"...So what you're telling me is that when you felt your martial soul shattering, something inside of you guided you to the Extreme North and during your time there exploring, you fell unconscious and felt an extreme cold enveloped your whole body. When you woke up, your Sharingan stabilized and then found the carcass of an Ice Jade Scorpion beside you and... awakened your second martial soul," Fan Yu summarized, his tone skeptical.
"An Ice Jade Scorpion? To think that you were actually able to survive after encountering an Ice Jade Scorpion." Zhou Yi took a deep breath, while Fan Yu's eyes were filled with astonishment.
Wang Dong'er couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Zhou, what's an Ice Jade Scorpion?"
Zhou Yi said, "It's an extremely strong soul beast that lives in the Extreme North. They have an enormous population, and they're the true rulers of that bitterly cold land. They possess an ultimate ice attribute, and normally speaking, they only live within the core regions of the Extreme North. Even to us soul masters, that area is a forbidden place. It is a truly forbidden area to humans. Even Titled Douluo-ranked experts wouldn't dare to easily tread within that extremely cold place. Yuhao, you are one lucky son of a bitch and with the guts of a daredevil to venture into such a dangerous place."
Huo Yuhao nodded solemnly. "Yes, Teacher. That's exactly what happened. I know it sounds unbelievable, but that's the truth. I can show you my second martial soul."
Everyone leaned forward eagerly, their curiosity piqued by Huo Yuhao's story. "Show us," Fan Yu demanded, his skepticism still evident in his voice.
With that, Huo Yuhao slowly raised his hands. A trace of white light flashed through his originally deep-blue eyes, and the temperature in Zhou Yi's office dropped right after that.
The strong chilliness caused even Wang Dong'er to involuntarily shiver instinctively. Both Fan Yu and Zhou Yi trembled, their eyes widened and mist formed from their breath. They then saw a translucent and sparkling luster on Huo Yuhao's hands, a pair of pincer-like appendages made of ice and snow materialized. The room's atmosphere became frosty, and a palpable sense of coldness filled the air.
Fan Yu could no longer sit; he suddenly stood up. As he looked at Huo Yuhao, he unconsciously widened his eyes. Right after that, the two of them saw a black soul ring slowly rise from Huo Yuhao's feet. It was a halo that flickered with a noble darkness, and it slowly undulated rhythmically around Huo Yuhao's body.
"T-Ten thousand year soul ring!" Wang Dong'er cried out immediately.
Of course, Huo Yuhao wasn't dumb enough to show off his hundred thousand year soul ring. But he also wanted to establish his place as the number one genius of the continent and the academy should do everything to throw every resources they have at him.
Everyone in the room stared at Huo Yuhao with wide eyes, slacked jaw. How? How did he get a ten thousand year soul ring?! They all thought in unison.
But while they were astonished, Huo Yuhao quickly took off his jacket and removed his shirt, revealing his naked upper body.
"Ah! Oh my Sea God!" Because Wang Dong'er was standing right behind him, she was able to instantly see the sparkling tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. The vivid and lifelike portrayal of the enormous scorpion gave her a jump. She traced the terrifyingly cool tattoo and exposed muscled back with her gaze, her face flustered.
Huo Yuhao slowly turned around, showing his back to Fan Yu and Zhou Yi.
During the journey back, when he and the Skydream Iceworm had gotten to this point, Huo Yuhao had asked him whether the teachers would notice that the Ice Empress' tattoo was different when compared to ordinary Ice Jade Scorpions.
The Skydream Iceworm then replied using the simplest words it could, "Other than you, every human who has seen the Ice Empress has died!"
"The Ice Jade Scorpion, it's really the Ice Jade Scorpion! Yuhao, you, you, this... this is impossible!" Zhou Yi's eyes were filled with a look of inconceivability, as was Fan Yu. The husband-and-wife duo looked at Huo Yuhao as if they were looking at a monster.
After putting his clothes back on, Huo Yuhao withdrew his martial soul and stood there shrugging his shoulders, "Teacher, Teacher Zhou, I don't understand what happened either. But I can hazard a guess. My Sharingan has innate skills of controlling space and fire, and the latter skill might have gotten out of control and in order to save itself, my martial soul needed a counterbalance, which it found in the Extreme North to find a powerful ice-type martial soul and would you know it, I encountered an Ice Jade Scorpion and somehow fuse with it to become my second martial soul and soul ring. It's as if fate intervened to ensure my survival. In any case, I'm no longer afraid of the cold and fire after I obtained this power."
