The heavens abruptly darkened, and thunder split the sky.
The sun's radiance was completely blotted out.
An invisible pressure bore down like a crushing mountain, leaving him breathless.
Huo Yuhao looked up into the sky and saw a gray current plummet straight down. Then, without encountering any obstruction, it entered his Sea of Consciousness through the space between his brows.
An extremely indistinct figure appeared behind him.
He spoke in an aged yet majestic voice: "With sun and moon in hand, I pluck the stars; none in this world compares to me. To think that a wisp of this old man's remnant soul could still survive."
Then the figure turned into a gray bead no larger than a soybean and fell silent beside the Martial Scripture.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm: ?
"No, why?"
He only dared mutter quietly, "Why could someone of unknown origins enter your Sea of Consciousness so easily?"
Huo Yuhao recovered from his shock. "Because your intentions weren't pure."
What kind of day was this? Why were living beings entering my Sea of Consciousness one after another?
At his words, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm swam dejectedly aside.
"Oh, right," he said, as though remembering something. "I still don't know your name."
Huo Yuhao's attention was entirely on the gray bead at that moment.
Hearing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's question, he answered offhandedly, "Huo Yuhao."
"Oh." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm dared not say another word.
The gray bead had an ancient, plain hue. No matter how Huo Yuhao examined it, he could detect nothing unusual.
It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary bead, rather than the old man who had descended from the sky and uttered those soul-shaking words.
"Since the Martial Scripture hasn't reacted, that means this unfamiliar old man's remnant soul bears me no ill will."
Since he could not make sense of it, he would waste no more time.
As his consciousness returned to his body, Huo Yuhao's azure Spirit Eyes brightened once more.
He looked at the clear yellow Soul Ring beneath him. Even after several deep breaths, he could hardly suppress his excitement.
"A Million-Year Soul Ring that can grow."
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists. "Just wait, White Tiger Duke's Mansion. The day I, Huo Yuhao, return isn't far off."
He took the map from his clothes again and began looking for the direction of Heaven Dou City.
From the records in the Miscellaneous Martial Classics, Huo Yuhao had already learned that the Soul Master organization best suited to his growth was not Shrek Academy, hailed as the holy land of Soul Masters, but the secluded Body Sect.
The Body Sect considered all possessors of Body Martial Souls its disciples by default.
And his Spirit Eyes were a Body Martial Soul all but certain to achieve a silver-level second awakening.
Even without the Martial Scripture, he could be considered a Titled Douluo in the making. The Body Sect had no reason to refuse him entry.
"But before joining the Body Sect," Huo Yuhao said, putting away the map, "I need to visit the Far North and settle the matter of my second Martial Soul."
"Otherwise, if an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul suddenly pops up, it'll be hard to explain to the Body Sect."
He continued in the direction marked on the map. Along the way, Wind Baboons leaped from the treetops several times, attempting to ambush him.
Such was the nature of these Soul Beasts; ambushes were their favorite way to attack.
This time, Huo Yuhao did not take out the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd. Instead, he supported himself with Spiritual Detection, one of his Spirit Eyes' Soul Skills, and killed the Wind Baboons one by one using basic martial arts such as the Through-Back Fist and Eight Desolations Palm.
The Eight Desolations Palm was renowned for its fierce power and broad, sweeping movements. It looked plain and unadorned, but the wind of its palm strikes was filled with strength.
The Eight Desolations Palm improved by the Martial Ancestor blended threads of yielding force into its ferocity. In use, hardness and softness complemented each other, making it extraordinarily powerful in combat.
Huo Yuhao sidestepped, dodging another Wind Baboon's pounce.
He held his palm upright, a faint glow gathering at its center, then chopped down hard at the Wind Baboon's head!
Squelch!
A dull sound rang out. Huo Yuhao's palm actually pierced straight through the Wind Baboon's throat, and scalding blood sprayed out, staining a large patch of ground red.
Yet Huo Yuhao was dissatisfied.
