"You're the Demon of Compassion?!" Dai Huabin exclaimed, pupils contracting sharply, a look of sheer terror crossing his face.
"You've heard of me?" Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and activated Ghost Possession.
Two yellow, two purple, and four black soul rings floated around him—eight in total. In Huo Yuhao's hand, a bone sword spirit appeared.
Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult Branch — Ghost Possession!
"So, you're just a Soul Douluo!" Dai Huabin's eyes lit up, the fear quickly vanishing.
According to rumors, the Demon of Compassion was a Title Douluo-level evil soul master. That's why Dai Huabin had initially been afraid. But now, seeing the reality, it seemed the rumors were wrong—the opponent was merely a Soul Douluo.
And they had the numbers advantage: three Soul Douluos and five Soul Sages on their side.
Dai Huabin: The advantage is mine!
When Dai Yaoheng's corpse had been sent back to the White Tiger Duke's estate, the name "Demon of Compassion" had come with it. The estate had mobilized their intelligence network to investigate and find the mysterious figure.
Yet they'd come up empty-handed.
Some even suspected that Shrek Academy had fabricated the name to throw the White Tiger Duke's forces off.
Who would have thought the real Demon of Compassion would cross Dai Huabin's path?
Dai Huabin realized—this was a golden opportunity.
Since the enemy wasn't a Title Douluo, they might actually be able to kill him.
And if he did kill the Demon of Compassion, it would be considered avenging Dai Yaoheng—greatly strengthening his claim as heir to the White Tiger Duke.
"Gonggong, kill him now! Avenge my brother!" Dai Huabin sneered viciously.
"Yes, young master~" the eunuch roared with a burst of power, his expression cold as he pointed at Huo Yuhao. "What are you waiting for?! Kill him, now!"
"At once!!"
Two Soul Douluos and five Soul Sages acted without hesitation, activating their martial spirits and charging into the toxic fog toward Huo Yuhao.
Their combined pressure was powerful—
But it couldn't shake Huo Yuhao.
"You're not fleeing? You're coming right for me?"
Today, Brother Hao's Ghost Banner martial spirit would gain a few more strong souls.
Huo Yuhao activated his Evil Eye Spirit at the same time. His pupils shifted rapidly.
Eye of Ice and Snow—Spiritual Freeze!
Two Spiritual Freezes were unleashed simultaneously—silent, formless, and intangible—hitting the two leading Soul Douluos squarely.
They froze mid-movement.
First-strike kill, baby.
Completely unprepared, the Soul Douluos were struck directly, losing consciousness and control of their bodies briefly.
Compared to when he first faced the Holy Spirit Cult branch elder, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power and strength had advanced significantly.
The next second, Huo Yuhao moved. His eyes changed again.
Evil Eye—Enhancement Eye! Observation Eye!
The crimson eye's power enhanced his physique. For every soul ring, his body received a onefold boost.
Evil Eye: 1 ring
Ice Centipede Spirit: 5 rings
Ghost Banner Spirit: 3 rings
Total: Nine soul rings!
Yes, the count was additive!
This was the innate power awakened from Huo Yuhao's bloodline—it applied to more than just his Evil Eye.
Nine rings, ninefold enhancement!
His strength now rivaled that of a lower-tier Title Douluo.
And most importantly—Huo Yuhao was at full power!
And could sustain it!
In a sudden burst of speed, he blurred into motion.
The Observation Eye's blue light allowed him to maintain full perception even at extreme speed.
To Dai Huabin and the eunuch, Huo Yuhao vanished into a blur—only to reappear behind the two lead Soul Douluos.
Blood dripped from the bone sword.
The two Soul Douluos, frozen stiff, suddenly had their necks explode in a fountain of blood—two heads soaring skyward.
The Ghost Banner swiftly absorbed their souls.
Dai Huabin and the eunuch's pupils shrank in horror.
Instant kill—two Soul Douluos of the same rank?!
Suddenly, the eunuch remembered something—
The Demon of Compassion had once fought a Title Douluo-level evil soul master, which led to the assumption he was also a Title Douluo.
But now it was clear—
He wasn't a Title Douluo.
He just fought like one.
The eunuch howled in a hoarse, grating voice, "If you don't wanna die—go all out!"
His scream snapped the five Soul Sages back to reality. Fear unlocked their full potential—they activated their Martial Spirit Avatars with no restraint.
Meanwhile, the eunuch grabbed Dai Huabin and turned to flee.
Clearly, the eunuch was not above abandoning allies.
Huo Yuhao chuckled, "You think you can run?"
"Rise!"
The command thundered from under his black robe, filled with undeniable authority.
