Huo Wu's Silver-tier True Form Awakening, Li Qinglian Participates in the Tournament

Huo Wu did not put on airs.

She carefully placed the fluffy golden chrysanthemum into her mouth.

Huo Wu closed her eyes, and a faint golden sheen began to spread over her body.

The Fire Shadow Martial Soul emerged behind her. The humanoid silhouette had originally been as blurry as a candlelit shadow cast on a wall, but as the immortal herb's energy seeped in, its outline actually began to sharpen bit by bit.

First came the fingertips, then the arms, shoulders and neck, and waist.

The shadow seemed to be traced in fine detail by an invisible hand. Its edges were no longer blurred, its features gradually became distinct, and one could even vaguely make out brows and eyes that resembled Huo Wu's own by seventy percent.

Even stranger was the way the firelight on the silhouette changed.

The originally orange-red flames slowly shed their impurities, drawing closer to a brighter, purer scarlet-gold.

The rhythm of the flames' flickering also became smoother, as if the shadow was no longer passively reflecting Huo Wu's movements, but had gained some kind of independent breathing of its own.

Li Qinglian kept watch at the side, his gaze fixed without blinking.

He saw Huo Wu's elegant brows knit faintly, then gradually relax. After her tightly clenched fists loosened, a faint golden sheen appeared over her fingertips.

The aura around her body was rising.

Rank twenty-seven, rank twenty-eight, rank twenty-nine.

Immediately after, a bright golden pillar of light shot into the sky from Huo Wu's body.

Rank thirty.

And it did not stop there.

After the pillar of light dispersed, the Fire Shadow Martial Soul behind Huo Wu changed once again.

The silhouette was no longer a simple projection. It was as if it had come alive, slowly opening its eyes, scarlet-gold light flowing through its gaze as it overlapped for an instant with Huo Wu's own.

Silver-grade Martial Soul, second awakening!

When Huo Wu opened her eyes, she was completely stunned.

"My... my Martial Soul..."

She abruptly stood up and turned to look at the Fire Shadow behind her.

The humanoid silhouette that had once been blurry was now so clear it was almost like another version of herself.

Its brows and eyes, figure, and posture were exactly the same as hers. Even the slight upward curve at the corner of its mouth was identical.

The difference was that scarlet-gold light patterns flowed over the shadow's entire body, as if it were wrapped in a layer of exquisite glazed color—clear, bright, and brimming with life.

"It moved."

Huo Wu murmured.

With only a slight shift of her thoughts, the Fire Shadow gave her a small nod. Its right hand slowly lifted, five fingers spreading as a ball of flame several times purer than before condensed in its palm.

Huo Wu turned her head to look at Li Qinglian, her eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

Li Qinglian walked up to her and carefully examined the Fire Shadow for a few breaths before slowly speaking.

"Sister Huo Wu, have you heard of a Body Martial Soul?"

"Body Martial Soul?"

Huo Wu blinked.

"I've heard of them. A Martial Soul is a part of one's own body, like a hand, foot, or eye. Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls cultivate slowly in the early stages, but their upper limit later on is extremely high, and their Martial Souls continuously evolve as their cultivation increases..."

"Then have you ever considered that your Fire Shadow might also be a kind of Body Martial Soul?"

Huo Wu froze.

"The definition of a Body Martial Soul is that the Martial Soul itself is a part of the body. Hands, feet, eyes, bones—those naturally go without saying. But what about Fire Shadow? It is your shadow. Is a shadow part of your body?"

Li Qinglian paused, his gaze falling on the Fire Shadow behind Huo Wu, which had almost the same breathing rhythm as she did.

Huo Wu listened quietly, the bewilderment in her eyes being replaced bit by bit by light.

"So... the Chrysanthemum of Heavenly Silk's power to strengthen the foundation and cultivate the source not only strengthened the origin of my soul power, but also strengthened the connection between the Fire Shadow and my body."

"Exactly." Li Qinglian nodded. "The medicinal power of the Chrysanthemum of Heavenly Silk pushed you forward and helped you complete the second awakening of your Body Martial Soul."

"Second awakening?"

"Yes. In this world, when Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls cultivate to a certain level, their Martial Souls undergo a transformation. For example, a hand-type Body Martial Soul, when trained to the extreme, might become a Diamond Hand or God's Hand, with its power soaring dramatically. And your Fire Shadow has now completed its first transformation."

Huo Wu lowered her head to look at her hands, then glanced back at that Fire Shadow.

The shadow seemed to sense her gaze. It tilted its head slightly, the corners of its mouth curving into a smile exactly like hers.

She suddenly burst out laughing.

"Little brother Qinglian, just how many things are you still hiding that I don't know about?"

"Guess."

Huo Wu snorted.

She walked up to Li Qinglian, reached out, and lightly punched him in the chest.

"I didn't expect Sister Huo Wu's martial soul to really be a Body Martial Soul."

"And with the effect of the immortal herb, it directly achieved a silver-level second awakening."

"A Body Soul Master with a silver-level second awakening wasn't much weaker in combat power than an Ultimate Soul Master."

Li Qinglian thought of those two quarrelsome pairs, Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er.

One was an Ultimate Soul Master, the other had a Body Martial Soul with a silver-level second awakening. In the future, the two of them would definitely be among the top geniuses on the continent. Even compared with Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, they would have a tremendous advantage.

"Geniuses like Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling aren't much worse than the Shrek Seven Devils. As long as they get the same opportunities, they can also unleash unimaginable power."

Li Qinglian suddenly realized something.

Around him, a group of geniuses had also begun to appear.

Another two years passed.

Li Qinglian's cultivation had already broken through to rank thirty-three Soul Elder.

Shui Bing'er and Huo Wu's soul power had both successively broken through to rank thirty-six.

Whether it was Huo Wu's Body Martial Soul second awakening or Shui Bing'er's Ultimate Ice, both caused a huge stir in the two academies.

Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er practically both possessed the ability to fight opponents ten ranks above them in soul power.

Although they were Soul Elders, in reality, they already had strength on the level of Soul Ancestors.

"Huo Lie, lend Qinglian to our Tianshui Academy for a while this time. No matter what ranking we obtain in the end, our Tianshui Academy won't take a single coin of the rewards. They'll all go to Qinglian alone."

Shui Yingying said to Huo Lie.

"Hmph. If Qinglian and Shui Bing'er join hands, they can even defeat a Soul King."

"If I lend Qinglian to you, you'll even have a solid chance of winning the championship in this Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament," Huo Lie snorted coldly.

Ever since Spirit Hall had existed, the championship had always belonged solely to Spirit Hall Academy.

This time, Li Qinglian and Shui Bing'er's Martial Soul Fusion Skill would, barring any accidents, become a dazzling presence on the battlefield. It might even let them make a comeback against Spirit Hall Academy. Just thinking of that honor made Huo Lie's eyes burn with excitement.

"The champion of this Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament gets to enter Spirit Hall's treasury and freely choose one soul bone. To Li Qinglian, that's very important. If we cooperate, we'll take the glory, and the soul bone will belong to Li Qinglian. That's fair, isn't it?" Shui Yingying said with a smile.

It was as if she had already seen Tianshui Team becoming the biggest dark horse of this tournament and shocking the world.

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire—who could withstand it?

"Fine. In any case, in another five years, Qinglian will win another one for our Blazing Fire Academy," Huo Lie said, waving his hand.

Li Qinglian's talent was almost monstrous.

He had already broken through to Soul Elder now. Sword Intent, plus Ultimate Fire.

Give Li Qinglian another five years, and he alone would be able to crush every genius of his generation.