Every Soul Master in Shrek Academy and Shrek City was drawn by the cry of Huo Tian's Martial Soul, the Vermilion Bird.
Not only were the Martial Souls of Beast Martial Soul Masters suppressed, but those of Tool Martial Soul Masters were too. The Vermilion Bird Martial Soul brought more than suppression of their bloodlines; it exerted dominion deep within their souls.
In a small grove in the Shrek Outer Court.
"I nearly fell to my death!"
Wang Dong'er had released her Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul and was flying through the sky, the two pairs of wings behind her dazzling beneath the sunlight.
With a puzzled look, Wang Dong'er gazed toward Sea God Island and rubbed the back of her head. That cry from the Vermilion Bird had nearly sent her plummeting onto the grass.
"Wang Dong'er, are we still fighting or not?"
Xiao Xiao controlled her Martial Soul with her hands, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron continuously circling beneath Wang Dong'er's feet. The suppression on Xiao Xiao's Martial Soul was not as strong.
After Xiao Xiao returned to the dormitory, she had not had any conflicts with Wang Dong'er. Wang Dong'er was a little tsundere, but she had not made things difficult for Xiao Xiao.
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao had gotten along reasonably well over the past two days. Wanting to spar before school began, they had come to this small grove.
"No more fighting. School starts tomorrow."
Wang Dong'er withdrew her Martial Soul. Dressed in a pink dress today, she folded her arms across her chest, looking displeased.
That Vermilion Bird cry had completely robbed Wang Dong'er of her interest in sparring. Seeing this, Xiao Xiao also withdrew her Martial Soul and stood silently to one side.
"Let's go!"
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er walked side by side, their figures, one pink and one green, disappearing into the shrubbery.
As Huo Tian emerged from seclusion, Yan Shaozhe from the Outer Court and Qian Duoduo from the Martial Soul Department both hurried toward the Sea God Pavilion.
Inside the Golden Ancient Tree's secret chamber, firelight blazed skyward, and the temperature throughout the tree's interior kept climbing.
Suspended above the ice bed by his Soul Power, Huo Tian had purple, purple, black, black, black, red, and red rings circling behind him. Evil Fire blazed all over him, burning the surrounding space.
After Huo Tian spent two days and two nights fusing with them, the six Soul Bones had fully merged into his body. This was the result of the influence of the Vermilion Bird Divine Mark and the Divine Fire Origin.
The six Soul Bones inside Huo Tian resonated, their emitted energy connecting into a network that appeared across his bare body.
Under the scorching effect of the Evil Fire, Huo Tian's long golden-red hair gradually fell out, gathering in a pile on the ice bed. Carefree-looking short red hair gradually grew in its place.
"Ah!"
Huo Tian cried out, and the Soul Bone pathways across his body began to stir. His entire body radiated a scorching light, brightest between his brows and at his heart.
Six streaks of crimson-gold light instantly surged along the pathways.
The searing pain lasted only a few breaths before a warm vitality suppressed it, and his depleted Soul Power recovered at an astonishing speed.
"Hum-"
Huo Tian's six Soul Bones trembled softly in unison, drawing on one another and giving off a clear, ringing resonance.
A Vermilion Bird phantom appeared behind Huo Tian, its crimson feathers spreading, its flames surging like a tide.
Vermilion Bird Bone Armor began spreading from the Vermilion Bird Torso Bone. Crimson-gold patterns covered his shoulder blades, chest, abdomen, and limbs section by section, finally condensing into a flame-shaped bone mark at the center of his forehead.
"This is...? Vermilion Bird Bone Armor!"
Huo Tian slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air, gazing in disbelief at the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor covering his entire body.
Releasing his Soul Power, Huo Tian slowly descended onto the ice bed. The Vermilion Bird Bone Armor on his body continuously erupted with Evil Fire.
The ice bed beneath Huo Tian's feet began to melt, and he immediately leaped down. Clenching his fists, he felt his entire body brimming with strength.
