Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. "My family prepared a full set of Soul Bones for me, all at least ten thousand years old, so the ones the academy is giving me are useless. Xiao Xiao, Hanqing, you're both my teammates. As your captain, whatever I say, you have to listen. So I'm ordering you now: these two Soul Bones are your rewards. You can't give them to anyone else; you have to absorb them yourselves."
Huo Yuhao's words struck like a bolt from the blue. All three of them drew in a sharp breath. Everyone knew that in the Soul Master World, whether ten thousand years ago or now, ten thousand years later, the appearance of a Soul Bone would draw covetous attention from all sides.
Just how powerful was Huo Yuhao's family to have gathered a complete set of Soul Bones for him?
Of the six Soul Bones in the human body, Huo Yuhao already had the Torso Bone and Right Arm Bone. He had already planned how to obtain the rest.
He would give the Empty Bright Demonic Leopard Left Leg Bone to Xiao Xiao, and the Secret Method Soul Left Arm Bone to Song Hanqing.
Huo Yuhao's next Soul Bone would be a Right Leg Bone, which he expected to obtain after the term ended.
Xiao Xiao and Song Hanqing were kept in Zhou Yi's office. They wouldn't be allowed to leave until they had absorbed the Soul Bones. Huo Yuhao walked out of the Teaching Building alone and, once again, made his way to the Lakeside of Sea God Lake.
Huo Yuhao had gradually grown fond of the scenery around Sea God Lake. Its deep blue waters shimmered, and the sunlight scattered golden ripples across the surface.
Just then, a fiery red figure came sprinting toward Huo Yuhao. His expression grew grimmer and grimmer.
"Ma Xiaotao! No way. I've come to Sea God Lake three times, and I've run into Ma Xiaotao every time. Could this be some kind of curse?"
After becoming a Soul Saint and gaining perfect control over the Phoenix Flame within her, Ma Xiaotao's Soul Power had become even more robust. Her jade-like legs stood atop the rippling water without creating so much as a ripple.
"Great, Huo Yuhao! I was just worrying that I couldn't find you. I never thought I'd run into you here." Ma Xiaotao came over to him delightedly, then realized she seemed a little too excited. She quickly turned away, her pretty face flushing faintly. After taking a deep breath, she turned back to face him.
Huo Yuhao asked, "Sister Xiaotao, are you here to have me suppress your Evil Fire again?"
Ma Xiaotao shook her head gently. "Thanks to your herbs, the Evil Fire in my body has vanished completely. It won't come back, either."
"That's good." Huo Yuhao breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what did you want to see me about this time, Sister Xiaotao?"
"Here, take this." Ma Xiaotao pressed a Storage Ring into Huo Yuhao's hand, then explained, "This is a Flying Soul Tool your sister made. She crafted it herself. Because of her cultivation, she couldn't deliver it to you in person, so she asked me to pass it along."
Huo Yuhao's eyes softened. He took the Storage Ring from Ma Xiaotao and slipped it reverently onto his middle finger.
Ma Xiaotao continued, "I ran into Teacher earlier. He asked me to tell you that the Sea God Pavilion Meeting decided you'd become a Dual System Core Disciple in both the Soul Tool System and the Martial Soul System. You'll receive twice the benefits of a regular Core Disciple."
Huo Yuhao nodded. He had expected this outcome.
Ma Xiaotao furrowed her delicate brows. "I just don't understand. You're so talented, and you barely have time to keep up with your Soul Master cultivation. Now you're going to have to make extra time to learn Soul Tool crafting, too. Don't you think you're wasting your talent?"
"I don't. I was talented to begin with. Although my cultivation speed will slow down more and more after my Extreme Ice breaks through to Soul Elder, I have my own unique Cultivation Method."
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao looked at Ma Xiaotao intently. "Sister Xiaotao, I need your help!"
Ma Xiaotao felt a little uneasy under his gaze. She lowered her head and asked, bracing herself, "What do you need?"
The next moment, Huo Yuhao gently took Ma Xiaotao's hand. Time seemed to freeze. Her pretty face turned scarlet, and her head began to swim. She never would have expected Huo Yuhao to take her hand in broad daylight.
Just as Ma Xiaotao was about to pull away, she was startled to discover that the pure Fire Attribute energy that resonated with her Phoenix Flame was gathering around her. After breaking through to Soul Saint, her Soul Power had grown purer and more robust. As time went on, she was confident she could break through to Titled Douluo before the age of thirty-five.
When Huo Yuhao's mysterious Fire Attribute energy entered her body, Ma Xiaotao felt her Soul Power circulate rapidly. She entered a state of cultivation without even meditating, and her speed was more than ten times what it had been before.
The Extreme Fire and Extreme Ice Heaven and Earth Yuan Power in Huo Yuhao's body came from the Ice Fire Yin Yang Eye. The purity of its Heaven and Earth Yuan Power was unmatched in the world. As it nourished Ma Xiaotao, the three great Ice Attribute powerhouses in the Sea of Spirit absorbed it frantically, while some also nourished Huo Yuhao himself, accelerating the circulation of his Soul Power.
The Lakeside of Sea God Lake was crowded with students who had just gotten out of class. When they saw Huo Yuhao holding hands with a red-clad senior sister from the Inner Courtyard, they all looked at him with disdain, as if to say, "I never thought you'd be like this, Huo Yuhao."
"Honestly!"
"What a shameless guy!"
The crowd scattered in all directions. Huo Yuhao didn't say anything more and headed for the Soul Tool System.
Between the Soul Tool System and the Martial Soul System, the Soul Tool System was by far the wealthier of Shrek Academy's divisions.
After Zhou Yi had shown him the way last time, Huo Yuhao found Fan Yu's area with ease. Since he didn't have a key, he waited a while until a senior student from the Soul Tool System came by, then explained why he was there.
"What? You're saying Huo Yuhao is here?" When Fan Yu heard the news, he was greatly surprised, unable to hide his delight.
With a click, the metal door slid open, and Huo Yuhao met Fan Yu for the second time.
"Huo Yuhao, Vice Dean Qian Duoduo told me all about your situation. You actually became a Dual System Core Disciple in both the Martial Soul System and the Soul Tool System."
Huo Yuhao followed Fan Yu inside and nodded. "That's right. I'm interested in Soul Tools, so I made the request. I came today for one reason: I want to learn how to craft Soul Tools from you."
Huo Yuhao had once had the chance to take Qian Renxue with him to the Sun Moon Empire, where Soul Tool Technology was most advanced. Instead, he had come to Shrek Academy for a reason.
Qian Renxue planned to return to the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago at the end of this term. Once there, she would persuade her grandfather and Bibi Dong to send people west to search for the Sun Moon Empire and destroy it before the events of ten thousand years ago. That way, they could truly secure the most advanced technology for themselves.
In the process of changing history, all sorts of unexpected things could happen. For example, if someone's ancestor was killed ten thousand years ago, that person might not exist ten thousand years later.
Therefore, in Huo Yuhao's plan for ten thousand years, destroying the Sun Moon Empire in the past was the top priority. Only by completely erasing the Sun Moon Empire at its roots and replacing it with the Spirit Hall Empire could they change the history of the Spirit Hall's destruction.
Huo Yuhao called this plan the Ten Thousand Year Grand Plan.
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