Huo Yuhao was an opportunist. Once he seized an opportunity, he wouldn't let go, and right now, he had a once-in-a-thousand-years chance.
Sunset Forest.
Huo Yuhao, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, and the two mysterious guards were slowly making their way toward the forest's core.
Compared to the Sunset Forest's decline ten thousand years later, its outskirts were now full of ten- and hundred-year Soul Beasts. The auras released by the two black-robed guards kept powerful Soul Beasts from approaching.
"My name is Huo Yuhao. I'm from the Star Luo Empire," Huo Yuhao introduced himself.
"Brother Huo, you're from the Star Luo Empire. Then what did you mean when you said the Heaven Dou Empire had split apart?" Xue Qinghe asked, knitting his brows.
The two guards fixed their eyes on Huo Yuhao, killing intent filling their gazes.
"Your Highness, I don't know how to explain it to you, but everything I've said is true. You can think of me as someone from the future."
"Someone from the future?" Xue Qinghe couldn't help laughing, and the two guards behind him scoffed.
"Boy, since you're from the Star Luo Empire, did you trick His Highness into coming to Sunset Forest because you intend to harm him?" one guard said ominously.
At that, the smile faded from Xue Qinghe's face.
"What harm could a Soul Master with one Soul Ring and a Soul Power level of eleven possibly intend?" Huo Yuhao spread his hands helplessly.
"Sunset Forest is full of Soul Beasts. If this were ten thousand years later, I wouldn't need two experts escorting me. Unfortunately, the Soul Beasts of this era haven't gone extinct yet."
By now, Soul Masters had made hunting Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings the norm. The practice was deeply entrenched and impossible to change.
As for Huo Yuhao inventing Soul Spirits in the future, with Electrolux's current condition and Huo Yuhao's own Soul Power, it was still too soon.
"You really are from ten thousand years in the future?" After they'd walked for a while, just as they were about to enter Sunset Forest's Core Circle, Xue Qinghe suddenly asked.
"Your Highness, look out!"
The two black-robed men reacted swiftly. A flash of black, and a Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor, its body covered in black spots, appeared before them.
The Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor had powerful limbs and dark-red eyes full of killing intent. Its interlocking fangs dripped with foul, sticky saliva.
"A thirty-thousand-year Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor. It seems Brother Huo was right to come into Sunset Forest with me." Xue Qinghe remained unruffled. The two men before him were Titled Douluo. Huo Yuhao couldn't tell what their Martial Souls were, but the Two Yellow Three Purple Four Black Soul Ring Configuration beneath their feet told him everything he needed to know.
The Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor growled. Its limbs moved like the wind, its toes barely touching the ground without making a sound.
"The Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor relies on its speed. We absolutely can't let it reach its full speed. Attack together!" A flash of lightning flickered in one Black Clad Man's hand, and a glittering golden Snake Lance shot out.
At the same time, the other black-robed man's muscles swelled. Dark-red light flooded his body, which suddenly expanded as a layer of dark-red spikes covered him.
The Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor was incredibly fast. Even under the combined assault of the two Titled Douluo, it moved with ease, its black silhouette darting through the trees at a breathtaking speed.
From their Martial Souls and Soul Rings, Huo Yuhao quickly worked out who the two men were. This also confirmed beyond doubt that the Calm and Collected Crown Prince Xue Qinghe beside him was Qian Renxue.
"Xiao Yuhao, didn't I tell you to work hard and raise your Soul Power to level twenty as soon as possible? I didn't tell you to put yourself in danger!" The battle between the two Titled Douluo and the thirty-thousand-year Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor quickly woke Brother Sky Dream.
"Brother Sky Dream, do you know about the Ice Fire Yin Yang Eye?" Huo Yuhao asked through Mental Power.
"The Ice Fire Yin Yang Eye? What's that?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked.
"The Ice Fire Yin Yang Eye is a treasure blessed by heaven and earth. It was formed when the legendary Fire Dragon King and Water Dragon King fell from the heavens after their deaths. Many Immortal Herbs that can enhance the body grow there. Taking just one could completely transform my body and raise my Soul Power by several levels."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was exceptionally excited. The stronger Huo Yuhao became, the better it was for his God Creation Plan.
Working together, the two Titled Douluo could even fight a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast. The Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor's body was riddled with several holes, and the Snake Lance in the Black Clad Man's hand was already drenched in blood.
Once a Soul Beast's cultivation exceeded ten thousand years, its intelligence could match or even surpass that of humans.
Seeing the two Black Clad Men closing in on it, the Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor turned its gaze toward Huo Yuhao and Xue Qinghe.
"Roar!"
With a low growl, the Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor, barely clinging to life and covered in blood, opened its huge maw and lunged at them at incredible speed.
"Beast! You dare!" The Black Clad Man wielding the Snake Lance leaped up alongside the middle-aged man covered in red spikes.
"Xiao Yuhao, show them what your first Soul Skill can do," Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said with a grin.
Xue Qinghe clenched his fists, about to step in and put an end to this farce himself, when his expression suddenly changed.
The flow of time around them slowed. The Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor, claws bared and spittle flying, was frozen in midair. The astonishing sight left the two Titled Douluo dumbfounded.
A white Soul Ring lit up beneath Huo Yuhao's feet. Anyone could tell it was a ten-year Soul Ring, yet this very Soul Ring had played a crucial role.
"Your Excellencies, hurry! I can only stop the flow of time for two seconds!" Huo Yuhao called out quickly.
The Snake Lance pierced the Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor's body at once. A gigantic Pufferfish dropped from the sky, smashing its head and splattering red and white across the ground.
Seeing the Ghost Shadow Leopard Emperor dead, Huo Yuhao slumped to the ground. Using his Soul Skill had already pushed his body past its limits. He panted heavily, his head throbbing with a stabbing pain.
"Brother Huo, are you all right?" Xue Qinghe had personally felt the changes just now, and for the first time, he saw Huo Yuhao in a new light.
"I'm fine. I've just used up all my Soul Power. I'll be all right after a little rest." Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled. Gaining Xue Qinghe's trust was important.
The Ice Fire Yin Yang Eye was where Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils had risen to prominence. Since fate had brought him ten thousand years into the past, he might as well take advantage of Dugu Bo's presence in the imperial palace and make off with whatever he could before leaving.
"Boy, what was that Soul Skill you used?" asked the Black Clad Man holding the Snake Lance.
"It's my first Soul Skill, called Time Freeze. It can stop time within a radius of fifty meters for two seconds."
The other Black Clad Man silently drew a sharp breath. "Are you sure a ten-year Soul Ring can do that?"
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