The night was falling by the East Sea.
Layers of ink-black waves roared and crashed against the shore, splashing silvery white foam into the sky.
A handsome young man sat alone on a reef, letting the sea breeze lift his robe, with his short blue hair fluttering in the wind.
The distant waves pounded against the rocks, and the mist from the splashes wet his eyelashes. He tilted his head slightly, allowing the salty sea breeze to brush his cheeks.
Though his figure was slender, the smooth muscle lines under his clothes hinted at the traces of long-term rigorous training.
His calm figure, amidst the violent sea and sky, appeared exceptionally serene, like a sharp sword sheathed, its edge concealed yet full of latent sharpness.
This was Huo Yuhao.
Two years had passed. Under the tempering of his vitality and natural growth, the young man had grown to about 1.7 meters tall.
"Yuhao, are you ready?"
Mu Ye, Hua Yichen, and the Snow Empress's spirit stood at the edge of the sea. Mu Ye watched as Huo Yuhao adjusted his state and asked.
Huo Yuhao nodded, "I'm ready. Thank you, teachers."
"No problem. Forming the first soul core at the Soul King level is a feat that surpasses the history of the soul master world. Being able to witness and participate in it is my fortune," Hua Yichen said with a light smile.
The essence of forming a soul core is the comprehension and compression of soul power. He had thought that Huo Yuhao, no matter how fast he progressed, would only achieve it at the Soul Emperor level. He never expected it to happen so soon.
Among the historically famous limit powerhouses, some geniuses only completed the formation of their soul cores at the Soul Emperor level.
For example, the Atlas Douluo, judging by his cultivation speed, probably formed his soul core around the Soul Emperor level, using the soul core's passive ability to absorb the world's origin energy, allowing his cultivation speed at the Soul Emperor level to not be slower than at the Soul King level.
As for forming a soul core at the Soul King level, Yuhao was the first person he had ever seen.
Mu Ye had anticipated this and was calmer. He said, "Then let's begin, Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao nodded upon hearing this, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to meditate.
The vortex of vitality in his body flowed on its own, tracing a mysterious path through his meridians. In an instant, the origin energy from all directions seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, converging toward this reef like rivers flowing into the sea.
Hua Yichen and Mu Ye exchanged a glance and, along with the Snow Empress's spirit, began to use their spiritual power to mobilize the origin energy, assisting Huo Yuhao in forming the vitality soul core.
The vast origin energy continuously poured into Huo Yuhao's body. During this fusion process, his body trembled slightly, each tremor causing the surrounding air to distort more violently.
In just a short moment, the vitality vortex in Huo Yuhao's dantian underwent another change. A surge of gray mist enveloped the silver and golden light spots within the vortex, causing the entire vortex to collapse inward as it spun.
Collapse, expansion, then collapse and expansion again. The anomaly of the vitality vortex even caused the origin energy outside to form a vortex.
This process would bring intense pain to a soul master, but Huo Yuhao remained expressionless, even having the spare energy to mobilize the Silver Dragon King's reverse scale and the gold of life from his spiritual sea, emitting waves of light that continuously poured into the vitality vortex...
Watching this scene, Hua Yichen nodded slightly at Huo Yuhao's perseverance and raised an eyebrow, "Yuhao's method of forming the soul core seems a bit like the ancient technique, utilizing the spatial power of his second martial soul?"
In the past, forming a soul core was usually done by Title Douluo, requiring some comprehension of spatial power to compress soul power.
As times evolved, a method for forming the first soul core at the Soul Sage level was developed, but how many soul masters at the Soul Sage level could master spatial power?
Thus, the current method for forming the first soul core is simplified, emphasizing gradual progress without the need for comprehension of spatial power, aiming to increase the number of powerhouses. There are far more Title Douluo now than in the past, and this new soul core formation method deserves much credit.
However, this also means that the formed soul cores cannot match those of the past, causing many soul masters to be stuck at the Soul Sage level.
The Snow Empress's spirit smiled slightly, "He has considerable comprehension of spatial power, which I taught him."
Hua Yichen's expression shifted slightly as he nodded.
In terms of ancientness, this one had survived in Douluo for hundreds of thousands of years, so guiding the formation of ancient soul cores was naturally within her capabilities.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao was immersed in that profound comprehension. Each pulse of the soul core's energy felt like a leap of life, allowing him to clearly sense a qualitative transformation in his life level.
Within his body, as the gray mist dissipated, a silver crystal occasionally emitting colorful light quietly appeared in the position of his dantian.
