The Fire of Light and the Ice of Ultimate Cold

Chapter: Fire of Radiance and Ice of Ultimate Cold

"Here, I found what I wanted to buy... Yuhao? What are you looking at?"

Wang Dong pulled a stack of what appeared to be paper from the bottom of a shelf: "Boss, how much for this?"

"Two Silver Soul Coins per stack."

Wang Dong went to the counter to pay, then turned back to see Huo Yuhao still hunched over the display case, staring blankly at a small pistol that emitted a faint glow. Chi Qiu was looking at the dazzling array of merchandise in the shop, not knowing where to focus, and eventually joined Huo Yuhao in his daze.

"Wang Dong, what is this?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"Oh, a type of long-range Soul Tool." As she said this, Wang Dong's tone carried a hint of disdain, "You can buy one and try its power if you want."

Huo Yuhao glanced at the price tag: five Gold Soul Coins.

"Ne, never mind..."

Despite his words, Huo Yuhao's gaze remained firmly glued to it, unable to pull away.

"Are you that interested?" Wang Dong said with an inexplicable stiffness, "The Soul Tool Department is right next door; go take a tour. The stuff they use in there is much more high-end than this."

Chi Qiu, however, keenly captured the change in her tone: "You don't like Soul Tools?"

"I suppose so?" Wang Dong did not deny it.

"Why is that?" Huo Yuhao asked with some curiosity, "We covered Soul Tools a bit in class, and from what I can tell, they seem like very convenient things... allowing even support-type Soul Masters to fight and so on. It sounds like a weapon that could revolutionize combat."

"If you have to ask why... I suppose it's because I feel that Soul Masters who rely on external objects to fight aren't true powerhouses."

Wang Dong said this, yet there was a trace of imperceptible hesitation in her tone.

But Huo Yuhao continued to press: "But, Wang Dong, if there are weapons, why not use them? Besides, talking about 'true powerhouses' doesn't change the fact that if you lose in a fight, you lose. If it's a life-or-death battle and you're killed by an opponent using a powerful Soul Tool, it wouldn't matter if you claimed they weren't a true powerhouse, would it?"

"I agree as well." Chi Qiu spoke up. She had experienced far more life-or-death struggles than the two in front of her.

"I read Yuhao's notes and annotations on the way here; things like Soul Tools do indeed have the potential to become a force that changes the nature of combat."

Listening to Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu defend Soul Tools, Wang Dong fell into a moment of confusion.

That's right! She also felt that what they said made sense. But, but why was she so averse to Soul Tools? Had Soul Tools ever done anything to her? Why had she felt such disgust ever since she first learned of their existence?

Why, why?

Suddenly, she felt a sharp, piercing pain at the back of her head, as if a torn wound were beginning to flare up.

In Huo Yuhao's eyes, Wang Dong suddenly clutched the back of her head, her face turning pale, and then she crouched on the ground, trembling all over, unable to say a word.

"Wang Dong? Wang Dong? What's wrong?"

He and Chi Qiu called out for a while before Wang Dong finally reacted. She waved her hand weakly: "It's nothing, my head just hurt suddenly... maybe it's because I was pushed too hard by Zhou Yi running laps today, that old hag!"

"Do you want to go back and rest first?" Chi Qiu asked.

"No need, it seems to be fine now." Wang Dong handed the stack of paper she had just bought to Huo Yuhao, "Here, it's a simple type of Soul Tool. If you sandwich it between two sheets of paper, you can use your soul power to imprint whatever you write on the first sheet onto the next one."

Huo Yuhao took it: "This will certainly make taking notes much easier for me. Two Silver Soul Coins, right? I'll pay you."

Although Wang Dong kept saying she was fine, Huo Yuhao still abandoned his plan to visit the Soul Tool Department that day and took Wang Dong and Chi Qiu to the shores of Sea God Lake to relax.

Although this Sea God Lake was man-made, the scenery was still beautiful. The azure lake water reflected the glass-like blue sky, and in the mist at the center of the lake, many buildings could be faintly seen; that was the so-called Shrek Inner Court.

"The life force here is also very abundant." Chi Qiu took a deep breath and sighed comfortably.

"I just wanted you both to come and relax." Huo Yuhao laughed, "I've also decided that from now on, I'll join you in extra training. It just so happens that my physical fitness isn't very good yet... we should suffer together."

"Oh, don't push yourself." Wang Dong said jokingly, "With your physique, running a hundred laps would really cost you your life!"

"I'm serious!" Huo Yuhao's tone was uncharacteristically firm, "It's precisely because my physical condition isn't as good as yours that I need to train."

