Before Huo Yuhao appeared a massive silkworm larva, its entire body shimmering in blue and white. Its round, plump head was almost comical compared to the sheer size of its body, which stretched over seven meters long. Along its back ran golden patterns, five of which flickered with an almost ethereal glow.
The moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted rapidly. Huo Yuhao's breath turned into mist in the cold air. Coupled with the fact that the silkworm had just spoken to him, Huo Yuhao immediately knew—this was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast!
But spirit beasts of such age should only appear near the core zones of Star Dou Forest, shouldn't they? Where had this colossal silkworm come from?
Was his fate sealed to die here? I haven't even avenged my mother yet! No, I can't die here!
Just as these thoughts spiraled through his mind, the silkworm seemed to sense his fear and spoke again, "Don't worry! I won't harm you. I only want to become your spirit ring."
Huo Yuhao's face immediately twisted into a puzzled expression. Did this silkworm really understand what it was saying? Didn't it know that for a spirit beast, becoming a spirit ring was no less than death?
Ignoring his confusion, the silkworm started introducing itself proudly.
"I am the incarnation of heroism and chivalry, a soul beast king balancing wisdom and beauty. A peerless powerhouse who has cultivated for over a million years, holding the longevity record of Douluo Continent—the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm!"
A million-year spirit beast?!
Was this a joke? Did such beasts really exist in this world? If that was true, then compared to this creature, he might as well be an ant.
The Ice Silkworm continued calmly, "This will be quick, and there won't be any pain."
Before Huo Yuhao could respond, a brilliant white light flashed, and the Ice Silkworm merged into his body.
Inside Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea, the Ice Silkworm immediately began scanning around. After a moment, it found nothing wrong and cheered in relief!
The last time it willingly became another's spirit ring, the host had stolen half of its essence. If it hadn't escaped in time, it would have ended up as nothing more than fertilizer.
Then the Ice Silkworm explained why it wished to become Huo Yuhao's spirit ring.
After hearing its story, Huo Yuhao felt a kinship and swore they would one day rise together to the pinnacle of the world.
The Ice Silkworm was pleased—not only because this host was easy to persuade—but also because it sensed his surprisingly strong physique.
Initially, it thought this kid with only level ten spirit power could barely handle a century-old spirit ring. But upon inspection, it found Huo Yuhao could endure rings around six hundred years in age!
So, unlike the original story where the ring was disguised as a ten-year ring, the Ice Silkworm concealed this million-year ring as a hundred-year yellow ring.
It also discovered that at some point, Huo Yuhao had absorbed a soul beast's core.
Though this core held no lingering soul, it contained a powerful bloodline force.
The Ice Silkworm, which spent most of its time resting, didn't know much about soul beasts but could sense the core's former strength.
Looking at the black pearl starting to fuse with Huo Yuhao, the Ice Silkworm realized the boy's powerful body was partly thanks to it.
If Huo Yuhao could fully absorb the core, his potential would be limitless. Having such an insanely lucky and talented host made the Ice Silkworm happy.
Maybe one day it could even reclaim the half of its essence stolen by that purple-haired bastard!
After their talk, the Ice Silkworm told Huo Yuhao that someone was outside looking for him, then kicked him out of the Spirit Sea.
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, Tang Ya and Bei Bei were standing over him, worry etched on their faces.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
Bei Bei explained that while hunting, they had felt a powerful pressure coming from the direction Huo Yuhao had gone. Worried for his safety, they came to find him.
What they found shocked them: Huo Yuhao unconscious, and the long-dead Three-Eyed Demon Ape lying nearby.
With four hundred years cultivation, even an advanced Spirit Master would struggle with such a beast.
Yet it had been killed by Huo Yuhao?
Carefully examining the scene, Bei Bei confirmed the ape was indeed slain by him.
As for Huo Yuhao's fainting, it was likely due to complications absorbing the spirit ring.
Seeing this, Tang Ya and Bei Bei decided to wait for him to wake before making any moves.
Touched that these strangers cared for him, Huo Yuhao considered Tang Ya's invitation to join the Tang Sect.
After brief thought, he agreed—not just because of their kindness, but also because he had grown up hearing stories about the Tang Sect!
Once Huo Yuhao promised to join, Bei Bei pulled a black bone from his pocket.
It looked like a skull, black as night, with a ruby-like gem set in its brow.
A soul bone?
