul beasts than on soul masters. Huo Yuhao had chosen this martial soul fusion skill because of the Golden Road’s ability to control his opponent. However, the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat exceeded his expectations in the end. It was
moving too fast, and it flew out far away with its forward momentum despite taking a direct hit from the Golden Road. It was too far out of range for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to chain their onslaught, while what happened afterwards bewildered them.
The ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat was just vigorously shaking its head. It only recovered after a few seconds, and it immediately glanced towards the thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s corpse beside it. It roared furiously into the sky, and its blood-red eyes felt as if they were actually dripping with blood while it pounced towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong once more. However, its speed was clearly a little slower than before.
The Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute chimed continuously as it worked its slowing effect on the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn’t be bothered about what exactly had happened with the changes that had just occurred to this soul beast, as they had to focus all their
attention on this air of hostility that was charging towards them.
The Deviltiger Cat’s fur suddenly turned emerald-green, and a green radiance immediately expanded outwards. This expansion wasn’t forceful, and only reached about a foot from it, but it appeared as if the Deviltiger Cat’s entire body was also expanding. It was initially a little more than a meter long, but as its entire sparkled with green light, it grew to the point where it was now more than two meters long. It also looked burlier than before, as if it were an actual fearsome tiger. Even the purring sounds from its mouth became more like a tiger’s roar.
The immense pressure made Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong feel a little suffocated, and the enormous gap in their cultivations was apparent at this moment. This Deviltiger Cat was similar in power to a Soul King after all, and its abilities were possibly also superior to those of a Soul King.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had retreated quickly while the Deviltiger Cat was vigorously tossing its head from side to side. Circle after circle of golden light emanated from Wang Dong’s left arm, and both of them appeared to sparkle with golden luster.
Haodong power amplified the Golden Light Left Arm Bone’s soul skill, Golden Light, as the soul skill swiftly took effect, and the soul power they had consumed to power their martial soul fusion skill was restored with dazzling speed.
Huo Yuhao raised his left hand and fired a beam of light at the Deviltiger Cat that was lunging towards him. He was pretty much locked onto his target with the Spiritual Detection Sharing, and this beam was the soul paralysis ray.
The soul paralysis ray’s light accurately landed on the Deviltiger Cat’s body, or it could be said that the Deviltiger Cat willingly collided against this beam. The dense green light around its body flickered, and the soul paralysis ray was actually diverted away from the green light that was protecting its body. The emerald-green hues burst violently, and the Deviltiger Cat’s speed exploded once more as it arrived before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in a flash.
A sphere of light that was a foot in diameter rose into the sky. Huo Yuhao shifted behind Wang Dong and grabbed onto Wang Dong’s shoulders with both hands as they used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track at the same time. They moved with
blinding speed as the Deviltiger Cat smashed against that sphere of light.
Uncountable rays of light surged in an instant, completely enveloping the Deviltiger Cat’s body within them. However, the Deviltiger Cat had unleashed its origin skill, and it was truly fearsome. The golden rays of light seemed to dissipate immediately as they rushed into the layer of emerald-green radiance that was protecting its body. The Deviltiger Cat’s body had been impeded in midair, and it couldn’t continue its assault, but this moment only lasted about the time needed for two breaths. The rays of light were all dispelled, but the protective radiance on the Deviltiger Cat’s body appeared to have thinned a little.
The Deviltiger Cat’s soul skill was similar to Dai Yueheng’s White Tiger’s Shield, except this was just its first soul skill, and it boosted its attack, defense and speed. Wang Dong’s Butterfly Goddess Slash was formidable, but he couldn’t gain an advantage at all against the Deviltiger Cat.
However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong changed their tactics once more with this moment’s worth of hindrance to the Deviltiger Cat.
Huo Yuhao was still standing behind Wang Dong as he channeled Haodong power into Wang dong’s body. Wang Dong raised his right arm and pointed his index finger at the Deviltiger Cat, while his entire right arm began to glow.
This was different from the circles displayed by his left arm’s Golden Light. The radiance from his right arm was a concentration of sharp energies.
Wang Dong’s right arm pressed against the root of his left arm, and his left arm began to flicker with signs of Golden Light. Two powerful soul bone skills were activated at the same time, and they boosted one another.
He hadn’t used the Golden Light when he had attacked with the Butterfly Goddess Slash because he was acutely aware that the Butterfly Goddess Slash worked on a single target, but it wasn’t concentrated into a single point. The attack that he was unleashing at this moment was his most powerful strike.
“Together, Yuhao!”
Wang Dong exclaimed as a sharp radiance drilled out from his right index finger. This beam was about three inches long, and its tip was pointed, while its root was thick like a finger. The Golden Light’s hues were sparkling with lightning speed.
Right before the Butterfly Goddess Slash was completely dispelled, the golden drill surged forth with lightning speed – and it went straight for the Deviltiger Cat’s forehead.
Yes, Wang Dong’s Broken Devil of Light Right Arm Bone had provided him this soul skill. Wang Dong named it the Broken Devil of Light because he was lazy, and it instantly concentrated the power of light into a single point and launched an attack. It looked like a drill because Wang Dong’s cultivation wasn’t high enough, but it could become as thin as a needle as he became stronger, to the point where it would eventually become a thread of light.
Wang Dong’s cultivation transcended that of a Soul Ancestor with the Haodong power, and this was in addition to the support from his Golden Light. His light power was extremely effective against the dark-type ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat.
The Deviltiger Cat moved as well when Wang Dong attacked. It had cultivated for ten thousand years, and it was also extremely sensitive towards danger. It expanded its protective layer of green light at the first possible moment as it attempted to evade this strike. However, Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock arrived right at this moment.
The purplish-golden light was fired out from over the top of Wang Dong’s left shoulder. The Deviltiger Cat’s cultivation was impressive, but its spiritual power still couldn’t compare to Huo Yuhao’s. It grunted once as the purplish-golden beam flickered, and it looked as if the shadow that had been forced out of its body by the Golden Road from before glimmered above its head once again, except it returned to its body instantly this time.
However, this was enough, and the Deviltiger Cat’s evasive movement was never completed.
“Tch –”
The Broken Devil of Light drilled ruthlessly into the emerald- green radiance. Wang Dong’s most powerful strike was met with an immense defensive force as the emerald-green radiance started to seethe like a layer of boiling oil. The green light congregated at the point where the Deviltiger Cat was
being struck, as it no longer maintained its original protective form, and the Deviltiger Cat’s body also plummeted to the ground.
The Broken Devil of Light gradually pierced deeper, while the Deviltiger Cat’s layer of emerald light became more vigorous. The green radiance was slowly diminishing, but the Golden Light that was infused into the Broken Devil of Light was also gradually withering away.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong couldn’t help but be awed at the Deviltiger Cat’s powerful soul skill even though it was their opponent. This soul skill amplified its own body, and it could even concentrate its powers when faced with a penetrative attack that was focused onto a single point. The Deviltiger Cat looked like it was having a rough time, and it wasn’t able to anything else, but at least it managed to avoid the Broken Devil of Light boring through its brain!
Three pitch-black cauldrons appeared beside the Deviltiger Cat at this crucial moment. Ear-splitting chiming sounds accompanied vigorous ripples as they assaulted the Deviltiger Cat’s body – Xiao Xiao gave no quarter.
Huo Yuhao switched positions with Wang Dong after his attack. His golden pupils immediately became emerald-green, and the temperature of the air plunged with him at the very center. His body began to emanate a subtle aura of desolation.
Emerald-green light shimmered from his bones. This time, it extended to his left arm, and every single inch of that green color congregated towards his chest. Terrifying Ultimate power erupted at this very moment.
The Deviltiger Cat was tied down as it defended itself against the lethal power of the Broken Devil of Light. The protective layer of green light dimmed from the Cauldron’s Quaking Tremble’s effects, and the Broken Devil of Light drilled inwards with increasing speed. This was his best chance at dealing a final blow.
The Heavenly Emperor’s Hammer was the optimal choice. However, martial soul fusion skills could only be used once
within three days, and today was only their first day inside the Great Star Dou Forest. It was better to conserve their martial soul fusion skills if they could help it. Therefore, Huo Yuhao opted for another of his powerful soul skills. This was a soul skill that he could barely handle after breaking through to
Rank 30 during his closed-door cultivation.
An emerald-green pillar of light discharged from his chest. The air all around the beam appeared to solidify wherever it touched, to the point where a white ice pillar glimmered in the space behind the green light pillar before it crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. This was because the air in the forest was relatively moist and humid, but that extreme coldness was the more substantial reason!
It was also green in color, but it was a different type of energy. The radiance that had resisted the Broken Devil of Light finally crumbled as the emerald beam of light smashed against it. The Broken Devil of Light was left with about thirty percent of its power, and it pierced right through the protective layer. The Deviltiger Cat could only tilt its head to the side so that its forehead didn’t take the brunt of the attack. However, the Broken Devil of Light drilled right through. A layer of golden light immediately appeared on its head, and these golden hues continued creeping down its entire body.
However, this ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat didn’t scream in agony at all – its body had been completely frozen.
Ice Empress’ Wrath, Huo Yuhao’s most powerful soul skill. This was one of the two powerful soul skills that came with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s bones.
It had appeared once during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and it now appeared once more. Still, it consumed the rest of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s soul power. If he were the only one using it, and if he activated it when he was at his peak condition, he would have consumed at least ninety percent of his soul power.
The power of the Ice Empress’ Wrath was terrifying, and the Deviltiger Cat had been completely frozen into a statue. Chilly air emanated from its body, and every single plant within ten meters of the ice statue transformed into a patch of ice. The scene was rather spectacular, as transparent ice crystals permeated the entire area.
Xiao Xiao withdrew her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron and shivered. “It’s so cold! Your Ultimate Ice is so frightening, Yuhao.”
Huo Yuaho and Wang Dong sat down on the ground, exhausted. It seemed as if they won the battle without suffering any conspicuous losses, but they had actually given everything they had.
The Golden Road was used, Wang Dong’s most powerful soul skill, the Broken Devil of Light, was used along with his Golden Light, and Huo Yuhao activated the Ice Empress’ Wrath as well as the Ice Empress’ Pincer. This was already excluding his Spiritual Detection Sharing and his Spiritual Shock.
They were one of Shrek Academy’s most talented groups, and they barely squeezed out a win after giving everything they had. Furthermore, the Deviltiger Cat that was frozen like a statue wasn’t dead yet. However, its blood had been frozen, and it was almost impossible for it to break out of its solid ice prison that resembled the Manifold Mysterious Ice.
If something didn’t melt the ice from the outside within an hour, it would eventually lose its life.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong glanced at each other. They weren’t elated after defeating the Deviltiger Cat, and their
brows were tightly furrowed instead. Huo Yuhao said, “Seems like our original decision was wrong. This world follows the law of the jungle, and mercy will bring even more dangers and perils.”
Wang Dong’s spirit was even more affected, and he nodded his head lightly but said nothing.
Huo Yuhao grasped his shoulder and said, “Don’t be dejected. How would we have known that such a thing would happen if we didn’t try? This is probably an important experience in the process of growing up.”
Wang Dong snapped his head around and replied, “Did you think about what happened to it when it took a direct hit from our Golden Road?” His left arm’s Golden Light began to work its magic as he spoke, and triggered the remaining Haodong power within their bodies to recuperate their soul power.
Huo Yuhao nodded his head faintly. “I thought of something. My Spiritual Detection blanketed the entire battlefield. When the shadow appeared above the Deviltiger Cat’s head, I could feel that it had completely lost control of its body, or that it had lost consciousness. We aren’t able to hit soul beasts directly
with the Golden Road, but it seems like we can strip them of their spirit. This is the reason why it took several seconds to recuperate after the shadow returned to its body, but it was clear that it had been weakened. It was also conspicuously slower, and that’s why it unleashed its most powerful soul skill
to fight us till the end.”
Wang Dong eyed him with an astonished look. “If your guess is correct, I wonder what would have happened if we had attacked its spirit after it appeared?”
Huo Yuhao’s body shuddered, and his eyes sparkled with vigorous colors. He slapped himself on the thigh and exclaimed excitedly, “Yes! Why didn’t I think of that? If we attacked its spirit when it appeared, we could have blown it into smithereens, and it would have become like a zombie. Any living being, as long as it doesn’t practice spiritual skills, will become extremely weak when their spirits leave their body. Even if we can’t directly destroy its spirit, it will also severely affect its fighting strength once the spirit returns to its body. Your eyes are clearer, Wang Dong.”
Wang Dong shot him a cold look as he listened to Huo Yuhao’s enthusiastic analysis. “Take your hand off of my thigh.”
“Uh…” Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that he hadn’t slapped his own thigh in his fit of excitement – no wonder he didn’t feel any pain at all. He laughed sheepishly and said, “Sorry, sorry, that was accidental. We have to try that once we can use the Golden Road again. Others lack the ability to target spirits, but we don’t. It’s a pity that the Golden Road can only be activated in a linear direction. If it can have a large area of effect like the Spiritual Tempest, and we combine these two soul skills together – heh.”
Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, “Quit dreaming. How can we have everything that’s good in the world? Our soul skills are strong enough. However, our cultivation is the limiting factor. If we don’t have enough soul power to maintain ourselves, what use are our skills if we can’t use them? Quickly restore your soul power, and we should leave this place before it becomes completely dark.”
Xiao Xiao’s consumption of soul power was the smallest, so she naturally took up the responsibility of protecting everyone. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong immediately began to cultivate beside the ice statue to restore their soul power.
Huo Yuhao was not worried about the Deviltiger Cat suddenly escaping from its ice prison. Without someone outside melting it, the Deviltiger Cat had no hope of breaking out after it had been frozen in ice. There was nothing it could do after it was frozen unless it used its soul power to resist Huo Yuhao’s attack from the beginning.
Wang Dong obtained a greater understanding of his Golden Light than before. Their recovery process was greatly boosted with the Golden Light, and they recovered about thirty to forty percent of their soul power in the blink of an eye.
Elder Xuan was casually drinking wine atop a thick branch about five hundred meters away from where they were, and a sphere of golden light soundlessly entered his body at this moment.
This was the Star Dou Forest. Elder Xuan was going all-out to protect the three of them. The tragedy that had occurred before served as a warning to him. He had the strength to follow the three of them, but his power was beneath the ground. That’s why Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection couldn’t detect him.
Elder Xuan was also stunned when discovered the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. This Deviltiger Cat’s cultivation was nothing to him, but it was able to kill Huo Yuhao and the other two, who were only around Rank 30 on average.
But Elder Xuan wouldn’t make his move so easily, having taught in Shrek Academy for years. He wanted to see how the three of them would react when their lives were in danger. He didn’t want them to be complacent just because they had protection.
The three of them had displayed astonishing strength. Elder Xuan only expected the three of them to resist the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat’s assault for some time. But who
knew that they would take the Deviltiger Cat down successfully, and even capture it alive.
Elder Xuan hadn’t expected such an ending. It was also his first time realizing that the three of them couldn’t be judged based on their current cultivation. Even Elder Xuan was slightly shocked by the aura of desolation when Huo Yuhao used the Ice Empress’ Wrath.
“One makes the greatest improvement in a life and death situation. The three of them are good. I shall let them experience what the laws of the jungle are in this Star Dou Forest. Their luck seems to be really good!”
As Elder Xuan muttered to himself, a ball of yellow light started to rise from his body.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s soul power was restored faster and faster. From their depleted state, it only took 15 minutes before they reached 50% of their soul power. Huo Yuhao opened his eyes suddenly at this point.
How could he not be wary since he was in Star Dou Forest, where soul beasts were everywhere? He had continued to use his Spiritual Detection even though his soul power was greatly depleted. He had only not used the Spiritual Detection Sharing to save his soul power during the process of cultivating with Wang Dong. Only he could sense the changes around him.
“Another soul beast is coming.” His Spiritual Detection Sharing was initiated, and used on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s expressions changed. They were not in their best condition now. They both tensed up as they were given another warning.
As Huo Yuhao signaled, the three of them walked around the ice-sealed ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat to one side. Huo Yuhao lifted his left hand and pressed it against the Deviltiger Cat. An azure light flashed across subtly. Following that, he waved his hand lightly, initiating his Imitation. But he wasn’t imitating the aura of any soul beast, but the aura of plants. A layer of dim green light covered the three of them, and they walked further into the forest under his guidance. They tried not to make any noise.
The soul beast that Huo Yuhao had discovered was not as quick as the Deviltiger Cat. Rather, it looked a little sluggish.
An huge, entirely pitch-black bear appeared within his Spiritual Detection. Its nose kept on moving, as if it were sniffing something. Huo Yuhao judged that this was a soul beast that was a few thousand years old from its vigorous energy and undulations of soul power, regardless of its species. It wasn’t just an ordinary soul beast; its cultivation was at least three thousand years.
The huge bear had managed to use its acute olfactory sense to sniff out the location of their previous fight. Its attention was first caught by the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat, before it realized the presence of the thousand year old Deviltiger Cat and went towards it.
Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Detection Sharing to share his thoughts with the other two, “It seems to be attracted by the bloody smell.”
This huge bear was more than 3 meters in length. It was very burly, and its black fur seemed to emit a slight golden glow. It
didn’t seem to be afraid even though it saw the ice-sealed ten thousand year old Deviltiger Cat.
This was the case in the world of soul beasts. While cultivation was important, the species of the soul beast also determined how strong they were. This bear possessed a cultivation between three to five thousand years. But it wasn’t afraid when it faced the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat.
Two ten thousand year soul beasts of different species still possessed great differences in their abilities. If it were a ten thousand year tiger-type soul beast that was present here, this huge bear would have absconded. It would have never gotten close to it.
However, the bear now devoured the thousand year Deviltiger Cat in 2 to 3 bites, but it wasn’t full yet. It came before the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat and tried to claw at the ice.
Its power was extremely frightening. Although Huo Yuhao’s cultivation couldn’t allow him to use his Ultimate Ice on the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat for too long, the frozen ice chunk was still very tough. But the bear managed to claw till cracks appeared on the ice. It’s important to know that the entire ten
thousand year Deviltiger Cat was frozen, including its blood. Its body would crack along with the frozen ice chunk if the bear continued to claw at the ice like that.
Huo Yuhao turned to Xiao Xiao at this point.
“How?”
Xiao Xiao was stunned and asked, “What how?”
Huo Yuhao replied, “Is this bear suitable to be your soul ring?”
Xiao Xiao was stunned. “Why would you think of this now? Its cultivation seems to be suitable. But we’ve only sensed it using your Spiritual Detection. We haven’t seen it. We can’t even confirm what soul beast it is. How can we judge whether it’s suitable?”
Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. “I know you plan to supplement the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron with either a defense-type or control-type soul skill. This bear didn’t even flinch when it
saw the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. This means that it’s emotionally stable, and therefore tells me that it isn’t afraid of the Deviltiger Cat. Coupled with the fact that the Deviltiger Cat is offensively threatening, I can conclude that this bear is defensively strong.”
“Furthermore, the Deviltiger Cat’s attacks don’t seem to threaten it that much. This bear must come from a species that’s rather strong.”
Xiao Xiao opened her eyes wide and said, “Yes! No wonder you’re the class monitor. You can analyze so much even without using your eyes.”
Huo Yuhao said, “My main martial soul is both a spiritual and control-type. Observation and analysis are my strengths. Make a decision now, or it’ll be too late.”
Xiao Xiao said, “Of course I want it. We can’t let it go! But can we deal with a soul beast that’s unafraid of the Deviltiger Cat?”
Huo Yuhao used his actions to answer Xiao Xiao’s doubts.
The bear managed to get the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat out after clawing at the ice several times. It lifted the Deviltiger Cat up and was about to smash it onto the ground.
At this point, the Deviltiger Cat suddenly turned azure-green. A reverberating boom resonated across the entire Star Dou Forest following that.
A vicious bear roar was heard after this. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were a hundred meters away, but they still felt a frightening shockwave coming their way. Many plants and trees were instantly destroyed by this shockwave, while the three of them were sent flying for tens of meters before they landed.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection was there to warn them earlier. The three of them had made preparations and took advantage of the situation, thus they were not hurt.
It wasn’t only Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao who were shocked.
Even Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment.
The frightening shockwave carried some remnants of ice, and the cool feeling caused a chill to travel down everyone’s spine.
The frightening explosion even caused Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection to be scattered. But they didn’t need to use it anymore. They could just use their sight now.
A frightening scene was presented before them. A huge crater had appeared, with the ice-sealed Deviltiger Cat at the center. It covered a radius of more than a hundred meters. All the plants within this area had disappeared, as they were blown to ashes by the explosion.
The center of the depression was more than 3 meters deep, and was semicircular in shape. The plants and trees around this depression had also fallen. It seemed as if there was a collapsed plot of wheat.
“What, what situation is this?” Xiao Xiao asked as her eyes opened wide in shock.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly, “I didn’t expect it to be so ferocious. I used the Ice Explosion Technique on the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat just now.”
Wang Dong was shocked as he asked, “Your Ice Explosive Technique is so powerful?”
Huo Yuhao replied, “Did the both of you forget? During the top-ranked auction at the Starlight Auctionplace, my Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Let Arm Bone was one of the final auction items. It was only inferior to the hundred thousand year old soul beast embryo. That’s because the Ice Explosion Technique that it contains is considered a divine skill under the appropriate conditions. But it’s useless in certain environments too. Not all ice exploded by this technique will cause such a huge force. Normal ice can be induced to explode by the Ice Explosion Technique, but the explosive force is related to my soul power – it won’t be too strong. The real threat of the Ice Explosion Technique is similar to the corpse explosion we saw when we faced that evil soul master. The stronger the corpse being detonated, the greater the explosive force. But two prerequisites must be fulfilled first. First, the entire body must be frozen, and it must be filled with water internally. Second, I must come into contact with it using my left arm and inject the strength of the Ice Explosion Technique into its body. The body’s own strength will develop a special reaction with the ice
under the guidance of the Ice Explosion Technique, and can be induced to explode at any time. The stronger the target, the more frightening the explosive force.”
Chapter 139: Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s expressions changed when Huo Yuhao talked about the corpse explosion that had happened back then. An evil soul master who was only a Soul King managed to exterminate almost all of Team Shrek’s official team members. Even Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were heavily injured. In the tournament, they witnessed how powerful these 2 soul emperors were! They even possessed soul bones. They only thought that evil soul masters were too frightening then, but didn’t realize that Huo Yuhao possess a similar ability too.
The Ice Explosion Technique and corpse explosion were very similar, but they were also different in their own ways. Corpse explosion was a direct explosion of a corpse, but it required the injection of a poison. The Envoy of the Death God had injected the poison in the cave then, and all the corpses were infected with the poison. They were then induced to explode. The timing of the explosion couldn’t be controlled. The Ice Explosion Technique was advanced in this aspect. Not only was the timing of the explosion controllable, but it could even be used as long as the opponent was frozen. That’s why the Ice Explosion Technique was highly regarded in the Starlight auction house after it appeared.
Of course, one couldn’t bear the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone’s intensity without Ultimate Ice due to the domineering Ice Explosion Technique. That’s why this soul bone eventually landed in Huo Yuhao’s hands. This was his first time using it, but its power was beyond what he had expected. The explosive
force of a ten thousand year soul beast could rival Ma Xiaotao’s strongest attack, and might even be superior to it.
“Are you trying to scare me to death?!” Elder Xuan’s voice rang out at this moment.
He had been observing the 3 of them. From afar, he became more relaxed after he saw the 3 of them retreating into the forest and concealing themselves well using Imitation. But he didn’t expect an explosion to happen so suddenly.
Elder Xuan’s heart almost jumped out of his mouth when the Ice Explosion rang out. He was extremely sensitive now after the last lesson. Furthermore, he was well-aware of what the 3 of them meant to the academy. They all had twin martial souls!
That’s why he rushed over instantly. After he saw the three of them who appeared dejected and heard Huo Yuhao’s
description of the Ice Explosion, he revealed himself and vented his frustration.
“Elder Xuan.” The three of them greeted.
Elder Xuan lifted his hand and smashed his wine gourd on Huo Yuhao’s head. Huo Yuhao spat out his tongue as his head was struck. “Rascal, be careful of playing with fire. No, playing with ice and causing harm to yourself. If something happens to you, how I can account to Elder Mu? You didn’t even try it before you used such an uncontrollable soul skill. What if all of you were blown apart because you were too close? Don’t tell me you can control the explosive force.”
Huo Yuhao was a little indignant as he retorted, “But I can’t find a ten thousand year soul beast in the academy to try this on.”
“Uhhh…” That was true, as Shrek Academy did have ten thousand year soul beasts. But they were valuable resources, and couldn’t be used for experiments.
The radiance in Elder Xuan’s eyes flashed, and he looked to the other side of the area that had exploded.
A burly figure wobbled out. This figure took unsteady steps, as if it could collapse at any time.
It was a huge bear that was huge and tall, but had suffered many injuries. The fur of this huge bear was dark gold, but it was stained with a large amount of dark red blood now.
One of its front limbs had already disappeared, including the shoulder blade. It was bleeding from many places, and its eyes flashed with a dim green light.
On the other side of its body, its claws were extremely long as they reached more than 2 feet in length. It was still bursting with energy although it was covered entirely in blood as it wobbled.
“That’s the bear from just now.” Xiao Xiao said in shock.
After Huo Yuhao explained the Ice Explosion Technique, they reckoned that the bear must have been blown to pieces. After all, Huo Yuhao was unaware of the Ice Explosion Technique’s might beforehand. It was not abnormal to make such a mistake.
However, they hadn’t expected that the huge bear would survive the explosion, and only be sent flying by the explosive force.
The three of them could sense the aura of death even at the borders of the area that had exploded. Their ears were still ringing now. And the huge bear had borne the explosion right at the center of it! But only one of its limbs had been blown apart, and it hadn’t died yet.
How strong was its defense to survive such a blast? No wonder it wasn’t afraid of a ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat with its thousand year cultivation. This was the difference in species. It was just like how the youngest giant dragon was stronger than the most powerful lizard. This huge bear possessed a shocking strength indeed.
The three of them were certain that they couldn’t beat this bear even if they teamed up together. Their offense was unlikely to overcome the defense of this bear. Unless Huo Yuhao could freeze its body and use the Ice Explosion Technique, they didn’t have any chance at all.
“Oh, a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. Why would this soul beast appear around the perimeter of Star Dou Forest?” The bear looked extremely pathetic right now. In addition, the three of them couldn’t identify it because it was very rare. But Elder Xuan was very experienced, and could identify it easily.
The ‘Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears’; a soul beast with the title ‘Earth Render.’ They were the greatest of the most powerful soul beasts, and were belligerents in the Star Dou Forest.
After Huo Yuhao returned to Shrek Academy, he had specially researched the Ten Great Savage Beasts. He seemed to recall the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear being one of them.
Soul beasts generally specialized in certain traits. For example, they could be very speedy, offensively or defensively
inclined, etc. The Deviltiger Cat, for example specialized in speed. Its offensive strength relied on its extreme speed.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was an anomaly. Its specialty was offense and defense, which was conflicting. Its dark golden fur contained powerful defensive strength, while its pair of frightening claws was frightening offensively. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was even rumored to be able to challenge a giant dragon. It was very uncommon for a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear to appear in the perimeter of Star Dou Forest.
