"Human brat, I haven't asked your name yet?"
Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment, only speaking after Skydream nodded to him in confirmation. "...My name is Huo Yuhao."
"Thirtieth rank at such a young age, your talent is indeed decent... and this aura, it's Ultimate Water!" The Golden Tortoise muttered to itself, sizing Huo Yuhao up and down with an inquisitive gaze.
There's nothing to hesitate about. Going 'all in' is a form of wisdom.
The Golden Tortoise raised its head proudly. "Huo Yuhao, you came to the Star Constellation Great Forest to obtain a soul ring, right?"
"Heh heh, this King can grant you a stroke of luck. I can sacrifice myself to you."
Huo Yuhao wore an expression of utter bewilderment. What did this mean? A hundred-thousand-year soul beast offering to sacrifice itself the moment he stepped out the door? Was his luck really that good?
Before Huo Yuhao could speak, the Skydream Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness couldn't hold back any longer.
"Wait, Yuhao! I think I remember this guy... he seems to be one of the bad guys who used to absorb my life force in the core area of the forest!"
The Skydream Ice Silkworm jumped out from behind Huo Yuhao, speaking fiercely: "Bastard! Do you still recognize me?"
The Golden Tortoise glanced at him. "Hiss... who are you? Why do I also feel like I've seen you somewhere?"
"Hmph!" A series of golden halos rapidly rose from beneath the Skydream Ice Silkworm's feet—ten in total—radiating mental power fluctuations so dense they were almost physical.
"Ah... it's you! You're that ice worm. Heavens, how did you fuse with a human? This is absolutely incredible," the Golden Tortoise said, dumbfounded.
"Hmph!"
After a thorough scan with mental power, the Skydream Ice Silkworm realized that the Golden Tortoise's life force was nearly exhausted. His voice carried a hint of schadenfreude: "I see. No wonder you want to sacrifice yourself. Karma caught up to you! That's what you get for absorbing my life force back then!"
The Golden Tortoise felt a bit guilty but then its eyes turned red. "I... I absorbed it secretly, I didn't cause you too much harm! And if I hadn't absorbed your life force back then, I wouldn't have become so greedy later and ended up in this state..."
"Enough talk for now. Big Ice Worm, since you're like this, you must have a way to preserve the soul and consciousness. Help me out. Old Turtle here will explain the rest to you once I enter this kid's Sea of Consciousness!"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Alright then. Stabilize your spirit and soul first, and I will set up the Soul Spirit contract." He then explained the method of the Soul Spirit contract to the Golden Tortoise as briefly as possible.
Once the Golden Tortoise agreed, Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eye martial soul and immediately began chanting the Soul Spirit contract incantation.
Though Skydream was reluctant, he understood the bigger picture. He released his mental power to form a shield, masking the figures and auras of Huo Yuhao and the Golden Tortoise.
"...I didn't notice before, but how has the life aura of the Star Constellation Great Forest become so much stronger?"
The Golden Tortoise was also quite cooperative, releasing its origin power without reservation. Dark golden halos turned into ripples, covering Huo Yuhao's body.
Initially, Huo Yuhao felt that his Spirit Eye martial soul was not a good fit for the water-and-earth dual-attribute Golden Tortoise. He had intended for the turtle to provide a ring for his second martial soul, the Deep Blue Glazed Dragon. However, as the Soul Spirit contract progressed, he discovered that the Spirit Eye wasn't accepting the turtle's elemental attributes, but rather another extremely mysterious quality within the Golden Tortoise.
Then, a massive surge of life aura suddenly erupted from the Golden Tortoise.
Surprisingly, after this life aura appeared, the Golden Tortoise's body actually grew! It expanded from its original two-meter diameter to over five meters. Its golden light shone brilliantly, and its aura shifted from lethargic to invigorated.
The Soul Spirit contract went very smoothly. Beneath two disguised purple soul rings, a blood-red soul ring slowly rose. Huo Yuhao's soul power finally broke through the rank 30 bottleneck, surging all the way to rank 36.
Considering the "debuff" to cultivation speed inherent to Ultimate Martial Souls, one could imagine how terrifying Huo Yuhao's cultivation speed truly was.
At that moment, the voice of Electrolux echoed in the Sea of Consciousness.
"Eh? This is..."
After completing the Soul Spirit contract, the Golden Tortoise's body dissipated, leaving behind a dark golden left leg bone and a piece of emerald-green metal.
Electrolux, who had been resting in the Sea of Consciousness, immediately emerged. Huo Yuhao actually heard a shocked tone from his teacher:
"This... this is actually Life Gold!? Such a large piece! This is simply unheard of."
"...Yuhao, you really are being treated like the world's favored son!"
Huo Yuhao asked in confusion, "Teacher, what's wrong? Is this metal more precious than a hundred-thousand-year soul bone?"
Electrolux gave a bitter smile. "In my eyes, that bone isn't even worthy of being a cushion for the Life Gold. We've hit the jackpot this time. With this Life Gold, there are so many things I can accomplish!"
"Little Yuhao, absorb the soul bone first. I will help you utilize this Life Gold to the greatest extent."
Meanwhile, the Golden Tortoise finally entered Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness. However, its soul was too exhausted; before Skydream could interrogate it, it fell into a deep sleep.
But the turtle had brought gifts. Upon joining the Sea of Consciousness, the massive Spiritual Origin it brought allowed Huo Yuhao to burst through the threshold of the Spirit Abyss Realm. Furthermore, the fusion of the left leg bone made Huo Yuhao feel as though his own blood essence was caught in a blaze.
This feeling of getting something for nothing is quite nice... No, wait. My focus next must be on stabilizing my cultivation. I absolutely cannot advance this quickly again.
A weak foundation leads to a shaky structure—this is an eternal truth.
He closed his eyes to sense the two soul skills granted by the Golden Tortoise.
Spirit Eye Third Soul Skill (1): Traction. It can forcibly pull an opponent's attack toward oneself, or be used to close the distance between oneself and an opponent. Commonly known as "pulling aggro."
Spirit Eye Third Soul Skill (2): Epitaph. No need for long bangs here. It allows one to see ten seconds into the future within one's field of vision. However, "Future" and "Reality" occur simultaneously, so the specific application in combat requires careful judgment.
Huo Yuhao was stunned. Were these soul skills that a water-and-earth attribute beast could provide? These should be Mental and Time type soul skills.
Electrolux sensed his confusion and explained kindly: "Just as the big turtle said, its race consists of auspicious beasts. They carry a significant amount of the Power of Destiny. And you are... ahem. In short, these two soul skills are related to Destiny and Spirit, making them a perfect fit for you."
Huo Yuhao could tell Electrolux was intentionally hiding something, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he carefully evaluated his first hundred-thousand-year soul bone.
Golden Tortoise Left Leg Bone Soul Skill (1): Center of the Earth. Causes the earth elements on the ground to accumulate into a stone ridge. It can be used for concentrated point defense or to deal area-of-effect earth attribute damage. It is both offensive and defensive.
Golden Tortoise Left Leg Bone Soul Skill (2): Invincible Barrier. This was much more straightforward, but Huo Yuhao's version could also be applied to teammates, though only three times a day.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but wonder: with such a powerful soul bone and soul ring, was that green metal really even more precious than them?