Huo Yuhao watched with an unfathomable gaze until Tang Yin and his companion disappeared from sight, then apologized to Xiao Hongchen and Feng Tingting.
He then took Meng Hongchen aside and watched her puff out her cheeks and huff:
"Junior brother, I did what you told me to at the auction. Hmph, how are you going to make it up to me?"
With a wry smile, Huo Yuhao concealed the existence in his Sea of Consciousness, substituting a stirring of his Martial Soul, and told Meng Hongchen everything about Tang Yin from beginning to end.
Since this matter involved Meng Hongchen, she naturally had a right to know.
He promised solemnly, "I can agree to do one thing for you, senior sister, provided it doesn't violate my principles."
"Also, Senior Sister Meng, don't worry. If this brings any danger, I'll shoulder it all myself. I absolutely won't let it affect you."
"What are you saying? I'm your senior sister. If I don't help you, who will?" Meng Hongchen's delicate brows drew together slightly, and she extended a slender finger to poke Huo Yuhao.
"But I'll remember that promise."
"I haven't decided what I want yet, but there's something else I'm terribly curious about."
Huo Yuhao asked, "What is it?"
"What is your ice-attribute Second Martial Soul?"
Huo Yuhao had promised Jing Hongchen not to reveal his Martial Soul lightly.
But, first, Meng Hongchen was hardly an outsider, and Huo Yuhao trusted her not to tell anyone.
Second, she had more or less deduced it herself from scattered clues.
Most importantly, Huo Yuhao felt guilty at that moment, and it wouldn't remain a secret in the near future anyway.
"My Second Martial Soul is the Ice Jade Scorpion."
"The Ice Jade Scorpion!" Meng Hongchen's almond-shaped eyes widened, her lips parting slightly.
Her Martial Soul was the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, a rarity in the Far North, so she had also studied the Soul Beasts of the Far North in considerable depth.
The Ice Jade Scorpion Clan was the undisputed royal race of the Far North.
It was one of only two Soul Beast races in the world today that possessed the Ultimate Ice attribute!
Meng Hongchen murmured:
"Yuhao, I read a book called Top-Tier Martial Soul Secrets. It said that a Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute could assimilate the Soul Power of a Martial Soul of the same attribute."
"It could temporarily raise that Martial Soul's attribute to the level of Ultimate Ice."
That was Ultimate Ice!
The king of ice!
"Uh, Senior Sister Meng, do you want to try?"
Seeing Meng Hongchen eagerly hold out her hand, Huo Yuhao knew he had asked a pointless question.
Meng Hongchen's hand was exceptionally beautiful, her fingers slender without being bony, like a piece of warm, lustrous mutton-fat jade.
Her fingertips were tinged with pale pink, and her nails were neatly trimmed and rounded, gleaming with a healthy luster.
Huo Yuhao took her hand, switched his Martial Soul to the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, and channeled a stream of Soul Power into her.
The next instant, Meng Hongchen suddenly felt herself change. An indescribable, frigid energy surged into her body from behind.
Her Martial Soul originally combined the three attributes of ice, fire, and poison, yet this outside power actually assimilated its ice attribute.
The fire and poison attributes were suppressed to the utmost. Even if she used a Soul Skill now, it probably wouldn't contain a trace of fire or poison.
But she felt that her ice had become something on an entirely different level.
Overbearing, formidable, utterly unreasonable.
That sensation of extreme cold seemed to change her entire bearing along with it.
Holding Huo Yuhao's hand, her gaze grew icy, and her demeanor became forbiddingly aloof.
I am the king of ice, the sovereign of ice!
I shall freeze every enemy in this world to death!
The next second, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power withdrew along with his hand.
Huh?!
Meng Hongchen felt that sensation of suppressing everything, of reigning supreme over the world, vanish.
She pursed her lips and withdrew her fair hand.
It's over already? I thought it hadn't even started!
What was that supposed to mean? I didn't even complain about you taking liberties with me.
Meng Hongchen pushed her distracting thoughts down and pointed in the direction Wang Dong and Tang Yin had left:
"Yuhao, are we just letting those two leave like that?"
Huo Yuhao smiled. "Of course not."
"Overly drastic measures might not be suitable, but teaching Tang Yin a lesson is still possible."
"But I'll need your help with that, Senior Sister Meng."