Although this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was critically injured, it still maintained its sensitive hearing. It heard Elder Xuan’s voice, and released a furious roar that sounded very threatening. But it stopped in its tracks. It didn’t continue to advance forward. The painful lesson that it had received earlier had left it extremely wary.
Elder Xuan revealed a slight smile on his face and said, “Fortunately, I wasn’t scared for nothing. Your luck is pretty good. Not only is this fellow suitable, but it’s even beyond my expectations. Let me do it.”
He didn’t dare to let the three of them face the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. It possessed frightening offensive ability. The three of them would definitely be killed if they were struck by it.
Elder Xuan arrived in front of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear as his figure flashed. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear reacted very quickly. It still managed to attack and mount its own defense even though it was critically injured.
A layer of dark golden flowing light surged out from its undamaged fur. This layer of light didn’t stick to its fur, but remained slightly above it. Its fur started to stand up like needles. At the same time, it waved its claw and clawed towards Elder Xuan.
Its 2 foot claw already seemed very exaggerated. But the three of them understood the true meaning of a terrorclaw when it waved its claw. Its claw tripled in size, growing to 2 meters in length. Its sharp claw flashed with a dark golden radiance as it clawed towards Elder Xuan. Even a mountain rock would be split into pieces if it were struck by this claw, let alone a human!
However, it’s a pity that it was facing Elder Xuan. Even a top- ranked Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear might not fancy meeting Elder Xuan, while this bear only had a thousand year cultivation.
Elder Xuan straightened his expression, and a yellow radiance flashed before disappearing. The thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s body remained still without moving. It was clear that its lower limbs had sunk into the ground.
Elder Xuan rose up and slapped his palm on the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s head. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s bones were shattered.
“Xiao Xiao, come over!” Elder Xuan shouted.
Xiao Xiao knew what Elder Xuan wanted her to do. She rushed over to Elder Xuan’s side. Elder Xuan gave her a sharp blade and plucked out a patch of dark gold fur from the back of the bear’s neck. Xiao Xiao expended some effort before she managed to stab the blade into the bear’s neck. She pierced the nerves of the bear’s central nervous system, which caused it to die.
Xiao Xiao was wondering whether she could kill this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear on her own if Elder Xuan wasn’t around.
Its defensive strength was too frightening.
A dazzling, bright purple soul ring surfaced as the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was killed.
Elder Xuan spoke after making some careful observations. “Its cultivation is around 2000 years. It’ll be fine for you to absorb it with your current powers and the enhancements made to your body by the 2 pieces of soul bones. You can begin.”
“Thank you, Teacher.” Xiao Xiao was excited as she sat cross- legged on the ground. She started to absorb the soul ring. The purplish soul ring turned into a streak of flowing light and fused with her body. Xiao Xiao was suddenly covered by a layer of dim purple light.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had rushed over by now. They were a little envious as they looked at Xiao Xiao. Although the quality of a soul ring was mainly decided by its age, the species of the soul beast also mattered. A powerful soul beast would naturally bring about a powerful soul skill.
Elder Xuan didn’t sit still afterwards. He reached his hand over to the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, then revealed an excited look. He formed a knife-like stance with his hand, then amputated the bear’s right forelimb. He dug through it, unearthing a weird-looking bone.
This bone was dark gold, and intense undulations of soul power emanated from it. It was a soul bone. Xiao Xiao’s luck wasn’t just simply good—it was tremendously good!
But this soul bone was different from conventional right arm soul bones. To be precise, it was a right palm bone.
The bone wasn’t large, but 5 long blades were on top of it. They were akin to a smaller version of the terrorclaws. The blades seemed like a kind of divine weapon as dark golden halos revolved around them.
Elder Xuan was shocked and envious, “You guys are really lucky! It’s quite natural for a soul bone to emerge from a rare soul beast like the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, but I never
expected that it would leave behind its most valuable right palm soul bone!”
The three of them were already in the second grade,thus they’d already learned some stuff about soul masters and soul beasts. However, it wasn’t possible for them to know everything, thus Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong looked to Elder Xuan with curiosity.
Elder Xuan showed them the right palm bone and said, “The strongest attack at a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s disposal comes from its terrorclaws. This bear was a juvenile, this it couldn’t unleash the full potential of their terrorclaws. However, I once came across a hundred thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear in my youth. I remember that, when it swiped its claws, hundred meter long blades would fly out. Back then, I believed that even giant dragons would be torn to shreds in front of such an attack. In the Sea God’s Pavilion there’s a memoir of an elder’s research on Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears. It has highly detailed information about Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears.”
“Their terrorclaws may seem the same, but their right claw is in fact stronger.
“In fact, it’s far more powerful. The memoir also notes the four Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul bones that have appeared in the past. The elder discovered that only the arm bones have offensive capabilities like the terrorclaws, while the rest—while still good—only bolstered one’s defensive capabilities. But neither the left nor right arm bones’ terrorclaw soul skills were even able to come close to matching the real Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. Successfully hunting a ten thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear is very rare, as at that point even a Titled Douluo will find it difficult to win. As such, the terrorclaw soul skills in the arm soul bones have always had their limits, even though they’re very powerful.”
“Coincidentally that same elder met with a soul master who possessed a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul bone, who became a renowned soul master after only a few years. This elder from our academy was also pretty famous, and was even a Transcendent Douluo. He traded information with that soul master and promised to keep their secret, which in turn allowed him the chance to learn more about the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s soul bones.
“The rarest soul bone from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear is the palm bone as it would turn out, which also has the strongest soul skill. More importantly, the soul skill develops alongside the soul bone just like an actual Darkgolden
Terrorclaw Bear. That soul master had obtained a left palm bone and was famed for his dark left hand—he even had the title of Darkleft Douluo. This time you managed to obtain a right palm bone! Which is the highest rank soul bone you can get from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. Palm bones are
different from arm bones, they’re almost considered external soul bones. It’s best to find a suitable arm soul bone to go along with it so that the fusion isn’t problematic. The only pity is that this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear only had two thousand years of cultivation, thus this right palm bone needs time to develop.”
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong realized just how extraordinary this palm bone was after hearing Elder Xuan’s description. It was especially eye-opening for them, as they recalled how this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear had clawed at Elder Xuan earlier. Their faces grew heated at the same time.
Wang Dong took the lead and asked when he saw Elder Xuan looking at them seriously, “Elder Xuan, I already have both left and right arm bones. Judging from what you said, one should fuse with this palm bone before a right arm bone. As such it’s wasted on me; I’ll give up on it.”
Huo Yuhao said, “Elder Xuan, you know that I’m the leader amongst the three of us. Xiao Xiao is the only girl, and she isn’t strong offensively. But if she gets this palm bone, she’ll be good at both attacking and defending. Furthermore, she’s fusing with the soul ring of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear as we
speak. As they say, ladies first. I’ll leave it to her. I believe that our luck will hold out in the future.”
Elder Xuan felt comforted seeing how generous they were. “Kids, I’ll have you know that the value of this right palm bone isn’t inferior to a hundred thousand year soul bone! Once it fully develops, it’ll be even more valuable than an ordinary hundred thousand year soul bone.”
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Wang Dong can’t fuse with it, and I can’t be too greedy, since I already have the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone! Moreover, it really suits Xiao Xiao. We’re all Shrek’s Seven Monsters, so we’ll share what’s needed with those of us that need it. We can maximize our potential better this way, right?”
Elder Xuan looked at him sincerely and nodded slightly. He said, “Then I shall thank you on Xiao Xiao’s behalf.” He was selfish at heart and really wanted to give this soul bone to Xiao Xiao—she was his personal disciple after all, and he was truly
fond of her. He could tell that, in terms of talent, Xiao Xiao lagged behind Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. But if she could fuse with this soul bone, then she could close the gap between them.
But he couldn’t make that decision of his. As an elder and a teacher of the academy, he knew that Huo Yuhao had been the first to attack the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. However, Huo Yuhao hadn’t taken the soul ring. If Elder Xuan bluntly gave the soul bone to Xiao Xiao as well, then that would be pushing it. It was beyond his expectations that Xiao Xiao would obtain this soul ring without his interference.
But it was different if Huo Yuhao offered to give up the palm bone. Not only was such a decision much to Elder Xuan’s delight, but it also made him respect Huo Yuhao more. It wasn’t strange that Elder Mu regarded him so highly; he was very compassionate. Huo Yuhao was bound to become the center of the Shrek’s Seven Devils in the future if he developed properly.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could relax with Elder Xuan around, thus they sat close to Xiao Xiao and began cultivating and restoring their soul power.
Their confidence soared after finding a suitable soul ring for Xiao Xiao on their first day.
Their soul power was fully restored after a while, and the sky had turned dark. Huo Yuhao felt like chuckling as he looked at Elder Xuan.
Elder Xuan had used a thick tree branch to form a fire pit as they were cultivating. He’d then skinned a chunk of Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear meat and washed it clean before skewering it on a tree branch. He’d also prepared firewood and even displayed more than 10 condiments to one side. When he saw Elder Xuan looking at him hopefully, Huo Yuhao immediately understood what he wanted.
“Hehe, little Yuhao! This bear’s meat is extremely delicious, especially the palm meat. It’s considered one of the top 10 delicacies in the world. I leave the palm meat to you; freeze it for now, and we can find some top quality honey to cook it with when we return.
“It’s also very nourishing, so we can let Elder Mu try it too. We’ll feast on the rest of the meat. The three of you are still growing, so you can have some more meat.”
Wang Dong’s eyes also brightened. He swallowed his saliva as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He hadn’t tasted the delicacies that Huo Yuhao could make in a long while..
“Elder Xuan, I recall our teachers mentioning that we can’t start a fire in a place like this, since soul beasts live here.” Huo Yuhao joked.
Elder Xuan chuckled. “That’s only the case for you kids. With me here, nothing will happen unless we set the whole forest on fire, so hurry up..”
Huo Yuhao laughed and walked in front of a chunk of Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear meat to check its quality.
Meat of different qualities had to be grilled using different methods. Huo Yuhao had a natural appreciation for cooking, and a sizeable talent at it..
There were some people who made ordinary tasting food even after years of cooking experience, while others had natural talent. Like Huo Yuhao who could use his Spiritual
Detection to enhance the quality of cooking this chunk of meat to make it taste better.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s meat was entirely dark red and very springy. There were streaks of fat spread proportionally on the surface of it in a webbed pattern, usually meaning that the meat was very fresh.
Huo Yuhao retrieved his White Tiger Dagger and cut this chunk of meat, to discover that this chunk of meat came from the bear’s back.
Elder Xuan had no opinions on how to grill the meat. He was fine with it as long as it tasted nice.
Huo Yuhao deftly sliced the chunk of meat into small pieces, while Wang Dong was given the task of skewering the meat onto thin tree branches. They teamed up very well when cooking as well it seemed…
After finishing, Huo Yuhao started a bonfire and started to grill the meat.
He grabbed a slice and draped it over the bonfire on a tree branch unadorned, then began to turn the branch repeatedly until the meat started to smoke and let out a golden yellow oil. The aroma of cooked meat spread through the air as the meat’s color changed quickly and it shrank just as fast.
Huo Yuhao pulled the meat off the bonfire and sprinkled salt evenly across the surface, then shook the branch a little to help the meat cool. Afterwards, he tasted his new recipe.
Elder Xuan salivated at the sight from the side. He no longer looked like a top class powerhouse, but rather quite pitiful. Of course, there was no question as to why he looked this way: the Taotie Douluo could never resist the allure of good food.
Juice flooded into Huo Yuhao’s mouth as he chewed. He quickly polished off the strip of meat in three large bites. Contrary to what one would think because of its defensive
capabilities, the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear’s meat was extremely tender, and seemed to simply melt in one’s mouth when chewed. Huo Yuhao had doubted his words at first, but just like Elder Xuan had said, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s palm meat was definitely one of the top ten delicacies in the world. He smiled brightly as he swallowed the delicacy.
Huo Yuhao could still taste the extraordinary flavor of the meat when the unforgettable delicacy entered his stomach alongside a deluge of juiciness. It was as if a hot gust of air had filled his stomach, which caused all the tension and fatigue from the last day to disappear.
“It was delicious.” Huo Yuhao complimented.
“Rascal, you don’t know how to respect your elders,” Elder Xuan snapped, “you should’ve given me some first!”
Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, “Elder Xuan, please be patient. I was experimenting with the fire when I cooked this bear meat. I couldn’t bear to waste such an ingredient by using inadequate cooking methods. The next slice will be yours elder, don’t fret. Besides, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s meat is extremely fresh and tender, so it won’t take long to cook.
However, it’s a pity that we don’t have any eggs. I could make meal this even more delicious if we did.”
Elder Xuan’s eyes snapped open and he said, “What’s so difficult about that? Do you want raw eggs or cooked?”
Huo Yuhao was stunned and replied, “Raw. Don’t tell me…”
Before he even finished speaking, light radiance flashed in Elder Xuan’s hands, and several multi-colored chicken eggs appeared.
“These are Five-Colored Golden Pheasant eggs. Will they suffice?” Elder Xuan said smugly.
Huo Yuhao’s eyes widened and he said, “You brought chicken eggs along?”
Elder Xuan said mysteriously, “Let me tell all of you a secret. There’s one thing that I can’t do without—food. Not only eggs, I also have almost every kind of food on me! I need at least ten cubic meters of food on me when I go out, else I’ll get uneasy. I
even asked Qian Duoduo to help me create a storage-type soul tool exclusively for food, so that it would stay fresh!”
Wang Dong laughed, “No wonder you’re called the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan!”
Elder Xuan passed all the eggs to Huo Yuhao and said, “Hurry up.”
Huo Yuhao asked, “Did you bring any bowls with you? It’d be for the best if you have a clean brush too.”
The things that he’d requested appeared after a second.
Elder Xuan squatted beside the fire like a small kid. He watched Huo Yuhao curiously as he swallowed his saliva.
Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to make him wait, and started to grill the meat again.
He was much more confident in grilling the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear meat now that he had experience. Such delicacies didn’t require too much cooking or ingredients. Their original taste was already good enough.
That’s why the bear meat was only flipped three times before Huo Yuhao retracted it from the fire and sprinkled salt on it. After that, he brushed the meat with the stirred eggs.
“Elder Xuan, please give it a try and see if it’s to your liking.”
“Just like this? It’s my first time seeing eggs on meat.”
However, he’d already stuffed the meat into his mouth and swallowed it before he’d even finished speaking.
“How is it?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Elder Xuan stared at him stunned, but his eyes brightened. The bright, yellow radiance that he emitted from his eyes was just like the time when he fought Du Busi.
“I regret it.” Elder Xuan said.
Huo Yuhao was puzzled as he asked, “Regret what? Is it not delicious? That can’t be! This bear meat is tender and juicy, while its fat is proportionally separated such that it doesn’t need to be cooked too long. The egg should even make it more tender and fresh. Its aroma will be let out when you chew into it, and the juices should explode in your mouth! It should be extremely delicious. I’ve never even used such awesome ingredients before.”
Elder Xuan, “When I said I regret it, I meant that I regret not snatching you as my disciple! If you were my disciple, I’d bring you across the continent and make you the best chef on the continent, haha.” Wang Dong couldn’t help but laugh at this and said, “Yuhao, give me some too! If Elder Xuan wants to make you a chef because of it then it must be really delicious!”
They gorged themselves on the food. Huo Yuhao, while busy, was gratified. More than half of the meat entered Elder Xuan’s stomach who, when he discovered that there wasn’t enough meat left, simply cut off another serving from the bear.
Elder Xuan had tried to grill this meat before. However, his talent was a far cry from the likes of Huo Yuhao’s, and his meat tasted far inferior to the delicacy before him.
When the three of them were almost full, Xiao Xiao finally awakened from absorbing her third soul ring.
Her six senses were restored. But it wasn’t her sense of sight that stirred first; it was her sense of smell.
“Wow, it smells good! What is it?” Xiao Xiao opened her eyes to see the bonfire in front of her.
“Xiao Xiao, how did your martial soul fusion with the soul ring go?” Huo Yuhao asked concernedly.
Xiao Xiao didn’t bother to answer as she snatched the freshest Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear meat that he’d just finished grilling, which she immediately devoured with large bites.
“Wow, it’s delicious. It’s really delicious. I want to woo you now. Whoever marries you in the future will be really lucky. Oh no, I can’t speak anymore. I just bit my tongue…”
Xiao Xiao seemed to have become as gluttonous as Elder Xuan after accepting him as her teacher. She was overjoyed to be able to eat so much.
“I’m full, great food.” Xiao Xiao said satisfactorily. She used her sleeves to wipe the oil from her lips, and appeared very pleased.
Elder Xuan was already full, but he didn’t idle around. While Xiao Xiao was eating, he dissected the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear into 8 pieces and passed them to Huo Yuhao for him to freeze so that they could be brought back to the academy.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s meat was very nourishing. It was a delicacy even to Shrek Academy’s core disciples. Of course, Elder Xuan wasn’t generous enough to give it to them; he would keep these pieces of meat for himself. He only gave the palm meat to Huo Yuhao.
At this point, Huo Yuhao was still unsure as to what the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s palm meat represented.
“Elder Xuan, are we leaving now, or are we going to wait for Xiao Xiao to absorb her soul bone here too?” Huo Yuhao asked Elder Xuan.
“Let’s do it here,” Elder Xuan replied, “I’m full right now, and too lazy to move. Since I’m here, no soul beasts will dare to come close.” This was indeed the case. Even though they’d started a fire and even grilled meat here, no soul beasts had come to interrupt them. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were unsure how Elder Xuan had pulled this off.
Xiao Xiao heard Elder Xuan’s explanation on the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s external soul bone. When she found out she was going to absorb the soul bone, she turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
“Class Monitor, can I pledge myself to you in exchange for what you’re giving up?” Xiao Xiao teared up.
“No.” Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong replied at the same time.
“Oh?” Xiao Xiao looked at them suspiciously, “What’s with you two’s immediate reactions? Is there some sort of illicit affair between the two of you?”
Huo Yuhao snapped, “How old are you? Why’re you talking about pledging yourself to someone else? Do you know what that means?”
Xiao Xiao laughed, “Class Monitor, stop it. When we compared our ages earlier, I was fifth, you were sixth and Wang Dong was the youngest. You’re younger than me, yet you still dare to lecture me? Why don’t you tell me what it means then?”
Huo Yuhao thought of Ma Xiaotao for some reason after she’d asked this. His face turned a little red and he replied, “I don’t know either.”
Xiao Xiao laughed, “That’s right. How dare you lecture me when you don’t know what it means either! You know what I meant. Should you want to woo me, you better move fast! I’m very popular. I’ll make it easy for you though.”
Psht—
Elder Xuan spat out wine from his mouth and stared at Xiao Xiao. He said, “Stop spouting gibberish. Fuse with it quickly, I want to see how mystical this right palm bone is right away.” Once he’d finished, he passed the soul bone to Xiao Xiao and signaled for her to begin.
Xiao Xiao lowered her head to look at the soul bone when she received it. After that, she lifted her head up to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and seriously said, “Thank you.” She emphasized these words strongly.
Xiao Xiao held onto the right palm bone and sat down where she was, then began to stimulate her soul power in preparation to fuse with the soul bone.
The right palm bone visibly melted under the effects of her soul power into a dark golden fluid. This dark golden fluid then slowly seeped into her right hand.
Wang Dong said in a deep voice, “We forgot to ask Xiao Xiao to demonstrate her third soul skill to us just now. The soul skill
from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear must be quite extraordinary. I’ve got a feeling that the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron will be completely changed with this new thousand year soul skill.”
Between the three of them, only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had thousand year soul rings. It was a huge increase in power when a two-ringed soul grandmaster became a three-ringed soul elder. Besides the obvious increase in soul power, their soul skills would improve qualitatively. The might of thousand year soul skills were far superior to their hundred year counterparts, and their versatility was likewise greater. This would especially be the case for Xiao Xiao, since her soul ring was far more powerful than their initial projections.
Huo Yuhao said, “I think that it will take quite some time for her to fuse with the soul bone. Let’s cultivate while we wait.”
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao had both experienced the soul bone fusing process. They knew it was very tedious to absorb a soul bone. Especially Huo Yuhao, who still shivered when he recalled his unbearable experiences fusing soul bones.
“Okay,” replied Wang Dong.
They sat down on the spot, palms clasped together, and a gentle white and gold halo emerged and intersected from them as they started to circulate their Haodong power. Since Elder Xuan was here they didn’t need to worry about anything and immediately started cultivating.
Wang Dong’s Golden Light Left Arm Bone once more displayed its full capabilities, causing the aura of light around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong became more intense as rings of golden light silently engulfed them. The circulation speed of their soul power and their absorption rate of the energy of heavens and earth both increased.
Elder Xuan sat below a tree off to the side and watched over them with a benevolent gaze. He thought to himself, No wonder Elder Mu always watches over the freshmen dormitory. Youth is nice!
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had entered a meditative trance. The positive effect of Haodong Power towards their cultivation only ever increased as their cultivation rose further. Their influence on one another greatly enhanced their soul powers.
Huo Yuhao had reached a bottleneck in soul power, thus he could only start accumulating his soul power now, whereas Wang Dong felt that his own soul power was increasing. Their current cultivation speed was similar to when they individually underwent deep meditation.
Wang Dong believed that reaching Rank 40 would be possible in half a year’s time with a speed like this. Don’t forget that he was the youngest of the Shrek’s Seven Monsters!
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s situation was going well on one side, but Xiao Xiao had met with troubles on her end.
The fluid converted from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s Right Palm Bone was flowing into her palm. At first she felt comfortable, as if a warm liquid had coated her hand. But the warmth soon became scorching. Even though her soul power was being rapidly stimulated, she couldn’t interfere with the fusing process in her arm. That scorching feeling was still increasing, and became blazing hot.
Xiao Xiao’s entire right hand had visibly turned dark golden colored. It seemed as if something were crawling out of her palm, and the searing heat caused her to sweat profusely. The
experience was torturing her, as she felt like her palm was being grilled. At that moment, only Xiao Xiao’s right palm felt like this, but slowly the same sensation spread up her entire right arm!
She laughed bitterly in her heart. Was this her retribution for eating grilled bear meat earlier? It was her turn to be grilled this time, and it was even from the inside out.
The intense, burning pain caused Xiao Xiao to shiver slightly. Her slight shivering soon became convulsions, and the dark golden radiance on her right hand became brighter.
Elder Xuan opened his eyes wide and rushed to Xiao Xiao’s side. He observed her carefully.
Xiao Xiao was trembling more and more. Elder Xuan could feel a struggling life-force releasing waves of hysteria from her right hand, . It wasn’t struggling to resist being assimilated, but was struggling to break free! It was like some kind of embryonic creature trying to escape from its shell. Xiao Xiao looked like she couldn’t bear it anymore.
Not good! Elder Xuan exclaimed in his heart. He’d been careless. Indeed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s Right Palm Bone was powerful, but this had blinded him to an important difference between soul bones and soul rings; while the strength of soul rings was determined by age, the soul bone was reliant on quality!
While they both came from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, and Xiao Xiao had had no problems fusing with the soul ring, it was a different story for the soul bone! The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was too overbearing, and its soul bone manifesting as a right palm bone meant it was the of the highest quality. The dominating power of a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear came from its fierce lineage, and Xiao Xiao was currently suffering precisely from the strength of this overbearing lineage! Afterall, she was only a young soul elder.
Elder Xuan had thought that, once Xiao Xiao’s cultivation had increased greatly by obtaining her third ring, it and the fierce aura of her Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s soul ring— combined with the enhancements to her body from her previous two soul bones—would allow Xiao Xiao to absorb this two thousand year soul bone without any complications. But reality was cruel; the difficulty of absorbing this soul bone was far beyond his calculations.
“Xiao Xiao, hold on!” Elder Xuan shouted softly. No one could help her at this point; success or failure was in her own hands. Should an outside power intervene, it would simply be sucked in. At that point, unless Elder Xuan could be by her side at all times supplying a steady stream of soul power, the soul bone could explode at any time.
“Teacher, my hand is about to melt. I can’t hold on anymore!” Xiao Xiao screamed in pain and couldn’t maintain her sitting posture anymore, then twisted her body and fell on the ground. Her right hand stabbing into the mud, although this did nothing to alleviate her pain.
The golden radiance had extended from her right hand to her whole arm at this point, which caused Xiao Xiao’s entire body to start spasming tremendously.
“This isn’t good. The soul bone is creating a backlash!” Elder Xuan didn’t care about the ramifications anymore, and rushed to Xiao Xiao’s side before slapping his palm on her right shoulder. This sealed the dark golden radiance in Xiao Xiao’s right arm. However, Xiao Xiao’s right arm started to balloon in size, and the power within was about to break free from its restraint.
A soul bone backlash was the most dire outcome of soul bone absorptions. It could even become a fatal situation should things go wrong. It usually happened because the soul master can’t handle the immense power within the soul bone, which then counterattacks the soul master in retaliation.
Xiao Xiao’s painful screams also jolted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong awake. Both of them were shocked when they saw Xiao Xiao’s condition.
“Elder Xuan, what’s wrong with Xiao Xiao?!”
Chapter 140: There Has To Be an End in a Life
Elder Xuan furrowed his brows and said in a somber tone, “The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s Right Palm Bone contains too much domineering strength; Xiao Xiao can’t bear the current pressure its exerting. She’s experiencing soul bone backlash.”
“What can we do?” Huo Yuhao asked anxiously. He could see that Xiao Xiao’s arm had swollen up like a balloon, and that her shirt was just moments away from ripping.
Elder Xuan bitterly replied, “If this continues, I’m afraid that her arm will…”
“What?!” Wang Dong exclaimed. “Elder Xuan, is there nothing we can do? The soul bone can’t even be suppressed with your soul power?”
Elder Xuan shook his head and said, “No. If I try to forcefully suppress it, her arm will burst. She’ll only lose her arm faster
if I do that. If I didn’t already have a right arm soul bone, I could try to guide the soul bone out, but since I do I can’t.”
Xiao Xiao looked extremely pale, and the pain from her right arm made her body spasm violently. Without Elder Xuan’s seal, the power of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s soul bone would’ve spread its backlash to her entire body, which would leave her life in danger.
“Elder Xuan, let me do it.” Huo Yuhao said decisively.
Even though he immediately made this decision, you could tell how resolved he was from his tone .
Aside from Xiao Xiao, he was the only one left in the group without a right arm soul bone. Meaning he was the only outlet this frightening power could be siphoned to. Not only that, but he couldn’t watch as Xiao Xiao was in danger of losing her right arm.