Huo Yuhao wondered if the Tang Sect's generosity was too much.
Bei Bei smiled and said, "Xiao Yuhao, this isn't a gift from us. This should belong to you."
"Should belong to me?"
"That's right," Bei Bei nodded. "Look carefully at the aura of this soul bone, and you'll understand."
Huo Yuhao sensed the bone's aura and was shocked—it was the essence of the Three-Eyed Demon Ape he had slain. The beast had left a soul bone before its death.
There was no doubt that Bei Bei hadn't selfishly taken what was rightfully his while he was unconscious.
This only deepened Huo Yuhao's conviction that joining the Tang Sect was the right choice.
He began absorbing the soul bone. Though higher cultivation of the soul bone's owner usually meant better quality, the strength of the owner's bloodline mattered more.
The Three-Eyed Demon Ape's bloodline was strong—though weaker than the Dark Gold Claw Bear, it far surpassed something like the Soft-Boned Rabbit.
After successfully merging the soul bone, Huo Yuhao teamed up with Tang Ya and Bei Bei to help Tang Ya find her own spirit beast.
Along the way, Bei Bei taught Huo Yuhao the six ultimate techniques of the Tang Sect: Xuan Tian Gong, Purple Record Demon Eye, Ghost Shadow Maze, Xuan Jade Hand, Crane Control Dragon Capture, and Hundred Resolutions of Hidden Weapons.
He carefully explained each technique to help Huo Yuhao get started.
To Bei Bei's surprise, he realized Huo Yuhao's body was as sturdy as his own at peak Spirit Master stage.
What shocked him even more was that the newly ringed Huo Yuhao already possessed level fifteen spirit power!
Bei Bei could only praise inwardly: The Three-Eyed Demon Ape's spirit ring really gave an incredible boost to his body and cultivation!
What Bei Bei didn't know was that the extra spirit power came from Huo Yuhao's previous rampage, when he used his innate ability to devour spirit power directly from the ape.
Two days later, they finally found a suitable spirit beast for Tang Ya: a pink snake, but not quite an ordinary snake.
This snake had a pair of small dragon horns on its head and several raised bumps along its belly.
This was a Huí Snake.
***
When the Huí Snake appeared, Tang Ya's eyes sparkled with a fierce light called "Desire."An ordinary Mandala Snake had already met her standards, but a Huí Snake — a step above — was obviously even better!
Mandala Snakes had poison attributes that could paralyze opponents. Their bodies were soft yet had a certain toughness. The so-called Huí Snake was a Mandala Snake awakened with a dragon bloodline, making its venom even more powerful.
The Huí Snake's poison could not only paralyze enemies but also randomly weaken one of their attributes, rapidly draining their stamina to prepare for a deadly final strike.
If Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass absorbed this soul ring, it would gain the Huí Snake's powerful toxins. Its flexibility would also increase dramatically, no longer easy to snap or break.
After deciding to slay the Huí Snake in front of her, Bei Bei reminded Tang Ya to protect Huo Yuhao before unleashing his own spirit power to attack.
As Bei Bei released his spirit, his arm muscles bulged, growing more robust. His right arm was covered with blue dragon scales, crackling with electric blue lightning — radiating an aura that seemed to scorn the world.
This was Bei Bei's spirit — the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus!Renowned as one of the strongest beast spirits from ten thousand years ago, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus was a true dragon bloodline spirit, combined with the strongest explosive element: lightning. No other spirit could surpass it.
Bei Bei swung his claw to strike the Huí Snake's head, but the serpent was no pushover. It dodged skillfully with its agile body.
Bei Bei wasn't annoyed though and continued his assault. Despite the snake's evasions, countless strikes of blue lightning hit it, gradually slowing its movements and causing a creeping paralysis sensation.
The millennia-old Huí Snake sensed danger and tried to retreat, planning to settle the score with these people another day.
However, as it tried to escape, blue vines suddenly shot out, binding its body and freezing it for a moment.
That was Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass spirit's first skill: Entanglement. Seizing the snake's immobility, Bei Bei activated his thousand-year soul skill, aiming to finish it off!
But Bei Bei still underestimated the Huí Snake's defense. Even under the power of Bei Bei's thousand-year spirit ring-enhanced attack, it wasn't killed.
Instead, it used Bei Bei's own attack to tear all the Blue Silver Grass vines off its body.
