(Time Skip)
After some talks between Xuan Zi and Di Tian, the elders and teachers of Shrek Academy were inevitably forced to leave the forest under the watchful eyes of the soul beasts.
Huo Yuhao watched them all leave with an unreadable expression on his face before turning to face Di Tian, the other Great Beasts and Qiu'er.
"So...what now?"
Di Tian raised an eyebrow. "Now you fulfill your end of the bargain. Prove your strength, talent and skills to us within 2 years and we'll let you leave."
Bear Lord clicked his tongue. "I still can't believe this puny.... human, would be some sort of savior for our race. Tch. I don't like it! Not one bit."
Hell Demon Dragon King crossed her arms and added, "I hate to agree with this big oaf, but he's right. A human being the key to our survival? It sounds ridiculous. But..." She narrowed her glowing violet eyes at Huo Yuhao. "Di Tian has placed his trust in you, so I'll wait and see."
Scarlet King grumbled. "I trust both Di Tian and the Auspicious Emperor. So, prove your worth to us."
Bi Ji faintly smiled and said, "I look forward to be working with you."
The Myriad Demon King slowly blinked and shrugged. "Honestly. I don't really give a shit. If you need something with me, just come find me, or vice versa."
They all collectively didn't bring up a certain "Lord" of theirs. Huo Yuhao might find out about it one day but they were still wary of him for the Great Beasts to openly say their greatest secret.
"Human—eh, Yuhao. What are you going to do now?" Qiu'er asked curiously, tilting her head slightly.
Huo Yuhao had an urge to pet her head but held back, on the account of the Great Beasts staring at him.
What he didn't know, the Great Beasts were all incredibly shocked by what they were seeing.
Qiu'er might've been under strict surveillance by them, but they never restricted her interacting with other soul beasts. And almost all the time she was aloof and cold toward others, never showing much interest in anyone or anything beyond her own thoughts.
Yet here she was, openly conversing with a human with enthusiasm and joy that they've never seen her express before in the last millennia! Moreover, didn't Huo Yuhao call her Qiu'er?
Did he give her a name?! Was this sudden close bond between all because of their soul contract or something else entirely?!
The Great Beasts didn't know how to react to such a development. It was like seeing their daughter/niece getting herself a delinquent boyfriend but was actually a good influence on her than what they expected.
"Well, I'm not at my best right now so I'd like to finish recovering first before I start anything serious. My meridians are still a mess from the Heavenly Tribulation. Even with my unique constitution, it'll take at least a few weeks before I'm back to full strength." Huo Yuhao said.
Di Tian grunted and said, "I'll take you someplace that would help accelerate your healing process."
He glanced at the other Great Beasts. "We'll meet up later."
"Can I come with—"
"No." Di Tian coldly cut off Qiu'er and said, "Go with Bi Ji for now. You used your Eye of Destiny earlier, so I want you to get checked for hidden injuries."
Without saying anything else, he walked towards Huo Yuhao and placed a hand on his shoulder. Before the latter could react, space around them distorted.
They two disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"We're here." Di Tian said and released his hand from Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
Huo Yuhao blinked as he took in his surroundings. It looked somewhat familiar.
They were deep within the Great Star Dou Forest, but this place was different from his spiritual sea. There was a large, crystal-clear lake but no huge tree in the middle of it. Instead, the lake stretched wide, its waters shimmering with pure life energy.
The Lake of Life, the true central core of the Great Star Dou Forest! The resting and cultivation place of Di Tian.
Taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao felt the Life Gold within him to tremble and his healing factor had increased. Just the air from the Lake of Life itself was enough to activate a resonance with the Life Gold and accelerate his recovery.
'By my estimation, if I immerse myself within this water, I could recover completely in just a few days!' Huo Yuhao's eyes shined with excitement at the realization.
The Life Gold within him was already a miraculous existence, but combined with the immense life energy of the Lake of Life, his healing process would be drastically accelerated.
Perhaps, with such thick life energy, Huo Yuhao might receive some more benefits than he realizes.
Di Tian grunted. "Be honored. Only soul beasts of great strength have bathed in these waters."
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. "You're awfully generous... Is there a catch to all this?"
"Yes. Get stronger."
Before Huo Yuhao could react, he felt a great force strike his butt and send him flying straight into the lake.
*Splash!*
'That son of a...' Huo Yuhao's eyes twitched and he would've cursed the guy out if he wasn't busy feeling out the life energy flowing into his body.
His meridians, which had been damaged by the Heavenly Tribulation, pulsed as the energy seeped into every corner of his body, accelerating his recovery at an astonishing rate and filtering out any hidden injuries.