“You?” Elder Xuan was slightly shocked and said, “Yuhao, your cultivation isn’t even at Rank 30 yet. If Xiao Xiao can’t bear it, I don’t think you can…” Moreover, the soul bone’s
power had been fully unleashed now, and it was far more brutal than before.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly and replied,”Elder Xuan, believe in me. I hold at least 70% confidence in myself to do it. Elder Mu must have told you what has happened to me so far, and my body is extremely strong. While Xiao Xiao did get a chance to practice our Tang Sect’s Mysterious Jade Hands, she did so long after me. Her mastery of the Mysterious Jade Hands is inferior to my own. Furthermore, my second martial soul’s Ice Empress Pincer increases my palm strength even further. I should be able to bear it better than her.”
Elder Xuan took in a deep breath, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Huo Yuhao. “Kid, I won’t waste anymore time. If you get hurt because of this, I will help you recover, even if it costs me my life.”
Wang Dong didn’t try to talk Huo Yuhao out of it, but he tugged at his shirt from behind.
They were friends, even close to seeming like relatives, Huo Yuhao was undoubtedly the closest person to Wang Dong at
Shrek Academy. He wasn’t willing to see Huo Yuhao take this risk.
Huo Yuhao didn’t seem to understand Wang Dong’s intention. As he stepped forward, he shook his left hand behind his back slightly and removed Wang Dong’s grip on his shirt, while his right hand also grabbed onto Xiao Xiao’s right hand firmly.
Huo Yuhao’s body jerked as their hands contacted. He didn’t feel a scorching heat at first, but instead a wave of hysterical will that instantly surged from Xiao Xiao’s right palm into his body.
However, he wasn’t afraid to compete against the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear in terms of spiritual power and will, even if it was still alive.
Elder Xuan said in a deep voice, “I’m about to start.”
“Okay.” Huo Yuhao’s reply was very short. He adjusted his breathing, and readied himself.
He was a little stunned that, while the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Empress were awake, they didn’t try to stop him. They didn’t even warn him, as if they were completely ignorant of current events.
An intense undulation of soul power circulated around his entire body rapidly, as the Mysterious Heaven Technique was focused on his right arm.
Elder Xuan unleashed his pure power to suppress the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s tyrannical strength. Without Huo Yuhao being there, this power would be used to support Xiao Xiao’s arm and delay it reaching the limit of what it could bear. But instead it forced the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s strength into Huo Yuhao’s right arm.
Once it entered Huo Yuhao’s right arm, he immediately understood the pain that Xiao Xiao was experiencing.
The burning power surged maniacally. Like a raging inferno had transformed into countless tiny blades furiously cutting at his palm. This tyrannical strength caused Huo Yuhao to tremble, but he quickly stabilized himself.
He couldn’t bother to think of the consequences earlier. He found it clear that even if he and Xiao Xiao couldn’t take it, Elder Xuan was still around. At most his right palm would be crippled, but Xiao Xiao would have her entire right arm crippled. He balanced the repercussions for the both of them. As her team leader and friend, he didn’t hesitate to help Xiao Xiao resolve this problem, when he was the only one that could.
He was also confident in himself. He was convinced that the power of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul bone couldn’t be compared to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s soul bone, even after it was sealed. After experiencing such frightful pain once, what was a measly Darkgolden Terrorclaw soul bone to him? Besides, even if he really couldn’t take it, the Ice Empress would help him. This was why he was so confident.
It turned out that Huo Yuhao’s previous conjectures were absolutely right. His Mysterious Jade Hands’ proved far more effective than Xiao Xiao’s. When the strength of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear came into his right palm, his right arm emitted a faint glow, resembling a gem. This glow suppressed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s power in his palm, and kept it from spreading further.
Huo Yuhao also switched his martial soul to the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. His soul bones also emitted a turquoise radiance. The radiance was so intense that it penetrated outwards from inside his body, and became visible on the outside from beneath his skin.
The aura assaulting him came from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, which, while they are very powerful, they aren’t up to the standards of the Ice Jade Scorpions. Let alone the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion that Huo Yuhao possessed. Its aura would not lose out to a simple Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s. Huo Yuhao also activated his first soul skill, the Ice Empress’ Pincer, without any delay.
Xiao Xiao was completely unprepared for the aura’s assault, and she didn’t have any soul skills to strengthen her palms. Huo Yuhao on the other hand, had such a skill at his disposal. Upon activating the Ice Empress’ Pincer, Huo Yuhao could feel an immediate effect on the pressure facing him. So even though his palm was still feeling the full force of the pain, it was solely in his palm, and didn’t spread past his wrists. As the dark golden radiance shone, a diamond radiance that belonged to his Ice Empress’ Pincer appeared.
The diamond radiance was colorless and transparent. Under the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s radiance, Huo Yuhao’s entire palm shone with intense light.
Elder Xuan was very sharp, and his eyes brightened. He thought to himself that there was hope!
Chapter 141: Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone
Xiao Xiao’s pain lessened as the power from the soul bone was being siphoned to Huo Yuhao. Her swollen right arm started going back to normal again as well. While she was in such miserable pain that she couldn’t speak, she was able to hear the conversation between Elder Xuan and Huo Yuhao. Xiao Xiao wasn’t simply grateful when she saw the resolute look on Huo Yuhao’s face.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s power wasn’t under the fire element, instead it was of the metal element. It was a tyrannical power that demonstrated the sharpness of the metal element to the point.
Huo Yuhao could even hear the sonorous sound when the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s strength clashed with the Ice Empress’ Pincer’s power..
Eventually, all of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s strength had been siphoned to Huo Yuhao’s right palm. At which point Xiao Xiao groaned slightly before collapsing in Elder Xuan’s arms, unconscious.
Wang Dong was unable to stop Huo Yuhao before, but he knew what to do now and reacted with haste—receiving Xiao Xiao from Elder Xuan so that he could help Huo Yuhao without complication.
Elder Xuan stood over Huo Yuhao, watching him anxiously. He was well aware of what was going on, thus he couldn’t act recklessly here. As long as Huo Yuhao could suppress that soul bone’s power in his palm, then he must allow him to absorb it. Elder Xuan wasn’t nervous because of how precious the soul bone was—it was because he wanted to preserve Huo Yuhao’s right arm!
The drained Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s energy had all entered Huo Yuhao’s right palm. Huo Yuhao could sense that the Mysterious Jade Hands and his Ice Empress’ Pincer were being a little overwhelmed by the invading energies.
With his soul skill active he couldn’t absorb the soul bone. However, if he withdrew the Ice Empress’ Pincer he would have to bear with the intense pain relying on sheer willpower and his body’s tough physique.
When he thought about it. Huo Yuhao wanted to laugh. He wondered if soul bones were his arch-nemesis. Whether it was the Ice Jade Empress’ Torso Bone, the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, or the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s Right Palm Bone he was absorbing right now, they all gave him immense difficulties when trying to fuse with them. While the current situation isn’t nearly as potentially fatal or painful as Ice Jade Empress’ Torso bone had been, it would still be painful.
Huo Yuhao’s choice was to face this ordeal bravely. However, one cannot simply always face their obstacles head-on, even if they’re willing to. If one didn’t collapse amidst the repression, they would be burnt amidst the suppression.
He took in a slow, deep breath, and the Mysterious Jade Hand’s made one more full body circulation of soul power. Huo Yuhao slowly closed his eyes, and in the next instant—the bright radiance disappeared. Leaving behind an intense dark gold glow.
Wang Dong lifted a hand to cover his mouth in, stopping himself from shouting in surprise. Elder Xuan’s body twitched. Aside from the unconcealed shock in his eyes there was a faint hint of awe.
Resilient and courageous! Only Huo Yuhao could make such a critical decision!
The excruciating pain led Huo Yuhao to believe that the Darkgolden Terrorclaw had torn his palm bone asunder! The maniacal will of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw started rising up, prepared to rush into the rest of his arm.
If that happened he would end up just like Xiao Xiao had, as the Darkgolden Terroclaw’s strength would run rampant in his body.
Huo Yuhao made the correct decision; disregarding the pain in his right palm with his resilient will, as if his right palm didn’t belong to him. His immense spiritual power attacked the maniacal will. Simultaneously, his forehead lit up with a blinding turquoise light.
Huo Yuhao’s eyes shot wide open, an intense aura of light exuding from them. His third eye also started to crack open, and a streak of azure-green light flashed from his eyes as a bolt of electricity came out of the Life Gold before piercing his right wrist.
The azure-green light spread, and the aura within helped to seal the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s power within the confines of his right hand.
This is…
Elder Xuan was shocked. He could distinguish that the azure- green light was a carving knife, but what was this third eye doing on Huo Yuhao?!
At this moment, there was only one possibility that he thought of—the second awakening of one’s Body Soul!
The azure-green light didn’t just appear on his right hand. Huo Yuhao’s Life Gold slowly displayed its strength, releasing an aura of light all over his body. This aura’s appearance left both Wang Dong and Elder Xuan relieved.
This was Huo Yuhao’s second trump card. Although offering to save Xiao Xiao was a little reckless, he was still very confident in his own body. The Ice Empress’ Pincer actively prevented the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s power from running rampant. Then he used the Life Guardian’s blade and life
power to suppress the power further. While this move also increased his body’s overall resistance. With all these actions being put into play, Huo Yuhao could only resign himself to defeat if he still couldn’t absorb this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone.
The Life Gold’s power was proven once again. That bountiful life force seemed to sense the mayhem in his hand and advanced towards it.
Long ago, The Calamity Necromancer Electrolux, spoke to Huo Yuhao of the Life Gold’s greatness. As of right now, Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that greatness.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw and Life Gold’s energies seemed to cause a continuing cycle of destruction and construction within Huo Yuhao’s palm, while the destruction was going at a furious rate, it was no match for the restorative powers from the Life Gold. Meaning the condition of Huo Yuhao’s right palm had stabilized.
Although stable, it still brought about untold amounts of pain. This was Huo Yuhao’s first time feeling such pain.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s destructive energies brought him great pain, while the Life Gold’s restorative properties caused him to feel a great numbness. The contrasting feelings made Huo Yuhao undergo a whole new kind of torture! Even though he had once experienced the immense pain from the Ice Jade Empress’ Torso bone, Huo Yuhao still found himself sweating buckets! Bead after bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, his shirt becoming drenched very quickly, and his body starting to give off a faint mist.
Wang Dong had never seen Huo Yuhao in such unbearable pain before. Which left him shocked and speechless at the current scene.
His cultivation and physique weren’t that different from that of Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao’s. Wang Dong had seen how Xiao Xiao ended up after attempting to fuse with the soul bone. After a short and fleeting resistance—Xiao Xiao gave up. Showing just how unbearable this pain, really was.
Huo Yuhao was possibly bearing even more pain than Xiao Xiao had! As Huo Yuhao’s fusion partner, Wang Dong could get a feel for his current condition. The slight sensations he could feel through their spiritual connection caused Wang Dong to shiver internally as Huo Yuhao bore the astonishing pain.
With this, Wang Dong finally realized how strong Huo Yuhao was mentally. Even as his body gave off the occasional twitch, Huo Yuhao sat very stably. His facial expressions remained entirely the same, his brows never even furrowed once. While the beads of perspiration rolled down his face, intermittent
subtle crackling sounds came from his right palm. Wang Dong couldn’t bear to watch anymore!
He wasn’t alone in his shock either. Elder Xuan had cultivated for hundreds of years, and had seen the bearings of many soul masters. While he could tell that Huo Yuhao was using that magical carving knife to suppress the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s power, he was positive that Huo Yuhao had to endure greater pains himself. Relying solely on his resilient willpower and mind to bear with the pain. Could this be done by a 12-year-old-kid? Just how many trials had he faced to come out with such a terrifying will?
Huo Yuhao didn’t know what Wang Dong and Elder Xuan were thinking, but he could feel that he was getting more accustomed to the pain. After all, it was focused in his right palm. When he had fused with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Torso bone before, the intense pain had spread over his entire body!
He could now start to sense what has been happening in his right palm. He discovered that his whole right hand was undergoing a special transformation. The bones that had felt crushed and destroyed, weren’t crushed at all—countless fine cracks had appeared all over their surface. The Darkgolden
Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone was fusing into his right hand through these small cracks. His bones were being destroyed under the pressure from the maniacal will, and restored by the overflowing life power. While the destruction wasn’t as intense, the pain was. Huo Yuhao’s right palm bone began to change as the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s power merged with it.
Huo Yuhao’s bones had a layer of greenish-gold after they were nourished by the Life Gold. It demonstrated the presence of immense life power. But his right palm bone had turned a dark gold hue, similar to that of boundless space!
His bones slightly increased in size, but this wasn’t readily apparent. His finger bones grew like a knife, narrowing at the top and widening at the bottom. Even the flesh surrounding his bones transformed. The extreme powers caused his bones to shrink, letting them fit into their new forms. Huo Yuhao also started noticing weird patterns emerging from the bones of his palm.
Cloud-like patterns appeared on the outer bones in his right hand, while triangular patterns showed up on the inner palm bones. These patterns overlapped meticulously and seemed to contain great strength. An immense power followed the great pains in Huo Yuhao’s palm and gradually fused with his mind.
Time passed slowly, and an entire night had gone by unknowingly, with the bright sunlight coming out. Huo Yuhao was sweating less and less, mist no longer rising from his skin.
“Whoosh—” The Life Guardian’s blade jumped out of Huo Yuhao’s palm and disappear in a flash of azure-green light into Huo Yuhao’s forehead. Instantly healing the wounds from its entry and exit.
After which Huo Yuhao let out a deep roar and lifted his right arm. A “pfft” sound was heard, and bloody lights shot out from his fingers.
Wang Dong started towards Huo Yuhao in concern, thinking that his palm couldn’t bear it and exploded. But he was immediately stopped by a powerful force, and Elder Xuan looking at him with a stern expression whilst shaking his head.
Presently, five streaks of dark golden light—about fourteen inches in length—had shot out from each of Huo Yuhao’s fingers. They were wider at the fingertips and narrower at the end. When they appeared, a slight whirring sound was heard, and the dark golden lights undulated like rippling water. Huo Yuhao’s right hand had completely turned dark gold, the five blades of light seeming to be an extension of his fingers. Leaving no scars as it came out from his fingers.
The dark golden light started surging from his right palm. Extending up his arm and to the rest of his body. Seemingly baptizing Huo Yuhao in a layer of dark golden light. His Spirit Eyes also shot open with a golden flash of color before returning to normal.
Huo Yuhao’s body twitched while he let out a deep breath. Elder Xuan supported him quickly to keep him from falling, but he also subconsciously used his right palm to stabilize himself. His Darkgolden Terrorclaw silently pierced into the ground.
Huo Yuhao seemed to figure something out. He pulled his Darkgolden Terrorclaw out from the earth and stared at his dark gold palm. His mind wandered, and his claws disappeared. Everything returned to normal, including the color of his palm.
Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief.
“Yuhao, how are you?”
A concerned Wang Dong and an awoken Xiao Xiao sprung to his side. Xiao Xiao was very grateful to him on top of being concerned.
Huo Yuhao forced a smile and said to Xiao Xiao, “I stole your soul bone.”
Xiao Xiao sobbed as she said, “Class Monitor, how can you put it like this? If not for you, my arm would’ve already been…”
Huo Yuhao laughed and replied, “Don’t worry, I won’t have you pledge your body to me.”
Elder Xuan was also relieved, “It’s completely fused, thank goodness it all worked out alright. I suspect that, without the life energy contained within that magical carving knife, Huo Yuhao couldn’t have pulled this off even if he had six soul rings. Perhaps only a seven ringed soul sage or higher could’ve enhanced their body enough with their Martial Soul True Body to absorb this soul bone. I must say, Huo Yuhao, you’re the first youngster I’ve come to admire.”
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly, “Elder Xuan, shall we rest for the day?” Upon finishing his statement, he collapsed into Wang Dong arms long before Elder Xuan could reply.
The three had benefited greatly from the last 24 hours. However, it was also mentally trying and left them exhausted. Elder Xuan had likewise been on edge the entire time he was following them. Primarily due to things spiraling out of his control.
However, the end result was fantastic for the trio. Xiao Xiao got her third soul ring, while Huo Yuhao got his third soul
bone. It was even an exceedingly rare Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone, an external soul bone even.
……
The Sun Moon Empire’s capital, Radiant City. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Illustrious Virtue Hall.
“Are you sure?” Asked a person wearing a long, black robe, standing quietly in front of the Hallmaster of the Virtuous Hall, Jing Hongchen. It was apparent that he was a tall and burly man from his rough voice and build. However, his long, black robe and huge hat disguised his true appearance.
“I’m certain. I just came back from Shrek Academy. I’m sure you’re interested in the Dark Phoenix.”
“What do you want from telling me all this? Besides, it’s not easy to enter Shrek Academy.” The man in the black robe said in a deep voice.
Jing Hongchen smiled, his chubby face compressing as he said, “I know what you’re worried about. Shrek Academy is far more dangerous than we gave them credit for. With that Elder Mu holding down the fort, any tomfoolery on their campus grounds is just assured death. But what if we lured the
powerhouses out from Shrek Academy?
The man wearing a black robe’s interest was piqued. “Tell me more.”
Jing Hongchen squinted, and a streak of sharp light flashed across his eyes. He spoke for almost 15 minutes. The man in the black robe nodded his head repeatedly, as if he fully agreed with his words.
“If this is the case, our chances are good. As the Dark Phoenix descends, the Sacred Lady will assume her position yet again. We must be ready to receive the Sacred Lady, but when all this is over, we’ll reward you handsomely.” The man in the black robe sounded excited, hysterical even.
……
Heaven Dou Empire’s capital, Heaven Dou City.
A petite and lonesome figure walked the streets. It was Tang Ya, it had been almost a month since she returned to Heaven Dou City. Her face no longer bore a smile, instead showing an unhealthy pallor, even more delicate in appearance than before.
Heaven Dou City was where she was born and raised. Five years ago, a sect that didn’t even have worldly renown had taken everything from her. The Tang Sect had collapsed after years of decay, and was wiped out. Her parents as well…
Tang Ya started to tear up when she thought of it.
“Mom, dad, I will help the Tang Sect regain its glory no matter the price I have to pay.” Tang Yan clenched her fists tightly.
She didn’t wait till Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao ended their secluded cultivations, and she left Shrek Academy even with Bei Bei’s objections.
She returned to Heaven Dou City after leaving the academy and bought a small house with the savings she shared with Bei Bei.
Tang Ya’s original plan was to find her footing in Heaven Dou City before re-establishing the Tang Sect and recruiting disciples. She wanted to lay down the foundation before Bei Bei and the rest came to Heaven Dou City. They would join her in reclaiming the Tang Sect’s former glory after they graduated.
However, she now realized why Bei Bei had tried to dissuade her from being impatient in returning to Heaven Dou City. Everything was not as simple as she had imagined.
She hadn’t returned with insufficient money, not after calculating the costs of re-establishing the Tang Sect. Tang Ya was faced with an important problem: The sect wouldn’t have any income, not for a long time at least. But she couldn’t go back to Bei Bei for the money! The money that Bei Bei had already provided her with came from his family, and her pride wouldn’t allow her to ask for more.
Then there was the issue with connections. She was 10 years old when she left, and now 15 years old upon her return. How
many contacts could a 15-year-old-girl have without any family have in such a large city?
Tang Ya did attempt to seek out the old acquaintances of the Tang Sect, her parents’ friends. But they treated her like the plague and wanted nothing to do with her. Furthermore, when the sect that destroyed the Tang Sect discovered her, she was even further oppressed and discriminated against. Even when buying the bare necessities on the streets, she would find merchants that only raised their prices for her.
Over the last month, Tang Ya experienced true desolation, true isolation. The burning, primal fury that she had suppressed in her heart started to leak out. Rebuilding the Tang Sect was too much; her thin shoulders could barely carry on…
A huge door drifted into view from afar. Tang Ya’s body jerked slightly, and two streams of tears started to trickle down her pale face.
This gate was twenty feet high and fifty feet wide. The ten- foot-high wall extended twenty meters to either side of the gate, while the eye-catching crimson-red paint on the walls
seemed slightly solemn. Grey tiles neatly and finely formed the roof of the gate, and two huge words could be seen, emblazoned above the gate. These two words were “Ironblood Sect”.
There were horizontally-inscribed boards that were placed vertically upright to the left and right of the gate. The left board wrote “A Heart As Loyal As the Blood of Iron”, while the right board was inscribed with the words “Lofty Existence For All Eternity”.
There was a time when this place didn’t look like that, when there was a board with only two words inscribed above this gate that read, “Tang Sect”.
Indeed, this was the former residence of the Tang Sect. Even though it wasn’t the same place the sect occupied long, long ago, when it was still the famous top sect of the world, but it was still the sect’s home for almost 3000 years! It was now home to the Ironblood Sect. This was a complete humiliation for the Tang Sect.
“This is my home—this is my home!”
Tang Ya lifted her right hand and wiped her tears away. Red light flashed in her eyes, and her aura started to become fiercer.
The Ironblood Sect didn’t do anything to her directly within the city, because Heaven Dou City was home to the Heaven Dou Empire’s royal family. Moreover, Tang Ya was from Shrek Academy. It would not end in their favor to attack her! But Tang Ya couldn’t bear with this humiliation any longer. Her primal impulses were screaming out to her in front of her old residence. She was here. She had arrived—and she would have vengeance.
Standing before the Ironblood Sect’s gate, Tang Ya took a deep breath. Then she extended both of her arms and shouted softly. Suddenly, countless thick bluish-black vines rushed out and separated into three attacks, simultaneously destroying all three boards. Four sour rings also rose up from under Tang Ya’s legs.
Bei Bei would be shocked to learn of her cultivation progress. Tang Ya had only crossed Rank 30 a year ago, but was already a four-ringed Soul Ancestor! Not even Bei Bei himself or Xu Sanshi had made such staggering progress!
Tang Ya’s martial soul was Bluesilver Grass—no, it wasn’t normal Bluesilver Grass anymore. When the bluish-black vines danced, they seemed more like massive pythons. Tang Ya’s eyes emitted a dim purplish-red light.
There were two Ironblood Sect disciples standing guard at either side of the gate. But they couldn’t react in time, before Tang Ya had destroyed the boards.
“What are you doing? Are you courting death?” One disciple shouted furiously. However, he was struck speechless immediately after he noticed the two yellow and two purple soul rings behind Tang Ya.
Having four soul rings wasn’t very eye-catching in Shrek Academy. But for common schools and sects, having four rings was a huge deal. Furthermore, her soul rings were an optimal set. Much like how Huo Yuhao and the others thought that Dai Huabin and the rest of class 2 wasn’t strong after returning from the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. Tang Ya could no longer be seen as a weakling in the eyes of the disciples of a small sect.
Tang Ya was after revenge. Two thick vines of Bluesilver Grass wrapped around the necks of these sect disciples, although she didn’t use any soul skills, her Bluesilver Grass suddenly turned purplish.
The two Ironblood Sect disciples screamed pathetically, they looked like they were being strangled to death by pythons. Their bodies were then crushed, and wave after wave of bloody aura came out of their body, before being absorbed by the Bluesilver Grass. After which, layers of bloody light flowed towards Tang Ya, making skin seem even paler.
“Eh?” An elder was sitting in a restaurant across the street on the second level. This elder had eyes on the whole situation from where he sat. However, this elder looked surprised and squinted his eyes as if he was in the midst of deep thought.
“Tie Li, come out!” Tang Ya shouted. She proceeded to dash through the archway and into the former inner courtyard of the Tang Sect. Her Bluesilver Grass flung the 2 corpses towards the crimson-red walls.
Their screams alerted the Ironblood Sect, hence a large number of sect disciples rushed out. Leading them was a tall figure, with small eyes and short hair. He was even bald on top of his head. He focused his gaze on the small figure of Tang Ya rushing into the courtyard, “Damn wench, you dare kill our Ironblood Sect disciples? You’re courting death. Kill her.”
This tall middle-aged man was the young master of the Ironblood Sect, Tie Tang. He had followed his father, the aforementioned Tie Li, bribed some city guards, and attacked the Tang Sect in the dead of the night. Alas the Tang Sect was too weakened by this point, and only Tang Ya escaped the carnage.
While small, the Ironblood Sect still had over 200 disciples. The sect master, Tie Li, was a soul emperor, and there were 2 soul king elders. Tie Tang was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor himself.
“All of you can die.” Tang Ya bellowed— her body whirling off the ground like a screw, jumping into the air. Myriad hidden weapons being flung in all directions as she attacked the Ironblood Sect disciples coming her way.
The front-line Ironblood Sect disciples were wiped out instantly. They weren’t even able to get into Advanced Soul Master Academies, let alone stand up to Tang Ya’s hidden weapons.
Tie Tang saw Tang Ya’s four flashing soul rings. While he also had four rings, two were yellow, and the other two were white and purple. He could only even obtain these rings with the help of his father and the elders.
Tie Tang wasn’t shocked at Tang Ya’s attack on the Ironblood Sect. While Tang Ya herself might not be an issue to the Ironblood Sect, Shrek Academy was. The Ironblood Sect was terrified of offending Shrek Academy, and actively attacking
Tang Ya would do just that. Or so they believed, as they didn’t know Tang Ya had already left Shrek Academy. Hence they had been scheming for a long time to provoke Tang Ya into an attack on them, so they could justifiably kill her. However, it did come to Tie Tang’s surprise that Tang Ya’s cultivation had come so far in just a few years.
After the wave of secret weapons was over, the Bluesilver Grass was unleashed. The numerous purple vines of Bluesilver Grass struck out like awls. Reaping several Ironblood Sect disciples in the process. While the Bluesilver Grass turned dark purple, their blood was absorbed by it.
An unhealthy shade of red was present on Tang Ya’s face. The purplish-red glow in her eyes becoming deeper. She stomped her a petite foot on the ground, and more than 10 vines of the Bluesilver Grass came out and threw out the corpses. Meanwhile, she dashed towards Tie Tang.
Tie Tang’s martial soul was inherited from the Tie family’s lineage. It was called the Iron-Armed Bear, a very ordinary bear-type martial soul. If the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear was at the top of the food chain, then the Iron-Armed Bear was at the bottom of it.
Tang Ya’s ferocity deterred the Ironblood Sect disciples from taking another step forward. They had fled in all directions, leaving an exposed Tie Tang.
Tie Tang couldn’t back down now. He had already let off a signal for the elders and his father in the back courtyard. Tang Ya was far more powerful than they’d expected, and killed numerous sect disciples instantly. However, Tie Tang believed that if he could stall Tang Ya, she would be killed by the elders of the sect. The Ironblood Sect wouldn’t even be held accountable for dismembering her corpse after all the sect disciples she’d slaughtered at this point.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” Tang Ya shouted,her mental state completely out of control. Many vines of Bluesilver Grass shot out towards Tie Tang.
Tie Tang stood his ground, and his third soul ring lit up. He threw his fists forward, shooting out a cluster of white light. The white radiance created a large light shield, with a 2 meter diameter, that swatted away the oncoming Bluesilver Grass, then struck out towards Tang Ya.
Tang Ya groaned and pulled back the vines of Bluesilver Grass before flinging them out at the shield again. Each vine littered with sharp spikes. At the same time, she dodged to the side with the use of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
Due to their limited talents, Tang Ya’s parents had a lacking mastery of the Tang Sect Secret Techniques. Tang Ya on the other hand, managed to slowly learn and master the techniques with Bei Bei’s help. Leaving the current sight of a Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track that her parents couldn’t have replicated.
