After enduring immense pain, Huo Yuhao successfully obtained a second martial soul and acquired the third soul ring for his Ethereal Eye White Tiger martial soul in the Extreme North Ice Fields.
He had actually left the Extreme North Ice Fields two days ago, but instead of coming directly to Star Luo City, he first made a trip to the Mingdou Mountain Range.
Although his relationship with that person was extremely strained, he understood who should be informed of this news first.
Therefore, he was not the only one who returned this time; the true power holder of the Duke's Mansion was also with him.
"Haha, Xiaoyun, your relationship with Yuhao is still as good as ever."
"Ah!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhu Yun was startled and quickly stood up straight, saluting the speaker.
"Hello, Uncle Dai."
Squatting in a horse stance all day as punishment had been too exhausting, so much so that she hadn't even noticed Dai Hao's presence.
Dai Hao chuckled and said,
"Alright, Yuhao has told me everything. You don't need to continue your punishment. I will personally go and explain the situation to your mother right now."
"Thank you, Uncle."
Dai Hao waved his hand at her and said to Huo Yuhao,
"Yuhao, it's fine to explain the situation to Xiaoyun, but you must keep it confidential for her. Don't let anyone else know, understand?"
"Oh."
Unlike Zhu Yun, Huo Yuhao's attitude towards Dai Hao was noticeably colder. He said indifferently,
"Then I'll take Xiaoyun for a walk. Thank you for explaining the situation for me."
"Okay."
Facing his cold attitude, Dai Hao was clearly a bit helpless, but he couldn't do anything about it. He could only smile wryly and turn to walk into the house to explain the situation to Zhu Yun's mother.
"Heh!"
The moment Dai Hao disappeared from sight, Zhu Yun immediately leaned against Huo Yuhao, whining,
"Brother Hao, let me lean for a bit, I'm so tired."
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, his expression strange, and immediately saw through her little scheme.
"You're not trying to gloss over the punishment we just talked about, are you? Let me tell you first, I haven't forgotten."
With her plan exposed, Zhu Yun fell silent for a moment, then shook her head vigorously.
"...That's not it."
"Then why did you pause?"
Huo Yuhao sighed speechlessly.
Having a fiancée who is too playful and cute isn't necessarily a completely good thing; it made it hard for him to truly bring himself to punish her severely.
"Heave ho!"
He reached his hand under Zhu Yun's waist, then suddenly exerted force, lifting Zhu Yun up.
"Hao, Brother Hao?"
Zhu Yun's voice sounded a little flustered.
Huo Yuhao put one hand under her knees and the other around her back, a posture known as a princess carry.
Then, he carried her directly towards the door.
Zhu Yun immediately panicked.
"Wait, Brother Hao, are you planning to carry me outside like this?"
Huo Yuhao gave her a gentle smile.
"Yes, do you have an objection?"
After years of being together, not only did Zhu Yun understand his personality, but he also knew Zhu Yun inside and out.
Although this girl always liked to play jokes that left people unsure how to react, she was actually quite shy, and could even be said to have a strong sense of girlish charm.
It was just that because she maintained a poker face most of the time, most people misunderstood her.
Huo Yuhao couldn't bear to inflict physical punishment on Zhu Yun. Since that was the case, he could only resort to mental attacks.
Ignoring Zhu Yun's objections, he forcefully carried her out of the Zhu family's gate and walked towards the Duke's Mansion.
Both of them were good-looking, and their actions were so eye-catching, the result was that the Return Rate on the road reached over eighty percent.
By the time Huo Yuhao forcefully carried her to his room in the Duke's Mansion, Zhu Yun's face was completely red.
Huo Yuhao placed her on the bed and asked indifferently,
"Do you know you were wrong?"
"Mmm..."
Zhu Yun appeared unusually obedient.
She asked softly,
"Brother Hao, you've gotten a lot stronger. Is it because of this trip's gains?"
Actually, when she first started school in the first year, because her soul power level was almost ten levels higher than Huo Yuhao's, her strength was not much worse than his.
However, just now, even though she struggled with all her might, she was still firmly held in Huo Yuhao's arms, unable to move her arms at all. Their strength difference was probably several times now.
This significant leap in strength was clearly one of the results of Huo Yuhao's solo trip this time.
Huo Yuhao didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he took out a small black ball. He pressed the button on it, and a red light immediately emanated, enveloping the entire room.
Seeing Zhu Yun's confused look, Huo Yuhao explained,
"This is a sound-insulating soul tool. With this, you don't have to worry about others eavesdropping."
"..."
Zhu Yun couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Huo Yuhao had had many secret conversations with her before, but he had never used this kind of secrecy method. This showed the importance of what he was about to say.
However, what Huo Yuhao did next made her eyes widen involuntarily—
Huo Yuhao quickly took off his upper garment.
"Brother Hao, are you...?"
Zhu Yun's voice became strange.
Carefully observing her current situation: she was thrown onto her fiancé's bed, her fiancé was shirtless in front of her, and the entire room was covered by a sound-insulating soul tool, so even if she screamed her lungs out, no one would come to save her—it was hard not to overthink.
Could it be...?
Hearing her voice, Huo Yuhao smiled softly at her.
"Xiaoyun."
"Stop, wait, although I really want to do it, we should at least take precautions first... hmm?"
Zhu Yun's excited words came to an abrupt halt. She stared blankly at Huo Yuhao in front of her and asked,
"Brother Hao, what is on your back?"
As she spoke, Huo Yuhao had already turned around, showing his back to her. The emerald green scorpion on it was lifelike, and its dazzling light left her speechless.
Huo Yuhao said indifferently,
"This is the main result of my trip this time—my second martial soul, the Ice Jade Scorpion."
"Ice Jade Scorpion? Is that the race that one of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts belongs to?"
Zhu Yun asked in surprise.
She didn't know as much about the Ice Empress as Huo Yuhao, who had participated in the Extreme Solo Plan, but she had heard of her.
It was said that this entire race possessed extreme-level ice attributes, and as a martial soul, it was a true super martial soul.
"Yes."
After showing Zhu Yun the scorpion pattern on his back, Huo Yuhao quickly put his clothes back on and said seriously,
"This martial soul is currently a confidential matter. You absolutely cannot tell anyone, understand?"
"I understand, but..."
Zhu Yun was speechless for a moment.
She had guessed that Huo Yuhao must have made significant gains on this trip, but she never expected that he would directly gain a second martial soul.
So a second martial soul could appear later on?
"Also."
Before she could sort out her thoughts, Huo Yuhao threw another bombshell into her chaotic mind.
"I also gained two more soul bones."
"...Huh?"
Zhu Yun's brain completely crashed this time.