'I can.... still breathe?' Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and was shocked to find that the water of the Lake of Life flowed into his lungs like air. Instead of choking him, it felt refreshing, as if he were breathing in pure, unpolluted air with every breath.
His muscles relaxed, his soul power circulated smoothly, and even his spiritual sea began to recover at an accelerating rate. Which wasn't a surprise, considering that the Life Gold was fused with his spiritual power and thus is more inclined to absorb life energy than either his body or soul power.
Huo Yuhao calmed down and closed his eyes, and went into a cross-legged position, trying to circulate the Heavenly Tempering Soul Technique; a technique that focuses on intertwining two varying energies, soul power and spiritual power, to increase both energies and the remaining energy resulting the harmonization between the two to enhance his body.
He limited the circulation in only the meridians that were healed, making sure they never went to any of the broken ones.
This level of control over his energies was unparalleled, even most Titled Douluos couldn't claim to do what he's doing so easily.
From above, Di Tian's face changed instantly.
"This feeling.... Yin-Yang complement technique?! I haven't sensed a soul core within him, so why is he using that technique? No, wait. It feels...vastly different."
"He's circulating his soul power and spiritual power in opposite directions, creating a Yin-Yang circulation. During the circulation, the brief clash of energies would strengthen both and his body—is he sleeping?!"
Di Tian's eyes bulged like he had just seen a ghost.
'He's actually asleep?! While cultivating such a risky cultivation method?!'
As one of the oldest creatures in the world, Di Tian knows a lot more knowledge than any human or soul beast in the mortal world. He understands the intricacies of both soul power and spiritual power, though their origins were similar, they are still fundamentally different.
The collision of both energies together would normally cause a total collapse of one's energy pathways.
If a Titled Douluo attempted such a method and failed, the resulting backlash could trigger a city-wide explosion, obliterating everything in its wake.
Yet here was Huo Yuhao, not only circulating both energies in opposite directions but also merging them in a stable, harmonious cycle.
'No wonder this boy was so confident about being the best in the whole continent. His talent, potential, and comprehension ability are beyond anything I've ever seen.'
Di Tian's brows furrowed as he observed the unprecedented fusion of soul power and spiritual power within Huo Yuhao's body. 'By my estimation, after his body is healed, the harmonization between his soul power and spiritual power would soon result in the creation of a soul core.'
'Creating a soul core before becoming a true Soul King much less being a Titled Douluo.... That is a feat that none, even that bastard from ten thousand years ago, has ever done.'
Di Tian closed, sighed and muttered. "No wonder you placed your trust once more on a human, my lord. Will salvation finally come for all soul beasts?"
'However, the Great Lord is smart. She doesn't want to bet everything on a human and soul beast, like what happened last time. The plan to relocate to another continent is still in motion.'
Di Tian's gaze lingered on Huo Yuhao, his expression unreadable. 'If this boy truly succeeds...will we even need to flee?'
Five days passed
Qiu'er yawned, licking her lips before curling down on the grass near the Lake of Life. Her golden eyes lazily flickered open and shut, gazing at the calm and serene waters of the Lake of Life.
Nearby, Bi Ji watched her with a fond but exasperated expression. "You really like that human, huh?"
Qiu'er slowly nodded. "Hmm."
Bi Ji pouted. "That's it? You're not gonna humor Auntie Bi Ji with a little more detail?"
Qiu'er lazily stretched her arms forward before rolling around on the ground, facing Bi Ji. "What's there to say? He's interesting."
Bi Ji gave her a flat look. "Interesting? That's all?" She huffed, adjusting her glasses. "You don't usually care about anyone, not even most of us."
Qiu'er blinked slowly. "That's because most of you are boring."
Bi Ji froze, her lips twitching. "How rude! I'll have you know, I am very fun."
Qiu'er snorted but didn't argue. Instead, her golden eyes flickered back toward the lake, concerned. "Yuhao....when are you coming out?"
She sighed and lowered her head, closing her eyes.
At that moment, the water began to ripple unnaturally. Both Qiu'er and Bi Ji turned toward it, sensing the immense energy swirling beneath the surface.
Qiu'er sat up immediately, her third eye shining magnificently.
"He's waking up."
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
Last chapter of the week. Next week I'll be posting five chapters since Volume 2: Unification(name pending?) is almost here.
Spoilers—
This volume would consist of Huo Yuhao's 2 year training with the Great Beasts, snippets of trainings that his friends go through, infiltrating the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult/Church, hunting down Spiritual-type soul beasts, and lots more! I'm thinking of having 5 volumes for this story, then side stories.
See y'all next time!