By then, Huo Yuhao had devoted his entire body and mind to the scroll before him.
His Spirit Eyes martial soul glowed faintly. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Huo Yuhao began copying this manual on cultivating ultimate martial souls.
Rather than a manual, the scroll was closer to a collection of cultivation insights, recording the views of Shrek's three Ultimate Ancestors on why the ultimate was ultimate.
For Huo Yuhao, this kind of inspiration was far more important than self-created soul skills or cultivation methods.
"Ultimate wind, ultimate fire, ultimate wood..."
"So those were the attributes of the three Ultimate Pavilion Masters in Shrek Academy's history."
He studied as he copied, even discussing it with the Ice Empress in his Sea of Consciousness, trying to work out the path of growth for ultimate ice that best suited him.
Seeing what was happening with Huo Yuhao, Yan Shaozhe's brow twitched.
"Teacher."
He approached Mu En, his expression shifting uncertainly. "This Huo Yuhao's body martial soul seems to be his eyes. In other words, he's a mental-attribute soul master. That means he can definitely memorize the entire manual."
Mu En glanced sideways at him. "Shaozhe, the true secrets lie not on paper, but in the heart."
"How could a single manual fully explain the true essence of an ultimate martial soul? That is the manual of three generations of Shrek's ancestors, not Huo Yuhao's. Do you understand?"
Yan Shaozhe froze at those words, looking puzzled.
Exasperated by his failure to measure up, Mu En said, "How many times have I told you? The Bright Phoenix's wings should shelter fledglings as they grow, not serve as a cage to imprison others."
"We shouldn't fear Huo Yuhao memorizing the entire manual, because those things aren't his. What Shrek should be considering is how to nurture students who can rival him, or even surpass him."
"Can you take those words to heart?"
Yan Shaozhe could not help feeling ashamed.
He hurriedly bowed, looking thoughtful. "Teacher, I understand."
So that was why Teacher wanted Xiaotao to go along.
As long as she could seize this opportunity and use Huo Yuhao's ability to suppress her Phoenix Evil Fire, she would surely trample him underfoot in the future and win back Shrek's honor!
Unaware of Yan Shaozhe's thoughts, Mu En merely nodded. "Since you understand, hurry and find Xiaotao. Explain the arrangements for this trip to her."
Yan Shaozhe bowed in acknowledgment, then strode away.
As he continued copying and discussing with the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao's understanding of ultimate attributes deepened.
"Wind has no form, transforming in countless ways."
"Fire brings destruction, yet also holds new life."
"Withering and flourishing turn in cycles, life renewing without end."
Sometimes his brush flew; sometimes he frowned, constantly pondering the path of ultimate ice.
"Seal heaven and earth in ice," the Ice Empress said, expressing her understanding of ultimate ice. "Let all sound fall silent."
Huo Yuhao did not entirely agree.
For Huo Yuhao, ultimate ice was ultimately only an additional attribute of his martial soul. It could not serve as the primary power he cultivated through the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art.
The Azure Sky Profound Ice Dragon martial soul was powerful because the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art was powerful, not because of ultimate ice.
Moreover, the Martial Scripture recorded the Martial Ancestor's martial arts, not the Ice Master's inheritance.
To value ice over martial arts would be putting the cart before the horse for Huo Yuhao.
A faint realization dawned on Huo Yuhao.
He should cultivate his Spirit Eyes martial soul as part of the Talisman Master system, while his second martial soul, founded on the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art, should be his primary focus within the soul power system.
At the same time, because the Azure Sky Profound Ice Dragon martial soul was essentially a manifestation of his cultivation in the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art, Huo Yuhao suspected that as he continued advancing in the art, perhaps the ages of the Azure Sky Profound Ice Dragon martial soul's soul rings would also increase.
"This..."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress exchanged looks.
"Yuhao, Tian Meng and I can't give you any guarantees about that idea," the Ice Empress said.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm then agreed. "That's right, Brother Hao. Although soul rings are powers connected to the martial soul origin, your situation is unprecedented. Before you, there had never been a case of using a cultivation art to stimulate the birth of a martial soul and serve as its foundation."
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "I was too hasty back then. I should have had Tian Meng raise the Ice Empress Soul Ring to just one year short of four hundred thousand years."
Still, Huo Yuhao did not feel disappointed.
After all, at his current stage in the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art, even the first layer, dragon skin, had only been achieved with the help of the Ice Empress Soul Ring. As his cultivation improved, he would have plenty of time to test this conjecture.
"I should treat ultimate ice as nourishment to advance my cultivation of the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art."
A flash of inspiration struck Huo Yuhao. "Ultimate ice can serve as a medium for tempering my body. I can use extreme cold to stimulate the circulation of the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art and keep pushing my flesh beyond its limits!"
