Huo Yuhao's First Step to Breaking Free from Shackles

The three of them suppressed all their auras, concealing themselves atop the canopy of the towering ancient trees, their gazes fixed on the young boy cautiously making his way along the forest path below.

It was none other than Huo Yuhao.

He had just stepped into the Star Dou Forest, his youthful face filled with vigilance. He gripped a rusted dagger tightly in his hand, his frail body taut, each step taken with extreme care.

His Spirit Eye martial soul was quietly activated, a pale blue halo swirling in the depths of his eyes as he vigilantly scanned his surroundings for any movement.

Yet, he was only ten years old after all, with an Innate Soul Power of only rank one. Even with a level of caution far exceeding his peers, he could never detect the two Dragon Race supremes capable of shaking the entire God Realm, nor the million-year-old Soul Spirit standing above the canopy.

"This child has quite a bit of tenacity," Gu Yuena said, watching Huo Yuhao move cautiously below, her tone carrying a hint of approval.

"At ten years old, to venture into the Star Dou Forest all alone—if it were the noble scions of the Star Luo Empire, they would have already been scared out of their wits."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, a flash of realization crossing his deep eyes: "The Spirit Eye martial soul is an excellent vessel for the ultimate spiritual system, only buried by the environment of the White Tiger Duke Mansion. Our appearance will completely rewrite his destiny."

The hatred in Huo Yuhao's bones was the driving force behind his progress; his resentment toward the White Tiger Duke Mansion was the best catalyst, and also the best fulcrum for Gu Yuan to leverage him.

Gu Yuena nodded in understanding and said no more, watching the figure below in silence alongside Gu Yuan.

They could clearly see that Huo Yuhao's thread of fate was deviating bit by bit from its original trajectory, slowly extending in the direction they had laid out.

Just then, a low roar suddenly echoed through the forest.

A sturdy Wind Baboon lunged out from the bushes, its scarlet eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao, its blood-red maw opening to reveal sharp fangs.

The "God Slayer" Wind Baboon had appeared.

This Wind Baboon possessed ten years of cultivation; for Huo Yuhao, who had only ten levels of soul power and zero combat experience, it was undoubtedly a fatal threat.

Huo Yuhao's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He lunged backward, gripping his dagger tightly, his Spirit Eye fixed intently on the pouncing Wind Baboon.

He did not turn to run; he knew that against the speed of a Wind Baboon, fleeing would only lead to a faster death.

The Wind Baboon's pounce was lightning-fast, reaching Huo Yuhao in an instant, its sharp claws swiping viciously at his head.

At the critical moment, Huo Yuhao ducked, narrowly dodging the strike while tightening his grip on the dagger and plunging it into the Wind Baboon's soft underbelly with all his might.

With a squelch, the dagger sank in completely.

The Wind Baboon let out a shrill, miserable shriek, struggling frantically as its massive claws slammed into Huo Yuhao's back.

Huo Yuhao was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground. A mouthful of blood sprayed out, his back bones feeling as if they had shattered, and searing pain instantly swept through his entire body.

Yet, he gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out. Clinging to the dagger, he lunged forward one more step, driving the blade deeper to thoroughly shred the Wind Baboon's internal organs.

The Wind Baboon's struggles grew weaker until, after a few final twitches, it breathed its last.

Huo Yuhao slumped on the ground, covered in blood, gasping for air, his youthful face pale from the brush with death.

He had won, slaying a ten-year-old Wind Baboon. But he had also suffered grievous injuries; several bones in his back were fractured, his soul power was completely exhausted, and he lacked the strength even to stand.

Gu Yuan took all of this in; Huo Yuhao's resilience was exactly why he had taken an interest in him, setting aside his status as a Child of Destiny.

Just then, the voice of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sounded beside Gu Yuan, carrying an irrepressible excitement: "My Lord, now is the time!"

Gu Yuan nodded slightly and said indifferently: "Go. Remember to follow our plan."

"Understood!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm responded, instantly transforming into a streak of ice-blue light, silently flying toward Huo Yuhao below.

He suppressed all his aura; even if a Titled Douluo were present, they would never have detected his existence.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao was slumped on the ground, struggling to rise but finding himself utterly powerless.

Suddenly, he felt an extreme chill sweep across his entire body.

He was startled, wanting to activate his Spirit Eye to investigate, but his body instantly lost control, unable to move even a single finger.

An ice-blue silhouette slowly took shape before him, transforming into a chubby white worm—it was the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"Don't be afraid, little one." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice resonated directly within his spiritual sea, carrying a gentle smile.

"I will not harm you. I have observed you for a long time; your Spirit Eye martial soul is a perfect match for my spiritual power. My name is Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, and I am a million-year-old Soul Spirit."

A million-year-old Soul Spirit!

These five words struck Huo Yuhao's mind like a thunderbolt from the heavens, leaving it blank.

He had lived for ten years and had only heard of ten-thousand-year soul beasts in books, let alone a million-year-old one!

"What... what do you want?" Huo Yuhao's voice trembled within his spiritual sea.

"I want to grant you a heaven-defying opportunity." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice carried an irresistible force.

"I have taken a liking to your talent and character, and I am willing to become your first soul ring—a million-year-old wisdom soul ring. I will grant you the most top-tier spiritual power on the continent and the most perfect starting point, allowing you to transform from someone everyone can bully into a powerhouse standing at the peak of the continent."

Huo Yuhao was completely stunned; he could not believe such a windfall had fallen from the sky.

Even a hundred-thousand-year soul ring was something Titled Douluos dreamed of, and now a million-year-old soul beast was offering to sacrifice itself to him voluntarily?

