The morning sun spilled across the earth, and a new day began. As usual, Huo Yuhao took some powder from the remaining Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow pillar and applied it to Octagonal.
"How does it feel, Octagonal? Do you want me to get you a little more?"
"Enough, Yuhao. This is plenty for me to absorb today. After all this time cultivating, my cultivation is almost at a thousand years."
"Take it slow. Don't rush. We'll have plenty of time to see the scenery we've never seen before."
"Alright, hurry up and get on with your own business. I need to focus on cultivating."
After breakfast, Huo Yuhao left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and returned to the library at Heaven Dou Royal Academy to continue reading. But on the way from Heaven Dou City to the academy, he noticed many people who seemed different from usual. They pretended to be out shopping, but were actually watching their surroundings, as though they were looking for someone. Huo Yuhao didn't investigate further and simply continued on to the library.
There was someone else in the library today. "Senior Dugu, are you here to read too?" Huo Yuhao teased.
Dugu Bo merely waved his hand and said, "Don't tease me. I'm in no mood to read right now. By the way, didn't the two seniors from your place come along?"
Huo Yuhao knew Dugu Bo meant the Evil Lord and the Snow Empress, so he replied, "They're still there and haven't come out. Is this because of those people in the city, Senior?"
"Exactly. Those are people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall. Ever since I helped you sell those two Mystic Water Pills, they've had people come ask me about them."
Back when Dugu Bo had just sold the pills.
Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi handed the medicine box in his hand to Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo in front of him and asked, "Uncle Jian, Uncle Bone, does this Mystic Water Pill really have such powerful effects?"
The two Douluos examined it for a while, then Chen Xin said, "From what I can tell, its ability to wash and purify the marrow is no doubt genuine."
Gu Rong added, "This time, I agree with that sword-obsessed man."
"Since this medicine is genuine, I wonder if we can find the person who made it and bring them into the service of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It would be even better if we could get the formula. At the very least, we should seek a long-term partnership." As Ning Fengzhi spoke, a servant came in and handed him a piece of paper.
After reading it, Ning Fengzhi passed it to Chen Xin and Gu Rong. When Gu Rong finished reading, he said, "It's unlikely that Dugu Bo refined this medicine. He may have been selling it on someone else's behalf. But who could get a Titled Douluo to run errands for them?"
Ning Fengzhi said, "Uncle Bone is right. Find an opportunity to ask Dugu Bo. If that doesn't work, see who he's been in contact with lately."
At Papal Hall in Spirit City, Bibi Dong finished reading the letter and examining the medicine box Salas had sent from Heaven Dou City, then handed it to Yue Guan.
After reading the letter, Yue Guan looked again at the Mystic Water Pill in the box and said, "Your Holiness, this medicine absolutely wasn't made by Dugu Bo."
Bibi Dong nodded and said, "You're right. I also examined it, and this medicine is no ordinary thing. But Dugu Bo lives in Heaven Dou City, so we can't act against him directly. More importantly, we have to find the person who truly made this medicine. Have Salas investigate who Dugu Bo has been in contact with lately. If we can recruit them, all the better. If not, then find a way to get the formula and kill them."
After Bibi Dong finished speaking, Yue Guan and Gui Mei went off to carry out her orders.
That was why Huo Yuhao had sensed so many spies in Heaven Dou City.
Back in the library, after Dugu Bo finished complaining, he said to Huo Yuhao, "What are you going to do? If they keep investigating like this, sooner or later they'll find out about you."
Huo Yuhao only smiled. "Don't worry, Senior. If they really come looking, I can handle it."
Dugu Bo nodded and said, "That's true. With those two seniors there, no one can lay a hand on you. And I don't think those two seniors are the only ones at your place."
Huo Yuhao only smiled and nodded in response. After Dugu Bo left, he continued reading the books he hadn't finished in the library.
Huo Yuhao stayed until noon before leaving the library. He ran into Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling at the academy, chatted with them for a while, then returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He had to keep reading, but Sister Tian Meng was also counting on him to reach level thirty so she could avoid the Heavenly Tribulation, so Huo Yuhao increased the time he spent cultivating.
Time flew by. A month passed in the blink of an eye. Inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Huo Yuhao ended his Meditation and opened his eyes. The midday sun was more dazzling than the morning sun. This Meditation had lasted longer than usual. During that time, aside from going to the library in the morning, returning at noon, and cooking every day, Huo Yuhao had spent all his remaining time cultivating.
At last, Huo Yuhao had raised his Soul Power to level thirty. He looked around, saw that there weren't many people nearby, and asked Xiao Bai, "Xiao Bai, where did Tian Meng and the others go?"
"She went out to play with Ice Empress, Li Ya, A Ling, Raven, and the Snow Empress. They probably won't be back until the afternoon."
Huo Yuhao sighed. "Alright. We'll talk about it when they get back."
"Yuhao, did something happen?" A-Tai asked from beside him.
"Nothing. I just reached level thirty."
A-Tai seemed about to say something, but Xiao Bai clapped a hand over his mouth. Then Xiao Bai said, "Let me go first this time, alright, Grandma?" As she spoke, Xiao Bai gazed at Huo Yuhao with sincere eyes.
Although, ever since the Snow Empress learned about the past from Huo Yuhao, she had no longer let Xiao Bai call Huo Yuhao Grandpa. Instead, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress had insisted that if Xiao Bai was going to call him anything like that, she should call him Grandma. Of course, Huo Yuhao had always told Xiao Bai to just call him Yuhao, and Xiao Bai had always followed his wishes and called him Yuhao.
But hearing Xiao Bai suddenly call him Grandma today still shocked Huo Yuhao deeply. It was, of course, the awkward kind of shock. Huo Yuhao wasn't the only one there who felt that way. The Wolf King silently turned his head away, while A-Tai, with Xiao Bai's hand over his mouth, wore a disgusted expression. Even Octagonal's leaves curled up a little, and even the Evil Lord, who was leisurely sunbathing nearby, couldn't help sighing, "The younger generation is truly formidable."
Huo Yuhao hurriedly stopped Xiao Bai from saying anything else, then said, "Stop. Xiao Bai, just call me Yuhao. If you call me Yuhao, I'll form a contract with you first."
"Alright, Yuhao." Xiao Bai continued to gaze at Huo Yuhao with that same sincere look.
A-Tai was stunned. He complained inwardly, Where did the Ice Bear King who picked a fight with me at the drop of a hat every day in the Far North go? How can you change what you call him so easily now, without even putting up a token resistance?
The contract was formed smoothly. Before long, a third red Soul Ring appeared on Huo Yuhao's Snow Maiden Martial Soul. The Soul Skills were the same as before: one was called Ice Meteor, an offensive skill that summoned a huge ice-blue sphere; the other was called Ice Bear Blizzard, a skill that summoned a blizzard within a certain area and combined offense with control.
After the contract was formed, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power reached level thirty-one. But when the Soul Ring appeared, Huo Yuhao felt a moment of dizziness. He didn't pay it much attention, assuming that he had lost focus while using his spiritual power and become dazed from overusing it.
Nearby, as soon as Xiao Bai finished forming the contract, she went off to show off to A-Tai with a grin.
"Look, I formed a contract too! I don't have to suffer the Heavenly Tribulation either." Xiao Bai danced around in front of A-Tai as she spoke.
A-Tai said indignantly, "So what? I formed my contract before you did."
Huo Yuhao watched the two of them bicker noisily and smiled helplessly. She herself wasn't planning to go out today; she would stay here and wait for Tian Meng and the others to return.
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