Just as Huo Yuhao had expected, the overwhelming strength of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion pressured the already semi-neutral Long Xiaoyao into cooperating with them to force the Holy Spirit Sect to return Saintess Ma Xiaotao.
In the original story, even though Mu En was well aware that Ma Xiaotao had been abducted by the Holy Spirit Sect, Shrek had already brainwashed Huo Yuhao — a monstrous genius and pillar of the future. Mu En himself was nearing the end of his life, and after weighing the pros and cons, he chose not to aggressively demand Ma Xiaotao's return.
After all, an uncontrollable Evil Phoenix was far less valuable than Huo Yuhao, who possessed twin martial souls and the ultimate ice attribute.
The same logic now applied to the Holy Spirit Sect.
At this point, Huo Yuhao had yet to make a name for himself in the public eye.
Watching Ma Xiaotao being taken away, Huo Yuhao finally let out a long sigh of relief. At his current strength, there was no way he could protect her within the Holy Spirit Sect.
Rather than letting her be defiled by these twisted soul masters, it was better to send her back to the hypocritical stronghold that was Shrek.
Ma Xiaotao… until we meet again.
That same day, Huo Yuhao was brought before the Supreme Pontiff, Ye Xishui.
As described in the original work, Ye Xishui — the Death God Douluo, whose mind was deeply affected by vengeful spirits — was extremely emotionally unstable. She merely expressed satisfaction with Huo Yuhao's talent.
In contrast, Huo Yuhao could sense a faint killing intent in Long Xiaoyao's eyes.
Of course. A Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Sect who had committed such sins — if he ever became a god, he would undoubtedly plunge the entire continent into misery.
But with Ye Xishui present, Long Xiaoyao couldn't make a move. Ye Xishui herself understood Long Xiaoyao's thoughts, so she gave Huo Yuhao a quick compliment and had him escorted away.
How ironic. The roles were reversed now. Ye Xishui was the one protecting him, while the righteous Long Xiaoyao from the original story was the one eager to kill.
Still, with Ye Xishui around, Long Xiaoyao was temporarily restrained — giving Huo Yuhao precious time to grow.
Huo Yuhao knew that his existence as the Holy Son would eventually be reported to Shrek by Long Xiaoyao. Time was running out.
The next day, Zhongli Wu returned to the Sun Moon Empire to handle state affairs and left Huo Yuhao's physical training in the hands of Zhongli Yu — the woman designated to be his future partner.
Deep within the Holy Spirit Temple lay a naturally formed hot spring. The sect had cleansed and steeped countless human and soul beast remains into it, turning it into a putrid, revolting blood pool.
As Huo Yuhao looked upon the boiling pool, the stench made his stomach churn. Within it were not only the lingering resentments of innocent civilians but also fragments of consciousness from soul beasts massacred by the sect.
Huo Yuhao nearly plastered himself to Zhongli Yu's back, feigning fear. Compared to the sickening stench of the blood pool, the faint scent of her body was practically a luxury.
"Saintess, can I please not go in?" Huo Yuhao clutched her slender waist tightly, nearly wrapping himself around her like an octopus.
Zhongli Yu couldn't help but find his act amusing. This brat was clearly enjoying himself, yet still spoke with such a fearful tone.
She pushed him away, irritated. "This is the sect's only place for physical and spiritual refinement. The essence of soul beast blood will strengthen your body, and their lingering resentments will temper your spirit and solidify your mental sea."
"I'd rather train with you, Saintess — even if I break my back!" Huo Yuhao stubbornly replied.
Break your back, huh? Zhongli Yu quickly realized she had underestimated his obsession with beautiful women. She stopped wasting words, focused her soul power into her fingertip, and disintegrated his clothes with a single strike.
"Ah—!" Huo Yuhao screamed, covering himself as several distant elders emerged from seclusion, confused by the noise.
"Get in." Zhongli Yu, sensing that indulging him any longer would drive her mad, grabbed him by the neck like a chicken and tossed him into the boiling blood pool.
Huo Yuhao flailed wildly. The moment he hit the pool, the stench assaulted his senses. He leapt back out immediately and vomited violently.
