Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
For Soul Masters, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes was indeed a rare cultivation paradise.
Especially for the master and apprentice who had just ransacked the place and treated it like their own backyard.
Every morning, Gu Yuejin would drag Huo Yuhao over to the spring for "training," consolidating his own explosively increased strength while guiding his apprentice's cultivation.
Under Gu Yuejin's "spoon-fed" teaching, Huo Yuhao had taken several more Immortal Herbs with mild medicinal properties that focused on strengthening his foundation.
They hadn't brought about a transformation like Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, but they had helped him build a solid foundation.
In just half a month, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power had steadily climbed like a rocket, breaking straight through to level twenty-eight!
PS: Don't think that's low, Huo. A month ago, you'd only just reached level ten. Between the fusion and eating herbs, you needed to strengthen your foundation a bit, and cultivating an extreme attribute is harder than usual.
If he'd been at Shrek Academy, that kind of speed would have made those self-proclaimed geniuses so ashamed they'd have wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.
What's more, thanks to the nourishment from Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes martial soul had undergone a complete transformation.
The range of Spiritual Detection had doubled, and its precision had reached the micrometer level. He could even clearly track the paths of dust motes in the air.
But what surprised—or perhaps alarmed—Huo Yuhao most was his Sea of Consciousness.
There was another "tenant" living there now.
Perhaps it was because of the transformation in Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Power, combined with the rich Aura of life at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.
Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the gray orb that had been asleep all this time finally stirred.
"With the sun and moon in my grasp, I pluck the stars from the sky. None in this world can compare to me..."
Accompanied by a majestic, ancient sigh, gray currents gathered and took the form of an old man in a mage's robe.
The Holy Necromancer, Electrolux.
"Whoa! Another one came back to life?!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had been dozing, jolted in fright. Ice Empress and Snow Empress also grew alert at once.
After all, the aura around the old man reeked of death, yet also radiated an extremely sacred light. It was utterly bizarre.
After a somewhat heated but "friendly" exchange, and thanks to Huo Yuhao's earnestness, which was impossible to refuse, the Calamity of the Undead from another world finally let down his guard.
When Huo Yuhao nervously reported the "new tenant" to Gu Yuejin, his master remained completely calm, as though he'd expected it.
"Oh, that old man."
Gu Yuejin was polishing the Molten Scale Blade in his hand. Without looking up, he said:
"He may be a corpse-raiser, but no one on this continent can match his mastery of souls and necromancy."
"Now that he's awake, learn from him properly."
"Knowing more skills never hurts. If you can't make a living later, you can always become a necromancer and support yourself."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Master, isn't your career plan for your apprentice a little too wild?
From that point on, Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness was positively bustling.
A million-year-old giant worm, the Two Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, and a necromancer from another world.
Just enough to make a table of mahjong.
Of course, Gu Yuejin himself had reaped the greatest rewards.
The two Dragon King Arm Bones had fully fused with his arms.
His left arm could seal ten thousand miles in ice, while his right could burn mountains and boil seas.
Combined with the terrifying boost to his draconic physique, even without using his martial soul, his raw physical strength was enough to pin an ordinary Soul Sage to the ground and beat him senseless.
His Soul Power had also stabilized at level seventy-seven.
He was still some distance from reaching level eighty and becoming a Soul Douluo, but when it came to actual combat...
An ordinary Titled Douluo probably wouldn't even get a chance to escape from him.
"That should do it."
Gu Yuejin stood up and stretched, his whole body crackling.
"Time to head out."
"If we stay any longer, those flowers and plants will probably wither from fright."
At the words "head out," Youyou and the other Immortal Herbs, who had been pretending to be dead in the corner, perked up at once.
Suppressing their glee, they squeezed out a few crocodile tears and waved their leaves in a frenzy.
"Boohoo... Are you leaving, sir?"
"We can't bear to see you go!"
"You must come back to visit us!"
Gu Yuejin gave the plants, with their over-the-top acting, an amused glance.
"Don't worry. I'll come back when I need more herbs."
"Next time, make sure you have the essence ready."
The Immortal Herbs: "..."
Their smiles froze in an instant.
After leaving Sunset Forest, the master and apprentice headed west.
For ordinary people, crossing a border might require tedious paperwork and inspections.
But for Gu Yuejin, showing his face was enough.
While the Heaven Dou Empire border guards were still diligently checking travel permits, Gu Yuejin simply showed them the black token Jing Hongchen had given him.
The Mingde Hall Master Token!
In an empire where Soul Tools reigned supreme, this token carried as much weight as a prince's.
"M-my lord, please!"
The moment the officer guarding the pass saw the token, cold sweat broke out across his forehead. He let them through without another word and even thoughtfully arranged an escort carriage.
That was the joy of privilege.
A few days later,
the master and apprentice finally reached the heart of the Sun Moon Empire—Mingdu.
When they passed through the final checkpoint and stood on the high ground at the city's edge, looking down over it, Huo Yuhao was utterly stunned.
This was nothing like any city he knew!
There were no towering walls or ancient flagstone streets.
What met his eyes was a forest of steel.
Metal buildings soared into the clouds, rising one after another. Brilliant Soul Tool lights rippled across their outer walls, making them look like something out of a dream.
The sky wasn't empty, either. All kinds of Flight Soul Tools zipped through it, drawing streaks of light as they moved in orderly patterns.
Below, broad streets paved with a special kind of metal teemed with Soul Tools speeding along.
Even in daylight, the city radiated a dazzling sense of technology.
The overwhelming air of civilization stood in stark contrast to the old-fashioned backwardness of the original Three Kingdoms of Douluo.
"This... This is..."
Huo Yuhao's mouth fell open, disbelief filling his eyes.
He felt like a savage from a primitive tribe who had just laid eyes on a civilized society for the first time.
"This is Mingdu."
Gu Yuejin stood beside him, gazing at the cyberpunk city with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Isn't it breathtaking?"
"Doesn't Shrek City look like some backwater village in comparison?"
Huo Yuhao nodded without thinking.
It was true.
Shrek City was prosperous, but its prosperity came from the sheer number of Soul Masters living there.
This city, on the other hand, was the pure product of technology and civilization.
"That's right."
Gu Yuejin patted his apprentice on the shoulder and pointed ahead at the tallest building—the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
"Remember this feeling."
"Those who fall behind get beaten. That's a truth that never changes."
"Come on. I'll show you what the tide of an era looks like."
Before you continue