Wang Dong wanted to say something else, but suddenly Huo Yuhao pointed toward the center of the lake: "Wait, do you see something there?"

Wang Dong looked into the lake but didn't notice anything amiss. Chi Qiu, however, frowned: "I sense danger."

This was an innate skill of her Golden Dragon Martial Soul, Golden Dragon Sense.

The next second, all three of them saw a fiery red figure. Moreover, that figure was rushing toward them at an extremely high speed!

"A senior from the Inner Court?" Wang Dong stood on her tiptoes, trying to see further. But she soon realized that was unnecessary—before long, that figure was already about to crash into them!

In an instant, an overwhelming wave of heat enveloped the three of them, as if it were about to burn the very air to nothingness.

Wang Dong was the first to activate her Martial Soul under the immense pressure. She spread her butterfly wings wide, grabbed Huo Yuhao's collar with one hand and Chi Qiu's waist with the other, intending to take them both away.

However, before she could fly very far, waves of increasingly terrifying high temperatures followed one after another. She was forced to stop flying, but the high heat continued to scorch her Martial Soul; her butterfly wings instantly dissipated, and she immediately lost consciousness.

Because she had lost control, the soul power of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly was still being released subconsciously, but it was crushed by the flames before it could even take shape. If this continued, at best she would suffer external injuries, and at worst, her cultivation would plummet, her Martial Soul would be damaged, or she might even die!

The source of the flames seemed to have no intention of letting them go, and with the raging evil fire, it slashed a palm toward Huo Yuhao.

In the Sea of Spirit, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was jolted awake; he sensed that Huo Yuhao was under a life-threatening attack.

"Looks like Brother has to use the origin possession—huh?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm saw that the flames from that palm were actually split apart in front of Huo Yuhao. The terrifying dark-colored flames were like a trapped red beast, twisting its body frantically as it burned, yet it could not get within an inch of Huo Yuhao.

The one who had split the flames was Chi Qiu's Golden Dragon Spear.

At this moment, the tip of her spear was also flickering with flames. However, these were not the dark, malevolent flames released by her opponent; they were golden, bright, and pure, as if capable of purifying all filth.

Ultimate Fire!

Any low-level flame would have to give way upon encountering Ultimate Fire.

However, while her Ultimate Fire could resist the evil flames, she could not yet extinguish them using the cultivation level she was currently feigning.

The opponent clearly realized the problem as well, and six soul rings, radiating immense pressure, immediately flew out from her body.

Soul Emperor!

Taking this opportunity, Huo Yuhao first moved Wang Dong to a safe position away from the evil flames. Then, he leaned close to Chi Qiu and said:

"Sky Dream Ice Silkworm told me that to resolve the evil flames on this person, we must rely on the ice attribute."

Huo Yuhao's meaning was self-evident; this matter still required him to solve it. Since Chi Qiu possessed his memories, she naturally knew that he had an unformed ice martial soul within him.

"Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wanted to possess me directly with his origin power, but since we are temporarily out of danger, he wants to train me by letting me try to mobilize this ice elemental power myself."

"However, the power I can mobilize is limited after all... so, I need your fire, Qiu'er, to escort my ice so it can successfully strike this senior."

Chi Qiu nodded, and Huo Yuhao took the opportunity to activate his Spiritual Detection Sharing. This was his first time attempting to operate two martial souls simultaneously; since his ice martial soul was not yet formed, it was easier to do so.

Huo Yuhao focused his mental power, marking a faint green line in the shared vision—the path he intended for his ice elements to follow. Doing this under such high temperatures was consuming a massive amount of his mental power, so his markings were not very clear. Fortunately, Chi Qiu's mental power was also strong, and she could see them.

Chi Qiu used her free hand to grab Huo Yuhao's hand, and then their tightly clasped hands pointed in the direction Huo Yuhao had marked. Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows tightly as he began to condense the ice elements within his body, while Chi Qiu observed his condition, releasing her own flames at the right moment to wrap around the ice elements and clear a path for him.

Merely condensing the ice elements caused beads of sweat the size of peas to slide down Huo Yuhao's face. This was truly pushing it! But if he could complete it, it would be of immense benefit to him. This was a trial that pushed his body to its limits.

Even if he couldn't do it, didn't he still have Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's trump card? No need to worry. Thinking this, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm lifted a corner of his seal, allowing a portion of his mental power and ice elements to flow into Huo Yuhao's body, where his meridians were expanding from reaching their limit.

