Two Spirit Bones, Yan Shaozhe: The Bigger Rewards Were Yet to Come

Kamui Dimension.

"Urgh—!"

Just as Huo Yuhao was reveling in the joy of obtaining the new ocular techniques, "Amaterasu" and "Kagutsuchi," a sudden, excruciating pain struck his left eye.

"Hiss..."

Huo Yuhao sucked in a sharp breath and clutched his left eye.

Warm blood trickled down through his fingers.

He opened his palm, revealing a startling smear of crimson blood.

The sinister six-pointed star pattern rapidly faded under his control, reverting to those azure Spirit Eyes.

Yet those usually clear eyes were now covered in terrifying red veins.

So this was... the side effect of the Mangekyō Sharingan?

Huo Yuhao breathed heavily, sensing the subtle changes in his vision.

Though the stabbing pain had lasted only an instant, he keenly noticed that the vision in his left eye seemed to have...

Declined by an almost imperceptible amount.

Luckily, I have Hashirama Cells.

Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and began refining Chakra.

The cells originating from White Zetsu within his body became active. Streams of life-filled Wood Release power flowed through his meridians toward his eyes, nourishing the damaged optic nerves.

The stabbing pain gradually faded, and the red veins slowly receded.

His ocular power seemed to have recovered.

But...

Huo Yuhao frowned deeply.

Something was wrong.

It was like a bucket full of water.

Although the Wood Release power had refilled the water I used, the bucket's maximum capacity had been permanently reduced by an incredibly tiny amount.

As I use it more often, that limit will continue to drop until... I go completely blind.

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists.

Whether it was the Kamui in his right eye or the Amaterasu in his left, despite their tremendous power, they were both draining his life and light.

Hashirama Cells could only slow this process. They could not cure it completely.

I have to obtain that...

A pair of eyes that would never lose their light appeared in Huo Yuhao's mind.

The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!

Although the current system did not directly offer an Eternal Eye template for Obito—after all, Obito had never awakened an Eternal Eye in the original work—Huo Yuhao had a powerful premonition.

On this Douluo Continent, where people could cultivate, perhaps as long as he fulfilled certain harsh conditions...

He could awaken an Eternal Mangekyō that belonged solely to him, perhaps even Dual Kamui!

After resting up.

Huo Yuhao rose to his feet and straightened his clothes.

"Elder Electrolux, I'll have to trouble you."

With Electrolux's help, through the soul connection of Nine Mask Svāhā, Huo Yuhao sealed away the Soul Power fluctuations from his recent breakthrough layer by layer.

The red self-condensed soul ring was concealed.

The aura he displayed outwardly returned to that of a Level 20, one-ring Soul Master.

The ability to condense soul rings on one's own, without even needing to hunt Spirit Beasts, was simply too shocking.

Before he possessed absolute means of self-preservation, revealing it would be a death sentence.

Having finished all this, Huo Yuhao activated Kamui and left this independent space.

Soul Guidance Department, Vice Dean's Office.

Although this was the Soul Guidance Department's territory, the man seated in the seat of honor was Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Martial Soul Department.

Upon hearing the knock, Yan Shaozhe immediately set down his teacup and enthusiastically rose to his feet. His refined old face was creased with a broad smile.

"Yuhao, you're finally here."

"Come in and sit!"

Like he was looking at a golden hen from his own household that had just laid an egg, Yan Shaozhe warmly pulled Huo Yuhao over to the desk.

"Come, have a look. This is what I promised you earlier."

He pointed, as though presenting a treasure, at an exquisite jade box on the desk.

The lid opened, revealing a strange spiritual herb resting inside.

It had five leaves, red, blue, azure, yellow, and purple respectively, emanating perfectly integrated fluctuations of the five elements.

"This is a thousand-year spiritual herb, the Five Spirit Grass."

Yan Shaozhe stroked his beard as he introduced it. "It contains pure attributes of the five elements. For a multi-attribute Soul Master like you, it's an excellent tonic."