While that light shield had locked onto Tang Ya’s body, its radiance dimmed as she dodged repeatedly. Tie Tang was also on the receiving end of some attacks himself.
A loud bellow came from the back courtyard. “Who’s causing trouble in the Ironblood Sect?” An elder who looked similar to Tie Tang and two other elders quickly bolted over from the back courtyard.
A cold radiance brewed in Tang Ya’s eyes. She lifted her right hand and waved it in the air. Her third soul ring lit up, and a ball of purplish-black light shot towards the 3 of them.
The ball of purplish-black light opened up in the air and formed a huge web with a diameter of over 5 meters. This was Tang Ya’s third soul skill, Saros Pythonweb. This soul skill came from the thousand year Mandala Snake that Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei helped her kill a year ago.
Tang Ya’s Bluesilver Grass was much more powerful and ferocious than Tie Tang had expected. Even though his father and the elders had arrived, he didn’t feel safe. Primarily due to the fact that Bluesilver Grass was closing in on him from all directions!
Tie Tang unleashed his fourth soul skill without any hesitation. A layer of white light was suddenly unleashed from his body, and his arms became extremely thick. His body spun off the ground, and his arms struck down the vines surrounding him.
However, Tie Tang discovered he was at a severe disadvantage, because when his arms made contact, the sharp spikes covered the vines pierced his skin. His martial soul couldn’t resist them at all. Even worse, he could feel energy flowing out of his body from where the spikes had pierced him, which the Bluesilver Grass was able to absorb!
What kind of power was this?
Tie Tang was using the wrong method to protect himself now. Even though further resistance would just lead to the Bluesilver Grass sucking out more energy, he persisted in his defence.
He was on the verge of collapse after 7 or 8 blocked attacks. When another vine came at him, his arm could no longer force it off. The sharp spikes piercing into his arms stuck. The vine of Bluesilver Grass wrapped around his body, ignoring his pathetic screams. More and more vines surrounded him, engulfing him as he screamed in horror.
Purplish halos of light were supplied to Tang Ya through the Bluesilver Grass, and her aura started to become stronger by the second.
Absorbing a four-ringed Soul Ancestor’s power quite different; Tang Ya could feel her soul power increasing substantially.
Where was Tie Li when Tang Tie was devoured by the Bluesilver Grass?
Tie Li stood to the side, completely helpless as he watched his son’s death.
Chapter 142: Dark Bluesilver Grass
Tie Li and the two elders tried to deflect Tang Ya’s Saros Pythonweb, but the web proved resistant to their attempts. Any soul power they blasted towards it just seeped through the gaps in the web, all as it barreled towards them.
Because of the sharp spikes on the web, they were unable to physically deter the web, leaving them to retreat. Likewise, dodging to the sides was proving difficult with how fast the web was coming at them.
But when they finally managed to avoid the web and arrive on the scene, they witnessed Tie Tang, being engulfed by Bluesilver Grass.
“You—you killed my son!” Tie Li roared furiously, his eyes almost entirely red. He was indeed a six-ringed Soul Emperor, and his body began expanding alarmingly fast. His body became over 2.5 meters in size, and greatly increased in physical attributes—all from unleashing his martial soul.
Though still a Soul Emperor, he wasn’t nearly up to scratch when compared to Ma Xiaotao or Dai Yueheng. This was easily seen in the colors of his soul rings; one white, two yellow, and three purple. Zero black soul rings, this meant that Tie Li’s was to forever remain a Soul Emperor—he’d reached his limit and had no hope to become a seven-ringed Soul Sage.
The other two elders were also shocked. They also knew who Tang Ya was. They unleashed their own martial souls when they saw Tang Ya’s four soul rings and the Bluesilver Grass.
“Sect master, please be cautious. Her martial soul doesn’t seem to be ordinary. She seems to be sucking young master’s strength away. Don’t tell me, don’t tell me she’s an evil soul master?” The elder to the left of Tie Li exclaimed. His face turned pale-white when he said the words ‘evil soul master’.
What did an evil soul master mean to an ordinary soul master? Death. All evil soul masters had a special ability to increase their speed of cultivation beyond that of an ordinary soul master. But their mental states would degrade along with the evilness. It was very difficult for them to improve any further after they obtained seven rings.
Was Tang Ya really an evil soul master? The answer was yes.
When Tang Ya was first conceived, her parents already knew of a hidden gift in her body—the gift of devouring life.
This gift contained an immense evil aura. However, it was concealed, and wouldn’t appear unless it was initiated actively.
Tang Ya felt that she was lagging further and further behind Bei Bei when she was at Shrek Academy, and restoring the Tang Sect was even more hopeless for her. Eventually, she chose to initiate this gift of hers when Bei Bei went to compete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.
She left the academy secretly after classes were over and found a dense forest. She then unleashed her Bluesilver Grass and devoured the plants in the forest, absorbing their life power for her own cultivation. Her gift of devouring life was extremely strong, and her cultivation improved leaps and bounds with the help of this gift. However, her martial soul also underwent transformations because of this, and turned into the current Dark Bluesilver .
Tang Ya had a strong will. She knew that her own cultivation would increase even faster if the Bluesilver Grass devoured a soul master’s life and soul power. But she never did so. How could she kill innocent people just to restore the Tang Sect? It was only today that she could no longer suppress her will to kill when she saw her enemies upon returning to the Tang Sect. The evil aura controlled her mind, and she began killing
senselessly within the Ironblood Sect. After she used the Dark Bluesilver Grass to kill and devour the life of the first Ironblood Sect disciple, she had turned irrevocably into an evil soul master.
Tie Li was also fearful at the prospect of facing an evil soul master. An evil soul master’s cultivation couldn’t be measured in the ordinary sense. Although Tang Ya only had four rings, it was clear that her true abilities had surpassed those of a soul ancestor from how easily she killed Tie Tang.
However, Tie Li couldn’t be bothered about his fear after witnessing his son’s tragic death. He didn’t even get to see his son’s corpse.
He dashed towards Tang Ya and roared furiously.
Tang Ya’s Dark Bluesilver Grass’ greatest strength was that it became stronger the more it fought. She could nourish her own body by draining her enemies’ life and soul power. The Bluesilver Grass would carry out its own filtering in the process of absorption. This was the special characteristic of her evil martial soul.
Not all evil soul masters were strong. But Tang Ya’s Dark Bluesilver Grass was undoubtedly very outstanding and had great potential.
Blood was on the verge of appearing in Tang Ya’s eyes as she faced her arch-enemy. Her internal hatred erupted like a volcano. Several thick vines of Bluesilver Grass were covered by a layer of dim blood light as they flew up. They whipped towards Tie Li maniacally as if they were long canes.
Tie Li had the same Iron-Armed Bear martial soul as his son, but his was much stronger. His thick arms started to flail and became extremely tough through the enhancement of his third soul ring. The sharp spikes on the Bluesilver Grass couldn’t pierce his skin, and he shook off the vines of Bluesilver Grass. He was also getting closer and closer to Tang Ya.
The other two soul kings didn’t idle around either. One of them was an agility-type soul master, while the other was a control-type soul master. Their martial souls were the Swift Wolf and Long Whip respectively. Those were two ordinary martial souls.
The soul king with the Long Whip exhibited his fourth soul skill and drew a circular arc in the air that attacked Tang Ya, whereas the soul king with the Swift Wolf snuck up behind Tang Ya and unleash his wolf claws as he carefully leapt towards her.
Tang Ya was under attack on three fronts by two soul kings and a soul emperor. Even Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi might be unable to deal with this situation if they were here. Tang Ya’s dominance as an evil soul master was fully unleashed at this point.
“All of you will die!” She shouted as she looked into the sky and her fourth soul ring lit up.
It was pertinent to note that her fourth soul ring was only added after the dark characteristic of her Bluesilver Grass was
awakened. It also contained her strongest soul skill, obtained from a plant that had a five thousand year cultivation.
A layer of weird purplish-red spread from Tang Ya. With her body as the center, a huge purplish-red ball of light with a 2 meter diameter was formed. There were weird stripes on this ball of light. All the vines of Bluesilver Grass that were attacking Tie Lie were also retracted at this point.
The long whip that descended was deflected away, and the ball of light blew apart when the Iron-Armed Bear and Swift Wolf got close to Tang Ya.
Countless vines of Bluesilver Grass appeared underneath Tang Ya’s legs like sharp spikes before they spread out rapidly. It felt as if they were spreading like ripples. The entire courtyard seemed to be covered by Bluesilver Grass and a frightening aura. At the same time, it had turned bluish-purple too.
This was too sudden. Tie Li and the other two elders had never seen such a powerful ranged attack before. The Bluesilver Grass was merely a common species of grass! Who knew that it could unleashed such a powerful soul skill?
The two soul kings were instantly pierced by the Bluesilver Grass. An intense pain and numbness spread across their entire body. The elder with the Swift Wolf martial soul was in a better condition. When he realized things were going wrong, he leapt up quickly. The Bluesilver Grass reached a height of 2 meters, but only pierced his feet, whereas the elder with the Long Whip was pierced throughout his entire body. He stimulated all his soul power before he managed to destroy the Bluesilver Grass that pierced his entire body. But he was already covered in blood, and his life had been sucked away by the Bluesilver Grass.
But did the elder with the Swift Wolf really avert this crisis? He didn’t. Even though he was only pierced at his feet, the numbness caused him to fall straight down, and his body became stiff.
The Bluesilver Grass continued to attack him, but his cultivation wasn’t fully unleashed, as he was already numb. He was engulfed just like the other elder.
The two of them weren’t weak. They were mainly terrified by the appearance of an evil soul master. In addition, Tang Ya’s fourth soul skill was also very tyrannical. If it were just
ordinary Bluesilver Grass, they would only lose their ability to fight temporarily. But the Dark Bluesilver Grass carried a frightening devouring ability. The two soul kings’ strength was immediately turned into its tonic.
Tang Ya turned pale as she unleashed this blow, but she was immediately nourished by the two soul kings’ strength. However, she was in great peril now.
A layer of greyish light covered the Iron-Armed Bear. His fifth soul ring flashed extremely brightly, while the vines of Bluesilver Grass that tried to pierce his body were deflected away easily. He had already burst in front of Tang Ya ferociously and he struck his thick arms towards Tang Ya’s head.
Although Tang Ya’s fourth skill was very powerful, she had lost her flexibility, and was temporarily unable to move.
“Go and die!” Tang Ya screamed, and several clanging noises sounded. Several secret weapons shot out from different parts of her body. Flashing golden Dragon Beard Needles also appeared in her hands. She knew she was in trouble, but she wanted to drag Tie Li down to perish along with her. All the
secret weapons that she unleashed were injected with the power that she had devoured earlier.
Tie Li was a soul emperor. His sixth soul ring lit up at this point, and his arms grew in size again. They were now 3 times their original size. When he smashed them down, he managed to block off all the secret weapons.
The frightening force blew Tang Ya’s hair behind her. She was about to perish under Tie Li’s fists.
As a mere soul ancestor, Tang Ya should be proud of herself for killing almost the entire sect and even two soul kings. But she still had to pay the price for her recklessness. That price was her life.
“Dad, mom, I’m coming to find the both of you.” Tang Ya’s shut her purplish eyelids and two teardrops appeared at the corners of her eyes.
She wasn’t fearful, but reluctant in the face of death. Bei Bei’s smiling face filled her mind at this point.
Bei Bei…
However, when Tang Ya was supposed to be struck, she didn’t feel any pain. She groaned, and all the pressure was suddenly taken off her.
One was usually insensitive at the most desperate of times. Tang Ya only reacted after a few seconds, and opened her eyes.
Her fourth soul skill had already disappeared. The entire Ironblood Sect only had one corpse now. All the Ironblood Sect disciples that were killed by her previously had already been mummified by the Bluesilver Grass.
Tang Ya’s soul power had increased another level through this battle. She had reached Rank 44.
Tie Li was currently being held in the air by an elder in a black robe. The elder looked at Tang Ya calmly. He lifted his hand and threw Tie Li in front of her.
“He’s yours now. You can deal with him in whatever way you want.” The elder’s voice was very calm. There was even a sense of benevolence amidst that calmness. The Iron-Armed Bear’s sixth soul skill was helpless against this elder, who didn’t even unleash his martial soul.
Tang Ya was both emotionally and mentally unstable now. She didn’t even bother to think who that elder was. She was only focused on Tie Li, who was still alive, but could only limp on the ground.
Her arch-enemy was in front of her, and she could have her revenge now. Her body started to tremble in excitement.
She lifted her hand and her delicate fingers pointed at Tie Li, “Tie Li, did you expect yourself to be in such a predicament after killing my parents and destroying the Tang Sect? I shall use you as a sacrifice to my parents’ souls today.”
As she spoke, Tang Ya’s hands moved repeatedly, and several streaks of golden light penetrated Tie Li’s body. Tie Li’s facial expression suddenly distorted, and he was no longer able to move his body. It’s as if his entire body had cramped up all at once.
Tang Ya was stunned. She lifted her head to look at the elder, “You sealed his voice.”
The elder smiled, “Do you want to listen to him?”
Tang Ya nodded forcefully and gritted her teeth. “Yes!”
“Okay.” The elder lifted his hand and pressed against Tie Li. Tie Li’s screams could suddenly be heard. His loud and pathetic voice even shocked the elder that had sealed his voice a little. Perhaps half of Heaven Dou City could hear his screams.
Tie Li’s body started to change. A contusion the size of a fist started to protrude from his body. He had turned into a freak in just a few seconds.
Tang Ya used the Dragon Beard Needle once again. The Dragon Beard Needle wasn’t the most dominant secret weapon in the Tang Sect, but it brought the greatest pain to an enemy.
The thin, golden needle could normally shrink into a small grain, but when needed, it would turn into a long needle and pierce through the enemy’s flesh. After it pierced through the flesh, it could shrink once again. The contusion was formed in this manner.
Xu Sanshi couldn’t take it when he was pierced by 1 needle previously. Tie Li was pierced by more than 10 needles now, and experienced unbearable pain. It was as if his muscles and nerves had been glued together. Tie Li could only use his soul emperor cultivation to scream now. No wonder it was so loud.
The elder furrowed his brows and said, “Young lady, you need to be faster. Otherwise, the Heaven Dou Empire’s royal family will send someone here.”
Tang Ya nodded and unleashed many varities of Tang Sect secret weapons. She didn’t use them to attack Tie Li’s sensitive areas. She started with his limbs before extending them to his body.
“Dad, mom, I’ve taken revenge for the both of you!” Tang Ya bellowed into the sky. A crossbow bolt shot into Tie Li’s head and ended his screams.
At this point, waves of powerful aura could be sensed. The elder creased his brows and dashed in front of Tang Ya, “We have to go.”
“No, I won’t go. This is where the Tang Sect is. Why must I go? I only killed the perpetrators who destroyed the Tang Sect. This is my home!”
The elder raised his brows. He lifted his palm to hack at Tang Ya. Before Tang Ya’s Bluesilver Grass could even react, her entire body turned numb, and she went limp. The elder lifted her, and a black fog engulfed his entire body. He disappeared into the air instantly.
……
Huo Yuhao regained his energy after one day of rest. With the Life Gold’s nourishment, his body’s regenerative abilities were much greater than that of most soul masters of the same level. Although Xiao Xiao had endured less pain than him, she was still a little fatigued.
“Xiao Xiao, how’s your recovery?” Huo Yuhao asked Xiao Xiao, who had just awakened from her cultivation.
Xiao Xiao replied, “I’m almost fully recovered. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear is very nourishing. Besides some
soreness in my right arm, my soul power and strength have been fully restored.”
The sun had already risen in the east at this point. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had just finished cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes, while Elder Xuan had disappeared to parts unknown.
Wang Dong asked, “So we’ll be entering the forest again today?”
Xiao Xiao jumped up and looked at the Star Dou Forest. She said, “I’m fine with it. I’m already a soul elder now. Haha. Monitor, I’m a level above you.”
They were resting 50 miles from Star Dou Forest. No soul beasts would come here under normal conditions. Elder Xuan disappeared after bringing them here.
Huo Yuhao said, “Xiao Xiao, let us see your newly-obtained thousand year soul skill. It’ll also strengthen our cooperation in Star Dou Forest.”
Although they had only been hunting soul beasts in Star Dou Forest for one day, the experience had been quite dangerous. The most perilous part wasn’t when they met the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, but when they encountered the ten thousand year Deviltiger Cat. They would have
perished under the Deviltiger Cat’s sudden attack if not for Elder Xuan’s protection and their enhanced powers.
After the close shave that day, their excitement and playful mindsets had ceased to exist. They were only left with vigilance.
“Alright, I shall let you see,” Xiao Xiao said forthrightly.
As a black light flashed, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had already appeared in front of her. Three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—also rose from beneath her feet.
It was a different feeling to obtain another soul ring. The elegant purple thousand year soul ring was indeed more beautiful than the yellow hundred year soul rings.
Xiao Xiao shouted, and the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron rose into the air. “Watch carefully.”
As she spoke, the purple thousand year soul ring had already lit up.
“Nom-!” A weird sound came from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It was as if the cauldron was jerking tremendously. The size of the cauldron started to increase greatly following that.
The cauldron, which initially had a diameter of around 1 meter, increased in size to about 3 meters in diameter. The cauldron also turned dark gold like the thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s fur. The cauldron was much stronger than before as the dark golden light flashed.
“Monitor, be careful.” Xiao Xiao shouted before the huge Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron started to burst towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao had already sensed a gust of ominous wind blowing towards him when the cauldron was tens of meters
away from him. The cauldron had to be over a thousand kilograms in weight. But Huo Yuhao didn’t retreat. Instead, he lifted his hands and unleashed the Ice Empress’ Pincer. He slammed it into the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron.
“Clang!” The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron fell, while Huo Yuhao was sent flying by the collision. Even the chill released by the Ice Empress Pincer was dissipated by the dark golden light. The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron sank slightly into the ground. It had the aura of a national treasure at this moment.
“It’s really tough.” Huo Yuhao complimented. He was forced back by the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron even though he had unleashed the Ice Empress Pincer. This showed how powerful the cauldron was.
The Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron carried a sense of nobility. The dark gold radiance seemed to have come alive, and revolved around the cauldron.
Xiao Xiao was delighted as she said, “My third soul ring has brought me a thousand year soul skill ‘the Cauldron’s Might’ that has changed my Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron completely. It’s as if the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear has
possessed it. Its defensive strength has increased by at least 3 times. In addition, unleashing the Cauldron’s Might before using the two other soul skills makes me much stronger. My Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron has experienced a holistic increase in strength with this soul skill. It’s not so easy to crush it anymore. Watch this Cauldron Quake.”
Xiao Xiao shouted once again as she spoke. As a thunder-like boom rang out, a dark golden halo extended to a radius of 3 about meters with the cauldron as the center. The earth under the halo collapsed and caused the cauldron to sink a meter into the ground. The powerful shockwave even caused a little distortion in the air.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could still feel the tremors even though they were not standing within the radius of the halo. Xiao Xiao’s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron had become much more powerful with her third soul skill, the Cauldron’s Might.
“Excellent. Segregation, control and defense. Your Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron is indeed a powerful tool soul.” Wang Dong complimented. An increase in Xiao Xiao’s abilities was equivalent to an increase in their team’s strength!
They had the lowest cultivations among everyone in Shrek’s Seven Monsters. It was impossible for them not to have the desire to catch up with their seniors. However, the three of them possessed twin martial souls and the greatest potential.
Xiao Xiao laughed and looked at Huo Yuhao, “Monitor, show us how powerful the fellow that almost destroyed my arm is.”
Xiao Xiao was still a little petrified as she mentioned the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone. If Huo Yuhao hadn’t absorbed its strength away, her right arm would have been gone by now.
Huo Yuhao nodded and lifted his right arm. As a dark golden radiance flashed, 5 sharp claws that resembled blades extended from his palm.
“It was rather difficult to fuse with this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone. However, it’s indeed different from an ordinary soul bone. There are 2 forms to it. The first is the ordinary form just like what we’re seeing now. The other form is during a soul skill attack. Take a look.”
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao chose a rock that was as big as a millstone and threw it up. He then slashed his right hand towards the rock. The rock was cut into several pieces without even making a sound.
The pieces of the rock landed on the ground. Both Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong rushed to take a look at them. The rock had been divided into many pieces, and the cuts were very sleek.
Xiao Xiao stared wide-eyed, “This, this is like cutting tofu!
It’s really sharp.”
Huo Yuhao chortled, “You shouldn’t feel indebted to me now that you’ve seen this. I’ve obtained an extremely good soul bone for myself too! The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear is able to become one of the most dangerous soul beasts because of its Darkgolden Terrorclaw.”
Xiao Xiao shook her head and said seriously, “It’s different.
Monitor, I know it.”
Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said, “Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. I shall show you its soul skill form.”
His gaze straightened as he spoke, and the terrorclaws on his right palm waved in the distant air. An intense dark gold radiance shot out, and the powerful terrorclaws changed into 3 meter-long dark golden claw projections before they clawed into the ground.
No dirt or gravel was displaced from the ground, but five 3 meter-long scratch marks appeared. Even the air seemed to have been clawed. After Huo Yuhao finished clawing, there was still an echo left in the air.
Huo Yuhao teased Xiao Xiao, “Do you want to test out my Darkgolden Terrorclaws with your Cauldron’s Might?”
“It’s fine. Thanks.” Xiao Xiao shook her head hurriedly, and quickly put her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron away.
Wang Dong asked, “Yuhao, what’s the rate of depletion of your soul power when using this Darkgolden Terrorclaw?”
Huo Yuhao answered, “It’s still fine, as it only comes from a two thousand year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. There’s not much depletion in its original form. It’s just like a part of me – nothing different from my hand. The depletion is greater when I’m using the soul skill. It depletes around 30% of my soul power every time I use it. Elder Xuan was right. I can feel this right palm bone absorbing my strength slowly after it has fused with me. It seems like it really can evolve.”
Wang Dong said, “Let’s go. Let’s enter the Star Dou Forest again and hope our luck continues. We’ll find a suitable soul beast for your third soul ring.”
“Sure.” Huo Yuhao nodded. Becoming a soul elder was necessary for every powerful soul master, and it was also the first major barrier in the development of every soul master. For those whose soul power and martial soul were weaker, they were destined to be unable to overcome this barrier in their entire life. After crossing this barrier, a soul master was no
longer in the beginner stage anymore. He would have reached the intermediate stage.
While the three of them were not ordinary soul elders, they still had to make this breakthrough in their soul power.
The three proceeded in the direction of Star Dou Forest after they packed up.
They covered the tens of miles quickly. Huo Yuhao continued to lead them while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao followed behind him. The three of them seemed familiar with Star Dou Forest as they entered it again. Huo Yuhao initiated his Spiritual Detection Sharing and they proceeded much faster than the first time they had entered the forest. They covered around 10 miles in less than an hour, and started to search for a suitable soul beast for Huo Yuhao.
Although Huo Yuhao knew that it wouldn’t be easy to find a spiritual-type soul beast that suited him, he didn’t think it would be that difficult either. Over the next 10 days, they circled almost half of Star Dou Forest. But they didn’t manage to find a suitable soul beast.
They did encounter spiritual-type soul beasts, but these soul beasts were either too weak or not old enough. He couldn’t possibly fuse with ten year or hundred year soul rings.
Their strategy also changed during this period of time. Their original strategy was not to rile any soul beasts, but they wouldn’t cave in when they met soul beasts that attacked them actively. In this way, they prevented a lot of trouble. However, this didn’t manage to attract higher-level soul beasts.
But they did benefit slightly from their 10 days in the forest. They had to remain on alert in the Star Dou Forest as they might be in danger at any time. Under such conditions, they started to assimilate their experience in the tournament and understanding during their closed-door cultivation, and coordinated better and better with one another. Thousand years soul beasts no longer posed any threat to them. Of course, this was only if they met one of such soul beasts. They could only escape if they met a bunch of soul beasts.
In these 10 days of training, their mindset, attainments and the development of their potential were all very important to them. Elder Xuan didn’t appear in these 10 days, as if he wasn’t following them at all. He allowed them to move freely.
Huo Yuhao finally understood why he hadn’t been made a core disciple of Shrek Academy. It was too difficult for his Spirit Eyes to obtain a suitable soul ring. His good fortune seemed to have ended after he hunted the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.
Night had fallen again. The three of them retreated from Star Dou Forest and rested at a small hill 30 miles away. They slept in two small tents.
“Yuhao, we can’t continue on like this! We’ve circled almost half of Star Dou Forest, but we’ve only seen a few spiritual-type soul beasts. Even then, none of them were suitable for you.” Wang Dong furrowed his brows as he looked at Huo Yuhao flipping grilled meat.
Huo Yuhao flipped the grilled meat skillfully and said, “It’s indeed difficult to find a soul beast that’s suitable for me. It’s already rare to find a spiritual-type soul beast. It’s even more difficult to find one that’s suitable for me.”
Xiao Xiao said, “Monitor, why don’t we go deeper in? If we go further in by another 10 miles, I believe the quality of soul beasts that we’ll encounter will be higher.”
Huo Yuhao was silent. Although they knew that Elder Xuan was protecting them secretly, they were all very proud as the new generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters. None of them wanted Elder Xuan to intervene unless there was a special situation. They could naturally sense their improvement in all aspects after these 10 days of training. This was especially evident for Xiao Xiao, who was able to use her Cauldron’s Might more freely. She should be able to determine the outcome of a battle with one sweep of her Cauldron’s Might.
Wang Dong nodded and said, “I agree. Yuhao, you don’t have to think so much. We should be able to deal with a ten thousand year soul beast with our combined strength if we meet one, or at least we’ll have no problem preserving our lives. Even if we venture a further 10 miles in, we’ll still be very far from the center of the forest. We’ll just see fewer hundred year soul beasts. It won’t be too dangerous with your Spiritual Detection Sharing’s ability to warn us and if we’re careful enough. In addition, greater pressure will also be beneficial for us. Elder Xuan hasn’t appeared, not even to eat your grilled meat, because he wants to give us more training. I feel that our soul power and live experiences have improved significantly during this period of time.”
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, “Alright, we’ll go deeper in then. However, I have to put this across first. If we meet a ten thousand year soul beast, we have to leave the area immediately after the battle.” As the team leader, he had to take responsibility for everyone’s safety. They could venture deeper in with their current abilities. Huo Yuhao didn’t persist any further, since Elder Xuan was secretly protecting them too.
The three of them rested early after they had their dinner. The tents only covered the night sky. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong cultivated in one tent, while Xiao Xiao took another tent by herself.
Although Huo Yuhao had reached a bottleneck in his mastery of the Mysterious Jade Hands, he understood the importance of accumulation. The temporary bottleneck wouldn’t affect his cultivation, and it would increase accordingly when he obtained his soul ring. This was said to be confirmed by one of Shrek Academy’s founders, a teacher known by the title of Grandmaster. This Grandmaster’s research on the 10 core competitive powers in the world of soul masters also played a huge role in erecting Shrek Academy’s foundation as the continent’s top academy.