Not long afterward, just as Tang Yin was about to follow Wang Dong out of Mingdu, a Level 8 Soul Engineer from the Mingdu Inspection Office intercepted him with a massive force that blanketed the area:
"Tang Yin, you're suspected of trafficking in counterfeit and substandard goods and disrupting market order. Come with us!"
Because the amount involved was enormous, Tang Yin was fined one million Gold Soul Coins.
By the time Tang Yin walked out of the Inspection Office, he had even pawned his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
Otherwise, unable to pay the full fine, he could only have enjoyed meals at the Sun Moon Empire's expense behind bars.
His eyes bloodshot and his breathing like an ox's, Tang Yin glanced back at the Mingdu Inspection Office.
Sun Moon Empire, you have already courted your own death!
After that holiday gathering ended, the Hongchen siblings went Soul Hunting in the Evil Demon Forest.
To Huo Yuhao, this was merely an interlude that did not disrupt the rhythm of his studies and cultivation.
After taking that piece of thirty-thousand-year Whale Rubber, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power smoothly broke through to level 27.
As for his physique, Huo Yuhao felt it had improved a little, but not nearly as much as the description claimed.
Perhaps the advanced Soul Engineer meal plan was already so nourishing that this piece of Whale Rubber offered only limited improvement.
Over the following month, he continued spending his time in the laboratory, the library, and meditation, going to Quiet Heart Studio on weekends for independent study.
Thanks to the extensive publicity from "Soul Engineer Genius," written by Feng Tingting, Huo Yuhao's reputation was no longer confined to a single year and had spread throughout the academy.
As a result, when he read the students' thoughts, he picked up many thoughts and emotions concerning himself.
This earned him a tremendous haul of Chaos Qi.
The Hongchen siblings' Soul Hunting trip also went very smoothly, taking only ten days in total.
During this period, Huo Yuhao also devised numerous upgrade approaches based on the Class 2 ultimate cooling Core Array and resolved some problems with integrating Core Arrays.
After the Hongchen siblings returned, the three worked together and not only completed the Class 4 Ultimate Cooling Array before the start of term.
They also solved the key difficulty of integrating it with Core Arrays of the same class.
Producing a Class 4 Live Ammunition Soul Guidance Sniper Rifle capable of firing consecutive shots was now within reach.
During this time, Huo Yuhao told Xiao Hongchen about his Second Martial Soul, leaving Xiao Hongchen feeling rather aggrieved by the disparity.
Quiet Heart Studio.
Jing Hongchen set down the integrated Core Array in his hands and said approvingly:
"You've done very well, finding a technical approach like this."
"I think that, given time, this ultimate cooling Core Array might no longer need to rely on Ultimate Ice Soul Power."
"Yuhao, have Feng Yu write an application before term starts, using the materials on your ultimate cooling Core Array."
"Apply for ten or twenty million Gold Soul Coins in funding, and use it for your cultivation."
"Huh? Teacher, how could I possibly spend that much money at the academy?" Huo Yuhao hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
"The supplementary dean's card you gave me is already enough for my needs at the academy."
Jing Hongchen chuckled. "The supplementary dean's card can only be used within the academy, after all."
"Once you join the Reserve Team next term, you'll be going to the Star Luo Empire."
"They hold excellent auctions there. Their resources for Soul Masters are somewhat better than Mingdu's."
"If you see something you like, having money in your pocket will make it easier to buy."
"That's right, junior brother. The old man has spoken, so just take it," Xiao Hongchen said casually.
"This is using the Illustrious Virtue Hall's money to train you in advance. Spend the money however you like and write a few reports."
"Once your Soul Engineer level rises and you've become a badass, just find some time to close out the project, and that's that."
Huo Yuhao asked, "What about the expert panel's review?"
Xiao Hongchen said in puzzlement, "Grandpa's approving it himself. Even if the experts aren't his disciples or followers, they won't make things difficult for you."
"Besides, this is standard practice. You think Little Meng and I don't have projects like this?"
Seeing Huo Yuhao agree, Xiao Hongchen chuckled mischievously:
"Junior brother, if you feel bad about it, once you finish that Class 4 Soul Guidance Sniper Rifle..."
"Come challenge Ma Rulong with me again when term starts. We won't take advantage of superior numbers this time either. Three against three!"
"That way, we can beat him fair and square before he graduates!"
Before you continue