Actually, My Name Is Huo Yutong

Having just defeated a hundred-year Dread Demon Ape as a Soul Scholar, Huo Yuhao suddenly began trembling uncontrollably. Xu Zihuang was the protagonist of a fanfiction novel and fairly well-known. In that story, Huo Yuhao lost every opportunity that came his way and met a miserable end.

Although he only vaguely remembered that fanfiction, he knew Xu Zihuang's reputation. If some protagonists could be called "Little Tang San," then this one was at least "Realm Tang San"!

Under such pressure, Huo Yuhao had a flash of inspiration and blurted out:

"I... my name is Huo Yutong!"

Genius!

Huo Yuhao could not help praising himself. As long as he used that name, not only would Xu Zihuang not suppress him, he would even be wary of him. After all, the timeline represented by that name had at least two protagonists behind it. One was Qian Chaoguang, who might possess cultivation techniques from another world and wield peerless blade arts. The other was Tang Wulin, the Golden Dragon King from ten thousand years later.

Sure enough, a trace of shock appeared in Xu Zihuang's eyes when he heard it, but he swiftly concealed it. His composure ran deep.

"Wow! What a lovely name. Huh? Why are you shaking?" Tang Ya asked curiously.

"My mother gave it to me because my eyes are beautiful. Haha, that Soul Beast had a strange skill just now, and I haven't fully recovered yet." Huo Yuhao spoke with a calm face, while inside he was already screaming curses.

Since he had encountered Xu Zihuang here, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had probably already been taken by him. If Huo Yuhao could hunt down a decent Hundred-Year Soul Ring, he could break through his bottleneck and continue cultivating.

For the moment, Huo Yuhao had no intention of competing with him. Xu Zihuang had likely already reached the peak of the Soul Elder realm, and his twin top-tier martial souls were even more terrifying.

A million years reduced to a hundred years? That was a ten-thousandfold shrinkage...

"Sorry for the embarrassment. I came here to hunt a Soul Ring, but after painstakingly killing a Soul Beast, I was knocked unconscious. Now the Soul Ring has dispersed too." Huo Yuhao revealed an awkward expression.

"As long as you're okay! Little Yu Tong, we'll help you hunt a Soul Ring!" Tang Ya's words left Huo Yuhao somewhat stunned. He had thought Tang Ya would directly invite him into the Tang Sect, but she had offered to help first. That took him by surprise.

"Th-this... is that okay?" Huo Yuhao asked uncertainly.

"Of course! Don't be so polite. We came here to hunt Soul Rings anyway, so getting one more makes no difference." Tang Ya said with a grin.

"Then I'll gratefully accept."

"Would this little brother like to come with us as well?" Bei Bei turned to Xu Zihuang and asked. Tang Ya had not considered things so thoroughly. There was still an outsider traveling with them, after all, and they had to ask for his opinion.

Huo Yuhao had expected Xu Zihuang to refuse outright, but instead, he agreed without hesitation.

"Sure."

The four of them walked through the Star Dou Great Forest. Tang Ya explained interesting tales from across the continent as they chatted and laughed along the way, paying no mind to the potential threat of Soul Beasts. Huo Yuhao relaxed as well. With Bei Bei and Xu Zihuang, two Soul Elders, holding the line, there was no need to worry about outside dangers.

"So your martial soul is your eyes. No wonder they're so beautiful. But a Soul Beast with a spiritual attribute..."

"Careful." Bei Bei, who was at the front of the group, gave a warning.

A dog-like Soul Beast appeared ahead of them. Its limbs were thick, its entire body covered in scales. Its face was as savage as an evil ghost's, with protruding fangs that made it look utterly terrifying.

"What a strange Soul Beast. I've never seen one before. Bei Bei, do you know what it is? Huh..." Tang Ya instantly released her martial soul, and countless Blue Silver Grass vines shot toward the beast, only for it to nimbly evade them.

The strange Soul Beast let out a low growl. Emerald light flashed through the surrounding vegetation, and even Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass was affected. The emerald glow rapidly spread toward them.

"Protect Yu Tong! Spread out!" Bei Bei barked. He released his martial soul and prepared to withstand the emerald light head-on without fear. This was the confidence he had in his defenses as a three-ring assault-type Soul Elder.

At the signal, Tang Ya's second Soul Ring lit up. Blue-green light wrapped around her feet as she grabbed Huo Yuhao and leaped lightly away from the range of the emerald glow.