As they were cultivating in the middle of night, Huo Yuhao’s eyelids started to twitch. He opened his eyes quickly. When he opened his eyes, a golden light shone in the small tent.
The Haodong Power also dispersed quickly and turned back into their soul powers. Wang Dong opened his eyes too.
“What’s wrong, Yuhao?” Wang Dong was a little puzzled as he looked at him.
Huo Yuhao said in a deep voice, “We have company. I’ll go and take a look. Wake Xiao Xiao up. This bunch of people should be going to Star Dou Forest.”
“Okay.”
Chapter 143: Entering the Star Dou Forest's Hybrid Region
They exited the tent at the same time. Huo Yuhao’s eyes were sparkling golden, and two soul rings rose up from beneath his feet, projecting his Spiritual Detection towards a certain direction. He could detect more than six hundred meters in a single direction, and his senses were highly accurate.
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong darted out from the tent. The campfire was lit in between both tents, and it shielded them from the coldness of the night. The flames shone on their faces and flickered with a pale red luster.
Huo Yuhao reported his findings softly, “Eight people—six male, two female. I can’t figure out one of the male’s cultivation level, and I think he has at least seven rings. There’s a Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings between the other five men. The two females are probably Soul Elders, at or around our level. They’re walking towards us right now.”
Wang Dong asked, “Shall we hide?”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, “No need. They’re definitely not coming here for us, and they’ll be here very soon. The tents and the campfire remnants can’t be erased quickly, it’ll raise suspicion instead. We just have to act natural and wait for them to come to us. I think they’re probably here to hunt soul beasts, just like us.”
Voices could already be heard while they were discussing.
“Eh, there’s a campfire here.”
A lofty silhouette appeared before Huo Yuhao and the others before the voice arrived. It was a tall and skinny man, and he was so scrawny that he resembled a bamboo stick. However, he moved with an astonishing speed, his gaze landed right on Huo Yuhao and the others beside the campfire the moment he appeared. Huo Yuhao and the others stared at him as if they had been startled.
There was no doubt that this tall and skinny man was an agility-type soul master. He took the lead and scouted the path ahead for his party, and he relaxed the moment he realized that Huo Yuhao and the others were children. They were barely over ten years old. He raised one hand, and a beam of
yellow light sparkled in the center of his palm. This light beam surged about five meters into the sky before it transformed into a yellow circle of light that permeated outwards.
Huo Yuhao and the others sprang to their feet. They could tell from the other party’s movements that he was highly disciplined, and it was made apparent that this wasn’t a normal team.
“Who are you?” Huo Yuhao asked warily but didn’t step forward.
The skinny man smiled faintly and replied, “We’re just passing by. We saw your campfire, so we came to take a look. What about you? Who are you guys?”
There was a smile on his face, but it was tinged with his arrogance.
Huo Yuhao answered, “We’re here in the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts and collect soul rings.”
“Oh? You’re here by yourselves to hunt soul beasts?” The scrawny man stared at the three of them suspiciously.
Xiao Xiao grunted coldly and retorted, “What? Is that not allowed?”
The scrawny man chuckled and shook his head with amusement. There was a look of condescension and indifference on his face. Even though the night was dark and dusky, how could the subtleties of his expression escape Huo Yuhao’s Spirit Eyes?
Figure after figure appeared beside the skinny man at this moment. The lineup was just like Huo Yuhao’s had said—there were six males and two females, including the skinny man.
A middle-aged man that was about forty years old lowered his voice and said, “What’s the situation, Bei Tang?”
The skinny man replied respectfully, “Big brother—they’re three young fellas that claim that they’re in the Great Star Dou Forest to obtain soul rings. They don’t have any seniors following them. I’ve checked the surroundings, and only the
three of them are here. Two males and one female, and they don’t even look like they’re over fifteen years old.”
“Oh?” The middle-aged man turned towards Huo Yuhao and the others, while he did that Huo Yuhao and the others were also scrutinizing them.
It was apparent that this middle-aged man was the leader of the group, and he was also the seven-ringed Soul Sage that Huo Yuhao had identified earlier. His soul power was so exuberant that Huo Yuhao couldn’t judge his cultivation accurately.
Besides this middle-aged man, the other males were all normal-looking people with average builds, the kind of look that wouldn’t be easily recognized in a crowd. Of course, their cultivations weren’t normal at all—their abilities were enough to support a mid-level sect.
The two girls in the party attracted Huo Yuhao’s attention. They were both wearing warrior robes, and one of them had flowing green hair draped behind her. This girl was enchantingly beautiful, almost at Jiang Nannan’s level. She looked extremely tender, and her pretty eyes shifted like flowing water; one could feel her faint gentleness even from
afar. She looked like she was around fifteen or sixteen years old
—this was the age when girls were full of adolescence. Her yellow warrior robe was extremely riveting even in the blackest darkness of night. It was slightly bigger than her frame and enveloped her figure nicely, but it wasn’t all that visible.
The other girl beside her looked around the same age. However, she was a little taller, and her expression was ice- cold. Her long black hair was combed neatly and tied into a ponytail, while her white warrior robe was a little more fitting and her long legs were especially alluring. She was almost as tall as Huo Yuhao, who stood at just over one meter and seventy centimeters tall. This girl wasn’t as good-looking as the other one, but her aura felt more elegant and dignified. These two girls stood next to each other, and the two of them were equally brilliant and attractive in their own ways.
“My three little friends—please come here for a moment.” The middle-aged man waved at Huo Yuhao and the others.
Huo Yuhao whispered to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, “Wait here. I’ll go take a look.”
“Alright.” Wang Dong nodded immediately. Xiao Xiao wanted to follow, but she held back when even Wang Dong decided to stay behind.
Huo Yuhao stepped forward quickly and came before the row of people. He was neither obsequious nor supercilious as he said, “What do you need?”
The middle-aged man scrutinized Huo Yuhao for a moment and said, “Little man, you guys are inside the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts?”
Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, “Yes.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes were piercing, and carried traces of obscurity. It felt as if he was locked onto Huo Yuhao, and could launch an attack at any moment. However, Huo Yuhao was calm and unperturbed while he stood before him and wasn’t on guard at all.
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “My name is Mo Feiyun, and these are my associates. We are heading into the Great Star Dou Forest as well. We traveled throughout the
night, and it seems like we’re almost there, but everyone's a little exhausted. We can see that you have a nice campfire started here—I wonder if you can share it with us and let us rest for the night?”
Huo Yuhao agreed heartily, “Alright.” He understood that speaking too much might mess things up. This group of people actually did appear travel-worn, and it was clear that they had been on the move for a long time. This middle-aged man who claimed to be Mo Feiyun was a little wary of him, but Huo Yuhao couldn’t feel much hostility. His spiritual power was superior to most others, and Huo Yuhao’s judgment of emotions was usually keenly accurate. His Spiritual Detection had been activated this whole time, but it was being handled with immense subtlety and ingenuity, and even powerful Soul Sages like Mo Feiyun wouldn’t realize it was active even if that Soul Sage used their soul power to survey their surroundings. The people before them didn’t reveal any intentions of making a move against them.
The two young girls looked Huo Yuhao up and down. The yellow-cloaked girl smiled at him, while the girl clad in white glanced at him coldly—there was a clear distinction in their personalities.
Huo Yuhao guided the entire group to the campfire, and two people quickly set up tents, which were much larger compared to their own. The tent closest to the campfire was a relatively small black tent, which was apparently made from cowhide. These two people swiftly set up two fairly bigger tents with their agile hands and feet afterwards.
Mo Feiyun and a few others sat down beside the campfire. It was obvious that their eyes paused on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao for a longer period of time compared to Huo Yuhao. This was especially so for Wang Dong; he immediately attracted everyone’s attention when they arrived at the campfire.
His short hair was powdery blue, his eyes were the same color, and he exuded a dense light aura. Wang Dong was extremely handsome, and he appeared full of youthful energy. In terms of looks, the yellow-robed and white-robed girls lost all their radiance beside him.
The yellow-robed girl was evidently a little taken aback, and her pretty face flushed a little when she glanced at Wang Dong. The white-robed girl’s cold face appeared slightly surprised as well, and her eyes paused on Wang Dong for a long moment before she turned away slowly.
Huo Yuhao and the others sat on one side of the campfire. The three of them said nothing at all, and just silently warmed themselves next to the fire. Returning to their cultivation wasn’t a good idea with strangers around, especially when all of them were incredibly powerful.
Mo Feiyun seemed the most affable. He smiled and said, “My three little friends—how may I address you?”
Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, “My name is Yuhao, and this is Xiao Dong and Xiao Xiao.” He didn’t reveal either his or Wang Dong’s full name, but Xiao Xiao’s name couldn’t really be masked with a nickname, so he just said it.
Mo Feiyun said, “You guys are still young, and your soul power is quite strong. However, venturing into the Great Star Dou Forest isn’t really a good idea. Have you been inside before?”
Huo Yuhao answered, “We’ve roamed around in the outer regions. Thank you for reminding us—we won’t venture too deep inside the Great Star Dou Forest. We will leave once we find suitable soul beasts for ourselves.”
Mo Feiyun continued to ask, “Where are you guys from? Are you guys from a sect or an academy?”
Huo Yuhao replied, “We are from the Star Luo Empire, and we are members of the Star Luo National Academy.” He wouldn’t have been able to name another academy before his participation in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. However, he knew a lot more names now. He himself was from the Star Luo Empire, so his accent was more natural, and thus using the Star Luo National Academy to hide their true identities was the most appropriate. He had also become familiar with the Star Luo National Academy’s standards during his battle against their official team, which was led by Princess Jiu Jiu. Furthermore, part of the Great Star Dou Forest was located inside the Star Luo Empire anyway.
Mo Feiyun and the others reacted in shock when they heard ‘Star Luo National Academy’. That academy was relatively reputable in the continent, and they were some of the elites within the Star Luo Empire. They ended up in the final four during the recent Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Academy.
“So you guys are gifted youngsters from the Star Luo National Academy—no wonder you guys dare to venture into the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt soul beasts by yourselves.” Mo Feiyun’s tone sounded a little more careful, and the air of arrogance around the others receded slightly. It was apparent that the Star Luo National Academy’s name was extremely credible.
Huo Yuhao asked, “How about you guys, Uncle Mo? Are you guys hunting soul beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest as well?”
Mo Feiyun nodded and answered, “Some of us have reached a bottleneck, and we are just trying out our luck inside the Great
Star Dou Forest.”
The other tents had been properly set up while they spoke. Mo Feiyun ate something light and chatted idly with Huo Yuhao and the others before he went into his tent to rest.
Mo Feiyun introduced the people with him while they were talking. The skinny man was called Bei Tang, the yellow-robed girl was named Wei Na, and the white-robed girl was called Mu Xue. However, Mo Feiyun didn’t reveal much about their backgrounds. He made an agreement with Huo Yuhao that they would travel together into the Great Star Dou Forest, and he was willing to take care of them for a short while in exchange for their campfire.
Huo Yuhao could tell that Mo Feiyun only developed such ideas after he found out that they were from the Star Luo National Academy, and they lowered their guard quite a bit as well.
Mo Feiyun and the other males entered the two large tents respectively, while Wei Na and Mu Xue walked inside the cowhide tent near the campfire. Judging by their allocations and positions, the status of these two girls wasn’t simple.
Huo Yuhao and the others returned to their own tents for the night, but Mo Feiyun quietly left his own tent and came before Wei Na and Mu Xue’s tent. He whispered, “May I enter, my lady?”
“Come in.” Mu Xue was the one who spoke.
Mo Feiyun bent down and entered the girls’ tent. However, he sat down cross-legged at the tent’s entrance and didn’t proceed any deeper.
“Can you tell where these three kids are from, Master Mo?” Mu Xue asked plainly. Wei Na was sitting by her side, and there was a faint smile on her face from the beginning to the end, but she said nothing. However, judging from the position of her mattress compared to Mu Xue’s, her status was also easily comparable to Mu Xue’s.
Mo Feiyun’s body began to sparkle with a layer of white light that enveloped the entire tent, blocking out their voices.
“These three kids are young, their appearance and qualities are not ordinary, yet they aren’t that similar. It’s obvious that they don’t come from the same sect. They should be between Soul Grandmaster and Soul Elder judging by their auras. It’s highly believable that they’re from the Star Luo National Academy at their age. However, I think we should take them
with us for safety purposes so that we can avoid any accidents or unforeseen circumstances. If it’s alright with them, lending our hand isn’t much trouble.”
Mu Xue tilted her head downwards slightly and said, “Then you decide, Master Mo.”
“Master Mo, which one of them do you think deserves the most attention?” Wei Na suddenly opened her mouth. Her voice was incredibly enchanting, and sounded like music to the ear.
Mo Feiyun answered, “Your Highness, I think the youth called Yuhao deserves the most attention. I have noticed from the expressions they give each other that the Xiao Xiao girl trusts and admires Yuhao, while the good-looking Xiao Dong has good chemistry with him. The two of them didn’t exchange glances much, and they seemed to understand each other with a single twinkle of their eyes. That Yuhao leads this
trio, so he’s definitely not simple. Furthermore, my judgment of his abilities is also murky. He hasn’t seemed to reach Soul Elder yet, judging by his soul power fluctuations, so the other two are better. However, he’s overflowing with life energy, at a level higher than even grown-ups.”
Mu Xue tilted her head again and said, “Go back and rest, Master Mo. We just have to pay more attention to them tomorrow.”
“Yes, my lady, your Highness. I’ll take my leave now.” Mo Feiyun retreated from the tent, and the layer of white mist was immediately withdrawn and dissipated.
“Xiao Dong is really good-looking, sister!” Wei Na giggled once Mo Feiyun left the tent.
Mu Xue’s pretty face revealed a faint smile. “What? Have you fallen for him?”
Wei Na pressed her rosy lips together. “No way. I’m just helping you out.”
Mu Xue shook her head and replied, “I don’t like boys that are younger than me. Master Mo is right—Yuhao is extremely sophisticated. I don’t know why, but I keep feeling waves of goosebumps whenever I’m near him, and my martial soul also fluctuates conspicuously. It feels as if there’s something about his aura that can restrain or counter my martial soul
completely.”
Wei Na asked, “Does he have a fire-type martial soul?”
Mu Xue shook her head once more and said, “Doesn’t seem like it. We will know once we enter the Great Star Dou Forest. The three of them must have some tricks up their sleeves since they dare to come in by themselves. We should rest early—we have to search for our soul rings inside the Great Star Dou Forest tomorrow, so hopefully our luck will be good. If we don’t find anything suitable here, we’ll have to travel to the northern side. The northern side is a lot more dangerous.”
“Alright, let’s go to bed now. Can I hug you to sleep, sister Xue?”
“Cut it out…”
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were discussing in their own tent as well, and Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power blocked off their voices.
“Yuhao—will there be any problems if we travel with them into the forest?” Wang Dong was a little anxious.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “What are you worried about? I can tell that these people are from some sect. The two girls are likely the ones that are here to collect soul rings, while the others are their servants. We can save a lot of effort by following them inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and we can probably venture a bit deeper in as well. Even if they are hostile towards us, they will have to face Elder Xuan first.”
Wang Dong was confused. “Are you interested in the girls?”
Huo Yuhao had a face of exasperation. “We’re still children. Can you not pretend to be a grown-up? Plus, will any girl be interested in me with you around?”
“It’s good that you know.” Wang Dong said with an air of arrogance,
Huo Yuhao was immediately rendered speechless.
Nothing else happened that night. Huo Yuhao and the others got up early to pack up their tents the next day, and Huo Yuhao cultivated the Purple Demon Eyes while facing the rising sun. Mo Feiyun came out of his tent as the three of them were starting on their breakfast.
“You guys sure are up early!” Mo Feiyun greeted Huo Yuhao first.
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Dawn is just breaking, Uncle Mo. You guys aren’t oversleeping.”
Mo Feiyun asked, “Who is collecting soul rings amongst the three of you?”
Huo Yuhao had no intention to hide anything and replied, “It’s me. My soul power has reached Rank 30, and I need an appropriate soul ring to break through and become a Soul Elder. My two friends are here to accompany me.”
Mo Feiyun was full of awe and amazement. “Becoming a Soul Elder at such a young age—impressive!”
Huo Yuhao smiled in response, but said nothing more.
Mo Feiyun and the others moved swiftly, and it wasn’t long before they packed everything up and finished breakfast. Wei Na and Mu Xue were still dressed like they were yesterday, and the eleven of them got on their way.
The others in their group rarely said anything, besides Mo Feiyun. The two girls occasionally chattered between themselves, and didn’t pay much attention to Huo Yuhao and his friends.
Mo Feiyun took point throughout the entire trip. The other five men formed an arc, while the two young girls, Huo Yuhao and his friends walked in the center.
Huo Yuhao had a good feeling about Mo Feiyun and his group. They hadn’t inquired about Huo Yuhao and the others’ martial souls or soul skills, or any other similarly sensitive topics. Even though asking them to tag along contained
elements of wariness and vigilance, they didn’t make Huo Yuhao or his friends walk in front to scout the path. It was obvious that they didn’t harbor evil intentions.
The company arrived at the Great Star Dou Forest’s borders when the sky was already completely bright. Mo Feiyun stopped and turned around. “We will enter the forest soon. Just a gentle reminder—everyone has to remain alert and vigilant, as anything can happen in the Great Star Dou Forest. There could even be ten thousand year soul beasts coming to the forest’s outer regions, and soul beasts have all sorts of abilities, to the point where we might not be able to rescue you in time. So, everyone has to be especially careful. I will continue taking point later. Yuhao, the three of you will follow behind me and prepare to reinforce me. This includes Wei Na and Mu Xue. The rest of you will sweep out and protect the flanks.”
“Yes.” The other five men answered in unison.
Huo Yuhao paid the most attention to a certain short and stocky man, beside Bei Tang, who they had met earlier, he stood in the center at the back. He was the most powerful individual besides Mo Feiyun, as he was a Soul Emperor. His name was Chou Xiangdong.
Huo Yuhao and his friends had no objections to this arrangement. The Soul Sage was clearing the path, and this meant there wasn’t much pressure on them anymore.
Mo Feiyun made a feel more arrangements before he immediately turned and walked into the Great Star Dou Forest. One could tell from his movements that he had absolute faith in his comrades.
Huo Yuhao and the others didn’t delay either. Huo Yuhao walked in front, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao took one side each, and the three of them followed closely behind Mo Feiyun and entered the great forest.
“Eh, that is…” Wang Dong exclaimed in shock. This was because he suddenly realized that Mo Feiyun’s body began to emanate a dense mist, and this mist enveloped his entire body within while it permeated quickly to the point where they couldn’t see him anymore.
“Master Mo’s martial soul is the Cloud. He’s using his own martial soul to scout ahead and protect everyone.” Wei Na’s charming voice rang out.
Wang Dong glanced at her, and she flashed a smile back at him. Her tender smile was extremely charming, but it was clear that her beautiful smile didn’t hit the mark. Wang Dong nodded at her before he turned back without a trace of expression on his face.
Mu Xue glimpsed at Wei Na, and amusement flowed from her eyes, while a look of annoyance flashed across Wei Na’s soft eyes.
The mist was pervasive, but didn’t impede Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection. Huo Yuhao could feel from Mo Feiyun’s martial soul that he had seven soul rings—two yellow, three purple and two black. Even though it wasn’t the optimal combination of soul rings, it was considered relatively formidable.
Cloud? This was a seldom seen martial soul, and should be considered a tool soul. Huo Yuhao just wasn’t sure whether he was an assault-type or control-type soul master.
The cloudy mist in front of them gradually expanded and pervaded their surroundings like threads. The cloudy mist didn’t look like it contained any power at all, but expanded incredibly far into the distance while it drifted through the air, and quickly reached out beyond the maximum effective range of Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection.
Huo Yuhao faintly understood that this soul skill was similar in functionality to his Spiritual Detection soul skill. Mo Feiyun would have certain judgments about anything that the cloudy mist touched, according to the situation. Even though it wasn’t as accurate as his Spiritual Detection, Mo Feiyun’s cultivation allowed him to scout and cover an area that was far larger than his skill. It was no wonder that he didn’t pay much attention to his comrades’ formation after entering the Great Star Dou Forest by himself, and neither did he really give any further instructions. Huo Yuhao was surprised when he realized that Mo Feiyun’s soul ring didn’t light up after he released the cloudy mist into the sky. This meant that the mist was his martial soul’s innate ability, and not a soul skill. Having its own innate abilities implied that his martial soul was of extremely high quality.
“Let’s go.” The mist gradually dissipated, and Mo Feiyun’s voice could be heard from in front of them. But the mist surrounding his body was still there, and his figure was still obscure and blurry.
They entered the Great Star Dou Forest once again. Huo Yuhao and his friends quickly felt an unprecedented unwinding feeling, as if they didn’t have to do anything much at all, and all they had to do was follow a trail.
Mo Feiyun constantly changed their course as they traveled, and he was a lot faster than the three of them exploring the forest by themselves. They didn’t run into any soul beast ambushes. Not even thirty minutes had passed and they were more than ten kilometers into the Great Star Dou Forest—Mo Feiyun didn’t even look like he intended to slow down.
The Great Star Dou Forest’s shape wasn’t regular. The widest areas were more than two hundred kilometers across, and its surface area was more than a hundred thousand square kilometers. It lived up to its reputation as the Great Star Dou Forest, and it was larger than some countries’ provinces. Furthermore, even Titled Douluo wouldn’t dare to walk right through its center.
The world of soul masters’ perennial adventures enabled them to divide the Great Star Dou Forest into separate regions according to the strength of the soul beasts that appeared in the vicinity. The outermost twenty kilometers were called the Peripheral Region, and only ten year, hundred year, and thousand year soul beasts roamed this area. Ten thousand year soul beasts were occasionally seen, but they were very rare.
The next region was called the Hybrid Region, and it occupied forty percent of the largest radius, which was the next one hundred kilometers. The greatest number of soul beast species were found here, and they had the highest cultivation levels. This was the resting place of hundred year, thousand year and ten thousand year soul beasts. Hundred year soul beasts had to move around in herds if they wanted to stay alive in this area.
The innermost forty kilometers, which was about eighty kilometers in diameter, was known as the Great Star Dou Forest’s Core Region. This Region was vast, and the number of soul beasts that lived here was far fewer than inside the Hybrid Region because only incredibly powerful soul beasts ever inhabited this area. Hundred year soul beasts were almost never seen in this region, and even thousand year soul beasts were few and far between. Ten thousand year soul beasts were the zone’s main inhabitants, followed by the occasional frightening hundred thousand year soul beasts. According to the soul masters’ research, soul beasts that could have their
own territory inside this area had to be at least thirty thousand years old.
The ten kilometer-wide region in the very center of this eighty-kilometer zone was known as the Slaughtering Grounds, and it was also called the Forbidden Grounds. Undetailed maps of the Great Star Dou Forest always colored this region with blood-red colors. Legend had it that petrifyingly fearsome beasts resided there, and their existences were even more terrifying than the soul beasts in the core regions of the Extreme North—it was a region that even Transcendent Douluos had to be extremely careful in.
Huo Yuhao could tell from Mo Feiyun’s traveling speed that his target wasn’t the twenty outermost kilometers of the Great Star Dou Forest’s Peripheral Region. He was a Soul Sage, and could very well enter the outer regions of the Core Region if he wasn’t taking so many people with him. It wasn’t too difficult for him to ensure everyone’s safety inside the Hybrid Region, while the species, quality and number of soul beasts that lived inside the Hybrid Region was far superior to the Peripheral Region.
Huo Yuhao and his friends didn’t even dare to enter the Peripheral Region, let alone the Hybrid Region. No matter how
talented they were, they were still Soul Elders, after all. They could possibly hold their own in one battle, but there were innumerable soul beasts within the Great Star Dou Forest! They wouldn’t have a chance to retreat if someone was severely injured. This was one of the most important reasons why Huo Yuhao refused to venture too deep inside by themselves. Without Mo Feiyun and his group, he would probably continue
on with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao for about five to ten kilometers, but he would never take the risk of entering the Hybrid Region.
The company pressed on and went another five kilometers before Mo Feiyun started to slow down, and he stayed a little closer to Huo Yuhao and the others behind him.
“The outer regions of the Great Star Dou Forest’s Hybrid Region are right in front of us, so everyone should be more careful. We have to avoid angering certain sensitive soul beasts, so I will reduce the area covered by my clouds. This will reduce their intimidation as well, but everyone should be ready for battle.”
Huo Yuhao was once again astonished by the discipline of Mo Feiyun’s company. Their formation quickly became more compact after Mo Feiyun’s reminder, but there was at least
three meters between each of them so that they wouldn’t hinder each other’s movements.
Wei Na and Mu Xue had been observing Huo Yuhao and his friends along the way, especially when they were hurrying along in the forest and when they were met with threats from soul beasts. Huo Yuhao maintained a steady pace behind Mo Feiyun, and he didn’t display a single trace of exhaustion. His body was nimble and agile, and his movements were crisp and decisive. Huo Yuhao was the vanguard, while Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong were positioned slightly behind him, and the three of them lined up like a horn. They could tell from Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s occasional glances at Huo Yuhao that Huo Yuhao was actually their leader.
Mo Feiyun’s reminder swiftly became reality. The company proceeded forward like usual, and not much time passed before Mo Feiyun suddenly retreated as quickly as he could. A series of chirping sounds could be heard, and a chain of shadows appeared in front of them. These shadows moved at breakneck speeds and surged through the trees. They seemed extremely organized as they dangled through the treetops, and surrounded the eleven of them in no time at all.
“Be careful, everyone. They’re Scarletfire Monkeys. They’re extremely territorial.” Mo Feiyun remarked to everyone as he shifted backwards and stood in front of Huo Yuhao and the others.
Scarletfire Monkeys? Huo Yuhao observed the soul beasts in the trees around them while a memory surfaced in his mind— it was a fire-type soul beast that liked to live in groups, it was extremely irritable and short-tempered, hostile, and held grudges. They were agility-type soul beasts that were adept with long-range attacks, and they were incredibly challenging to handle.
The Scarletfire Monkeys all looked similar, except there were differences in their sizes. The biggest one was about two meters tall, taller than most fully grown humans, while the smallest one was no more than two feet tall. Their fiery-red fur was conspicuous inside the forest, and the two lengthy fangs protruding from their lips showed their carnivorous nature. There were about thirty to forty monkeys in this group, and every single one of them started to chirp incessantly once they surrounded everyone, as if they wanted to intimidate the company.
The burliest and most majestic Scarletfire Monkey on a tree crown in the distance hammered its chest, and specks of flame flickered from its fiery-red fur. It leapt into the air like a lightning bolt, and launched an enormous fireball that was at least one meter in diameter at the same time.
Soul beasts weren’t like humans, and the only distinguishment they could tell was between things they could eat and things they couldn’t. This Scarletfire Monkey wasn’t a ten thousand year soul beast yet, as its fur wasn’t completely golden-red, but it had at least five thousand years of cultivation. Their strength as a herd allowed them to inhabit the Hybrid Region’s outer regions.
