"Haa... Home sweet home." Huo Yuhao muttered as he set down Tang Ya before the entrance of the villa. He let out a deep breath, feeling exhausted from taking a two hour trip from Heaven Dou City, after they took all the hidden treasures of Tang Sect, to here.
He glanced back at the ground, a large hole was quickly closing up in the aftermath of their arrival.
After that little intrusion of Ye Guyi, Huo Yuhao quickly amped the defenses around the villa to the point that all forms of entrance into the villa was nonexistent. Moreover, he also erased all knowledge of its existence from the villagers.
The only way in was an Earth Jutsu, the Tunnelling Technique; a technique that creates tunnels in the ground. Of course, he also booby trapped the underground and made a couple pathways that were safe that only he and Tang Ya knew of.
With a puff of white smoke, Xiao Dong landed beside Huo Yuhao before hopping towards Tang Ya's arms. Its cute little nose twitched as it sniffed the air, quickly recognizing the villa's scent. It let out a small squeak of delight and nuzzled against her, seeking comfort in her familiar presence.
Tang Ya smiled and gently scratched Xiao Dong's head, feeling a sense of calmness wash over her.
"That's right Xiao Dong, we're home." She said, gently petting the Snow Rabbit's thick fur, ignoring the stains of blood on it.
Huo Yuhao smiled at their interaction, he then entered the villa. "Get some rest, Teacher Ya. I've got to check up on our little guest, less they die from hunger or dehydration."
"Mm." Tang Ya nodded in agreement, still holding onto Xiao Dong. "...Just don't make the girl scream, Yuhao. It's late at night and I want to sleep soundlessly."
"Roger."
Huo Yuhao waved her off and made his way towards the the basement/laboratory where Ye Guyi was held in captive.
He unceremoniously opened the door, wincing, he glanced at his injured shoulder, fresh blood soaking the bandages further and almost cursed out loud.
'I carried Teacher for two hours to here and the wound reopened now?! Ugh. Fortunately I'm back at the villa now, I can get proper treatment.'
He stepped inside the tech and medical filled room, the door automatically closed behind him. The air was filled with a mix of chemicals and the faint sound of machinery running.
In the center of the room, Ye Guyi was still unconscious, strapped to a medical bed with various wires and tubes connected to her body; all for the sake of checkng her light element and martial soul.
Huo Yuhao hummed for a moment, analyzing her condition. Finding nothing wrong, he took of his cloak and kevlar shirt, revealing his muscular body with scars scattered across his chest, back and arms. He walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a fresh set of bandages and a healing pill.
Taking the pill, he began to clean his wound and then dressing it up without any issues. He recieved all kinds of injuries back at the Extreme North, a punctured shoulder wasn't much.
'The problem now however, is the backlash of using too much of Ice God Legacy...' Huo Yuhao thought, unexpectedly, he started to cough violently, his body shaking with each spasm. Thick, throbbing veins appeared all across his body. His eyes bloodshot and face animalistic. He clenched his fists, trying to suppress the symptoms, but they only grew worse.
After a few moments, the symptoms finally subsided, leaving Huo Yuhao gasping for breath. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground and it froze.
He stared at it and wiped away the blood dripping from his mouth, his expression grim.
"Shit. By my estimation, two... no, five years? Just using it for a short amount of time had made me lose that much of my lifespan?" he muttered to himself. "I really need to get stronger if I want to assimilate the Ice God Legacy as my own power without any consequences..."
'However, to absorb it I need to strengthen my body. Ah, too bad that I still couldn't modify the settings of the weight bracelets teacher Fan Yu gave me, unless I want them to get destroyed.' Huo Yuhao scratched his head, disappointed.
Due to the intricacies of the weight bracelets, opening it up could lead to the device getting destroyed. This was done deliberately by Fan Yu so that Huo Yuhao wouldn't be stupid enough to try and mess with a highly ranked soul tool with complex soul arrays, he still wasn't good enough to play with it.
Unfortunately however, he severely underestimated the talent of Huo Yuhao.
'Haa. I have to train my body later on, training my spiritual power comes first. That body with that Evil Soul Master made me realize that I've neglected my spiritual power too much.'
It was to be expected. Spiritual power is will, and the key to training one's spiritual power is through resistance and pressure. Both things he has experienced, but never by solely relying on his spiritual power. He mainly used his jutsus and ice skills to strengthen himself in battles. Thus, his spiritual power has not been fully developed.
Huo Yuhao approached the medical bed where Ye Guyi lay. He carefully observed her face, noting the dark bags under her eyes and the trembling of her eyelids; she was having a nightmare.
Unsurprisingly, he had basically been experimenting on the girl for research. Nothing cruel or harmful, he wasn't a total monster, but he needed to understand the capabilities of her light element and martial soul in order to help him to control and harness the light element.
