"He's coming!" Qiu'er exclaimed excitedly, staring at the rippling waters of the Lake of Life.
Huo Yuhao broke out of the waters with unexpected grace, his body twisting midair before landing on the water as if it were the ground.
"Hey, Qiu'er. It's good to see you again," Huo Yuhao said with a smile as he walked towards the shore and gently stroked her head.
"Welcome back, Yuhao." Qiu'er preened at his touch.
Bi Ji watched from the side with furrowed brows.
'His presence... why am I having a hard time sensing it? It's like... he's there, but not at the same time.' She was confused.
She didn't sense some sort of increase of his cultivation, whether it be soul power or spiritual power, or even his body strength. Yet, there was something fundamentally different about Huo Yuhao.
Also, moments before he got out, she felt immense undulations of spiritual power spreading out from within the Lake of Life before it suddenly disappeared. Moreover, the life energy from the Lake of Life seemed to have decreased and the elemental particles in the area had become slightly chaotic.
'The Lake of Life had, unfortunately, helped cover up whatever actions this human had done. If Di Tian hadn't reassured me and the others, we would've taken action.
It's just so dangerous when the Lord is just sleeping within its depths...' Bi Ji shook her head and analyzed the boy's body once more, trying to figure out some of his secrets.
'The mysterious event that had occurred because of the boy reminds me of a phenomenon whenever a soul beast forms a soul core—but that can't be right.' She was completely baffled as to what was going on.
"So the human has surfaced... and is stroking the Auspicious Empero...uh, right. She told us to call her Qiu'er," Scarlet King appeared from behind and walked up beside Bi Ji, a clearly displeased expression on his face as he watched his ward chatting excitedly with Huo Yuhao.
The Scarlet King has been the long time personal bodyguard of the Auspicious Emperor since it had become a hundred thousand years old, so after thousands of years of being under his care, he naturally viewed the Auspicious Emperor as someone like a daughter to him.
Seeing her so attached to a human—especially one as unpredictable as Huo Yuhao—made his paternal instincts screaming at him like a banshee to remove the boy away from Qiu'er, but he quickly squash that feeling down.
Because for one thing, they need Huo Yuhao. Even if most of them are displeased with the current situation, that doesn't mean they could afford to act recklessly. The fate of all soul beasts was at stake, and whether they liked it or not, Huo Yuhao was a key figure to solve the crises.
"Where's Di Tian?" Hell Demon Dragon King asked, appearing on the other side of Bi Ji as she narrowly gazed at Huo Yuhao.
"Good morning to you as well, Zi Ji." Bi Ji said with a faint smile. "Di Tian said that he was going to meet some.... old acquaintances. He left just a couple hours ago, along with Bear Lord."
Zi Ji raised an eyebrow. "Old acquaintances? Who? Is it Snow Empress? Evil Emperor?"
Bi Ji shook her head, a cold glint in her eyes.
"Just a pair of traitors who think themselves as superior just because they had latched onto a certain blade of blue grass."
Both Zi Ji and Scarlet King were astonished, realizing what she meant.
"They're here? How? Weren't they sacrificed?!"
"Even if they were resurrected, they should be 'up' there. Why and how are they here?"
Bi Ji shook her head at their questions. "I'm not sure. All we can do right now is wait for their return and ask Di Tian himself for answers."
At that moment, Huo Yuhao and Qiu'er walked up to them.
"Hello, seniors." Huo Yuhao respectfully said.
Bi Ji's smile turned natural and soft. "Huo Yuhao, was it? Congratulations on your complete recovery, and some sort of breakthrough I presume?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Yes. I managed to form a soul core."
"You what?!" Zi Ji and Scarlet King exclaimed.
"No way, you've got to be lying. You? A kid who isn't even a Titled Douluo, has formed a soul core?" Zi Ji said.
"Since I don't sense any qualitative change in your soul power, could it be a spiritual core...?" Scarlet King gulped, eyes wide.
Bi Ji was similarly astonished, wide-eyed.
Qiu'er looked at Huo Yuhao with sparkling eyes. "I knew something was strange about you, I didn't expect it to be a soul core... Amazing! Where did you form it? And what kind of attribute is it?"
Huo Yuhao smiled and explained his experience in forming his soul core, taking inspiration from the Yin-Yang way, and using the concept of Illusion to harmonize with his spiritual core to become a Spiritual-Illusion Core.
"Ohhh! Using a concept like Illusion rather than the known elements, that's amazing!" Qiu'er said loudly, looking deeply impressed.
'It's more than just amazing! This kid...' Bi Ji, Zi Ji and Scarlet King exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from disbelief to deep contemplation.
'A soul core formed purely from a conceptual force like illusion? That's unheard of!' Bi Ji thought.
Huo Yuhao noticed their expressions and asked, "Is it really that strange?"
