The Far North's frigid wind swept ice crystals down in a rustling shower. The Snow Empress gently gathered Huo Yuhao into her arms, her pale fingertips unconsciously brushing his bloodstained lapel.
She looked up at Electrolux, a trace of panic in her sky-blue eyes. "Elder Yi, I've only just accepted my memories of the future. I still need time to sort through many things. Until then, could I ask you not to tell Yuhao that he has been here before?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Electrolux's eyes. "Why hide it from him?"
The Snow Empress lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting broken shadows across her cheeks. Her voice carried a young maiden's shyness and apprehension. "I... I want to see him again at my best. My memories haven't fully merged yet, and I don't know how to face him..." Her voice faded as a soft thread of ice-blue light rose from her palm and settled gently between Huo Yuhao's brows. "So I beg you to keep this secret for me, just for now."
Watching the Snow Empress's gentle, careful manner, Electrolux could not help sighing inwardly. Yuhao, Yuhao, you boy have a blessing as vast as the heavens. He nodded lightly and rested his withered hand over the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll keep your secret safe."
In a haze, Huo Yuhao's consciousness drifted up and down in the darkness. When he opened his eyes again, warm yellow candlelight illuminated the wooden beams of the inn in Suotuo City, and a faint scent of incense hung in the air. He struggled to sit up, only for a sudden wave of dizziness to pull him back onto the pillow. "Teacher... what happened to me...?"
In the Sea of Consciousness, Electrolux's phantom looked at Huo Yuhao, who sat cross-legged with a pale face. His voice was kind and concerned. "Yuhao, even I was shaken by that power you forced yourself to use. But the stronger the power, the fiercer the backlash."
He raised a hand and pointed, sending a gentle light into the space between the boy's brows. "Listen to me. Don't try to shoulder everything alone again. Whatever danger you face, your teacher will be there."
"Even against experts like Titled Douluo, I can handle them with room to spare. Even if ten of them came, they still wouldn't be a match for me. Take good care of yourself from now on, Yuhao. I know you want me to see what you've achieved, but you must never put yourself in danger."
"If you died, I might just make the people of this plane accompany you to the grave."
A vicious glint flashed in Electrolux's eyes.
Remember, your teacher is here.
Your teacher will always be behind you, watching over you.
At last, Electrolux pulled the boy into his arms. These old bones of mine can still fight...
Electrolux thought to himself, One day, I'll grind the bones of whoever hurt my disciple to ash.
Huo Yuhao wanted to answer, but a fit of violent coughing interrupted him. Heartache flashed in Electrolux's eyes as he continued, "Necromancy has spells that can erase specific memories, and I once had light magic as well, enough to conceal the traces of your journey through time and space. Once your injuries have healed, I'll teach you all these secret arts without holding anything back." His voice softened with a tenderness unique to an elder. "You always take every burden onto your own shoulders, but don't forget-"
The mist suddenly surged violently, and Electrolux's phantom abruptly grew larger. His callused palm settled gently on Huo Yuhao's head. "Your teacher is still here. As long as these old bones can hold out, I'll never let you face any danger alone."
Huo Yuhao's nose stung, and his vision blurred. He had never imagined that, while he lay unconscious, his teacher had already quietly prepared a way out for him. "Thank you, Teacher..." His voice choked. "But Teacher, if it hadn't been for you back then, I..."
"What nonsense are you saying?" Electrolux patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "From the moment you called me teacher, we were destined to share life and death. Child, why are you acting so distant with me?" He waved his hand lightly.
Within the Lotus Sea of Divine Soul, an immortal residence of jade towers and jeweled halls floated in silence. Sandalwood incense curled through its rooms, and gauze curtains swayed gently in the breeze. Dressed in a plain white robe, Nezha lounged sideways in a chair, red ribbons drifting loosely from his hair, his face full of boredom.
He glanced at Huo Yuhao across from him, his tone tinged with frustration at his failure to live up to expectations. "Your body is still too weak. Samadhi True Fire isn't so easy to control." With that, Nezha let out a heavy sigh and waved his sleeve. A flickering strand of crimson-gold flame appeared on the table at once, crackling in the silent space and casting wavering light and shadows all around.
Seeing Huo Yuhao staring fixedly at the flame, Nezha suddenly grew serious. "Listen carefully, Huo Yuhao. Once you return to your original time, I'll set you a test. After you pass it, I'll teach you Samadhi True Fire. That way, your combat power will undergo an earth-shaking improvement in the future."
