An Engagement and the Ice Jade Scorpion Spirit Bone

The moment Huo Yuhao said that, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Xu Jiujiu's already flushed cheeks turned as red as apples, and faint wisps of white steam even seemed to rise from her head.

If Huo Yuhao had activated his Spirit Eyes' innate ability, he would have seen the pink mist above Xu Jiujiu's head gradually turning red.

Xu Jiawei caught every change in the two of them, and his smile grew wider.

"Then, Yuhao, would you like to marry into the imperial family?"

"Marry into the imperial family?"

Xu Jiawei's sudden question left Huo Yuhao frozen. He instinctively turned to look at Xu Jiujiu.

"Um, shouldn't you ask Sister Jiujiu what she thinks?"

Before Xu Jiawei could answer, Xu Jiujiu raised her head. "I have no objections."

She still felt terribly embarrassed. After all, Huo Yuhao was not even ten yet. She almost felt as though two pairs of eyes had fixed on her.

(God of Destruction and the Thunder God: Time for a little shock!)

As a princess of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiujiu had been prepared for a marriage arranged by the imperial family since she was little.

Besides, after two years together, she had grown quite fond of Huo Yuhao. He was still young, but after his appearance had improved several times, he could already be called handsome and distinguished.

After Xu Jiujiu said those words, Xu Jiawei personally visited Huo Yun'er that very day and arranged an engagement for the two of them.

Xu Jiawei's unexpected visit gave Huo Yun'er, an ordinary woman, quite a fright.

But what he had to say also came as a pleasant surprise.

She already thought highly of Xu Jiujiu, who had saved her life. And with her own experience, how could she have failed to notice that Xu Jiujiu was fond of Huo Yuhao too?

So she wholeheartedly agreed to Xu Jiawei's proposal.

The two reached an agreement at once and quickly settled Huo Yuhao and Xu Jiujiu's engagement.

From then on, Huo Yuhao spent his mornings at the Starlight Auction House, helping Xu Jiujiu handle various matters and learning about Soul Tools from Cheng Shitao.

In the afternoons, he trained with the Snow Empress and learned the skills she taught him. At night, he returned to his family's little courtyard to keep his mother company.

Sometimes, he also entered his spiritual sea to learn unusual spells from Jiang Ziya.

Three months passed like that.

"Sister Jiujiu, Your Majesty, did you need me for something?"

One day, while Huo Yuhao was studying Soul Tools with Cheng Shitao, Xu Jiujiu and Xu Jiawei hurriedly summoned him to the Imperial Study.

Inside, Xu Jiawei sat behind his desk, working through a mountain of official documents.

Xu Jiujiu sat beside him, helping with the paperwork.

At one corner of the desk lay a strange bone. Its surface was crystal clear and shimmered with streaks of jade-green light. It looked like a left arm bone, and from its aura, Huo Yuhao judged it to be a Spirit Bone.

"Yuhao, you're here. How many times must I tell you to call me Big Brother?"

Corrected yet again, Huo Yuhao felt a little helpless. Months had passed, but he still wasn't used to it. Under the expectant gazes of the two before him, though, he had no choice but to correct himself.

"Big Brother, what did you need me for?"

Only then did Xu Jiawei lift his head from the sea of documents.

Huo Yuhao finally saw the dark circles beneath Xu Jiawei's eyes and the exhaustion on his face. He looked as though he hadn't rested in ages.

When Huo Yuhao approached the desk, Xu Jiawei pushed the left arm Spirit Bone toward him.

"This is an Ice Jade Scorpion Spirit Bone." "Damn it! That's the Spirit Bone of one of my people!"

Xu Jiawei's and the Ice Empress's voices reached Huo Yuhao at the same time.

"An Ice Jade Scorpion?"

"Yes. It's a Spirit Bone from one that lived between fifty and seventy thousand years. The auction house received it only a few days ago, and the Starlight Auction House's appraisers examined it. Its ability is fixed: Ice Explosion."

As Xu Jiawei explained the bone's origins, the Ice Empress urged Huo Yuhao from within his spiritual sea. "Yuhao, you must take this Spirit Bone. Its ability is one of the Ice Jade Scorpion Tribe's divine skills. It suits you perfectly."

With that, the Ice Empress fell silent again.

"Ice Explosion?"

"Yes. Ice Explosion lets you use your Soul Power to form Ultimate Ice and inject it into an opponent's body, then detonate it."

"It's that powerful?"

At Huo Yuhao's startled cry, Xu Jiawei placed the box containing the Spirit Bone directly in his hands.

"Sorry, Yuhao. Cheng Gang led the team last time, yet things still went so badly. Consider this Spirit Bone an apology for that."

"Isn't this far too valuable?"

"Oh, come on. We're family! Yuhao, you're still young. It's only right that you absorb it."

Huo Yuhao was about to refuse again when Xu Jiujiu, seated beside Xu Jiawei, spoke up.

"Yuhao, just accept it! Only a soul master with an ice attribute can absorb this Spirit Bone, and you're the only one here whose Martial Soul has that attribute."

With both of them so insistent, Huo Yuhao could hardly refuse.

He sat down cross-legged and began absorbing the Ice Jade Scorpion Spirit Bone. Having absorbed the Ice Empress's Spirit Bone before, he found the process much more familiar this time.

In less than half an hour, a surge of Soul Power imbued with Ultimate Ice burst from Huo Yuhao and swept through the Imperial Study.

To keep his documents from freezing solid, Xu Jiawei had to raise a Soul Power barrier around Huo Yuhao, who was still shedding flecks of ice.

"Sister Jiujiu, Big Brother, I did it."

Seeing Huo Yuhao's Soul Power rise again, Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu smiled with satisfaction.

Xu Jiujiu stepped closer to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, what level did absorbing that Spirit Bone bring you to?"

Huo Yuhao carefully sensed the Soul Power surging through him and said,

"Level twenty-nine. I think I'm close to thirty!"

"Really?"

The number startled Xu Jiujiu so much that she grabbed Huo Yuhao by the shoulders.

Her sudden touch made Huo Yuhao blush. Even his ears grew warm.

At such close range, he could catch the faint fragrance that lingered around her.

Noticing the look on his face, Xu Jiujiu realized she had acted rashly.

She cleared her throat and let go of his shoulders.

To break the awkward silence, Xu Jiujiu changed the subject. "Yuhao, could you show me what your Spirit Bone ability can do?"

At the mention of the ability, Xu Jiawei looked up from the documents he was handling and turned a curious gaze on Huo Yuhao.

Just then, a guard hurried to the door of the Imperial Study and said anxiously,

"Your Majesty, a guard just reported that Lady Huo may not have much time left."