Suddenly, Zhou Yi's eyes lit up. She looked towards Fan Yu, "Do you think it's related to his Body Soul? Yuhao's Spirit Eyes should be a Body Soul. I've heard Teacher Wang Yan say that powerful Body Soul soul masters will have a second awakening of their martial soul. If that's truly the case, although the situation he's in right now seems extraordinary, it isn't fully unexplainable. Why don't I go find Wang Yan now and ask him about it?"
Zhou Yi was always the type of person who would act immediately. Just as she said that she was about to leave, Fan Yu grabbed her by the hand, "No, you can't go."
"But Fan Yu-!"
Fan Yu stared at her with a serious expression. "Settle down and listen to me. I understand your excitement, but do you really want the Martial Soul Department to act after we finally placated them for taking Huo Yuhao into our department?"
"I..." Zhou Yi faltered, realizing Fan Yu's point. It wouldn't be wise to attract unnecessary attention, especially from the Martial Soul Department, who want to recruit Huo Yuhao into their faction. Especially dean Yan Shaozhe, he seemed oddly desperate to get Huo Yuhao under his wing.
"We need to handle this situation with caution," Fan Yu continued. "Let's gather more information and assess the situation. Yuhao, this is the first time we've encountered a situation like this. Therefore, we're unable to give you a full explanation. However, according to our estimations, it should be something related to your martial soul. Body Souls have always been an extremely mysterious existence. There's a mysterious sect within the continent called the Body Sect, and they've always been doing their best to collect and cultivate soul masters who possess Body Souls. Perhaps they're the only people who could understand what's happened to your body."
'Body Sect, huh.' Huo Yuhao thought, it wasn't the first time he heard about this mysterious organization. Wang Yan mentioned them when he found out about his Sharingan.
Finding himself curious about this organization, Huo Yuhao tried finding as much information that he could about them.
The result was... unexpected. Any informants that he could find would vehemently deny having any knowledge about the Body Sect, or they would simply disappear without a trace shortly after their encounter. It seemed that this organization operated under a veil of secrecy, even more so than other prominent factions within the continent.
"This is truly astonishing and unbelievable, but this is a good thing for you. The Ice Jade Scorpion ranks among the apex of assault-type martial souls belonging to the ice attribute, and it'll have extremely large benefits towards your future cultivation. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, "So, do you have any other questions for me teacher?"
Zhou Yi snorted, crossing her arms. "Of course we have questions for you, one importantly is; have you gotten your second soul ring now? Don't try to fool us and say that you didn't, we can tell that you're several times stronger than before. Are you nearing rank 30? But knowing you, you probably would wait for a few months before getting another soul ring."
Huo Yuhao chuckled, scratching his cheek. "Yeah, about that..."
"Don't tell me you didn't get a second soul ring?!" Zhou Yi stared at him in disbelief.
Fan Yu answered her, "No, he's hiding it well with his perfect soul power control but his presence of power and confidence give it away. I believe he has indeed obtained a second soul ring, and he's likely already close to reaching Rank 30."
"Eh, close but... I'll just show you guys."
A pale golden light flickered through his eyes as he released his Sharingan. When he did, one white and three black soul rings rose up from his feet.
The room fell silent as everyone watched the soul rings with bated breath. Zhou Yi and Fan Yu exchanged surprised glances, their eyes widening in disbelief and shock. Unknowingly they opened their mouths but no words came out. The sight before them was beyond anything they had expected.
Huo Yuhao had not only obtained a ten thousand year soul ring for his second soul ring, which was a bit believable due to his second martial soul, but he also had three additional black soul rings with his main martial soul, indicating his rank and combat skills had far exceeded their estimation.
"W-What? Four soul rings? Three ten thousand year old soul rings?! HOW!?" Wang Dong'er exclaimed, her voice filled with astonishment.
Huo Yuhao smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Surprise?"
Zhou Yi stepped forward, completely flabbergasted. "H-How is this possible, Yuhao?! How can your body endure it? We can understand of you getting that one ten-thousand year soul ring on your second martial soul, but this! How?! Judging by the quality of soul power emanating from these, is that they're from powerful soul beasts! They couldn't possibly be killed by one soul master, and even by some miracle that you did, your body couldn't handle all the energy!"
Fan Yu didn't say anything with a burst of speed that naked eye couldn't follow, excluding Huo Yuhao and didn't dodge or stop his soul engineering teacher, he dashed towards Huo Yuhao and grabbed his wrist, examining the soul rings and him closely. His expression was a mix of shock, disbelief, and suspicion.
