Changes after five years (part one)
Gradually, Huo Lei became lost in the feeling of complete comfort, his spiritual energy focused inward. He lost all perception of his surroundings.
The blue aura that had been spreading across Huo Lei's right leg had completely merged into his body.
Huo Lei fell asleep. He slept for the entire night.
The next morning, Huo Lei slowly awoke to a strange coolness in his right leg.
The moment Huo Lei awoke, he was overjoyed to discover that he had broken through the level 79 bottleneck and his Soul Power had reached level 80.
At the same time, he felt unwell and looked down to find a thin layer of paste-like substance on his skin, which appeared to be a light grayish-black color.
Huo Lei got up and stretched his limbs, feeling a sense of rebirth. He also felt much lighter, as if he had lost his weight. He excitedly murmured to himself, "Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone is indeed extraordinary. The skills granted by the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone haven't changed; they're still flight and healing. From now on, I can fly without releasing my Thunder Wings; and I no longer need to worry about injuries. As long as it's not a fatal wound, I can recover under the Soul Bone's healing."
Huo Lei retracted the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud and left the cave. He washed himself in the clear pool of water and changed into a clean and tidy red robe.
Jin Shan and Lin Yin got up very early. After Huo Lei came out of the cave, he found them roasting food.
After having breakfast with Jin Shan and Lin Yin, Huo Lei took out a long black box from his Storage Ring and handed it to Lin Yin.
The long black box contained two inherited Soul Bone from the Clear Sky Sect, which were also Soul Bone that Tang Hao had taken from his own body: a black Right Arm Bone and a dark blue Left Leg Bone.
"Lin Yin, just absorb the essence here! With me and your teacher here, you can rest assured," Huo Lei instructed Lin Yin.
Lin Yin nodded, first taking out the dark blue Left Leg Bone from the long black box, then sitting cross-legged on the spot and beginning to absorb it.
"Teacher, I suddenly remembered something. We haven't obtained Tang Hao's Storage Soul Tool yet. When he exploded into a cloud of blood mist, four Soul Bone appeared immediately. We were all focused on the Soul Bone and overlooked the whereabouts of his Storage Soul Tool. Do you think it was shattered? Or was it blown to some inconspicuous corner?" Huo Lei looked at Jin Shan beside him and asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Yes! If you hadn't brought it up, I would have overlooked it too. The four Soul Bone that appeared did indeed attract my attention. But this is easy to handle; let me release my spiritual power to investigate." Jin Shan suddenly realized, and then released his spiritual power.
A moment later, Jin Shan withdrew his spiritual power and said to Huo Lei in confusion, "That's strange, there's nothing there."
Huo Lei pondered for a moment, then said, "If he doesn't have it, so be it. Anyway, we've already obtained the most precious Soul Bone. Tang Hao's destitute state suggests he probably doesn't have anything else besides the Soul Bone."
"You brat, now that you've reached level 80, how many years of Soul Ring do you want to add to your Eighth Soul Ring?" Jin Shan asked curiously.
Huo Lei appeared relaxed and casually said, "This disciple isn't picky; anything the same as Bing'er's will do."
Jin Shan said irritably, "You brat, you're making things difficult for your master again. Ice-attribute Soul Beast with a cultivation level of 100,000 years are easy to find, but fire-attribute Soul Beast with a cultivation level of 100,000 years are hard to come by."
Huo Lei said, "Teacher, there's no need to worry. If you don't have a fire-attribute one, just find one whose attribute doesn't counter yours. I plan to add Soul Ring with my father later, so there's no rush."
Jin Shan understood, nodded, and said nothing more.
It took Lin Yin about the same amount of time to absorb the two Soul Bone, one hour for each. Two hours later, he had finished Soul Bone.
According to Lin Yin's account, each Soul Bone gave him a one-level increase in Soul Power, and two bones meant two levels, raising his Soul Power Level from the original seventy-five to seventy-seven. At the same time, the two Soul Bone also gave him two very useful Soul Skill: the Left Leg Bone granted him a speed-type Soul Skill, and the Right Arm Bone granted him an attack-type Soul Skill.
With the sun high in the sky, Huo Lei and his two companions ate a simple lunch and then left the valley, heading back the way they came.
It took about half a day for Huo Lei and his two companions to successfully return to Holy Soul Village. When they arrived at Holy Soul Village, the sun was already setting and night was about to fall.
Huo Lei and his two companions stayed overnight at a farmer's house at the entrance of Holy Soul Village.
When the farmers saw Huo Lei and his group again, they treated them with the same warmth and hospitality as if they were welcoming relatives.
The next morning, after having a simple meal at the farmer's house, Huo Lei and his group retrieved their horses and bid farewell to the farmer. Before leaving, Huo Lei gave the farmer one hundred Gold Soul Coin as a token of his gratitude.
One hundred Gold Soul Coin might not mean much to Huo Lei, but for an ordinary farmer, it could change his life. Since this parting might be their last, Huo Lei deliberately gave the farmer a little extra.
With only two horses, Huo Lei and Lin Yin rode one together, while Jin Shan rode the other alone. The group headed towards Nuoding City, which was not far from Holy Soul Village.
After Lin Yin purchased a horse in Nuoding City, the three of them each rode one back to the Blazing Fire Academy.
Three days later, Huo Lei and his two companions returned to the Blazing Fire Academy. In the short ten days they had been gone, many students had experienced changes in their strength. Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, the siblings, both broke through their previous level bottlenecks, each leveling up. Next were the brothers Huo Chui and Huo Jun, who, after several months of hard work, successfully broke through to level 50, meeting the requirements for adding their fifth Soul Ring. Dean Huo Feng was at the peak of level 89, a bottleneck that could be broken at any time.
Huo Lei was overjoyed to learn of everyone's progress. At the same time, he gave the two Soul Bone he had obtained from Tang Hao and Tang San to his older brother and sister respectively.
Huo Wushuang received Tang Hao's blue Head Soul Bone, while Huo Wu received Tang San's white Head Soul Bone. After absorbing the Soul Bone, their spiritual power increased significantly, and their Soul Power also increased by one level. Huo Wushuang even broke through the Level 59 bottleneck, reaching Level 60.
Huo Lei also gave Feng Xiaotian the Right Leg Bone he obtained from the Azure Shadow Mouse King, and the Right Arm Bone of the Thirty Thousand Year Gale Demon Tiger he obtained from the bandits. Both of these Soul Bone belonged to the wind attribute.
Upon receiving two ten-thousand-year-quality Soul Bone, Feng Xiaotian was so excited that he danced with joy, as happy as a child, and expressed his endless gratitude to Huo Lei.
Since the two Soul Bone were not particularly old, with a combined age of only 40,000 years, Feng Xiaotian's Soul Power only increased by a little over one level after absorbing them.
At this time, five years had passed since the original Soul Master Tournament, and everyone had undergone tremendous changes. Blazing Fire Academy and Skywater Academy maintained close communication and exchanged letters frequently. Huo Lei was naturally very familiar with the situation of Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Xue Wu.
The current ages and ranks of the participants are as follows.
Huo Lei, 22 years old, level 80.
Lin Yin, 39 years old, Level 77.
Huo Wushuang, 25 years old, reached Level 60 after absorbing Tang Hao's blue Head Soul Bone.
Huo Wu, 24 years old, reached level 64 after absorbing Tang San's white Head Soul Bone.