The soul power inside Dai Luoli's body boiled like a surging river—rushing violently, compressing, and rising. The bottleneck of Rank 41 that he had just broken through was instantly overwhelmed, and his soul power level began to soar—
Rank 42, Rank 43…
In the end, it stabilized at Rank 47.
This wasn't just an increase in level; it was also a transformation of his foundation and potential.
Faced with the drastic change, Dai Luoli's mind was exhausted. He let out a nasal laugh, dropped to his knees, and collapsed to the ground, entering a deep meditative state. His entire body was flooded with blood energy, his breathing coming in waves, fully absorbing and digesting this sudden, shocking creation.
After all of this, Dai Mubai let out a small breath of relief. He absorbed a bit of divine power as well, and the effect satisfied him.
Then he slowly turned around. His eyes shot like lightning toward a shadow in the corner of the courtyard, and he said in a low voice:
"You've been watching for so long—shouldn't you come out by now? Do you want me to invite you personally, or will you come out yourself?"
In the shadows, Huo Yuhao's spirit jolted. What he still had to face… had finally arrived.
He took a deep breath, steadied his heart—shaken by the fluctuations of Dai Mubai's divine power—removed his disguise and concealment, and walked out from beneath the trees into the bright open space of the courtyard, stopping before Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
He raised a hand and slowly lifted the black hood from his head, revealing a youthful face.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's true appearance, Dai Mubai immediately frowned.
It wasn't the expected blond hair, but brown.
More importantly, by Dai Mubai's understanding, the active martial-soul aura within Huo Yuhao wasn't the White Tiger at all. It was something profoundly spiritual in nature, something cold—an ultimate ice attribute—and something extremely vague yet filled with strange bloodline fluctuations, aggressive and predatory.
There was resonance with White Tiger blood, but it was covered by other blood-qi and extremely faint. Yet it was undeniably a direct White Tiger lineage—no worse than Dai Luoli's.
This contradiction left Dai Mubai slightly confused, but the bloodline guidance hadn't been wrong.
"Are you also a descendant of my White Tiger bloodline?" Dai Mubai asked in a low voice, his sharp gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao. "Then why are you hiding your head and tail here? Judging by your bone age, you're only a few years older than Luoli, yet your cultivation has already reached the level of a Titled Douluo. You're talented! Since you carry Dai blood, why are you acting like this?"
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone, but more than that, it was surprise and curiosity at finding an outstanding junior.
The White Tiger clan truly had a genius—something that eased the haze in his heart considerably.
But Huo Yuhao's answer froze Dai Mubai's satisfaction in an instant.
Huo Yuhao met Dai Mubai's piercing stare. Neither humble nor arrogant, his voice was calm but firm:
"Junior Huo Yuhao has seen you two seniors. But my surname is Huo, not Dai, and I am not a member of the Dai Clan."
"Huo Yuhao?" Dai Mubai's eyes sharpened like blades, and his whole presence subtly condensed. "White Tiger blood flows in your body. That's an unquestionable fact. Why say such things? Did your family wrong you so you refuse to acknowledge your own surname?"
He felt displeased. What was there not to be proud of in the White Tiger bloodline? How could future generations turn their backs on it so easily?
Just as Dai Mubai grew a little angry at Huo Yuhao's denial and was about to press him further, Zhu Zhuqing—who had been silently observing—suddenly stepped forward half a pace. Her cold, beautiful eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao, and her voice carried a faint chill and suspicion as she spoke:
"Mubai, don't rush. Look carefully… he carries Xiao Wu's aura."
Dai Mubai's chest tightened.
Earlier, he'd focused on Huo Yuhao's bloodline and talent, ignoring everything else. With Zhu Zhuqing's reminder, he immediately concentrated on investigating.
Sure enough.
Within Huo Yuhao's complex aura field—besides spirit, ice, a strange bloodline, and that faint White Tiger presence—there was also an extremely familiar fluctuation: the unique agility and life aura of the Soft Bone Rabbit—
Xiao Wu's aura.
Moreover, this aura wasn't a temporary contamination. It had penetrated deeply into his soul-power foundation, spiritual power, even his life field—showing long-term coexistence and intimate fusion, dense and profound. It wasn't something ordinary contact could explain.
