The Bound Soul, Long Aotian's Fighting Spirit

The crackling of fat in the fire was clearly audible within the Soul Power barrier, and Huo Yuhao's fingers gripping the roast meat turned faintly white.

He was torn, utterly torn.

Liu Yuan's growth was right before his eyes. A Three-Ring Soul Master killing a ten-thousand-year soul beast alone—such a shock was enough to shatter the psychological defenses of anyone his age.

Huo Yuhao knew very well that if he went to the Body Sect, then with their fanaticism for Body Martial Souls and their concentrated resources, his Spirit Eye would definitely achieve a leap Shrek could never offer.

Besides, his time at Shrek had not exactly been pleasant.

He had fought desperately for the Freshman Tournament championship, yet the academy's higher-ups had shut him out from becoming a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department because of the "limit of his talent."

That had always gnawed at Huo Yuhao.

Yet whenever the thought of leaving crossed his mind, faces began to emerge in his consciousness.

Tang Ya and Bei Bei had brought him out of the Star Dou Great Forest, giving him the chance to join the Tang Sect and enter Shrek.

Though Zhou Yi was strict, she had placed great hopes in him. Fan Yu had led him into the world of Soul Tools.

And there was Wang Dong, the companion who spent every day with him and matched his temperament so well.

If he turned around and joined the Body Sect just because of this little hardship...

What would that make him? A traitor? An ungrateful wretch?

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and the struggle in his eyes was gradually replaced by an almost rigid resolve.

He raised his head, met Liu Yuan's sincere gaze, and slowly shook his head.

"Liu Yuan, thank you for your kindness." Huo Yuhao's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"But I can't go to the Body Sect. Shrek has my teachers, my companions, and the Tang Sect that brought me into the academy. I can't betray them."

Liu Yuan looked at Huo Yuhao. The expectation in his eyes swiftly dimmed, eventually becoming a long sigh.

He helplessly let out a breath and did not try to persuade him further.

He knew very well that at this moment, Huo Yuhao had been completely hijacked by Shrek's values of "glory and loyalty."

In Liu Yuan's eyes, that was not loyalty. It was self-confinement after being thoroughly tamed.

Before Liu Yuan could speak again, Du Busi, who was seated nearby, suddenly rose to his feet.

"You foolish brat!"

A jade gleam flickered in Du Busi's deep green eyes. Though the terrifying pressure of a Level 98 Super Douluo was not fully unleashed, it still made the air within the barrier nearly freeze solid.

He stared at Huo Yuhao, his voice exploding like thunder. "What's so good about that rotten Shrek? A bunch of blind idiots who don't understand how to nurture a Body Martial Soul at all!"

"You have a Body Martial Soul. You were born to be one of the Body Sect! How can that bloodline bond compare to a few scraps of false affection? Come back with me immediately!"

Huo Yuhao's face turned deathly pale beneath the pressure, but he did not retreat. Instead, he stubbornly straightened his back and looked directly at Du Busi.

"Senior, please don't force this junior." Huo Yuhao gritted out each word as though it had been squeezed through his teeth.

"Shrek is my home. If you insist on taking me away by force, then all you will get is a corpse."

"I would rather die than betray Shrek!"

Standing to the side, Liu Yuan watched Huo Yuhao's righteous appearance and silently shook his head.

He had originally wanted to give Huo Yuhao a hand, to let him escape that cage which appeared glorious but actually suppressed talent, and pursue the true path to the pinnacle.

But now, it seemed Huo Yuhao had willingly welded those shackles into his soul.

Du Busi was angered as well, though mixed into that anger was a deep sense of absurdity.

As the Body Sect's leader, when had he ever needed to beg anyone? Yet now that he had personally extended an invitation, a mere two-ringed brat was threatening him with death?

"Fine, what unyielding resolve!" Du Busi laughed in fury, his eyes filled with coldness.

"You would rather die than betray Shrek? Then go die!"

Du Busi suddenly swung a palm at Huo Yuhao's forehead.

Yet Huo Yuhao still showed no fear whatsoever.

Du Busi had been observing Huo Yuhao the entire time.

He discovered that as his palm was about to strike Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao was afraid, but his expression remained firm.

That only made Du Busi's expression grow uglier.

He did not kill Huo Yuhao.

At the critical moment, he withdrew his hand.

Because he was a proud man as well.

He would not truly attack a junior.

Besides, Huo Yuhao's attitude was already so clear that he could not be bothered to lower himself further.

Was he supposed to forcibly bring a walking corpse back to the Body Sect?

There would be no point in bringing him back!

"Since you like that rotten swamp so much, then rot there to the bitter end!"

Du Busi snorted coldly and looked at Liu Yuan.

"Liu Yuan, we're leaving! Such a spineless fool is unworthy of entering the gates of my Body Sect!"

With a sweep of Du Busi's sleeve, the jade-green Soul Power barrier instantly dissipated.

The raging wind and snow came pouring back in, extinguishing the fire and leaving only a mess behind.

Du Busi seized Liu Yuan by the shoulder and shot into the sky as a streak of green lightning, vanishing into the white horizon without leaving Huo Yuhao even one extra word.

Amid the wind and snow of the Extreme North, Huo Yuhao stood alone, looking thin and desolate.

"Actually... you really should have agreed just now." Ice Empress's cool voice rang out in his Sea of Consciousness again, carrying a trace of complicated emotion.

"That old monster is even more terrifying than you imagine, and the Body Sect's development of a Martial Soul like yours is indeed more professional than Shrek's."

Huo Yuhao shook his head bitterly. "I know. But I can't get past that hurdle in my heart."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm let out a long sigh. "Sigh, I'm upset too. Now that things have come to this, saying more is useless. Yuhao, cultivate properly from now on. Try... try to catch up to Liu Yuan's back."

"I'll do my best." Huo Yuhao looked toward the direction Liu Yuan had left and clenched his fists.

But for some reason, a powerful intuition rose within him: after this parting, the distance between him and Liu Yuan would likely become impossible to cross.

Heaven Dou Empire, Body Sect.

This hidden sect's territory was untouched by the wind and snow of the Extreme North. At this moment, the sun blazed brightly.

At the sect's central Martial Arts Arena, waves of Soul Power spread out violently.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, three figures staggered apart.

Wang Yanfeng, Gu Tong, and Chen Lü were all kneeling on one knee, panting heavily.

Across from them, Long Aotian stood with his hands behind his back, his breathing not even disturbed.

"Senior Brother Long... you're too monstrous." Chen Lü wiped the sweat from his forehead with a bitter smile. "The three of us together can't even withstand ten moves from you?"

Wang Yanfeng also sighed. "Yeah, Brother Long's improvement lately has been ridiculously fast."

Long Aotian smiled calmly. Five Soul Rings rose beneath his feet, the final black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring flashing with a profound light.

"Just luck. I broke through to Level 47 two days ago." Long Aotian spoke evenly. "The higher one's level, the stronger a Body Martial Soul's control over the battle becomes. You three have not reached that stage yet, so it's normal that you lost to me."

Though he had defeated the three of them, Long Aotian's gaze unconsciously drifted toward the sect gates.

"Level 47... It's a pity Junior Brother Liu Yuan hasn't returned yet. He went to the Extreme North to obtain his Third Spirit Ring. If all went smoothly, he should be home by now."

A trace of fighting spirit burned in Long Aotian's eyes. "I accepted my defeat to him last time, but now both of us have improved again. I really want to find an opportunity to spar with him once more..."

And at that moment, Liu Yuan and Du Busi returned.