He may have been a transmigrator, but even with Bibi Dong's efforts to explain the pool's benefits, he just couldn't accept this kind of soul refinement.
Seriously — throw a modern person into a pool full of rotting beast corpses and see what happens.
In this regard, the transmigrated Huo Yuhao fell short of the original. The original had a near inhuman tolerance for pain in his pursuit of strength — evident from when he absorbed the Ice Emperor's soul bone in the extreme north.
"Want them to change it for you?" Even Bibi Dong softened her tone, having underestimated his disgust.
"Yes! Anything but this! I really can't take it!" Huo Yuhao roared in his heart, vomiting up everything in his stomach.
That night, Zhongli Wu returned from the empire and was told by his granddaughter what happened. His expression turned colorful.
That blood pool had cost him dearly. He'd even added a whole vat of precious bone dragon essence blood he couldn't bear to use himself — all for Huo Yuhao.
Even Zhongli Yu was speechless. Despite her status, she had never been allowed to use the pool in her youth.
"Yu'er, take him in again tomorrow. If the smell is too much, seal off his sense of smell with soul power," Zhongli Wu instructed after thinking it over. "And… whatever you do, don't let him vomit in it again!"
"Yes, Grandfather."
The next morning, Zhongli Yu once again showed up at Huo Yuhao's room.
"I'm not going! Don't pull me!" Huo Yuhao yelled, pale-faced, hiding under his blanket.
"…!" Zhongli Yu was so angry she laughed. She stripped him clean, bound him with soul power, and carried him out.
They soon arrived at the dreaded pool again. Huo Yuhao had already made up his mind — the moment she released him, he'd bolt.
Unexpectedly, this time, Zhongli Yu didn't toss him in. Instead, she embraced him, blocked out the external stench with soul power, and the two of them — now stripped bare — stepped into the pool together.
Huo Yuhao felt himself melt into a warm, soft haven. He was completely at a loss.
Bibi Dong, monitoring everything from within his spiritual sea, instinctively turned off her mental perception. Ahem. Do not look upon what you shouldn't.
As soon as they entered the blood pool, a wave of alternating heat and cold flooded his body. Huo Yuhao tried to struggle but was held tightly in Zhongli Yu's arms, his face pressed against her chest, unable to move.
Moments later, Huo Yuhao once again vomited violently — this time through his nose…
In the end, desire triumphed over willpower. He suffered — and yet he enjoyed it.
From that point forward, accompanying Huo Yuhao into the blood pool became part of Zhongli Yu's daily training.
Given Huo Yuhao's intense aversion to the smell, there was no way he would ever go in alone — not even under threat of death.
When Zhongli Yu was unavailable, his escorts changed to twin maids, Feifei and Yingying, both Soul Sect-level experts. Escorting a still ringless Huo Yuhao was no challenge for them.
However, they had far less impact on him than Zhongli Yu. Simply put — they didn't have the same appeal. This left the two girls, personally assigned by Zhongli Wu as Huo Yuhao's future concubines, feeling rather aggrieved.
And so, Huo Yuhao spent his days in the Holy Spirit Sect surrounded by soft warmth and gentle beauty.
Zhongli Wu, while a bit helpless regarding his infatuation, didn't mind too much — at least it was his own granddaughter. If she could keep Huo Yuhao, a peerless genius, bound by affection, so be it.
About six months later, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power broke through into the Spiritual Domain Realm — making him the first and only Soul Master in history to achieve this level.
Yes, during that half-year, no matter how many perfectly compatible soul beasts Zhongli Wu prepared, Huo Yuhao, under the guidance of Bibi Dong and the power of the Rakshasa God, refused them all.
Zhongli Wu didn't understand the reason, so he simply complied with the legacy's arrangement.
Another six months passed. Huo Yuhao remained immersed in this soft, seductive world, refining his body and soul in the blood pool day after day.
By the end of that year, Huo Yuhao had undergone a complete transformation.
Little Yuhao had grown up — his journey was about to truly begin. The story is only going to get more exciting from here, so stay tuned, dear readers!
Cheat-code Skydream, Yuhao's coming!
(End of chapter )
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