Dai Mubai's brows drew tight, his eyes filling with deep doubt and a bad premonition.
Xiao Wu was Tang San's wife, and one of their most important companions.
So why would her aura appear so strongly on this strange young man who called himself "Huo Yuhao" and carried White Tiger blood?
What in the world was going on?
Because of Zhu Zhuqing's words, the atmosphere in the courtyard turned solemn and chaotic in an instant.
"Xiao Wu…?" Huo Yuhao's chest constricted. His heart seemed to miss half a beat, and he reflexively slapped his chest as if to steady himself.
Zhu Zhuqing's icy voice forced him to face a truth he had been avoiding.
How could he not know of Xiao Wu?
One of the Seven Shrek Devils of legend ten thousand years ago; the heroine who, alongside Sea God Tang San, moved the world through countless love legends of later generations; the very core behind the eternal words—
"Revive, my lover."
And Zhu Zhuqing had said that his body carried a strong aura like Xiao Wu's?
In that instant, an uncontrollable figure surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind—
Xiao Mei.
A mysterious woman who had been gravely injured and fallen in the mountains and forests near the Holy Spirit Church, only to be saved by him by chance.
She had lost all her memories, possessed astonishing soft skills and powerful divine power. Her fighting style was agile and deadly, blending inhuman wildness with elegance.
She always stayed quietly at his side—her eyes sometimes vacant, sometimes seeming to rely on him.
Later, she became his wife, and they even had a child bound by blood…
It wasn't as if he had never doubted.
Xiao Mei's strength, her unique combat rhythm, the traits that matched a Soft Bone Rabbit soul master so closely…
All of it faintly pointed toward an unbelievable answer.
But he had unconsciously chosen to ignore it—more precisely, he had chosen the selfish fear and obsession buried deep in his heart, and he couldn't bring himself to dig further.
He was greedy for that unexpected warmth: Xiao Mei's unconditional trust and dependence, and the small world they had built together, temporarily isolated from the outside world.
But at this moment, being identified by one of Xiao Wu's closest companions from the God Realm was like thunder—splitting open the fog of his self-deception and laying that possibility bare.
If Xiao Mei really was Xiao Wu, then…
The thought made Huo Yuhao dizzy, as if the world were spinning, followed by a sharp chill and sense of crisis.
He and Sea God Tang San already bore hatred between them—
His mother, Huo Yun'er's soul, had been imprisoned in the God Realm by Tang San. That was the root of his struggle.
His original plan had been to accumulate power, topple the God Realm, and reclaim his mother.
Toward Tang San, he felt hostility—yet also complicated emotions. If not for Tang San, perhaps his mother's soul wouldn't have been able to remain intact and might have completely dissipated.
He had even thought there might be a chance to retrieve her soul through some form of negotiation or compromise.
But now, if Xiao Mei was Xiao Wu…
All of it would collapse into nothing, escalating into endless blood vengeance.
A mortal from the lower realm—Huo Yuhao—had taken Sea God Tang San's wife, raised her as his own woman, and had her bear his child…
That was a colossal humiliation to any man.
And Tang San was a God King. Needlessly to say, his influence and authority were overwhelming.
Once the truth came out, Huo Yuhao didn't doubt that the legendary Sea God Tang San—decisive and ruthless toward enemies—would do anything to grind everything Huo Yuhao cherished, even his mother's soul, into cosmic dust in the most thunderous and cruel manner.
Absolutely. Absolutely cannot let it be exposed.
That thought rose in Huo Yuhao's heart.
Xiao Wu must not recover her memories. Otherwise—how would a Soft Bone Douluo who remembered everything react to the cruel reality that her virginity had been taken by another man, and she had even borne his child?
Would she collapse?
Would she hate?
Or would she, because of her deep love for Tang San, choose self-destruction… and choose to hate Huo Yuhao?
Those words—"Revive, my lover"—carried a bond too deep. He didn't dare to gamble.
Likewise, Xiao Wu could not be allowed to meet Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
These two were Xiao Wu's closest companions. Their very presence and breathing might become the strongest catalyst to awaken her memories.
The memory seal imposed by the power of Herrscher was strong—but whether it could fully resist this familiarity and shock from the depths of the soul… he didn't know.
