Record and Furnace

"[Understanding] has reached 5%. Branch ability: Record unlocked."

"Current Records: Soft Bone Rabbit: a rabbit species living in the Star Dou Great Forest, at the bottom of the food chain, yet evolved unimaginable survival abilities."

"Dream Eater: a nightmare that dwells in the caves of the Disaster Mountain Range. It prefers to act at night, seeking out sleeping Soul Beasts and feeding on their Spiritual Origin."

"Blazing Ox: lives on the July Fire Plain of the Great Wilderness. It prefers moving in herds and, through its long evolution, learned to replenish its internal energy by consuming flames."

"Blood Wolf: a common wolf-type Soul Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest. Its entire body is red, and it can boil its blood to temporarily improve its physical abilities."

"Shock Axe: a fantasy-derived axe. The concept of an axe is extracted from humanity's sea of unconsciousness, then processed through spirit and bloodline to imbue it with the concept of vibration. Thus, the Shock Axe was born."

"Overlord Hammer: a fantasy-derived hammer. The concept of a hammer is extracted from humanity's sea of unconsciousness, then processed through spirit and bloodline to imbue it with the concept of dominance. Thus, the Overlord Hammer was born."

"Hoe: a fantasy-derived hoe. From..."

"Deep Sea Sinking Gold: a metal formed beneath a thousand meters of seawater through the concentration of oceanic essence. It possesses vastness as a characteristic."

"Amber Spirit Gold: a special metal nurtured within amber. It possesses heaviness as a characteristic and has excellent Soul Power conductivity."

"Condensed Silver: a metal condensed through countless hammerings. Tough and easy to shape..."

Huo Yuhao was somewhat astonished by the newly unlocked ability. Sitting behind the counter of the Medical Hall, he began studying this branch ability of the [Understanding] Authority.

This ability called Record seemed to have cataloged all the Martial Souls and materials he had encountered.

All Beast Martial Souls were recorded in the Illustrated Record in the forms of Soul Beasts, while Tool Martial Souls were rather interesting.

"Humanity's sea of unconsciousness..."

The information revealed in the Illustrated Record was crucial. Beast Martial Souls were a direct manifestation of bloodlines, while Tool Martial Souls were actually processed collective concepts!

Moreover, the [Understanding] Authority had not kept him in suspense this time. The moment the Record ability appeared, it informed him that the next stage was 20%.

Once it reached 20%, it would unlock the next branch ability under the [Understanding] Authority—Reproduction.

Besides that, Huo Yuhao noticed the word "Furnace" in the lower-right corner of the Illustrated Record.

When he touched the Furnace with his thoughts, a string of information appeared in Huo Yuhao's mind.

"When the [Understanding] Authority reaches 10%, different Martial Souls or materials in the Illustrated Record can be combined and forged together."

"Use Spiritual Power to transmit the forged information into a Soul Carrier."

Huo Yuhao was utterly stunned, his eyes widening.

"Does that mean once the [Understanding] Authority reaches 10%, I can make my own Martial Souls?!"

"Good, good, good. It's not even pretending anymore."

"But what exactly is a Soul Carrier?"

This Soul Carrier was quite interesting. The only thing Huo Yuhao could think of that could carry a Martial Soul was the human body itself.

With that question in mind, Huo Yuhao opened "Special Information (Part Two)."

"The gene containing the mysteries of Martial Souls is located on chromosome eight. Genes extract information, bloodlines make it strong, and spirit gives it possibilities."

"If there were something capable of carrying Martial Soul information and possessing extremely powerful diffusion and replication abilities, perhaps the information could be grafted onto chromosomes."

"There is a Soul Beast in the Far North called the Ice Demon Worm. It kills prey by injecting them with a Virus. The Virus grafts genetic material onto specific DNA within the target's body, then tears apart its genes."

"The Ice Demon Worm itself is unaffected."

"Ice Demon Worm..."

