"...Success," Skydream muttered, letting out a sigh of relief. Feeling like he was about to drop down from exhaustion, he glanced over at an unconscious Huo Yuhao sitting cross-legged on the thick snow with a mix of admiration and concern.
He then turned towards an exhausted Ice Empress and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Ice Empress snorted, "I'm fine. Although a fella like you is a piece of trash, you have good eyesight."
"Hehe." The Skydream Iceworm was already used to being scolded by the Ice Empress, "To tell the truth, I didn't think that Yuhao would be this strong. He was able to persist due to the stubborn convictions he holds in his heart. This experience has opened up a brilliant road for his future growth. Let's quickly start fusing your martial soul with his body."
"Hm. Protect me." To Huo Yuhao, the crucial moment had already passed. After fusing with the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's torso bone, he had crossed a difficult level. With the torso bone as a foundation, his coming fusion with the Ice Jade Empress' martial soul and soul ring would be much easier.
Skydream then turned towards Ancestor, asking, "And? Have you finally made up the seal for the God Bone?"
Ancestor snorted, crossing his arms. "Who do you think I am, little worm. I already finished making the semantics for the seal when the merging process began."
"So fast?!" Skydream's eyes almost bulged out in shock, he thought the old freak would need his and Ice Empress' help.
"It's not that surprising. Remember when I ask you about finding a soul beast that has incredible amounts of soul power, preferably almost limitless..."
Skydream's lips twitched. "You didn't say that. Forget about asking Bing'er, I can tell you that only a Divine Beast or another million year old soul beast would fit the criteria."
"Hm. Pity. But anyways, the seal that I have in mind is called the Four Symbol Seal. A Four Symbols Seal is used to seal a large enemy or an evil spirit into a target, such as an object or a human's body. This seal had managed to seal a beast with near limitless energy so I'm certain it can seal it." Ancestor replied, looking down at the icy God Bone in his ghostly hands.
Skydream looked incredibly nervous. After all, this was the bone of the powerful Ice God that every Ice type soul beast in the world worshipped, especially the local Extreme North soul beasts. So they held great reverence towards it.
Even for a million year old soul beast such as himself, though far from his prime, and the bone only holding fraction of the Ice God's power, he can't help but shiver when staring at the God Bone.
"A-Are you sure this seal of yours can handle it?"
"If it were the Ice God? No, absolutely not. But just a piece of his bone that only holds, like, 1% of his power or something? Then yes, absolutely yes." Ancestor nonchalantly said as he fiddled with the God Bone.
He then glanced at Skydream and asked. "Little Worm, these...Gods and Divine Beasts you were talking about, are you certain that they're real?"
Skydream nodded. "Yes, they are real. Gods and Divine Beasts are immensely powerful beings that surpass the capabilities of even rank 99 soul masters and one million year old soul beasts. They possess incredible strength, wisdom, and often have unique abilities that controls the fundamental laws of the universe. However, they are rare and few in number. Many legends and myths revolve around these beings, and they are often revered and worshipped by mortal beings."
Ancestor hummed, feeling quite interested at the concept of his incarnation becoming a God.
Although he had knew about the God Plan from the beginning, Ancestor still couldn't help but be in disbelief that one can ascend to become a God in this world, though not as easily, but still.
And he wasn't entirely surprised that someone can become a God, considering his father, who supposedly became the God of Shinobi and is watching over the living world from the afterlife. And there was that one ancestor of his that he strangely can't recall in one of his lifetime that became a higher being that no longer needed a physical body.
"Hmph." Ancestor couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
After all, his incarnation had a high possibility of becoming a God. Something that even in his life, throughout his many lifetimes, he wasn't able to do. If Huo Yuhao could become one...was it possible for him to find the Shinobi World?
"Ahh, I'm so excited." Ancestor chuckled once more, gripping the pulsating God Bone.
The cold wind was still as bitingly cold as ever. Large snowflakes covered everything as far as the eye could see within the snowy plain.
The one thing that seemed out of place from this desolate ice land was a human body, sitting cross-legged, completely encased in ice and frost; seemingly a frozen corpse.
Suddenly, the 'corpse's' eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of blood red eyes with golden pupils that gave off an intense, piercing gaze. A cold smile played on his lips as he shattered the ice by tensing his muscles, he then slowly rose to his feet.
His body was lean and muscular, the muscles on his body was well-defined and defined, outlining his six pack abs and strong physique. His hair was a vibrant shade of black with mix of green and white tips, showing his connection with Skydream and Ice Empress.
As the young man stood up, his eyes began flashing; specifically his pupils. For a moment they were bright gold, then jade green, before settling the right eye with golden pupils while the other turned bright green like emerald.
"This feeling..." Huo Yuhao muttered, absentmindedly clenching his hands, his taut muscles released a sensation filled with power.
