Confession
When he saw Huo Yuhao appear, Du Bushu—who had been sitting on the bed recuperating—rushed over almost instantly. He carefully examined Yuhao from head to toe and then asked with an undisguised look of concern:
"Yuhao, where did you go? Why didn't you come back until now?"
Yuhao could naturally hear the worry in Du Bushu's voice.
That alone moved him deeply.
At the same time, Yuhao also sensed that his teacher had indeed suffered injuries. The cold sword intent of the Emperor Sword still lingered faintly within Du Bushu's body, stubbornly refusing to dissipate.
This made Yuhao feel a strong sense of guilt.
After all, his plan had inevitably involved his teacher.
"I'm sorry, Teacher."
Yuhao first expressed his apology sincerely to Du Bushu. Then he pressed his lips together, as though there was something he wanted to say but was struggling to put into words.
Seeing this, Du Bushu became even more anxious and asked hurriedly:
"Yuhao, did something happen to you? It's fine—your teacher is here. No one will dare hurt you."
Even in his injured state, Poisonous Death was still a terrifying existence that few would dare provoke.
But Yuhao shook his head and replied:
"It wasn't an accident. Rather… something incredible happened to me. And because of this, I stayed away for an entire day and night."
"Incredible?" Du Bushu frowned slightly. "What exactly happened?"
Yuhao glanced at Lang Ya and said calmly:
"Elder Lang Ya, please close the door first."
Lang Ya complied immediately. However, after closing the door, he did not leave.
Clearly, he also wanted to know what had happened to Yuhao.
Yuhao did not mind and slowly began to explain:
"Teacher, you should already know that the so-called hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo at the auction that day was actually the Snow Empress—the first of the Three Kings of the Extreme North, a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul beast."
"Yes," Du Bushu replied with a bitter smile. "The main reason I still haven't fully recovered is because I forcibly took on the Snow Empress' Emperor Sword that night."
As he spoke, Yuhao suddenly placed his hand on Du Bushu's chest.
Before Du Bushu could ask what he was doing, he felt a powerful suction force erupt from Yuhao's palm. To his shock, all the remaining sword intent and cold energy in his body were drawn out in an instant.
"This—how is this possible?!"
Du Bushu was stunned. He could not understand how Yuhao had done such a thing.
After completely resolving the lingering cold sword energy, Yuhao's expression turned solemn as he said in a deep voice:
"That's because the Snow Empress has now become my soul ring—an extremely special kind of soul ring."
"What?!"
The moment those words were spoken, all three people in the room froze in shock.
Even Du Bushu, who had long known his disciple was extraordinary, never imagined that Yuhao could withstand and subdue a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul beast king like the Snow Empress.
Yuhao did not give them much time to process the shock.
With a thought, he released his Ice Emperor Dragon Emperor Scorpion martial soul.
As the aura of Ultimate Ice and Snow spread outward, Du Bushu, Lang Ya, and Jin Peng all felt an icy chill pierce straight into their bones.
Then, before their eyes, three soul rings slowly rose beneath Yuhao's feet.
Red.
Orange-gold.
Orange-gold.
"Hiss—"
Even with their extensive experience and long lives, the three could not comprehend what they were seeing.
"Yuhao… your soul rings…"
Du Bushu's eyelids twitched violently. For a moment, he could not even finish his sentence.
Yuhao naturally understood what they were thinking. Anyone would react the same way upon seeing such abnormal soul rings.
However, he also knew that as he continued to grow stronger, some secrets would inevitably be exposed.
For example, the true origin of his first soul ring and his Ice Emperor Dragon Emperor Scorpion martial soul.
It was better to reveal part of the truth now.
"Teacher, there's something I've never told you," Yuhao said seriously.
"My second martial soul was actually awakened after birth. It isn't an ordinary Ice Jade Scorpion, but the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, ranked seventh among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts."
As he spoke, Yuhao carefully observed Du Bushu's expression before continuing:
"My first soul ring and my torso soul bone both came from the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion."
After hearing this, all three swallowed hard at the same time.
Lang Ya could not help but turn to Du Bushu and ask:
"Sect Master… is something like this even possible?"
Du Bushu looked equally shaken. He had never seen or even heard of such a case before. After a moment of hesitation, he turned back to Yuhao and asked:
"Yuhao, then how did you withstand the Ice Empress' soul ring? That is a ferocious beast that lived for nearly four hundred thousand years."
Yuhao shook his head slightly and replied:
"I don't know either. I originally went to the Extreme North to obtain my second soul ring. On the way, I saw a green light and then lost consciousness. When I woke up again… it was already like this."
Naturally, this was not the full truth, but a carefully constructed explanation.
It was vague enough to avoid scrutiny, yet plausible enough to be believable.
Just then, Jin Peng suddenly seemed to realize something and exclaimed:
"I understand now!"
His sudden shout startled both Du Bushu and Lang Ya.
"Lao Jin, don't shout like that," Du Bushu scolded impatiently. "If you understand something, then explain it properly."
Jin Peng nodded eagerly and said:
"Sect Master, I think the Ice Empress' situation was similar to the Snow Empress'. She sensed that she could not survive her upcoming heavenly tribulation, so she chose to transform into an embryo and seek rebirth."
"And just at that moment, Yuhao happened to pass by. For some reason, the two fused together."
After saying this, Jin Peng paused, looked at Yuhao, and continued:
"So the Ice Empress somehow became Yuhao's second martial soul."
Hearing Jin Peng's confident explanation, Yuhao silently gave him a thumbs-up in his heart.
This explanation was nearly perfect.
After thinking for a moment, even Du Bushu nodded slowly and said:
"That does seem plausible."
Then he looked at Yuhao seriously and asked:
"Yuhao, after fusing with the Ice Empress, have you noticed anything abnormal with your body or mind?"
"Absolutely not," Yuhao replied sincerely.
Of course, nothing was wrong—aside from the fact that there were now several powerful consciousnesses that could practically sit down together and play a round of mahjong inside his Sea of Spirit.
"That's good," Du Bushu said with relief.
"Yuhao, you are truly blessed to receive such a supreme opportunity. But perhaps… this is destiny."
Du Bushu finally relaxed.
After everything he had witnessed, he was even more convinced that Yuhao's future ascension to godhood was inevitable.
Then, his gaze shifted to the two orange-gold soul rings beneath Yuhao's feet.
Although they were not as visually shocking as the red soul ring, in terms of uniqueness, they were even more extraordinary.
Yuhao noticed Du Bushu's gaze but did not explain verbally.
Instead, he simply willed it—
One of the orange-gold soul rings lit up.
A white figure with peerless beauty and an aloof, noble temperament appeared beside Yuhao.
The moment Du Bushu saw that face, his expression changed drastically. He retreated several steps instinctively, his soul power surging as he prepared to release his martial soul and enter a combat state.
He recognized that face.
It was the Snow Empress he had encountered that night.
"Teacher, wait—"
Yuhao hurriedly raised his hand to stop him.
"This is not the Snow Empress."
"It is my soul."
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