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and silently repeated the name. He had seen this Soul Beast in One Hundred Ways a Soul Master Can Die.

It was the nightmare of cities in the northern Heaven Dou Empire, capable of making children stop crying at night.

It was also one of the Soul Beasts most feared by Soul Masters entering the Far North to hunt Soul Rings.

According to the book, once bitten by an Ice Demon Worm, one's Martial Soul would instantly lose contact with the Soul Master, and even Soul Rings could no longer be released.

They could only barely sustain their life with Soul Power. Once their Soul Power ran out, the Soul Master would die from full-body ulceration.

The physicians of Dragon City in the Heaven Dou Empire had gathered a large number of healing Soul Masters to study this worm for several years. There had even been healing Soul Masters at the Titled Douluo level among them.

Yet the result was that complete healing was simply impossible. Even healing Soul Masters at the Titled Douluo level could only barely keep victims alive, while their Martial Souls would be left riddled with damage.

Although it was an Ice Attribute Soul Beast, it was still called the greatest poison of the Far North. Fortunately, these worms had a limited range, living only in the southeastern Far North, and they were extremely afraid of fire. Soul Masters still had plenty of ways to counter them.

"So the Ice Demon Worm's poison is actually a Virus!"

"It makes a person lose contact with their Martial Soul. It seems its Virus targets chromosome eight."

"Based on the Special Information, this Virus should be usable as a Soul Carrier."

"The Far North really is a treasure trove!"

Huo Yuhao realized that he absolutely had to make a trip to the Far North.

Whether it was the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress currently undergoing Human Transformation, or the Ice Demon Worm, none of them were opportunities meant for him that he could afford to miss.

Huo Yuhao rubbed his forehead, suddenly recalling that killing Yu Hongzhi seemed to have given him one Lottery Draw.

He had not received one for killing Chen Wen, likely because Chen Wen had no Soul Power in his body. Without Soul Power, his spirit had been mediocre and his intelligence underdeveloped, so he had not qualified for a Lottery Draw.

"Alright, start the Lottery Draw!"

Huo Yuhao now held extremely high expectations for Lottery Draws. The things he had drawn previously had all been useful treasures.

As the familiar Golden Light swept before his eyes, the name of an item gradually emerged within the rippling radiance.

"Sister Yu's Photo Album: Pretty wild, bro! Look at this, and all that Love Brain nonsense will leave your head. You'll become a cold, ruthless cultivation machine."

Huo Yuhao immediately put on a Pain Mask. He did hope to advance madly along the path of cultivation with single-minded focus.

But Sister Yu's Photo Album was a little too ahead of its time. Even Swimsuit Chiyo was something he could watch with great interest.

Sister Yu's Photo Album... was just too wild.

Looking at the magazine's utterly unbearable cover, Huo Yuhao felt that its mental impact was far stronger than Yu Hongzhi's Soul Skill.

As luck would have it, Jiang Nannan happened to walk over just then.

"Hall Master Huo, it seems we've run out of Soul-Leaving Grass over here. Should I go buy some?"

Huo Yuhao hurriedly stuffed the thing back into his Storage Soul Tool. Jiang Nannan looked at the flustered Huo Yuhao in confusion.

"Hall Master?"

"Ahem, it's nothing. I nearly ruined my reputation."

Huo Yuhao composed himself and looked at Jiang Nannan.

"Nannan, come here. I have something for you."

Jiang Nannan obediently walked over and saw Huo Yuhao hand her a necklace.

"This is a Storage Soul Tool I obtained by chance. It has thirty-six cubic meters of space inside."

"I've stored some medical books in it, along with a collection of insights on Spiritual Power cultivation, an improved Meditation Method I created, and some pills for restoring Soul Power and healing injuries."

"I suppose I count as half your teacher. Consider these gifts."

Jiang Nannan accepted the Soul Tool, but she was not particularly happy. She knew this was a parting gift.