The headless corpses of the two Soul Douluos stood up!
Evil Eye—Undead Puppeteer!
This was the true divine ability of the Evil Eye.
The Enhancement and Observation Eyes were just innate talents.
Next, the souls that had been absorbed into the Ghost Banner were released—and returned to their original corpses.
An unbelievable scene followed:
Two headless corpses activated their martial spirits—eight rings emerged from each.
"Stop them," Huo Yuhao commanded.
The two headless Soul Douluos obeyed.
Their corpses, still warm, weren't stiff—still agile, still capable of fighting with their full strength.
Seeing this, Dai Huabin and the eunuch were terrified beyond words.
Grotesque! Horrifying! Unnatural!
Their worldview shattered.
"Gonggong, run!" Dai Huabin screamed, face pale with terror.
Huo Yuhao lobbed a Soul Shock at the eunuch.
The eunuch staggered, delaying his escape.
Before they could get far, the two headless corpses caught up.
Dai Huabin was too terrified to even scream now.
Fortunately, the eunuch had seen many horrors in his life. He didn't panic. He stepped forward and shielded Dai Huabin, cautiously facing the two undead Soul Douluos.
In truth, the two spirits still retained their consciousness and memories.
They were conflicted.
Moments ago, they had fought for Dai Huabin—and now, they were attacking him.
But they were dead now. They had a new master—and his orders could not be disobeyed.
So they could only offer Dai Huabin a silent apology:
"A boss is a boss, after all."
Then, without mercy, the two corpses activated their Martial Spirit Avatars and assaulted Dai Huabin and the eunuch.
Their merged ghost and body forms granted power beyond what they had in life—they no longer feared death.
Meanwhile, the eunuch had to protect Dai Huabin—he couldn't go all-out.
Elsewhere, Huo Yuhao looked at the five Soul Sages' activated martial avatars and smiled softly.
"The fluctuations from those Avatars are too big. We're still a distance from Shrek City, but this might attract their attention. I need to end this quickly…"
He swung his Ghost Banner.
Huo Yuhao muttered:
"Ghost Shock!"
A torrent of ghostly figures shot out like cannonballs, blasting toward the five Soul Sages.
They hastily used soul skills to defend themselves—
But they couldn't hold out.
This was a soul bone technique.
It originated from the Thousand-Year Ice Rabbit Left Leg Bone he had obtained from the Holy Spirit Cult.
Originally, it was called Bunny Bombardment, which summoned soul-power-formed rabbits to strike the enemy. Its power scaled with soul force and rank.
After fusing with the Ghost Banner, the technique evolved:
It no longer launched rabbit bombs—
It fired ghosts.
Ghost Shock allowed each ghost to unleash powerful force—and damage the opponent's soul.
Ghosts of Soul Emperors or 20,000-year-old soul beasts were already enough to harm Soul Sages.
Centered on Huo Yuhao, the explosive wave of ghosts quickly overwhelmed the five Soul Sages.
Huo Yuhao raised his bone sword.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Bone Sword True Body!"
A massive bone sword fell from the sky, cleaving toward the downed Soul Sages.
The city defense team of Shrek City did indeed notice soul masters battling outside the city. However, the battle took place at a considerable distance from Shrek City itself.
Dai Huabin and the others had chosen an ambush site far from the city—they were there to carry out an assassination, not to provoke openly.
Thus, it wasn't until the clash of Martial Souls erupted that Shrek City's defense team realized something serious was going on.
"Report! There's a battle happening outside the city!"
"Someone dares fight near Shrek City? Bold! Someone, report this to our superiors—everyone else, follow me to investigate!"
"Yes, sir!"
With that, a Soul Emperor captain led several Soul King subordinates out—but they had to detour through the city gates.
After all, Shrek City's walls were not something even Soul Emperors and Kings without flying abilities could casually leap over.
At the battlefield.
A massive skeletal sword Martial Soul descended from the sky, shrouded in a thick aura of bloodlust.
The ghostly banner Martial Soul floated mid-air. Both the Devour Life Domain and Bloodlust Domain were fully activated.
The five Soul Sages below had no ability to resist.
The Devour Life Domain drained their life force, while the Bloodlust Domain weakened their strength.
Even more shocking, the bloodlust aura was capable of eroding their Martial Soul True Forms—something Huo Yuhao had newly discovered.
Amidst their cries of horror, pain, and desperate pleas for mercy—
—the skeletal sword Martial Soul came crashing down.
Boom!
The explosion could be heard from a long distance away.
Ghostly energy and blood mist spread outward, blasting away the swirling dust and debris.
The five Soul Sages had all perished.
