(Thank you all for your support! Here is the third update!)
Yao Lao raised his palm toward Huo Yuhao, and the ancient-looking black ring on Huo Yuhao's finger immediately flew into his hand.
Setting the Black Ring in his palm, Yao Lao flicked a finger. A pure-black medicine cauldron the size of a tabletop abruptly appeared in the air.
The black medicine cauldron was enormous, a heavy aura faintly coiling around it. Lifelike flame totems adorned its surface.
As the medicine cauldron slowly rotated, those flame totems actually absorbed the surrounding fire-attributed natural energy as though they were real, gathering it within the cauldron.
"As expected of Teacher's medicine cauldron. It really does look mighty and imposing!" Huo Yuhao exclaimed in admiration.
"Its name is Black Demon, and it ranks eighth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking. I paid a truly steep price to obtain it back then." Gazing at the Black Demon Cauldron floating in midair, Yao Lao smiled wistfully.
Putting aside his sorrow over bygone days, Yao Lao gave his hand a slight shake, and bone white flame swiftly curled around his palm. He slowly brought his hand toward a diamond-shaped flame inlet on the black cauldron, then flicked his finger. Bone white flame began burning inside.
"This Origin Pill, made with a formula I modified, isn't an Eighth-Tier Pill like the original, but it can still reach the sixth grade. Sixth-Grade Pills have a considerable failure rate, and I'm only in soul form now, with less strength than before. Naturally, I need a medicine cauldron's assistance to refine a pill like this," Yao Lao explained.
As he spoke, Yao Lao picked up the three Mystic Water Pills and the many medicinal herbs on the table, tossing them all into the Black Demon Cauldron at once.
Withdrawing his hand from the medicine cauldron, Yao Lao remained composed. His aged hands moved rapidly, as though weaving through flowers and plucking leaves.
With each flick of his fingertips, the searing bone white flame within the black cauldron obediently split into a dozen or so smaller flames, enveloping the three Mystic Water Pills and the herbs.
Watching Yao Lao's practiced movements, Huo Yuhao could not help feeling envious, hoping that one day he could work with the same effortless ease as his teacher.
He carefully observed every step Yao Lao took, while activating Spiritual Detection to study the pale flames within the Black Demon Cauldron, committing everything firmly to memory.
Inside the room, the black medicine cauldron slowly rotated in midair, while bone white flame churned and danced within it.
As the Black Demon Cauldron rotated, ripples of energy appeared from time to time in the surrounding space. Centered on the cauldron, they gradually spread in every direction, then abruptly dissipated upon touching the walls.
The Black Demon Cauldron opened again. This time, the Three-Thousand-Year Wood Attribute Soul Bone was thrown inside.
Under the pale flame's searing heat, the emerald-green soul bone gradually melted into a small pool of jade-green liquid. The impurities were also stripped from the soul beast's violent soul power within it, leaving it balanced and gentle.
Finally, the watery-blue liquid merged with the jade-green liquid, becoming a pool of cyan liquid. The pale flame enveloped it once more, and wisps of black smoke rose from it occasionally-the impurities being burned away.
Within the medicine cauldron's churning flames, the rough form of a thumb-sized, pale-cyan pill gradually took shape. At that moment, a refreshing pill fragrance suddenly wafted from the cauldron, filling the room and lingering without dispersing.
Brother Sky Dream, help me! Huo Yuhao silently called out within his Sea of Consciousness.
A powerful spiritual fluctuation spread outward, instantly sealing off the space inside the room. The fragrance released by the nearly completed pill was likewise confined within the room, unable to escape outside.
"Very good. Quick-witted, too." Yao Lao smiled and nodded.
He had intended to contain the pill fragrance with his own soul force, but Huo Yuhao had cleverly acted first, sparing him from dividing his attention and allowing him to concentrate entirely on refining the pill.
After a brief lull, Yao Lao suddenly swept his hand. Within the Black Demon Cauldron, the bone white flame surged upward, completely engulfing the cyan pill's rough form in an instant and beginning the final round of fierce burning.
The bone white flame flared for only the blink of an eye before swiftly receding. As it withdrew, a smooth, thumb-sized pill appeared inside the medicine cauldron, spinning rapidly. Its entire surface was pale cyan and gave off a faint sheen.
The instant the cyan pill appeared, a fierce ripple of energy erupted from within it.
Although the Black Demon Cauldron intercepted part of the energy ripple as it passed through, the rest still seeped out, rushing violently toward the surroundings. Judging by its momentum, the entire hotel would collapse if it were allowed to spread unchecked.
"Seal!"
Casting a casual glance at the energy ripple, Yao Lao calmly waved his hand, and an invisible barrier of soul energy appeared within the room.
No matter how fiercely the energy ripple battered it, it could not shake the barrier in the slightest. In the end, it could only helplessly dissipate.
Holding the pale-cyan pill, Yao Lao turned it over to inspect it, nodded slightly, and tossed it straight to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly caught the Origin Pill. This was his first time seeing a truly finished pill, and a Sixth-Grade Pill at that, so he could not help feeling curious.
He carefully examined the pale-cyan pill in his hand. Its surface was perfectly rounded and lustrous, and an exceedingly clear pattern resembling a plant was etched upon it.
"Teacher, what is this pattern?" Huo Yuhao promptly asked.
"This is what I told you about-the manifestation of the heavenly laws within a soul bone," Yao Lao said with a smile. "Whether a dou technique or a soul skill, its essence is power released by using one's cultivation to connect with the heavenly laws. Incorporating those heavenly laws into a pill, meanwhile, can bring you into closer harmony with that particular law."
"This wood attribute soul bone must have come from a plant-type soul beast. Taking this Origin Pill can enhance your life force and recovery abilities, further strengthening your constitution. All right, take it now. Your teacher will stand guard for you."
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Shrek Academy, Inner Academy.
"Teacher, although Huo Yuhao is only a first-year student, his martial soul has extremely powerful control over flames. It can even devour them."
Inside the Martial Soul Department Dean's Office, Ma Xiaotao stood before her teacher, Yan Shaozhe, as she spoke.
"You mean Huo Yuhao can devour your phoenix evil fire? And after devouring it, he didn't suffer any backlash from the evil fire?" Yan Shaozhe asked in surprise.
"That's right. Although I don't know why, his martial soul has an extremely strong suppressive effect on fire-attributed soul masters. I asked around. Earlier, Huo Yuhao defeated a Soul Grandmaster-level classmate with his level-eleven strength, and he did it by devouring the flames on that student's body," Ma Xiaotao said, nodding.
Ma Xiaotao was no fool. She did not disclose her deal with Huo Yuhao or any of his other secrets.
Her reason for telling Yan Shaozhe about the strength of Huo Yuhao's martial soul was to help Huo Yuhao obtain some support from the academy. If his cultivation grew powerful enough, perhaps he could rid her of the trouble caused by her evil fire once and for all.
"Interesting. Quite interesting..." Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly and picked up a letter from his desk.
It was a list submitted earlier by the Soul Tool Department, requesting that certain students who were not core disciples of the Martial Soul Department be transferred to the Soul Tool Department to study.
In the most inconspicuous corner of that list, Huo Yuhao's name was plainly written, along with Freshman Class Nine.
"Qian Duoduo, you slippery old fox. You actually want to steal a chicken from my coop? Dream on!" Yan Shaozhe said with a chuckle.
His brushwork swept like a soaring dragon and dancing phoenix as Yan Shaozhe swiftly wrote his decision at the bottom of the letter.
"Reviewed. Student transfers will take place after the Freshman Assessment concludes three months from now."
Before you continue