"Mmm..."
On the wooden bed, Ma Xiaotao stirred and murmured, "So cold..."
She opened her eyes. They were pale pink now, the blood-red color having faded completely.
A trace of confusion lingered in Ma Xiaotao's eyes as she muttered to herself, "Strange. Why is it so cold?"
"Xiaotao, you nearly made a terrible mistake this time! I don't know whether it was a fortunate coincidence, but an external ice-attribute power entered your body and sealed the evil fire within you. Do you remember encountering anything after you rushed out of Sea God Lake?" an elderly man in white asked from beside her bed.
"I don't remember. All I remember is red filling my vision, and then a bone-piercing chill freezing me solid. After that, I was back here." Ma Xiaotao shook her head. "Teacher, what kind of power could actually suppress my phoenix evil fire?"
The elderly man in white pondered for a moment before saying, "It was an ice attribute of extraordinary purity, far surpassing your phoenix evil fire. You nearly killed an Outer Academy student this time. I initially thought his guardian had frozen you, but he's merely an orphan with ordinary talent and no backing whatsoever. He only gained admission because he happened to pick up a Shrek Grace Token."
"Teacher, what is that Outer Academy student's name?" Ma Xiaotao asked, a dazzling light blossoming in her eyes.
"The class monitor of Freshman Class Nine, Huo Yuhao."
Compared with yesterday's lessons, today's classes were far too easy for the students of Freshman Class Nine. Both morning and afternoon were devoted to theory: martial soul classification in the morning, and identifying soul beasts' ages in the afternoon.
Thanks to their family backgrounds, many students attached little importance to either subject. Huo Yuhao was different, however. He listened attentively and took plenty of notes.
Compared with the other students, he lacked not only cultivation but knowledge as well. Whenever he had free time, he immersed himself in Shrek Academy's library, building a systematic understanding of this continent.
As someone who had read the original work, his understanding of the Douluo Continent's history, culture, and knowledge did surpass that of this era. Yet what that great figure had described was only the tip of this world's iceberg.
Huo Yuhao needed vast amounts of knowledge to flesh out the framework already in his memories. It was crucial to his future development.
That evening, Huo Yuhao wheeled his handcart out to set up his stall as usual, and business was even brisker than yesterday.
After all, his barbecue had already conquered the taste buds of a large number of students the previous day, and his reputation had spread throughout Shrek Academy.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao had anticipated this and asked Lao Mo to stock fifty percent more barbecue ingredients, preventing demand from outstripping supply.
Today's Barbecue King was a ten-year soul beast, a Black-Patterned Pig. These soul beasts were quite numerous and generally moved in herds. However, they were less than half the size of pigs raised by humans, making them ideal for roast suckling pig.
Notably, Xu Sanshi won the bidding for this roast suckling pig with three thousand Gold Soul Coins. He also voluntarily handed Huo Yuhao the remaining two Mystic Water Pills, along with ten thousand Gold Soul Coins for the lyrics to "Mercury."
Rather than eating the roast suckling pig alone, he invited Bei Bei and Tang Ya to share it.
After all, the two had put in plenty of good words for Xu Sanshi during yesterday's incident, so he obediently offered to treat them as thanks.
Of course, after they finished eating, Xu Sanshi pulled Bei Bei aside and questioned him thoroughly about his supposed secrets to picking up girls. Only then did he leave, thoroughly satisfied.
At last, all the work at the barbecue stall was done. After packing everything away, Huo Yuhao returned to the hotel. Once he shut the door, Yao Lao emerged from the ring.
"Yuhao, you're about to make quite a splash this time," Yao Lao said with a chuckle. "But you've tempered yourself for so long that all your accumulated efforts are ready to bear fruit. There won't be any problems with an unstable cultivation stage, so you can raise your cultivation without worry."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then handed Yao Lao the Soul Ascension Pill he had obtained during the day.
"Teacher, this Soul Ascension Pill seems to have been made from the juice of a plant with extremely powerful vitality. Take a look."
Then Huo Yuhao took a Mystic Water Pill from his Storage Ring and placed it in his palm.
The Mystic Water Pill was deep blue and about the size of a cherry, with numerous white markings of varying shades across its surface. Once poured out of its porcelain bottle, it was surrounded by a faint layer of mist. Its fresh fragrance seeped into the heart and lungs.
The Soul Ascension Pill in Yao Lao's hand, meanwhile, was as large as a walnut, with a translucent emerald-green shell resembling gelatin. A faint halo seemed to flow within the shell, crystalline and brimming with vitality.
Yao Lao examined the Soul Ascension Pill he had accepted, then shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "If that so-called Mystic Water Pill can only be called a medicinal pellet, this Soul Ascension Pill doesn't even qualify as that. They've clearly just crudely refined some precious wood-attribute medicinal herb and poured it into a gelatinous shell to give it shape. Look-if you examine it carefully against the light, you can even see bits of plant residue inside."
"Give me that Mystic Water Pill as well. I'll purify and refine both medicines, then add some of the remaining herbs and soul beast blood essence from before. That should enhance some of their medicinal potency."
Huo Yuhao nodded and handed the Mystic Water Pill to Yao Lao as well. Yao Lao then took several herbs previously gathered in the Star Dou Great Forest from the Black Ring, along with the soul beast blood essence left over from refining the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.
A moment later, Yao Lao exhaled softly, and a somewhat pale flame suddenly surged up from his left palm.
The moment the flame appeared, the temperature in the room dropped considerably.
With Yao Lao's expression remaining calm, the white flame in his hand flickered and swallowed the Mystic Water Pill. In just two breaths, the pill had been refined into a small globule of blue liquid.
Next, Yao Lao crushed the Soul Ascension Pill's shell, allowing the green liquid inside to flow out and mingle with the blue liquid from the Mystic Water Pill.
The blue and green liquids merged, slowly becoming a crystalline teal globule under the refining heat of the white flame in Yao Lao's palm.
The teal liquid, resembling the finest jadeite, writhed continuously within the flame as impurities escaped from it in wisps of black smoke.
As the white flame continued its calcination, the globule of teal liquid grew smaller and smaller. A short while later, it was only about the size of a thumb.
Next, Yao Lao tossed several medicinal herbs and two bottles of soul beast blood essence into the white flame. After calcining them, he fused them into the teal liquid.
These steps lasted a full hour or so, yet Yao Lao still looked energetic, without the slightest hint of fatigue.
At last, the white flame in Yao Lao's palm gradually receded until it vanished completely. Suspended above his palm was a crystalline teal droplet that gave off an unusual fragrance.
"Done. Today, I'll use the most extreme methods to temper every muscle and meridian throughout your body. Afterward, you'll soak in the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid and take this drop of medicinal liquid. That will give you the best results."
Huo Yuhao's expression turned bitter. Naturally, he knew what Yao Lao meant by extreme tempering.
It looked like he was in for a world of suffering tonight.
Before you continue