As for the ten Soul Emperors already incapacitated by poison, they too were struck by the aftermath—bloodlust energy entered their bodies and extinguished the last flickers of their life.
Fifteen souls in total were absorbed by the ghostly banner Martial Soul.
Huo Yuhao deactivated the skeletal sword True Form, his face slightly pale. That one strike had drained nearly all his power—but thankfully, the Devour Life Domain replenished a portion of his soul power.
The ghost of the Saint Spirit Hall's branch elder, now reduced to a mindless vengeful spirit, weakly returned to the ghost banner Martial Soul. As a soulless Evil Soul Master, he had no complaints.
If not for the urgency of the situation, Huo Yuhao would not have pushed himself to such extremes.
While unleashing this kind of power gave him immense might, the drain on a soul master was equally enormous.
His Evil-Eyed Martial Soul faded, the ninefold enhancement slowly dissipating.
Fatigue and intense bodily pain followed, signs that his body had sustained injuries.
Thankfully, the hundred-thousand-year Snow Lotus took immediate effect, rapidly healing his damage and replenishing his strength.
Yet Huo Yuhao didn't show pain. Calmly, he looked up, his gaze cold, locking onto Dai Huabin and the eunuch under siege.
Then—he was possessed by a new ghost spirit.
Roar—
A dragon's cry echoed faintly.
Soul power carrying light, ice, and ghostly energy surged from Huo Yuhao's body.
Hundred-thousand-year Icebrilliance Dragon Ghost Possession!
Ah Hui willingly offered his ghostly energy, allowing the exhausted Huo Yuhao to temporarily explode with power rivaling that of a Titled Douluo.
Ah Hui: "Brother Hao, go ahead—use me however you need!"
Huo Yuhao: "Brace yourself. I'm going all out!"
His Evil-Eyed Martial Soul transformed again. Huo Yuhao's eyes seemed to crack open, emanating an ominous energy.
Eyes of Annihilation—activated!
Letting Ah Hui possess him was all to fuel the powers of these eyes.
"Next comes a fatal blow!"
Two headless corpses were currently attacking the eunuch and Dai Huabin.
The eunuch had activated his Martial Soul True Form, protecting Dai Huabin behind him.
"So long as we can hold on, Shrek Academy will soon notice this battle. Once reinforcements arrive, we can destroy the demon Ci Hang!" the eunuch thought, gritting his teeth to stall for time.
But then—the pressure of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast descended.
The eunuch's face changed dramatically. Distracted, he turned toward Huo Yuhao's direction in shock: "A Titled Douluo?!"
Though he couldn't immediately tell whether the aura came from a person or beast, the pressure was undeniably at Titled Douluo level.
He lost composure in an instant.
Even more unnerving—Huo Yuhao's skeletal sword Martial Soul had disappeared, replaced by beast-like Martial Soul traits.
A terrifying suspicion crept into his mind:
"Does he have twin Martial Souls?! No—there was also that banner Martial Soul earlier. What's going on?!" His shock and confusion grew worse by the second.
But what he didn't realize was—
The ghost banner Martial Soul he feared had already floated above his head.
Devour Life Domain and Bloodlust Domain simultaneously descended, suppressing his Martial Soul True Form.
By the time he noticed, it was too late.
The ghost banner's third soul ring glowed—
The skeletal tortoise was summoned, and its massive bone claw stomped down, crushing the eunuch's True Form—a massive, blood-colored sunflower—beneath its foot.
And in that moment—
The attack that had been gathering in Huo Yuhao's eyes finally erupted.
"Annihilation Radiance!"
Two dazzling beams of light shot from his eyes, striking the eunuch's Martial Soul True Form. Infused with annihilation attributes, the beams ravaged the True Form's defenses.
After a few seconds of struggle, the True Form was utterly destroyed.
Annihilation-type powers are known for overwhelming attack and devastation.
"No!!!" the eunuch screamed.
The Annihilation Radiance pierced through him.
His Martial Soul True Form shattered completely.
The eunuch reverted to his physical body, along with the still-protected Dai Huabin, who fell to the ground.
"Pfft—"
The loss of his True Form caused a violent backlash, and the eunuch spat up blood.
But that was merely superficial.
The true horror was the Annihilation Radiance that had utterly snuffed out the eunuch's life force and continued to destroy his insides.
His aura plummeted—death was imminent.
Terrified, he glared at Huo Yuhao and, with his final breath, asked, "How many... do you even have..."
Squelch!
The ghost banner fell, piercing the top of his skull and shattering the last remnants of his life.
The light in his eyes faded completely.
"No unnecessary chatter," Huo Yuhao chuckled coldly.
