Chapter 58.1: The Boundary Between Life and Death
âDo you really want to buy that Thousand Year Whale Rubber?â Wang Yan looked at Huo Yuhao, feeling puzzled by his decision.
Huo Yuhao leaned over and whispered in his ear, âQuickly. There wonât be a second chance. This definitely isnât Thousand Year Whale Rubber, but Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber. Thatâs why itâs black. Quickly, pay up! If someone else notices this item, we wonât have a chance to buy it anymore!â
Wang Dong was stunned. He naturally wouldnât question Huo Yuhao further with the mutual trust they both had with one another. He immediately turned around and paid up at the sales counter located at the western end of the room.
Thatâs right, this Whale Rubber was ten thousand years old just as Huo Yuhao had said. Naturally, it was impossible for him to discern this with his own experience and knowledge. The Ice Empress was the one who had told him the answer.
Throughout the course of human history, Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber had been extremely rare. Thus, it was no wonder that no one in the Treasure Appreciation Auction recognised this item.
The sea was another haven for soul beasts. Rumor had it that the number of soul beasts in the sea was more than ten times those on land. Moreover, the soul beasts in the sea were ranked as well and whale-type soul beasts were unquestionably one of the overlords among sea soul beasts.
When humans entered the sea, they were practically like meat on a chopping board. No human had dared venture into the depths of the sea. As a result of that, though it was still possible to kill a thousand year soul beast if one depended on a powerful soul master. The devilwhales were more than ten thousand years old and lived in the deep sea. On top of that, every single one of them was extremely powerful. Who would dare to make contact with their poisonous heads?
However, as luck would have it, this Whale Rubber came from a ten thousand year devilwhale. While normally Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber was dark yellow, this one was black. The difference in color was due to long-term changes in the weather. That was why no one had recognised it for what it really was.
To Huo Yuhao, this Whale Rubber was practically the best thing he could have found here. His biggest problem now was his bodyâs capacity to withstand more power from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion and Skydream Iceworm.
Even though the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion couldnât completely transfer her hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation into Huo Yuhaoâs body, she had managed to compress and seal the most quintessential bit of her power in him. As long as Huo Yuhaoâs body had enough strength to withstand it, she could help Huo Yuhao accelerate his cultivation efforts.
The Ice Empress was anxiously looking forward to the day when Huo Yuhao became powerful, so she naturally couldnât let such a good item as this Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber slip through her fingers.
Wang Dong quickly returned after paying, and only then did Huo Yuhao show a relaxed look on his face. The Whale Rubber was not as eye-catching as the soul bone. A member of the staff from the Treasure Appreciation Pavilion retrieved the Whale Rubber from the display stand and handed it to Wang Dong. When he got it, Wang Dong immediately shoved it into Huo Yuhaoâs hands.
âI hope we really didnât make a mistake with this.â Wang Dong couldnât help but think that theyâd lost out as he looked at that black gooey item. This black Whale Rubber wasnât fragrant at all. It was truly difficult for one to believe that it had come from a ten thousand year-old devilwhale.
Huo Yuhao laughed mischievously and said, âLetâs go. Weâve already gotten the items we wanted. When I get back, Iâll get Teacher Zhou to find a teacher with a fire attribute martial soul to help us. Weâll automatically know whether it was worth it or not once weâve eaten it.â
Wang Dong shook his head. âIf you want to eat it, you can do so yourself. Iâm not going to eat such a sticky thing. I have eaten a lot of this when I was younger because I was forced to do so by my family. After I fused with a thousand year soul ring, I swore that I would never eat this sticky thing for the rest of my life.â
Huo Yuhao felt a light bulb go off in his head and said, âItâs no wonder your second soul ring is a thousand years old! Your family is really rich!â
The two chatted as they headed out. When they passed Bei Bei, they greeted their senior martial brother. Bei Bei asked them to head back first since he wanted to wait for Xu Sanshi who was still nagging Jiang Nannan in every possible way he could.
â¦â¦
Sea Godâs Island, Shrek Academy.
âWhat? It was that small guy, Huo Yuhao?â Ma Xiaotao looked at Yan Shaozhe with an incredulous look on her face.
Yan Shaozhe nodded and replied, âThatâs right. It is highly likely that the cold soul power shock you received at that time came from Huo Yuhao. However, itâs also possible that he did so unconsciously. His second martial soul was still hidden at the time, so I reckon it protected its host of its own accord when it felt the attack from your Evil Phoenix Fire.â
With excitement written all over her face, Ma Xiaotao said, âThatâs great! This is really great! Teacher, the demonic fire inside of me is driving me crazy. Xu Sanshiâs Mysterious Martial Turtle is after all only water-attribute and not an ice-attribute technique, so the effects are naturally worsening. With Huo Yuhaoâs Ultimate ice-attribute, wonât I be able to break free from my current predicament? If thatâs the case, I can represent the academy and attend the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, right?â
Yan Shaozhe nodded with a faint smile and said, âIt just so happens that youâre not yet over twenty years old. If you can stabilise your martial soul, youâll definitely be the winner in this yearâs academy competition. I have no doubt about it.â
âThatâs great! I can finally participate! I must look for Huo Yuhao now and make him suppress the demonic fire inside my body.â As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao turned around and ran outside.
