Huo Yuhao followed the footwork of the Supreme Purity Sky Roaming Steps as he strode swiftly along the main road.
Over the past few days, he had studied the Martial Ancestor's legacy in his mind almost day and night, even while traveling.
The Martial Ancestor had modified the Qingyang Skill, Three Yang Art, Great Sun Thunder Body, Desolation Art, and Talisman Master cultivation method to suit the cultivation system of the Douluo Continent, compiling them into a "Martial Scripture" imprinted in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness.
The "Great Desolation Scripture," however, was recorded separately.
The "Martial Scripture" also contained a section of miscellaneous records, systematically explaining information about Soul Master cultivation, Soul Beasts, the various factions, and other matters on the Douluo Continent to Huo Yuhao.
Though its coverage was limited, it had greatly broadened Huo Yuhao's horizons.
According to the "Martial Scripture," once Huo Yuhao attained the realm of this world's gods, he could break free of the universe's shackles and travel to the brand-new world the Martial Ancestor had prepared for him.
After this period of cultivation, although Huo Yuhao's soul power level remained at ten, he had undergone a transformation as vast as the overturning of heaven and earth.
The most obvious change was that, nourished by the "Martial Scripture," his innate foundation had already become roughly equivalent to that of someone with level-five innate soul power.
He had shed his old self and been reborn after just six days of cultivation, even while dividing his attention to practice martial arts.
As his understanding of the "Martial Scripture" deepened, Huo Yuhao also discovered, to his astonishment, that the rate at which his innate soul power level improved was actually growing faster and faster.
Along with this, his body grew increasingly strong, no longer the scrawny frame it had been a few days earlier.
By Huo Yuhao's estimate, he would possess the foundation of innate full soul power in less than half a month.
At this thought, a faint smile finally appeared at the corners of Huo Yuhao's perpetually tight lips.
Mother, I'll be able to free your soul very soon.
His hands continuously practiced basic martial arts such as the Through-Back Fist and Eight Desolations Palm. Like a nimble hunting leopard, he soon vanished at the end of the main road.
Even though the Martial Ancestor had bestowed the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd upon him, Huo Yuhao had not focused all his efforts on it.
As the saying went, when the foundation was unsteady, the earth shook and the mountains swayed. Without a solid foundation, everything was merely flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water.
Practicing the Supreme Purity Sky Roaming Steps was a matter of necessity. After all, Huo Yuhao was only a level-ten Soul Scholar at present. If he encountered danger while Soul Hunting, practicing the Supreme Purity Sky Roaming Steps would help him escape in time.
His Supreme Purity Sky Roaming Steps possessed only the form and none of the spirit, but thanks to their foundation as Creation Martial Arts, they were more than sufficient for Huo Yuhao's current needs.
The blazing sun scorched the earth.
Even with Huo Yuhao's current physique, he was drenched in sweat, his lips parched and his mouth dry.
He closed his eyes, quietly spreading his mental power to carefully sense his surroundings.
Before long, Huo Yuhao heard the faint sound of flowing water in the distance.
His Spirit Eyes were already an exceptionally powerful mental attribute Martial Soul. Now, nourished by the Talisman Master cultivation method in the "Martial Scripture," Huo Yuhao's six senses had become far sharper than before.
The stream babbled, its water clear to the bottom.
"Just the place to wash myself."
Huo Yuhao stripped off his clothes and quickly washed his entire body clean, no longer suffering from the unbearable heat.
"Huh, there are actually fish here."
The stream was less than two feet deep, but Huo Yuhao had not expected it to hold so many large black carp, each about a foot long.
His eyes immediately lit up.
After traveling for so long, he was already ravenous.
"On the path of cultivation, tempering the body comes first. An empty stomach won't do."
Huo Yuhao held his breath and focused, activating his Spirit Eyes. Every detail in the stream grew larger and slower in his sight.
"Here!"
He summoned the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd. Halberd shadows danced, and he soon hauled more than a dozen large black carp onto the bank.