Dai Huabin sat slumped on the ground, trembling with fear, a dark stain spreading beneath him. His lips quivered, trying to speak—
Perhaps a threat, or maybe a plea.
But the overwhelming pressure of the hundred-thousand-year soul beast fell upon him, making speech impossible.
Whatever he wanted to say—it wouldn't have saved him anyway.
Huo Yuhao had already said it—no unnecessary chatter.
He ordered the two headless corpses to quickly clean the battlefield while he himself deactivated the skeletal tortoise and ghost banner, then approached the bodies of Dai Huabin and the eunuch.
He twisted off the eunuch's head and poured the still-warm blood over Dai Huabin.
"Soaked... just for you~"
Dai Huabin's fear peaked. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted completely.
The aura and pressure of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast were simply too much for a lower-tier soul master to endure.
"Brother Hao, should we extract his bloodline now?" Tianmeng Iceworm asked eagerly.
Looking at Dai Huabin on the ground, Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. "No rush. His bloodline is pretty good—we can fatten him up before we harvest. Besides... we still owe the White Tiger Duke's estate a gift in return…"
If it weren't for the White Tiger Duke's support, Dai Huabin wouldn't have been able to recruit three Soul Douluo-level powerhouses.
By the time Shrek Academy's defense squad arrived…
All they found was a battlefield in chaos—clear evidence of a fierce fight.
Yet aside from the blood on the ground, not a single corpse was found.
However, the powerful individuals who followed sensed an ominous ghostly aura lingering at the site—something in this era of Douluo Continent that only Evil Soul Masters could possibly emit.
Therefore, it was ultimately concluded that a powerful Evil Soul Master had engaged in combat here. The enemy was unknown, but the number of opponents was estimated to exceed ten.
A detailed investigation would be necessary.
Still, one thing was clear—an Evil Soul Master daring to appear near Shrek Academy was nothing short of a provocation.
The Shrek Monitoring Squad mobilized.
A few days later.
Morning.
Star Luo Empire's capital—Star Luo City.
When the city gates opened in the early morning, the soldiers guarding them instantly widened their eyes in shock.
Because in the distance, directly facing the gate, a tall pole had been erected like a flagpole. Hanging from it was a completely stripped young man. On either side of him were two hanging banners:
"I am Dai Huabin, son of the White Tiger Duke!"
"Watch me fire upon Star Luo Imperial City and reclaim my family's throne!"
People who were originally lining up to enter the city now crowded around the pole, pointing and commenting as if watching a spectacle.
But not a single person stepped forward to help Dai Huabin.
Because he was the White Tiger Duke's son. If he did something like this, surely he had his reasons. Who dared to interrupt someone preparing to metaphorically "fire a cannon" at the imperial capital?
…Even if Dai Huabin was currently unconscious.
The officer guarding the gate immediately reported the incident.
The news quickly passed through layers of officials until it reached the imperial palace.
And at the same time, it spread like wildfire across Star Luo City.
It wasn't until mid-morning (around 8 a.m.) that someone, having received an official order, finally removed Dai Huabin from the pole.
After all, the matter involved the White Tiger Duke's household. Acting without permission could easily cost one their life.
There are some situations where offering a helping hand can get you killed. This was one of them. Whoever dared step in—even to save Dai Huabin—might draw the ire of the White Tiger Duke's household.
They weren't looking for someone to cover up their disgrace.
They wanted everyone who knew about it silenced.
Whether the guards and soldiers at the gate would survive this incident depended entirely on whether anyone higher up was willing to shield them.
Because what the White Tiger Duke's house needed… wasn't the culprit, but a scapegoat.
And who better than the officers responsible for the city gates?
Meanwhile, back at Shrek Academy—
Master Huo stepped out of his dormitory, stretched toward the morning sun, and took a deep breath. He felt refreshed and ready to start the day's training.
"Another day full of promise."
By the Sea God Lake, Huo Yuhao met Wei Na, who was waiting for him.
Bathed in morning light, the girl's figure shimmered with a golden glow. She wasn't in her school uniform today, but in loose training clothes that still failed to conceal her curvaceous figure. A gentle breeze brushed her hair, and she tucked a strand behind her ear as she looked at the boy before her with a soft smile. Her shimmering eyes were filled with his reflection.
"Good morning, Yuhao."
"Good morning, Sister Wei Na."
Joint training was essential for Soul Masters who shared a martial soul fusion technique.
Since they were in different grades, Huo Yuhao and Wei Na couldn't attend classes together, so they trained together during their free time to build rapport and synchronization.
Like this daily morning practice.
