"However, I have no soul bone to give you, but I can grant you another martial soul. The martial soul I bestow upon you is ice, though for now, it is ice without a soul."
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm told Huo Yuhao about his Ultimate Ice second martial soul.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao's title had been Spirit Ice, placing his Spiritual Eyes ahead of his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.
In reality, however, while he studied at Shrek, his Ultimate Ice martial soul, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, had been far more sought after than his Spiritual Eyes.
The Spiritual Eyes' ability to support combat was beyond question, but Shrek Academy's research into soul tools lagged far behind that of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, so it could not develop the Spiritual Eyes' advantages in that field.
And because it did not know the secret method for triggering a body martial soul's second awakening, Shrek Academy had initially paid little attention to Huo Yuhao, even though his eyes were a body martial soul of the highest order.
At the very least, the Martial Soul Department had not wanted to accept Huo Yuhao as a core disciple at first. Only after his Ultimate Ice martial soul awakened had it come rushing shamelessly to the Soul Tool Department to poach him.
With only his Spiritual Eyes martial soul, Huo Yuhao had merely been Qian Duoduo's precious treasure. Only Huo Yuhao with twin martial souls had been someone all of Shrek would spare no effort to nurture.
"Ice without a soul? What's that?" Huo Yuhao asked, feigning bewilderment.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explained, "It means the martial soul I've given you currently has only an attribute, not a form. Only when you absorb your first ice-attribute soul ring will this martial soul take shape. Whatever soul beast you absorb that ring from will become your second martial soul."
(So please stop suggesting Bone Spirit Cold Flame for the second martial soul! There are plans for this later!)
"In other words, your second martial soul will definitely be a beast martial soul. There's no need to rush; I've already planned it out for you. But your cultivation isn't high enough yet. Once you're stronger, I'll take you to acquire your first ice-attribute soul ring."
"Now you understand why I said I don't have enough power to strengthen your soul rings, right? So when choosing soul rings in the future, you must tread with the utmost care and listen to my advice."
"No problem. I'm sure Brother Sky Dream wouldn't put me in any danger, right?" Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile.
"Uh..." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately choked on his words.
When you put it that way, you're really making my conscience ache!
"All right, it's time for you to go out. Things are still dangerous outside. We can't delay too long."
Huo Yuhao felt everything before his eyes suddenly blur. It was as though he had been swept into an enormous whirlpool, and in an instant, he plunged into darkness.
As his consciousness regained control of his body, Huo Yuhao rolled over and sat straight up. Yet when he saw his surroundings, he could not help freezing in surprise.
More than a dozen soul beasts of different species had all been frozen into ice sculptures a short distance away, just like the Wind Baboon earlier. At the center of the frozen area lay the Black Ring resting on the bluestone.
"Whoa, Yuhao, what's going on?" Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was utterly stunned as well. "I remember that none of the energy I released leaked out. Why did this happen?"
A smile curved Huo Yuhao's lips. He shook his head and said, "Brother Sky Dream, this has nothing to do with your power. There's another reason."
Walking slowly up to the bluestone, Huo Yuhao once again bowed respectfully to the ancient-looking Black Ring.
"Senior, would you show yourself?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked curiously from within the Sea of Consciousness, "Yuhao, who are you talking to? Why can't I see anything?"
Just then, however, the Black Ring atop the bluestone abruptly floated into the air. Above it hovered the translucent figure of an old man.
The old man wore white robes with billowing sleeves. His beard and hair were both white, and he looked exceptionally kindly. His deep eyes held a wisdom that even the weight of age could not conceal, as though he had weathered countless years of hardship and desolation.
"Heh heh, little fellow, what keen soul perception you have. Being able to discover my presence proves that your talent is truly exceptional," the old man said with a chuckle.
"It wasn't that I sensed your presence, Senior. Earlier, I was within the range of the cold, yet only the soul beasts around me were frozen. That means the ring has a consciousness of its own," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.
"So that's it." The old man nodded. "I've watched everything you've experienced over these years. Without enduring enough hardship and suffering, you would never have developed such a quick mind. Very good."
"Now let me ask you something, little fellow. Do you want to become strong? Do you want to earn others' reverence?"
"I do," Huo Yuhao said with a nod. "But I believe I should be able to gain strength and status through my own efforts as well."
A deal had to be negotiated. Although the old man's identity was plain to Huo Yuhao, he could not appear too eager, or the old man would certainly think less of him.
"Ha ha, little fellow, your talent is certainly excellent, but you must understand that you're already eleven this year, yet your soul power is only at rank eleven." The old man's wrinkle-covered face bloomed into a smile like a chrysanthemum.
"Though I don't yet know much about your world's system of power, I do know that you're already far behind your peers. Catching up to the finest among them and surpassing them-how could that be easy?"