"Wha— Did you really have to ask that? Of course it is! It's one of the basic information that... Wait, did you seriously not know about this?" Scarlet King's face twitched, his expression torn between shock and exasperation.
"Kid, forming a soul core before Titled Douluo is already absurd. But using an abstract force like illusion instead of an elemental attribute? That's unheard of!"
Huo Yuhao scratched his cheek. "Well, no one really told me the fundamentals of a soul core.... Aside from telling me the requirements in forming one."
The three Great Beasts stared at the human boy in front of them in disbelief, wondering if he was really human or not.
"Then...do you know about the Yin-Yang complement technique in forming a soul core?"
"No? As I said, no one taught me how to form a soul core."
'He didn't even know about that technique, even though he succeeded in using a version of it.' Bi Ji tool off her glasses and started wiping the lenses, feeling like she was hallucinating. While Zi Ji and Scarlet King blankly stared at Huo Yuhao, wondering what's the point of their existence.
There were two ways in forming a second soul core; Resonance and the Yin-Yang Complement Technique.
Resonance was when forming the second soul and having it gravitate around the first soul core like two celestial bodies locked in orbit. It was the more common and stable approach, as both cores reinforced each other without direct fusion.
The Yin-Yang Complement Technique, however, was far more dangerous. It involved forming the second soul core in direct opposition to the first, creating a perfect balance of forces that constantly pushed and pulled against each other. If successful, it provided exponential increases in power—but if the balance failed, it could lead to internal collapse and death.
And yet, without even knowing about it, Huo Yuhao had instinctively applied the concept to his Spiritual-Illusion Core.
'What a monster...' They thought.
No wonder their Lord, the true leader of soul beasts, placed great trust in him.
Huo Yuhao looked around, confused. "Wait, where's Di Tian? I had something to ask him about."
Bi Ji snapped back to reality and said, "Di Tian? He and Bear Lord are currently out right now, meeting some old acquaintances. But I may be able to help whatever it is that's troubling you."
Huo Yuhao looked hesitant for a moment and said, "Can you help train me?"
Bi Ji blinked. "Eh?"
"Well, I can't exactly get a soul ring right now since you'd all be pissed about. So I'm left with physical training and refining my techniques to further solidify my foundation."
The greatest downside right now for Huo Yuhao was that he couldn't just hunt down a soul beast, while in the company of the Great Beasts—he'd be an absolute idiot if he did. So he was left with little options.
Well, it wasn't like it was all bad. He could finally finish mastering the Eight Inner Gates and possibly find a way to remove the deadly flaw of opening the final gate.
Zi Ji crossed her arms, frowning. "Hmph. At least you know your place, human. I don't like it, but if it means helping our kind, I suppose I can—"
"Alright kid. You wanna get stronger with a spar? Fine, I'll be your sparring partner." Scarlet King said, cracking his neck, a wide grin forming on his face. His crimson eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Don't worry, I'll hold back just enough so you won't die."
"Oi," Zi Ji interrupted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Who said you could go first?"
"Huh? What, was there an invisible line right in front of me? No? Then yeah, I can go first."
"I obviously was going to spar with the human first!"
"Well too bad! I'm sparring with him first!"
"Why you—!" She then punched his face.
"Ugh! M-My nose! You bitch—!" Scarlet King then retaliated.
The two then started brawling.
Huo Yuhao, Qiu'er and Bi Ji sweatdropped at their antic.
"Hmm..." Bi Ji was deep in thought before turning to Huo Yuhao and said, "Huo Yuhao, have you heard about the Yin-Yang Saint Crane?"
Huo Yuhao was surprised at the question and pondered, searching through his memories, and replied. "If I remember correctly, the Yin-Yang Saint Crane is an ancient soul beast that is rarely seen throughout history, likely the 100,000 year old stage of either a 10,000 year old Dark Yin Crane King or Bright Yang Crane King.
They're known to have an unusual dual-natured essence, embodying both Yin and Yang energies in perfect balance. Some records even claim that their presence can stabilize the chaos and disorder of a city.
Their mere presence is said to create harmony, making them highly sought after by imperial families in ancient times—as they're seen as a symbol of prosperity and peace for their country.
Many records indicate that emperors and sect leaders would go to great lengths to obtain even a feather of a Yin-Yang Saint Crane, believing it could enhance cultivation speed and bring fortune to their lineage."
Bi Ji nodded. "Good, you know a lot about it. I'll save more information about the Yin-Yang Saint Crane later on. Follow me."
"Huh? Where to?" Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow.
Bi Ji faintly smiled, hiding a hint of melancholy and sadness within her eyes.
"To get you your new soul ring."
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AN: Anyone wanna make comment on what image I'll use for the human form of the Yin-Yang Saint Crane?
2/5 chapters of the week