Life Attribute

The change was a Life Attribute.

"All right." Yu Rufeng thought it over, then gave in to Huo Yuhao. He raised his bidding paddle. "One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."

No one bid against him. After the auctioneer brought the hammer down three times, the fierce blade belonged to Huo Yuhao.

Even if Huo Yuhao couldn't solve the problem with the engraving knife, Mingde Hall would still have recovered a Ranking Engraving Knife. That was acceptable.

With the final lot finding its owner, the auction came to an end. For the other students from Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, aside from getting a chance to relax, it had once again shown them the gap between their understanding of Soul Tools and that of the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Wang Dong had also enjoyed a free meal of snacks and drinks from the auction house.

"When are you planning to purify that engraving knife?" Chi Qiu asked, moving closer to Huo Yuhao on the way back to the hotel.

Huo Yuhao poked her arm with one finger. "Why are you more impatient than I am? Did you notice something?"

"Mm... Call me when you're going to purify it. I can help protect you, too."

"Could it be that you recognize this thing, Qiu'er?"

"I can't be sure." Chi Qiu shook her head. "Anyway, just call me when you do it."

"Then come with me now," Huo Yuhao said. "I'll deal with it tonight."

As soon as they returned to the room, Yu Rufeng immediately took the Soul-Eating Fierce Blade out of his Level Six Storage Soul Tool. It was his first time storing an engraving knife like this. During the trip back, he'd nearly thought the blade would smash the Core Array in his Soul Tool.

The sinister-looking engraving knife now lay in front of Huo Yuhao. Chi Qiu stood at his side, while Yu Rufeng and Elder Ma took up positions on either side of the door, ready to protect him.

Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Wang Dong hadn't returned to their rooms, claiming they wanted some fresh air as they wandered the corridor. In truth, everyone knew the three of them were keeping watch for Huo Yuhao and the others, so no outsider would interrupt the purification and cause an accident.

"Elder Yi." Huo Yuhao called out in his Sea of Consciousness.

Ever since they'd seen the engraving knife at the auction that evening, the three guests in his Sea of Consciousness had all awakened again. Hearing Huo Yuhao call, the gray figure flashed out of the Green Sun suspended above the sea.

"Elder Yi, what should I do?" Huo Yuhao asked in his mind. "Do you need me to hand over control of my body to you?"

After Chi Qiu's second Attribute Link with him, the three could no longer easily take control of his body. If the first Attribute Link had elevated Huo Yuhao's spiritual power and given him the Eye of Destiny, the second had made the Eye of Destiny the true master of his Sea of Consciousness.

"You can leave it to me if you want," Electrolux said, sounding unusually eager, as though he urgently needed the engraving knife. "But with that little kitten beside you, your control over your spiritual power will improve as well. I can simply guide you."

"Then please guide me," Huo Yuhao said. "I want to try relying on my own efforts. If I can't manage it, you can use my body, Elder Yi."

Electrolux said no more. A string of ancient incantations simply began to ring from his lips.

In the eyes of the other three, Huo Yuhao's presence suddenly changed. A deathly stillness spread outward from him.

"Qiu'er." Huo Yuhao called softly.

Chi Qiu immediately placed a hand on his shoulder. Their spiritual powers connected, and both felt their minds clear. Yu Rufeng and Elder Ma, choosing not to pry into Huo Yuhao's secrets, stayed back. They released their Martial Souls and focused on protecting him.

The golden light in Huo Yuhao's blue-green eyes solidified, its brilliance reaching its peak. The next moment, it turned a cold gray. Then a gray wisp of spiritual power slowly drifted out. Only Chi Qiu could see that it trembled slightly, a clear sign that Huo Yuhao was struggling to control it.

The spiritual power flowing between them accelerated steadily, showing just how much Huo Yuhao was expending.

Then, just as the gray wisp was about to touch the fierce blade, Huo Yuhao suddenly raised one hand and pointed at it with his index finger.

His spiritual energy consumption surged. Even Chi Qiu felt a slight dizziness. In Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, the water level covered by gray was dropping at an astonishing rate, while the golden-red spiritual power flowing in from Chi Qiu kept replenishing it. But the amount being replenished was still less than what he was using.

Huo Yuhao didn't dare relax for a moment. Following Electrolux's instructions, he was using every ounce of his strength to wield the power of purification.

The gray spiritual wisp shuddered, then suddenly turned pearly white, giving off a holy, radiant aura. Huo Yuhao let out a low shout, his voice hoarse.

The Soul-Eating Fierce Blade seemed to sense a grave danger. A burst of blue light shot from its edge, forming a ferocious, hideous face, as if it meant to swallow the white light whole.

