After putting away the Spirit Bone, Huo Yuhao turned his attention to the second item.
It was a gold-plated card with a string of numbers on it.
Huo Yuhao counted them. There were five zeroes!
In other words, this single Gold Soul Card could be exchanged for a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins at any bank on the Douluo Continent!
Once again marveling at the White Tiger Duke Mansion's sheer wealth, Huo Yuhao gladly accepted the Gold Soul Card.
With everything that needed handling taken care of, Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction.
Next, he sat cross-legged on the bed, preparing to enter a meditative state and begin cultivating. Just then, something occurred to him.
He immediately reached into his Storage Ring and took out a porcelain bottle.
"I almost forgot about this." Huo Yuhao smiled faintly.
Inside the bottle was the spoils he had obtained yesterday after defeating Xu Sanshi.
The Black Water Pill!
Huo Yuhao opened the bottle, tipped out the pill, and held it in his palm.
It was a deep blue pill about the size of a cherry, covered in fine white streaks. Once it was out of the bottle, a thin veil of water mist drifted around it, and its lingering, fresh fragrance filled the air, soothing to the senses.
After obtaining the Black Water Pill, Huo Yuhao had already asked Zhang Lexuan to inspect it for him. She had confirmed that it was safe.
Now, he didn't hesitate. He swallowed the pill in one gulp.
After taking it, Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and focused his mind. Before long, he had fallen into a state of Deep Meditation.
At the same time, in his Spirit Sea, he began practicing the God Forging Technique Electrolux had taught him to temper his Mental Power.
Countless wisps of Mental Power, thin as morning mist, drifted through Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea. But when he began using the God Forging Technique, they transformed into swords that clashed against one another, slashing relentlessly.
As the clashes continued, the swords of Mental Power in Huo Yuhao's mind repeatedly crumbled and reformed.
Each time they broke apart and came together again, the swords formed from his Mental Power grew a little more solid.
Huo Yuhao felt as though he were soaking in a refreshing pool. The utterly invigorating sensation nearly drew a moan from him even as he remained in Deep Meditation.
Anyone watching Huo Yuhao would have seen a faint blue glow emanating from his body, while a thin veil of water mist spread throughout the room.
As time passed, the fresh fragrance coming from Huo Yuhao gradually turned foul, yet his breathing grew steadier and steadier.
In a private treatment room at Shrek Academy's Outer Court,
Dai Huabin lay on the bed with his eyes closed and his face deathly pale. He seemed to have lost consciousness entirely, looking utterly wretched.
Standing before Dai Huabin was an old man in a green robe. His hair and beard were white, and his face was weathered with age, but the skin visible beneath his robes was not withered. If anything, it looked somewhat youthful.
A ball of green light gathered in the old man's hand, radiating immense vitality.
The next moment, the green light completely enveloped Dai Huabin. Nourished by this life energy, the pallor of his face gradually gave way to color.
Outside the treatment room stood two figures, one tall and one short. One was a curvaceous young woman in a black dress—Zhu Lu.
The other was a square-faced, middle-aged man who looked hale and hearty.
He could barely conceal his anger as he asked, "School starts in three days. Why did the two of you go to a hotel outside the academy?"
As the vice dean of Shrek Academy's Outer Court Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun had been entirely responsible for recruiting this year's new students.
Yet before the school year had even begun, a first-year student at Shrek had already been attacked outside the academy.
And the victim wasn't just anyone. He was the second young master of the White Tiger Duke's family, the second son of the Dai Family, and a possible future successor to the title of White Tiger Duke!
How could Du Weilun not be furious?
If this wasn't handled properly, how could he answer to the White Tiger Duke's family?
Outside the treatment room, Zhu Lu's hands clenched unconsciously. Her fair face was full of anxiety and panic, with tear tracks still visible on it.
Hearing Du Weilun's question, her face stiffened and she froze in place.
How was she supposed to answer?
What else could anyone do at a place like the Rose Hotel?
But she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.
For a moment, Zhu Lu didn't know what to say. Her face flushed as she stood there, frozen.
Seeing Zhu Lu's expression and considering where the two had been found, Du Weilun could more or less guess why they had gone there.
But Zhu Lu was also from the Nether Civet Family of the Star Luo Empire, and her status was special.
He couldn't just scold or reprimand her.
He could only curse under his breath and let the matter slide.
Fifteen minutes later, the old man in the green robe finally emerged from the treatment room.
Du Weilun immediately went over to him, concern written all over his face. "Elder Zhuang, how is he?"
The old man before Du Weilun was named Zhuang Yusen. His Martial Soul was the Tree of Life, and he was Shrek Academy's only healing-type Super Douluo with Soul Power at level ninety-five. His title was Life Douluo.
The injured student was the second young master of the White Tiger family, a young man of unusual standing. In his haste, Du Weilun had gone straight to the Inner Court to invite this Sea God Pavilion Elder to treat Dai Huabin.
Elder Zhuang's expression was grave. "The external injuries are nothing to worry about; they've already healed. He lost quite a bit of blood, at most, but with a Soul Master's powerful constitution, recovering won't be a problem. The real trouble lies in two other areas, and both are difficult. At least for now, there's nothing I can do."
Du Weilun looked shocked. "Elder Zhuang, even you can't do anything? Then... does that mean no one on the entire Douluo Continent can treat him?"
Elder Zhuang held a special position. As the only healing-type Super Douluo at Shrek, if even he could do nothing, Du Weilun couldn't imagine who on the continent might be able to cure Dai Huabin.
Zhu Lu's face had gone deathly pale. Her heart sank into despair.
If anything happened to Dai Huabin, then as his partner, bound to share both glory and ruin with him, she wouldn't have a good future either.
"Not necessarily. There are countless kinds of Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent. Perhaps some unusual Martial Soul could heal him; it wouldn't be impossible." Elder Zhuang offered a word of comfort.
"What exactly is wrong with Dai Huabin?" Du Weilun couldn't hold back any longer.
"Let me tell you about the first difficult problem. His Spirit Sea has suffered an extremely severe impact, one that has even affected its very foundation. You understand how important the Spirit Sea is to a Soul Master, Weilun. His future potential may be quite limited." Elder Zhuang sighed, his voice full of regret.
Zhu Lu looked dazed. This was practically a death sentence for Dai Huabin. He would almost certainly never have a chance at inheriting the title of White Tiger Duke, and she, already bound to him for life, likely wouldn't amount to much either.
"Although this problem is very serious, there's still a way to make up for it. If we can find some rare heavenly treasures that can repair the soul and have him take them, the damage to his Spirit Sea may still be healed."
"But the second problem is the real trouble. The knife wound was three inches below his navel—that's a man's most vital spot. Unfortunately, the slash damaged some of the young man's sensitive nerves. In the future, he'll likely never achieve much in the way of sexual relations."
Elder Zhuang glanced at Zhu Lu, who was standing to one side, and spoke awkwardly.
Hearing this, Zhu Lu felt a flicker of hope rise within her. But Elder Zhuang's second remark was too obscure to understand. She hurriedly asked, "What do you mean, he'll never achieve much in the way of sexual relations? Explain it clearly."
Seeing how ill-mannered the young woman was, Elder Zhuang was displeased and couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush with her. He waved a hand and left.
As he went, he tossed out just one line: "It means he's impotent. Understand?"
Before you continue