Huo Yuhao quickly explained, his tone sincere, "No, no, Li Ya, don't misunderstand. Now, I've formed an alliance with Di Tian and the Silver Dragon King, the ruler of all Soul Beast. I will help the Silver Dragon King become the Dragon God, and she will help me regain my peak strength. My advice to her is that after she becomes the Dragon God, she should create a new Divine Realm."
"A Divine Realm even a Soul Beast can become a god."
Li Ya stared at him blankly. "You mean..."
Huo Yuhao solemnly said, "I will help you become a god."
Everyone was astonished. "You... you've become a god?"
Huo Yuhao looked at Li Ya and said gently, "That's right, Li Ya, you are free. I can't take away your freedom because of our relationship. Everyone should have freedom. Right now, Ice Empress and Snow Empress are still in their Soul Beast form. Right now, they are my lovers."
Li Ya's eyes widened in disbelief as she exclaimed, "What did you say? Snow Empress and Ice Empress have become your lovers?"
Huo Yuhao said, "Yes."
A complex emotion welled up in Li Ya's heart. She thought to herself, "I can accept Sister Snow Empress, but doesn't Sister Ice Empress already have that big bug by her side? Why does she still want to compete with me for Yuhao?"
Huo Yuhao said, "It doesn't matter if you don't become my Soul Spirit. In the end, you will definitely be able to become your own god."
Li Ya shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears. " Yuhao, I never wanted to become my own god. You are my only god."
She touched Huo Yuhao's cheek.
Huo Yuhao was surprised by this sudden action. He didn't know how to respond to the girl because he had always regarded her as his partner, at least in his previous life. After his rebirth, he always felt an ambiguous feeling towards the person next to him.
Even the Sea Princess Queen noticed this. The God of Emotion in front of her didn't care about the feelings between Soul Beast and humans. Moreover, it seemed that Li Ya's feelings for Huo Yuhao were unusually deep.
The Sea Princess's sister stared blankly in the direction of Li Ya and Huo Yuhao. She had never felt that Li Ya could have such overwhelming feelings for a man. It seemed to have transcended the relationship between companions and was more like that of lovers.
Huo Yuhao sighed softly, looking at Li Ya with gentle eyes, trying to explain the current situation to Li Ya: " Li Ya, no matter what, your life can continue. You can be my partner, you don't have to be my Soul Spirit. That's how it was with the Snow Empress, and that's how it was with the Ice Empress."
He paused, then gave another example, "Because Xiao Bai thinks that if he wants to be with me, he can also become a god, which is simpler. And Bajiao, they are still my Soul Spirit. Every path has its own possibilities."
Li Ya interrupted him urgently, her worry deepening. "But now, if you lack the power of Sister Snow Empress and Sister Ice Empress, how will you fight against that Sea God? Your final fate will still be the same as in your previous life—to be killed. I don't want that to happen in front of us." She couldn't continue, her voice choked with emotion.
Huo Yuhao chuckled softly, "No, Li Ya, my teacher is still with me. My future will definitely be even brighter."
Even without your strength, I will still be able to protect you.
"Besides, Di Tian and the Silver Dragon King also granted me power, and as you know, I also obtained the Golden Dragon King's power by chance back then. I'll be fine."
Li Ya still looked at him with concern and said, " Yuhao, even so, I want to help you."
Her eyes were unfocused, and only a single, unspoken thought flashed through her mind, " Yuhao, if I had met you first in our past life, Yuhao, would things have been different? A Goodness human and a Goodness mermaid—what kind of story would have unfolded? There would be no Tang Wutong, only us, only Sister Snow Empress and me. In that case, we would surely have lived happily ever after."
But there are no "what ifs" in this world.
In this life, how I wish you could hear me, Yuhao, could hear my heart's desire.
Just then, Huo Yuhao's gentle voice rang out, as if he could see right through Li Ya's heart. " Li Ya, thank you for your kindness, but becoming Soul Spirit requires giving up your own body. Before, it was because of the Evil Soul Master that you had no choice but to become my Soul Spirit. Now, you have a choice."
Li Ya raised her moist eyes and softly replied, "Is that so, Yuhao?"
Before Huo Yuhao could continue speaking, Li Ya blurted out, " Yuhao, you're a good person, and I'm a good person too. Good people always appreciate each other. No matter what, I hope to be your strength, whether you become a god or not."
She slowly stepped forward, gently hugged Huo Yuhao, pressed her cheek against his chest, and silently slid tears down her cheeks. "Just being able to stay by your side is enough."
Li Ya slowly shed tears—mermaid tears. Legend says that mermaid tears turn into pearls, but now, it seems there's no such thing. These glistening tears falling now are simply real tears, tears shed for one person, far more precious than any treasure.
Huo Yuhao wanted to hug Li Ya, but Li Ya was bigger than him. He said, " Li Ya, it's possible. I can give you legs. You can switch between the sea and other realms at any time, as you please."
Li Ya lifted her head slightly from his embrace, her eyes shining brightly through her teary vision. "Really? Yuhao?"
Huo Yuhao said gently, "It's true, my Godhood still exists, and now I'm going to inherit Godhood again, along with some special powers. So, achieving this isn't too difficult. So, Li Ya, can you accept it? I'm giving you your freedom. I hope you can have a free life and be able to do what you want."
He looked into Li Ya's eyes, "Just like birds, they should be flying in the sky, not confined to one place, which is a cage. Birds will always spread their wings and fly high, and everyone can yearn for freedom."
Li Ya nodded. Huo Yuhao channeled some magic power into his hands, and then a soft golden light flashed slowly before Li Ya's eyes. The light flowed, and the scales gradually turned into delicate panels. Li Ya's fish tail completely transformed into legs, and her body, as Sea Soul Beast, began to shrink slightly.
Now, she looks no different from a human girl.
Everyone stared in disbelief at this scene. It was truly astonishing. Was this the power of a deity? Transcending the ordinary, reshaping forms, and easily accomplishing what mortals could not—it was truly astonishing.
Huo Yuhao's voice guided her, saying, " Li Ya, with a thought, you can transform back into your mermaid form."
As soon as Li Ya had a thought, sure enough, she transformed back into her mermaid form once again.
P. S.: While writing this, I was reminded of the relationship between the Immortal Venerable and Xie Hanmo, which is why I wrote, "You are a good person. A good person wouldn't make things difficult for another good person." However, this isn't just a story about a mermaid princess finding a human Soul Master.