"Soul Elder… T-Ten Thousand year old soul ring?!"
Huo Yuhao ignored Tang Ya at the moment, he was more curious about the three assassins laying dead on the ground, dead, yet seemingly uninjured.
There was an intense heat in the air around them, as if the whole alley they were at had turned into a furnace. Tang Ya breathing started to get heavy, sweat rolling down her forehead and back. Looking utterly confused.
Because despite the intense heat surrounding them, there was no fire or anything hot in the vicinity.
'Wait, I think I heard Yuhao mutter Spirit Fyre. Considering the nature of his Martial Soul, could it be… invisible?' Tang Ya was no fool. Although she was dumbfounded by the revelation that Huo Yuhao had reach the same cultivation that she was at, and has two ten thousand year soul rings, she didn't spend about three years for nothing and quickly analyzed what kind of soul skill Huo Yuhao had used.
Huo Yuhao noticed the state she was in and waved his hand, his soul rings disappeared and his eyes returned to their icy blue color.
The heat that had once enveloped the area dissipated, leaving behind a cool and refreshing atmosphere. Tang Ya's breathing steadied, and the confusion on her face was replaced with a mix of awe and disbelief.
"Yuhao... you... how did you get so strong?" Tang Ya asked, try as she might, she couldn't hide the envy and admiration in her eyes.
Huo Yuhao is three years younger than she was! Considering his poor background and having only learned about the soul master world in the academy for about three months, it was truly unbelievable that he had made such tremendous progress.
'While I, who cultivated since the day I could walk, have already been overtaken in power, soul ring quality and... most likely even in cultivation.' She bit her lip, feeling a surge of mixed emotions. Part of her was happy for Huo Yuhao's progress, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy and inferiority.
'Is it because he's truly a genius, once in a thousand years? Or is it because... of my martial soul being Blue Silver Grass?' Tang Ya felt that oh so familiar sense of self-doubt creeping up on her. She couldn't help but compare herself to Huo Yuhao, questioning her own abilities and potential.
It was illogical, as most soul masters in the world would be at the same level or inferior to her in talent and potential; Feng, his brothers and the assassins being a good example. They were much older than her but not only do they have inferior quality of soul rings than her but they were also at around the same cultivation as well.
But being in Shrek Academy surrounded by numerous geniuses and jealous girls of her relationship with Bei Bei, Tang Ya couldn't help but doubt herself. She had always prided herself on her hard work, but seeing someone like Huo Yuhao surpass her so quickly made her question her own abilities.
The darkness in her heart slowly grown.
"... I'll explain everything later on, Teacher Ya." Huo Yuhao softly said, glancing at her for a moment before turning towards the corpses.
He obviously noticed her demeanor but he wanted to see if she could overcome her feelings of insecurity, building up her mental fortitude and then come to realize an important matter.
He can make her stronger as he had promised, ensuring her respect and loyalty towards him.
Huo Yuhao felt a small tinge of guilt in manipulating her like this but if he wanted her to not have thoughts of betrayal to take back her sect, then he had to do this. He was truly serious in creating an organization that would rival, no, surpass the Tang Sect that was ten thousand years ago. And one of the many things he needed was, obviously, subordinates or disciples.
Tang Ya could be considered mediocre in terms of talent and potential, but she is quite hard working and most importantly that she also seek vengeance with the same if not even more burning hatred towards those who wronged her! As someone who also seek revenge, Huo Yuhao knew just how resolute and determined she could be.
She was also a friend of his and someone who took care of him when he was at his weakest moments, it's why he didn't just forcibly take the sect away from her.
Huo Yuhao went to a knee in front of one of the assassins, the supposed leader, and begun observing it.
As mentioned before, Spirit Fyre is a soul skill that uses spiritual power and would only affect one's spirit, mind and spiritual sea. It was an extremely powerful soul skill that only those who knew how to control spiritual power, but for those who don't? It could be lethal. Huo Yuhao had used Spirit Fyre to incinerate the souls of the assassins, completely destroying their spiritual powers and rendering them dead.
Huo Yuhao delicately examined the body of the leader and at the other two, trying to find any other effects Spirit Fyre inflicted on the assassins.
In the Extreme North, or anywhere else really, most of the soul beasts he encountered used their physical strength and soul power, thus their mental barriers were not particularly strong. Even some of the ten thousand year soul beasts he encountered were the same, though a bit tougher.
