Huo Tian kept Huo Yutong in his arms. Huo Yutong pressed her fair cheek against the hollow of his neck, remaining downcast all the while.
The two sat on the sofa in the hall. The hall was so quiet that even the dripping water in the kitchen could be heard clearly.
Neither spoke, making the scene extremely strange. It was not that Huo Tian did not want to speak; the main problem was that Huo Yutong never answered. She simply lay quietly in his arms.
Huo Tian rubbed the back of his head in confusion, unaware that throughout the year he had spent with Huo Yutong, his Evil Fire had been influencing her state of mind every moment.
There was already a flaw in Huo Yutong's heart. The Evil Fire endlessly magnified her craving for the love she lacked, making her clingy, possessive of Huo Tian, and prone to jealousy.
"Little Yutong! Did Master do something wrong?"
Huo Tian lifted Huo Yutong's long blue hair, revealing her reddened eyes and fair cheeks. Huo Yutong pressed her lips together.
"No... Master did nothing wrong! It's Yutong's fault..."
"Master, is Yutong really useless...? Yutong keeps clinging to Master and gets jealous so easily!"
"Master, is Yutong a burden?"
Tears kept streaming from Huo Yutong's eyes, soaking her beautiful blue dress. She sobbed, continually wiping away her tears.
"How could you be? Little Yutong, don't let your thoughts run wild! You're not a burden. You're Master's lucky star!"
"No matter what, Master will never leave Little Yutong."
Huo Tian raised his hand and dotingly pinched Huo Yutong's flushed cheek. A smile appeared on her reddened face.
"All right, Master said it! Pinky promise!"
Huo Tian's second sentence gave Huo Yutong a pill of reassurance. Her spirits gradually brightened, and she held her little finger up before his eyes.
"All right, pinky promise, up and down, for a hundred years. Whoever lies is a big old bear!"
"Mm-"
Huo Yutong crossed her hands around Huo Tian's neck, her tone utterly firm, and lay quietly in his arms.
Something occurred to Huo Tian, and the system panel popped up at his mental command. He opened the system storage to see what was inside.
[System points: 100,800,000...] [200,000-year Ice Wolf King Right Leg Bone ×1, Sect Construction Card ×1]
A Soul Bone appeared out of thin air in Huo Tian's palm. Its appearance sent the indoor temperature plunging, but fortunately, with Huo Tian's Evil Fire suppressing it, the extreme cold within the Soul Bone shrank back.
"Master! Is that a Soul Bone?"
Huo Yutong's puzzled gaze rested on the Soul Bone in Huo Tian's hand. Its surface was snow-white and translucent, and the cold it gave off made her tremble all over.
Huo Yutong also had a Soul Bone in her Soul Tool Ring, so she recognized it at a glance. She pressed her palms together and rubbed them against each other.
"Yes, I prepared this for you!"
Huo Tian toyed with the Soul Bone in his palm and told Huo Yutong to open her Soul Tool Ring. She immediately did as he asked.
The Ice Wolf King Soul Bone in Huo Tian's hand was packed into a soul tool case, which he then stuffed into Huo Yutong's Soul Tool Ring.
Huo Tian turned his attention to the system shop again. Seeing him staring blankly at the ceiling, Huo Yutong paid him no further mind.
Over the past year, Huo Yutong had grown used to seeing Huo Tian stare into empty space. She supposed it was a quirk of his.
Huo Tian stroked his chin with one hand. He currently had three Soul Bones in his body, two 150,000-year ones and one 500,000-year one. There was also a 100,000-year one stored in his room, making four Soul Bones in total.
The standard Soul Bones for the human body were divided into the torso bone, skull, left and right arm bones, and left and right leg bones, making six positions in total. Huo Tian had filled four of those positions.
He had Soul Bones for the torso, both arms, and the left leg. With just the skull and right leg bone missing, he would have a complete set of Soul Bones.
Huo Tian tapped the refresh page on the system panel. After tapping for a while, he discovered that the same two Soul Bones kept coming up.
"Fuck! Is this system messing with me?"
Huo Tian voiced his complaint, startling Huo Yutong into a shudder. She traced circles over his abdomen with both hands.
Speechless, Huo Tian covered his face with his palm and let out a helpless laugh. He felt as though this system was constantly watching him, but he could not be bothered with it.
Huo Tian spent four million system points to purchase the 500,000-year Vermilion Bird Bone and the 500,000-year Vermilion Bird Right Leg Bone. Both Soul Bones were stored in the system storage.
"Little Yutong, I'll take you to have a look at the Sea God Pavilion!"
Huo Tian leaped up from the sofa, and Huo Yutong carefully landed on the floor. The two figures, one large and one small, strode out of the courtyard.
Holding Huo Yutong's hand, Huo Tian arrived at the inner court plaza. Classes were in session in the inner court, so only a handful of people were in the plaza.
When the inner court students saw that it was Huo Tian, they all greeted him excitedly. He responded politely. His reputation in the inner court was truly resounding.
The two followed the signs in the inner court plaza northward. The closer they came to the Golden Ancient Tree, the fewer inner court students they saw.
"Still as tall as ever!"
Arriving beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, Huo Tian rested one hand on his hip and raised his head, looking lazily up at the towering tree.
At that moment, several senior inner court teachers were walking around the Golden Ancient Tree.
"Master, the natural energy here is so rich, and the light element is very strong too!"
Huo Yutong released her Martial Soul, the Holy Light Spirit Eyes. Under my effect, she could observe the Golden Ancient Tree's internal structure very clearly.
Huo Yutong felt that if she cultivated here, her cultivation speed would definitely be much faster than outside.
As though drawn by something, the light element within the Golden Ancient Tree began gathering around Huo Yutong, whose eyes radiated waves of golden light.
After her Martial Soul Evolution, Huo Yutong possessed two supreme elements, Ultimate Holiness and Ultimate Light. The Golden Ancient Tree and the Holy Light Spirit Eyes resonated with each other.
Huo Yutong circulated the Soul Power within her body, absorbing the rich light element that had suddenly arrived. Her Sea of Consciousness felt so warm, as though she had returned to her mother's embrace.
Huo Yun'er's soul had always existed within Huo Yutong's Sea of Consciousness. As long as certain special conditions were met, Huo Yun'er could be fully resurrected, but Huo Yutong was not yet aware of this.
"From now on, you can come here to cultivate!"
Huo Tian gently stroked Huo Yutong's long blue hair, and the two walked hand in hand toward the Sea God Pavilion.
Normally, only the elders could enter the Sea God Pavilion. Whether they were outer court or inner court students, no one was allowed inside without approval. Huo Tian was an exception.
One of the Sea God Pavilion's doors was tightly shut, while the other was open a crack. Huo Tian pushed the door open and entered.
The first floor of the Sea God Pavilion was used for meetings. At that moment, it was pitch-black and utterly silent, but a slovenly old man lay on the conference table.
Xuan Zi lay half-reclined on the conference table, holding a chicken drumstick in his right hand and a wine flask in his left, sound asleep.