But since he began forming the soul core, only two hours had passed, and the sun had not yet risen.
If such a speed were to spread, even the top powerhouses in the soul master world would be shocked. After all, ordinary soul masters often needed nearly a day of arduous cultivation to form a soul core, yet he had completed this crucial breakthrough in an instant.
The formation of the soul core also marked his official return to the path of a powerhouse.
Huo Yuhao's consciousness began to immerse in the comprehension of the vitality soul core, while the origin energy from the outside was naturally absorbed by the soul core, continuously strengthening it.
Mu Ye and Hua Yichen watched this scene, their expressions filled with excitement.
The path of cultivating a soul core is extremely difficult, with eighty to ninety percent of soul masters stopping here.
But if one can break through this shackle, it is like a roc spreading its wings for ninety thousand miles, or a dragon diving into the sea to roam freely.
Once the soul core is formed, a soul master's perception and guidance of origin energy will significantly improve, greatly enhancing their power.
At this stage, a soul master basically no longer needs to worry about running out of soul power, as the soul core can automatically attract origin energy to quickly replenish any consumption.
Unless engaged in extremely intense battles, a Soul Sage level soul master can maintain a continuous cycle of soul power.
"Heaven truly blesses our Body Sect..."
Mu Ye secretly marveled.
The Snow Empress's spirit watched this scene and smiled slightly, "Thank you both. It will take several more hours, so I will guard him."
The two exchanged a glance and naturally agreed.
...
As the first ray of dawn broke through the horizon, Huo Yuhao, having finished his cultivation, opened his eyes and saw the figure before him, his eyes flickering.
The Snow Empress's spirit stood in the morning light, her pristine white dress spotless. The rising sun cast a faint golden halo around her, and as her skirt fluttered in the wind, she looked like a fairy carved from ice and snow descending to the mortal world.
Ten thousand years ago, the Snow Empress had also silently stood by his side, guarding him.
The Snow Empress turned her head and smiled, "Did you directly fuse the soul bones given by the Evil Emperor and the Bear Lord? How was the harvest?"
"Not bad."
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze smiled slightly. The soul power fluctuation at the 54th level rose as he lifted his right hand.
Between the fingers of his right hand, golden and silver streams of light intertwined like living creatures, sometimes separating and sometimes merging, brewing a shocking energy storm in silence.
The light, initially as faint as fireflies, suddenly collapsed in a breath, condensing into five dazzling light blades—
Sssshhh!
Huo Yuhao's right wrist pressed down abruptly, and five golden and silver claw marks tore through the deep sea.
The dark golden main blade shimmered with crescent-shaped silver light, and where it passed, the seawater was not pushed aside but directly annihilated into nothingness.
Behind the fifty-meter-long light mark, five dark tunnels dozens of meters long pierced through the sea abyss, with silver spatial cracks spreading like spider webs along the edges of the tunnels.
The most terrifying thing was that the torn void began to autonomously devour the surrounding seawater, forming five massive deep-sea whirlpools.
"Sky-Spilliting Claw?"
The Snow Empress was momentarily surprised.
Huo Yuhao smiled, "After forming the soul core, the difficulty of combining vitality power, spiritual power, and soul power has further decreased. I can now proficiently use that fused power. By mobilizing spatial power, I can achieve this level."
This was just one benefit brought by the vitality soul core; there were many others.
Moreover, with the vitality soul core formed, the Body Sect's innate secret technique, he had also completely passed the first hurdle.
Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress's spirit chatted for a few moments before the latter returned to the spiritual sea.
He walked alone toward the edge of the sea, where Hua Yichen and Mu Ye were waiting for him.
Huo Yuhao stopped only when he reached Hua Yichen and Mu Ye.
"Not bad, a five-ring Soul King, mid-stage Spirit Abyss level spiritual power, plus the completed battle armor, you now have the ability to protect yourself. I can leave with peace of mind," Mu Ye said after carefully observing Huo Yuhao for a while.
The standard for Spirit Abyss level spiritual power is 5, 000, and for Spirit Domain level, it's 20, 000. Two years ago, Yuhao had just entered the Spirit Abyss level, and now he had reached the mid-stage, with his spiritual power showing no signs of stagnation. It was certain that he would enter the Spirit Domain level in the future.
And to a certain extent, the Spirit Domain level represents a Limit Douluo. If one's spiritual power can reach the Spirit Domain level, becoming a Limit Douluo in the future is almost inevitable.
Such enviable talent.