Yet, it didn't come without cost — its dragon horn had been severely chipped by Bei Bei's strikes.
Furious, the Huí Snake spat a blast of poisonous fire toward who it saw as the weakest: Huo Yuhao.
Tang Ya immediately moved Huo Yuhao away with her Blue Silver Grass, while the Huí Snake used the chance to release a dense poisonous mist, hiding its body.
Faced with the potent poison mist, Bei Bei could only retreat for the time being, waiting for the next move.
Huo Yuhao, however, felt utterly helpless in this level of combat. It was the same feeling he had when he couldn't protect his mother — powerless.
So, he activated his Spirit Eye's first soul skill. He had never used it before but hoped it could break the deadlock.
Under the glow of his yellow soul ring, Huo Yuhao's skill activated.
Everything within a thirty-meter radius became crystal clear, like a god's perspective unfolding before him.
With this view, Huo Yuhao could easily see through the Huí Snake's movements and accurately predict its actions.
The catch? It wasn't just Huo Yuhao who could see this vision — Tang Ya and Bei Bei could see it too.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was a million-year spirit beast that had granted Huo Yuhao four spirit skills. Right now, he was using two from his million-year soul ring: Spirit Perception and Spirit Perception Sharing. The former gave him godlike vision, and the latter shared this vision with his teammates.
This was a nightmare for spirit beasts and spirit masters who prided themselves on speed.
Unluckily for the Huí Snake, speed was its greatest strength.
Thanks to Huo Yuhao's shared perception, Bei Bei quickly found the Huí Snake's location and launched a fierce assault.
The snake soon grew fatigued and began to retreat. Bei Bei seized the chance to deliver a killing blow.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao shouted, "Senior Brother, dodge!"
Bei Bei detected an attack heading his way through the spirit perception.
Forced to give up his strike, Bei Bei dodged just in time as a massive ice spike appeared where he had just stood.
Feeling the spike's overwhelming power, Bei Bei was relieved Huo Yuhao had noticed the attack — otherwise, he'd be seriously wounded or worse!
Frustrated, Bei Bei reminded himself: He was an elite disciple of Shrek Academy! Who dared attack him? Didn't they fear Shrek's retaliation?
"Who's responsible for that attack? We found this Huí Snake first. Please give it to us, Shrek Academy!" Bei Bei demanded.
"Hmph! Why should I hand over my pet's life to you Shrek disciples?" came a defiant voice.
At that moment, two figures appeared before Huo Yuhao's group — a white-haired girl dressed in a light blue apron, radiating the grace of a celestial fairy, and a purple-haired boy exuding the oppressive aura of a tyrant king, making others feel unworthy to look up.
"Pet? Are you joking? How could a Huí Snake of this level be anyone's… pet?" Bei Bei sneered.
Before he finished, the Huí Snake rushed to the purple-haired boy like a wronged child, crying out its grievances.
Could the snake not feel wronged? It had been peacefully sunbathing in its territory, only for these idiots to barge in.
It hadn't planned to attack, but when these humans didn't run and attacked first, it was obvious they wanted its soul ring.
Luckily, its master had appeared, and its safety would be guaranteed.
Watching the Huí Snake act spoiled and clingy, Bei Bei had no choice but to accept it was their pet, even if he didn't believe it fully.
But Bei Bei wasn't done yet, and said sternly, "We're Shrek Academy disciples. Are you really going to pick a fight with us over a trivial pet?"
The purple-haired boy's face darkened with impatience as he released his spirit power.
"Shrek? So what? Even if the Heaven King himself came, I wouldn't back down! If Shrek wants war with the Spirit Binding Tower, then so be it. Let's see who comes out on top!"
A golden-purple star burst forth, illuminating everything around. To Huo Yuhao and company's shock, the star was entwined with three dark purple soul rings!
This boy wasn't just a Spirit Master — he was a Soul Lord, with three thousand-year soul rings!
Could this be real?!
Even more shocking, some of those rings had a black tint, meaning they were extremely close to ten-thousand-year soul rings!
How did this boy manage this?! No one could be born with soul rings this ancient!
But seeing this, they had no choice but to believe such a person existed in this world.
Recalling the Spirit Binding Tower's rising power — backed by the soul beast clans and their own strength — Bei Bei finally understood why these two were unafraid of Shrek Academy's reputation.
Though Bei Bei's heart was full of resentment, he had no choice but to give up the Huí Snake.