Refinement

Huo Yuhao was still reading in the library today. The only sound throughout the entire library was the turning of pages. After an unknown amount of time, Huo Yuhao closed the book titled Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls.

Actually, Huo Yuhao had read this book at Shrek Academy ten thousand years in the future. After all, he had heard that it was written by Yu Xiaogang, the man who had taught the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils, who went on to attain Godhood. Back then, Huo Yuhao had read it carefully while at Shrek Academy. But once he finished, he felt that the data in the book was far too specific, while its theories were too vague, and that the whole book was filled with its author's fantasies. At the time, Huo Yuhao had thought that perhaps, over the passage of ten thousand years, the book hadn't been completely preserved and some of its contents had been lost.

But now that he had returned to ten thousand years in the past and read the book again, Huo Yuhao could only marvel at how well people in the future had protected it, preserving it intact without changing or losing a single word.

Huo Yuhao's mind was now full of questions. If Yu Xiaogang really was only this capable, how had he managed to achieve those later accomplishments?

After thinking it over for a long time without finding an answer, Huo Yuhao could only comfort himself with the thought that there was no point in thinking about it now.

Huo Yuhao glanced around the library. Over the past few days, he had read most of the books here. Although he had come across some books that didn't exist ten thousand years in the future, the questions in his mind had only grown deeper.

"How is it going, Yuhao?" Elder Yi asked from the Sea of Consciousness.

"Nothing's wrong. I just feel like the books here are strange. There are very few books about geography, culture, Soul Beasts, and Soul Masters, and those that do exist cover their topics only superficially. Most of the books praise emperors or heroes. No wonder hardly anyone comes here to read. Maybe people ten thousand years ago didn't study those subjects much." Huo Yuhao sighed.

"Knowledge develops through continuous accumulation and research; it doesn't happen overnight. But let's get to the point. I've thought a lot about the Chaos Energy inside your body, and in the end, I came up with a method. You know that I brought your senior brother back to life in my original world, right?"

"I know. You told me before, Elder Yi. You put a new heart in my senior brother after his heart had been crushed." Huo Yuhao replied.

"That's right, but it wasn't an ordinary heart. It was an Eternal Heart that I refined from all the Light Element in my body. In essence, it could be considered a divine artifact."

After hearing Elder Yi's words, Huo Yuhao asked tentatively, "Elder Yi, are you planning to deal with the Chaos Energy in my body by imitating the method you used to make the Eternal Heart?"

"More or less, but it's not quite the same. When I refined the Eternal Heart, I had to strip away all the Light Element in my body before I could succeed. You don't need to do that. All the bones in your body are made of Gold of Life, and they contain Chaos Energy, so there's no need to worry about a lack of energy during the refinement. But that doesn't mean it'll be easy. To improve the chances of success, I plan to use your armor as an aid and include it in the process. If we succeed, you'll be able to summon that armor directly onto your body when you fight, while also using the power of Gold of Life and Chaos Energy. Afterward, your bones will also be considered Soul Bones in this world, and you'll be able to inscribe skills on them and use them quickly. Of course, all of this depends on the refinement succeeding. If it fails, the consequences will be unimaginable."

After hearing that, Huo Yuhao asked, "Elder Yi, I understand everything you've said. This won't be easy, but I have one question. If my bones can be refined into Soul Bones, can this technique be spread so that other people can do the same?"

"Basically, that's impossible. The prerequisite for refinement is that the materials must be of high quality and contain an ample supply of energy. Ordinary people don't have such an enormous amount of energy. Even your Titled Douluo can't do it, and even Soul Beasts that are hundreds of thousands of years old would find it difficult. Otherwise, why would a Soul Beast only drop one Soul Bone? Yuhao, I know why you asked, but that's just how it is."

"Elder Yi, I used the Soul Spirit Contract you left behind to establish the Spirit Pagoda. My original intention was to ease the conflict between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts. Later, I hurried off to the Divine Realm and left the Spirit Pagoda unattended. After that, while I was in the Divine Realm, I improved the Soul Spirit Contract."

Elder Yi said, "I've read the improved Soul Spirit Contract. It seems I left in quite a hurry back then; the original contract wasn't complete. But you did a pretty good job improving it, and you didn't give up learning Necromancy."