How could such a windfall fall upon a piece of trash like him, who only had rank one Innate Soul Power?

Before he could react, the body of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm transformed into a brilliant, ice-blue torrent, surging toward the center of his brow.

Extreme cold and vast, boundless spiritual power instantly flooded his limbs and bones.

His previously withered meridians were widened and repaired under the nourishment of this power, his back injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his original soul power began to surge wildly.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm held nothing back, sacrificing the entirety of his million-year cultivation to Huo Yuhao.

Unlike the original trajectory of fate, his origin had already been perfected under the nourishment of Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena. His energy was vast and boundless; even after sacrificing a million-year spirit ring, he still possessed ample reserves.

Logically, Huo Yuhao should not have been able to withstand the power of a million-year spirit ring, but through the neutralization of Gu Yuan's dragon power and the restraint of Tian Meng, he barely managed to contain this surging energy.

The moment the spirit ring fully solidified, an ice-blue skull slowly condensed and merged into the center of Huo Yuhao's brow.

This was a million-year spirit-type external spirit bone, perfectly compatible with his Spirit Eye martial soul. It not only multiplied his spiritual power several times over but also came with two top-tier spirit-type spirit skills—Illusion Realm and Sky Dream Gaze.

The moment the skull bone fused into his body, Huo Yuhao felt as if his entire being had been reshaped. The field of vision of his Spirit Eye expanded dozens of times instantly, and his spiritual power surged through his body like a rushing river.

He could clearly feel that his first spirit ring was a dazzling white-gold million-year ring, containing vast and boundless power. The range of his "Spirit Detection Sharing," one of the four spirit skills, had now reached a full several hundred meters!

"From now on, Brother is bound to you through life and death," the voice of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rang out with a laugh within his spiritual sea.

Just then, a faint spatial rift suddenly tore open in the sky above.

A golden speck of light fell from the rift, streaking across the sky like a meteor, flying precisely toward the center of Huo Yuhao's brow.

Within that speck of light resided an aura of the undead that was both holy and majestic, carrying the vicissitudes and vastness of having traversed planes.

It was a fragment of divine consciousness belonging to the Holy Necromancer, Scourge of the Undead, Electrolux!

This fragment of divine consciousness had crossed countless planes, following the fluctuations of spiritual power generated by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice, and had precisely located Huo Yuhao as the perfect host.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm grew instantly vigilant and attempted to block it, but was stopped by Gu Yuan's voice: "No need to stop it, let it enter."

Just as the divine consciousness fragment of Electrolux was about to merge into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, Gu Yuan slowly raised his finger.

Gu Yuena, standing beside him, also took action simultaneously. Her fingertips were wreathed in the ultimate laws of life. Two streams of light flew from their fingertips, silently following Electrolux's divine consciousness fragment as it surged into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.

One was a brilliant golden crystal, radiating an aura of life so rich it could not be dissolved; it was Life Gold.

It contained the most fundamental laws of life in the universe, capable of nourishing the soul and recasting the physical body. Even if only a wisp of a remnant soul remained, one could slowly recover vitality through it.

The other was a dark green piece of Soul-Nurturing Wood, emitting a gentle aura that nourished the soul. It could stabilize the spiritual sea and protect the origin of the soul, ensuring that even the most violent power surges could not harm the soul in the slightest.

These two supreme treasures possessed unimaginable miraculous effects for nourishing the soul. This was a gift for Electrolux that Gu Yuan had arranged long in advance.

The moment the two treasures merged into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, the sea, which had become turbulent due to the intrusion of Electrolux's divine consciousness fragment, instantly calmed down.

The Life Gold emitted a gentle aura of life, not only protecting Electrolux's wisp of divine consciousness—which had been on the verge of dissipation—from crumbling, but also nourishing Huo Yuhao's spiritual origin, causing his Spirit Eye martial soul to undergo another transformation, evolving completely toward the ultimate spirit attribute.

The Soul-Nurturing Wood enveloped Electrolux's soul, acting like a needle to calm the sea, firmly stabilizing his soul's foundation.

Under the nourishment of the Life Gold, Electrolux became even more stable. An aged and majestic voice slowly echoed within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, carrying a hint of surprise: "An interesting little fellow... to possess such vast spiritual power and be protected by such supreme treasures... It seems this old man has picked up a bargain."

Within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the divine consciousness fragment of Electrolux, and the Life Gold and Soul-Nurturing Wood formed a three-legged balance, perfectly fusing together to become the most solid foundation for his future growth.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao, unable to bear the continuous impact of these powers, felt his vision go black and fell into a deep slumber.

The white-gold million-year spirit ring slowly revolved around his body.

High above the canopy, Gu Yuan watched the boy who had fallen into a deep sleep below and slowly withdrew his gaze.

"The Soul-Nurturing Wood has protected Electrolux's consciousness, the Life Gold has stabilized his foundation, and Tian Meng has given him the most perfect starting point," Gu Yuena said, a hint of a smile flashing in her purple-gold eyes as she looked down.

"With this move, we have turned Tang San's chess piece into our own. Even if Tang San tries to guide him across planes in the future, our mark is already carved into his foundation."

Gu Yuan smiled faintly, his gaze fixed on the distant direction of the God Realm, a coldness flashing in his deep eyes.

"Tang San, for all your ten-thousand-year calculations, you are still one step too slow."

The most loyal pawn of the Tang family has officially been removed from your grasp starting today.

The two exchanged a glance, and their figures instantly vanished from the treetops.