Chapter 45.3. You're Still Alive?

“You… what can I even say about you!?” Fan Yu sighed. Bending down, he placed his hands under Huo Yuhao’s armpits and propped him up. This child was simply too thoughtful.

The anger that was originally between Zhou Yi’s brows had eased by a large amount. Only, Wang Dong’s anger didn’t decrease in the slightest. He inwardly thought to himself, This bastard. He lied, and he’s lying again.

Huo Yuhao’s lies could get past Zhou Yi and Fan Yu, but they couldn’t trick Wang Dong. They had a perfect martial soul fusion, and they had cultivated together just before Huo Yuhao had left the academy. If anything had happened to his martial soul, Wang Dong would’ve sensed it immediately. However, he hadn’t felt anything!

At this moment however, Wang Dong couldn’t expose Huo Yuhao’s lies. He could only bury his doubts in the bottom of his heart.

Zhou Yi said, “Then how are you feeling now? Did the signs of your martial soul shattering disappear?”

Huo Yuhao nodded.

Zhou Yi furrowed her brows tightly, “That’s also a problem. Not only did you arrive late, you didn’t even obtain a second soul ring. I’m afraid that the academy will…”

Huo Yuhao blinked, “Teacher Zhou, I’ve gotten my second martial soul!”

“Huh?” Zhou Yi looked towards him, astonished. Fan Yu interjected, “Let Yuhao finish what he has to say.”

Huo Yuhao said, “When I left the academy, I felt that I didn’t really have much hope anymore. In addition to that, there seemed to be an unseen force that was guiding me towards the north. The absent-mindedness from my martial soul was getting increasingly stronger, and I could sense that my Spirit Eyes were releasing traces of ice. It seemed to be guiding me towards the north. Under an absent-minded state like this, I didn’t even know long I’d walked for, but I unexpectedly arrived at a world of ice and snow. That place was very, very cold, and I felt that I was going to be frozen alive. However, the sensation of shattering coming from my martial soul was becoming increasingly intense, as though it could shatter at any time. I didn’t really know what was going on, but I fainted in that icy land. Just before I fainted, I felt that I wasn’t going to be able to wake up again. I didn’t know how long I fainted for, but it was because of this that I came back late.”

Fan Yu and Zhou Yi glanced at each other. Though the area Shrek Academy was in was getting chilly, it was still late spring. If he spoke about a world of ice and snow, wasn’t that the desolate and uninhabited Extreme North? Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao hadn’t gone to the Great Star Dou Forest; he’d gone to a place that was that far away. Furthermore, it was even under a situation in which his martial soul that had signs of shattering was guiding him. This was simply too fantastical.

Huo Yuhao continued, “By the time I woke up, it was still daytime. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but my body was already buried in the snow. When I opened my eyes, my vision was filled with a dark white object. I thought that I was already dead, but I realized that something wasn’t right after a moment. The condition of my body was still very normal, and I could even sense the flow of my soul power. Furthermore, my Spirit Eyes had completely stabilised; they no longer had any problems.”

“I climbed out from the snow, astonished. Only then did I realise that I was still in my original location. More astonishingly, an extra burst of power seemed to be within my body. I found a dead scorpion that was longer than a meter near my body. Its entire body was pure white, while its tail was jade-green. There were many crystalline objects on the surface of its shell, and though it was already dead, I could still sense how powerful it was.”

“An Ice Jade Scorpion?” Zhou Yi took a deep breath, while Fan Yu’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

Wang Dong couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Zhou, what’s an Ice Jade Scorpion?”

Zhou Yi said, “It’s an extremely strong soul beast that lives in the Extreme North. They have an enormous population, and they’re the true rulers of that bitterly cold land. They possess an ultimate ice attribute, and normally speaking, they only live within the core regions of the Extreme North. Even to us soul masters, that area is a forbidden place. It is a truly forbidden area to humans. Even Titled Douluo-ranked experts wouldn’t dare to easily tread within that extremely cold place. Yuhao, you were actually able to survive after encountering an Ice Jade Scorpion.”

Originally, Zhou Yi and Fan Yu still had some doubts towards Huo Yuhao’s words. However, their suspicions immediately dropped by a large amount after Huo Yuhao described the appearance of the Ice Jade Scorpion. Though there were a large number of soul beasts within the Extreme North, human soul masters would rarely have the chance to encounter them. Furthermore, the outer courtyard had never taught them anything about the Ice Jade Scorpion from Year 1 to Year 6. If he hadn’t truly seen an Ice Jade Scorpion, how would Huo Yuhao be able to describe a soul beast like it?

Huo Yuhao said, “I don’t know how it did, but because I discovered some energy within its body, I tried to use my soul power to urge it on. In the end…”

With that, Huo Yuhao slowly raised his hands. A trace of white light flashed through his originally deep-blue eyes, and the temperature in Zhou Yi’s office dropped right after that.

The strong chilliness caused even Wang Dong to involuntarily shiver instinctively. Fan Yu and Zhou Yi clearly saw a translucent and sparkling luster on Huo Yuhao’s hands, as if he was wearing a set of diamond gloves that had a moving radiance to them. The temperature within the office dropped suddenly.

