"This...!"
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened as he stared at the bead. How could he not know what had happened? Before, the bead had only possessed the three attributes of wind, lightning, and evil. Now it possessed seven!
"I have to say, that old man in your mental space has quite an imagination. I only helped a little with his idea."
The Silver Dragon King's calm voice rang out, sounding somewhat weaker than before. Her injuries had yet to fully heal, so one could imagine the price she had paid this time.
Huo Yuhao pressed his lips together, deeply moved. He silently bowed solemnly to the Silver Dragon King.
"That's enough. We don't go in for that sort of human ritual here. Since you're the one who was chosen, I still trust your character."
Her words left Huo Yuhao even more baffled. Who exactly had chosen him? What had he done?
Why had the Silver Dragon King's attitude toward him changed so much? It wasn't as if she had spent every day by his side in his previous life, like the other Soul Beasts in his mind.
He stole a glance at the Silver Dragon King, who had closed her eyes again, and sighed softly. Even if he badgered her relentlessly, she probably wouldn't tell him.
But the help she had given him was tangible, and Huo Yuhao would remember this kindness. If he ever got the chance, he would repay the Lord of Soul Beasts.
"Recover from your injuries here first, then go out. I'll notify Di Tian. If you need help with anything in the future, you can ask him."
"Thank you, Dragon King."
A shadow passed through the Silver Dragon King's enormous eyes. She forcefully snorted out a puff of white air and said, displeased, "Don't call me that anymore. You're different from Di Tian and the others. Di Tian calls me boss. You can call me Gu Yuena. I'm going to sleep now. You can leave on your own when the time comes."
"All right, Dra... Gu Yuena..."
Huo Yuhao sensed a murderous aura and hurriedly corrected himself. Watching the Silver Dragon King fall silent, he turned to look at the Gold of Life beside him.
"Teacher, how do I use such a huge piece...?"
Electrolux chuckled.
"You don't need that much. Use your carving knife to shape it into the form it had in your previous life. Just make enough for yourself, and return the rest. The Silver Dragon King is relying on that piece of Gold of Life to heal her injuries, so take as little as possible."
"Yes, teacher."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then took out his carving knife and began shaping the Gold of Life. He carefully collected even the shavings that fell, afraid of wasting even a tiny bit.
Electrolux continued, "Actually, the most precious thing is that Evil Tiger Bead she improved. Originally, I planned to wait until you found the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well from your previous life before letting you use it. Combined with the fire-attribute spring water and that fire-attribute Immortal Herb from your previous life, your Spirit Eye would gain four attributes at once: Ultimate Evil, wind, lightning, and fire. Now that the Silver Dragon King has helped you, there's no need to wait until then."
At this, not only Huo Yuhao, but the other three in his mental space couldn't sit still.
"Old man! Then that means the bead improved by the Silver Dragon King..." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice trembled with excitement.
"You guessed right. I think the Silver Dragon King's ability is to control seven elements. Otherwise, the Snow Empress wouldn't have lost her abilities in an instant. This time, she separated some of her bloodline abilities and infused them into the bead. Now the bead can grant Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul seven attributes."
"This... This is practically creating a miracle. If it really succeeds... even a God King might not have such an ability..."
Ice Empress marveled. There was no God King with such a terrifying ability in the memories of her previous life, either.
Electrolux nodded. "Those God Kings lean more toward pursuing a single ultimate path rather than this sort of all-around power. There's no denying that an all-purpose ability like this will become exceptionally powerful once it grows."
"Of course, the elements the Silver Dragon King gave Yuhao are all very weak. Aside from the Ultimate Evil inherent in the bead, the other attributes are far inferior to Yuhao's own Ultimate Ice. But this is the limit of what she can do. If she gave away any more, her own realm would begin to fall."
Tian Meng sounded unsatisfied.
"Huh? Then it's not that much help, is it? It feels far inferior to the Silver Dragon King's control over the elements."
"Heh, that's where the Silver Dragon King's cleverness lies. She infused her own bloodline into the bead. As the inheritor of the Dragon God's elemental authority, she can adapt exceptionally well to the attributes of other dragons, and evolve her own attributes by absorbing their power."
"And aside from seeking out dragons, the whole continent is full of countless opportunities to improve the quality of one's elements. Take a recent example: Yuhao, do you remember what happened when your forehead touched the Auspicious Beast's in your previous life?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "My spiritual power underwent a qualitative leap. Wait, teacher, are you saying...?"
Electrolux nodded. "Exactly. If your Martial Soul had possessed light and fire attributes back then, those two attributes would have been raised to Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire during that same contact. Opportunities like that may be rare, but there should still be quite a few scattered around the world. With enough luck, you'll find them eventually."
Everyone's eyes lit up. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm chuckled.
"I never expected the Silver Dragon King to be so generous. I can't wait to see what Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul becomes after he absorbs the bead."
"Yuhao, if this succeeds, your future will be limitless. You'll have to decide for yourself how to proceed. Once your injuries are healed, start absorbing the bead."
Huo Yuhao nodded. The carving knife in his hand had finally taken shape. He carefully placed the shavings he had collected together with the excess Gold of Life, then stood and approached the large piece beside the Silver Dragon King.
As soon as he got close, the Gold of Life in his hand was drawn to the larger piece. It quickly flew from his palm and fused into the whole.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao scratched his head and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he didn't need to worry about it. He had been fretting over whether he'd be able to put it back.
Then he took out the carving knife he had just made, brimming with the aura of life.
He swallowed hard, then abruptly plunged it toward his forehead. The intense pain made Huo Yuhao's body tremble slightly. The agony of his head being split open was no easier to bear, even though he had experienced it in his previous life.
The Silver Dragon King cracked her eyes open and glanced at the Gold of Life beside her. A flicker of surprise crossed her gaze. When she looked at Huo Yuhao, trembling all over, there was already a hint of approval in her eyes.
"Hmph." She gave a quiet snort and closed her eyes again.
Outside the space, Di Tian paced back and forth, glancing up at the spatial rift from time to time.
"Di Tian." A hollow, ethereal voice sounded beside his ear.
Di Tian's face lit up with joy. He immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
"Boss!"
"I understand this human's origins now. He is the key to breaking the deadlock. If he needs your help with anything in the future, you must do everything you can. This is a gamble where we have to stake everything. We can't stand aside."
"Huh? Yes... I understand."
"Don't interfere too much with his choices, either. Let him find the meaning of this journey for himself. He won't disappoint us."
Di Tian's bowed face was full of disbelief. Had the boss really praised this human so highly!?
Although he, too, felt that this human was indeed extraordinary, he hadn't thought him worthy of the boss's notice. Though his mind was filled with confusion, he still chose to obey, trusting the boss.
If the Auspicious Beast were young and easily deceived, that would be one thing. But with the boss's strength, that was completely impossible. Thinking of how the Snow Empress had been willing to start a war just to protect this human, Di Tian narrowed his eyes...