"A test?" Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, a trace of puzzlement flashing in his eyes.
Nezha flicked his fingers, scattering the sparks, and said slowly, "That's right. For this test, you'll have to use your own head to break out of the predicament. Inside the illusion in the trial space, your Martial Soul, Soul Skills, and even that stupid dragon's abilities will all be sealed. If you succeed, not only will I teach you Samadhi True Fire, I'll also give you another gift, and your strength will undergo an earth-shaking improvement. If you fail..."
His lips curved in something that was almost a smile. "If you fail, you'll be in for it. But you don't need to worry about failing. You won't fail-if you don't meet my requirements, you'll remain trapped in that loop until you succeed. I'll be the one to judge whether you've succeeded."
Huo Yuhao showed no fear at all. Instead, fighting spirit blazed in his eyes. (The Third Prince was handing out benefits.) He snapped his fingers with a flourish, swept a hand over his robes, and said clearly, "Got it. In that case, we'll talk about it when I get back." With that, he folded his arms, a faint light rose around him, and his figure gradually became transparent.
As his words fell, ripples spread through the Lotus Divine Soul Space. Huo Yuhao's figure gradually turned transparent, then became a streak of light that vanished into the depths of the hall. Nezha looked in the direction where he had disappeared and smiled faintly. "Don't keep me waiting too long... Huo Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao tilted his head back to gaze at the setting sun hanging in the sky, his hand beneath his black robe unconsciously brushing the Storage Soul Tool at his waist. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well... he thought, a fervent light rising in his eyes. The immortal herbs growing there might not only heal the hidden injuries left by Samadhi True Fire; they might also let my Soul Power make a qualitative leap.
The moment he stepped into the Sunset Forest, poisonous miasma hidden beneath the rotting leaves seeped through the soles of his boots and into his meridians. Without betraying any reaction, Huo Yuhao circulated his profound art. Soul Power flowed over his body, burning every last wisp of poisonous gas away.
The forest, steeped in deadly poison, was eerily silent. Only the occasional beast's roar pierced the gathering dusk. He narrowed his eyes, spreading his divine sense like a spiderweb. As expected of the Poison Douluo's secluded home. Even the air carries traces of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison. Without Elder Yi's help, it would indeed be hard for me to deal with these thousand-year Soul Beasts in my current injured state.
He brushed a hand over the purple-veined trunk beside him. The slime left on his fingertips sizzled and gave off white smoke. But if I were at the peak I reached when I faced Tang Hao the day before yesterday, I might not be afraid of these beasts that don't know life from death...
"How dare you! Who dares run wild in my secluded domain?!" The furious shout came like a giant wave, startling birds into flight throughout the woods. The temperature of the entire forest plummeted.
Huo Yuhao looked up and saw a silver-haired old man standing in midair atop a cloud of poisonous mist. The emerald-green Soul Power coiling around him churned as though it were solid, and wherever it passed, leaves instantly dissolved into pus.
Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier...
Inside Dugu Bo's residence.
The Poison Douluo's body was already suffering as he suppressed the deadly poison. Suddenly sensing someone entering his domain, he snapped his eyes open, a cold killing intent flashing in his pupils. "What thing that doesn't know life from death is it this time?!" He casually snatched the cloak beside his bed and threw it over his shoulders, then vanished in a flash.
When he saw Huo Yuhao's face hidden beneath his black robe, Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul appeared abruptly. Nine Soul Rings lit up behind him one after another. "How dare you! Who are you, to come running wild in my domain? I am Dugu Bo!" His serpent tail slammed into the ground, sending fragments of stone flying. As soon as they touched the venom, they were corroded through with densely packed holes.
Huo Yuhao raised his hands in a cupped-fist salute, his figure beneath the black robe carrying an air of composure. "Senior, I mean no harm. I came to take a few things from you."
The veins on Dugu Bo's neck bulged, and scarlet killing intent gleamed in his serpent eyes. His Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul rose in a spiral from beneath him, green venom seeping between its scales and eating into the ground with a hiss. "Pah! A brat who still reeks of his mother's milk dares set his sights on my herb garden?"
He roared, "You want to take my medicinal herbs too?! I've always been the one taking other people's things. No one has ever taken anything from me!" Nine Soul Rings burst into dazzling light behind him.