Seeing Wang Dong's obviously shy reaction, Huo Yuhao chose not to point it out. He got up from his bed, walked across the room, and quietly turned off the dormitory lights. The room was immediately plunged into a soft darkness, with only the faint, pale moonlight filtering through the window, casting a layer of silver-white gauze across the floor. Afterward, he returned to his bed and lay down. Tonight, he decided he would not engage in his usual cultivation. However, as he lay there in the dark, Huo Yuhao did not fall asleep; instead, he closed his eyes and immersed his mind deep into his spiritual sea.
His spiritual sea was a place that had always been very lively. Inside this vast mental space, there was his teacher Electrolux, as well as his spirit souls: Tianmeng, the Ice Empress, and Little Silver. Joining them now was his newly acquired fourth spirit soul—Rebirth. This was a ten thousand year Rebirth Butterfly, a creature that Leng Yaozhu and Han Tianyi had spent a considerable amount of effort specifically selecting for him. Its wingspan exceeded three meters, and its entire body emitted a ghostly blue fluorescence. Its wings were covered in countless eye-like patterns that were densely packed together, possessing a certain eerie, haunting beauty. Every time the butterfly flapped its wings, visible particles of silver light would fall away—a physical manifestation of its mental force.
The Rebirth Butterfly is an extremely rare mental-type Spirit Beast that survives by devouring the lingering thoughts and obsessions of the deceased. Because of this, they are most often found in places like ancient battlefields and large cemeteries. The birth of every Rebirth Butterfly signifies that the lost souls of countless individuals have been absorbed into its being. This ten thousand year spirit soul brought Huo Yuhao a powerful Domain-type Spirit Ability: the Myriad Thoughts Return to Ruin Domain.
Once this Domain is activated, Huo Yuhao can extract the thoughts, emotions, and memories of every living being within its range. This extracted mental force is then converted into nourishment for himself, allowing him to rapidly restore any mental depletion he might suffer during a fight. Furthermore, while inside the Domain, he has the power to forcibly read a target's memories and even rewrite their subconscious perceptions. Without a doubt, it is an incredibly formidable mental Domain.
As soon as Huo Yuhao's consciousness appeared within the spiritual sea, the chubby body of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm immediately leaned in close. "Yuhao!" its voice squeaked with excitement, and its small eyes lit up with joy. "It looks like the historical records were actually correct; you and Wang Dong really are a match made in heaven! Both of you actually possess unprecedented triple spirits!"
Hearing the silkworm's excitement, Huo Yuhao remained relatively calm. Earlier, during that comfortable sensation, Wang Dong had been drowsy and had not felt things clearly, but Huo Yuhao's own consciousness had remained wide awake the entire time. The moment their auras blended together, he had felt three distinctly different powers appear within both of them, and he realized that these three powers were strangely able to fuse into one.
After the initial excitement passed, Huo Yuhao gradually calmed down. He felt that things might not be as simple as they appeared. He looked up toward the highest reaches of his spiritual sea, where a single gray bead floated. It hung quietly high in the air, resembling a gray sun in this vast spiritual space. Compared to the beginning when it was only the size of a soybean, this gray bead had grown to be as large as an adult's fist.
"Teacher," Huo Yuhao spoke, his voice echoing through the spiritual sea. "What do you think Wang Dong's third Spirit is?" He knew from the history books that Wang Dong's twin spirits were supposed to be the Light Goddess Butterfly and the Clear Sky Hammer. However, as for a third Spirit, he had never seen any mention of it in any record.
As his voice fell, the gray bead high in the air trembled slightly. Immediately, a surge of gray-black mist poured out from the bead, and within moments, an illusory figure solidified in front of Huo Yuhao. Electrolux's face bore its habitual calm, looking as if nothing in the world could stir much of a ripple in his heart. Huo Yuhao looked at him, waiting for an answer. But this time, the teacher who was almost omnipotent in his eyes slowly shook his head.
"The aura on that person is very strange. It does not feel especially powerful, but its quality is extremely high. If I am not mistaken, his situation is likely the same as yours."
Huo Yuhao frowned, not quite understanding the meaning of those words. "The same as mine?" he murmured. Seeing his confusion, Electrolux stopped being cryptic. "The third Spirit of that little girl probably isn't a real Spirit either. In his spiritual sea, there is likely an existence similar to me."
A sharp light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes as he finally understood. The same as him—did that mean some powerful entity was also residing within Wang Dong's spiritual sea? Huo Yuhao couldn't help but blurt out, "Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
Electrolux looked at him, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Don't think too much about it for now," his voice was gentle and calm. "What you need to focus on is continuously improving your own strength. When your cultivation is higher, your horizons will be different. At that time, many things that are currently hidden will naturally become clear." He paused, his tone carrying a hint of a reminder. "Besides, even if you rack your brains and discover the truth now, you don't have the ability to solve the problem yet. Why go looking for trouble you can't handle?"
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment and then slowly nodded. His teacher was right; strength was the foundation of everything. He looked up at Electrolux and nodded solemnly. "I understand, Teacher." Afterward, his consciousness slowly withdrew from the spiritual sea. No more thinking tonight. Sleep, sleep!
Outside the academy's East Gate, as long as it wasn't nighttime, the area was usually empty. The afternoon sun spilled down lazily, and the ancient trees by the roadside swayed gently in the breeze, with occasional leaves falling and swirling down to the ground. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong walked side by side toward the secluded small grove where their team had previously practiced.
Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly to look at Wang Dong. The fellow was currently hanging his head, his gaze fixed on the bluestone slabs beneath his feet. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows across his face. Huo Yuhao keenly caught sight of Wang Dong's slightly red earlobes. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile, which he quickly suppressed.
"What are you thinking about with your head down like that?" he asked knowingly, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness.
Hearing this, Wang Dong finally looked up. Then, he raised his left hand. To be precise, it wasn't just his left hand, but his left hand held together with Huo Yuhao's right hand. The two of them had been holding hands like this since the moment they left the school gate. Wang Dong stopped in his tracks and deliberately tilted his head up, putting on an air of having a clear conscience. But his slightly red cheeks and flickering eyes betrayed his current nervousness. He stiffened his neck, his voice carrying a bit of forced righteousness. "It's weird for two guys to be walking around while holding hands."
Seeing him like this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but laugh out loud. "There's no one here anyway, and aren't we supposed to be testing our Spirit Fusion? Although we haven't completed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill yet, as long as we have physical contact, our cultivation and Spirit Abilities can be improved a lot. We need to get used to this method."
The words were seamless and reasonable, leaving no room for Wang Dong to find fault. Wang Dong opened his mouth to argue but didn't know where to start. He huffed, turned his head away, and stopped looking at Huo Yuhao's smiling face. Then, he lowered his hand and continued walking forward. However, those held hands still did not let go.
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