Yan Shaozhe laughed and said, âYou rascal, slow down. Huo Yuhao ought to have gone to Shrek City to attend the Treasure Appreciation Auction today.â
âI know.â Before her voice could be heard, Ma Xiaotaoâs silhouette had already disappeared into the night sky.
Yan Shaozhe shook his head as he felt a little helpless. âIt really is impossible to change your impetuous temperament. Whoâs going to be daring enough to court her in the future?! There are so many outstanding disciples in the inner courtyard and yet not a single one dares to woo her. Other than Le Xuan, Xiaotao is the most gifted student amongst the female students. I hope that Yuhaoâs Ultimate martial soul can gradually quell the demonic fire inside her body and allow her to become a true fire phoenix like her ancestors.â
â¦â¦
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong left Shrek City feeling rather pleased. Even though they didnât know what soul skill Wang Dong would get from the golden right arm bone, they could clearly see that this was an impressively powerful soul bone from its price!
It had cost them a whopping 9.5 million gold soul coins. Huo Yuhao had been somewhat nervous when heâd paid for it as he hadnât expected his transaction with the Treasure Gathering Pavilion would be this easy. The favor he owed them this time was too great. Even Wang Dong owed the academy a large favor now.
Huo Yuhao always made sure to clearly remember the favors and insults he received. Heâd never forgotten for a second the debt he owed Shrek Academy.
âFuse with that Whale Rubber tonight when you get back. Iâll protect you when I get the soul bone tomorrow. With this soul bone, Iâm now confident that I compete with Dai Huabin on even footing even if I were to face him alone.â Wang Dong waved his fist as he spoke. Huo Yuhao couldnât help but smile when he saw Wang Dong in such high spirits.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were all currently growing at an astonishing speed. Once Wang Dong fused with his soul bone, their collective strength would take another huge step forward. At that time, they would really deserve the title of being the strongest group in Year 2.
With regards to Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao had already gradually buried his hatred towards the other party. Dai Huabin had been defeated twice and had been made to kowtow, acknowledging his defeat. That had gone a long way to liberating the stifling feeling he had in his heart.
At that moment, the Skydream Icewormâs voice rang out within Huo Yuhaoâs mind, warning him of danger. âYuhao, thereâs a murderous aura directed towards you.â
Even though Huo Yuhao was still young, heâd accumulated a considerable amount of combat experience. Hence, he didnât react in an obvious manner after he heard the Skydream Icewormâs warning. It was at times like these that he had to remain calm.
He didnât change his walking speed and even retained the smile he had on his face. The only difference was that he had already quietly spread his Spiritual Detection Sharing to Wang Dong.
Wang Dong was slightly startled at first but immediately understood something was amiss due to the tacit understanding he had with Huo Yuhao. He stopped talking for a moment and glanced at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao quickly released his Spiritual Detection to its maximum range. Sure enough, he felt a hidden killing intent not far away from him. However, the range of his Spiritual Detection wasnât great enough and thus he wasnât able to accurately determine who his opponents were.
Huo Yuhao took the initiative and pulled Wang Dongâs hand back. He tightly clasped Wang Dongâs hand which was softer and more tender than that of a femaleâs. When he did so, the Haodong Power immediately connected in their bodies.
Huo Yuhaoâs expression didnât change, but he spoke under his breath, âThere are people in front who are waiting to ambush us. We are further from the academy than we are Shrek City, so when I count to three, weâre going to turn around and run back towards Shrek City as fast as we can. Understand?â
Wang Dong spoke in a low tone, âDo you have any idea who they might be??â
âI donât know, but theyâre emitting a murderous aura. Letâs hide in Shrek City first and discuss it later. Get ready.â
The killing intent grew increasingly dense as they walked forward. Huo Yuhao carefully sent his Spiritual Detection towards the root of the killing intent and immediately increased the range of his detection. Two hundred meters away from them, a group of six people were quietly lying in wait. From the thick soul power on their bodies, Huo Yuhao could tell that they were opponents that the two of them could not go up against.
âOne!â Huo Yuhao spoke in a low tone, but he didnât slow down. At this moment, he definitely couldnât let the enemy discover the changes in their movements.
âTwoâ¦â
âThree! Run!â
Huo Yuhao let out a low roar and abruptly carried Wang Dong as he ran in the opposite direction. At the same time, he quickly placed a metal plate on his back. A ball of dazzling white light lit up and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were immediately propelled forwards. They were just like a white shooting star as they made a beeline for the northern gate of Shrek City.
It was evident that the six people who had been fully prepared to ambush the duo had never expected the two of them to suddenly take a detour. Seeing their prey getting away, the six were taken aback. It was in this short time span that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong dashed far into the distance with all their might. A gorgeous mixture of blue and gold from the Radiant Butterfly Goddessâ wings burst forth in the sky. In that moment, the scene had already changed to one in which Huo Yuhao was hugging Wang Dongâs legs.