"That would mean turning the body's passive adaptation to the ultimate from the Soul Elder stage to the Soul Saint stage into an active process."
"Ultimate ice as firewood, martial arts as the furnace, tempering my own body!"
"And the first step should be trying to channel the power of ultimate ice into my meridians."
The moment this idea surfaced, Huo Yuhao could hardly wait to try it.
But reason told him that now was not the time. At the very least, he had to wait until his meridians grew tougher and he gained a deeper mastery of ultimate ice.
Standing nearby, Du Busi saw the intense fluctuations of soul power around Huo Yuhao, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
He simply sat cross-legged on the ground as well and began recovering from his injuries.
Du Busi's martial soul was himself. With his bones broken and sinews torn, the damage could almost be considered damage to his martial soul.
Soon, a layer of dark green soul power radiance rose around Du Busi, while the blood and vital energy within him surged ceaselessly like a mighty river.
As the Body Sect's sect master and a Level 98 Super Douluo, his control over his body had already reached perfection. Fine beads of sweat began seeping from his forehead as his bones, sinews, and muscles slowly realigned under his precise control.
As time passed, Huo Yuhao's copying neared its end.
Flashes of understanding kept flickering in his eyes.
Finally, he let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and thought, Ultimate ice can only serve as my bridge to a higher realm.
Huo Yuhao closed the booklet and pondered with his eyes shut for a long time.
For me, ultimate ice is not the desolation and destruction of sealing all things in ice. Under the Heavenly Dragon Power of the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art, it is new life after the body falls still, just as fresh shoots will always break through frozen soil after a harsh winter and grow tenaciously.
He opened his eyes again. The cold, sharp aura around him seemed to become somewhat different at that moment.
Seeing Huo Yuhao like this, Mu En could not help reflecting that the Body Sect really had picked up a fine seedling.
Huo Yuhao respectfully returned the original scroll to Mu En. "Thank you for granting me this opportunity, Elder Mu. I've finished copying it, and I now return the original manual."
"As for the copy, I'll burn it right away. I won't leak a single thing."
Mu En accepted the original scroll and shook his head, his gaze deep. "There's no need. The copy you made contains your own insights. That is your ultimate manual, not Shrek's."
"Remember, while it's true that you must walk your own path, some things aren't necessarily better encountered sooner."
His expression was kindly, utterly devoid of the majesty he had shown when he single-handedly pressured the entire Body Sect. Like an ordinary elderly neighbor, he took Huo Yuhao by the arm and began chatting about everyday matters.
Huo Yuhao's expression changed repeatedly, sometimes puzzled, sometimes amazed.
Finally, he looked thoughtfully toward Ma Xiaotao, who had come here from the inner court.
Du Busi awoke from his deep meditation. Seeing Huo Yuhao talking with Mu En, he did not step forward to stop them.
Although the Body Sect and Shrek Academy were as incompatible as fire and water, Mu En was, after all, the only publicly known Limit Douluo still alive. Being able to converse with him would surely bring Huo Yuhao unexpected gains.
Du Busi stood. Though his physical injuries could not heal in a short time, the knot in his heart had unraveled, and he felt genuinely at ease.
Faintly, even his soul power cultivation seemed to show signs of loosening, but the conditions for advancing to Limit Douluo were far too demanding, a barrier that could not be shaken easily.
Xuan Zi, who had awakened after Zhuang Yusen's treatment, approached Mu En with a gloomy expression.
Behind him followed a cold, proud-looking woman with long, fiery-red hair. She was none other than Shrek's inner-court disciple, Ma Xiaotao.
"Xuan Zi," Mu En said earnestly, "I hope you can learn a lesson from this incident."
Xuan Zi lowered his head in shame.
People often used internal troubles and external threats to describe the turmoil plaguing a faction.
At this moment, Xuan Zi felt that he had first caused internal troubles by dooming a generation of Shrek, and now had brought external threats by going to the Heaven Dou Empire. He was simply the greatest sinner in Shrek's history; nothing short of death could atone for his crimes.
Mu En saw through Xuan Zi's thoughts. After a few words of encouragement, he turned his attention to Ma Xiaotao.
"Shaozhe told you everything, didn't he?" he asked.
Ma Xiaotao nodded. "Elder Mu, Teacher told me everything. I won't let Shrek down."
"Good." Mu En turned to face the Body Sect's members. "Go."
As dozens of streaks of light shot into the sky, Mu En, who had been forcing himself to stay alert, finally could not hold on any longer.
His vision went black, and his body pitched forward uncontrollably.
"Elder Mu!" Shrek's people cried out, hurriedly reaching out to support him.
With the last of his strength, Mu En said, "I'm fine. Help me to the Golden Tree."
Then his eyes closed, and he fell unconscious.