Suffering

Huo Yuhao did not make a choice immediately, but instead asked a question first.

"Teacher, will this have any negative impact on you? After all, in the previous life..."

The few soul beasts also snapped out of their pleasant surprise, recalling that in the previous life, it was only right before Elder Yi dissipated that he left behind the third martial soul.

Would this current plan cause Elder Yi to burn away his divine consciousness fragments once again?

Huo Yuhao dared not think about it; if he were to lose his teacher again, he would never choose this path.

Looking at Huo Yuhao's earnest gaze, Electrolux stroked his head.

"This old man has arrived in your body ten thousand years early, avoiding ten thousand years of soul erosion. I am confident in doing this now; it is nothing more than needing to slumber for a period of time."

"Rest assured, in this lifetime, Teacher will not leave you again."

Huo Yuhao stared fixedly at the face before him, which wore a kind and gentle smile.

He took a step back, bent his knees, and knelt down.

"Teacher's kindness is something I will never forget for all eternity."

The others nearby watched this scene in silence; on the vast ice field, time seemed to have frozen in this moment.

Watching the kneeling Huo Yuhao, the tenderness in Elder Yi's eyes deepened.

"What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't do my utmost to help my student? Get up."

"Have you decided which one to choose?"

"The second one."

Elder Yi nodded; his original intention had been for Huo Yuhao to choose the second, as it could be said to symbolize infinite possibilities.

He then beckoned to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress, explaining the points that required attention.

A while later.

Ice Empress walked over, her expression somewhat hesitant. "Yuhao, because I need to leave room for your martial soul to evolve, I must further compress the power being used as your martial soul..."

"Is there anything I need to do?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"It will be excruciating pain. The projected situation will be several times more painful than in the previous life..."

Huo Yuhao suddenly understood and smiled slightly. "I endured it in the previous life, and that was before I had become a god. People always grow; don't worry, I will hold on."

Ice Empress nodded slightly.

As Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged, the ritual officially began. Snow Girl waved her hand, and Huo Yuhao felt a bone-chilling cold sweep over him.

His thoughts began to slow down; this was Snow Empress lowering the sensitivity of his nerves.

Ice Empress also took action, flashing behind Huo Yuhao. Her emerald tail pierced fiercely into his spine. This strike, which had caused him agonizing pain in the previous life, now only made Huo Yuhao frown, the veins on his body bulging slightly.

"It really is different now..."

Tian Meng sighed; the child from before had now grown to such a level.

Emerald light surged from Ice Empress, slowly penetrating deep into Huo Yuhao's body, continuously merging into his spine and ribs.

Had he not been wearing clothes, one could see that Huo Yuhao's bones had already taken on an emerald hue.

Huo Yuhao trembled slightly; without the assistance of the Soul Bone of the Secret Soul, even the pain of the soul bone fusion was far more intense than in the previous life.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm watched Huo Yuhao, who still appeared to have everything under control, and exclaimed, "He's truly ruthless..."

Electrolux also nodded. It seemed that the spiritual power of the God King realm was a great help. Although Huo Yuhao was in pain, his sea of consciousness showed no major turbulence, proving he was far from his limit.

"Perhaps this might actually work..."

To be honest, Electrolux had not initially believed Huo Yuhao could hold on, but based on his current performance, he saw hope.

Half a day later, the fusion of the soul bone was complete.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was stunned. From beginning to end, Huo Yuhao's condition had been extremely stable. He didn't need to intervene; he only needed to guide the fusion, which was so easy it made him feel a bit embarrassed.

Watching Huo Yuhao exhale softly, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked cautiously.

"Do you want to rest? The main event is next."

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"If we wait, Ice Empress's state will be in danger. Let's start immediately."

Ice Empress had already fused her soul bone into him; without an energy carrier, every minute of delay was extremely dangerous.

Tian Meng pursed his lips and nodded.

The golden patterns on Tian Meng's body bound Ice Empress, spinning continuously. Then, Ice Empress quietly melted like a crystal, turning into wisps of ice mist.

As the golden patterns continued to shrink, the ice mist was also continuously compressed, turning into liquid, and finally slowly merged into Huo Yuhao's back.

Electrolux took action at this moment. Gray energy surged from him, mixing with Ice Empress's energy as it entered Huo Yuhao's body, while another portion of the gray energy surged into Huo Yuhao's eyes.

In an instant, the intense pain caused Huo Yuhao's eyes to widen, and he let out a scream.

But the next moment, he couldn't make a sound; he could only let out low roars from his throat, his body twisting continuously in the snow. One could only imagine the kind of pain he was experiencing.

Tian Meng was startled. This was far more than several times the pain—ten times was more like it.

Just as he was about to help, he was stopped by Elder Yi.

"Watch a little longer."

Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness surged violently, yet every time it threatened to shatter, it would mend itself.

Amidst the extreme agony, scenes from his past life flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind.

Having been reborn, if he could not even overcome this, how could he hope to advance further! How could he ever change the fate of the soul beasts before the God Kings?

Snow Empress watched Huo Yuhao, whose throat was raw and whose skin had been scraped raw by the snow, making him look like a man made of blood.

Looking down from mid-air, a vivid splash of red stained the pristine snowfield; that was exactly where Huo Yuhao lay.

Recalling Huo Yuhao's memories, Snow Empress's gaze softened.

"He is fighting for us... for a future for the soul beasts."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was stunned, looking at Huo Yuhao as he sighed softly.

"Yuhao, choosing you was the single most correct decision Brother has ever made in two lifetimes!"

Pain! He wanted to gouge out his own eyes! It felt as if his bones were being ground to dust bit by bit, his flesh pulverized into powder.

Scenes flashed back in his mind.

There was that day in the Sea God Pavilion, where Mu En smiled freely, transforming into a white dragon radiating intense golden light to awe all factions; the image froze on the dragon's head looking back at him, its eyes filled with reluctance.

There was that day at Shrek Academy, when Xiao Ya and Xiao Tao finally returned to their side, and the tears of joy shed by Bei Bei and Dean Yan.

There was that day in the Valley of Love Inquiry, when Wang Qiu'er pressed her forehead against his, "I even think I'm so foolish myself. We were fundamentally different; you are human, I am a soul beast, we should have been complete opposites... but... I am just that foolish... I learned the love of you humans, but I never learned how to forget... I... I cannot forget you."

No... no! I will never let the events of my past life repeat themselves; this is not the suffering they should have to endure!

Huo Yuhao's tightly shut eyes wept blood, his entire body sprawled across the crimson snow, twitching incessantly as a rattling sound escaped his throat. Despite this, he did not let Sky Dream Ice Silkworm intervene.

"His obsession... is even deeper than in his past life." Tian Meng sighed softly.

"He endured too much in his past life." Snow Empress looked at the trembling Huo Yuhao with a pang of heartache.

"Foolish child, oh foolish child..."

In his agony, Huo Yuhao lost all concept of time, his muddled spirit clinging to a single breath of resolve to keep from losing consciousness.

One hour, two hours.

Finally, the pain receded like a tide, and the sensation of rising from hell to heaven caused him to pass out instantly.

"He actually managed to endure it..."

"Yuhao, you really are a monster now..." Tian Meng muttered to himself.

"What remains now is the soul ring. Tian Meng, you take control of his body."

Snow Empress issued the final command, as Ice Empress and Elder Yi had already fallen into a deep slumber.