Dog Holding a Sword in Its Mouth

Facing Huo Yuhao's fanatical, almost deranged gaze, Ye Guyi expressionlessly rubbed her aching wrist.

She simply could not understand it. She had squeezed herself dry to charge sixty-seven iron canisters, all just to arrive at a cold, hard number?

With that spare time, she could have swung her sword several thousand more times.

Ju Zi walked over with a glass of juice, looking at the neatly arranged Milk Bottles.

"It's a little too broad," she said softly, instantly dousing their enthusiasm with cold water. "If a second-grade Milk Bottle is used as one unit, then whenever decimals are involved, you still have to estimate with 'roughly.'"

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment.

Well damn. No wonder she had been an empress dowager in her previous life. She had spotted the fatal flaw in this primitive scale at a glance.

It was like measuring water with a huge vat. You could not tell whether there was a little more or a little less.

Xuan Ziwen nodded furiously beside them. "It really is too crude. We have to refine it!"

Though he did not share Huo Yuhao's obsessive passion for data, as a high-ranking Soul Engineer, his pursuit of precision was every bit as pathological.

Over the next few days, the two of them completely transformed into mad scientists. They ate and slept in front of the workbench, while countless sheets of draft paper piled up across the floor.

After repeated calculations, Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao finally decided to divide the maximum capacity of a second-grade Milk Bottle into one hundred standard graduations. That was one hundred Soul Power units, abbreviated as 100 HL.

With a more precise unit in place, the previous crude measurement method was completely discarded. The two went all in, directly using composite formations to cobble together a Soul Power tester capable of displaying exact readings.

Looking at the rudimentary device with its dial and indicator, Huo Yuhao's heart brimmed with accomplishment. From this day onward, the concept of a mana bar had truly been born in this world.

Time flew by, and another month passed.

Early one morning, Ye Guyi finished her final round of sword swings in the courtyard. Golden Soul Power, almost tangible in substance, surged and pulsed around her. After breaking through Rank 40, more than a month of consolidation and crushing gravity training had completely stabilized her cultivation. Obtaining her fourth Soul Ring was officially placed on the agenda.

Thanks to her nearly insane physical training, coupled with the unreasonable medicinal effects of the Red Jade Pills forcefully laying her foundation, Ye Guyi's muscles and bones had reached a terrifying level of strength. According to Huo Yuhao's test data, the limit for an ordinary Soul Master's fourth Soul Ring was around five thousand years. Yet even if Ye Guyi directly absorbed a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, she would not be burst apart by the violent energy.

Thus, the group set their sights directly on a ten-thousand-year light-attribute Soul Beast. Xuan Ziwen led the expedition this time. With a Rank 81 Soul Douluo serving as their muscle, their sense of security was through the roof.

Huo Yuhao naturally wanted to go broaden his horizons. He had been cooped up in the courtyard doing experiments every day; his bones were practically rusting.

Ju Zi, meanwhile, had an enormous underground arms deal to hand over and simply could not get away. Before they left, she pinched Huo Yuhao's cheek and stuffed him with a huge pile of protective Soul Tools before finally allowing them to depart.

The Jingyang Mountains were one of the largest mountain ranges within the Sun Moon Empire, stretching across nearly half its territory. This place could be called a paradise for Soul Engineers. Its abundant mineral deposits and rare metals coexisted with harsh magnetic fields, giving rise to many strange Soul Beasts found only in the Sun Moon Empire.

Deep in the forest, Xuan Ziwen held a precision detector as he cleared the way ahead. Ye Guyi walked beside him with a short sword in hand, vigilantly watching for any movement around them. Only Huo Yuhao looked completely at ease. With a compact flying energy-storage core on his back, he cracked sunflower seeds as he trailed along at the rear.

"Teacher Xuan, it's been over half a month, and we haven't even seen a single hair from a light-attribute Soul Beast." Huo Yuhao spat out a seed shell and complained helplessly.

Most Soul Beasts in the Jingyang Mountains were metal- or earth-attribute. Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts were already rare in this era, and light was a rare attribute as well. With the two conditions combined, finding a ten-thousand-year light-attribute Soul Beast here was no easier than searching for a needle in the ocean.

"Quiet. There's movement." Xuan Ziwen abruptly stopped. A violently flashing high-energy red dot had appeared on the detector screen in his hand. Not only were there energy fluctuations, but the air itself was suffused with an exceedingly sharp, cutting presence.

The group swiftly concealed themselves and parted the bushes ahead to look. At the edge of a massive mine pit several hundred meters away lay a creature that was impossible to forget after one glance.

It was a unique variant found only in the Jingyang Mountains—the Sword Wolf, a composite Soul Beast combining metal and several other attributes.

From the moment they were born, they roamed everywhere in search of rare metals to temper themselves. Through endless slaughter, they fused their flesh and blood with metal, refining themselves into the sharpest blade best suited to them.

That blade would continuously grow and be tempered along with their age, becoming ever sharper. The strongest among the Sword Wolf packs would be granted the title of King of Swords.

The one lying at the edge of the mine pit ahead was several times larger than an ordinary Sword Wolf. Without question, it was a King of Swords.

"Well now, our luck has arrived." Xuan Ziwen lowered his detector, a glint of fervor appearing in his eyes.

It was a rare Dawn Sword Wolf King, snow-white from head to toe. Its powerful limbs and torso were covered in golden soul patterns representing the light attribute. Even more strikingly, it had a pair of broad wings growing from its back.

"It's around thirteen thousand years old. It has the light attribute, making it an excellent fit for this little girl." Xuan Ziwen adjusted his glasses, his gaze fixed firmly on the Wolf King's mouth.

Ye Guyi followed his gaze. The Wolf King had an irregular blade roughly three feet long clenched sideways in its jaws. The blade gleamed with gold, its surface flowing with a dazzling, eye-piercing sheen. Even from hundreds of meters away, they could feel the oppressive aura of sacred inviolability.

"That's a blade nurtured from Heavenfeather Sacred Gold!" Xuan Ziwen's breathing quickened.

It was an unparalleled rare metal carrying both sacred and light attributes. If placed in an auction house on the Douluo Continent, it would be a supreme treasure that countless high-ranking Soul Masters would fight over.

Even on the Sun Moon Continent, Heavenfeather Sacred Gold was an exceptional material for crafting eighth- and ninth-grade Soul Tools.

For Ye Guyi, who possessed the Holy Angel Martial Soul, this was not merely the finest possible Soul Bone. Even her future personal weapon was now accounted for.

A perfect match. An absolutely perfect match.

Huo Yuhao crouched in the grass, staring fixedly at the majestic giant beast ahead.

Honestly, the thing looked incredibly cool overall. It hit every point of his aesthetic preferences.

But... for some reason, seeing the Wolf King clenching a greatsword sideways in its jaws and coldly patrolling its territory like a sword saint caused all those famous ridiculous memes from the internet in his previous life to flood uncontrollably through Huo Yuhao's mind.

Mighty? Cool?

Huo Yuhao wore a strange expression as he stroked his chin, unable to suppress the amusement at the corners of his mouth. In such a solemn setting, when he looked at that imposing Dawn Sword Wolf King, only one phrase remained in his mind—"dog holding a sword in its mouth." The phrase had the flavor of a bad joke, yet it was also incredibly fitting.