But beneath the Purification Light, the face was like a paper tiger. The instant the two met, the black mist began evaporating. In almost no time, all the black currents had disappeared. The blade's blue light had become as clear as water, and its ancient, dark body gleamed like jade. At a glance, it seemed a perfect match for Huo Yuhao's gold-and-green Eye of Destiny.

After finishing, Huo Yuhao stared at the engraving knife before him, then suddenly went limp. Chi Qiu reached out to catch him, but so much of her spiritual power had been drained that her hand gave way. The two of them sank to the floor together. Huo Yuhao's head rested against her shoulder, and the breath he exhaled was warm against her. He caught the faint scent of pine on Qiu'er once more.

"Yuhao!" Yu Rufeng hurried over to check on them. He hadn't understood what had just happened during the purification, but he could tell the two of them had been greatly drained.

"I'm fine, Teacher Yu. I'm all right. Could you check whether the engraving knife is okay, too?" Supporting himself against Chi Qiu, Huo Yuhao struggled to lift his head and finish the sentence, then drew a deep breath.

Only then did Yu Rufeng turn to look at the engraving knife on the table. The moment his eyes met it, he felt his spiritual power stir, and his mind and vision both grew clearer.

"The engraving knife is fine. Yuhao, how did you do that?"

After studying in the Sun Moon Empire for two months, Huo Yuhao had realized how little they knew about Martial Souls. So he immediately made up an excuse.

"Teacher Yu, this is one of my abilities as a Mental-type Spirit Master. During the auction, the auctioneer said that a trace of an Evil Soul Master's malice was sealed inside it, so I used my spiritual power to cleanse that malice. The reason I was so badly drained is that my spiritual cultivation is far below that of the Evil Soul Master himself."

"I see." Yu Rufeng believed his explanation. "It seems there's a reason the academy values Mental-type Spirit Masters."

Yu Rufeng and Elder Ma believed him, but Chi Qiu didn't believe a single word. She leaned close to Huo Yuhao's ear and asked, "Was that power from the old man just now?"

Huo Yuhao answered just as quietly. "I followed Elder Yi's instructions and tried using his way of controlling spiritual power. I'm not very good at it... Otherwise, I could've done it without draining your spiritual power."

"But this will benefit you greatly," Electrolux said in his Sea of Consciousness. "Settle down and carefully review what you just experienced. It will greatly improve your control over spiritual power and lay a solid foundation for receiving my inheritance."

Huo Yuhao nodded to himself, then used the bed to pull himself upright. "Teachers, thank you for protecting me today."

"It was nothing. Put the engraving knife away." Yu Rufeng waved a hand, then called Elder Ma to leave. He was good at reading the room and could tell Huo Yuhao had other secrets he didn't want to reveal in front of them.

After the door closed again and the two teachers' footsteps faded, Chi Qiu spoke. "The material this thing is made of is exactly like the material at the bottom of the Lake of Life."

"Elder Yi said it's called Life Gold," Huo Yuhao said as he sat cross-legged on the bed and began recovering his spiritual power. "It's solidified pure life force."

"Life Gold... It's certainly an apt name." Chi Qiu thought that only such powerful life force could heal the Silver Dragon King's injuries so quickly.

Under the influence of the Golden Dragon King, she no longer called the Silver Dragon King Lord.

As if she'd thought of something, Chi Qiu spoke again. "It might be a good fit for your Eye of Destiny."

"What makes you say that?" Huo Yuhao asked, curious.

"Do you know why your Eye of Destiny is golden-green?" Chi Qiu said. "When I first linked our attributes, I strengthened your connection to the Star Dou Great Forest. That's why your power was affected by the forest's dense life force. In addition to its primary spiritual attribute, your Eye of Destiny already has a strong Life Attribute."

"So that's why." Huo Yuhao sounded surprised. "I thought it was a coincidence."

After speaking, he pressed the engraving knife against his forehead and let the life force in the Life Gold flow into his body. It was a method Electrolux had taught him.

Just as Chi Qiu had said, the life force in the Life Gold stirred his Eye of Destiny. Golden-green patterns appeared on his forehead. The next second, the engraving knife seemed to melt and flow into the Eye of Destiny.

During the process, Huo Yuhao felt his Sea of Consciousness undergo a tremendous transformation. He felt as if he were sinking through an ocean of life, but the process wasn't painful. In the end, he discovered that he seemed able to shape his Sea of Consciousness however he imagined.

His Sea of Consciousness seemed to have become a small world.