In an instant, thousands of thoughts raced through Huo Yuhao's mind. Yet on the face he kept under control, only a perfectly measured micro-expression of surprise and confusion remained.
"Senior Xiao Wu?" he asked with an incredulous look, his voice trembling slightly with "shock." "Seniors, you must be joking. Didn't you say 'You are legendary figures from ten thousand years ago, already ascended to the God Realm'? And my aura is stained with hers… could that be a mistake?"
He tried to conceal it, speaking as naturally as possible, even layering in a bit of respect and distance toward figures of legend.
But he was facing Zhu Zhuqing—the Goddess of Speed.
Over the long ages in the God Realm, Zhu Zhuqing might have grown lazy and disinclined to meddle, but her sensitivity and insight had been tempered to the extreme through countless battles and retreats.
The change in Huo Yuhao's eyes, the most subtle emotional rises and falls that were almost impossible to catch, and the near-nonexistent delay in his reply—none of it escaped her.
"You're lying."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice suddenly dropped, cold as ice. She stepped forward, and an invisible pressure instantly locked onto Huo Yuhao, as if the surrounding air temperature had dropped by several degrees.
There was no laziness left in her beautiful eyes—only a sharp, chilling light.
"You've not only seen Xiao Wu—you've been in close contact with her for a long time. The aura on you has sunk deep into the foundation of your soul power. That cannot be explained by a brief encounter or indirect contact."
Her tone was resolute, leaving no room for doubt.
A god's perception—especially the recognition of a close friend's aura—did not make mistakes.
Dai Mubai's face sank completely.
The tolerance and patience that came from discovering an excellent junior rapidly faded in the face of Xiao Wu's whereabouts and Huo Yuhao's obvious concealment.
A terrifying coercion, heavy as a mountain and burning like flame, began to spread around him. It belonged to the dignity of the God of War, and it was utterly incomparable to the pressure he'd used when shocking Dai Luoli.
"Boy." Dai Mubai's voice was low, carrying the oppressive weight of an imminent storm. His golden eyes stared at Huo Yuhao as if to see through to the depths of his soul. "For the sake of shared bloodline—and considering your talent—I didn't want to be rough. But Xiao Wu's matter is extremely important. There is no room for concealment or jokes."
He cut his words, and his voice carried an intense warning:
"Tell the truth. Where is Xiao Wu? What state is she in? What is your relationship with her? If there is even half a lie, or you try to weasel out of it…"
Dai Mubai didn't finish, but on one of his slowly raised hands, a faint golden flame of divine power leapt up. The surrounding space began to twist slightly, releasing an overwhelming hum.
That destructive force made it clear: this was not an empty threat.
For a second-rank god—especially a God of War famed for combat power—anger was not something a mere human Titled Douluo could easily withstand.
"Otherwise, the consequences… you can't afford them."
Dai Mubai's last words struck Huo Yuhao's heart like a heavy hammer.
At this moment, the courtyard atmosphere had frozen to the extreme.
Under Dai Mubai's imposing divine pressure and Zhu Zhuqing's interrogation, Huo Yuhao realized that, in this very moment, any justification or scheme had lost meaning.
A god's perception and intuition far surpassed mortals'. They had already determined that he was deeply tied to Xiao Wu by something profound, and they would never let it go so easily.
He sighed quietly in his heart, feeling powerless and weighed down.
At first, he had only wanted to secretly take a look at his younger brother's situation…
To offer a bit of compensation and protection, in a corner no one knew.
He had never imagined he would run into these two ancestors from the God Realm—two people with an irreparable connection to Xiao Wu.
"So that's how it is."
Huo Yuhao raised his head. The panic, blankness, and forced justification on his face receded like a tide, leaving only a near-indifferent calm as he spoke lightly:
"This is bad."
The sentence was flat, but carried a steadiness and alienation completely different from before—as if he had become another person in an instant.
Dai Mubai froze for a moment when he heard it, then laughed in anger.
A mere lower-realm Titled Douluo—no matter how talented—standing before two true second-rank gods, one of them even famed as a God of War… dared to say "this is bad"?
That arrogance was a little too big for someone who didn't know the height of the heavens.