At the same time, Chi Qiu was also trying to replenish Huo Yuhao's mental power. The traces left in the sea of consciousness by their attribute connection became a channel for their soul power and mental power.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm grew more and more excited as he watched; at this rate, the two of them definitely had the potential for a martial soul fusion!

"Yuhao, how is it? Can you still hold on?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked, knowing the answer.

Living in this kid's sea of consciousness every day, how could he not know the extent of Huo Yuhao's stubbornness?

"I can hold on!" Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, and finally, a glimmer of ice appeared before the hands he held with Chi Qiu. Soon, the light of the flames wrapped around it, dispelling the evil fire that was attempting to melt the ice.

The seas of consciousness of Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu were now connected through Spiritual Detection Sharing. The two counted down three, two, one in unison, and that glimmer of ice shot out like a thin thread, submerged within the light of the flames, leaving almost no trace.

But this inconspicuous glimmer of ice was the extreme cold ice that Huo Yuhao had spent great effort to compress.

Just as the ice was about to strike the top of the person's head, a phoenix cry rang out, and a phantom of a phoenix lunged in front of its master. But in the next second, it was dispelled by the Ultimate Fire amidst a sharp, mournful cry.

The glimmer of ice shot straight into the opponent's head.

The person's figure stiffened, her flames dissipated entirely, and her whole body began to freeze. Then, she swayed violently and fell headfirst into Sea God Lake, splashing up a massive spray of water.

In a place that could not be seen, the first part to be frozen was actually her sea of consciousness. After all, she was facing a full-force strike from two individuals who specialized in mental power.

"Did we succeed?" Huo Yuhao said, feeling dizzy. If it weren't for Chi Qiu holding his hand tightly to lend him support, he would have collapsed right then and there.

However, although his body was sore and weak, the previously sluggish flow of his soul power had become much smoother after this forced tempering.

"It seems so."

Chi Qiu nodded, but in the next second, she suddenly let go, letting Huo Yuhao fall to the ground.

"Qiu'er?" Huo Yuhao was very confused. But what confused him even more was that Chi Qiu also immediately lay down on the ground, exhausted, looking as if she had suffered a major injury.

If Huo Yuhao had kept his Spiritual Detection open at that moment, he would have known that Chi Qiu did this because teachers from the academy were approaching.

However, he had truly exhausted his soul power and could no longer use that divine skill.

"Someone is coming, play dead." Chi Qiu whispered, then closed her eyes, looking as if she had truly fainted.

Presumably, playing dead was a necessary skill in the world of soul beasts as well...

Huo Yuhao didn't have time to think too much; his extraordinary vision vaguely saw people flying toward them, so he immediately closed his eyes weakly.

"Not good, an outer court student has been injured this time." A middle-aged man's voice sounded above his head. "Two with minor injuries, one slightly more serious, but they are all superficial wounds; no life-threatening injuries. I will treat them now."

"That's good, a disaster was narrowly avoided..." another voice said. "Where is Xiao Tao?"

"Here. She seems to have fainted."

"In my opinion, we should give these outer court students a high-level reward and then demand they not speak of this; that should handle it."

"I agree. Tell them that if they dare to speak of it, they will be expelled from Shrek."

Listening to this conversation, Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness experienced extremely unstable fluctuations.

What was this? If it weren't for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Star Dou Great Forest outsider Chi Qiu, he would have lost his life here today! He hadn't even accomplished any of his goals, and just because a Shrek Inner Court student went mad, he was supposed to sacrifice his life!

In such a situation, not only was there no compensation, but they were actually threatening them with expulsion.

Expulsion, expulsion again; Shrek was not only a school that commoner geniuses couldn't enter, but also a school that would casually expel students who had worked so hard to get in.

The scent of this arrogance was almost overflowing onto Huo Yuhao's face.

Therefore, even though the healing soul master restored his soul power, he felt no sense of relief. He simply operated his soul power calmly, feeling the changes that had occurred in his body after the recent high-temperature tempering.

"Tsk tsk, the human body sometimes needs to be pushed to this point to truly perform." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was also inspecting the state of Huo Yuhao's body. "Not bad, I estimate you've gained at least three levels from this. There was quite a bit of soul power hidden in your previously sluggish meridians that couldn't circulate; it was all cleared out under the extreme pressure just now. Of these three levels, I estimate about one and a half are the Innate Soul Power you should have had originally."

"Really? Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, have I really become stronger?" Huo Yuhao's heavy heart finally improved.

"Yes, why would I lie to you! Once you go back and stabilize the foundation of this soul power, I'll give you a bit more of the power from the seal."

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This chapter is a long one; the slow-paced setup in the beginning was a bit much, and the pace will start to pick up from this chapter onwards.