Emperor Auspicious Beast

Accompanied by Dean Yan, Huo Yuhao headed directly for the core zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Silver Hero Beast only frequented the core zone, with sightings in the mixed zone being rare occurrences.

Ten days passed in a flash. Huo Yuhao and Dean Yan had yet to find a Silver Hero Beast around the fifty-thousand-year mark, though they had spotted two thirty-thousand-year-old specimens.

Dean Yan had marveled when he first saw a Silver Hero Beast. According to the records of Shrek Academy, the species had long been extinct; he had not expected to find remnants still living in the core zone.

This was the longest Huo Yuhao had ever spent searching for a soul beast. Despite the blessing of the power of destiny, the difficulty of hunting a specific fifty-thousand-year-old soul beast remained incredibly high.

"Yuhao, don't be impatient. Sometimes it takes a month or two to find a suitable soul ring; that is quite normal."

Dean Yan watched Huo Yuhao, who was frequently using his spirit detection, and offered a few words of comfort.

"I found one. It's 2,700 meters to the front left. There is a high probability it is a sixty-thousand-year-old Silver Hero Beast."

"Is sixty thousand years not a bit too high? Will there be any issues with the absorption? Should we keep looking?"

Dean Yan looked at Huo Yuhao with some concern. Being ten thousand years over the target age was a bit risky.

"Don't worry, exceeding the limit by ten thousand years is still within my calculations," Huo Yuhao replied.

"Then I shall make my move."

At that moment, a large dog covered in scales was wandering leisurely, searching for food.

Suddenly, a beam of white light appeared before it. Before the beast could react, a phantom of a phoenix struck it, leaving it severely wounded and gasping for breath on the ground.

Dean Yan picked up the dying Silver Hero Beast and returned to Huo Yuhao's side.

Huo Yuhao did not hesitate, delivering the final blow to kill the Silver Hero Beast. A black soul ring rose slowly into the air.

"Dean Yan, please protect me." Once he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao drew the soul ring toward him and began the absorption process.

"Brother Sky Dream, please temporarily seal the portion of energy that exceeds my absorption limit."

"No problem, Yuhao. Just focus on absorbing it."

Ending his conversation with the Sky Dream Iceworm, Huo Yuhao began to endure the first wave of impact from the soul ring's energy.

Although the total energy slightly exceeded his limit, the intensity of the impact remained within the tolerance of his meridians.

Over the past six months, as the Life Gold continuously enhanced Huo Yuhao's physical constitution, the resilience of his meridians had also improved significantly.

Seeing Huo Yuhao begin to slowly absorb the energy from the soul ring, Dean Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

As the energy Huo Yuhao absorbed gradually reached saturation, he did not immediately ask the Sky Dream Iceworm for help.

Instead, he utilized the overflowing energy to absorb small amounts, causing himself injuries, and then used the Life Gold to heal those injuries, thereby increasing his physical strength.

This terrified Dean Yan, who was guarding nearby, as he feared Huo Yuhao might fail to hold on and explode from the pressure.

Three hours passed. As the remaining energy began to slip out of control, Huo Yuhao had the Sky Dream Iceworm intervene, sealing the excess within his Spirit Sea.

Seeing that Huo Yuhao had finished absorbing the soul ring, Dean Yan finally felt at ease. The stress of the afternoon had left his own soul power somewhat unstable.

Huo Yuhao was the next Sea God Pavilion Master and the founder of battle armor. If something were to happen to him in the Star Dou Great Forest due to a lapse in his own judgment, he would have no way to answer for it upon his return.

"Yuhao, you scared me to death. Don't take such risks next time."

Dean Yan struggled to maintain his composed demeanor, stepping forward to check on Huo Yuhao's condition.

After confirming that everything was fine, Dean Yan relaxed completely, his breathing slowing down significantly.

"Dean Yan, don't worry. I had it under control. My soul power has now reached level 43; the gains from this risk were substantial."

The energy within a sixty-thousand-year soul ring was immense. If Huo Yuhao did not possess an ultimate martial soul, he likely would have reached level 45.

"Yuhao, you are now the youngest Soul Ancestor in the history of our Shrek Academy. At this rate, I fear that in a few years, your strength will be sufficient for the position of the next Pavilion Master."

Hearing Dean Yan's words, Huo Yuhao smiled noncommittally.

It was a pity that the Silver Hero Beast had died too peacefully, failing to produce a soul bone.

"Let's go, Yuhao. We should leave the Star Dou Great Forest and return to the academy before testing the effects of your new soul skill."

The core zone of the Star Dou Great Forest was home to many fierce beasts. Dean Yan had only dared to bring Huo Yuhao here by taking a risk; he did not have the ability to protect Huo Yuhao in the core zone against a major threat.

The only reason he dared to bring him was that he held a trump card given to him by Mu En. If they were truly surrounded by fierce beasts, he could summon Mu En and have Huo Yuhao flee first.

On the way back, Huo Yuhao diverted some of his spiritual power to inspect his body. His meridians had been further strengthened during the absorption process.

Coupled with the origin energy sealed by the Ice Empress, his cultivation speed before reaching level 60 would be no slower than that of a normal soul master with innate full soul power.

However, while passing through the mixed zone, Huo Yuhao felt a warning from the power of destiny.

"Dean Yan, prepare for battle. Contact Elder Mu."

Huo Yuhao made his decision instantly. In the entire Star Dou Great Forest, only two beings could make the power of destiny react so strongly.

One was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian, with 890,000 years of cultivation and the title of Beast God.

The other was the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena, the sovereign of soul beasts, who was healing in the Life Lake.

Upon discovering a light-attribute soul beast within his spirit detection range, Huo Yuhao knew exactly who he had encountered.

Chasing behind it and entering his detection range was the Three-Eyed Golden Ni, the soul beast cultivation accelerator.

"Dean Yan, move! Capture that golden lion."

Dean Yan, who had been prepared to act, immediately moved and snatched it up.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao concealed his figure, and the aura belonging to Heaven and Earth Level spread outward.

He left behind a masked figure, with two yellow, two purple, two black, and three red soul rings floating behind him.

Looking at the golden lion held in Dean Yan's hand, a dark red lion with three large heads spoke in human language, filled with anxiety.

"Put her down! If your Shrek Academy does not want to go to war with the Star Dou Great Forest, you had best not hurt her."

"Oh? It seems she is quite important to your Star Dou Great Forest. In that case, we should discuss some terms."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao used his spirit power at the half-step God Origin realm to fully unleash the aura of Heaven and Earth Level, shrouding the entire area in the pressure of a Limit Douluo.

The three-headed lion took two steps back. Unsure of when Shrek Academy had produced another Limit Douluo, it spoke to Dean Yan:

"Yan Shaozhe, what is the meaning of this? Does your Shrek Academy truly intend to start a war?"

Recognizing the identity of the soul beast before him, Dean Yan feigned a casual tone in his response.

"Chi Wang, as the lowest-ranked among the ten great fierce beasts, I don't think you are the one who gets to decide whether a war starts."