The other Scarletfire Monkeys leapt from their trees when their monkey king launched its attack. Accompanied by their immense speeds, sphere after sphere of fire descended from the sky like a meteor shower as they fired on the entire company.
Mo Feiyun grunted coldly, and thick misty energies expanded outwards. Uncountable missiles condensed from air shot out in all directions in the next moment, and immediately dispelled almost all of the fireballs raining down from the sky. The sphere of mist in front of him subsequently materialized into
the shape of a hand, and he grabbed the Scarletfire Monkey King’s enormous fireball.
The enormous fireball burned violently and swiftly ate away at the mist energy. However, the giant hand formed by the mist energy swiftly closed up, and the fireball was shattered into pieces. Sparks flew in all directions as they dissipated in the air.
Nobody knew if Mo Feiyun did it on purpose, but when he was dispelling most of the Scarletfire Monkeys’ attacks, a single fireball broke through his defenses—and this fireball was going straight for Huo Yuhao and his friends.
A vibrant pair of blue wings extended in midair. The blue hues were as pure as the sky, and their color immediately became the center of attention. Golden light patterns glimmered, and this slim figure flickered faintly while blades of light shimmered from the wings. The descending fireball was slashed in two, and flew off into the distance.
Chapter 144: The Most Suitable Soul Beast for Huo Yuhao!
Wang Dong was already extremely handsome. He was set off by the Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings, which made the charming smile of Wei Na come out, and even the cold and arrogant Mu Xue was dazed momentarily.
Soul Masters’ martial souls had many different kinds of attributes, but those that could be described as ‘beautiful’ were few and far between, especially so for beast souls. Wang Dong’s Radiant Butterfly Goddess had a seamless combination of blue and gold, and how could its grandeur and elegance be rivalled? Mo Feiyun and company didn’t even recognize his martial soul.
The soul beasts’ assault wasn’t about to stop because of Wang Dong’s dazzling charm, and more fireballs followed closely behind the last. But the Scarletfire Monkey King seemed to realize that Mo Feiyun wasn’t an easy opponent, and it quickly disappeared into the forest. Fireballs of all sizes shot out continuously in between the Scarletfire Monkeys’ shifting shadows.
Mo Feiyun and his company’s complete strength was immediately unleashed. Nobody panicked, and everybody released their martial souls to defend themselves.
Four of them attracted more of Huo Yuhao’s attention. The agility-type Soul King, Bei Tang, had a bamboo pole for his martial soul. The bamboo pole was thirty feet long, and its entire body was shiny purple. Its length was interchangeable, and it waltzed through the air, whipping at fireball after fireball. These fireballs detonated when they were struck, or they were sent flying away in the opposite direction.
Then there was Chou Xiangdong, who was anchoring the formation in the center at the back. His martial soul was unique as well—it was a pillar, one thick like a water bucket, and was about twelve feet tall. The pillar had a smooth surface, emanated pale golden hues, and had a strong metallic quality. He didn’t seem to do anything much, but the pillar would always appear where it was needed, and the fireballs cracking against it couldn’t knock it down at all.
What fascinated Huo Yuhao the most was Mu Xue’s martial soul. Even though her cultivation couldn’t compare to the Soul Kings, Soul Emperors and the Soul Sages around her, Huo
Yuhao felt extremely close and intimate with her martial soul. Even her soul skills were incredibly powerful.
Mu Xue’s flowing black hair turned white as she released her martial soul, and the chilling sensation in her eyes multiplied. She raised her arms into the air, then her two yellow and one purple soul ring rose into the sky. Innumerable snowflakes were hurled out as her first soul ring sparkled, and they permeated the sky, causing the temperature to plummet.
Her martial soul was Snow. The fireballs that flew through her flurry of snowflakes were weakened by varying degrees, and the dense cold air dispelled the scorching heat that the Scarletfire Monkeys brought about. What was more amazing was that these snowflakes seemed to have eyes as they drifted towards the Scarletfire Monkeys in the forest. Any Scarletfire Monkey that the snowflakes touched became noticeably slower.
Mu Xue’s martial soul wasn’t simply Snow—it was snow with elements of control. Even though she’d only released her first soul skill, she managed to considerably reduce the pressure on everyone.
Mo Feiyun wasn’t hasty about attacking the Scarletfire Monkeys surging in between the trees. He stood guard in front of everyone while he monitored his comrades’ battle situations. Soul beasts have sharp instincts, so the number of Scarletfire Monkeys in front of everyone was the fewest due to Mo Feiyun’s position. This meant that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao just behind him felt the least pressure, and only Wang Dong had to slash away a fireball using his Guillotine Wings—both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao hadn’t even revealed their martial souls yet. Wang Dong’s yellow and two purple soul rings surprised Mo Feiyun. His second soul ring was a thousand year soul ring; this wasn’t something that even elite academies could have easily nurtured.
They passively defended themselves against the onslaught, and everyone figured out this pack’s overall strength. Mo Feiyun’s cloudy mist constantly transformed in the sky, and the Scarletfire Monkeys directly facing everyone couldn’t break through at all. Instead, they were repeatedly attacked by air missiles formed by the cloudy mist and it didn’t take long for over a dozen Scarletfire Monkeys to die at Mo Feiyun’s hands.
Huo Yuhao looked on indifferently. With his understanding of high-level soul masters, he could immediately tell that this Soul Sage, Mo Feiyun hadn’t given his all, and he had his own reservations.
Wei Na was extremely idle beside Mu Xue. She didn’t release her martial soul, and she was just watching the glittering pair of wings behind Wang Dong.
A piercing howl rang out, and a fiery-red silhouette suddenly pounced from the flank. At the same time, a large blanket of fireballs was launched from all directions to suppress everyone.
The Scarletfire Monkey King hidden in the forest couldn’t hold back any longer, and a series of three fireballs over a meter in diameter bombarded an agility-type Soul King on the flank and continuously pushed him back—a crack finally appeared in the formation. The Scarletfire Monkey was unbelievably fast, and it darted past that Soul King as it extended its sharp claws, lunging straight for Wei Na.
Mo Feiyun reacted the moment this Scarletfire Monkey made its move. He raised his right hand, and a cloud sphere morphed into a fist before it banged against the Scarletfire Monkey king.
A golden-red shadow sprung forward right at this moment and crashed against the cloud sphere. The cloudy mist
crumbled and dissipated, and the golden-red shadow arrived before Mo Feiyun.
He was taken by surprise, and even a powerful Soul Sage such as Mo Feiyun was momentarily bewildered. He never expected that there was such a mighty presence hidden amongst this pack of Scarletfire Monkeys. The white clouds around his body dimmed and transformed into a shield before him.
Boom— The clouds dissolved once more, and Mo Feiyun was immediately thrown into the sky.
The Scarletfire Monkey king’s sharp claws appeared before Wei Na again at the same time.
Everything happened too quickly. Nobody expected that there was such a formidable being within the pack, and neither did they anticipate that this monkey would employ such insidious battle tactics. That powerful Scarletfire Monkey had escaped even Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection.
Mu Xue was the closest to Wei Na. However, Mu Xue was on the other side, and she only had three soul rings. She was no match for the five thousand year Scarletfire Monkey king, especially so when everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The other Soul Kings and Soul Emperors had too much faith in Mo Feiyun’s abilities, and they were too late with their reinforcements. Wei Na was about to be struck, and she didn’t seem like she had any intention of defending herself.
A dull golden radiance suddenly sparkled before Wei Na, and a giant cauldron that was over a meter wide appeared between her and the Scarletfire Monkey King. The enormous cauldron expanded in an instant, and the dense golden radiance erupted against the Scarletfire Monkey King’s body while it pushed Wei Na away at the same time.
One couldn’t underestimate such a simple hindrance. A single second of resistance was enough to change the entire situation in life and death circumstances.
The Scarletfire Monkey King’s stinging claws scratched against the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, and the shrill sounds of clanging metal could be heard. However, the monkey
couldn’t do anything to it. The monkey’s offensive abilities couldn’t compare to the cauldron evolved with the soul ring taken from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.
Mu Xue seemed a lot more composed than Wei Na. She dragged Wei Na away from the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron as her third soul ring immediately lit up, and a white circle of light appeared beneath the Scarletfire Monkey King’s feet. Snow danced through the air with the monkey’s body at the center of everything, and eventually congregated into a tornado that was over three meters tall. The Scarletfire Monkey was temporarily trapped within the waltzing snowflakes.
What a formidable control-type soul skill! Huo Yuhao was mildly astonished. He could feel with his Spiritual Detection that Mu Xue’s soul skill had been cast instantly. If her target were on solid ground, it would have no chance of evading it. This kind of ability was known as Forced Control among control-type soul skills, and taking it head-on was the only way of dealing with it.
Flames erupted from the Scarletfire Monkey King’s body. Its cultivation was far higher than Mu Xue’s, and her Snowdragon Tornado couldn’t hold it for too long. However, these few
moments were enough to determine the Scarletfire Monkey King’s fate.
The agility-type Soul King that was previously pushed away bounced back in an instant. A pair of small blades slashed and clashed as his fifth soul ring sparkled, and dozens of bloody wounds immediately appeared on the Scarletfire Monkey King’s body.
A purple shadow surged into the sky nearby, and the purple bamboo pole appeared like a drawn bow before it cracked down, leaving afterimages in its wake.
Crunch—
The Scarletfire Monkey King collapsed onto the ground, and everyone could hear the sounds of ligaments tearing and bones breaking.
The purple shadow withdrew and returned to Bei Tang. The purple bamboo pole was almost sixty feet long previously, and two the Soul Kings worked together with the help of Mu Xue’s
forced control to finally eliminate this Scarletfire Monkey King.
Mo Feiyun and company were infuriated at this point. They continuously unleashed their various formidable soul skills, and the Scarletfire Monkeys were no longer leisurely attacking from the trees—many Scarletfire Monkeys were killed in an instant.
Huo Yuhao’s attention shifted to the other side once the Scarletfire Monkey King was killed. The entity that attacked Mo Feiyun was also a Scarletfire Monkey—no, it should be called a Blazefire Monkey.
Its golden fur felt like it was burning with flames even if it didn’t unleash any soul power. It was only about three feet tall, but its aura was far superior to the other Scarletfire Monkeys’.
Scarletfire Monkeys had a chance to shed their fur and be reborn after they reached ten thousand years of cultivation, and their fur would become golden-red—they were known as Blazefire Monkeys. That implied that this Blazefire Monkey that was holding Mo Feiyun back was the Scarletfire Monkeys’ true leader. This was also the reason why they didn’t retreat
before such a formidable human powerhouse. It was a pity that soul beasts were soul beasts after all, and even if they could employ certain battle strategies, they couldn’t compare to human intelligence. There was one price for underestimating one’s enemies—death!
This Blazefire Monkey was getting worried as it watched its kinsmen being slaughtered all over the place, but its commitment to vengeance and settling its debts meant that there was no way it was going to withdraw. Mo Feiyun also appeared infuriated by the disaster that had almost occurred, and he immediately unleashed his full power.
The clouds changed from white to yellow, before they were tainted purple. Mo Feiyun launched a myriad of attacks, and every strike was ten times stronger than the previous one.
Even though the ten thousand year Blazefire Monkey was incredibly strong, Mo Fieyun suppressed it until it didn’t have a chance at all. The purple clouds swiftly expanded and arrested the ten thousand year Blazefire Monkey within.
Huo Yuhao didn’t extend his Spiritual Detection into the purple cloud mist. He had a subconscious feeling that the purple cloud mist would affect his own spiritual power. Even though it probably wouldn’t have any toxic backlash, he didn’t want to reveal his own abilities.
The purple cloud mist suddenly became black. However, Huo Yuhao and his friends could acutely feel an immense pressure that resembled dark clouds looming over an entire city that could whittle it into dust. An agonizing cry could be heard from within the dark mass of clouds, and a golden-red flame flickered once before it was completely extinguished.
The clouds dissipated, and Mo Feiyun walked out with a gloomy look on his face. He was holding the Blazefire Monkey’s corpse in his right hand. The Blazefire Monkey was soft like a ragdoll, as if its skeleton had been completely crushed into pieces.
Mo Feiyun arrived before Wei Na in a flash. Wei Na’s face was pale from the trauma and he said, “Your… Wei Na, are you okay?”
Wei Na patted herself on her supple chest. Her breathing was a little faster than normal and she replied, “I’m fine. Fortunately, the giant cauldron took a hit for me.”
Mo Feiyun turned towards Huo Yuhao and the others. His gaze landed upon Xiao Xiao, and he said sincerely, “Thank you for your timely aid, Xiao Xiao. If not, Wei Na would have been wounded by the Scarletfire Monkey even if she wasn’t kidnapped. That was my fault - I was too careless. I didn’t think this pack of Scarletfire Monkeys could have been so scheming and dangerous.”
Xiao Xiao giggled and said, “We’re all in the same boat. You don’t have to be so polite, Uncle Mo.”
Wei Na’s emotions calmed down a little, and she hurried before Xiao Xiao and grasped her hands. “Thank you, Xiao Xiao. Thank you for helping me just now.”
Everybody quickly circled around. They looked at Huo Yuhao and his friends with warmer expressions than before, and even Mu Xue’s eyes didn’t appear so ice-cold.
Wang Dong’s withdrew his Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings, but he turned towards the Blazefire Monkey’s body. Its golden- red fur glimmered with pale hues, and appeared unnaturally brilliant.
“Can you sell this Blazefire Monkey to me, Uncle Mo? The Blazefire Monkey’s hide and fur are extremely rare and valuable. After it reaches over ten thousand years of cultivation, the relationship between fire and light will be much clearer. My element is light, and it will be extremely beneficial for me if I can use its hide as a fur coat. Do name a price.”
Mo Feiyun smiled and replied, “What price? Didn’t Xiao Xiao just mention that we are in this together? You guys saved Wei Na, so this Blazefire Monkey should be yours. I hope we can have even better chemistry in the future. Here, it’s yours.” He tossed the Blazefire Monkey’s corpse before Wang Dong as he
spoke.
“Thank you, Uncle Mo.” Wang Dong grabbed the Blazefire Monkey without excessive formalities and put it away inside his storage-type soul tool.
The Blazefire Monkey wasn’t that big, so it wasn’t enough to forge a fur coat or any kind of clothing. However, the Blazefire Monkey’s element was extremely similar to his Golden Light Left Arm Bone, and was complementary in its effects. It could be forged into an armguard.
They returned to the trail, while Huo Yuhao and his friends changed positions. Their initial doubts and suspicions were a lot lower after Xiao Xiao’s timely reinforcement. Furthermore, both Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong had displayed extraordinary abilities as Soul Elders, so Mo Feiyun ended up arranging for them to travel with Wei Na and Mu Xue. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood in front, while the three girls walked behind them.
“What is your martial soul called, Xiao Xiao? It looks like an enormous cauldron, and it looks incredibly tough. The Scarletfire Monkey couldn’t shake the cauldron one bit when it struck it, “Wei Na asked inquisitively. She felt intimate with the person that had saved her life.
Xiao Xiao answered, “My martial soul is called the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. It’s mainly defensive, so it’s natural for it to be tough.”
“What about them?” Wei Na lowered her voice and pointed at Wang Dong in front.
Xiao Xiao said, “His martial soul… I think you should just ask him yourself.”
Wei Na pouted and said, “I don’t want to do that. He’s still young, but he looks like he doesn’t like talking to strangers – what a waste of good looks.”
Xiao Xiao giggled and said, “Are you interested in him, Wei Na?”
Wei Na’s pretty face flushed red, and she glared at Xiao Xiao. “Nonsense.”
The company entered the Great Star Dou Forest’s Hybrid Region, and everyone’s speed was obviously slower than before. Mo Feiyun was a mighty Soul Sage, but even he had to be extra careful. Ten thousand year soul beasts could have vastly different standards – he could handle a Blazefire Monkey below thirty thousand years, but he would find it challenging to deal with anything stronger than that. If they were faced with a top-tier soul beast like the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, it would be calamitous for the entire company even if it only had ten thousand years of cultivation.
They also fought battles much more frequently. Fortunately, most of their encounters were with thousand year soul beasts, as they were barely over the Hybrid Region’s borders. The relatively more intelligent soul beasts could feel the danger brought by this company of humans, and they wouldn’t come near for no reason. Even so, the entire company took more than an hour to travel ten kilometers while maintaining their heightened vigilance. The day gradually proceeded into midday.
Mo Feiyun found a vantage point with a relatively wide field of view, and ordered the company to take a break.
Everybody carried their own snacks and ate their respective shares while they rested. Nobody dared to light a fire inside the Great Star Dou Forest, and everyone started to meditate to restore their energy after eating.
Mo Feiyun gathered everyone around after a little more than thirty minutes and said, “There will be occasional ten thousand year soul beasts appearing around this location. We cannot venture any deeper, so we will proceed laterally to find suitable soul beasts. We will retreat from the Hybrid Region before evening, rest in its outer zones and continue our search tomorrow.”
Huo Yuhao and his friends realized that Mo Feiyun and those with him had faith in their abilities and were about to spend the night inside the forest. This would undoubtedly increase their chances of finding appropriate soul beasts, but it would also raise the danger level exponentially.
Mo Feiyun changed their direction after everybody was done resting. They didn’t venture forward any longer, and started
moving laterally as he had just said. They traveled a lot slower than before, and he released his Cloud martial soul from time to time to search for suitable soul beasts.
Huo Yuhao naturally wasn’t idle either. Mo Feiyun was scouting for everyone, so there wasn’t much pressure on him. He decided to concentrate his Spiritual Detection towards a single direction so that he could detect things at a much greater distance. He swept from left to right, and attempted to find a soul beast suitable for himself while avoiding Mo Feiyun’s clouds as much as possible.
Huo Yuhao discovered after repeated observation that Mo Feiyun’s martial soul was vastly different from normal soul masters’ martial souls. His soul rings amplified the clouds’ strength, from white to yellow, then to purple, and finally to black. Every amplification was different, and the clouds’ ferocity was also different after materializing – it was almost an exponential increase in power. The Cloud could be said to be all-in-one: crowd control, detection, and assault. No wonder his comrades had so much faith in him. Huo Yuhao was positive that Mo Feiyun had eliminated more than seventy percent of potential threats and dangers.
“Roar–!” A fearsome roar that resembled a tidal wave boomed in the distance. Mo Feiyun immediately stopped in his tracks and his expression changed drastically, before he turned around and placed his index finger to his lips.
A shrill and piercing cry was heard after the ear-splitting roar. It wasn’t as intimidating as the roar, but it was as piercing as it was, and wasn’t masked by the fearsome roar at all.
Mo Feiyun retreated before his comrades carefully and whispered, “There appear to be two soul beasts locked in battle. Judging from the sounds, both entities are at least ten thousand years old, and could be even more than thirty thousand years old. We will go around – hurry.” He turned around as he spoke and shifted towards the outer zone. He moved much more carefully than before, and the clouds he spread around him were reduced to a radius of about fifty meters.
Huo Yuhao’s perception was incredibly sharp. Even though his hearing wasn’t as good as his vision, he could faintly tell that the roar came from at least three kilometers away from where they were.
“Yuhao, get over there. A soul beast suitable for you has appeared.” Suddenly, the hibernating Skydream Iceworm spoke in Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea.
Huo Yuhao felt a wave of excitement and said with look of surprise, “That’s a ten thousand year soul beast, brother Skydream. Do you actually think I can assimilate a ten thousand year soul ring?”
The Skydream Iceworm grunted coldly and replied, “Of course you can’t. But, miracles can happen sometimes with me around. Do you really think sleeping is all I know how to do after fusing with you?”
Huo Yuhao actually wanted to ask, “Is that not true?”
The Skydream Iceworm continued proudly, “I have been investigating the different functionalities of spiritual power even in my sleep, and I think I have gained some knowledge recently. You can’t assimilate a ten thousand year soul ring. In fact, you’re quite far off from being able to do so. However, your body has become extremely tough and resilient after being remade by Electrolux’s Life Gold. Even ten thousand year soul rings can’t immediately damage your body when you first
attempt to absorb them. I can use spiritual power to lock part of the ten thousand year soul ring’s power so that it will be suppressed into a thousand year soul ring for you to absorb its power. When you are powerful enough, you can gradually assimilate the rest of its power. With your current cultivation
speed, the refining from several soul bones, and in addition to the Life Gold’s amplification, you will definitely be able to absorb ten thousand year soul rings when you have four. Of course – the seal has its limits, so I can only help you seal a soul ring with roughly ten thousand years of soul power. Your own limits of absorption should be limited to around five to six thousand years, so that means your target of choice will be appropriate as long as it doesn’t have over fifteen thousand years of cultivation. One of the two soul beasts locked in battle is suitable for you. You have to hurry up, this opportunity won’t appear again.”
Huo Yuhao forced out a laugh and said, “Brother Skydream, do you really think I can defeat a ten thousand year soul beast? Let alone two of them? Even if Elder Xuan is here, don’t you think it’s a bit suspicious? Also wouldn’t the fact that I can absorb a ten thousand year soul ring completely unscathed raise suspicion?”
“Uh… that does sound like a problem.” The Skydream Iceworm was becoming a little skeptical.
“What are you doing, Yuhao? Hurry up, let’s go.” Mo Feiyun suddenly realized that Huo Yuhao had stopped walking, so he quickly roused him. His voice far more solemn than usual— this was the Great Star Dou Forest’s Hybrid Region, a single moment of absent-mindedness could prove fatal.
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and said, “You guys go ahead, Uncle Mo. I just felt a soul beast that’s suitable for me nearby, I’ll go take a look. Xiao Dong, Xiao Xiao, you two should stick with Uncle Mo—I’ll be right back.” Before anyone had a chance
to speak, he darted out with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and disappeared.
Mo Feiyun was momentarily stunned. What just happened? Huo Yuhao’s explosive speeds also took him by surprise, as only Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had fought in previous battles, he had no idea of Huo Yuhao’s capabilities. Nobody even knew what Huo Yuhao’s martial soul was. Huo Yuhao’s body seemed to vanish into thin air the moment he moved.
Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were taken aback. Huo Yuhao had actually abandoned them—this was something they had never expected to happen.
Huo Yuhao did disappear, and his vanishing act was accomplished with Imitation. He imitated a large tree the moment he jumped forward, and how could anyone see him within all that dense vegetation?
“Yuhao!” Wang Dong exclaimed desperately, but Huo Yuhao was nowhere to be seen. Furthermore, he had no means to track him down, even if he wanted to. Huo Yuhao had never behaved so irrationally before, so what was happening? Why did he detach himself from the group, just like that?
The moment he vanished into the jungle, Huo Yuhao raced forward. Channeling his Imitation as best he could, appearing only as a faint contorted blur, constantly transforming with the surroundings.
“Has Elder Xuan discovered I’ve left the team yet?” Huo Yuhao asked the Skydream Iceworm while bolting forward.
The Skydream Iceworm answered, “I think he knows, he’s also chasing you right now. Stop running—it’s pointless even if you do. So you might as well be straightforward with Elder Xuan. Besides, you can’t handle a ten thousand year soul beasts anyways.”
Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “Then how should I explain things to Elder Xuan?”
Skydream said matter-of-factly, “Just bullshit him. Isn’t that what you’re good at?”
Huo Yuhao was exasperated. “How am I supposed to do that?! Elder Xuan isn’t easily deceived! He’s studied martial
souls his entire life.” Huo Yuhao stopped in place anyways and dispelled his Imitation.
Elder Xuan’s voice could be heard in the next moment. “What are you trying to do, you little bastard? You don’t feel good if you don’t scare me a little, eh?”
Elder Xuan appeared beside him in a flash.
Huo Yuhao said, “Did you hear those two howls? I have a hunch that one of them would make me a suitable soul ring—a rare spirit-type soul beast.”
Elder Xuan replied with annoyance, “Nonsense. Those two are ten thousand year spirit beasts, I can tell by their auras. But you’re just a Soul Elder, not a Soul King—can you even assimilate a ten thousand year soul ring?”
Thoughts spun at lightning speed inside Huo Yuhao’s head as he replied, “You know that I’m a Tang Sect disciple, Elder Xuan. My path is that of the Tang Sect. Which has a secret technique that can suppress a soul ring’s power. Have you heard of it?”
All he could do was fabricate a story. What else could he do? He wanted to properly obtain this golden opportunity, after searching for a suitable soul ring for many days he had finally come across a match. Huo Yuhao had no doubts in the Skydream Iceworm’s keen perception.
Elder Xuan was slightly taken aback, and said, “The Tang Sect has such a secret technique? I’ve never actually heard of such a thing.”
Huo Yuhao continued, “The Tang Sect’s secret technique is only suitable for soul masters with sufficient spiritual power, but can only be used for the fifth and lower soul rings. At present, I am the only one in the Tang Sect capable of using the ring-sealing secret technique. It can temporarily seal a soul ring’s power, so I can absorb a portion of it now, and the rest as I grow stronger. Furthermore, I have three soul bones now, and my body is extremely resilient—plus the ring-sealing technique. I am confident in my odds as long as the soul beast has a cultivation lower than twenty thousand years. A soul master’s willpower is most imperative when it comes to assimilating a soul ring, and in this, I am most confident. Elder Xuan, I have finally discovered a suitable soul beast, I want to give it a shot!”
Elder Xuan deliberated for a while and said, “The Tang Sect’s forefather, Tang San, had soul rings that were almost breaking every natural limit all those years ago. Did he use the ring- sealing technique? It’s the first I’ve ever heard of this. It’s a shame the Tang Sect no longer passes on these kind of esoteric techniques.”
Huo Yuhao was overcome with exhilaration when he heard Elder Xuan’s words. He never expected that his ‘fabricated story’ had precedence, so he nodded his head continuously..
Elder Xuan frowned and said, “But why did you choose to leave Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao behind? I can’t be in two places at the same time, so how am I supposed to protect them?”
“Uh…” Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, “I didn’t think into it that much. I felt the spiritual fluctuations and Uncle Mo was impatient, so I bolted out as fast as I could. I didn’t think that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were in much danger within that group. Why don’t you go fetch them, while I wait here?”
There were some obvious flaws in Huo Yuhao’s explanation. But Elder Xuan was generous to overlook them on account of Huo Yuhao’s age. It was only natural that a not-even-thirteen- years-old child would be a bit impulsive.
Elder Xuan said, “I guess that’s the only way. I won’t let anything slip. I’ll go fetch those two fellas, you can wait here. Use your Imitation to hide yourself—even I was almost fooled just now. Luckily, you can’t hide your spiritual fluctuations with Imitation yet.”
With that, Elder Xuan disappeared into the sky with a flash.
Huo Yuhao could feel cold sweat breaking out on his back. Concocting stories really wasn’t something he should be doing! Even though his lies were completely harmless, he still found the task more difficult than an epic battle.
A ear-splitting roar suddenly pierced the silence. There was a terrifying and unstoppable shockwave that followed this fearsome roar.