Initially he was just going to indoctrinate her into the group, she would show of her abilities and they would grow together as a happy family of sorts. Yeah, no.
She was stubborn as all hell. No matter how much he tried to make her see things his way, she resisted every step of the way. And so, he resorted to more drastic measures. Drugging her and strapping her to a bed, 24/7 and a five minute break.
What? He wasn't a total monster, just somewhat. It's what happens to people without a proper childhood or parental figure.
Sure his mother was great, the best mother in the world and he would fight anyone to death who says otherwise, but that didn't mean she didn't have her own faults. An example being that she didn't leave that toxic household for a man that didn't treat her right.
But anyways, it's been a 10 days since he strapped her up into the bed. Since then, her mind has been slowly breaking down. The long hours he'd keep her inside this room, without anyone to talk to or have any entertainment, it was pure torture.
Physical wounds can heal, but mental scars run deep. Huo Yuhao knew that he was treading a dangerous line, but he believed that the ends would justify the means. He needed her light element and martial soul to strengthen himself and protect his loved ones. Sacrifices had to be made.
Huo Yuhao shook his head, pushing away the guilt that threatened to consume him. There was no time for doubt or hesitation. He had made his decision, and he would see it through to the end.
'But first, I need to rest. I've been working on fumes by now...' Letting out a sigh, Huo Yuhao began to refill Ye Guyi's medical supplies and inject her with a nutrient solution to keep her body sustained. He adjusted the monitoring devices and made sure everything was functioning properly. With a final glance at the unconscious girl, he left the basement and made his way to his own room.
Collapsing onto his bed, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief and contentment.
He helped Tang Ya get her revenge, got to fight and kill an Evil Soul Sage, burnt down a extremely beautiful land, took a lot of stuff from Tang Sect's hidden stash, and got to see senior brother Bei Bei.
In this whole continent, there were only a few people that he respected and appreciated. And some of those are Bei Bei and Tang Ya. After all, they gave someone, a lost orphan that they had just met, a chance and helped him start his path in the world. For that, he would be forever grateful.
As he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his mind was filled with thoughts of the future. He knew that there would be more challenges ahead, more sacrifices to be made. But he was determined to protect those he cared about, no matter the cost.
As he slipped into ten dream world, strange words and images began to appear in his mind.
"Eight Inner Gates..." he mumbled.
The room descended into silence, with exception of Huo Yuhao's steady breathing.
"...Why do it this way?" Ice Empress asked, glancing at the still, meditating figure of Ancestor. "You could've just appear in front of him for a moment to personally guide him."
Ancestor's featureless head turned towards her, and with his ancient voice, he said. "The less contact I have with my descendant, the better."
"Why?"
"You clearly know the answer, why bother asking?" Ancestor scoffed. "But if you're really that nosey, then fine. You and the bug knows that my existence is a miracle, and I continue to exist as long as my ghostly energy still flows in me. Honestly, I don't care if I don't exist anymore but I still have this sense of... responsibility. To help my incarnation grow stronger, get his revenge and become a legend that he's destined to be."
"And for that happen, he needs to live long enough to cultivate his powers. The ghostly energy, or reincarnation energy, that I have right now is slowly replenishes. If something serious were to happen to my incarnation, I only have enough juice to force off a Titled Douluo level beings by at least four times."
He slowly clenched his hands, starting to mediate once more. "Any more of that, and I'll vanish until a few centuries worth of reincarnations passes by."
Ice Empress frowned, feeling slighted for being underestimated "Oi, kid. What makes you think that only you have the power to help Yuhao out of a sticky situation? Huh?!"
Ancestor let out a sigh. "I do because I'm replaceable, you two however? Including the grey elder. You are all irreplaceable and important to my incarnation, you are part of the foundation of his strength! Without you, he wouldn't have achieved what he has so far. But if you were to exhaust all of your power to save him, then what would happen if another crisis were to arise? Who would be there to protect him then?"
Ice Empress grumbled, "Fine, I get it. But don't think for a second that I'll just let him suffer without me doing anything about it."
Ancestor chuckled, "I never expected any less from you, Ice Empress."
"Wah! What's going on here?! What are you two talking about?" A certain iceworm spoke up.
"Ah great, he's awake again. Oi worm, why did you take so long to wake up?"
"Bing'er! Good morning!"
"It's in the middle of the night!!"
Ancestor softly snorted before going back to his hibernation.
.....
AN: Bro, Mihoyo do play favorites here. By the rate I'm playing genshin impact without suffering burnout, I am never getting either Xianyun or Nahida; I'm f2p btw. But playing Honkai Star Rail... I got Black Swan and her light cone, Dan Heng second phase and his light cone... Why do I feel both happy and sad?
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