Three Days

At the peak of the giant tree, atop the platform, the five pillars of energy shooting into the sky slowly receded. The aura of Yu Yi and the others had stabilized at the level of ten-thousand-year soul beasts, and the pain was replaced by the comfort brought about by the surging life force and evolution.

Xiao Yu hovered at the edge of the platform, his sharp gaze sweeping over his companions immersed in their transformation, his heart settling significantly.

However, his gaze eventually fell back to the two immortal herbs in the System Space that radiated extreme auras—the Infernal Delicate Apricot, red as molten lava, and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, icy blue as mysterious ice.

Ice and fire are mutually destructive, yet they also nourish one another... Xiao Yu recalled the dangers Tang San faced when absorbing these two immortal herbs in the original work, as well as the powerful effect of the Ice and Fire Immune Golden Body.

Although he had the protection of the system, the risk of consuming them directly remained immense, and the effects might not perfectly align with his constitution as a Wing-Type Elf King.

Just then, a new function unlocked by the system flashed through his mind—the Synthesis System.

"System, synthesize the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass!" Xiao Yu issued the command with a firm intent.

[Detected immortal herbs: Infernal Delicate Apricot, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Synthesis conditions met.]

[Confirm synthesis?]

"Confirm!" Xiao Yu did not hesitate.

In the blink of an eye, the two immortal herbs in the System Space exploded, transforming into the purest energy as they fused together.

Finally, amidst a low, humming sound that seemed to come from ancient times, the blinding light suddenly receded.

A strange fruit floated quietly in the center of the System Space.

It was about the size of a fist, its surface covered in crimson patterns like flowing magma and deep blue veins like congealed ice crystals.

[Synthesis successful! Obtained: Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Fruit]

"Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Fruit..." Xiao Yu was shocked.

He carefully took out the fruit.

As he held it, he felt no extreme heat or cold; instead, it had a strange, warm, jade-like texture that was as heavy as a mountain. The surging power within it caused the surrounding air to distort slightly.

Without further hesitation, Xiao Yu opened his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp!

The moment the fruit hit his throat, it transformed into a stream of energy that surged into every meridian of Xiao Yu's body.

[Successfully absorbed Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Fruit! Experience points +1000!]

[Level up! Current level: lv33 (70/330)]

Xiao Yu had just closed his eyes to feel this power, but the system's voice caught him off guard.

Xiao Yu was speechless: "So you just synthesized a high-grade cocoa fruit? I thought there would be some other special effects."

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the constitution: Immunity to All Poisons.]

[Congratulations to the host for enabling attribute: Fire]

[Congratulations to the host for enabling attribute: Ice]

[Congratulations to the host for enabling attribute: Water]

"..." Xiao Yu suspected the system could have announced this earlier and was just waiting to slap him in the face.

With these two additional attributes, Xiao Yu would be even more adept at using skills corresponding to those elements.

The bonus from one's own element was not just empty talk.

Looking at his level, Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. Come to think of it, he seemed to have some cocoa fruit left in his backpack.

There were also the daily tasks for today that he hadn't finished. Xiao Yu glanced at Yu Yi and the other beasts, who had already stabilized, and feeling relieved, he began to complete his daily tasks.

"System, open the panel." A panel visible only to Xiao Yu appeared before his eyes.

[Xiao Yu]

[Race: Holy Wing King (Dazzling)]

[Attributes: Wing, Wing, King (Locked), Fire, Ice, Water]

[Level: lv39 (40/390)]

[Skills: Wind Force, Vacuum Slash, Air Cutter, Tornado, Flash Strike, Wind Chain, Gale Stab, Whirlwind Storm, Storm Eye, Light Spear, Heavenly Light, Water Blade, Water Cannon, Flame Charge]

[Daily Task: Flap wings one thousand times (Completed)]

[Weekly Task: Defeat three hundred-year soul beasts (Completed)]

[Monthly Task: Defeat one thousand-year soul beast (Completed)]

[Yearly Task: Defeat one ten-thousand-year soul beast (Completed)]

[Backpack: Wing-Type Elf King Throne (Conditions not met)*1, Primary Leader Bloodline Secret Medicine*1, Leo's Memory*9]

Looking at the panel, Xiao Yu calculated the time. It was only three days until next week. In three days, he would be able to evolve. He could use these few days to let Yu Yi and the others familiarize themselves with their current strength.

Prince Xue Xing's residence.

Inside the study, Prince Xue Xing sat upright in a large sandalwood chair, his knuckles tapping the armrest unconsciously, making a dull "thud-thud" sound.

The Heavenly Light filtering in through the window illuminated his unpredictable face.

Great Emperor Xue Ye had already learned of the incident at the Royal Soul Beast Forest last night.

Early this morning, Great Emperor Xue Ye was furious and ordered a thorough investigation into the intrusion of the Royal Forest by unidentified individuals, which had triggered a disturbance among the soul beasts!

Damn beasts! Damn Xue Beng! Xue Xing cursed inwardly.

The root of his headache lay precisely in this.

Aoris was critically injured and on the verge of death; he remained in a coma and had become a cripple, unable to speak a word.

As for those three soul kings, not even their bones remained; there wasn't a single scrap left of them.

Theoretically, the trail seemed to have gone cold.

But... had it truly been wiped clean?

What made him even more restless was the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe!

According to reports from the eyes and ears he had planted on the outskirts of the forest, ever since the attack that night, Xue Qinghe had remained stationed outside the Royal Forest, barely leaving his post!

He had brought his own guards and camped out on the main thoroughfare leading into the forest, conducting inspections day and night, guarding it with absolute vigilance.

Any attempt to approach the area or erase traces would be no different from walking straight into a trap, running headlong into the Crown Prince's line of fire.

With the Crown Prince personally overseeing the scene, he simply could not send anyone to scrub away any potentially remaining clues; the longer this dragged on, the greater the risk that the Crown Prince or the Emperor's men would discover something suspicious.

Yet, at the same time, he reasoned that perhaps no clues existed at all; after all, there were so many soul masters in Heaven Dou City, and since Aoris had been his secret protégé, they would never be able to trace it back to him.

Xue Xing picked up the tea on the table, which had long since gone cold, and took a fierce gulp, trying to suppress the agitation in his heart.

He repeatedly scrutinized the entire plan: Aoris had been dispatched privately, using absolutely reliable confidants, and no written orders had been left before the operation.

Although Xue Beng was aware of the situation, given his foolish nature, as long as he adamantly denied everything, the boy could never produce any substantive evidence to implicate his own uncle.

Aoris was in a coma, leaving no witnesses to testify.

The three soul kings had vanished completely.

"Investigate? What could they possibly find?" A flash of sinister triumph crossed Xue Xing's eyes. "All the clues point to those dead men; at most, they will find out they were my subordinates."

"But subordinates acting on their own to 'solve problems' for their master—isn't that a common occurrence? At worst, I will only be charged with failing to discipline my subordinates."

He believed that as long as he adamantly refused to admit he was the mastermind, even if Great Emperor Xue Ye harbored suspicions, in the absence of ironclad evidence, the Emperor would not easily move against a prince who held real power, if only for the sake of the royal family's reputation and stability.

After all, in the eyes of the empire's nobles and courtiers, punishing his own younger brother severely over a soul beast would seem far too absurd.