Suddenly, Wei Na's expression changed. She reached out and plucked a curled red hair from Huo Yuhao's waist.
"Yuhao, what's this?"
"Probably a hair from a plush toy. A friend recently gave me a big red stuffed pillow," Yuhao replied honestly.
"Oh, I see~"
Wei Na didn't overthink it. After all, it wasn't the first time Huo Yuhao had received a gift. She didn't need to ask—she already knew the "friend" was one of the girls from his class.
After all, only a girl would give a plush toy as a gift.
She casually tossed the hair away and began training with Huo Yuhao.
Time spent training with him was precious, so she didn't want to waste a single second.
If it weren't for the fact that Huo Yuhao was still young, she might have already "devoured" him completely.
He had an unusual allure for her—the more time she spent with him, the more addicted she became.
Her mouth had long since begun to water.
The scent of the hundred-thousand-year snow lotus radiating from Yuhao was an irresistible temptation for her.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao discreetly ground the red hair into the dirt beneath his foot.
Morning practice session one—finished.
Time for session two.
"Another day of passionate training ahead!"
Until—
While practicing combat techniques, Jin Qiu'er burst into the training ground.
"I'm back again!"
"Huo Yuhao, you scumbag! Today I'm definitely going to defeat you!"
Huo Yuhao: "…"
Jin Qiu'er wasn't just annoying—she always had a way of getting under his skin.
But he couldn't just get rid of her.
Which is why she made him angry nearly every single day.
And so, another day passed in a series of bickers and battles.
Until nightfall.
Ma Xiaotao helped him "cool off," then knelt down to help him clean up.
Huo Yuhao sat by the bedside, reflecting on the day's progress in his physical cultivation.
"My physique has strengthened again… But I'm still not ready to absorb a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring," he muttered, eyes comfortably half-closed. He raised a hand to stroke Ma Xiaotao's hair, quietly assessing her progress.
"Her spirit power still needs time to reach the breakthrough point."
"At this point, our physical training can only offer incremental gains. Those sudden leaps from earlier are hard to replicate."
After a while, Ma Xiaotao got dressed again and reluctantly prepared to leave.
"Yuhao dear, big sis has to go now~"
Ever since Yuhao moved back to the outer courtyard, she couldn't train as freely as before. Nor could she stay the night with him.
Just as she was leaving, Yuhao casually reminded her:
"Sis Xiaotao, wipe your mouth."
Ma Xiaotao paused. Reflexively, she used her tongue to lick the corner of her lips—and found a lingering snack.
Rather than spit it out, she wrapped her tongue around it and savored it.
"Thanks for the treat! Heehee~"
Huo Yuhao: "…"
Even he found that…a bit twisted.
At last, Ma Xiaotao left.
Only then did Yuhao release his true spirit, the resentful Skydream Iceworm, to patrol and guard his mental sea.
Then, he sat cross-legged on the bed and took out two items:
A hundred-thousand-year unstable spirit bone, and a ten-thousand-year Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone.
Yes—he still hadn't used these two spirit bones.
Because Yuhao had thought of a new way to utilize them—and he had spent the past few days preparing.
Since spirit rings could be fused and upgraded, and he had even developed a secret ring fusion technique—could spirit bones be upgraded the same way?
Conveniently, he had two unused but compatible spirit bones on hand.
The past few days had been spent experimenting with a secret method to do just that.
After all, the Spirit Bone of Secret Methods possessed a bone-fusion ability. That meant it was likely possible to develop a new secret technique derived from it.
And after days of hard work, Huo Yuhao had succeeded.
He named the technique:
The Bone Fusion Secret Art!
The development of the Bone-Fusion Secret Art turned out to be more difficult than expected.
This was because soul bones are not purely energy-based.
Fortunately, they aren't entirely material either.
So, Huo Yuhao still succeeded.
Using luck as the flame, fresh blood as a catalyst, and the soul as a bridge—he connected two soul bones!
One soul bone served as the primary, the other as the auxiliary.
The more similar the two bones were in attributes and bloodline, the more thorough the fusion. More years could be transferred from the auxiliary to the primary bone, and it became easier to retain the original soul bone skill without mutation. In fact, the skill could even evolve.
At the same time, the main bone would be enhanced and become more complete through the integration.
Soul bones in the same position had different levels of completeness.
The more complete a soul bone, the stronger it would be, along with its accompanying soul skill. Conversely, the less complete it was, the weaker.
An incomplete soul bone might just include two symbolic bones. A complete one could even extend into areas normally reserved for external soul bones, significantly boosting its power and capabilities.
The 100,000-year Ice Radiance Dragon's unformed soul bone was highly compatible with the 10,000-year Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone.
The Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone came from the Earth Dragon King—a true dragon with a trace of pure light-attribute dragon blood.
The Ice Radiance Dragon was a purebred true dragon that had mutated to develop a light-attribute bloodline.
Both were true dragons. Both had light attributes. A perfect match.
Thus, the 100,000-year Ice Radiance Dragon's unformed bone served as the main, and the 10,000-year Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone as the auxiliary.
Ah Hui's soul acted as the bridge, since there was no remnant soul inside the Golden Radiance Bone.
Ah Hui had no say in the matter—nor did he want to refuse.
Ah Hui: Finally, I can move out! That shared dorm of the Ghost Banner martial soul is unbearable even for one more day!
Since Ah Hui wasn't the main soul of the Ghost Banner, he had to live in the common space—a crowded dormitory-like shared area.
That's where the problem arose.
Ah Hui had full intelligence and sanity. Most of the other ghost souls didn't. They were essentially insane, impossible to communicate with, constantly having psychotic episodes.
Imagine a normal person living with a bunch of lunatics—who could stand it?
Although acting as a soul bridge meant enduring pain and torment, theoretically, his soul couldn't be destroyed.
After the fusion, his ghost soul would be housed inside the soul bone.
From a chaotic psych ward to a luxury private suite—any rational ghost soul would be jealous.
"I'm off to enjoy my life. You guys keep suffering!" Ah Hui told the other sane ghosts—former Soul Sages and Soul Douluos—before walking off without a backward glance. He even flapped his wings to run faster.
Other Ghosts: You traitorous bastard!
Leaving was one thing, but did you have to gloat?! Not human!
Oh wait, he's not human to begin with—never mind then.
Before beginning the soul bone fusion, Huo Yuhao considerately asked Ah Hui for his thoughts.
"Once you fuse into the soul bone, you'll no longer be an ordinary ghost. No more ghostly joy, no more madness. If you start acting out, I'll control the bone to punish you painfully. Got any last words?"
Ah Hui blinked. "Huh?"
"Ah, I see. That's your final sentiment? Then let's begin~"
"Wait, I haven't said anyth—AHHH!!!"
Huo Yuhao kicked Ah Hui straight between the two bones. The fusion energy triggered immediate and unbearable pain.
This was pain inflicted directly upon the soul!
If Electrolux hadn't used a technique to muffle the sound, half the outer courtyard would've heard Ah Hui's agonized screams.
Golden Tortoise muttered in awe, "Whoa… that's some next-level screaming. How painful is that?"
"Not sure. Want to find out?" Huo Yuhao offered calmly.
Golden Tortoise looked up—to find Huo Yuhao staring straight at him.
Danger!
Startled, the tortoise quickly retreated and shook his head. "Nope! Not interested!"
Huo Yuhao suddenly laughed. "Haha, relax. You're the main soul of my Ghost Banner martial soul. Why would I turn you into a soul bone?"
"Oh good, that's a relief…" the tortoise replied. He couldn't be sure if Huo Yuhao was lying, but he decided to believe it anyway.
Still, Golden Tortoise grumbled inwardly:
"Brother Hao isn't even human—he scares his own people!"
"You cursing me in your head?" Huo Yuhao's voice drifted in again.
"No! Absolutely not!" the tortoise jumped up and swore with a raised hand.
Finally, the screaming subsided.
Since the unformed bone was the main, the fused soul bone remained unformed.
Huo Yuhao stretched out his left hand.
He intended to use this new soul bone as his left arm bone.
There were two reasons.
First, Shrek Academy already knew he possessed the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone. He'd use that as a cover for fusing the 100,000-year unformed bone and growing a second pair of wings for his Variant Ice Jade Centipede martial soul.
If Shrek later saw the Golden Radiance bone appearing somewhere else, it would be hard to explain.
Second, with the Bone-Fusion Art, Huo Yuhao could still increase the bone's age later on.
"Ah Hui, how are you feeling?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Barely… hanging on…" Ah Hui murmured weakly—and then fell silent.
"Thank you for your hard work," Huo Yuhao smiled. "Rest well. Next time we fuse soul bones, you might feel better."
Ah Hui suddenly sat up from his near-death state. "WHAT?! There's going to be a next time?!"
"Of course."
Indeed, the Bone-Fusion Art wasn't a one-time use technique.
It was just like gear enhancement—Huo Yuhao could continue using suitable soul bones to reinforce the ones already fused.
However, once a soul bone had an artifact spirit, no new ghost would be needed as a bridge.
Ah Hui was now such an artifact spirit.
The soul bone fusion technique borrowed heavily from weapon-crafting practices.
