Star Luo's Pills

As the lights dimmed, a spotlight in the center of the dance floor poured down like moonlight, enveloping the two of them.

Gu Yuena's long silver hair flew as she spun, reflecting shimmering light under the lamplight. Huo Yuhao's arm steadily supported her lower back, leading her through a breathtaking tilting motion—her body was almost parallel to the ground, supported only by his strong arm.

The music suddenly sped up, and Gu Yuena abruptly broke free from Huo Yuhao's guidance. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and used the momentum to leap into the air, completing an elegant flip in mid-air. Her skirt swayed like a blooming epiphyllum, and the light trails left by the diamonds left afterimages in the air. As she fell, she deliberately deviated from her center of gravity, but Huo Yuhao caught her precisely at the last moment before she lost her balance.

His palm pressed against her bare back, the heat radiating from their skin. Gu Yuena pressed closer, their chests almost touching, and she could clearly feel his accelerated heartbeat.

The gasps of amazement from the surrounding guests were drowned out by the rousing music.

As the music reached its climax, Huo Yuhao suddenly exerted his strength, lifting Gu Yuena high into the air—

She stretched her body in the air, her silver hair cascading down like a waterfall, her purple eyes sparkling like jewels under the lights. As she fell, Huo Yuhao caught her steadily, Gu Yuena's hands naturally wrapped around his neck, their noses almost touching, their breaths mingling.

The last note fell abruptly, and the dance floor fell into a brief silence. Huo Yuhao remained in his final pose, gazing at the slightly flushed cheeks of the person in his arms. Gu Yuena's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her purple eyes shimmered with lingering light.

Huo Yuhao smiled slightly, placed his right hand on her waist, and set her down.

Gu Yuena's silver hair shimmered softly under the lamplight, with a few strands falling onto her delicate collarbone as she danced vigorously. Huo Yuhao's gaze involuntarily followed those strands of silver hair, and he gently brushed them aside with his fingers.

Gu Yuena, startled by this action, looked at Huo Yuhao as if waking from a dream, but did not move away, quietly gazing at his face so close to hers.

Huo Yuhao's fingers were still lingering in her hair, his fingertips inadvertently touching her slightly cool skin. Their breaths mingled, and the surrounding noise seemed to fade away, leaving only the reflection of each other in their eyes.

A strange light flashed in Gu Yuena's purple eyes, and she parted her red lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Just then, the applause and cheers around them grew louder, and Sima Lanxiao's voice came through the Amplifying Soul Tool: "Absolutely brilliant! This is definitely the most perfect dance performance of the night!"

Gu Yuena snapped out of her daze, her brows furrowing slightly as she looked at the host. Sima Lanxiao suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, but he quickly composed himself and continued enthusiastically, "Please take a short break. After the final winners are tallied, you will both receive Star Luo Empire's Specialty Product prizes."

Huo Yuhao keenly sensed Gu Yuena's displeasure and gently pressed his fingertips against her soft waist. "If you have something to say, we can talk about it after the banquet."

The atmosphere is gone.

Gu Yuena shook her head, but didn't throw a tantrum. She walked out of the dance floor with Huo Yuhao.

Because of the two's performance, the rest of the dance seemed rather dull to everyone, except for Xie Xie and Tang Wulin's appearance together, which brought a different kind of "surprise" to the scene.

The final awards ceremony itself was nothing special, but the prizes surprised everyone.

Dai Yun'er walked to the center of the stage to present the awards, and she smiled and said:

"Given that Mr. Huo Yuhao and Ms. Gu Yuena are both excellent Soul Masters, I have decided to change the prize to High-grade Qiankun Pill."

Some members of the Star Luo Empire delegation looked surprised upon hearing this.

They initially thought it was just an ordinary local specialty of Xingluo, but they never expected it to be a top-grade Qiankun Pill.

Seeing the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, Yue Zhengyu felt a little confused and asked his dance partner, "Are elixirs very rare in your Star Luo Empire?"

Those present are all elites from both countries; are they really making such a fuss over a few pills?

Or is it that Star Luo Empire is far inferior to the Douluo Federation in terms of elixirs?

This female student from the Star Luo Empire seemed to be knowledgeable; she gently shook her head, "You don't understand the value of the Qiankun Pill; it's different from ordinary pills."

Seeing Yue Zhengyu's nonchalant expression, she took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The Qiankun Pill can increase the age of Soul Ring, and unlike the Spirit Ascension Platform of the Spirit Pagoda, it can not only increase the age of Soul Ring provided by Soul Spirit, but also the age of Soul Ring hunted from Soul Beast!"

Yue Zhengyu reveal a look of surprise and uncertainty.

Increasing the age of the acquired Soul Ring? Isn't that the domain of gods?

Because their family originated from the Spirit Hall lineage, there are many records about deities in their family, such as how divine trials can increase the age of Soul Ring.

Therefore, in the eyes of Yue Zhengyu and his family, it was simply unbelievable that the Spirit Pagoda could have a place like the Spirit Ascension Platform.

But now, listening to his dance partner, it seems Star Luo Empire also possesses similar skills? And even more outstanding ones?

The idea flashed through Yue Zhengyu's mind for a moment, but he rejected it immediately.

Anyone could notice that the people of the Star Luo Federation have an unusual attitude towards the Spirit Pagoda. This can be seen from the fact that they changed the prizes for Huo Yuhao and his companion; they are trying to curry favor with the Spirit Pagoda.

If the Qiankun Pill had no flaws and was truly more useful than the Spirit Ascension Platform, they would probably be more reserved.

Sure enough, the Star Luo Empire student continued, "I don't know which family specifically refined the Qiankun Pill. But you only need to know that High-grade Qiankun Pill can increase the lifespan of Soul Ring by Thousand Years to understand its value. However, this kind of pill is too precious to be found anywhere else."

Even the dregs left over from the refining process are priceless in the Star Luo Empire, because those dregs also possess certain medicinal properties.

This is why they were so shocked after learning about the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Although the entry requirements for the Spirit Ascension Platform are not low, even the Eastsea Academy has to pay a price to get its students in, which shows that the requirements are not too high.

The threshold for obtaining the Qiankun Pill in their Star Luo Empire is much higher than that of the Spirit Ascension Platform; it's likely only the top students of the Monster Academy can obtain it. And even then, it's impossible to get many. She'd never heard of someone like Huo Yuhao, who directly transformed his First Soul Spirit into Ten Thousand Year Soul Spirit...

Compared to the Star Luo Empire delegation members who were eager for this item, Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes the moment he received the pill, examined it carefully, and sighed inwardly.

Although he had considered the worst-case scenario for the Star Luo Empire's current situation long ago, he still found it difficult to remain calm when he saw the reality.

If the Star Luo Empire leadership allowed this elixir to enter the market knowing its refining method, how depraved have they become?

Huo Yuhao did not show his emotions on his face. After calmly putting away the pills, he chatted with Dai Yun'er, who finally had a chance to talk to him, for a while. He politely declined her invitation to have a deeper conversation and took Gu Yuena back to the Soul Suppressing Douluo and the others.

Amidst the questioning gazes of the Passionate Douluo and the others, Huo Yuhao silently activated his domain, took out the Qiankun Pill, and handed it to the Soul Suppressing Douluo, asking, "Your Majesty, what does this object resemble to you?"

"Judging from the discussions around me, it seems to be a pill similar to the Spirit Ascension Pill."

The Soul Suppressing Douluo accepted the pill with a smile, but the moment his palm touched it, his expression suddenly darkened, and a suffocating atmosphere enveloped the surroundings.

(End of this chapter)