Before the awakening ceremony began in the new year, Huo Yuhao borrowed the equipment the Spirit Hall Spirit Masters used to awaken Martial Souls in ordinary people and brought it home.
He had already prepared a suitable excuse, but the people at Spirit Hall didn't ask a single question. They simply gave him the six black stones used to awaken Martial Souls and the crystal ball for testing Soul Power.
They even thoughtfully explained how the six stones should be arranged.
The Holy Son must have his reasons for doing things!
On the second floor of the Huo Family home, in Huo Yun'er's room.
The six black stones were arranged in specific positions. Huo Yun'er stood in the center, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, anticipation and unease mingling in her eyes.
"Mother, don't be nervous. The worst that can happen is that things stay as they are."
Huo Yun'er laughed at his teasing, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly. "Hao'er, I'm already over twenty. Can I really still awaken a Martial Soul?"
"Why not? Spirit Masters live much longer than ordinary people. If you awaken now, you might even become a Titled Douluo someday."
"You're such a sweet talker."
She gave him a reproachful look, but couldn't hide the smile in her eyes.
Huo Yuhao activated the stones, and a golden barrier enveloped Huo Yun'er.
She felt a warm power flow into her body, as though something were awakening inside her.
She closed her eyes instinctively, sensing the unfamiliar energy stirring within.
Huo Yun'er extended her right hand, and a gentle glow appeared in her palm.
When the light faded, a bright red apple lay quietly in her hand.
"An apple. A Food-type Martial Soul."
Huo Yuhao hurriedly handed Huo Yun'er the crystal ball for testing Soul Power.
"Quick, let's test your Innate Soul Power."
The crystal ball glowed brightly, then settled at a level that was pleasantly surprising.
"Innate Soul Power Level 6!"
On the Douluo Continent, that Soul Power Level put her among the ranks of minor prodigies.
He'd known it. With Huo Yuhao's cultivation talent, there was no reason Huo Yun'er should be an ordinary person.
Only then did Huo Yun'er recover from her astonishment. She stared blankly at the apple in her hand. "I-I've become a Spirit Master too?"
It felt like a dream, so unreal.
"Mm. Mother, train hard. Once you reach Level 10, I'll take you to get a Soul Ring."
It would be best for Huo Yun'er to obtain her first three Soul Rings from the Star Dou Great Forest a million years in the future.
"Don't focus only on me. Your own cultivation matters most."
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to say something, Gu Yuena's voice came from downstairs.
"Yuhao, hurry up! I've bought the fish!"
To awaken Huo Yun'er's Martial Soul, he'd deliberately sent Gu Yuena out, even though she was still freeloading at his house.
The Co-Lord of Soul Beasts had long since forgotten her talk of returning to the Star Dou Great Forest. She was enthralled by human food, especially Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.
Of course, Gu Yuena had a perfectly good reason.
Huo Yuhao was still too weak. On this continent, no one could hurt him while she was watching.
Only with her protecting him could she feel at ease.
"Coming!"
Huo Yuhao answered, put the black stones and crystal ball into his Space Soul Tool, and then leisurely went downstairs.
Downstairs, Gu Yuena was directing several vendors as they carried basket after basket of live fish into the courtyard.
Looking at the mountain of fish baskets, Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. "Nana, did you buy out the whole market?"
"You don't make grilled fish often. Shouldn't you send some to your teachers and senior brothers?"
She was doing this for Huo Yuhao's sake!
Gu Yuena sat nearby, propping her cheek on her hand as she watched Huo Yuhao turn the fish on the grill.
It was an utterly ordinary movement, yet when Huo Yuhao did it, there was a special charm to it, as if the scent of the Great Dao itself surrounded him.
It smelled so good!
To preserve her image, Gu Yuena forcibly dragged her gaze away from the grilled fish and found a topic to distract herself.
"Why aren't you cultivating today? What made you decide to grill fish?"
Huo Yuhao had long since noticed Gu Yuena's greedy gaze. He didn't call her out, simply concentrating on turning the fish over the grill.
"I've made huge progress on something I've been researching, so I'm grilling some fish to celebrate."
Before Gu Yuena could ask, Huo Yuhao explained.
"Tian Meng the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sacrificed himself to me, but his soul didn't disappear. Instead, he became part of my Soul Ring, and his soul took up residence in my Sea of Spirit. You know about that, Nana."
Gu Yuena nodded.
Huo Yuhao had mentioned it to her once: after the million-year-old Ice Silkworm sacrificed himself, his soul remained and took up residence in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit.
But from the moment Tian Meng sacrificed himself until now, he'd never appeared in front of her. Gradually, Gu Yuena had stopped thinking about it.
"So I started wondering: if Tian Meng could survive as a soul after sacrificing himself, why couldn't other Soul Beasts?"
Gu Yuena's expression began to change, and her attention shifted from the grilled fish in front of Huo Yuhao to what he was saying.
"A Soul Beast could sacrifice itself to a Spirit Master and continue living as a soul. They could even cultivate together. And after the Spirit Master died, the Soul Ring it formed could be stored and passed on to another suitable Spirit Master."
"I call this alternative way of existing a Soul Spirit."
After observing the entire process of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice, Electrolux had spent some time studying it and had finally achieved results.
But whether it would really work still needed to be confirmed through an experiment.
"For Soul Beasts, this is certainly good news."
Gu Yuena was filled with emotion. To come up with this solution from such an exceptional case as the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm—Huo Yuhao had indeed lived up to the bloodline he carried.
Just as Gu Yuena was about to praise Huo Yuhao, she saw him shake his head.
"But that alone isn't enough."
"The Soul Spirit System only suits Soul Beasts nearing the end of their lifespans or those with no confidence in surviving a Heaven's Tribulation."
Huo Yuhao flipped another fish over and sprinkled it with his special seasoning.
"Even if the Soul Spirit System is widely adopted, it still won't change the fact that Soul Beasts will keep growing fewer in number. After all, they'd have to give up their bodies. For the Soul Beast Clan, that's no different from death. Their numbers would still keep dwindling."
"So, besides the Soul Spirit System, we also need a system that allows Spirit Masters to level up normally while letting Soul Beasts survive."
"I've got a few leads so far, but it'll probably take a long time to develop them into something real."
Huo Yuhao spent so much time in Spirit Hall's Book Repository because he was poring over the relevant records and documents there, looking for ideas for a new system to explore with Elder Yi.
Gu Yuena's gaze softened, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
Perhaps Huo Yuhao was better suited than she was to be the Co-Lord of Soul Beasts.
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