Advanced Art, Emotional Power

As Huang Jinxu fully awakened Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul, he wove a wisp of his own Martial Soul Origin into the process to help him—and to test a theory. Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul changed.

His Spirit Eyes remained, but they had gained an affinity for Stellar Power.

At first, Huang Jinxu had only wanted to try it and confirm a suspicion.

The results proved him right.

The Plane Will's protection rested on Huo Yuhao. Though it did not usually show itself, at certain pivotal moments it would shield him while guiding and advancing his cultivation.

That raised another question.

If the Plane Will protected Huo Yuhao, why had Tang San manipulated him so easily?

Were Tang San's methods simply more sophisticated, or had he anticipated all of this?

At his current level of cultivation, Huang Jinxu could neither see through the matter nor make sense of it.

So he gave it no more thought.

By then, Huo Yuhao had opened his eyes.

"Is this... Teacher, is this the complete form of my Martial Soul?"

Huo Yuhao could feel the changes in himself. His eyes were brighter, his mind clearer, and he had gained another, unfamiliar power.

Only now did Huo Yuhao truly believe what his teacher had told him: his Martial Soul was no ordinary thing.

"I really might be a genius!"

Even as he murmured it, Huo Yuhao sounded unsure.

His words still lacked confidence, but something steadier had taken root in his heart.

That newfound confidence was easy to understand.

A man with no money in his pocket could never quite straighten his back. However well he put on a brave face, he was usually strong on the outside and hollow within.

Once his pockets were full, he suddenly had the confidence to face anything.

That was exactly how Huo Yuhao felt now.

Realizing that he was no failure, that he truly had talent, would take some getting used to. But deep within, a transformation had already begun.

"Yuhao, over the next few days, you'll take Mysterious Water Potion to improve your body. You'll also need to exercise according to a proper plan so you can absorb its benefits. I'll prepare medicinal meals for you too, along with Whale Rubber to replenish what you lack and strengthen your physique and meridians."

"Those are all standard measures. I also have a small test for you."

"Within the next seven days, you must make a start on the Illusory Moon Star Eyes of the Zhou Tian Star Art."

Huang Jinxu smiled at his disciple as he set the challenge.

Now that he had confirmed Huo Yuhao was protected by Plane Power, he could make use of the boy's unusual nature without hesitation to improve his own art.

"Teacher, I won't let you down."

Huo Yuhao rose at once to declare his resolve.

He knew nothing of the calculations behind it. He only knew this was the first test his teacher had given him, and he must not disappoint him.

Huang Jinxu merely smiled and nodded, saying nothing more.

Over the following days, the first thing Huo Yuhao did each morning was train according to his teacher's plan. Then he ate a breakfast worth over a thousand Gold Soul Coins. He cultivated his art in the morning, continued exercising in the afternoon, and cultivated again at night, using the starlight to practice the Illusory Moon Star Eyes.

Before he knew it, five days had passed.

In those five short days, Huo Yuhao had undergone a transformation down to his very bones.

With his current physique, absorbing a First Soul Ring four or five hundred years old would pose little problem.

It sounded easy, but in those five days alone, the resources spent on Huo Yuhao had cost well over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Huang Jinxu was hardly short of money. He was currently the only level-nine Soul Engineer in the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Although he had not revealed that fact, taking the occasional private commission to earn extra money was easy enough.

Besides, he was an Alchemist and owned various businesses.

He could not match immense powers like the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect or the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in wealth, but among Titled Douluo, his personal fortune was arguably the largest on the continent.

Once Gold Soul Coins accumulated beyond a certain point, wealth lost its value as money. It became more a measure of influence and control over certain things.

Huang Jinxu therefore felt no sting at the expense.

"Finally about to make a start, are you?"

Watching Huo Yuhao enter a brief state of Deep Meditation, Huang Jinxu smiled faintly. He moved to the boy's side, extended his mental power, and carefully sensed the path Soul Power took through his body.

Deep Meditation was not quite the right term. An epiphany might have been more accurate.

"So that's the correct route for Soul Power to follow."

"The art can even fuse Soul Power and Stellar Power directly as it circulates."

"Wait, why is Emotional Power mixed in too?"

"..."

As Huo Yuhao successfully began cultivating the art, Plane Power propelled him past its hidden dangers and pitfalls with ease. Watching him closely, Huang Jinxu gained an astonishing amount of insight.

Things he had never understood, things his research had failed to explain, gradually became clear.

With his cultivation and understanding, Huo Yuhao could not see what these improvements meant. Huang Jinxu, however, saw far more.

If nothing else, what he had learned today would let him advance his art to version 8.0 and finally break free of the Mysterious Heaven Skill at its very foundation.

Put simply, the revised art would not only be more effective; the underlying structure inherited from the Mysterious Heaven Skill would be rebuilt as well. Even if Tang San stood before him, he would see no connection between the art Huang Jinxu cultivated and the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Its effects could rival those of the complete Mysterious Heaven Skill.

That alone had repaid his entire investment several times over.

What interested Huang Jinxu even more was that Huo Yuhao had unconsciously woven his own joy into the art. It served no practical purpose for now, but it allowed a cultivator to remain filled with pure joy throughout cultivation.

Huang Jinxu recalled the grilled fish Huo Yuhao had made for him and how puzzled its taste had left him.

The ingredients had been ordinary, and the technique nothing special. Even with his Martial Soul helping him control the heat, could Huo Yuhao possibly do it better than a Titled Douluo? Yet Huang Jinxu, a Super Douluo, had found it inexplicably delicious.

Now he finally understood.

Huo Yuhao, this Child of Fortune, had quietly gained a grasp of Emotional Power without even realizing it.

Perhaps to him, grilling fish held some of the few happy memories he shared with his mother. As he cooked, he unknowingly infused the fish with those emotions, making such simple ingredients so distinctive and delicious.

Even Huang Jinxu could not do that at present.

Worthy indeed of a Child of Fortune—the future God of Emotion.

Huang Jinxu could not help but marvel.

Such a gift was truly heaven-bestowed. He could fairly be called someone born in answer to the times.