Huo Yuhao witnessed as large patches of trees collapsed in its wake, much like a wheat harvest. At the same time, an extremely imposing and majestic figure leapt forward. The ground trembled and shook when it landed, and Huo Yuhao even felt a large amount of dizziness—falling to the ground after losing his balance.
The gigantic figure was coming toward him. Huo Yuhao could finally make out its appearance—it was a giant, black and white fur growing from its body. There were two heads on its shoulders, each with only one eye, and its colossal figure was more than ten meters tall. Its eyes glowing with an intimidating luster.
Black and white lights were being continuously released, causing the many shockwaves. The purpose of the shockwaves was to clear a path ahead for it, so it could run unobstructed. But even with its imposing mannerisms, it seemed to be running from something… Could this be the exceedingly rare Cyclops variant, the Twin Cyclops?
Huo Yuhao knew something about this Twin Cyclops from Elder Xuan, but he had yet to learn of it in his outer courtyard studies.
Cyclops were a very special species of soul beast. Their physical appearance was no different than normal humans, excluding its one eye. They even used tree branches and vines to craft clothing and cover their lower bodies. The only catch was that Cyclops were far larger than humans.
They were born two meters tall, and they would grow to about five meters when they reached a hundred years of cultivation. Which was when they are considered a grown Cyclops, and from there its growth would slow down. They would grow to about eight meters at one thousand years, and about fifteen meters upon ten thousand.But they were far too conspicuous due to their massive size, and would make easy prey for powerful soul beasts. Hence why ten thousand year Cyclops were almost non-existent. Their brains were nutritious to some soul beasts with top-tier bloodlines.
This Cyclops before him was only about ten meters tall, but Huo Yuhao was absolutely sure it had more than ten thousand years of cultivation.
The ten thousand year point marked an enormous milestone for soul beasts’ cultivations. Their power would rise exponentially upon crossing the threshold and occasionally soul beasts would even evolve after breaking through ten
thousand years. This was evident in Scarletfire Monkeys, which evolve into Blazefire Monkeys. However, this was assured for their species.
The Cyclopes’ evolution wasn’t assured, only a possibility. Moreover, there were different types of mutations, with the most powerful—the Twin Cyclops—right before Huo Yuhao’s eyes.
A Cyclops’ original element was chaos—an uncommon type, which could fundamentally change at any time. Upon becoming a Twin Cyclops it would change, while sometimes its body size would also decrease as it birthed another head. This Twin Cyclops had both light and darkness elements—making it an incredibly rare existence. It was so powerful it could be ranked among top-tier soul beasts.
But what was this mighty Twin Cyclops running from?
Chapter 145: Emperor Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion
Huo Yuhao was proud of his knowledge of soul beasts in identifying the Twin Cyclops. He even began wondering what could cause a Twin Cyclops to flee in terror. But his wonder swiftly turned into terror as he realized the Twin Cyclops was only a hundred meters away, and Elder Xuan still had not returned with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
What kind of luck is this…?
Huo Yuhao was about to cry; as right now, he couldn’t make an escape even if he wanted to. A single step from the Twin Cyclops brought it forwards 50 meters, meaning it would reach Huo Yuhao in just 2 steps. Not only that, but the shockwaves being generated were far more frightening. Even if he didn’t die from them, he would definitely lose a layer of skin! Nothing in his arsenal of soul tools or Tang Sect techniques would help him avoid the Twin Cyclops.
In the end, Huo Yuhao was saved by his quick reaction to the danger, brought about by his rich experiences. The blood-red soul ring with four golden streaks rose, and the Ice Empress’
fierce aura was exuded—azure-green radiance shooting into the sky.
Huo Yuhao fully unleashed the aura of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion using Imitation. The four hundred thousand year soul beast’s frightening aura made even his own aura become dormant.
Simultaneously covering his entire body in the Diamond Ice Armor, from the Ice Empress’ Armor soul skill. He was prepared for battle, in hopes that if he could stall for a short while, Elder Xuan would arrive to save him. .
Huo Yuhao’s Imitation could easily replicate the aura of the Ice Empress, since the Ice Empress was his second martial soul, and its origin was contained in his body. This aura would prove extremely effective against hundred or thousand year soul beasts, making them flee in terror.
However, his Imitation was not entirely flawless. Because his cultivation was so far off from the likes of the Ice Empress, he could not truly claim to possess its dominant aura—only a cheap imitation aura.
If the Ice Empress’ original body was here in the flesh, its aura would be enough to make any Twin Cyclops below ten thousand years submit without a second thought.
But, Huo Yuhao’s luck didn’t run dry just yet. While this Twin Cyclops would at most be shocked by the aura in normal circumstances, but this wasn’t the normal condition for the Twin Cyclops. It was in an extreme state of fear, preventing it from making an accurate assessment of the situation. Feeling an aura more ferocious than the one pursuing it—the Twin Cyclops subconsciously shifted directions. In one step, it was only fifty meters away from Huo Yuhao, however after changing directions it went diagonally away from Huo Yuhao on the second step.
While the powerful shockwaves did send Huo Yuhao flying, he was rather delighted at taking no injuries with the help of the Ice Empress’ Armor. He rolled into the forest and struck a tree. Immediately changing his aura to imitate that of the plants around him, after which he didn’t even dare to breathe.
It was now that the figure chasing after the Twin Cyclops made its entrance. It appeared as a beam of flowing golden light, and seem like a small sun dashing through the forest. Huo Yuhao only detected a flash of light with Spiritual
Detection, before an animal appeared where he was a moment ago, sniffing the air strongly.
This was a soul beast that Huo Yuhao had never seen or heard of before. It was 3 meters in length, and around 8 feet in width. It was coated in a layer of bright golden fur.
The Blazefire Monkey’s fur that Huo Yuhao had seen earlier was already very beautiful, but was still inferior to this soul beast. This soul beast had golden fur, and its body seemed semi-transparent, it gave off a very special feel. Its body was shaped like a lion, but its claws were that of a dragon. There were even golden flames coming off its dragon claws. Its mouth was longer than that of usual lion-type soul beasts, and there seemed to be golden scales beneath the fur. On top of that, it had a third eye apart from the normal two eyes, which appeared much like Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Life—vertical.
Both its normal eyes flashed gold, while the vertical eye emitted a red light. The red seemed slightly freakish.
It stopped for awhile, then it started facing in the direction the Twin Cyclops ran in. Its figure flashed, and it became a golden beam of light, in hot pursuit.
“Skydream, is this that soul beast ‘suitable for Huo Yuhao’? Just tell us when you want all of us to die next time.” The Ice Empress’ cold voice bore a colder fury on the brink of eruption within Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Sea.
“Err… I only said that it was suitable to Yuhao’s spiritual undulations because of its aura and feel. But I didn’t misjudge this fellow’s cultivation! It has a cultivation of around fifteen thousand years. Theoretically speaking—ahem, theoretically speaking…” The Skydream Iceworm’s attempt to defend himself seemed a little weak.
The Ice Empress answered furiously, “What theoretically? Do you think that the Star Dou Forest won’t flip if you kill it? The significance of the Emperor Beasts are incalculable! Even hundred thousand year soul beasts must give before it. Yuhao couldn’t possibly absorb its soul ring, and even if he did, do you think he’d escape from the Star Dou Forest alive?”
Huo Yuhao was lost as he heard till here, “Brother Skydream, Ice Empress, what do the both of you mean? What is this soul beast exactly? It’s such a problem?” A mere fifteen thousand year soul beast caused the four hundred year soul beast to be petrified. Huo Yuhao couldn’t wrap his head around it.
The Ice Empress said in a deep voice, “It’s called the Three- Eyed Golden Lion. Don’t look down on its fifteen thousand year cultivation; it can fight with ordinary hundred thousand year soul beasts. It holds two extreme elements: Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light. I can’t believe you’ve bumped into it.”
Huo Yuhao was stunned as he heard the Ice Empress mention the words ‘extreme elements’. This Three-Eyed Golden Lion was no longer just a top-ranked soul beast in his mind. How terrifying was its lineage that it could fight hundred thousand year soul beasts from the fifteen thousand years it was at?
The Ice Empress continued, “Its greatest strengths lay in its innate abilities. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion is an ancient beast. During a time when soul beasts ruled the continent— long ago—such soul beasts would appear occasionally, and they would be crowned Emperors. Which is why they’re known as Emperor Beasts. There can’t be two of such beasts alive at the same time. Which means that Three-Eyed Golden Lion you saw just now is the only Emperor Beast on the continent. Even the strongest soul beasts must bow down to it and cannot harm it. Soul beasts it chooses as prey can only flee, they can’t resist.”
Huo Yuhao was curious as he asked, “Why? Even Transcendent Soul Beasts like the two of you can’t win against it? Don’t you have the Ultimate Ice too? Your cultivation is superior to it, thus you shouldn’t be afraid when you bump into it!”
The Ice Empress’ emotions were a little unstable, “I’m not afraid of it, but I must still pay it due respect should it appear in the Extreme North. What exactly is an Emperor Beast? They beget prosperity. A habitat with an Emperor Beast boasts twice the normal soul beast’s cultivation speed. Furthermore, after hundred thousand year beasts reach a bottleneck, their chances of breaking through it will double in the presence of an Emperor Beast. I would not have become your soul ring had this happened to me.”
Huo Yuhao was in a daze as he asked, “Does this mean that soul beasts with five hundred years’ cultivation can reach a thousand years’ cultivation with it around?”
The Ice Empress snorted. “That’s right. Think about it: how would the soul beasts in the forest react if you dared to touch it? I think there are many savage soul beasts guarding the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Isn’t Skydream just courting death for all of us by targeting it?”
A pathetic scream rang out from afar, and Huo Yuhao’s expression soured. He said softly, “Oh damn…”
A reverberating boom resonated from afar. The entire Star Dou Forest seemed to shake as roars and howls sounded repeatedly. The intense undulations of soul power turned into a terrifying might that caused Huo Yuhao to be glued to the ground.
Huo Yuhao could only think of one possibility as he heard that pathetic scream—Elder Xuan had met the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
His thought process was simple and logical. Elder Xuan knew without a doubt that Huo Yuhao had unleashed the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s aura from earlier, and would rush over. However, upon discovering the sudden disappearance of his aura immediately after that and realizing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was where he had stood earlier, it stood to reason that Elder Xuan would become very anxious.
This was indeed what had happened. Elder Xuan knew things had gone downhill when Huo Yuhao suddenly
unleashed the Ice Empress’ aura. Huo Yuhao shouldn’t have met an unresistable opponent, so why did he use a hundred thousand year soul beast’s aura to scare off his opponents with his cultivation level? But then his aura disappeared! What could that mean? It meant that Huo Yuhao could have been killed by a powerful soul beast!
Elder Xuan had grown sensitive when all the academy’s official team members were almost killed. But he was even more anxious considering Huo Yuhao’s importance to Shrek. When he tried to sense his surroundings, he discovered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion first.
Elder Xuan had previously instructed Huo Yuhao to use Imitation to conceal himself, which let Elder Xuan find him through his soul power undulations. But Huo Yuhao had ceased any circulation of soul power now, and hadn’t been discovered by Elder Xuan, which had lead to the current misunderstanding.
Before the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could chase down the Twin Cyclops, it managed to provoke the ire of Elder Xuan. Hence all the screams and tremors Huo Yuhao now sensed.
Elder Xuan was a Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo, and was only a slight bit away from an Ultimate Douluo. As Shrek Academy’s second-in-charge, he was extremely frightening when he unleashed his powers.
The Twin Cyclops was instantly crushed into the ground. Even though it tried to retreat, it was still struck by the shockwave and was critically injured. It was not even a real hundred thousand year soul beast. Even if it was, how could a normal hundred thousand year soul beast fight Elder Xuan?
A screeching howl rang out in the next instant. A dark red figure blocked Elder Xuan from unleashing his next attack on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Elder Xuan descended amidst a reverberating boom. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were also beside him, which meant that he still needed to worry about their safety. The figure that blocked Elder Xuan was knocked back a hundred meters by the Godly Taotie Bull’s strength, but it still remained in front of the
Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Three furious howls were released at the same time.
The mysterious figure was a 5 meter long soul beast, it was extremely burly. It seemed like a lion, but it had three identical heads that were over a meter in diameter. Its terrifying teeth released a scarlet-gold glow. The three heads roared furiously at the same time and all the soul beasts within a ten square mile radius didn’t dare to move.
The cacophony of noises also affected Mo Feiyun’s group in the distance. Huo Yuhao’s sudden disappearance left them extremely displeased. However, a streak of yellow light suddenly flashed by. They didn’t even see it clearly before Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao disappeared. At this point, Huo Yuhao’s Ice Empress’ aura, and the series of furious roars and explosions caused this bunch of soul masters to turn pale. They wondered whether they were somehow in the Core Region rather than the Hybrid Region. Mo Feiyun led everyone as they escaped. They couldn’t be bothered to hunt soul beasts anymore.
“Scarlet King?” Elder Xuan’s expression turned serious as he looked at the soul beast that roared furiously. He stopped his attack too.
“You’re that fellow from Shrek Academy.” The three-headed soul beast that had a lion’s form spoke in the human tongue, but its voice was filled with rage.
Elder Xuan growled, “Scarlet King, I won’t make things difficult for you on account of our academy’s agreement with the Star Dou Savage Beasts. Give way immediately and hand that golden-furred lion over to me.” His fury had already reached its limit. How could he explain things to Elder Mu if Huo Yuhao was truly dead?
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao also turned pale as they stood behind Elder Xuan. This was especially so for Wang Dong, who felt as if everything had turned black in front of him. Something seemed to have been crushed in his heart. The intense pain manifested as tears which trickled down his face.
“In just an instant, Yuhao… Yuhao is already…”
The Scarlet King was infuriated. “Rascal, do you know what this is? If you dare to touch it, you’ll become the common enemy of all the soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest.”
Elder Xuan stared at the Scarlet King coldly. “I don’t care who it is. I only know that it has killed and possibly even eaten one of Shrek Academy’s most important disciples. You know that you’re not my match even though you’re ranked 8th among the Ten Great Savage Beasts. I won’t mind if you want
to die with it. I can’t account to the academy anyways. Why not just kill to my heart’s content?”
As he spoke, Elder Xuan had already taken a step forward. His frightening aura resembled a mountain crashing towards the Scarlet King.
“Wait a minute!” The Scarlet King was a little worried. Although it had cultivated for more than three hundred thousand years, and was indeed ranked 8th among the Ten Great Savage Beasts, he was definitely not Elder Xuan’s match. It was too late for him to signal for help at this point. The top- ranked soul beasts needed some time to rush out from the Region of Savage Beasts, but time was not something that Elder Xuan would offer them.
“Wait for?” Elder Xuan asked coldly.
The Scarlet King said, “Human, don’t attack. I’m protecting the Great Star Dou Forest’s Emperor Beast, which is the only one in the continent now. If it dies, the entire Great Star Dou Forest will go crazy.”
Elder Xuan was shocked. He had heard of Emperor Beasts before, but he thought that they were only a legend.
“I don’t care if all of you go mad. I’m going mad myself now.” Elder Xuan didn’t back off. Huo Yuhao’s ‘death’ had already caused him to lose his mind.
“Hear me out first.” The Scarlet King said anxiously, “The Emperor Beast is called the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. It won’t attack humans unless it’s attacked first. It only feeds on the brain matter of light-type soul beasts. Let me ask if it really killed your student.”
In such a crisis, and especially one that concerned the Three- Eyed Golden Lion’s life, the Scarlet King had to remain respectful towards Elder Xuan although it was a savage beast.
Elder Xuan calmed down after hearing his words. Was Huo Yuhao really dead?
At this point, a powerful and frightening aura was released not far from where they were. That brutal will came from the aura of another savage beast.
Elder Xuan and the Scarlet King were both stunned as they sensed this aura. The Scarlet King was perplexed. That aura came from a Transcendent Soul Beast just like it, but why did the ice-cold aura seem so familiar? It seemed to have appeared once just a moment ago, but the aura disappeared before he could look for it.
Elder Xuan was delighted after a momentary daze. Huo Yuhao was imitating the aura of a hundred thousand year soul beast! He wasn’t dead!
Huo Yuhao was obviously alive. He was slow to react because he couldn’t interfere when the two powerful figures were at odds with one another. He only imitated the Ice Empress’ aura under the Ice Empress’ advice as he hid where he was being repressed to send the message that he was still alive.
Elder Xuan knew what was going on, but the Scarlet King didn’t! However, it believed that it was a good thing for him and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that a savage beast had rushed over. A soul beast with a cultivation over a hundred thousand years possessed an intelligence that was superior to ordinary
humans. It wouldn’t start conflicts easily. Moreover, the Scarlet King knew that this savage beast that came would definitely help it in protecting the Emperor Beast. It wasn’t that afraid of Elder Xuan anymore with another savage beast around. It was confident in protecting the Three-Eyed Golden Lion even if it couldn’t beat Elder Xuan.
A low and loud roar came from the Scarlet King’s three heads. An intense dark red radiance also spewed out from its body, and the three heads seemed to balloon in size. A ghastly feeling enveloped Elder Xuan, as the Scarlet King’s roar called for all soul beasts to rush over to protect the Emperor Beast. Since he possessed enough strength to resist the enemy, why would a three-headed Scarlet King who was also one of the Ten Great Savage Beasts and the king of the Canidae-type soul beasts compromise with a human?
Elder Xuan was very relieved when he learned that Huo Yuhao was still alive. He immediately developed a plan in his mind and roared furiously too. He revealed his Godly Taotie Bull, and the two of them clashed.
A situation that left the Scarlet King extremely depressed occurred. The aura of the savage beast that had appeared earlier disappeared, and there was no more movement.
It wanted to give in to Elder Xuan now, but Elder Xuan wouldn’t entertain that notion.
The Scarlet King could only try to protect itself as he faced Elder Xuan. It was slowly losing ground as it defended itself.
However, Elder Xuan and the Scarlet King didn’t go all-out apart from Elder Xuan’s first, formidable blow. If they did so, it would be a catastrophe for the entire Great Star Dou Forest. This was something that neither of them wanted to see.
Intense yellow radiance appeared like a sticky fluid, and a cage formed by the powers of the earth rose up, trapping the Scarlet King.
The Scarlet King’s three heads roared, and its dark red fur surged with streaks of black patterns. It was like a volcano that had erupted, trying to break free from the restraints.
At this point, the Godly Taotie Bull’s figure flashed and came in front of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. A bright yellow radiance shot out from its horns and engulfed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
The Scarlet King depleted his origin power to break free from the cage, but it didn’t dare to attack anymore.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion appeared very weary as it was trapped in the yellow light. The Scarlet King knew that Elder Xuan could take the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s life with his extreme earth-type power if he wanted to.
The Scarlet King appeared very fearful, and he raged, “I dare you! If you kill the Emperor Beast, we’ll destroy the humans.”
Elder Xuan turned back to his human form and said, “Who says I’m going to kill it?”
The Scarlet King became much more composed after Elder Xuan said that he wouldn’t kill the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
He was also highly intelligent, and he asked, “Then what are you going to do?”
Elder Xuan said, “Nothing. Find me a spiritual-type soul beast that has a cultivation of around fifteen thousand years, one of the highest quality to exchange for it.”
The Scarlet King was stunned. What kind of condition was that? A fifteen thousand year spiritual-type soul beast was nothing compared to the Emperor Beast! He even suspected that he’d heard wrongly. If Elder Xuan had demanded a hundred thousand year soul beast, he wouldn’t be so surprised.
Elder Xuan said coldly, “Huh? Don’t you understand what I’m saying? I’m giving you 4 hours. After the deadline, I will make this Three-Eyed Golden Lion my disciple’s soul ring if you can’t find me a replacement.”
“You must not do that,” The Scarlet King said anxiously, “The Three-Eyed Golden Lion is the current Emperor Beast. Its strength can’t be absorbed by humans, and it won’t be useful to you. Okay, I will accede to your request. But how will you ensure the safety of the Emperor Beast? How can I believe you?”
Elder Xuan mounted the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and the bright yellow radiance became even brighter. “Scarlet King, you should know that you have no choice, and you’ve no right to bargain with me. I’ll wait for you in the northern direction outside of the forest. Remember, you only have 4 hours. I can tell you that the Great Star Dou Forest is very close to Shrek City. I’m hopeful a full-blown conflict won’t happen unless it’s necessary. But this doesn’t mean that I’m fearful of war.”
The expressions on the Scarlet King’s three heads changed repeatedly. Its teeth moved a little as it stared at the indifferent Elder Xuan, “Alright, I’ll believe you this time.” After it finished speaking, it didn’t delay any longer. Its figure flashed and it changed into a streak of dark red light before disappearing instantly.
Elder Xuan rode the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s anxiety had disappeared. They wanted to search for Huo Yuhao in the direction he had unleashed his aura, but were stopped by Elder Xuan. Elder Xuan shook his head slightly at them. His eyes moved slightly, and he nodded his head after a brief moment.
Huo Yuhao had already snuck over before Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao went to find him.
The Scarlet King and Elder Xuan’s confrontation was over, thus he didn’t need to restrict his movements anymore. He snuck over since there was no longer any tension over here. In addition, the Skydream Iceworm also told him that the powerful savage beast had left.
“Elder Xuan!” Huo Yuhao was overjoyed as he saw Elder Xuan on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. He even initiated his soul tool thruster to rush over.
“Don’t talk to me!” Elder Xuan snapped, “You almost scared me to death. What happened just now? Why did you disappear after unleashing your hundred thousand year soul beast aura?”
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly as he recounted how he had to unleash the aura against the Twin Cyclops to preserve his own life, as well as his encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Elder Xuan’s expression turned weird after hearing his words. He took a look at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that he sat on and patted its head. He said, “It’s been tough for you.”
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to recover a little and looked at Elder Xuan coldly. It started to speak in the human tongue, and it even sounded like a lady with a moving voice, “Despicable humans. If you dare to harm me, I’ll make sure you regret it, and that misfortune will befall you all.”
Elder Xuan chuckled and slapped his palm against the Three- Eyed Golden Lion’s head. This caused the lion to be pressed into the ground. Elder Xuan even exerted more force to make it kiss the soil.
“Threatening me? Don’t think that I don’t know about Emperor Beasts like you even though it’s my first time seeing one. You carry a special blood lineage from ancient times, and you can use this blood lineage’s aura to influence the undulations of spiritual air in the heavens and earth. It’s just nonsense when they say that you beget prosperity. And you still dare to threaten me with misfortune? Do you believe that I won’t torture you till the brink of death? The soul beasts treat you as a treasure. If I kill you, they may really attack the humans out of rage. But don’t think that you’re real nobility.
No matter how well those hundred thousand year soul beasts treat you, you’re only a treasure to them. You’re not their emperor. Your title as an Emperor Beast only sounds nice. Regardless of whether you’re human or a soul beast, it’s best if you know your place.”
“You, you’re the one spouting nonsense.” The Three-Eyed Golden Lion sounded more agitated.
Elder Xuan laughed coldly. “Spouting nonsense? I’m already being very kind here. How do you think they’d treat you if you were useless to them, or if they believed that your meat gives them immortality? Yuhao, come over.”
“Yes.” Huo Yuhao rushed over.
Elder Xuan said, “Press your forehead against this Three- Eyed Golden Lion’s third eye. Don’t worry, I’ll stop it from resisting.”
“No! Don’t you dare!” The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was enraged and roared furiously. It tried to struggle, which caused
golden-red blood to ooze from its mouth due to an internal injury it had sustained earlier.
Huo Yuhao was stunned, and said, “Elder Xuan…”
Elder Xuan chortled and said, “There’s a record in an ancient collection that Shrek Academy obtained from ancient times which propagates the Emperor Beasts’ dominance. They beget prosperity and possess unlimited potential. What this means is that Emperor Beasts can protect soul beasts and enhance their speed of cultivation. Different Emperor Beasts are different elements. Just like this Three-Eyed Golden Lion here. It has many elements. When I attacked it just now, I could sense the light and fire elements in its body. However, they aren’t its main elements, although they are close to the level of ultimate elements. Its main element is its spiritual power. If not for its spiritual power, I would have already killed it. Elemental transfusion refers to its ability to enhance your element using its own element. This is very beneficial for your future cultivation. But it’s a little vague when we refer to its ability to beget prosperity and its possession of unlimited potential. We aren’t sure what benefits it can bring, so it can only be comprehended through one’s own self. Hurry up. Stop moving.”
His last sentence was directed at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion wanted to speak, but it couldn’t as Elder Xuan pressed its head into the ground.
Huo Yuhao naturally believed in Elder Xuan’s words. He slowly pressed his forehead against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s vertical eye as he looked into its fiery-looking eyes.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s powers were completely repressed by Elder Xuan. Elder Xuan didn’t know that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would definitely kill itself without any hesitation if it still possessed a shred of strength. Elder Xuan also didn’t know what elemental transfusion entailed for Emperor Beasts. Even the Skydream Iceworm and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion didn’t know. It was the Emperor Beasts’ biggest secret.
No soul beast dared to unravel this secret in the world of soul beasts. The title of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion as an Emperor Beast wasn’t as lowly as Elder Xuan described it to be. No soul beasts dared to get close to it. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was very violent. Whoever dared to get close to it would be ferociously and maniacally attacked by it.
Both of their bodies trembled violently when Huo Yuhao’s forehead pressed against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s vertical eye.
Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Life opened as it was lured out by the magical powers contained within the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s vertical eye. However, Elder Xuan, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao couldn’t see it, because his forehead was pressed against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s vertical eye.
Huo Yuhao felt that his mind had gone empty after trembling for a while. Even his Spiritual Sea seemed to disappear. The Skydream Iceworm, Ice Empress and Electrolux decided to shrink their powers at the moment and hide in one corner.
Rings of weird, distorted light engulfed Huo Yuhao and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s body. Their bodies seemed to become transparent as a subtle radiance flashed. Every time the radiance changed, Huo Yuhao and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s bodies would twitch slightly.
The immense life aura contained within Huo Yuhao’s Eye of Life rapidly flowed out and entered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s body.
The injuries that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sustained earlier healed at an alarming speed. The entire Great Star Dou Forest started to shake tremendously, with Huo Yuhao and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion at the center of this tremor. An intense life aura surged towards them and into their bodies.
The distorted radiance became stronger and stronger, engulfing the both of them within. A special force prevented even Elder Xuan from breaching this radiance.
Elder Xuan was a little discomforted as he witnessed this amazing change. He muttered to himself, “Did we really escalate the situation? This Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still struggling earlier. Don’t tell me this transfusion will take its life away? That would be disastrous. Will the Star Dou’s soul beasts go all-out against Shrek? That will cause many casualties! Why is there such a huge reaction?”
Wang Dong furrowed his brows, and golden light flashed in his eyes. He felt something weird as he looked at the distorted radiance. It was as if something that belonged to him was being taken away. But the feeling was very mild, and he couldn’t sense it clearly.
Huo Yuhao’s consciousness was gradually restored, while his Spiritual Sea became active again. He was stunned to realize that there was something more in his Spiritual Sea. The size of his Spiritual Sea seemed to double. A subtle aura appeared to be within his Spiritual Sea, his Eye of Life had transformed as
well.
