The three of them concealed every trace of their presence among the crowns of towering ancient trees, their eyes fixed on the boy cautiously making his way along the forest path below.
It was Huo Yuhao.
He had only just entered Star Dou Forest. His young face was full of wariness, and he clutched a rusted dagger tightly in his hand. His thin frame was tense, and he took every step with exceptional care.
His Spirit Eye Martial Soul quietly activated, pale blue light flowing in his eyes as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings.
But he was only ten years old, with an Innate Soul Power of merely one rank. No matter how much more wary he was than others his age, he could never have sensed the two supreme Dragon Clan beings above him, powerful enough to shake the entire Divine Realm, or the Soul Beast with a million years of cultivation.
"This child has a fair bit of grit." Gu Yuena watched Huo Yuhao cautiously making his way below, a note of approval in her voice.
"At ten years old, venturing alone into Star Dou Forest. A noble child of the Star Luo Empire would have been scared stiff."
Gu Yuan nodded slightly. A knowing glint passed through his deep eyes. "The Spirit Eye Martial Soul is an ideal vessel for the ultimate Mental Attribute. It was simply buried by the White Tiger Duke Mansion's environment. Our arrival will completely rewrite his fate."
The hatred buried in Huo Yuhao's bones drove him forward. His hatred for the White Tiger Duke Mansion was the perfect catalyst, and the best fulcrum for Gu Yuan to use to move him.
Gu Yuena nodded in understanding and said no more, quietly watching the figure below alongside Gu Yuan.
They could clearly see Huo Yuhao's fate slowly veering from its original course, stretching toward the path they had laid out for him.
Just then, a low growl suddenly came from the woods.
A burly Wind Baboon suddenly sprang out of the bushes. Its blood-red eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao as it opened its gaping maw, baring sharp fangs.
The Wind Baboon, the "God Slayer," had appeared.
This Wind Baboon had ten years of cultivation. For Huo Yuhao, who had only ten ranks of Soul Power and no combat experience, it was undoubtedly a deadly threat.
Huo Yuhao's face instantly went deathly pale. He stumbled backward, gripping his dagger tightly as his Spirit Eye locked onto the charging Wind Baboon.
He didn't turn and run. He knew that against the Wind Baboon's speed, fleeing would only get him killed faster.
The Wind Baboon lunged with incredible speed, reaching Huo Yuhao in an instant. Its sharp claws slashed viciously toward his head.
At the critical moment, Huo Yuhao hurriedly ducked, avoiding the attack by a hair's breadth. At the same time, he gripped his dagger and thrust it with all his might into the Wind Baboon's soft belly.
With a wet squelch, the dagger sank in completely.
The Wind Baboon let out a shrill scream and thrashed wildly, its massive claw slamming into Huo Yuhao's back.
Huo Yuhao flew through the air like a kite with its string cut and crashed hard to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. It felt as though the bones in his back had shattered, and agony swept through his entire body.
But he gritted his teeth and refused to cry out. Clutching the dagger tightly, he forced himself one step closer and drove it deeper, completely shredding the Wind Baboon's innards.
The Wind Baboon's struggles weakened. At last, it convulsed a few times and went still.
Huo Yuhao slumped to the ground, covered in blood and gasping for breath. His young face was deathly pale with relief at having survived.
He had won, killing a Wind Baboon with ten years of cultivation. But he had also been gravely wounded. Several bones in his back were cracked, his Soul Power was completely drained, and he could barely even stand.
Gu Yuan had watched it all. Huo Yuhao's resilience was why he valued him, even setting aside his status as a child of destiny.
Just then, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang out beside Gu Yuan, brimming with barely contained excitement. "My lord, this is the moment!"
Gu Yuan nodded slightly and said calmly, "Go. Remember to follow our plan."
"Understood!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm answered and instantly became a streak of icy-blue light, silently flying toward Huo Yuhao below.
He concealed every trace of his presence. Even a Titled Douluo standing there would never have sensed him.
Huo Yuhao was slumped on the ground, struggling to get up, but his body simply wouldn't obey.
Just then, he suddenly felt an extreme chill sweep through his entire body.
He jerked in alarm and tried to activate his Spirit Eye to investigate, but his body had instantly gone rigid. He couldn't move even a finger.
A figure of icy-blue light slowly took shape in front of him, transforming into a chubby white worm. It was Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Don't be afraid, little one." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice sounded directly in his Spiritual Sea, warm with a smile.
"I won't hurt you. I've been watching you for a long time. Your Spirit Eye Martial Soul is perfectly compatible with my spiritual power. My name is Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, and I'm a Soul Beast with a million years of cultivation."
A million-year Soul Beast!
Those five words struck Huo Yuhao's mind like a thunderbolt, leaving it blank.
He had lived for ten years and had only ever heard of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in books, let alone million-year ones!
"Y-you... what do you want?" Huo Yuhao's voice trembled as it rang through his Spiritual Sea.
"I want to give you an incredible opportunity." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice carried an irresistible force.
"I've taken a liking to your talent and character. I'm willing to become your First Soul Ring—a million-year Wisdom Soul Ring. I'll give you the finest spiritual power on the continent and the best possible starting point, turning you from someone anyone could bully into a powerhouse standing at the summit of the continent."
Huo Yuhao was completely stunned. He couldn't believe that such a windfall could really fall from the heavens.