A strange scene then occurred. The falling snowflakes suddenly moved away from a three-feet radius around his body the moment they approached him. Unexpectedly, a clean patch of earth around him had appeared within the world of ice and snow.
A wide sinister smile spread across Huo Yuhao's face as he reveled in the power coursing through his veins.
Moreover, he noticed something peculiar about his newfound power.
Without thinking, he suddenly leapt into the air, reaching an astounding twenty feet. Whistling sharp winds and icy water tendrils followed his movement, creating a breathtaking scene of power and grace.
When he reached the peak of his jump, he let out a long, resounding roar towards the sky.
The rumbling sound waves caused by his roar reverberated through the air, scattering the falling snowflakes. His breathing immediately became unhindered, and under the circulation of his soul power, he was able to clearly see that his sternum, ribs, and spine were emitting a jade-green glow.
Letting out a deep breath, despite being so high in the air, he gracefully and soundlessly landed back on the snowy ground. The impact of his landing caused a small ripple in the snow, but he remained unphased.
"Hahahahaha!!"
Huo Yuhao felt a surge of excitement and power coursing through his body as he burst out laughing.
But this wasn't the end.
As a soul ring that flickered with a dazzling light rose up from his feet. This soul ring shone with a terrifying blood-red light. This noble, cold soul ring that shone with a luster resembling a bloody sea emitted a boundless amount of might from it. Four golden patterns were faintly discernible on the blood-red soul ring. The interwoven colors of red and gold were extremely dazzling amidst the snowy plains of ice.
The instant this soul ring appeared, a suddenly transformation occurred to Huo Yuhao's aura. A desolation that seemed to come from the ancient times appeared on his body.
Following that red soul ring, enormous tattoo appeared on his back. There was a pair of pincers that flickered with a dazzling light, and a captivating, jade-green tail. Was that not the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion?
Martial Soul; Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Soul Ring; 400,000 years old! The fusion process had been a success!
"Finally... I...succeeded!!" Huo Yuhao felt tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at his new martial soul and soul ring, feeling completely relieved to the point he fell down to his knees.
He couldn't believe that he had survived that painful ordeal. It was hell!
'...I'm sorry mom. Looks like there are things more painful than losing you.' he thought to himself, his voice echoing in his mind.
Suddenly, Skydream appeared floating by his side with a wide smile on his exhausted face and said, "We've finally succeeded. All of our hard work wasn't wasted after all."
"Brother Skydream!" Huo Yuhao yelled, turning towards him with a grinning look and raised a thumbs up.
As the realization of his success sank in, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. He had overcome unimaginable pain and exhaustion to achieve this level of power.
Skydream was surprised for a moment before returning the gesture.
"So, is this is the first soul skill of Ice Empress?" After a moment of silence Huo Yuhao finally spoke, looking down at his transformed hands.
His hands were now covered in a layer of extremely detailed diamond-like hexagons, which were about the size of a bean. If you looked at him as a whole, the resplendent luster coming from his arms also brightened the enormous tattoo on his back.
He had unconsciously activated it when he was talking to Skydream. Was it just by chance?
Huo Yuhao blinked his eyes, looking completely surprised. "Hey, why are my weight bracelets still wrapped around my wrists? And my legs!"
"...Wait, did you actually forgot about them?!" Skydream was speechless. Did Huo Yuhao not planned to have them on while during the merging process?
"Yes..." Huo Yuhao's lips twitched. No wonder he always felt like his limbs were kinda constricting.
Skydream chuckled. "Well, no good on dwelling on it as you've already succeeded. We've crossed the most substantial step now. With the torso bone the Ice Empress' given you, the strength of your body has increased by at least fivefold. Your endurance has also increased by a large amount, so you're now able to withstand the soul ring of a ten thousand year soul beast at the very least!"
"No kidding," Huo Yuhao nodded. "No wonder you won't let me get a second soul ring until I fuse with Ice Empress. With her strengthening my body by many folds, I can absorb a much more powerful soul ring."
"Precisely!" Skydream nodded in approval. "Moreover, as a four hundred thousand year old soul beast, you currently possess four new soul skills! Two from her hundred thousand year soul ring and two more from her soul bone!"
"Four soul skills, four soul skills...!" Huo Yuhao muttered excitedly. He couldn't believe that he now possessed four new powerful soul skills. This was a significant power up of his combat prowess.
"The Ice Empress! Brother Skydream, how is she now? Was she able to retain her consciousness?"
An intelligent soul ring was much stronger than a regular soul ring that only gave him some strength. Let alone that, with the Ice Empress' status in the Extreme North and her intelligence, Huo Yuhao's training here would be much simpler and his future hunt of soul rings for his second martial soul.
"The Ice Empress is fine. Only, she's just fused with your body. She had my protection, but she was still extremely exhausted. Right now, she's in a deep sleep." Skydream replied, significantly pleased when talking about Ice Empress.
