Star Constellation Great Forest, by the Lake of Life.
A multitude of soul beasts had gathered, most of them at the 100,000-year level. At the center stood a girl with silver hair and purple eyes, her gaze tranquil.
They waited in silence until a spatial portal flickered into existence. Qiu'er stepped out, leading Huo Yuhao by the hand, drawing the collective gaze of every powerful entity present.
"The group is assembled. Shall I begin?"
Electrolux looked toward Gu Yuena, who gave a calm nod before shifting her eyes back to Huo Yuhao.
That unrestrained gaze, carrying a distinct chill, made Huo Yuhao feel like needles were pricking his back. Having not seen Gu Yuena for some time, he realized instantly: My secret is out!
With the word "Danger" practically flashing over his head, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to suppress his stray thoughts and focus on the task at hand.
As Electrolux finished speaking, a 90,000-year old dark-red tiger slowly emerged from the crowd.
The Blazing Flame Tiger King.
Despite its aged frame, shocking scars, and dimmed flames, the tiger still exuded the aura of a forest overlord. Even facing numerous 100,000-year-old Soul Beasts, it showed no hint of fear.
The Tiger King looked at Electrolux, its slightly clouded golden eyes offering a subtle signal.
Electrolux understood. Raising his hand and channeling his immense mental and soul power, he constructed a complex magic circle out of thin air.
The Tiger King nodded, resolve filling its eyes. Soul power surged within its body, synchronizing with the massive external magic circle to begin the reshaping of its physical form.
The "Transformation Secret Technique"!
Huo Yuhao's Eye of Destiny had already opened, intent on capturing every detail of the process.
The "Transformation Secret Technique," as the name implies, allows a soul beast to possess a human body—crucially, it grants them the form of a human without forcing them to become human.
In a normal transformation, a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast must discard its immense cultivation to truly become human, chasing the illusory path to godhood. A special case like Qiu'er retains her cultivation but is still effectively human, unable to revert to her original beast form.
In Huo Yuhao's vision: Since when was transformation such an inconvenient thing?
Soul beasts have the advantage of long life; humans have the advantage of rapid cultivation. Could there be a method to give a soul beast human cultivation speed while retaining its longevity?
Thus, the research into this technique began.
Based on the data Elder Yi had previously sent via Qiu'er, his concept was to mirror the special transformation of Qiu'er—turning the beast into a human while preserving its power. The difference was that in this process, everything belonging to the soul beast would be fused into a martial soul! Simultaneously, using the concepts of "Body Cultivation" and the seventh-ring "Avatar" (Dharma Image) from "Magic Cultivation," the beast would turn its original form into its own Avatar.
At this stage, the Soul Beast Soul Master would possess the ability to switch forms.
For example, when using a human body, the Avatar would be the original beast form, granting the human's cultivation speed.
When switching, the Soul Beast Soul Master would use their beast body, and the Avatar would become the human form. At this point, the being would enjoy the vast lifespan of a soul beast!
This wasn't even the final goal. The ultimate perfection would be to fuse the Avatar and the self, allowing the switch between man and beast at will, possessing both human cultivation speed and beast longevity in either state.
This was the path Huo Yuhao envisioned for the soul beast race.
And it didn't stop there. This path wasn't just for beasts. If a soul beast could transform into a human, why couldn't a human transform into a beast?
If a human Soul Master reached the seventh ring and turned their martial soul into a true, physical "Avatar," they would gain the same form-switching abilities! They might even gain the immense lifespan of a soul beast!
What did this represent? It meant that as long as humans and soul beasts walked the cultivation system Huo Yuhao constructed, the racial barrier between them would vanish entirely! This was a way to permanently end the conflict between the two species.
Currently, it was still a theory. With the "Transformation Secret Technique" having just been developed, Huo Yuhao wasn't yet sure what this path would eventually look like.
Pushing back his thoughts, he watched through the Eye of Destiny. Inside the magic circle, the Tiger King's transformation had reached a critical juncture. The massive beast body had turned into a phantom, within which a human figure emerged.
Soul rings began to appear. Following the optimal configuration for a human Soul Master, eight rings—two yellow, two purple, and four black—manifested in sequence.
This Blazing Flame Tiger King, who had been severely injured and stuck at 90,000 years, reached the level of an eight-ring Soul Douluo without losing a shred of cultivation!
The first step was a success.
"Begin the conversion."
Electrolux's calm voice reached the Tiger King. The momentarily dazed tiger steadied its mind and began following the pre-planned path to convert to "Blood Essence · Body Cultivation."
Starting from the first ring, the soul rings around the Tiger King began to lose their color one by one.
It was a grueling process. This was the Tiger King's first contact with both the human cultivation system and "Blood Essence · Body Cultivation." Even with the aid of the magic circle, it took four full hours.
Huo Yuhao watched without blinking, recording every detail for future study.
Finally, as the color faded from the eighth ring, a massive surge of blood essence erupted like a pillar of smoke reaching for the sky!
Using its soul power as a guide and the magic circle to accelerate the process, the Tiger King fused this overflowing blood essence into its soul rings.
Eight blood-red blood essence soul rings appeared. With this pure physical amplification, the Tiger King could now clash with a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast using raw physical strength alone!
The surrounding 100,000-year-old Soul Beasts felt this most clearly. They had all survived Heavenly Tribulations and underwent a qualitative transformation. Yet now, facing a being that was technically at a lower level, they felt a genuine sense of threat!
Before they could recover from the shock, an even more terrifying phantom descended!
Martial Soul True Body: Blazing Flame Tiger King!