So Ah Hui had changed professions—from ghost to artifact spirit—and the soul bone had become a special kind of magical tool.
Turning ghosts into artifact spirits was not rare in the cultivation world.
It wasn't that people couldn't nurture artifact spirits naturally—it was just that using ghosts was far more cost-effective.
Cultivating an artifact spirit naturally required not just time and strength, but also rare opportunity and luck. It could take generations—or even dozens of generations.
Using a ghost, however, was immediate and convenient.
The downside? It violated the natural order.
Turning a ghost into an artifact spirit cut off its chance at reincarnation. If the artifact broke, the spirit would be annihilated.
It brought serious karmic consequences.
That said, some selfless elders chose to become artifact spirits voluntarily to bless future generations.
But on the Douluo Continent, karma and retribution didn't really apply.
So Huo Yuhao could act freely, without restraint.
The soul bone fusion went very smoothly.
The previously unformed bone became a full left arm bone—complete with extensions toward the hand bones.
It even connected to the external soul bone at his left pinky.
The other four fingers remained unoccupied.
Those bone slots were now "available for lease."
The fusion did result in some loss of years, but the soul bone's age still reached 110,000 years!
As Huo Yuhao had predicted, once fusion completed, a surge of bloodline power flowed from the bone into his body.
Some of it entered the soul mark of his Variant Ice Jade Centipede martial soul.
The rest spread through his body, improving his physical constitution.
The martial soul autonomously activated its armor mode, and a pair of finely-textured cape-like wings unfolded from his back.
Now, there were two pairs of wings!
One pair radiated spiritual energy, the other light.
Five soul rings appeared, revealing their true colors—
Black, black, black, black, black!
And the first ring was already tinged with red—signaling that it was about to reach the 100,000-year threshold!
It was common knowledge that soul bone fusion could enhance one's physical constitution.
Let alone a 100,000-year soul bone!
No, it should be called a 110,000-year soul bone.
As a result, Huo Yuhao's physical abilities were greatly strengthened. Along with it, his variant martial soul—the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion—also grew stronger. His first soul ring had reached over 90,000 years, nearly touching the 100,000-year threshold.
A sixth 100,000-year soul ring was no longer out of reach.
After his variant soul fused into armor, the armor on both of Huo Yuhao's arms transformed—it took the shape of dragon claw-style gauntlets, fully encasing his arms, with only his fingers exposed. The look was both powerful and stylish.
Then Huo Yuhao sensed the soul bone's soul skills.
A 100,000-year soul bone came with two innate soul skills:
Dragonification: Transforms the left arm into a dragon claw, greatly boosting strength and defense. Alternatively, by consuming 80% of his soul power, Huo Yuhao could briefly transform into an Ice Radiant Dragon, gaining the physique and elemental mastery of a true dragon.
Ice Radiant Dragon Strike: A powerful attack imbued with ice and light attributes, released with a punch.
These were the two standard skills of the original soul bone.
The fusion with the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone brought one additional trait to the soul bone:
New Soul Bone Trait – Radiance of Ice!
It allows the user to unleash either ice or light elemental energy, depending on the situation.
For example, like the original Golden Radiance, the light element can be used for offense, defense, healing, and even recovery.
The ice element can be used for offense, defense, control, and freezing.
And through deeper understanding of this trait, Huo Yuhao could further awaken and develop his own ice and light elemental abilities.
In addition to the soul bone, Ah Hui, the weapon spirit, also played a significant role.
His very presence enhanced the power and effectiveness of the soul bone and its skills. As a weapon spirit, Ah Hui could either cast skills independently or assist Huo Yuhao in doing so—reducing soul power consumption and refining the release of skills for greater precision and power.
Lastly, Ah Hui himself underwent a transformation.
Normally, as a ghost, Ah Hui retained most of his powers from life.
However, after being refined into a weapon spirit, he was left with only two skills:
Ice Radiant Dragon's Roar
Ice Radiant Dragon's Shine
In simpler terms, they were breath attacks—one based on ice, the other on light.
These skills consumed Ah Hui's own energy.
If Ah Hui were converted into a soul ring, these two would be the skills provided.
Even so, these two remaining skills were extremely powerful.
And the trade-off for losing other abilities was that Ah Hui regained the ability to grow!
Just like the primary soul of a Ghost Banner, Ah Hui could grow stronger by devouring souls or training independently, even relearning old skills or acquiring new techniques used by cultivators!
Additionally, Ah Hui shared a deep connection with the soul bone—as the soul bone advanced, so did he.