Although this suit of Vermilion Bird Bone Armor granted Huo Tian extraordinary strength, it made the two energies within him, Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Darkness, repel each other even more severely.
If Huo Tian could not properly suppress these two energies, the devastation brought about when his Martial Soul went out of control would be unimaginable.
"I'm a Quasi-Soul Douluo now. With the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor, fighting a rank 95 Super Douluo won't be a problem!"
"Sigh... the Evil Fire inside me could go out of control at any moment. Who knows whether this Vermilion Bird Bone Armor is a blessing or a curse?"
Huo Tian released his Soul Power, and the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor dissipated from his body. He took out a piece of clothing, put it on, and strode out of the secret chamber.
Huo Tian's seclusion this time had caused quite a stir. The Outer Court students might not have known what had happened, but the Inner Court students all knew that their eldest senior brother had grown stronger this time.
"Maybe the bone armor formed because the Soul Bones share the same root and origin. I'm not sure if that's it!"
Huo Tian walked very slowly through the secret passage, stroking his chin with one hand as he pondered the bone armor.
Did forming Soul Bone armor require Soul Bones of the same element, Soul Bones produced by Soul Beasts of the same bloodline, or both?
"Forget it. I'll experiment when I have time! I wonder how the bone armor compares to four-word Battle Armor."
Huo Tian stopped pondering, clasped his hands behind his head, and walked out of the secret chamber's passage with a carefree expression.
"Grandmaster, has my master's seclusion ended?"
Huo Yutong had spent the past two days sitting cross-legged on the balcony. With the Golden Ancient Tree's assistance, her cultivation had progressed very quickly. Her cultivation was already at Quasi-Soul Grandmaster; all she lacked was a Soul Ring.
Huo Yutong stood up and walked to Mu En's bedside with an innocent, puzzled expression. She had not expected Huo Tian's seclusion to be so short, ending after just two days.
In Huo Yutong's mind, shouldn't Huo Tian have needed half a month or a month?
"Yes, your master has come out of seclusion. You've grown stronger too, Yutong."
Mu En put down the book in his hands and pushed his upper body up with both arms. A kindly smile appeared on his face. He released his Soul Power and discovered that the Soul Power in Huo Yutong's meridians surged ceaselessly like river water.
Mu En began stroking his long beard. He found that Huo Yutong's cultivation talent rivaled Huo Tian's.
Huo Yutong's Martial Soul, the Holy Light Spirit Eyes, not only contained the two elements of Ultimate Holiness and Ultimate Light, but his cultivation speed was also exceptional. After cultivating beneath the Golden Ancient Tree for two days, he had advanced two ranks in succession.
"Sigh."
"If this little girl also had Ultimate Ice in her Martial Soul, perhaps she could save Huo Tian."
Mu En murmured quietly, letting out a mournful sigh.
Ultimate Holiness and Ultimate Ice could not possibly coexist within one person, and Mu En entertained no such fantasies.
Seeing Mu En's dejected expression, Huo Yutong scratched her cheek and stood helplessly beside the bed.
"Yutong, let's go see Xiaotian together."
Mu En got out of bed, supporting himself with a cane. Huo Yutong immediately came to help him, and the two figures, one old and one young, headed toward the Golden Ancient Tree's secret passage.
After walking for a while, Huo Tian finally came out. He saw a figure waving at the entrance. It was Huo Yutong.
"Master!"
Huo Yutong immediately trotted over and threw herself into Huo Tian's arms. Huo Tian crouched down and picked her up, and she buried her face deep in the crook of his neck.
Huo Yutong greedily breathed in the aura of Evil Fire on Huo Tian. When she noticed that his hair was actually short, she was slightly startled.
"Master, where's your long hair? You seem taller too."
Huo Yutong met Huo Tian's eyes, her face puzzled as her finger traced circles on his cheek.
"The Evil Fire burned it away. My height might be because I fused with the Soul Bones..."
Huo Tian walked out of the secret chamber's entrance with steady steps. After this Soul Bone fusion, he had grown to a height of 1.95 meters.