"And as for your new soul skills... Figure them out on your own! I'm not Ice Empress, and she's currently asleep right now. So you just have to explore these new abilities on your own."
"Oh. Hehe." Huo Yuhao nodded, rubbing his head.
Skydream shook his head, amused, and tapped on Huo Yuhao's forehead. "Are you good to go now? If so, then we gotta go hunt down your second and third soul rings for your Sharingan so we can really see what your true cultivation is right now."
Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up in excitement and smiled, clenching his hands. "Finally! I can finally get another soul ring!"
Although he's likely to be the strongest amongst his peers, Huo Yuhao isn't satisfied with just that. He wants to keep pushing himself and become even stronger, to become the very best! To look down upon the world as a God, to control the lives of others with ease.
'To exact vengeance! To bring justice upon those bastards who trampled upon the lives of mine and my mother...' Huo Yuhao's eyes shone a fierce glint.
Speaking of Gods...
"How's Ancestor?" Huo Yuhao asked, noticing the absence of Ancestor and could guess why.
Skydream shrugged. "As well as you think. After sealing the God Bone on your left forearm, his spiritual origin is on the brink of disappearing and he went into complete hibernation mode."
'Ancestor...' Huo Yuhao sniffed, grateful to Ancestor for helping him again.
"In any case, knowing just how resilient that old freak, we don't need to worry." Skydream's eyes then gleamed with excitement. "How about you show me what kind of benefits that God Bone has?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, equally curious.
He looked down at his masculine left arm, white as porcelain, and he could feel a sort of... connection to something within it.
Concentrating on that feeling, he tapped into the God Bone's power.
Almost immediately, dark tribal tattoos began to appear on his left arm; from his wrist to his elbow, with numerous kanji letters spread in between the tribal tattoos, radiating a mysterious aura. The tattoos seemed to pulsate for a moment, turning into a shade of blue like ice, before settling back down into black.
A surge of power coursed through Huo Yuhao's veins, his senses becoming sharper and more acute than ever before. His soul power reserves quadruple and was still slowly increasing! He could feel the energy of the surrounding world, the slightest movements of the air, the falling snow, cold temperature and nearby living ice creatures that were thousands of miles away from his location.
It was as if he had control over the Extreme North.
'No, no, no! Subside, subside!'
Huo Yuhao was understandably excited and happy about this incredible power but his face quickly paled when his senses seem to start approaching the core region of the Extreme North.
Nope! He didn't want any hundred thousand year soul beasts' attention on him right now, especially since the Ice Jade Scorpions are still on high alert about the people that kidnapped their empress.
So he quickly took to control the amount of power the sealed God Bone was channeling into his body. With great effort, he managed to suppress the overwhelming surge of energy, bringing it down to a manageable level.
"Phew, that was close," Huo Yuhao muttered, wiping the sweat, now turned crystals, off his forehead. "I need to be careful not to draw too much attention to myself."
Skydream, who had been watching the scene unfold, nodded in agreement. "Fortunately you managed to take control of the Ice God quickly or else we really have to get out of this place."
Huo Yuhao nervously chuckled.
"...As expected of the Ice God's divine power. Although it's merely just a remnant of his overall power, its aura is suffocating even for me, a former soul beast that was nearing a Divine Beast. Is it just his power, or is it a primordial instinct that a ice soul beast..." Skydream mused, his voice trailing off.
Huo Yuhao grinned. "So it acts as a suppressor against Ice type soul beasts as well?"
"Well, yes. There's obviously more to it than that but..."
"I'll figure them out later," Huo Yuhao waved his hand, then grabbing his storage belt that he put down on the ground.
For his shirt...it was completely frozen.
'I should've put it in the storage belt...'
"Brother Skydream, lead the way!" Huo Yuhao yelled, now wearing a black shirt with a blue jacket over, navy blue pants and black combat boots.
Skydream scratched his head and let out a chuckle. "Alright, alright. Let's go hunt down some soul beasts for you."
Huo Yuhao grinned and nodded, turning towards where Skydream was pointing at with his tail, he then sprinted towards it.
Fast.
He moved like a blur, moving so fast across the snow as if he were a cheetah.
This was a combination of using his increased physical capabilities, ninja training, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and a bit of the God Bone's power. By how much you might ask?
By 20%
"Wooo! This is so awesome!" Huo Yuhao excitedly screamed out loud, scaring the soul beast he passed by.
"Hey, Yuhao. What are you going to name this thing now?" Skydream's voice rang out.
"What thing?"
"Y'know, the sealed Ice God's Bone in your arm that's giving you power?"
"Hmm." Huo Yuhao contemplated about it for a moment and replied with a smirk.
"Ice God's Legacy, that's what I'm gonna name it."
....
AN: Think of Gray's Devil Slayer Tattoo from Fairy Tail.
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