"This is—"
The moment he saw the soul bone, Huo Yuhao felt a sense of familiarity.
The next second, the Ice Empress's furious roar echoed in his mind.
"Bastard!"
He was startled and quickly asked in his mind:
"Ice Empress, what's wrong?"
Before the Ice Empress could explain, Xu Jiawei provided the answer.
"Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone, its age is between fifty thousand and seventy thousand years. The soul skill attached to it has been solidified into Ice Burst. As long as you absorb it, you can successfully obtain this divine skill, Ice Burst."
Speaking of this, he revealed a friendly smile.
"This is my sincerity. How about it? There's no soul bone in this world more suitable for your second martial soul than this one, right?"
"..."
Huo Yuhao finally understood why the Ice Empress was so angry.
This was practically throwing the corpse of one of her clansmen directly in front of her. It would be a miracle if she were happy.
He didn't dare disturb the Ice Empress right now and asked the Skydream Iceworm:
"Skydream Brother, is Ice Burst a very powerful soul skill?"
"Powerful, extremely powerful."
The Skydream Iceworm immediately replied:
"Ice Burst is undoubtedly the strongest innate skill of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan. Its power can only be described as exaggerated. It's a pity it's too rare; even Ice Ice doesn't have this skill. Otherwise, Brother would definitely help you make this soul skill your first soul skill."
"Skydream is right."
The Ice Empress also chimed in. Although her tone was still very displeased, she forcibly suppressed her anger and said in a deep voice:
"If I had Ice Burst when I was alive, I could have even had the possibility of challenging the Snow Empress. The power of this soul skill is beyond doubt. Yuhao, you must get your hands on this soul bone."
"Understood."
Huo Yuhao nodded in his mind and asked Xu Jiawei:
"Then what do I need to do?"
This Star Luo Emperor couldn't possibly be planning to give him this soul bone worth a fortune for free; he must have some requirements.
Xu Jiawei smiled slightly.
"It's very simple. You cannot reveal the matter of your second martial soul to Shrek Academy. At the same time, after you graduate from Shrek Academy, you must return to the Star Luo Empire and serve our country."
Speaking of this, he said in a very tempting tone:
"If you agree, before you become a Title Douluo, I can open the national treasury to you once every three years, allowing you to choose any treasure from it. I'll be honest with you, Yuhao, even this Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone is not considered top-tier in our national treasury."
"..."
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but fall silent.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Xu Jiawei to make a promise of this level before coming.
Choosing a treasure every three years might sound average, but it depended on the level of the treasure.
According to Xu Jiawei's words, if Huo Yuhao chose soul bones every time, he could have a full set of soul bones in his early twenties, and they would all be top-tier soul bones no less inferior to this Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone.
He could even choose a few items for Zhu Yun if he wanted.
Shrek Academy likely wouldn't be able to provide him with this level of treatment.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Xu Jiawei.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities."
Xu Jiawei also breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, the conditions he had just proposed were also quite painful for him. If Huo Yuhao wasn't willing to agree, he really wouldn't have had many options.
Putting everything else aside, just this Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone was professionally appraised at twenty million gold soul coins.
One must know that the annual tax revenue of Star Luo City was only around sixty million gold soul coins. Twenty million gold soul coins was already four months' tax revenue of Star Luo City, truly priceless.
This level of expenditure would even occur every three years. If it weren't for the second martial soul Huo Yuhao displayed being too tempting, he wouldn't have made a promise of this level.
He stood up and said to Huo Yuhao:
"Then Jiujiu and I have matters to attend to. Yuhao, you can chat with Senior Yeyu first. We'll be leaving."
After speaking, Xu Jiawei winked at Xu Jiujiu, and the two walked out the door together.
After leaving the room, Xu Jiujiu said gloomily:
"Brother, is this really okay? I still think we shouldn't give him so much help. He's from the Duke White Tiger's family, after all."
Xu Jiawei looked at her with a half-smile.
"Then what do you suggest we do? Kill him?"
Xu Jiujiu said in a deep voice:
"If necessary, I believe that is a choice that must be made."
"Alas, my foolish sister."
Xu Jiawei shook his head helplessly and said:
"That is the worst choice of all. Dai Hao feels indebted to this child. If we make a move against him, no matter how loyal Dai Hao is, there will inevitably be a rift in his heart. And don't you know where Dai Hao guards?"
"Mingdou Mountain Range..."
"That's right."
Xu Jiawei narrowed his eyes.
"The Sun Moon Empire's small actions have been getting more serious in recent years. If Dai Hao becomes dissatisfied with us because of this matter, let alone betraying us to cooperate with the Sun Moon Empire, even if he just deliberately relaxes his guard, the impact will be immense. Tell me, can we bear it?"
"...No."
Xu Jiujiu shook her head with difficulty.
Xu Jiawei smiled gently.
"Therefore, our main approach towards this child should still be to win him over."
Xu Jiujiu said somewhat unconvinced:
"But even so, you don't have to pay such a huge price, do you? Couldn't you just give him a little something to show our intention?"
"If he had awakened his second martial soul a few years earlier, I might have done that."
Xu Jiawei sighed softly and said:
"But now he is a student of Shrek Academy. Do you mean for me to compete with Shrek Academy for someone with such a half-hearted attitude?"
"This..."
Facing the speechless Xu Jiujiu, Xu Jiawei patiently instructed:
"Since we've decided to win him over, don't be stingy with the cost. This kind of genius is hard to come by. The one thing they don't lack is forces who want them. The opportunity is right in front of us now. If we don't seize it, it will slip away from our hands without hesitation."
"...Yes."
Xu Jiujiu stopped talking.
Looking at her dejected appearance, Xu Jiawei chuckled and patted her shoulder.
"Alright, don't be so discouraged. You're still young, and you have plenty of opportunities to learn knowledge. Just take your time."
Speaking of this, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked:
"Oh right, Jiujiu, are you also participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament this year?"
Xu Jiujiu nodded.
"Yes, after all, this time it's our Star Luo Empire's home ground. I want to try to compete for the championship title."
"Hmm... In that case, it seems I'll have to find time to tell Yuhao later and ask him not to participate in the matches against us..."
"It wouldn't go that far, would it?"
Xu Jiawei's words made Xu Jiujiu frown.
"No matter how strong Huo Yuhao's talent is, he's still just a twelve-year-old Soul Master. No matter how strong he is, he won't affect our Soul King level battles."
In response to her words, Xu Jiawei just smiled mysteriously.
"That's hard to say."
During the conversation with Huo Yuhao just now, the girl sitting beside him secretly transmitted some words to him.
It was precisely these words that completely solidified his determination to win over Huo Yuhao at all costs.