His soul power spread outwards and enveloped Huo Yuhao's body, analyzing his body. His soul rings appeared around his body. Squinting his eyes, to his shock, he felt some incredible power in his student's bones, specifically his torso and left arm.
'My Sea God, two soul bones?! And judging by their aura, they're not of a low caliber either. How is this possible?' Fan Yu's mind raced with questions as he continued to inspect Huo Yuhao's body.
Unbeknownst to him, Huo Yuhao had clearly expected this long ago and asked his companions for help to reign in Ice Empress Jade Scorpion's soul bone and Ice God's Legacy.
Zhou Yi, noticing Fan Yu's reaction, hurriedly stepped forward to assist him. "Fan Yu, what is it? What have you found?"
"...Nothing," Fan Yu shook his head and let go of Huo Yuhao's wrist. He looked at him with amazement and guilty. "I'm sorry about that, Yuhao. But you have to understand, your situation is just simply unbelievable for a mere human at thirteen years old to accomplish. I thought you were either possessed by some old monster or a reincarnated soul beast. It's only natural for us to be skeptical."
Huo Yuhao nodded understandingly. "I completely understand, Teacher Fan Yu. My situation is indeed extraordinary, and I don't blame you for being skeptical. But I assure you, everything I've told you is true."
Zhou Yi stepped forward, her expression serious. "Can you tell us how you manage to get these three ten-thousand year soul rings? Don't tell us that you got them accidentally as well?"
Huo Yuhao smiled, shaking his head.
Zhou Yi frowned. "Huo Yuhao..."
"Instead of explaining it, how about I show it to everyone?" Huo Yuhao explained, an easy-going expression on his face. "I heard that the assessment exam is coming soon and the soul beast arena have ten thousand year soul beasts, correct?"
Zhou Yi and Fan Yu exchanged a glance, realizing what Huo Yuhao was suggesting. Zhou Yi nodded. "Yes, that's correct. The assessment exam does involve battles against ten thousand year soul beasts in the soul beast arena."
Fan Yu looked at Huo Yuhao with a serious expression. "Are you suggesting that you're willing to demonstrate your abilities in the arena, against a ten thousand year soul beast?"
Huo Yuhao nodded confidently. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting. If you want to know how I obtained these soul rings, then let me show you."
Zhou Yi's expression softened slightly, but there was still a flicker of concern in her eyes and she reluctantly nodded. "...Very well, we'll arrange it that it'll be optional for you to fight a ten thousand year soul beast in the assessment exam. But be warned, Huo Yuhao, facing a ten thousand year soul beast is no small feat."
Fan Yu grabbed his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Huo Yuhao, are you truly sure about this? Can you really defeat a ten thousand year soul beast?"
Huo Yuhao grinned, the scar on his lips gave him an arrogant demeanor. He looked straight at his teacher and replied with confidence,
"Yeah, I'd win."
.....
Huo Yuhao stretched his body before flopping on his bed, sighing in relief. He'd rushed the entire way to the academy, and was extremely tired.
"Huo Yuhao, get up." Wang Dong'er angrily demanded, crossing her arms.
Although it was weird to know that she was a girl, but since she was still wearing her disguise and usual male school uniform, Huo Yuhao regarded his best friend with an annoyed side eye.
"What do you want?! Wang Dong, don't tell you changed and became diligent at cultivating? I'm happy but forget about it today. I'm exhausted. Let me sleep." After speaking, he rolled over, and almost instantly began to snore.
Wang Dong'er blankly stared at him and began to angrily pout.
"Hmph! Fine, we'll talk tomorrow." She grumbled, turning towards her bed. She pauses however, glancing at the sleeping Huo Yuhao, she sighed and took a quilt from his storage tool and covered Huo Yuhao with it.
"When I get up tomorrow, I need to wash these sheets… Hmph, your bed's covered in dust. I'll give you the mat later." She muttered.
Staring at his sleeping face, a gentle smile formed on Wang Dong'er's lips. "Welcome back, you big idiot," she whispered softly before turning off the lights and settling into her own bed.
.....
AN: I HAVE RETURNED!! Sorry for the week long out hiatus, I just needed some time out from writing so I can properly make a story happen. I wanted to stew the ideas in my head. Again, I am incredibly sorry for not announcing it here beforehand but when I decided to take a step back, I decided to not open up my webnovel and patreon. Regardless of the notifications I get. Because seriously, I got a lot of things to do irl. One of them was cleaning the fricking old well, made me just stay in bed for the whole day(it was deep, slimy and dark, making me slip and fell constantly).
Got any questions? Just comment here(btw, I won't be able to reply to you all in the first few hours bc I'll still be asleep).
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