Even a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was something every Titled Douluo dreamed of, and now a million-year Soul Beast was offering to sacrifice itself to him.
Could such a windfall really fall to him, a good-for-nothing with only one rank of Innate Soul Power?
Before he could react, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body transformed into a dazzling icy-blue torrent and surged toward his brow.
Extreme cold and boundless spiritual power poured into every part of his body.
Under the nourishment of this power, his parched meridians widened and healed. The wounds on his back closed at a visible speed, and his Soul Power began to surge wildly.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm held nothing back, offering all of its million years of cultivation to Huo Yuhao.
Unlike in the original course of events, his origin had long since been made whole by Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena's nurturing. His energy was boundless, and even after sacrificing his million-year Soul Ring, he still had plenty of power to spare.
By rights, Huo Yuhao should not have been able to withstand the power of a million-year Soul Ring. But with Gu Yuan's Dragon Power tempering it and Tian Meng keeping it in check, he barely managed to contain this tremendous energy.
The moment the Soul Ring fully formed, an icy-blue skull slowly took shape and fused with Huo Yuhao's brow.
It was a million-year Mental Attribute Head Soul Bone, perfectly compatible with his Spirit Eye Martial Soul. Not only would it multiply his spiritual power several times over, it also came with two top-tier Mental Attribute Soul Skills: Illusion Realm and Sky Dream Gaze.
The moment the Head Soul Bone fused with his body, Huo Yuhao felt as though his entire body had been remade. His Spirit Eye's field of vision widened dozens of times, and his spiritual power surged through him like a mighty river.
He could clearly sense that his First Soul Ring was a dazzling white-gold million-year Soul Ring, brimming with boundless power. The range of "Spirit Detection Sharing," one of its four Soul Skills, now extended hundreds of meters!
"From now on, big brother and you will share life and death." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang out cheerfully in his Spiritual Sea.
Just then, a tiny spatial fissure suddenly split open in the sky.
A golden point of light fell from the fissure, streaking through the heavens like a shooting star as it flew precisely toward Huo Yuhao's brow.
The point of light held a sacred yet imposing aura of the undead, carrying the vastness and age of something that had crossed between planes.
It was a fragment of the divine consciousness of Electrolux, the Holy Necromancer and Scourge of the Undead!
This fragment of divine consciousness had crossed countless planes, following the fluctuations in spiritual power produced by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice to find the perfect host: Huo Yuhao.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately grew wary and moved to stop it, but Gu Yuan's voice halted him. "Don't. Let it in."
Just as the fragment of Electrolux's divine consciousness was about to merge into Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, Gu Yuan slowly raised a finger.
Gu Yuena acted at the same time beside him, the supreme Law of Life coiling around her fingertip. Two streaks of light shot from their fingers and silently followed Electrolux's fragment into Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea.
One was a dazzling golden crystal, radiating an incredibly rich aura of life. It was Life Gold.
It contained the universe's most fundamental Law of Life. It could nourish a divine soul and reconstruct a body; even a soul reduced to a wisp could slowly recover its vitality with its help.
The other was a piece of dark green Soul-Nurturing Wood, radiating a gentle aura that nourished the divine soul. It could stabilize the Spiritual Sea and protect the soul's origin, keeping the divine soul unharmed even from the most violent impact.
These two treasures had effects on the divine soul beyond imagination. Gu Yuan had arranged this gift for Electrolux long ago.
The instant the two treasures entered Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, it—agitated by the intrusion of Electrolux's divine consciousness—settled at once.
Life Gold gave off a gentle aura of life, protecting Electrolux's nearly vanishing fragment of divine consciousness from dissipating. It also nourished Huo Yuhao's spiritual origin, causing his Spirit Eye Martial Soul to transform once more and fully evolve toward the ultimate Mental Attribute.
The Soul-Nurturing Wood wrapped around Electrolux's divine soul, firmly stabilizing its foundation like a pillar holding back the sea.
Nourished by Life Gold, Electrolux grew even more stable. An aged, dignified voice slowly echoed through Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, touched with surprise. "What an interesting little fellow... such vast spiritual power, and treasures like these to protect him... It seems this old man has landed himself quite a bargain."
In Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Electrolux's fragment of divine consciousness, Life Gold, and Soul-Nurturing Wood formed a tripod, perfectly fusing together to become the firmest foundation for his future growth.
But Huo Yuhao couldn't withstand the relentless succession of power surges. His vision went black, and he fell into a deep slumber.
The white-gold million-year Soul Ring slowly revolved around him.
Above, in the treetops, Gu Yuan looked down at the sleeping boy and slowly turned his gaze away.
"The Soul-Nurturing Wood protected Electrolux's divine consciousness, Life Gold stabilized his foundation, and Tian Meng gave him the perfect starting point." Gu Yuena watched below, a smile flickering in her purple-gold eyes.
"With that one move, we've turned Tang San's pawn into one of our own. Even if Tang San tries to guide him across planes in the future, our mark will already be carved into his foundation."
Gu Yuan smiled faintly and looked toward the distant Divine Realm, a cold glint passing through his deep eyes.
"Tang San, you planned for ten thousand years and calculated every move. In the end, you were still one step too slow."
From this day on, Tang San's most loyal and convenient pawn had officially slipped from his grasp.
The two exchanged a glance, and their figures vanished from the treetops.
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