Soul Symbiosis

Sky Dream Iceworm's decision made the light throughout the entire temple surge.

"Kid, let me make this clear first!"

After that all-or-nothing madness passed, Sky Dream Iceworm's thoughts settled, carrying the caution unique to a million years of existence.

"I, Sky Dream, can do this so-called 'soul symbiosis' with you, but you'd better get one thing straight: I'm not your rechargeable battery, nor am I some spirit ring you can toss aside once you've used it!"

"I've staked my entire life on you. If you dare treat me like a tool, then even if it costs me my soul, I'll let you find out what a mental explosion feels like!"

A ruthless resolve seeped from its immense spiritual power.

This was its final bottom line.

Not only was Huo Yuhao not displeased, he felt even more reassured.

Having demands and boundaries was what made an equal partner—not some mindless bundle of experience.

"Sky Dream, you're not my cheat. You're my comrade."

Huo Yuhao's mental response was calm and resolute.

"We'll flip the table together. You're the first card I'll play, and the most important one. I respect your will as I respect my own life."

There wasn't the slightest bit of falsehood in those words.

Sky Dream Iceworm fell silent for a moment, as though savoring the word "comrade."

"Fine. I'll trust you for now."

Its thoughts shifted, taking on a heavy sorrow.

"There's one more thing you must understand. Once the symbiosis begins, in order to merge my immense spiritual origin and energy with yours, this body I've cultivated for a million years will completely dissipate."

"At that time, I'll lose my physical form and become nothing more than a mass of pure soul energy, residing in your spiritual sea. Other than you, no one will ever see or hear me again."

"I, Sky Dream, will completely 'disappear' from this world."

Huo Yuhao's heart jolted.

Lose his body... leaving only his soul...

The price was far too great!

It was no less than a complete death and rebirth—and all hope of rebirth would be placed in another person's hands.

"I promise you, Sky Dream."

Huo Yuhao's voice was incomparably solemn within the spiritual realm.

"This is only temporary. In the future, I will definitely find a way to reconstruct your body! Using the finest heavenly treasures in this world, I'll forge you a body stronger and freer than your current one!"

"Good!" At last, a trace of genuine comfort entered Sky Dream Iceworm's thoughts. "With those words from you, my million years were worth wagering!"

"Then, are you ready? The ritual of soul symbiosis is no joke."

Sky Dream Iceworm's voice turned grave.

"My spiritual origin will become your first spirit ring, but this is completely different from an ordinary soul master absorbing a spirit ring. It's like... forcibly cramming an entire ocean into your tiny cup!"

"Your mind and body will both endure an unimaginable impact. One misstep, and your soul will be crushed by the flood of my memories, turning you into an idiot. And I will also completely dissipate if the fusion fails."

"There is only one key to the process: an extremely high degree of spiritual compatibility, absolute trust, and not the slightest distracting thought!"

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath.

He had long anticipated the risks.

But he had his own trump card.

"Wait, Sky Dream. Before we begin, let me run a 'simulation' first."

"Simulation? What the hell is that?" Sky Dream Iceworm's thoughts were filled with confusion.

Huo Yuhao did not explain. His consciousness instantly sank into his spiritual sea.

Bzzzt—!

A grand, precise palace brimming with futuristic technological atmosphere was constructed within the spiritual world!

[Thought Palace], activated!

At the center of the palace, Sky Dream Iceworm's enormous spiritual body was instantly digitized, becoming an energy model composed of countless points of light. Beside it was a string of astronomical numbers that made even Huo Yuhao's scalp tingle.

Opposite it, Huo Yuhao's own soul model emerged as well, tiny as a speck of dust.

"Begin deduction: 'soul symbiosis' fusion plan."

Huo Yuhao issued the command.

The next instant, countless streams of light representing spiritual energy and soul origin surged from Sky Dream Iceworm's model, crazily rushing toward Huo Yuhao's soul model!

[Warning! Direct-impact plan: success rate below 0.01%! Host soul will collapse within 0.3 seconds!]

[Warning! Energy overload! Memory flood conflict!]

[Plan failed!]

The cold notification sounds echoed through the palace.

"Just as I thought. It won't work." Huo Yuhao remained utterly calm.

