"Yuhao."
Jin Peng looked at Huo Yuhao and said gravely, "Go back right now and prepare an account of your insights into Mind-Soul Forging. You'll come to the imperial palace with me tomorrow."
"Once this succeeds, it will completely change the direction of Soul Tool development, as well as the balance between the four empires."
Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement.
He understood that although Mind-Soul Forging held limitless promise, only with the Heaven Dou Empire's full support could they mobilize enough manpower and resources to put it into practice.
After leaving the great hall, Huo Yuhao headed straight to his quarters and began organizing his materials on Mind-Soul Forging.
"Brother Hao."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm did not quite understand Huo Yuhao's approach. "Mind-Soul Forging has plenty of potential, but won't it take up too much of your energy?"
His pen scratched across the paper as Huo Yuhao wrote down all his insights into Mind-Soul Forging.
After a long while, he rubbed his wrist and replied, "I only proposed a theory based on Talisman Master forging. Putting it into practice isn't something I can do alone. It will take everyone in the Body Sect, along with the entire Heaven Dou Empire, to explore it."
"I only need to make sure they don't go wrong in the overall direction."
Huo Yuhao took out the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd and gently ran his fingers over its cold, gleaming blade.
The halberd blade hummed softly, a faint dragon's roar echoing as though in response to Huo Yuhao.
"Before, I didn't understand why the Martial Ancestor wanted me to keep cultivating the Soul Master system."
Huo Yuhao let out a long sigh. "But after hearing Elder Yi's views, I'm starting to understand."
"Since I accepted the Martial Ancestor's inheritance, I ought to bring some changes to this place."
Electrolux voiced his agreement. "The meaning of inheritance lies not in replication, but in innovation."
"Since the Martial Ancestor approved of your ideas of flesh nourishing the spirit and divine soul nirvana, that means he hoped you could fuse the essence of both worlds and bring a different landscape to the Douluo Continent."
Huo Yuhao put away the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd and placed his organized materials inside the Starlight Sapphire Necklace.
He took out the ice marrow and said, "These things are too far off to consider now. After all, a road has to be walked one step at a time."
"Having a goal is good, but without keeping your eyes on the present, you're only reaching for heights beyond your grasp and making yourself a laughingstock."
"What matters now is making the most of my time to improve my strength and striving to meet the goal Teacher set for me."
The ice marrow gave off an icy-blue glow, much dimmer than before.
After being tempered by the ice marrow and the ice-attribute medicinal herbs Shrek had sent, Huo Yuhao's meridians had become considerably tougher.
He sat cross-legged and circulated the Martial Scripture, using the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art as a guide as he began absorbing the energy within the ice marrow.
Extreme cold seeped into his body through his mouth and nose, soon coating the surface of his body in a thin layer of frost.
Crack.
As Huo Yuhao cultivated, a sound like a barrier shattering seemed to come from within his body.
At the same time, the piece of ice marrow turned entirely into crystalline powder and dissipated in Huo Yuhao's hand.
Even though all the energy within the ice marrow and medicinal herbs had been devoted to tempering his body, some of it would inevitably be absorbed unconsciously by Huo Yuhao.
The ice marrow and medicinal herbs were both treasures rarely found in the world. Even the energy they naturally released was enough for a Soul Grandmaster like Huo Yuhao to break through.
Sensing Huo Yuhao's increased Soul Power rank, Electrolux opened his eyes, ceasing his contemplation of the path beyond the God of Magic in Huo Yuhao's mind.
He looked at the Ice Empress and asked, "Ice Empress, given Yuhao's current physical strength, how much do you think the restrictions imposed by ultimate power can be reduced after he becomes a Soul Elder?"
The Ice Empress pondered.
"I'm not very sure."
She sighed and shook her head, admitting frankly, "Even Ultimate Martial Souls differ in strength, and different types place different demands on the body. A True Dragon level Ultimate Martial Soul like the Azure Sky Profound Ice Dragon undoubtedly has the highest requirements."
"Even if Yuhao shifts his focus from Ultimate Ice to his physical body, that ultimate power will still increase as his strength grows."
The Ice Empress and Electrolux then began discussing the matter.
According to Mu En, the reason Ultimate Soul Masters cultivated so slowly between the Soul Elder and Soul Saint stages was that their bodies needed to adapt to that ultimate power.
After reaching Soul Saint, having adapted to their ultimate power, Ultimate Soul Masters could unleash their accumulated strength and soar into the sky.
What Huo Yuhao was doing now was using the ultimate as a guide and the near-ultimate as medicine, tempering his physical strength while letting his body adapt to ultimate power ahead of time, so that he could reduce its restrictions on his cultivation speed in the future.
"If it would originally have slowed his cultivation speed tenfold," the Ice Empress calculated, "then now it might be sevenfold."
"Once Yuhao obtains his second and third Soul Rings and his physical strength increases again, that restriction will be reduced further."
"When do you intend to let Yuhao attempt the Talisman Seal Transformation of his Spirit Eyes, Elder Yi?" the Ice Empress asked.
The soul flames in Electrolux's eyes flickered slightly.
He said, "Perhaps because of his Spirit Eyes and the Talisman Master system, Yuhao has an exceptional talent for Soul Magic."
"Let's wait until he masters the Second Awakening. After all, the Talisman Seal Transformation of his Spirit Eyes involves a fundamental restructuring of his Spiritual Power. Once it begins, it cannot be interrupted."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly interjected, "Elder Yi, if Brother Hao succeeds, does that mean his Spirit Eyes can improve through Spiritual Power?"
Electrolux nodded. "In theory, yes. After Talisman Seal Transformation, his Spirit Eyes will improve themselves through Spiritual Power. Thus, Yuhao can cultivate both Martial Souls at once without affecting his cultivation speed."
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged, a faint, illusory dragon taking shape behind him.
The dragon circled, scattering swathes of cold light, while Huo Yuhao's aura gradually climbed to its peak.
He opened his eyes and felt the Soul Power roaring through his body. He gently clenched his fist, and a faint explosive crack actually sounded in the air.
"Rank twenty-six. A little faster than expected."
Electrolux's voice rang out in his mind. "Good. With your current physical constitution, absorbing the ten-thousand-year Sea Dragon that Poison Sect Master prepared for you will pose no problem."
"Brother Hao really is Brother Hao," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, back to his grinning self. "If word got out about your cultivation speed, it could scare people to death."
Huo Yuhao ignored the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's flattery.
He said to Electrolux and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, "Elder Yi, Tian Meng, the Soul Shock from a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring will be a test of my Spiritual Power, but it will also be an opportunity."
"I want to use this opportunity to make an initial attempt at the Talisman Seal Transformation of my Spirit Eyes. I'll need your help then."
Electrolux pondered for a moment.
"Using Soul Shock to achieve this goal would indeed be a good opportunity."
"However, the process of Talisman Seal Transformation is extraordinarily dangerous. The slightest carelessness could damage your Spiritual Origin. So you must devote the coming days to working toward the Second Awakening."
Huo Yuhao nodded solemnly. "I understand. After we return from Heaven Dou City, I'll make good use of the Mental Attribute medicinal herbs Shrek gave me and master the Second Awakening as soon as possible."