Huo Yuhao leaned closer and sensed the energy fluctuations within the herb.

It really was good stuff.

But...

His nose twitched slightly, and his expression became somewhat strange.

Huo Yuhao raised his head and looked at Yan Shaozhe with a faint smile.

"Dean Yan."

"If I remember correctly... this Five Spirit Grass seems to be the raw material for those 'Five Elements Cultivation Pills' you gave me before, right?"

"And it's an unrefined, mixed five-element version."

Huo Yuhao held up one finger and gestured slightly.

"Judging by its medicinal potency, this one herb seems to be equivalent to only those five pills?"

The smile on Yan Shaozhe's face instantly froze.

Ahem...

This kid's eyes were far too sharp, weren't they?

He had originally wanted to use a spiritual herb that looked more impressive to fool him into thinking it was worth far more... yet it had been exposed at a glance.

Yan Shaozhe shook his head helplessly, inwardly cursing the boy for being as shrewd as an old monster. He was nothing like a twelve-year-old child.

"Ahem... You're taking this too seriously, child."

Yan Shaozhe coughed dryly to hide his embarrassment. "This is just an appetizer, an appetizer."

"Of course your reward isn't going to be that simple."

As he spoke, his expression became solemn.

The storage Soul Tool on his wrist flashed, and two heavy boxes radiating icy cold and lightning appeared on the desk out of thin air.

"Yuhao, considering your talent and your future path of development."

"These are special rewards granted to you by our Martial Soul Department, approved by the Sea God Pavilion meeting."

Yan Shaozhe slowly opened the boxes.

"The big rewards are here!"

In an instant, the temperature throughout the office plummeted, accompanied by a crackling sound of electricity.

Inside the box on the left was a crystal-clear arm bone, as though carved from ice crystals.

Inside the box on the right was a leg bone glowing with circulating purple light, faintly carrying the sound of thunder.

"This is a left arm bone from a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal Saber-Toothed Tiger, and a right leg bone from a Ten-Thousand-Year Thunder Beast."

Yan Shaozhe's tone was proud.

"They're both at the ten-thousand-year level! And their attributes are exceptionally compatible with yours!"

"Accept them and continue cultivating diligently. I hope you can evolve your water attribute into Ultimate Ice as soon as possible."

At that point, Yan Shaozhe patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder meaningfully.

"When you reach that stage... remember to come find me."

"The bigger rewards are still to come!"

Huo Yuhao looked at the two Spirit Bones and sneered inwardly.

The bigger rewards were still to come?

At most, it would be some so-called Shrek Inner Court slot, perhaps even a seat in the Sea God Pavilion.

To put it bluntly, they just wanted me to sell myself completely and become Shrek's most loyal dog.

Still, there was no reason to refuse free Spirit Bones.

"Thank you for your generosity, Dean Yan."

Huo Yuhao nodded and reached for the two boxes.

Buzz!

The instant his fingertips touched the lightning-attribute Spirit Bone.

A sudden change occurred.

Deep within Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, the enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path that had been sitting motionless suddenly trembled violently.

An extremely intense emotion surged forth, one akin to hungry desire.

Huo Yuhao's hand abruptly halted.

What was this?

He sensed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's agitation in shock.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path... wanted to eat this Spirit Bone?

Could it be that, beyond devouring the souls and origins of Spirit Beasts... it could also devour Spirit Bones?

Or rather... any high-grade object containing high concentrations of elemental attributes?

Without revealing anything, Huo Yuhao stored both boxes in his Storage Ring, suppressing the raging waves in his heart.

If this guess was true...

Then his path toward becoming stronger in the future might be even broader than he had imagined.

"Since I've received the rewards, Yuhao won't disturb the dean any longer."

Huo Yuhao politely took his leave.

Spirit Bones...

It seemed that, besides hunting Spirit Beasts, I had gained another target for gathering resources.