"You're right," Huo Yuhao said, nodding again. "Then do you have a way to help me improve my strength?"
The old man descended to the ground and looked Huo Yuhao over several times. A sly grin, as though a scheme had succeeded, flashed across his face before vanishing.
"Do you want to become an alchemist?"
"An alchemist? What's that?" Huo Yuhao asked, pretending not to understand.
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's attention was also immediately caught by the old man's words.
"Alchemists, as the name suggests, can refine all sorts of miraculous pills that improve one's strength. In the world I come from, every alchemist is someone the various factions will spare no expense or effort to recruit. Their standing is extraordinarily prestigious."
"But those capable of becoming alchemists are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. First, one's own attribute must be fire. Second, within that fire constitution, there must also be a trace of wood energy to catalyze the refinement of medicine."
"You must understand that a soul can only ever possess one attribute. No other attribute can be mixed into it. Thus, a body possessing two attributes of differing strengths can only arise through an occasional mutation, which is why so few people can become alchemists."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao hurriedly interrupted him. "Senior, does that mean my soul has a fire constitution with a trace of wood energy mixed in?"
"Heh heh, your situation is more complicated." The old man gave Huo Yuhao a meaningful look. "Originally, as far as I could sense, your soul was water-attributed. But now your soul also possesses the attributes of fire and wood. A fire constitution with a trace of wood energy mixed in is perfectly suited to becoming an alchemist."
Huo Yuhao's heart stirred. If his guess was correct, these newly acquired fire and wood attributes must have resulted from his soul merging with that of the original Huo Yuhao.
"However, possessing a soul with fire and wood attributes alone still isn't enough to become a true alchemist. There is another indispensable requirement: the soul's perceptive ability!"
"Because of that so-called Spiritual Eyes martial soul of yours, your soul perception is exceptionally powerful. And your earlier fusion with that big, fleshy worm strengthened it enormously. You are precisely the kind of prodigy suited to the path of alchemy."
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered. He thought to himself that his already heaven-defying cheat had somehow received another tremendous boost.
If he brought the Dou Qi Continent's alchemy system into this world and refined pills to advance his cultivation all along the way, his progress would surely be even more terrifying than that of Huo Yuhao in the original story.
"Alchemists have a clearly defined ranking system, divided from lowest to highest into the first through ninth tiers. Among them... hey, little fellow, are you going to learn or not?" Shaking his head, the old man suddenly asked with some impatience.
"Yes, yes!" Huo Yuhao hesitated no longer, nodding like a chick pecking at grain.
"Heh heh, willing, are you? Then pay your respects to your master." The old man sat cross-legged atop the bluestone and grinned slyly.
What the old man had not expected, however, was that this time the young boy before him did not bargain any further. Instead, he dropped straight to his knees and earnestly performed the full ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
In his previous life, he had greatly admired the old man before him and had even imagined what it would be like to become his disciple.
Now that his dream had unexpectedly come true, Huo Yuhao naturally would not let this opportunity slip away.
The old man reached out to help him up, then withdrew his hand and calmly accepted Huo Yuhao's disciple ceremony.
Once Huo Yuhao had completed every part of the ceremony with meticulous care, the old man's voice grew warmer. "My name is Yao Lao. As I said earlier, I do not belong to this continent. In our world, we have neither your martial souls nor your soul power. Instead, we possess all sorts of wondrous cultivation methods and dou techniques."
"As for everything else, I won't tell you just yet, lest it distract you. But since you've accepted me as your master, I will hold nothing back in teaching you all I know."
"To become an alchemist, you must cultivate at least one fire-attribute cultivation method. In our world, cultivation methods are divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow."
"A fire-attribute cultivation method? Heh heh, Teacher, since I'm your disciple, why don't you give me a Heaven Tier fire-attribute method to cultivate?" Deliberately pretending ignorance, Huo Yuhao held out his hand and smilingly asked Yao Lao for one.
"You little brat! Do you think Heaven Tier cultivation methods are cabbages growing in a field? You've certainly got the nerve to ask!" Yao Lao's face twitched as he scolded him, caught between laughter and tears. "I don't have a single Heaven Tier cultivation method. But I do have one that's even stranger than a Heaven Tier method. Do you want to learn it?"
"Even stranger than a Heaven Tier cultivation method? What tier is it?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"The cultivation method is called the Flame Mantra. Yellow Tier Low Grade," Yao Lao said calmly.
"No problem! I want to learn it!" Huo Yuhao instantly raised his hand high, his face brimming with delight.
Yao Lao: ???
What's there to be so happy about in cultivating a Yellow Tier Low Grade method? Have I taken a fool as my disciple?
Before you continue