"Thank you for your approval, Elder Yi. But I later realized that the improved Soul Spirit Contract alone couldn't resolve the conflict. Whether in the past or now, the conflict between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts can't be solved by a single Soul Spirit Contract. We can stop Soul Masters from hunting Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings, but what about Soul Bones? Soul Masters' desire for Soul Bones is even greater than their desire for Soul Rings. Then there's the meat, fur, bones, and blood of Soul Beasts-all of these are things Soul Masters need. The conflict between the two sides is deeply rooted. That's why, since my rebirth, I haven't rushed to spread the Soul Spirit Contract. I want to find a real solution, and to fulfill that person's wish."

Elder Yi smiled after hearing this and said, "Just as I said, nothing happens overnight. Only through continuous research and development can we discover new paths. You still have plenty of time, but for now, you should focus on resolving your own problems."

"Understood, Elder Yi. Then when should we begin?"

"After you return. The process will take several days, so take some time to think about which part you want to refine first."

"Understood, Elder Yi."

In the afternoon, Huo Yuhao specifically told Dugu Yan that he had something to do over the next few days and wouldn't be coming, so she didn't need to look for him in the library.

After hearing that, Dugu Yan didn't ask what Huo Yuhao was going to do. She only said they could go out together when he got back.

That night, Huo Yuhao returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and spoke to Elder Yi in the Sea of Consciousness. "Elder Yi, I've decided. Let's start with my left arm bone. It's already been fractured once in battle, and it even leaked before. As for the Soul Skill to inscribe, let's use Ice Explosion Technique."

"Very well. Show me that Soul Skill first. Then, remove the left arm armor from that suit of armor. Call me when everything's ready."

After passing the memory of Ice Explosion Technique to Elder Yi, Huo Yuhao left the Sea of Consciousness and removed the left arm armor from the Ice Extreme God of War Armor. He glanced at the White Cocoon, which still showed no signs of movement. After asking Li Ya to have Octagonal apply some Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow every day, he went to the Sea of Consciousness under everyone's gaze and informed Elder Yi that they could begin.

In the real world, Huo Yuhao had barely closed his eyes when a sacred aura of the undead spread from his body. When he opened them again, his eyes were gray, and his entire bearing had undergone a drastic change. He raised his hand and used his spiritual power to peel the flesh from his entire left arm, starting at the fingers, revealing bones suffused with green light. Then Elder Yi controlled Huo Yuhao and had him recite an abstruse incantation. The bones in his entire left arm began to glow intensely, and Elder Yi controlled his spiritual power to inscribe mysterious runes on the left arm bone.

The series of actions left Li Ya, Raven, and the others drawing in sharp breaths. Evil Lord and Snow Empress remained calm, while Xiao Bai and the others were very worried. Among them, Wolf King and A Ling watched the most intently.

The refinement continued. Inscribing the runes took an extremely long time, from night until dawn. This was thanks to the vast amount of life energy inside Huo Yuhao, which allowed his body to hold up. At the same time, Huo Yuhao endured the immense pain caused by the refinement in the Sea of Consciousness. The pain didn't make his spirit collapse, nor did it cause even the slightest fluctuation, but mental fatigue was unavoidable.

By noon, the magic array had been completed. The next step was to fuse the left arm armor with the bone. Elder Yi lifted the armor with his spiritual power and aligned it with the bone, all the while reciting an abstruse incantation. In the afternoon, Elder Yi controlled the flesh of Huo Yuhao's left arm as it wrapped around the bone again. The wounds in the flesh quickly healed and disappeared, and only then was the entire refinement process over.

Elder Yi returned to the Sea of Consciousness and said to Huo Yuhao, "The refinement of your left arm succeeded. I've also used up quite a lot of my strength, so I may have to sleep for more than a month. You should rest well during that time too. Your spirit is very exhausted after this."

"Understood, Elder Yi. You should get some rest too," Huo Yuhao said, his spirit weary.

After the refinement was complete, Huo Yuhao left the Sea of Consciousness. When the others at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well saw him open his eyes and return to normal, they were just about to step forward and ask him about it when the body that had been standing upright staggered and nearly fell to the ground. Ice Empress was quick enough to catch him.

"Yuhao, how did it go?" Ice Empress asked.

"It worked. I just feel really tired and want to rest for a while," Huo Yuhao said, forcing himself to stay alert.

"Then I won't ask you anything for now. Hurry up and rest." As she spoke, Ice Empress gently laid Huo Yuhao down in the place where she slept every day and covered him with a blanket.