Chapter 64: Soul Sage
Huo Yuhao was in a great mood.
His good friend Wang Dong had given him an unknown flower bud, telling him that eating it would be beneficial. Trusting his friend and his own social skills, Huo Yuhao believed Wang Dong wouldn't harm him. So, without hesitation, he ate the flower bud.
This act moved Wang Dong deeply, as he hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to trust him so completely, eating what he gave without hesitation.
People with a romance-driven mindset are truly frightening—they can overthink not only others but also themselves. What was the essence of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid? It was the essence of an immortal herb! The intoxicating fragrance and the feeling of clarity it brought were clear indicators that it was no poison.
Moreover, they were both students at Shrek Academy, and Wang Dong had no reason to poison Huo Yuhao. This was why Huo Yuhao ate the immortal herb essence without hesitation.
It killed two birds with one stone! It not only reinforced his foundation but also impressed Wang Dong.
Although Huo Yuhao didn't know the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid essence had healed his broken body, the significantly smoother flow of soul power and the sudden increase in soul power were undeniable benefits.
Huo Yuhao's initial perception of his talent changed drastically as he noticed how much smoother his soul power circulated compared to before. After consuming the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, he could confidently say his innate soul power had increased from level one to at least level seven.
This improvement was despite his previous overexertion of his body's potential. If he had taken a steady approach, he would surely have become a titled Douluo in the future. Now, it's uncertain, but at the very least, he was bound to become a Soul Sage with potential to become a Soul Douluo.
Ignorance is bliss, and the less Huo Yuhao knew, the happier he was. After returning from hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest, he was cheerful every day.
Why? Because, with the help of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, his previously damaged body was healed, and his physical strength increased. Although much of the herb's essence was wasted, it had one significant advantage.
His enhanced physical condition allowed him to absorb a thousand-year soul ring for his second soul ring. Trading a higher future potential for an over-the-limit thousand-year second ring—was it worth it? Opinions vary.
However, if Du Qianjue knew, he would probably call it foolish.
Nonetheless, in his freshman year, apart from Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao was the only one with a thousand-year second ring. No wonder he was so pleased!
As the end of the term approached, Huo Yuhao decided to stay at the academy during the holidays. He had no intention of returning to the White Tiger Duke's mansion, so he stayed at Shrek Academy. This made Zhou Yi very satisfied; at least Huo Yuhao didn't disappoint her "expectations."
Although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong didn't defeat Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu during the freshman assessment, causing the class head position to fall to Mu Jin, the original class nine teacher, Mu Jin did not target Huo Yuhao or the others from class one. On the contrary, she was grateful to Huo Yuhao.
Thanks to Huo Yuhao, she won against Zhou Yi during the freshman assessment and Fan Yu made her a custom level six soul tool. This incident made Zhou Yi upset for quite some time.
Mu Jin, far from targeting Huo Yuhao, was delighted to have someone who could help suppress Zhou Yi. Thus, Huo Yuhao ended up joining the soul tool department. Despite losing his mental detection ability, his eye-based martial soul allowed him to learn about soul tools quickly.
It was natural—soul tools could compensate for the offensive shortcomings of spiritual-type soul masters. Determined to seek revenge, Huo Yuhao wouldn't give up on soul tools. Consequently, he grew closer to Zhou Yi instead of Mu Jin.
While Huo Yuhao's future was uncertain, Du Qianjue's absorption of his soul ring was nearing completion. Tianmeng Iceworm felt exhausted. Initially, Du Qianjue thought infusing the Evil Demon Tiger's ring to reach the level of a two-hundred-thousand-year soul beast ring would be easy, requiring just two seals to elevate a fifty-thousand-year ring to a two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-year one.
However, the quality of the Evil Demon Tiger's ring was exceptional, compressing almost half of the energy. Tianmeng Iceworm was dumbfounded. It took breaking another seal to infuse enough essence, but the ring still only reached about one hundred fifty thousand years.
Reluctantly, Tianmeng Iceworm broke another seal, finally elevating the ring to the two-hundred-thousand-year level.
The fluctuations in Du Qianjue's soul power gradually subsided, indicating he had completed the soul ring absorption. A faint golden phantom identical to Du Qianjue appeared behind him, seated cross-legged, with a silvery sheen on its surface.
Soul rings rose at his feet, each one stunning in color—brilliant gold, red, red, red, red, red, and black gold. The Evil Demon Tiger's ring was not the traditional red of a hundred-thousand-year ring but a black gold, larger than other hundred-thousand-year rings.
Soul Sage, achieved!
While the original protagonist was still overjoyed at breaking through to a Soul Grandmaster with an over-the-limit thousand-year second ring, Du Qianjue had reached Soul Sage at just under thirteen years old.
Sometimes, nothing compares to genuine cultivation. At this stage, Huo Yuhao couldn't break Du Qianjue's defense, even if he tried to self-destruct with a level nine fixed-installed soul tool. Du Qianjue could easily survive such an attack and kill Huo Yuhao with a single finger.
This gap in cultivation cannot be bridged by any soul tool. This is why Du Qianjue never learned how to craft soul tools. Even when he reaches the level of a titled Douluo, no number of level ten soul engineers would make a difference against him.
While soul engineers can overpower low-level soul masters, they are ineffective against someone like Du Qianjue, whose configurations are nearly invincible. Absolute power trumps everything.
"Absolute power is more useful than anything else!" Du Qianjue thought, looking at his seven unparalleled soul rings with pride.
Today, at not yet thirteen years old, he had broken through to level seventy.
Soul Sage, achieved!
(End of Chapter)
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