"Huff, huff..."
Huo Yuhao braced himself against a nearby tree, gasping for breath. His earlier escape had nearly exhausted his strength, and now his head was spinning so badly that he almost fainted.
Yet a happy smile curled at the corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth. With the White Tiger Dagger gone, he had thought he had transmigrated into a parallel timeline. Whether the million-year soul beast Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Holy Necromancer Electrolux-those two heaven-defying cheats-still existed in this timeline had been anyone's guess.
Speaking of cheats, Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered the plain black ring. Having recovered a little strength, he forced himself to walk slowly over to it. After observing it for a while and finding no danger, he slipped it back onto his finger.
At that same moment, a cold gleam suddenly flashed in his hand.
The sharp little knife he had previously used to gut the fish he caught swept out, plunging straight into the Wind Baboon's eye with pinpoint precision along the eye socket.
He twisted the blade, and its sharp edge instantly churned the Wind Baboon's brain into mush. Thus, a beast god of its generation departed this mortal coil.
At that very moment, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled without warning. Cracks began appearing in the earth two meters ahead, gradually widening into fissures, with faint golden-white light glimmering within them.
Wisps of icy cold seeped out of the fissures, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. Already drenched in sweat from running, Huo Yuhao could not help shivering.
The fissures spread wider and wider until, finally, a round head poked out. It looked plump and fleshy, measuring over a meter across, yet it was lustrous white as jade and crystal clear.
Then the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wriggled his entire body out of the fissure. He measured seven meters long.
Though he had emerged from an underground burrow, not a speck of dirt clung to him. A soft glow flowed beneath his jade-white skin, and a pair of little, glittering golden eyes sat on his head.
Most peculiar of all, starting half a meter behind his head, golden bands encircled his body at regular intervals. From head to tail, there were ten in total.
"Wow, such a huge body, such powerful cold! This must be a... hundred-year soul beast!" Huo Yuhao cried out in feigned surprise.
"Uh, hello..."
Brother Sky Dream had already rehearsed his speech in his mind, ready to deliver an introduction that was commanding yet elegant. But Huo Yuhao's remark about a "hundred-year soul beast" left him speechless before he could get started.
Guys, who could possibly understand? With such a dazzling entrance and such powerful energy fluctuations, someone actually mistook me for a mere hundred-year soul beast! An ignorant country bumpkin like this really puts me... really suits my tastes!
An innocent, inexperienced kid like this is exactly what the wise and mighty Brother Sky Dream is looking for!
After all, to carry out my god-making plan, I'd prefer a host who's easier to control. That would save a lot of trouble.
At that thought, Brother Sky Dream coughed with a throat he did not possess, cleared it, and told Huo Yuhao, "Let me introduce myself first. I am the embodiment of heroism and chivalry, the king of soul beast kings who combines wisdom and beauty, an unrivaled powerhouse who has cultivated for a million years and set the record for the longest lifespan on the Douluo Continent-the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Mm, you can call me Brother Sky Dream!"
"A million-year soul beast?!" Huo Yuhao said in feigned astonishment. "Wow, that's sooo cool!"
"Well? Have my mighty strength and handsome appearance captivated you?" Brother Sky Dream said smugly. "Rejoice, young lad! I'm going to become your soul ring, the first-ever Wisdom Soul Ring in the history of the Douluo Continent."
"A Wisdom Soul Ring? What's that?" Huo Yuhao rubbed his chin a couple of times and asked curiously. "By the way, Brother Sky Dream, I heard there's a Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest, and drinking its water can extend your life. Since you're so powerful and want to become my soul ring, could you take me there for a drink?"
Brother Sky Dream: ??? I just escaped from prison, and you're trying to persuade me to turn myself in?
"I do need to explain, but I'm running out of time. Young lad, I don't know your name yet, but bear with me for a moment. I'm coming in."
Huo Yuhao saw white, icy mist rise from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body. Clearly, he intended to freeze Huo Yuhao solid and forcefully complete their fusion.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly waved his hands and said quickly, "Brother Sky Dream, I know you're in a hurry, but don't hurry just yet. Hear me out first."
"What else do you have to say? I really don't have much time left." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stopped releasing his icy mist, sounding somewhat displeased and puzzled.
"Phew!" Huo Yuhao immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Still, the fact that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had stopped forcing their fusion merely because Huo Yuhao had spoken up showed that, when it came to human society, he truly was a blank sheet of paper.
If he had not met a host as inexperienced and immature as the original Huo Yuhao, Brother Sky Dream would have suffered terribly.
"Here's the thing, Brother Sky Dream. Judging by your appearance, you can burrow through the earth, right?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded his large head.
"Well, after we finish fusing, we'll probably enter human society. And in human society, there's something called soul coins. You know about those, right?" Huo Yuhao asked tentatively.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm actually rolled his glittering golden eyes in a very human manner and said indignantly, "Young lad, I'm a soul beast, not an idiot! I do know about the currency you humans use for trading!"
"But I'm short on those right now, and we'll really need them for our future cultivation," Huo Yuhao said with a nod.
"So, since you're a powerful spiritual-type soul beast and have spent many years in the Star Dou Great Forest, have you ever come across powerful people who died fighting soul beasts and left behind corpses, bundles, Storage Soul Tools, or anything like that we could make some money from?"
Exactly, blind student-you've spotted the key point!
Rather than opening a food stall in Shrek City to earn money, why not find a few old fellows and make them drop some gold coins?
"Hmm? That makes a lot of sense." Brother Sky Dream nodded thoughtfully.
After a brief moment of consideration, Brother Sky Dream's eyes suddenly lit up. "I remember! A while ago, a sect called the Body Sect hunted hundred-thousand-year soul beasts recklessly in the Star Dou Great Forest. They enraged Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts, who unleashed a beast tide. I remember a human with a decent cultivation level getting torn to pieces by a hundred-thousand-year Nether Tiger somewhere not too far from here."
"That's wonderful! Sorry for the trouble, but could you take me there so we can fuse?" Huo Yuhao was overjoyed as well.
Just as I thought, my beginner's gift pack is about to arrive!
"Then let's go. I'm running out of time, so we need to get there quickly," Brother Sky Dream urged Huo Yuhao anxiously. "However, that area is frequented by relatively powerful hundred-year soul beasts, and even thousand-year soul beasts. During our fusion, I'll have to seal my own power, so I might not be able to keep you safe. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Safe?" Huo Yuhao chuckled softly and glanced at the plain black ring on his hand. "Don't worry. We'll be safe."