"I did spot quite a bit of perilla by the roadside a few days ago. It would've been perfect for grilling fish."
Huo Yuhao deftly scaled and gutted the large black carp with the White Tiger Dagger. "But I was in a hurry to get here, so I didn't pick any."
"Forget it. Having salt to replenish what I've lost is enough. Getting my fill quickly and making the most of my time to go Soul Hunting is what matters."
Wisps of smoke rose as the flesh of the large black carp slowly turned a fragrant golden brown on Huo Yuhao's makeshift grill.
Huo Yuhao did not mind the heat. The moment the fish were cooked, he grabbed a branch skewering a large black carp and began feasting.
Body-tempering cultivation required all kinds of highly nourishing spiritual medicines.
But Huo Yuhao was utterly penniless at present, making even this bit of meat particularly precious in his eyes.
Only after eating more than a dozen large black carp in succession did Huo Yuhao manage a barely satisfied burp.
"My appetite's growing. That's a good thing. It means my body has adapted to cultivating the Martial Scripture and started craving energy."
He patted his belly, extinguished the campfire, and headed toward the nearby Star Dou Great Forest.
What Huo Yuhao did not know was that, shortly after he left, a teenage boy and girl arrived at the spot.
"Bei Bei, someone lit a fire here. There are fish bones, too."
"Someone must have grilled fish here not long ago."
Tang Ya crouched beside the extinguished campfire, looking pitifully at Bei Bei with her large, lively phoenix eyes. "I'm hungry."
"Will you grill some fish for me, too?"
Looking at Tang Ya, who seemed to embody nature's finest beauty, Bei Bei smiled helplessly.
He reached out and gently rubbed Tang Ya's head, his voice indulgent. "Whatever Teacher Xiao Ya wants to eat, I'll make it."
Tang Ya swatted his hand away in displeasure, baring her little canine teeth as she said fiercely, "Mind your manners! I'm your teacher!"
"All right, all right, your student was wrong, Teacher Xiao Ya." Bei Bei raised both hands in surrender.
Seeing Bei Bei respond so appropriately, Tang Ya turned her head and huffed. "That's more like it."
"Since you're being so sensible, I, the sect master, will catch fish with you. Once we've eaten our fill, we'll keep going Soul Hunting."
"Then we'll work toward reviving the Tang Sect!"
Bei Bei replied with a smile, "We will!"
Yet a barely perceptible trace of desolation flashed through his eyes.
Could the Tang Sect's revival really be achieved by his and Tang Ya's generation?
Bei Bei felt it would be very difficult.
Leaving everything else aside, the Tang Sect in its current state simply lacked appeal to high-quality Soul Masters.
It had nothing worth showing off.
The "Mysterious Heaven Skill" was indeed a powerful cultivation method unrivaled across the continent, but could they offer it as an incentive to recruit disciples?
Once they offered the "Mysterious Heaven Skill," what would Tang Ya, a sect master with Blue Silver Grass, use to command the disciples under her?
Bei Bei sighed discreetly.
In Xu Sanshi's words, the Tang Sect currently had no shortage of enforcers. Bei Bei, a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, was the finest double-flower enforcer himself.
What the Tang Sect lacked most now was an utterly devoted white-paper fan-a strategist.
So what if he could fight?
The Soul Master World was full of capable fighters, but who could sweep all opposition aside single-handedly and hold an entire age beneath them?
Without a strategist, relying solely on a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon like him, the Tang Sect would be nothing more than the Heavenly Dragon Sect in a different skin.
Reviving the Tang Sect with just himself and Tang Ya was simply too difficult.
Meanwhile, outside the Star Dou Great Forest.
As Huo Yuhao looked at the wooden sign reading, "Fifty li ahead lies the territory of the Star Dou Great Forest," excitement began to rise within him.
At last, he was about to receive his first Soul Ring.
He summoned the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd, suppressed the restlessness in his heart, and strode inside.