Chapter 133: Half a Year
Huo Wu's jade-like hand gently caressed the feather, aligning the delicate patterns, ensuring it was neat and smooth.
Her head rested against the window, gazing at the scenery outside, but her pupils were unfocused, clearly lost in thought.
Huo Wushuang noticed the feather in Huo Wu's hand, his eyes reflecting some surprise. His gaze moved upward to her face, which seemed absent-minded, as if she were in another world.
"Is there something special about this feather?" he asked.
Huo Wu's pupils quickly refocused, startled by his voice, and she answered in a flustered tone, "No... it's just an ordinary feather."
During the explosion caused by Huo Wu's Sunfire, she had not been harmed at all.
Dai Yao had embraced her, shielding her from the blast. By some inexplicable impulse, she had also wrapped her arms around him. She felt as though she were surrounded by a warm barrier.
Especially when she had wrapped her arms around him, she felt something sprouting from his back that pushed against her hands.
After the explosion, she found that a feather had somehow ended up between her fingers.
"Was it... his wings that protected me? But humans can't grow wings, could it be a soul bone?" Huo Wu pondered, twirling the feather thoughtfully, a glint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.
Staring at the feather, she seemed to recall the feeling of being held in Dai Yao's arms.
Held tightly by him, reprimanded in his domineering tone, her body couldn't help but tingle with a strange sensation.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before.
As the daughter of the principal of the Blaze Academy, she had always been gifted, exceptionally beautiful, and surrounded by admirers. Princes, nobles, and talented soul masters had all sought her hand, but she had always remained indifferent.
Though Dai Yao was handsome, she had seen countless handsome men and had never been moved. However, Dai Yao's attitude, one where he clearly didn't care about her, stirred up different feelings within her.
It was a sense of competitiveness.
"You think that just because you caught me off guard and defeated me, that's my real strength? Next time, I'll surprise you!" she thought to herself.
"I won't tell anyone about your soul bone, after all, you saved my life. I, Huo Wu, have always been clear about my debts and favors. I'll save your life one day!" she mentally vowed.
"And you said I'm not worthy of being your maid? You think being your maid is an honorable position? Once I become stronger, I'll make you my male servant!"
"When that day comes, I can't wait to see you serve me! I'll have you pour my tea, wash my clothes, and do all the things you'd rather not do. Just thinking about your annoying face, doing all these things unwillingly, excites me."
Huo Wushuang watched as the corners of Huo Wu's mouth curved into a mischievous grin, an expression resembling that of an elderly subway passenger, slightly puzzled.
"What exactly is going through this girl's head? She was so absent-minded earlier, but now she looks completely different?"
He shook his head slightly, deciding not to probe further.
Thinking back to the scene at the Oakland Academy, he still felt a lingering fear. If Dai Yao hadn't stepped in, Huo Wu would likely have perished. He was determined to find a way to properly thank Dai Yao for his help.
But then he remembered Feng Wutong, and a headache began to form. He had promised his father, the principal, that he would bring Feng Wutong back to the Blaze Academy.
But now, not only had he failed to bring Feng Wutong back, but he also owed Dai Yao a favor.
If he tried to force Feng Wutong to come to the Blaze Academy, wouldn't he become an ungrateful person?
"Forget it, forget it, let father deal with the headache," he muttered to himself.
Time passed quickly.
Half a year had gone by.
Dai Yao's victory over the Blaze Academy student at the Soul King level had become nothing more than a distant memory, already overshadowed by the endless stream of news in the Heaven Dou Imperial City.
After defeating Huo Wu, Dai Yao's life had briefly been in the spotlight, but it soon calmed down again.
In terms of cultivation, he made tremendous progress, advancing from level 36 to level 39 soul power in just six months.
"It must be because of the Eight-Layered Xuan Bing Grass and the Fierce Fire Apricot Blossom. After consuming these two rare herbs, although they didn't directly increase my soul power, they subtly improved my physique and accelerated my training," Dai Yao realized.
Splash—
Dai Yao sat beneath a waterfall, a transparent energy barrier surrounding him, preventing the water vapor from touching him.
With his eyes closed, he absorbed the ambient energy from the world. His pores expanded, and the energy flowed through them, traveling along his meridians and slowly gathering in his dantian.
Under the grinding of the cyan-colored grinding disc in his dantian, the energy gradually transformed into soul power.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash as the waterfall reversed, a powerful surge of water hitting Dai Yao and sending him flying into the water.
Dai Yao remained motionless, floating on the surface, gazing at the glaring sun, feeling slightly troubled.
"Ugh, why is it so hard to break through this level 39 bottleneck?"
He had been stuck at level 39 for several days and couldn't seem to break through. He was so close to reaching the Soul King realm and obtaining his fourth soul ring, but the bottleneck was difficult to overcome. Breakthroughs could only be achieved through fortuitous encounters or persistent effort, and rushing it would not help.
Rubbing his waist pouch, he took out a purple chrysanthemum and stared at the Celestial Mushroom Chrysanthemum, uncertain.
"The effects of the Eight-Layered Xuan Bing Grass and Fierce Fire Apricot Blossom haven't been fully absorbed yet. If I take the Celestial Mushroom Chrysanthemum now, it might conflict with the effects of the other two herbs and waste a lot of the medicine."
"But the Elite Tournament for the Advanced Soul Master Academies is only a few months away. If I still can't break through to Soul King by then, I might not be able to place well in the competition," he thought with a sigh.
"Ah, this is so troublesome."
Dai Yao scratched his head in frustration.
In the original story, Dai Mubai had consumed the Celestial Mushroom Chrysanthemum and gained an indestructible physique, which allowed him to defeat the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit user, Yu Tianxin, in a direct confrontation.
It was clear how powerful the Celestial Mushroom Chrysanthemum was.
Therefore, Dai Yao would only use it as a last resort, to avoid wasting its effects.
After a moment's hesitation, the matter he had been putting off had to be addressed:
"It seems I must go to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. With the pressure from a Title Douluo, I can fully absorb the external soul bone."
"First, I can use the external soul bone in the competition without worrying about others coveting it. Second, I can use the pressure from a Title Douluo to break through to the Soul King realm."
Dai Yao exhaled deeply, slapping the water surface with his palm. The water splashed up, and with the rebound, he was sent flying into the air. He punched the air with a force that sent him crashing into the shore.
His legs dug into the ground, creating two deep trenches. Dai Yao slowly rose and looked at the forest in the direction of his punch. The trees rustled, and several smaller trees had been blown down by the force of his punch.
He nodded with satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face. "The power of the Eight Extremities Break has increased again. My half-year of hard training has paid off. With my current physical condition, I should be able to use the Eight Extremities Break with five times the compressed soul power."
With a shake of his body, the water vapor on him evaporated. He pulled out a set of formal clothes, ready to head to the second-best sect in the world. After all, he couldn't afford to look shabby.
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