Fortune Still Favored Him, the First Soul Ring

That was the power of the Star of Solitude.

It did not hurt you, disgust you, or even strike at you directly. It simply found reasonable ways to rob you of opportunities and bring you bad luck.

In the original timeline, nothing had gone wrong during Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice. But after Huo Yuhao became Huang Jinxu's disciple and their fates became intertwined, things changed.

Xiong Jun, who had been deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, unexpectedly appeared here and detected Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual fluctuations.

Huang Jinxu was plainly nearby, yet Xiong Jun, who despised human Soul Masters more than anything, seemed not to notice him. He charged straight in the direction Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had fled.

And so Huo Yuhao lost his million-year First Soul Ring.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao was still utterly bewildered.

What just happened?

A voice had suddenly sounded in his mind, claiming to be a million-year Soul Beast. Then, before it could finish speaking, it had abruptly changed its tune and told him to return to the Star Dou Great Forest when he was ready to obtain his Second Soul Ring.

What on earth was that about?

"Could this be the test Teacher prepared for me?"

Huang Jinxu's stern yet gentle face immediately surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind.

That's it!

It has to be!

This must be Teacher's test for me.

But what exactly is he testing?

Perhaps he was testing Huo Yuhao's response to an unexpected situation, or perhaps his understanding of himself.

He was only a level-ten Soul Scholar. A million-year Soul Beast? A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Even a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was far beyond his reach right now.

"Huo Yuhao, get your head straight. Work hard at your cultivation and climb one step at a time. Don't chase impossible dreams."

"Where in this world would you find a million-year Soul Beast?"

Huo Yuhao silently admonished himself. He was certain now: all of this was a test from his teacher.

He continued onward, following his teacher's guidance as he searched for the Soul Beast he needed.

Whether Huo Yuhao's fortune still favored him or Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's and Xiong Jun's auras had frightened everything nearby, he had not gone far when he spotted an unconscious Soul Beast.

"Is this the Soul Beast Teacher prepared for me?"

The creature looked exceedingly strange, but Huo Yuhao did not hesitate. He stepped forward and delivered the finishing blow. A yellow Soul Ring appeared immediately afterward.

He trusted his teacher completely, so he did not stop to consider whether he could absorb the Soul Ring. Nothing about it struck him as wrong.

He activated his Martial Soul, drew the Hundred-Year Soul Ring to himself, and began absorbing it.

Watching from nearby, Huang Jinxu could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

The Child of Fortune indeed lived up to his name.

Even restrained by the ill-omened star, even with the Plane Power temporarily receded, Huo Yuhao still possessed heaven-defying luck.

It was a Silver English Beast more than six hundred years old.

And it had been delivered right before Huo Yuhao, as plain as day.

Huang Jinxu had once searched for this kind of Soul Beast to use as a Soul Ring, but he had never found one.

After his cultivation rose, he had happened upon one by sheer luck, but its age was completely unsuited to his level.

Yet Huo Yuhao had found an unconscious Silver English Beast on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, and its age suited him remarkably well.

That was the Child of Fortune. Though certain circumstances had cost him his greatest opportunity, his luck was still at work, helping him obtain another.

More importantly, the Soul Beast Huang Jinxu had prepared for him was nearby. Huo Yuhao would have found it if he had walked another dozen or so meters.

That was rather too much of a coincidence.

Still, this test had yielded something. At the very least, Huang Jinxu could be sure that Tang San was not watching Huo Yuhao every moment at this stage.

Most of Huo Yuhao's opportunities were gifts from the Plane Will.

As for Tang San, he had merely left measures in place at certain turning points.

That made sense. The Divine Realm and the Douluo Plane were separated not only by a vast distance but also by different flows of time. Even if Tang San watched constantly, he could not make changes the moment they were needed.

Unless a contingency he had planted earlier took effect, or an incarnation or projection of his truly descended, there was only so much Tang San could do.

Of course, Tang San's limited options did not mean he could not simply flip the table.

Some matters therefore called for restraint.

"Why does this feel like the grand course of the primordial world can't be changed, but the small things can?"

At that thought, Huang Jinxu smiled despite himself.

None of this really had anything to do with him.

He had only taken Huo Yuhao as his disciple and treated him well. He had done nothing to harm anyone.

What was more, he intended to treat Wang Dong well too, along with other favored prodigies. He would support them and protect them on their paths.

If misfortune befell them, what did that have to do with him?

That was the Star of Solitude's doing. What did it have to do with Huang Jinxu?

Besides, Huang Jinxu truly doubted Tang San could detect shifts of fortune on such a small scale.

While Huang Jinxu pondered, Huo Yuhao reached the most dangerous and crucial moment of absorbing the Soul Ring.

With his former physique, even absorbing a Hundred-Year Soul Ring would have been a struggle, let alone a six-hundred-year First Soul Ring. But over the past seven days, he had used three bottles of Mysterious Water Potion, consumed two pieces of thousand-year Whale Rubber, and trained under a scientific regimen. His body was now well prepared to absorb it.

Even so, a six-hundred-year First Soul Ring still posed a considerable risk to Huo Yuhao.

Huang Jinxu was not worried. For anyone else, this might end with their body bursting apart. For Huo Yuhao, things were entirely different.

Just as Huang Jinxu had expected, when Huo Yuhao faced danger, the Zhou Tian Star Art began circulating rapidly. As he absorbed the Soul Ring and practiced the art, he entered a brief state of sudden enlightenment, deepening his command of it.

He could wield it almost as naturally as his own arm and fingers.

Huang Jinxu felt genuinely aggrieved. Ridiculous. It was utterly ridiculous.

It had taken him over a year to reach that point. How long had Huo Yuhao taken?

It was not that Huo Yuhao's comprehension surpassed his. Quite the opposite. Having lived two lives and possessing extraordinary spiritual power, Huang Jinxu far outstripped Huo Yuhao in comprehension. Otherwise, he could never have reached his current cultivation at this age while creating so many things, becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster, and attaining the rank of level-nine Soul Engineer.

Huang Jinxu had achieved it through comprehension alone. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, was being propelled forward by the Plane Will.

With that sudden enlightenment, Huo Yuhao's cultivation art circulated several times faster than usual. He successfully absorbed his First Soul Ring.

"Well done. Return to the academy and enroll on your own. With your current cultivation, you'll have no trouble getting in through the usual process."

"As for a recommendation letter, just give them my name."

Huang Jinxu did not approach Huo Yuhao. After leaving him with those words, he turned his gaze toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest. An extraordinarily powerful old acquaintance had arrived there.

The Beast God, Di Tian!