Sacrifice

"I never thought you would actually stir the power of those two great ones."

As the turmoil subsided, Youyou's voice rang out again.

She had truly been frightened just now, terrified that this treasured land would be destroyed. Fortunately, everything had ended safely, and the power of ice and fire had not vanished either. They could still go on living happily here.

"Those two great ones are the very foundation that shaped this place. Thank goodness nothing happened, or who knows whether we could have survived in the future."

Youyou sighed, then quickly returned to her carefree state.

"I don't know what happened either, haha."

Tang Wulin scratched his head a little guiltily, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.

Naturally, he knew those two Dragon Souls had probably caused such a commotion because of his Golden Dragon King Bloodline. But he could not casually reveal something like that, or this group of immortal herbs would surely come after him with their lives on the line.

Tang Wulin also gave the others a brief account of his gains, drawing one startled cry after another. After all, his gains this time were simply enormous-even his Martial Soul had evolved.

"Can your Martial Soul still be called a Soft Bone Rabbit, then?"

Wang Dong asked curiously. Although Tang Wulin's Martial Soul was still fundamentally a Soft Bone Rabbit, it had been transformed by Dragon Clan bloodlines several times and now possessed the two ultimate attributes of ice and fire. Apart from still being somewhat rabbit-like, soft bones were no longer its defining feature.

"Let's call it the Iceflame Charm Rabbit."

After some thought, Tang Wulin settled on that name. He had heard that a senior girl at the academy also had a Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul.

If he kept using that name, people who saw his Martial Soul might instead say the name did not fit, causing trouble for both of them.

"Nice name."

Wang Dong gave Tang Wulin a thumbs-up, then turned to Huo Yuhao.

"Third Brother, when are you going to do that sacrifice? I've never seen a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast sacrifice itself before."

"Huh?"

"I'm ready whenever. Let's see what the octagonal mysterious ice grass wants."

Huo Yuhao came back to his senses after Tang Wulin's account. At the mention of the sacrifice, color began rising in his face.

"I'm ready whenever, Yuhao. Which part of the body would you like your Soul Bone for?"

The octagonal mysterious ice grass's icy voice rang out, but everyone could hear the eagerness in it.

Tang Wulin's foundations today were far deeper than Tang San's had been ten thousand years ago. If it sacrificed itself to Huo Yuhao as well, his foundations would far surpass those of the other Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago. It refused to believe Huo Yuhao could fail to become a god!

"A right arm bone."

After discussing it with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuhao chose the right arm after all.

According to him, the torso bone belonged to Ice Empress, and Huo Yuhao's future Martial Soul would definitely be the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, which also possessed ultimate ice.

The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion's greatest strength lay in her pair of pincers, and Huo Yuhao's dominant hand was his right. With the addition of a right arm bone from the octagonal mysterious ice grass, he would certainly be able to wield the power of ultimate ice even better.

"Good. Then I'll begin the sacrifice."

Without hesitation, the octagonal mysterious ice grass erupted with dazzling red light, enveloping everything around it.

Niu Tian watched the scene in a slight daze. Wang Dong stood motionless, staring in astonishment. Tang Wulin felt happy for Huo Yuhao, while Xiao Xiao watched him with envy. That was a legendary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast!

The plant Soul Beasts around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well began glowing faintly, as though bidding the octagonal mysterious ice grass farewell.

The red light grew brighter and brighter, but the octagonal mysterious ice grass's body grew increasingly pale until it turned an ashen white. Only a speck of ice crystal remained embedded in the very center of its flower.

All the red light expanded into an enormous ring, then slowly contracted around Huo Yuhao.

To ensure Huo Yuhao could bear its Soul Ring without difficulty, the octagonal mysterious ice grass completely burned away its hundred thousand years of cultivation. It also sacrificed its soul to him, all so that he could revive it more easily in the future.

The surging red ring suddenly contracted. In an instant, a series of explosive cracks rang out from Huo Yuhao's body. A white Soul Ring appeared around him, while the red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring fully solidified around his body.

At the same time, a beam of white light suddenly shone onto his right arm, and the phantom of a white arm bone flashed past.

Tang Wulin gazed at the two Soul Rings, one white and one red, his expression solemn. A trace of purple surfaced in his eyes. He distinctly saw dazzling gold concealed within the white Soul Ring, along with an incomparable power.

That wasn't an ordinary ten-year Soul Ring.

As Tang Wulin thought this, it occurred to him that he had yet to properly learn about Huo Yuhao's life before he came to Shrek Academy.

Wang Dong offered her blessings. She knew all too well how hard Huo Yuhao's life had been and how much effort he had put in. With this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, his future destiny had been completely transformed.

Xiao Xiao covered her mouth too, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing Huo Yuhao. White and red formed the starkest possible contrast. She was already looking forward to everyone's expressions when they saw the lowest-ranked ten-year Soul Ring and the highest-ranked Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring on him.

"I'll be waiting for you to revive me."

Leaving only those final words, the octagonal mysterious ice grass's ashen-white body crumbled completely. Youyou took control of the ice-crystal seed at the center of its flower, found a suitable spot, and planted it directly, imagining what sort of personality the next octagonal mysterious ice grass would have.

"I will."

Huo Yuhao nodded firmly. He valued affection and loyalty deeply. Since the octagonal mysterious ice grass was willing to gamble on him, and Brother Tian Meng had done the same, he would never betray their expectations.

"Wait, where is this?"

The octagonal mysterious ice grass gazed at the boundless ocean. It still looked like its original body, except that facial features had appeared on it, clearly revealing its emotions: fear and confusion.

"This is Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness. You could say you made the right bet, kid. I am the legendary million-year Soul Beast..."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wriggled his body and began spinning tales for the newly arrived Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Seeing the admiration emerging on its face, he secretly basked in satisfaction. The effort he had spent moving the octagonal mysterious ice grass's soul here from the Soul Bone had not been wasted.

Listening to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's boasting in his Sea of Consciousness, along with the octagonal mysterious ice grass's occasional responses, Huo Yuhao finally smiled.

Everyone was here. How wonderful.

"Second Brother, hurry and show me what a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring can do!"

Wang Dong came over. Her family might have God-Given Soul Rings, but with those, she still had to withstand the pressure herself, didn't she? They were nothing like Huo Yuhao's case, where he had obtained a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring with such ease.

(Similar to Xiao Wu's sacrifice in the original story, I suppose-the painless kind of level-up.)

"Sure."

Huo Yuhao broke into a smile. He had taken another huge step toward avenging his mother.

"Let me see what Soul Skills there are."