"Thank you, Teacher Mu Ye, for your guidance over the past two years, and thank you, Teacher Hua, for your care," Huo Yuhao said solemnly, bowing to the two.
"No need for excessive thanks. What I said back then still stands. I still plan to wait for you to grow up and become an elder to retire," Hua Yichen laughed, patting Huo Yuhao's shoulder, then sighed, "You've grown faster than I expected. Are you planning to go to Mingdu?"
Watching the child he had discovered gradually reach a point where he no longer needed his protection, anyone would feel a sense of nostalgia, right?
"Yes," Huo Yuhao nodded, "I plan to go to Mingdu with Elder Li. He wants to introduce me to the president of the Mecha Association, and I also want to visit the Mecha Association headquarters."
The Mecha Association headquarters is also in Mingdu. Its founder was even related to the Illustrious Virtue Hall, but as people from various major forces joined later, it became less pure and transformed into what it is now.
But it still has connections with the Mingde Tang.
"The president of the Mecha Association?" Mu Ye nodded thoughtfully, "I have some acquaintance with him. If you encounter any trouble there, let me know."
Hua Yichen smiled helplessly, "Brother Mu Ye, do you think with Yuhao's identity and abilities in his secondary profession, he would still face any difficulties?"
"..."
Mu Ye glanced at Huo Yuhao, thinking of the titles he held, and did not refute.
Although the forces in Mingdu are mixed, with people from all sides, the Spirit Pagoda holds a significant position among them.
Moreover, this young man, at such a tender age, is already a Level 6 Designer and a Level 6 Maker. The higher-ups of the Mecha Association would not turn a blind eye to this.
Thinking this, Mu Ye said, "Notify me when you set off. I can accompany you until Heaven Dou City..."
Before Mu Ye could finish, the ring of a soul communicator interrupted his thoughts. He frowned slightly, took out the exquisite metal device from his pocket, communicated with the other side for a moment, and his expression changed instantly.
"What did you say?! Zhenhua is injured?"
How could this be? Didn't Zhenhua say someone was protecting him?
He dared to leave the Blacksmith Association because he knew someone was secretly protecting Zhenhua's safety, with strength no less than his own. What was happening now?
Hua Yichen and Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance, also frowning slightly.
Someone attacked the Divine Craftsman... was it an evil soul master?
"Just a minor injury?"
After getting more accurate information, Mu Ye breathed a sigh of relief, hung up, and put away the soul communicator. He looked at Huo Yuhao, "It seems I can't accompany you. The attacker is very strong and hasn't been caught. I need to return to Heaven Dou City immediately to prevent him from striking again."
Huo Yuhao nodded, "Teacher, take care."
Mu Ye nodded, summoned his red-level mecha, and headed toward Heaven Dou City, his mind recalling the information he had just heard, his brow furrowed.
A level 98 Super Douluo... do the evil soul masters still have such a figure?
...
On the other side, Nanali hung up the soul communicator, her face gloomy as she looked at the members of the Dark Division below.
"Can anyone tell me? Where did these evil soul masters come from? Four! Four Super Douluo level powerhouses, all evil soul masters!"
"In recent years, the scrutiny of those with evil martial souls has been very thorough. How could there still be so many who slipped through the net? And this is just a fraction of the strength the Holy Spirit Cult has exposed. The Divine Craftsman, a Dark Division branch, and two council members were attacked simultaneously. Except for Lord Zhenhua and the council member I personally protected, who were unharmed, the other two locations were successfully attacked. The higher-ups are very dissatisfied with this."
In recent years, having seen many weak evil soul masters, Nanali truly didn't expect the Holy Spirit Cult to still possess such strength.
If it hadn't been for the agreement with the Dark Phoenix two years ago, the losses this time would likely have been even greater.
'Not having seen any evil soul masters above the Title Douluo level in recent years, we've become complacent.'
Thinking this, Nanali looked at her subordinates, who were as silent as cicadas in winter, and sighed, "What was lost in the branch attack?"
A member responsible for information compilation stepped forward, "Some information was lost from the attacked Dark Division branch, including records of personnel scrutinizing evil martial souls across the Federation in recent years. Many of them are children, and a Title Douluo and Soul Douluo on duty... have gone missing."
Nanali frowned, mourning her colleague's fate for a moment, then turned her thoughts to the lost information.
Not all those with evil martial souls join the Dark Division or the Execution Division; some continue to live ordinary lives.
What was the Holy Spirit Cult's purpose in wanting their information?