The Eye of Life usually emitted green light. To him, it was only a place that Electrolux stayed in. It also helped him preserve a shred of spiritual power. The Life Guardian Blade was also there, and it could be used by him at any time.
But it was different now. Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that he really owned a third eye now. His Eye of Life had turned bright gold under his control. The Life Guardian Blade had also been extracted, and landed on the ground. The Life’s Gold life aura was still on the Life Guardian Blade. Electrolux’s awareness had also returned to his own Spiritual Sea.
This also meant that the Eye of Life had become his third eye, and was now fully under his control. He could also clearly feel that there was another magical force within his third eye. He couldn’t tell what this force was, but he could sense that it was a force that was beyond what he was capable of controlling.
Even the Ice Empress and Skydream Iceworm didn’t dare to resist this force.
Chapter 146: The Eye Of Destiny
Buzz—
A layer of golden light suddenly exploded from where Huo Yuhao had pressed against the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Huo Yuhao’s was thrown backwards from the force, but Elder Xuan grabbed him in midair and stabilized him.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook its body hazily and stumbled backwards. Its three golden eyes suddenly became black for a tiny second before they recovered their golden hue. However, Elder Xuan, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao witnessed the entire process.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed a little weak, and it stopped struggling. It was just watching Huo Yuhao with lethargic eyes as Elder Xuan placed him on the ground. Huo Yuhao’s expression also looked lifeless.
Huo Yuhao seemed to feel something. He gazed at the Three- Eyed Golden Lion. Human and beast stared into each other’s eyes. They both felt a faint tremble in their minds, and their
third eye’s numbed momentarily as they felt a peculiar sensation.
Huo Yuhao felt as if his spirit was surging through the ages, and his consciousness appeared within a dense forest.
Everything around him suddenly became golden, and the brilliant hues painted the vegetation all around him the same color. These plants were growing at bedazzling speed, and a multi-colored egg with a golden luster at its base appeared on the ground.
Crisp cracking sounds could be heard as a single gash appeared on the golden egg’s surface. The crack extended swiftly, and a tiny claw reached out from within the shell with a crackling sound before a tiny head emerged.
Its golden fur was a little moist, and it looked like a little puppy. It struggled to break out from the eggshell before it turned around and gobbled it down with a few bites.
A series of crackling sounds rang out as this tiny dog-like beast started flickering with golden radiance.
Then a luminous golden beam suddenly descended from the sky, as if it were a pillar of light that connected the heavens to the earth, and enveloped the small ‘dog’ that had just consumed its egg shell.
The mucus on the tiny beast’s body gradually disappeared, and its body instantly transformed from a foot long to a meter long. Its golden fur became transparent like water crystals, and the dazzling golden radiance transformed into glowing circles of light that rippled outwards.
The tiny beast roared towards the sky, and its forehead suddenly cracked open as a single eye that seemed like it could see through everything in the world appeared.
When this image manifested in Huo Yuhao’s consciousness, everything started to speed up, and uncountable images surged in his mind. He felt as if he was experiencing ten thousand years in an instant as voluminous pure remnants of memory flashed by. Everything was set inside that dense jungle, but he couldn’t really see very clearly.
Elder Xuan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was fine. He released a single yellow circle of light and swept up Huo Yuhao and the two others, before he released another yellow sphere of light to trap the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Lights flickered as the Rank 98 Transcendent Douluo carried both the humans and the beast and soared through the sky, towards the Great Star Dou Forest’s outer regions in the north. Perhaps only a mighty individual like Elder Xuan dared to fly across the Great Star Dou Forest, where soul beasts were amassed. Elder Xuan could cover dozens of kilometers in an instant.
Everybody was in the Great Star Dou Forest’s outer regions when they landed back on the ground. He chose the northern border as this location was closest to Shrek City. It would be convenient for Elder Xuan to retreat with everyone if there was a disturbance with the fearsome beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest.
“Are you alright, Yuhao?” Wang Dong whispered in Huo Yuhao’s ear. Elder Xuan was also watching him with a concerned look on his face. Even the ancient archives didn’t detail the effects of transfusing an emperor beast’s element to refine one’s body.
Huo Yuhao tossed his head from side to side. The intense rush of memory shocked his spirit, and he was still a little dazed. “I’m fine. My spiritual power is much stronger now, but I think I took part of its memory.”
“Oh? What kind of memories?” Wang Dong asked in bewilderment.
Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, “It’s a soul beast that has been alive for more than ten thousand years. Even though its life inside the Great Star Dou Forest is relatively simple, its memories are immense, and how can I differentiate anything with clarity in one moment?”
Elder Xuan tilted his head and said, “It’s fine as long as your spiritual power has been boosted. It seems like the archives were accurate, so it’s all good as long as there are no side effects. I think this is yours, here you go.” Elder Xuan lobbed the Life Guardian Blade at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered that his ranked carving knife had been squeezed out of his Eye of Life—no, his third eye could not be described as the Eye of Life anymore.
He grabbed the Life Guardian Blade. Huo Yuhao immediately sensed that he was still mentally connected to this ranked carving knife, and the vast life energy contained within it was also greater than before.
“I want to meditate for a while, Elder Xuan.” Huo Yuhao remarked before he sat down and crossed his legs. The Mysterious Heaven Technique was channeled naturally, and his spirit quickly concentrated within his own spiritual sea.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s eyes had more vitality at this point. It didn’t try to struggle as it watched Huo Yuhao with a blank look, and there were complicated and indescribable emotions in its eyes. It seemed as if that momentary touching of heads had taken away all of its intimidating ferocity.
Elder Xuan glanced at the lion and said, “It looks like the elemental transfusion didn’t hurt you much. You have also benefited from Huo Yuhao, and your wounds are healed. Don’t worry—I’m a man of my word. I’ll let you go when they arrive.”
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shot a cold look at Elder Xuan, but said nothing. It turned towards Huo Yuhao with another
deep gaze before it closed all three of its eyes and laid prostrate on the ground, as if it were sleeping.
Huo Yuhao’s mind was filled with remnants of memories, but what about the beast? The beast’s mind was filled with Huo Yuhao’s complete memories!
Huo Yuhao’s life and experiences covered a period of less than thirteen years, but he had experienced many trials and tribulations. His childhood life was rough, his life after leaving the White Tiger Duke’s mansion was exciting, and all the wonders and awes of the human world deeply stimulated this emperor beast.
“Are you alright, Elder Yi?” Huo Yuhao asked Electrolux first when he entered his meditative state. Even though Electrolux didn’t interact with him much, his influence was comparable to both Skydream and the Ice Empress—especially when he saved Huo Yuhao’s life from the Envoys of the Death God.
“I’m fine. Such mighty power of destiny! However, I have already transcended beyond destiny, and it isn’t so easy to destroy my destiny. The Life Gold has nurtured me over time, and my shattered divine sense has stabilized. I have regained a
few memories as well, and this was happening while I hibernated inside your spiritual sea. Your cultivation is still low, but I will impart my abilities to you when your fundamentals are solid enough.”
Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Electrolux was alright. He asked doubtfully, “What is this ‘power of destiny’ about, Elder Yi? Why would the Three-Eyed Golden Lion transfer the power of destiny to me?”
Electrolux contemplated momentarily and said, “I don’t belong to your world, and I don’t understand much about the soul beasts in your world. I can only make judgments based on my logic and reasoning. Emperor beasts are unique entities which are born from destiny, and their level is somewhat like mine in some sense—they have one leg through the divine gate. The difference is that I reached that level before I was born, but this emperor beast has to start from the beginning and approach that level step by step. You can say that it only has the potential to reach that level. This potential gives it the ability and power to control certain destinies.”
“Therefore, it will receive the blessings of heaven and earth. Its body is a supreme treasure that can absorb the origin energies of heaven and earth. The surrounding origin energies
of heaven and earth will change with it around, and sometimes even destinies will change as well. For example, your destiny was bumpy before you entered Shrek Academy, and even a little tragic. When you entered Shrek Academy, your life started to turn around, and you began to have immense good fortune. This emperor beast should have incomparable fortune from beginning to end, and its growth since the day it was born has been smooth sailing. In addition to its powerful element, it should ultimately be able to become a demigod—
unless it meets an unfortunate end in the process.”
“These emperor beasts are blessed by destiny, and they will run into very few threats. These threats will only occur for two reasons—when the beast meets an opponent with a level of fortune that negates its own, or because that is its destiny. It is able to control destiny to a certain extent, and therefore there will undoubtedly be a bottleneck that will eventually appear in its life. Perhaps you are its bottleneck, and this is all part of its destiny. I am sure that your fortune is not enough to negate its own.”
Huo Yuhao was lost and confused. Destiny? Bottleneck? He didn’t really understand.
Electrolux could naturally feel his bafflement, and smiled as he said, “Simply put, it’s a bit like the romantic sentiment between males and females. Everybody will have a relationship that belongs to himself or herself some time in their lives. There may only be one, or there may be many. The person that will be emotionally entwined with you is destined to be the bottleneck in your life.”
Huo Yuhao said, “Elder Yi, this is too complicated. Actually, all I want to know is what happened to my third eye after it touched the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s third eye? I can feel that I’m able to control it now, as if I have an actual third eye. Furthermore, my third eye seems to wield a special power, and I cannot feel this power’s element. I have never even seen it before.”
Electrolux smiled and said, “Had you asked the little worm or the small scorpion, they probably wouldn’t know the answer to this. But if you’re asking me—you’ve come to the right person. The power of destiny chased me out from the Eye of Life, and it would seem it’s the power of destiny that has taken over your eye. It has amplified and refined your spirit sea, saving you at least five years of cultivating spiritual power. You will continue to feel its positive effects as time goes by. Initially it was my own powers supporting your second mental sea; you would’ve only been able to channel the power within it upon reaching a certain level of spiritual power. However, after this round of refinement, you now can use your second mental sea. From now on, your third eye shall be called the ‘Eye of Destiny’—it gives you power over destiny."
Huo Yuhao reacted in shock. “Power over destiny? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Electrolux answered, “The Eye of Destiny bestows you with the ability to change someone’s destiny for the better within a fixed amount of time. It might sound a little abstract, but it’s actually quite simple; anybody that your Eye of Destiny gazes upon will have their fortunes changed if your will it—for
better, or for worse. But, using the Eye of Destiny will consume a large amount of soul power. It will awaken in three days; you’ll have a better understanding of it then.”
Huo Yuhao understood a little more after listening to Electrolux’s explanation. “Thank you, Elder Yi. Thankfully you’re here to explain things. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a clue of what was happening. The power of destiny sounds pretty impressive!”
Electrolux lowered his voice and said, “Don’t speak too soon, Yuhao. While it’s true that you’ve received a unique and unmatched ability, this power of destiny has also linked your destiny with that of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s. You obtained a portion of its memories, while it received all of yours—which includes the information about us. Your fate is now irrevocably entwined with the beast, whether it be as friend or foe. Either way, you should work hard and focus on your cultivation; it’s vital to you now.”
His destiny would be entwined with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s? Huo Yuhao wasn’t too worried about this. He could acutely feel that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion no longer felt hostile towards him after their strange interaction. In fact, he
could feel some kind of faint connection with it now. As for his fate going forwards—who knows?
The Great Star Dou Forest changed mysteriously at that moment: It seemed to quiver, while every tree in sight began to sway in one direction, then began oscillating back and forth. An invisible force gradually emerged from the Great Star Dou Forest, as if some kind of earth-shattering change was taking place. Afterwards, the Great Star Dou Forest became silent and motionless, like every living being had gone into hibernation.
Elder Xuan arrived beside the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in a flash, then released a dense yellow radiance to cover everyone present, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion included. His expression grew dark and solemn—the arriving presence had a higher cultivation than his own, which made his skin crawl.
A wine-red glow shone brilliantly, and the Three-Headed Scarlet Devil-Mastiff appeared before everybody once more.
Huo Yuhao swiftly awakened from his meditation and positioned himself behind Elder Xuan, raising his guard as he did so.
The Scarlet King was no longer infuriated like he’d been before. His eyes seemed extremely calm, and it carried itself with utmost confidence. Its leftmost head held a dark-purple soul beast between its teeth.
The Scarlet King muttered coldly, “Release the emperor beast and take this soul beast with you.” It tossed the soul beast in its mouth to the ground as it spoke. Turning to Huo Yuhao, it said, “Your disciple wasn’t murdered by the emperor beast it seems.”
Elder Xuan answered plainly, “He wasn’t indeed, however it was close. It was his agility and quick thinking that allowed him to evade its attacks—he would’ve perished otherwise. I’ll let this go—but only once. However, the one that doesn’t want to show himself—why don’t you try and come out? Come, show me what you’ve got.”
“Human, if you want to die I’ll grant this wish of yours.” A deep voice boomed from within the Great Star Dou Forest. It sounded as hoarse as sandpaper, but felt like rolling thunder when it travelled through the air. It held an unrivaled prestige that seemed to dull the colors of the sky.
Elder Xuan’s expression didn’t change at all. “If you have the power to put me in the ground right here, you can go ahead and try it.”
“Are you trying to anger me, human?” The deep voice in the sky was now tinged with fury.
Elder Xuan smiled and replied, “So what if I anger you? This was all just a coincidence. My previous decision to leave the emperor beast here—instead of taking it back with me to Shrek
—was already quite a generous one. Are you trying to frighten
me? You’ve made a mistake. Since this is the case, I’ll be taking this emperor beast back to Shrek City for strict monitoring. Let’s see if the soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest dare to launch another large-scale invasion.” He grabbed the Three- Eyed Golden Lion’s nape as he spoke.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes burst open, all three of which were full of indignation.
“That’s enough,” the deep voice hesitated momentarily, then continued, “release the emperor beast, then you can go. I shall swear upon my reputation as Di Tian that we’ll let this go just like that.”
Elder Xuan’s expression relaxed a little and a look of astonishment flashed across his face. “So it’s Di Tian. Alright, I believe you.” He released his grip once he’d finished speaking and decisively pushed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion towards the Scarlet King with a beam of yellow light.
The Scarlet King positioned himself beside the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, then took the chance to inspect its body. He then realized that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion’s injuries had all been completely healed, and his gaze became noticeably more tender when he glanced at Elder Xuan again.
Elder Xuan reached his right hand forward and grasped the dark purple soul beast in his hands. Yellow radiance flickered as he swept up Huo Yuhao and the others, then he raced back towards Shrek Academy.
Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but anxiously ask, “That fellow hidden within the forest really won’t attack us, teacher?”
Elder Xuan answered plainly, “You guys would do well to remember that soul beasts are generally more trustworthy and honorable than humans.”
……
Just as Elder Xuan had said, nothing else happened within the Great Star Dou Forest once they vanished from the Scarlet King’s sight. The fearsome and intimidating aura around the Scarlet King vanished into thin air as well.
“You! You’re too mischievous. I’ve long since told you that human soul masters are our greatest threat. If he hadn’t been from Shrek Academy, your life would have easily been forfeit considering his abilities. We probably wouldn’t have even had the time to rescue you. Don’t leave the Core Regions like that again.”
The deep voice sounded a lot more tender and amicable, a little doting even.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised its head, a strange sparkle in its eyes as it said, “That human said that you guys are just using me. If I wasn’t an emperor beast, or I didn’t bring you enough good fortune, you guys wouldn’t be so nice to me, eh?”
The owner of deep voice contemplated momentarily before muttering, “You have to realize, little fellow, that there’s nothing absolutely pure in this world. I can tell you with confidence that he’s right. But it can’t simply be described as ‘using’ within the world of soul beasts. I can confidently say that once we’ve been together for ten thousand years, you’ll still be my friend, and even my child—even if you were to lose your powers of fortune right now. Whoever dares to hurt you with me around will have to suffer my wrath.”
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lowered its head as if it had been aggrieved. “I’m sorry, Di Tian. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I was wrong—let’s go home.”
Di Tian’s voice became even more gentle. “Alright, let’s go home.”
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised its leg as it prepared to take off. However, it suddenly turned back to face the direction that Elder Xuan had gone and glanced at the company of humans quickly disappearing into the distance. The memories that it had received from the young human became even clearer in its mind, but it would still take it quite a long time to digest these memories.
…….
A gold and wine-red streak flickered simultaneously, the Great Star Dou Forest returning to its original tranquility afterwards. Meanwhile, Elder Xuan continued to surge through the sky as he swiftly carried Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao back to Shrek Academy along with the soul beast.
Elder Xuan only put them down once they’d reached the Sea God’s Pavilion.
“Absorb its soul ring, Yuhao.” Elder Xuan tossed the dark purple soul beast onto the ground and reminded Huo Yuhao to absorb its soul ring.
Huo Yuhao didn’t idle about any longer. His right arm transformed under the Ice Empress’ Pincer and he lashed out at the unconscious dark purple soul beast, who didn’t seem to have any of the trademark ferocity a ten thousand year soul beast normally would at the moment.
It looked like a wolf, but it was a little smaller than normal wolves. Aside from its brilliant dark purple fur, its appearance was rather wretched. It had a slightly collapsed nose bridge and tiny narrowed eyes, as well as incredibly short legs that didn’t seem capable of carrying its own weight.
Huo Yuhao struck at the unconscious soul beast and turned it to ice. Then dull golden blades appeared at the fingertips of his right hand, which he then stabbed into the frozen beast’s skull. It didn’t feel any pain as it passed into the netherworld, as its body had already been completely frozen, nor did it lose a single drop of blood.
A dark black soul ring gradually rose into the air from its head.
Huo Yuhao didn’t mess around; he quickly sat cross-legged in front of the soul ring, then activated his soul power and quickly began to fuse with it.
Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea immediately began to shudder. Dense spiritual energy flooded through his Spirit Eyes and surged towards his spiritual sea, while the Mysterious Heaven Technique’s soul power began to twist and churn.
The vast spiritual fluctuations—as well as the shock from the frightening spirit and soul power—sent waves of pain through Huo Yuhao’s body. The power that was surging through him was unlike the tender unconscious soul beast—instead, it was filled with a crazed mania.
Far from being terrified at this, Huo Yuhao felt ecstatic. He might not have recognized this soul beast, but Elder Xuan surely had, which in turn meant that its cultivation definitely wasn’t greater than fifteen thousand years. Brother Skydream had told him that he wouldn’t have any problems absorbing such a soul ring, aside from having to seal a small portion of its cultivation. Furthermore, his spiritual power had been boosted by the encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to the point where he could now manipulate his second mental sea. Naturally, he wasn’t afraid of being unable to assimilate with the soul ring. Rather, the stronger the mania he felt the better, because this would signify the might behind the new soul skill.
While the Mysterious Heaven Technique’s soul power surged violently, Huo Yuhao remained as calm as ever. He controlled his spiritual sea so that it accepted the vast spiritual power pouring in, while simultaneously he slowly assimilated it and activated the Mysterious Heaven Technique to circulate it throughout his circulation paths. Even though his skeleton, passageways, and flesh were currently swelling and in agonizing pain, his facial expression didn’t change much.
Elder Xuan cautiously observed from beside him. A minute passed, but Huo Yuhao’s expression had remained just as calm as before. His body appeared a little swollen, and purplish- black light flickered incessantly all over it, but Elder Xuan inwardly gasped in admiration. This level of discipline and endurance wasn’t something that a child should possess—even most of the inner core disciples couldn’t possibly do what he was doing now. No wonder he hadn’t been afraid of absorbing a ten thousand year soul ring. His body had been enhanced by several soul bones, and with the help of the spiritual seal that he’d talked about, it looked like there wouldn’t be any problems at all with this absorption.
“Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, the two of you stay here to watch over him. I have something to discuss with Elder Mu.”
“Yes.”
Elder Xuan then strode into the Sea God’s Pavilion. What surprised him a little was that Elder Mu couldn’t have not detected their return, yet he didn’t hear a single sound. He swiftly approached Elder Mu’s room and gently knocked on the door.
“I’ve brought the three little fellas back, Elder Mu.”
“Come in.” Elder Mu’s voice was as placid as before, but it sounded a little downcast.
Elder Xuan pushed the door and walked in, but was immediately taken aback by what he saw. “Elder Mu—what’s happened to you?”
Elder Mu was lying quietly in his reclining chair. However, his face seemed a little gloomy and bleak—there was no vitality in his eyes. He now appeared extremely old, and half of his white hair had actually become a plain gray color.
Elder Xuan himself was a Transcendent Douluo, and naturally understood what these transformations meant for Elder Mu. His life energy was quickly leaking out, which would further reduce Elder Mu’s lifespan!
“Sit down, Xuan Zi.” Elder Mu was still as calm as ever. There wasn’t a single trace of emotion within his frail eyes.
Elder Xuan hurriedly sat down beside Elder Mu. He was incredibly alarmed when he saw Elder Mu and said, “This shouldn’t be happening! Your situation was still stable when we left. How did you consume so much life energy within such a short period of time?”
Elder Mu heaved a sigh and said, “Don’t worry, my time’s not up yet. But…” Elder Mu was the Master of the Sea God’s Pavilion, and even though he possessed the frightening power of an Ultimate Douluo, a mournful expression filled his eyes.
“That child, Xiaotao… she’s gone.” Elder Mu spoke arduously.
“What?!” Elder Xuan was astonished. “How can that be? Wasn’t she under your seal? Furthermore, even if she had the
ability to break your seal, you’re anchoring down the Sea God’s Pavilion—and the other elders are around too! How could she have vanished just like that?”
Elder Mu laughed bitterly and said, “That’s exactly the point
—and it’s why I feel like I’ve let her down! We were too careless. Nothing was wrong with my seal at one point, and the only person to be let in to see it was the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Even though I’m not sure how, I’m sure that he definitely did something to my seal, or to Xiaotao, that gave her the ability to run away. The academy was invaded five days after your departure. The enemies were too powerful, thus the elders of the Sea God’s Pavilion had to fight them in order to keep them from damaging Shrek City. Xiaotao took this opportunity to escape—right under our noses.”
“The Body Sect?” Elder Xuan was flabbergasted. The way he saw it, only a select few groups in the Continent could force Elder Mu to show his hand in battle, and the Body Sect had stirred up trouble not long ago.
Elder Mu waved his hand and said, “It wasn’t the Body Sect. Du Busi may be headstrong, obstinate, and conceited… but he’s still an honorable man, like his elder brother. At least, he won’t do anything to the academy before my death. However, the fact
that it wasn’t the Body Sect worries me even more—they were all evil soul masters, all eleven of them. Four were even Titled Douluo.”
Elder Xuan drew a cold breath as he listened. “Eleven evil soul masters—how is that possible? This, this…” Elder Xuan actually lost his composure.
Evil soul masters were far more powerful than normal soul masters. However, it was extremely difficult for them to become Titled Douluo—in fact, it was almost impossible. Yet, according to what Elder Mu had just said, there had been eleven of them! And four of them were even Titled Douluo! This was far beyond Elder Xuan’s knowledge.
Such a large party of powerful evil soul masters showing up at the same time had never happened before throughout the course of the Continent’s history.
“What I was most apprehensive about has come to pass: Not many evil soul masters have appeared in the past hundred years, and most that did had low cultivations. I always felt that something was wrong, but I never thought that the evil soul masters had come so far as to make their own organization.”
Elder Xuan’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed. “Evil soul masters are almost completely uncontrollable due to their element. How could they follow somebody’s commands and form an organization?”
Elder Mu heaved a sigh and said, “Discussing this now has no meaning. I did my best and managed to kill six of them, but ended up consuming a lot of life energy. However, only one Titled Douluo died. The most powerful of them was a Transcendent Douluo. I was tied down by them, thus I couldn’t kill the other evil soul masters. Fortunately, we didn’t suffer many losses. However, I’m deeply concerned with Xiaotao’s situation. The fire of ultimate darkness—if the evil soul master organization…”
Elder Xuan was stern as he said, “It must be the Illustrious Virtue Hall causing trouble. At the very least, they’re definitely connected to it. Elder Mu, do you want me to take some people to the Illustrious Virtue Hall to find her?
Elder Mu waved his hand and answered, “That would be useless. The Illustrious Virtue Hall would never actually cooperate with those evil soul masters, and they wouldn’t leave any evidence behind either. They most likely just used the evil
soul masters’ strength to attack us. My life energy will run out in a year and a half, after which I will infuse myself within the Golden Tree and seal my soul imprint within. Whoever wants to cause trouble for Shrek Academy at that point—hmph!”
Elder Mu’s infuriated grunt wasn’t loud, but even a Transcendent Douluo like Elder Xuan felt his heart skip a beat.
“We have to nurture the younger generation as fast as we can. The evil soul master organization shouldn’t be mature yet, but when they dare to officially appear on the Continent, humanity will be in distress, and calamity will be upon us. Xuan Zi, you guys have a heavy load and a long road ahead of you. I feel sorry for Xiaotao, though…”
Elder Mu closed his eyes painfully, his face full of exhaustion and weariness.
Originally, Elder Xuan had been in a great mood. Both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao had gained big rewards from this expedition. Especially Huo Yuhao, who’d absorbed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s Right Palm Bone. Moreover, it was an extremely rare, external soul bone, which could evolve.
However, Elder Xuan’s heart grew heavy, and he became nearly as despondent as Elder Mu.
Elder Mu contemplated for more than ten seconds, then said slowly, “Why did you bring back a soul beast for Huo Yuhao to absorb? How did their adventure go?”
Elder Xuan took a deep breath and cheered himself up, then explained their adventure in great detail.
Elder Mu’s focus was different from Elder Xuan, who placed more emphasis on the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear’s Right Palm Bone. When Elder Mu finished listening to Elder Xuan’s recounting of the events of the last dozen days, he appeared a lot more invigorated than before as he said, “An emperor beast… it’s actually an emperor beast. Yuhao said that he absorbed its memories? It seems like the archives’ records have some deeper meaning, and I guess that we finally have a piece of good news. We have to speed up this child’s nurturing. Bring him to see me after he has finished absorbing his soul ring. A ten thousand year Purplespirit Wolf—those guys inside of the Great Star Dou Forest are extremely generous when it concerns the emperor beast. The Heavenly Emperor’s word is worth more than all the money in the world. Thankfully, you all returned safely.”
However, no one expected Huo Yuhao to take as long as he did to absorb his soul ring. It took far beyond their projections.
The dark purple light gradually entered his body. But afterwards he just sat there, without moving an inch. A pale golden light flickered incessantly all over his body, while a vertical golden eye seemed to shimmer on his forehead. This strange scene made Elder Xuan invite Elder Mu to observe.
Elder Mu probed Huo Yuhao’s soul power fluctuations, then told everyone not to disturb him and to let him cultivate in peace.
Why was Huo Yuhao taking so long to absorb his third soul ring? Because it wasn’t as simple as just absorbing a soul ring.
The dark purple soul beast’s soul ring was extremely powerful, but it was a spirit-type in the end. It boosted Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea, and raised the limit on his optimal soul ring age for his Spirit Eyes yet again. The Skydream Iceworm was very conservative with his estimates to ensure Huo Yuhao’s safety however, thus he only allowed Huo Yuhao to
absorb around six thousand years’ worth of the soul ring’s power before sealing the rest.