"The time should be about right."
Outside, Chen Junting glanced at the sky from within the barrier. Figuring the Profound Water Pill had nearly finished its Marrow Cleansing effect, he slowly rose.
"Xiao Tian, Little Feng, I'll check on Huo Yuhao. Stay inside for now."
"Okay."
Knowing what happened after someone took a Profound Water Pill, Ning Tian and Wu Feng had no intention of coming out. They would at least wait until the stench faded.
Once outside the barrier, Chen Junting caught a whiff of the odor and frowned almost imperceptibly. He summoned his Seven Kills Sword Martial Soul, roughly located Huo Yuhao inside the wooden cage, and swung his sword!
Whoosh—
A fierce slash of Sword Qi sliced the cage cleanly in two!
A figure covered head to toe in black sat cross-legged on the ground.
At that very moment, Huo Yuhao stirred. "Ugh..."
Before he could fully open his eyes or react, a foul stench assaulted his nose. "Whoa! That reeks! What is that smell?"
He sprang to his feet almost instinctively!
But when he saw Chen Junting standing before him, he suddenly grew self-conscious. He also noticed that his already tattered clothes had turned completely black, and sludge-like grime covered his body. It felt unbearably unpleasant.
As he puzzled over it, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang out in his Sea of Spirit. "Yuhao, that's what happened because of the talent-boosting thing you just took."
Just then, Chen Junting said, "Here."
He took a waterskin from his Storage Soul Tool and tossed it to Huo Yuhao. The waterskin was another kind of Storage Soul Tool, though it could only hold liquids.
"Go wash up first."
"Thank you."
Huo Yuhao caught the waterskin carefully, his eyes reddening. Beneath all the black grime, though, it was hard to tell.
"No need to be so polite."
Chen Junting merely smiled and gestured toward the half-severed wooden cage. It would screen Huo Yuhao while he washed. He also handed him his bundle.
Once Huo Yuhao had cleaned up, none of them wanted to linger in that reeking place. They moved somewhere safer before talking further.
Half an hour later, they reached a patch of grass.
"Let's rest here for a while," Chen Junting said, looking around.
Ning Tian and the others had no objections.
The three of them turned to Huo Yuhao, who looked as though he wanted to say something. They had noticed on the way that he had questions, but he had not found the right moment to ask.
"Yuhao, ask whatever's on your mind."
"Brother Junting, what happened to me just now...?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had told Huo Yuhao that the thing he had taken had improved his talent, but he had no clear idea what that meant. Now he wanted to find out.
"That was Marrow Cleansing," Wu Feng said. Apparently worried he would not understand the term, she put it another way. "Basically, your meridians pooped through your pores, and now everything flows more smoothly."
Thump!
"Ow! Young Master, why'd you hit me...?"
Wu Feng looked aggrieved, convinced she had said nothing wrong. Ning Tian feigned anger. "Sister Feng, what kind of girl talks like that? 'Pooped through your pores'? I can't believe you said it."
"And I told you not to call me Young Master once we left the sect. It gives the wrong impression. Stop doing it."
"Oh..."
"Heh."
Leaving Wu Feng to her scolding, Chen Junting smiled at Huo Yuhao. "What Little Feng said was... rather disgusting, but she had the right idea. Given your circumstances, the Profound Water Pill I gave you can raise your Soul Power by one level. More importantly, that's a full level of Innate Soul Power."
"A level of Innate Soul Power?"
Huo Yuhao was startled, then grew uneasy.
"That pill must be expensive, right?!"
"Not really. Just ten thousand gold."
For a moment, Huo Yuhao's mind went blank.
How rich did someone have to be to call ten thousand gold cheap?
"Brother Junting." His eyes reddened, and to the astonishment of all three, he suddenly tried to drop to his knees!
"Yuhao, what are you doing?!"
Fortunately, Chen Junting reacted quickly and caught him.
"I don't know how I can ever repay you."
Huo Yuhao looked at him, stubborn determination filling his face.
A pill worth ten thousand gold!
In truth,
that much money could have bought his life before.
He would feel wrong if he did not kneel and kowtow in thanks.
"You don't have to do that."
The three exchanged glances, torn between laughter and emotion.
To Chen Junting, Huo Yuhao now seemed like a blank sheet of paper, ready for them to paint on.
This is perfect!
Chen Junting shot Ning Tian a look.
She understood immediately.
Her gentle voice had an almost magical power to put people at ease.
"Yuhao, have you thought about joining a sect?"
"A sect?"
Huo Yuhao looked up, bewildered.
Then he remembered Wu Feng calling Ning Tian "Young Master."
"Ning Tian, are you all from a sect?"
"That's right. We're all from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect." Ning Tian offered no further explanation. The sect's name alone spoke volumes.
"Nine Treasures Glazed Tile, the Wealthiest Sect Under Heaven!"
Sure enough,
at the name "Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect," Huo Yuhao jolted. Now he finally understood why Brother Junting and the others had been so unfazed by ten thousand gold.
"Shocked, aren't you?"
Seeing him stare in disbelief, Wu Feng stepped forward and patted his shoulder. The pat was not particularly hard, but it snapped him out of his daze and sent him stumbling.
"You're way too frail. If you join our sect, we'll have to build you up." Wu Feng grabbed the back of his collar before he could fall, muttered a little, then put on a fierce expression.
"Listen, don't turn your nose up at this! Young—Ning Tian invited you personally. That's a huge honor!"
"Sister Feng! That's no way to invite someone!"
Wu Feng's tone and behavior were overbearing, but Huo Yuhao did not dislike her for it.
He had already gotten a sense of her personality when they ate grilled fish.
And beneath her words just now, he could feel her goodwill.
He did not hesitate.
"I'd like to join!"
Before Ning Tian or Wu Feng could react, Chen Junting smiled.
Looking up at the sky, he thought, The Child of Destiny has joined Nine Treasures. I've made the first move in this game.
Night fell, and the Star Dou Forest grew deathly still.
But in the Edge Zone, a campfire burned.
"Here. These are our welcome gifts."
Huo Yuhao stared at the things in his hands.
They weighed little, yet felt as heavy as Qian Jun.
A porcelain bottle containing two Profound Water Pills, a belt-type Storage Soul Tool, a piece of Millennium Whale Rubber, and a book recording the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Meditation Method for Spirit-type Soul Masters.
Brother Junting and the other two had given him all of it.
In his Sea of Spirit, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had not fallen asleep. He was dancing with joy, cheering without pause. "Yuhao, joining this sect was absolutely the right choice!"
"It's perfect!"
Huo Yuhao paid no attention to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm just then.
He pressed his lips together and carefully put away each gift.
"Brother Junting, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, I won't let you down."
Chen Junting and the others had just told him the truth about Body Martial Souls and why they wanted to recruit him.
They had been completely honest!
And that finally put Huo Yuhao's anxious heart at ease.
He knew they had not given him these things out of pity.
Deep down, Huo Yuhao made a firm vow: With Brother Sky Dream's help, I'll work hard and repay the sect one day!
Before you continue