As for those who used spiritual power? They put up a fight and it took several times spamming Spirit Fyre before their souls burned to nothing.
But these assassins were different. First off, they're human. Although they died immediately, Huo Yuhao could tell the difference.
These assassins are obviously much weaker than the soul beasts he defeated but for a moment, he had sensed their mental barriers are a bit stronger and complex.
Is it because humans are more intelligent that their mental barriers are a bit stronger than soul beasts? That couldn't be that simple, would it?
"I should've held back a bit more..." Huo Yuhao muttered in disappointment, shaking his head, he was about to stand up and leave the alley together with Tang Ya when he noticed an odd glow of light from the assassin leader's right arm.
"Hm? This is..." White mist started to emit from his right hand, dark-blue tribal tattoos appeared over his arm, and ice covered his hand, a sharp ice sword begun to form and he unhesitatingly cut off the assassin's entire right arm from his shoulder.
No blood was spilled as the arm fell to the ground, frost forming on the severed limb. Huo Yuhao picked up the arm and examined it closely.
His eyebrows raised, "Huh. No wonder this guy's soul power was a bit stronger than a typical peak Soul Elder, turns out he's got a soul bone."
"What?!" Tang Ya cried out in surprise and hurriedly walked up beside him, staring at the human arm as Huo Yuhao encased the arm in ice before breaking it to reveal a strange bone.
It had five fingers and was about 12 inches in length, looked slender and violet in color, with strangely throbbing blue vein-like lines across it. Both of them could clearly sense the power of thunder and lightning within it.
Tang Ya's eyes widened, quickly realizing what it is. "More than a thousand year old Thunder Hell Cat right arm soul bone! Thunder Hell Cats are well known for their lightning speed and thunderous attacks against their enemies. Although it isn't rare, a group of them was reported to be living in the inner region of the Great Star Dou Forest, but it isn't common for a thousand year old Thunder Hell Cat to drop a soul common. Just how did this guy get this?!"
"Hm." Huo Yuhao nodded, checking the soul bone. Thunder Hell Cats aren't like most soul beasts as their emotions develop much slower, only when they turned ten thousand years old would a possibility of their soul bone dropping would appear.
"Unfortunately, they're dead so we wouldn't know how he got it." Huo Yuhao shrugged and handed the soul bone towards Tang Ya.
Shocked and confused, she carefully took the soul bone from Huo Yuhao's hand. She could feel the power emanating from it, and the blue vein-like lines seemed to pulsate with energy. It was a rare and valuable find, and she couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and curiosity.
"Yuhao, wh-why are you giving this to me?" Tang Ya asked, turning to look at him.
Huo Yuhao waved his hand nonchalantly before replying, "It doesn't suit me, nor would it suit you either. I'm giving it to you to pacify senior brother later on when you two meet up."
"..." Tang Ya opened her mouth to retort but she thought about it and Huo Yuhao was right.
At this point, Bei Bei must've already realized that she had left to her hometown to exact revenge and not on some trip to get some materials for hidden materials.
Though she wanted to absorb the soul bone to increase her soul power and combat abilities, but she thought of the bigger picture and decided to give the soul bone to Bei Bei as a peace offering. After all, they were a couple. And considering she just left out of nowhere to go with a guy, though it was Huo Yuhao, she knew he'd be understandably pissed.
"Thank you, Yuhao." Tang Ya said sincerely, a hint of gratitude in her eyes. "I appreciate your consideration. I'll make sure to give this soul bone to Bei Bei and explain everything to him."
Huo Yuhao nodded. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
Tang Ya nodded back, paused for a moment, and glanced back at the corpses. "What about... them? Shouldn't we get rid of the bodies? And, you know?" she said the last part with a shy tone of voice, tapping both her index fingers together.
Huo Yuhao softly chuckled. "Oh, we don't have to worry about the bodies soon. And as for robbing their bodies out of everything? I've already checked and they didn't have anything of use or important on them."
Tang Ya slowly nodded and glanced back, muttering, "Guess not everyone has a storage type soul tool..."
Huo Yuhao's lips twitched as he and Tang Ya disappeared into the sea of people, heading off to their new destination.
Back in the dark alley, a small white fluff ball hopped before the dead bodies of the assassins. Its beady red eyes flashed a glint of hunger and it opened its mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth.
.....
AN: Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy Holidays! Had a Christmas Eve party yesterday so I wasn't I able to post this until now, peace ✌️
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