Fan Yu could no longer sit; he suddenly stood up. As he looked at Huo Yuhao, he unconsciously widened his eyes. Right after that, the two of them saw a purple soul ring slowly rise from Huo Yuhao’s feet. It was a halo that flickered with a noble purple, and it slowly undulated rhythmically around Huo Yuhao’s body.

“A thousand year soul ring!” Wang Dong cried out immediately.

Purple, didn’t that represent a thousand year soul ring? However, how was that possible? Just what situation was this!?

Huo Yuhao quickly took off his jacket and removed his shirt, revealing his naked upper body.

“Ah–” Because Wang Dong was standing right behind him, he was able to instantly see the sparkling tattoo of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. The vivid and lifelike portrayal of the enormous scorpion gave him a jump.

Huo Yuhao slowly turned around, showing his back to Fan Yu and Zhou Yi.

During the journey back, when he and the Skydream Iceworm had gotten to this point, Huo Yuhao had asked him whether the teachers would notice that the Ice Empress’ tattoo was different when compared to ordinary Ice Jade Scorpions.

The Skydream Iceworm then replied using the simplest words it could, “Other than you, every human who has seen the Ice Empress has died!”

“The Ice Jade Scorpion, it’s really the Ice Jade Scorpion! Yuhao, you, you, this… this is impossible!” Zhou Yi’s eyes were filled with a look of inconceivability, as was Fan Yu. The husband-and-wife duo looked at Huo Yuhao as if they were looking at a monster.

After putting his clothes back on, Huo Yuhao withdrew his martial soul and stood there obediently, “Teacher, Teacher Zhou, I don’t understand what happened either. Can the two of you explain this doubt of mine? In any case, I’m no longer afraid of the cold after I obtained this power. It seems as though I’ve already become a part of that world of ice and snow.”

Suddenly, Zhou Yi’s eyes lit up. She looked towards Fan Yu, “Do you think it’s related to his Body Soul? Yuhao’s Spirit Eyes should be a Body Soul. I’ve heard Teacher Wang Yan say that powerful Body Soul soul masters will have a second awakening of their martial soul. If that’s truly the case, although the situation he’s in right now seems extraordinary, it isn’t fully unexplainable. Why don’t I go find Wang Yan now and ask him about it?”

Zhou Yi was always the type of person who would act immediately. Just as she said that she was about to leave, Fan Yu grabbed her by the arm, “No, you can’t go. Quiet down a little. If you let Wang Yan know about this, do you think the Martial Soul Department will let Yuhao go?”

Zhou Yi was stunned. As she looked towards the determined gaze in Fan Yu’s eyes, she immediately understood what he meant. She remained silent after that.

Fan Yu sat back down, then looked towards Huo Yuhao, “Yuhao, this situation that’s occurred to you is an extremely rare occurrence among us soul masters. This is the first time we’ve encountered a situation like this. Therefore, we’re unable to give you a full explanation. However, according to our estimations, it should be something related to your martial soul. Body Souls have always been an extremely mysterious existence. There’s a mysterious sect within the continent called the Body Sect, and they’ve always been doing their best to collect and cultivate soul masters who possess Body Souls. Perhaps they’re the only people who could understand what’s happened to your body. Teacher can tell you that this isn’t a bad thing. From what you’ve shown us, you should have a second martial soul now. Moreover, this martial soul has a thousand year soul ring. It could’ve been given to you by the dead Ice Jade Scorpion you found beside you. As for why you were able to obtain an Ice Jade Scorpion as your second martial soul, we can’t explain this. However, this is absolutely a good thing for you. The Ice Jade Scorpion ranks among the apex of assault-type martial souls belonging to the ice attribute, and it’ll have extremely large benefits towards your future cultivation. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Huo Yuhao nodded, “Teacher, then what should I do now?”

Fan Yu said, “Let me settle the issue of you being late. I’ll formally announce the fact that you’re a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. In addition to that, I’ll give a report to the academy that the reason why you were late was because you were helping me complete a task I assigned to you. However, if we do it like this, you won’t be able to become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department in the future. Teacher isn’t willing to force you, so you’ll have to make a choice by yourself. However, I can guarantee you that the moment the Martial Soul Department discovers that you’re a twin-souled soul master who has a thousand year soul ring as your second martial soul’s first soul ring, they won’t expel you. Because of this, you have to decide by yourself whether you want to study alongside me or remain in the Martial Soul Department as a core disciple.”

“As for your future cultivation, I personally believe that you should focus on your Spirit Eyes regardless of whether you stay in the Martial Soul Department or fully transfer to the Soul Tool Department. The greatest advantage of twin martial souls lies in the fact that you can add soul rings to your second martial soul once your cultivation’s strong enough. At that time, the advantage of a twin-souled soul master can be fully displayed. However, you’ve already walked the path of your Spirit Eyes, so it’d be better for you to not easily change your style of fighting. Earlier, you said that you’d obtained a second soul skill for your Spirit Eyes. Since that’s the case, you should continue to cultivate your Spirit Eyes, and not this new martial soul you’ve just obtained. It’s strange how you obtained this new martial soul, so we should observe it for a bit more before doing anything. Let us see your second soul ring first.”