"There are requirements for what kind of techniques a weapon spirit can practice. Ideally, the spirit should develop skills aligned with the characteristics of the item it resides in," Huo Yuhao reflected.
"But since Ah Hui lives in a soul bone, calling him a weapon spirit seems off..."
"Let's call him a bone spirit instead," he concluded.
The spirit within a soul bone would be called a bone spirit, while a soul ring's contracted spirit remained a soul spirit.
Ah Hui had no objections. In fact, he said he just wanted a proper rest—the fusion process had been terribly exhausting for him.
Still, other spirits would kill for the chance to become a bone spirit like him.
In summary, Huo Yuhao gained a 110,000-year soul bone, a growth-capable bone spirit (Ah Hui), four soul skills, and one unique trait.
"Perfect~"
Delighted from both physical and spiritual satisfaction, Huo Yuhao felt overjoyed.
"However, I should only reveal the 'Radiance of Ice' trait to others," he decided.
The Radiance of Ice corresponded to the original Golden Radiance abilities. There was no guarantee that others weren't familiar with what the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone could do—so this trait had to be made public.
Moreover, he would mainly show off its light aspect, and minimize use of the ice aspect in public.
As for the other soul skills?
Of course—they'd be reserved for sneaky kills and looting in secret!
Life returned to normal.
Huo Yuhao immersed himself in cultivation, caring not for outside turmoil.
Shrek Academy continued operating as usual.
Soon, it was time for the core disciple selection to begin.
The girls were the ones who told Huo Yuhao about it.
This year, several girls had reached Soul Elder (three-ring) level, qualifying them for core disciple status—and they received official notifications to take part in the core disciple trials.
No notice was sent to Huo Yuhao—because he didn't need to participate.
This trial was meant to select reserve members for the Shrek Seven Devils, serving as backup for this year's Soul Master Tournament and forming the core team for the next one.
Since Huo Yuhao was already lined up to take a formal spot in the main Seven Devils lineup, there was no need for him to compete for a reserve role.
As for the girls—Huo Yuhao didn't hold out much hope for them.
This generation of Shrek students was exceptionally strong.
They all had unique destinies.
The girls hadn't been cultivating the Jade Nourishment Art long enough to close the gap and surpass these true monsters.
It just wasn't a fair fight.
The selection was once again led by Xuanzi, and conducted as a grand melee.
The final seven remaining would form the Shrek Seven Devils Reserve Team.
The chosen seven were:
Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Wei Na, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Jin Qiu'er.
Apart from Wei Na, none of the girls who usually stuck with Huo Yuhao made the cut.
Even first-year student Jin Qiu'er joined the selection—and made it.
Unlike the original novel, the process differed: without Huo Yuhao gathering everyone into a team, most participants fought solo or in small groups, making battles far more intense.
Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Wei Na formed a reliable team of four Soul Ancestors (four-ringed)—a well-balanced, enduring group.
Xie Huan Yue, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Lu Lu formed another group.
Wang Dong led Xiao Xiao, Lan Yin, and Jin Qiu'er as a team.
No need to mention the other teams.
The most intense battles occurred between Xie Huan Yue's and Wang Dong's teams.
In particular, Jin Qiu'er's Golden Dragon Spear devastated Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Lu Lu.
Xie Huan Yue desperately dragged Lan Yin down with her.
After Jin Qiu'er eliminated the other three, and Xie Huan Yue was taken out in a group attack—the reserve team lineup was settled.
Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised by the outcome.
Bei Bei's group had pure, overwhelming strength.
Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Jin Qiu'er—not only were they strong, their destinies simply wouldn't allow them to lose.
Lan Yin could be carried by the trio in regular battles, but when it came to a fight over slots, there was no way she could outcompete them—unless one of them gave up their position.
Fate had made its decision.
After the selection, Xuanzi gave the seven a motivational speech and informed them that he would personally train them moving forward—then dismissed them.
"Four Soul Ancestors. Two with twin martial souls. One with an ultimate element. Wei Na can even perform fusion skills with Yuhao."
"In five years, who says I can't make them an unstoppable team among their peers? I look forward to the surprises they'll bring me."
However, Xuanzi suddenly furrowed his brow.
He had just remembered—Huo Yuhao would also join the reserve team and become a regular member next tournament.
Which meant someone had to be removed.
Not Bei Bei—he was strong.
Xu Sanshi had great potential.
Wei Na could perform fusion skills with Huo Yuhao.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both had twin martial souls.
Jin Qiu'er had an ultimate attribute.
"Looks like... only Jiang Nannan remains," Xuanzi concluded.
She was beautiful, yes—but had no background and the weakest potential.
Despite her innate full soul power, she had become the weakest among the seven.