In his view, that strike had more than enough fierce power but insufficient yielding force. He had not grasped the essence of the New Eight Desolations Palm.
Suddenly, a rich, sweet scent washed over him.
Huo Yuhao sidestepped, evading the attack of a three-meter-long snake with a protrusion on its forehead and a peach-pink body.
"A thousand-year Mandala Snake?"
Rather than alarmed, Huo Yuhao was delighted. The Soul Ring beneath him instantly lit up, and he unleashed Spiritual Detection, swinging his palms as he met it head-on.
A thousand-year Soul Beast was powerful, but Huo Yuhao had confidence in his own strength and felt no fear.
At worst, he could run. There was no shame in a Soul Master of rank ten-something being chased by a thousand-year Soul Beast.
Cunning by nature, the Mandala Snake abruptly sprang into the air when it saw Huo Yuhao launch his attack.
Its tail lashed, as though drawing its body into a powerful bow, before it became a startling streak of pink light hurtling toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao lowered his body, intending to use the Mandala Snake's serpentine nature to comprehend the yielding force within the Eight Desolations Palm.
His figure darted about, now using the Through-Back Fist, now unleashing the Eight Desolations Palm. He switched between the two entirely different martial arts with exceptional fluidity, rarely showing any awkwardness.
This was entirely thanks to the powerful spiritual strength his Spirit Eyes provided, allowing a single practice session to surpass several arduous sessions by an ordinary person.
Thousand-year Mandala Snakes were renowned for their tough bodies and lightning speed. In Huo Yuhao's eyes, this made it the perfect sparring partner.
The snake's shadow twisted, fist shadows and palm winds flew, and the boy and snake fought in a tangled flurry.
Whenever the Mandala Snake tried to coil around Huo Yuhao and strangle him, he always managed to narrowly evade it, then struck its body fiercely with the Eight Desolations Palm, producing sounds like metal striking stone.
Gradually, a thread of yielding force quietly seeped into Huo Yuhao's Eight Desolations Palm.
Seeing that it could not subdue Huo Yuhao after so long, the Mandala Snake opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of pink mist.
"Fish Scale Halberd!"
Huo Yuhao summoned the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd and swung it with a fierce rush of wind, forcibly dispersing the pink mist.
He had already realized that his current abilities alone were not enough to kill this thousand-year Mandala Snake. Only by drawing on the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd's power would he have a chance to turn the tables and kill it.
Huo Yuhao steeled himself, and waves of Soul Power rippled from the Heavenly Scale Ancient Halberd, spreading outward layer upon layer like the tide.
His figure blurred in an instant. The ancient halberd danced in his hands, its gleaming blade tearing through the air with a succession of piercing whistles.
This violent surge of Soul Power made the Mandala Snake sense an intense threat to its life.
It hissed shrilly, and a brilliant pink light shone from its head. The flowerlike protrusion on it burst open in an instant, sending a pink arrow of blood straight at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao roared, and the ancient halberd in his hands grew heavy as a mountain, blazing with flame-like crimson light in the blink of an eye!
The Soul Power in his dantian was drained almost instantly.
A crimson light, so indistinct that it was on the verge of dissipating, appeared and rolled into the blood arrow fired by the Mandala Snake, then exploded with a thunderous crash.
Boom!
An exceptionally fierce gale swept outward. Huo Yuhao staggered back a dozen or so steps, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
The thousand-year Mandala Snake's head burst apart in the violent explosion, and scarlet blood rained down. Had Huo Yuhao not dodged in time, he would have been drenched.
A purple Soul Ring slowly condensed into shape.
Huo Yuhao did not enjoy killing, but he also had thunderous methods for Soul Beasts that attacked him first.
He stood where he was and circulated the Martial Scripture. In mere moments, his Soul Power had fully recovered.
His greatest gain from this battle was an initial grasp of the Eight Desolations Palm's essence of softness permeating hardness, laying the foundation for mastering even stronger martial arts in the future.
He dug out the snake's gallbladder, planning to sell it in the nearest city to cover his travel expenses along the way.