"Establish an 'energy buffer isolation zone' and use 'diversion-guided' infusion. Divide Sky Dream Iceworm's spiritual essence into layers: the first layer, basic energy, used to construct the soul ring. The second layer, core memories, sealed away. The third layer, soul essence, form a shallow connection with me..."

Relying on the logical thinking from his previous life, Huo Yuhao frantically proposed one optimization plan after another.

[Thought Palace] spun at high speed, light and shadows shifting as it simulated the fusion process again and again.

Failure!

Failure!

Still failure!

"What exactly am I missing..."

Huo Yuhao frowned deeply. He felt that he had overlooked the single most crucial variable.

The variable... was himself!

Sky Dream Iceworm still did not understand him completely! That gap would become a fatal flaw during the fusion!

If he was going to gamble, then he would gamble big!

Huo Yuhao made up his mind.

"Sky Dream, to ensure this fusion goes without a hitch, I need to show you my greatest secret."

His spiritual will sent Sky Dream Iceworm an unprecedented invitation.

"What?"

"Come in. Take a look at the core of my soul."

Sky Dream Iceworm hesitated for a moment, but it cautiously extended a thread of spiritual awareness and, guided by Huo Yuhao, entered that core region shrouded in mist.

The instant it passed through the fog, the sight before it completely stunned it!

A grand hall beyond the power of words to describe!

Th-this was... what?!

"Welcome to my world, [Thought Palace]." Huo Yuhao's soul form stood in the center of the hall.

Pointing at the rapidly circulating data and models within the hall, he began his confession.

"Sky Dream, I am not from this world. I come from a place very, very far away—a world called 'Earth.'"

"In my homeland, there was no soul power and no martial souls. But we explored the truths of the universe in another way. We called it 'science.'"

With a thought from Huo Yuhao, [Thought Palace] began its "Knowledge Reenactment."

From the principle of leverage to universal gravitation, from the periodic table of chemical elements to electromagnetic induction, from cellular structures to the binary code of computers...

That torrent of knowledge belonging to modern civilization—knowledge that overturned this world's understanding—was displayed before Sky Dream Iceworm in the most direct way possible!

Sky Dream Iceworm's million-year consciousness completely crashed.

It felt as though its worldview were being smashed to pieces by an invisible hammer!

"Holy shit..."

After a long while, a curse burst from Sky Dream Iceworm's spiritual thoughts.

"Y-you brat... you're actually a 'transmigrator'?!"

"So that's why you're different from every other human? Your soul contains the 'rules' of another world!"

Huo Yuhao calmly manipulated [Thought Palace], displaying the fusion simulation from earlier before Sky Dream Iceworm once more.

"That's right. Using my 'rules,' I can break our fusion process down into an executable 'program,' step by step. We can avoid the vast majority of risks and raise the success rate to over 99%!"

"Th-this fucking works too?!"

The shock in Sky Dream Iceworm's thoughts had already turned into wild ecstasy!

An uncontrollable, volcanic eruption of joy!

It finally understood!

It finally understood where Huo Yuhao got the confidence to say he would "flip the table"!

So that was it... so that was it!

This brat was not a pawn in the gods' script at all!

He was... a virus!

A super virus that had fallen from the sky, capable of rewriting the underlying code of the entire game!

Following this brat—how could it be merely freedom?

This was fucking ascension!

What Tang San? What gods?

Before the complete civilizational system of another world, they were nothing but bullshit!

"Interesting..."

"This is fucking interesting!"

Sky Dream Iceworm's consciousness burst into wild laughter, the madness ignited within it fiercer than ever before!

"Kid! The best decision I ever made in my life was taking a gamble on you!"

"Ten thousand years is too long—seize every moment! Don't wait any longer!"

Sky Dream Iceworm urged him on, its voice brimming with unprecedented urgency and excitement.

"Before those flies outside can react, before that high-and-mighty bullshit god notices you—the biggest 'variable'—we begin at once!"

Huo Yuhao had been thinking the same thing.

The longer the night, the more likely trouble would arise!

He slowly sat down cross-legged before Sky Dream Iceworm's enormous body.

The light throughout the entire temple began to gather within Sky Dream Iceworm. Its ice-crystal-like body grew ever more brilliant, ever more illusory.

A colossal gamble that would overturn the world's balance was about to begin.

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and issued his final confirmation through their mental link.

"Sky Dream, I'm ready."