Second soul skill, Two-Step Fragrant Grass.

Huo Yuhao was secretly alarmed as well. In the original work, Tang Ya had never displayed her second soul skill. He had not expected a control-type Soul Master like her to possess such a mobility skill. Even if an agility-type opponent closed in on her, she would have the means to protect herself.

Xu Zihuang retreated expressionlessly, as if such an opponent was not even worth his intervention.

The plants stained by the emerald glow lashed out at Bei Bei with clawing branches. Surrounded by the green radiance, Bei Bei remained utterly fearless. Two yellow and one purple Soul Ring revolved around him, while blue-purple serpentine lightning coiled across his body, making him seem like a thunder god descended. Scales covered his right arm as his hand transformed into a claw, taking on a half-draconic form. At the same time, his second Soul Ring lit up, and countless bolts of lightning spread outward to contend with the glowing emerald light.

Second soul skill, Thunderous Might!

"This Soul Beast is pretty good. If it were a little stronger, it would suit me." Tang Ya watched with interest. The Soul Beast appeared to have only a hundred years of cultivation at most, while Tang Ya's target for breaking through to three rings had to be at least a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Bei Bei's Thunderous Might suppressed the strange Soul Beast's emerald light and opened a path for him. He stomped down fiercely and charged straight at it.

Seeing this, the strange Soul Beast hurriedly dodged. Bei Bei was unwilling to let it go. His dragonized right hand slashed out, but it still evaded him. The beast growled again. Confident in his skill and courage, Bei Bei assumed it was trying to repeat its old trick. He rushed straight in, intending to interrupt its soul skill directly.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled as bolts of lightning erupted from the strange Soul Beast's body!

"It has a lightning attribute too... No, that's my Thunderous Might!" Bei Bei immediately sensed that something was wrong and decided to end the fight quickly. His first soul skill, Thunderous Dragon Claw, activated in an instant as he went for the strange Soul Beast's life.

"Bei Bei, hold back!"

Bei Bei paused at the shout, changing his claw into a palm strike and slamming the strange Soul Beast to the ground. He turned toward Tang Ya, who had called out, and saw her carrying Huo Yuhao over.

"Brother Bei Bei, I just sensed a trace of spiritual fluctuation from this Soul Beast. I think it is exactly what I need." Huo Yuhao spoke rapidly. As he spoke, he had already drawn the White Tiger Dagger. Though Bei Bei was somewhat puzzled, he did not hesitate. He exposed the strange Soul Beast's weak point and allowed Huo Yuhao to strike.

The dagger rose and fell, and a yellow Soul Ring emerged. After thanking the two of them, Huo Yuhao began absorbing the Soul Ring. Bei Bei considered his senses fairly sharp at the Soul Elder realm, yet he had not detected even the slightest spiritual fluctuation. Still, seeing Huo Yuhao's confident expression, he merely assumed it was a peculiarity of a spiritual martial soul.

As for Huo Yuhao? He had not sensed any spiritual fluctuation either. That had merely been something he made up on the spot. The real reason was that he recognized the Soul Beast's origins—it was a Silver Hero Beast. This was a species of Soul Beast that had almost gone extinct and had appeared only once in the original work. At first, he had merely thought that this Soul Beast somewhat matched the description, but when it copied Bei Bei's soul skill, he became certain.

Imprint, the Silver Hero Beast's innate soul skill. An ordinary name for an extraordinary ability. It could use spiritual power to imprint soul skills and unleash them again when needed. As long as one's cultivation was sufficient, the imprinted skill could retain its original power. If one's cultivation surpassed that of the person whose skill had been imprinted, its power could become even greater!

In the original work, Huo Yuhao acquired a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring when breaking through to five rings. A mechanism-based soul skill like this was somewhat wasteful on a high-level Soul Ring, but if it were his first soul skill, its value would be immeasurable. After all, this skill was unaffected by Soul Ring quality. One could even say that, from the first Soul Ring onward, it could produce the effect of a hundred-thousand-year soul skill!

A moment later, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. He felt the abundant power filling his body. Strength was always delightful, and he could not help smiling.

"Congratulations, little brother Huo." Bei Bei was the first to offer his congratulations.

Xu Zihuang merely gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Congratulations, little Yu Tong." Tang Ya smiled as she considered how to invite Huo Yuhao into the Tang Sect.

"Sister Xiaoya, I think your Soul Ring won't be far off either."