Chapter 23: Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, Medicinal Bath
"What did you say? Huo Yuhao didn't come to class today?"
Evening, outside Class Three's door.
Hearing the reply from one of the students, the siblings Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen felt as if the sky had collapsed.
The boy they questioned shrugged.
"Yeah. A lot of students wanted to catch a glimpse of that guy today, but sorry—Teacher Xuan said Huo Yuhao won't be coming to class again until after the holiday."
What he didn't say was that even if Huo Yuhao had come to class, the siblings would still have missed him. After every class, his whereabouts were impossible to track.
It was common knowledge that Huo Yuhao liked to study in the library, but the academy's library was huge. Other than a few infatuated girls, who would waste time searching every corner for him?
Because classes had just ended, the commotion quickly drew a crowd.
"Who are they? White hair, wow… and that girl—red eyes, so pretty!"
"No idea. Probably looking for Huo Yuhao. Today alone, our class has had hundreds of people wandering over just to see him. And plenty of them are beautiful girls. Damn that Huo Yuhao is enviable."
"I think I know who they are—white hair, red eyes. They're that famous upper-year sibling pair, the ones once called the Empire's most gifted soul engineer geniuses in a thousand years."
"Here to cause trouble? No way. Huo Yuhao doesn't seem like the type to provoke them."
"Tch. Not everything is about fighting. Maybe they just want to make friends. Genius recognizing genius, you know?"
Ignoring the whispers around them, Xiao Hongchen sighed helplessly.
"No choice, Meng. I didn't expect that guy not to be here today."
Meng Hongchen pouted, cheeks puffed up.
"I don't care. I set aside my soul guidance device research just to come today. Since I didn't see him, you're going to make it up to me, big brother."
"Alright, alright. How about I take you to the Royal Auction House outside the academy?"
"…Fine. Still a shame, though. I heard from those girls that Huo Yuhao is handsome."
"You're just lusting after his body, Meng?"
"I do not, stupid brother."
"Heh~"
---
Worship Hall, Kong Deming's Residence
"Teacher… you're sure I'm supposed to soak in this?"
Staring at the bubbling green liquid before him, Huo Yuhao felt like his world was ending. Was this thing going to cook him alive?
"What nonsense, brat. Do you know how many rare medicinal herbs went into this? It strengthens your foundation, purges impurities, and refines the body. Stop nitpicking."
Without further discussion, Kong Deming grabbed Huo Yuhao by the collar and dropped him in.
The scalding heat Huo Yuhao expected never came. Instead, he felt waves of gentle power seeping into him—tempering his body, nourishing his meridians. Shedding his soaked clothes, he immersed himself fully, closing his eyes and beginning to cultivate.
Kong Deming watched, shaking his head with a faint smile.
"Greedy brat. Two pills in one go—looks like you'll be spending this whole period stabilizing your foundation with medicinal baths."
Two hours later—
Feeling his body's physical strength had increased by at least twenty percent, Huo Yuhao couldn't stop a grin from forming.
"Teacher… so, does this mean I get a bath like this every day?"
Kong Deming's mouth twitched.
"In your dreams. Do you have any idea how many resources this takes to prepare? Once a week. Be grateful for that."
Once a week was fine. Even the heirs of top clans might not enjoy this kind of luxury.
"Oh, and—you're almost at rank twenty. When the holiday starts, I'll send someone with you to hunt for your next soul ring. Spiritual-type soul beasts are rare, but the Evil Demon Forest has quite a few. I'll make sure to find you the most suitable one, as close to your limit as possible."
Evil Demon Forest?
Huo Yuhao frowned. He'd known this was coming sooner or later… but this meant his plan to head to the Extreme North and convince the Ice Empress to sacrifice herself would have to be delayed.
Time to lie.
"Teacher, my second martial soul isn't just a normal weapon-type martial soul. It can inscribe unique traits… and it has a faint grasp over the power of destiny."
Kong Deming's expression didn't change, so Huo Yuhao pressed on.
"Though it hasn't fully awakened yet, my martial soul instinctively tells me—there's an opportunity out there, waiting for me this holiday. I want to follow its guidance and claim it."
Inscribe traits? Sense destiny? Kong Deming had never heard of such things. Could it be a god-given martial soul? That didn't fit—the Spirit Eye martial soul was rare, yes, but it hadn't undergone a second awakening.
"Summon your second martial soul. Let me see."
Curiosity burned in the old man's eyes. The last time he'd only glanced at it; now, he wanted to take a closer look.
Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao summoned his End-Time Bell. Alongside its original carvings of the Twelve Zodiac and Four Divine Beasts, two new engravings—belonging to [Strong Luck] and [Destiny]—now glimmered faintly.
Eight other engravings remained dormant.
After staring for a while, Kong Deming finally asked,
"How did you know this martial soul can inscribe traits?"
Huo Yuhao had been expecting that question.
"My Spirit Eye martial soul's first soul beast had a spiritual attribute. After I obtained its ring, for some reason, the effect transferred to my second martial soul, and the End-Time Bell gained a spiritual attribute."
Kong Deming nodded slowly, accepting the explanation.
"Earlier, Jing Hongchen said your first soul skill could be called a divine skill. Let me see it for myself."
Shrugging, Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection Sharing. With his soul power now at rank nineteen, the ability's range and detail had improved significantly.
"Excellent. Jing Hongchen's praise wasn't misplaced—this is indeed a divine skill."
Its potential for soul guidance device research aside, the sheer tactical advantage it offered was staggering. In later stages, its all-encompassing, god's-eye perspective and scalable support abilities could completely overturn entire strategic systems.
But a single skill didn't prove his point. To truly convince his teacher, Huo Yuhao channeled the [Destiny] Resonance within the End-Time Bell.
"I heard the echo of [Destiny]!"
---
End of Chapter