On the other side, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes. A beautiful, delicate face came into view.
"Yuhao's awake! You scared us half to death."
Tang Ya helped Huo Yuhao sit up in delight, leaning close to him.
Her full, dewy lips parted slightly, and her sweet voice brimmed with lingering fear and concern:
"You're finally awake. Bei Bei and I were worried sick. You little rascal, why did you suddenly stop moving? You gave us such a fright."
Huo Yuhao quickly steadied himself and scratched the back of his head, speaking a little sheepishly:
"Big Sister Xiao Ya, Big Brother Bei Bei, sorry for worrying you. I'm fine. I was just absorbing a Soul Ring."
"Absorbing a Soul Ring?"
Bei Bei raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, his gaze settling on Huo Yuhao with a hint of surprise.
"The Soul Ring from that century-old Wind Baboon?"
He noticed the dead Wind Baboon beside Huo Yuhao and assumed he had absorbed its Soul Ring.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded. There was only this one Soul Beast nearby, so he had to use it as a cover.
Tang Ya's eyes widened in even greater astonishment, and she said in disbelief:
"A Wind Baboon? It shouldn't have a Mental Attribute.
Yuhao, isn't your Martial Soul a Mental Attribute one? How could you absorb a Wind Baboon's Soul Ring?
That completely goes against the rules of Soul Ring absorption!"
Huo Yuhao was caught off guard by her questions and had no idea what to say. He could only laugh it off, scratching his head as he gave an awkward chuckle:
"I'm not sure what happened either. Somehow, I just managed to absorb the Soul Ring."
Bei Bei stood to one side, frowning as he looked Huo Yuhao up and down. His fingers unconsciously rubbed his chin as he said gravely:
"That's far too strange. I've never heard of anyone succeeding before. Could it be... that your Martial Soul underwent some kind of unusual mutation?"
"Mutation? What kind of mutation?"
At that, Tang Ya hurried closer and examined Huo Yuhao carefully.
The youth had just finished absorbing a Soul Ring. His damp bangs clung to his smooth, full forehead.
Sweat still glistened on his clean, handsome face, and trickled along his jawline before disappearing into his collar.
With every breath he took, a crisp, unusual fragrance slowly wafted from him.
It wasn't strong or overpowering, but it drifted right into their noses.
Tang Ya instinctively took a light sniff. The sweet fragrance, brimming with vigorous vitality, flooded her nostrils at once.
As if burned, she abruptly stumbled half a step backward. Her cheeks flushed scarlet, even the tips of her ears tinged red, and the words slipped out before she could stop them:
"Yuhao, you smell so good!"
The moment she said it, the air fell silent.
Huo Yuhao froze in place, eyes wide and round as he stared at her in confusion.
Bei Bei looked just as bewildered, his face full of question marks. For a long moment, he couldn't say a word.
Only then did Tang Ya realize what she had just said. She frantically waved her hands, stumbling over her words as she corrected herself:
"No, no! I mean... there's a strange fragrance coming from you, Yuhao!
Could the mutation have been bad and damaged your foundation?
Should I check you over?"
As she spoke, she grabbed Huo Yuhao's wrist. Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, closed his eyes as something occurred to him.
Huo Yuhao had already sunk into his Sea of Consciousness. He hurriedly asked Zhao Ze in a panic:
"Master! Why do I smell like this?
Big Sister Xiao Ya noticed it. Is this some kind of mutation? What's going on?"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Zhao Ze was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, studying Electrolux's gray Divine Sense Bead. At the question, he waved a hand and casually explained:
"What are you panicking for? What mutation? This is all good news.
You were born with a depleted foundation. When I made my sacrifice just now, I also passed some of my pure vitality on to you.
It replenished your weakened body and reshaped your constitution."
He paused, then continued:
"The vitality I gave you was my source energy, accumulated after devouring a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow for several hundred thousand years. It's incredibly pure.
Forget a fledgling Soul Master like you—even a Titled Douluo would turn green with envy if they smelled it.
It can improve your constitution and boost your cultivation talent. It's a tonic with no side effects!
That little bit of fragrance is probably just the residue it left behind. Don't worry."
Huo Yuhao was completely stunned when he heard that.
He hadn't expected his master to have quietly helped him so much. His heart filled with both gratitude and shock, and he bowed deeply to Zhao Ze:
"Thank you, Master!"
"All right, all right. Enough of that. Those two outside are waiting for your answer. Just say you ate some kind of medicinal herb, and don't let the truth slip."
Zhao Ze smiled and waved him off, then turned back to the faintly glowing gray bead.
When Huo Yuhao emerged from the Sea of Consciousness,
he opened his eyes to find Tang Ya watching him with a worried expression.
Bei Bei also looked solemn. Clearly, they were both waiting for an explanation.
Huo Yuhao composed himself and offered the two worried companions a reassuring smile. Then he repeated the explanation Zhao Ze had taught him:
"Big Sister Xiao Ya, Big Brother Bei Bei, don't worry. It wasn't a bad mutation.
When I was traveling through the forest earlier, I accidentally ate a strange medicinal herb.
It was packed with an exceptionally rich vitality, and the herb's medicinal power fully spread through my body when I absorbed the Soul Ring just now.
The sweat I shed carried out the residue my body had metabolized, which was imbued with vitality. That's why it had this fragrance."
Bei Bei was taken aback at first. Then his furrowed brows relaxed, and he nodded in sudden understanding, unable to hide his amazement:
"So that's what happened. No wonder.
For a medicinal herb to overflow with such vigorous life force, its grade must be beyond imagination! Even the residue left after its absorption and refinement could be called a Life Crystal!
It still contains extremely pure vitality. For a Soul Master, it's a treasure that one might never encounter in a lifetime."
Tang Ya's eyes immediately lit up, her gaze filled with eagerness:
"Bei Bei, are these Life Crystals useful for a Soul Master's cultivation?"
"Of course they are."
Bei Bei answered with certainty, his voice grave.
"Vitality this pure and free of impurities can nourish a Martial Soul and improve one's constitution.
It can even help someone break through a cultivation bottleneck. It's purer than any rare treasure on the market and has not the slightest side effect."
At those words, Tang Ya's breathing quickened.
She turned to Huo Yuhao and asked shyly:
"Um... Yuhao, could I trade you for some of those Life Crystals? Don't worry, Big Sister won't let you come out at a loss!"
Huo Yuhao was completely stunned.
He had never imagined that the body residue his master had dismissed as worthless could actually be traded for something.
Just then, Zhao Ze suddenly spoke from inside the Sea of Consciousness:
"Trade, of course you can trade.
You're penniless right now anyway. You might as well exchange that useless residue for some money to support your future cultivation."
With his master's approval, Huo Yuhao immediately relaxed. He came back to himself and readily nodded to Tang Ya:
"Sure, Big Sister Xiao Ya. No problem."
Before you continue