Fan Yu did not dare take the necklace Huo Yuhao held out to him. "Yuhao, what are you...?"
"I've decided to join the Martial Soul Department after all."
"What!" Fan Yu felt as though lightning had struck him, and his words tumbled into confusion. "But... this... you... I..."
He Caitou at least still remembered how to speak. His eyes widened. "Yuhao, why?"
Huo Yuhao said, "I can only be a core disciple of one department, right? Once I become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, it won't be appropriate for me to keep coming to the Soul Tool Department."
Fan Yu steadied his emotions and tried to persuade him. "Yuhao, you should know that you're only receiving core disciple privileges right now. Officially, they say you can become a full core disciple if you perform well, but that's just polite talk. It generally never happens."
Huo Yuhao said evenly, "Things are different for me now."
"What level are you now?"
"Twenty-six."
Fan Yu kept feeling that something was amiss, but continued anyway. "You should know that graduating from your first year at level twenty-six is reasonably good, but it's still nowhere near the top. The Martial Soul Department won't make you a full core disciple."
"I have a reason they can't refuse."
"What reason?"
Two white soul rings suddenly appeared behind Huo Yuhao. Then both vanished, replaced by a completely new white soul ring, accompanied by a surge of intense cold. At the same time, fine hexagonal ice crystals covered his right hand, which held the necklace.
He asked calmly, "Is this reason enough?"
Fan Yu and He Caitou had been about to wonder why Huo Yuhao only had white soul rings, but now they had no attention to spare for that. They exclaimed in astonishment in unison: