After making her discovery, Zhang Lexuan began to observe closely.
She soon realized that the white water spirit beast was significantly smaller than the others. It was also protected at the rear of the formation and hadn't launched any attacks. Instead, it used some kind of technique to support its kin.
A layer of blue ripples spread out from under the white water spirit's feet, emitting a faint chill and covering the area beneath the feet of the other water spirits.
Those standing within the blue ripples began attacking at a much faster pace, like they had transformed into stationary turrets, unleashing relentless barrages without regard for soul power consumption.
"A domain-type ability?" Zhang Lexuan's eyes lit up, and without further hesitation, she launched a full-powered attack.
Hundred thousand-Year Eighth Soul Skill: Moonlight Radiance!
White mist spread and enveloped the entire group of water spirits. Plop, plop, plop...—a succession of soft thuds echoed within the mist, as a silent slaughter unfolded under its veil.
When the fog dispersed—
The water spirit group had been reduced to a field of corpses, various soul rings floating midair, creating a scene both brutal and mesmerizing.
The four maids all gulped in unison, startled yet secretly proud.
After all, this was the kind of Saintess they were meant to serve!
Zhang Lexuan spared only two water spirits.
One was the white mutant water spirit. The other was a 40,000-year-old water spirit.
If the mutant spirit didn't suit Shui'er, the 40,000-year-old one could be used as a backup soul ring.
As for the wholesale slaughter of a spirit beast group, Zhang Lexuan didn't care. Ruthlessness was her current philosophy, and besides, this wasn't one of the original Douluo Continent's soul beast sanctuaries. She felt no psychological burden killing soul beasts here.
If the Sun-Moon Continent's high-level soul beasts could be completely wiped out, there would be no need for war. Once this generation of elite soul masters aged out, within a century the Sun-Moon Empire would have no more top-tier soul masters or soul engineers—it would collapse on its own.
Of course, such thoughts were only wishful thinking.
Zhang Lexuan brought the two water spirits back to Shui'er to let her decide.
"This mutant water spirit is only around 30,000 years old, but it possesses a domain-type ability and is of very high quality. This 40,000-year-old one is the best among its peers I observed and is more suitable in terms of age. Which one do you choose?"
Faced with the question, Shui'er hesitated. She looked at Zhang Lexuan, then at her sisters, and finally turned to Huo Yuhao with big, pleading eyes.
She had no choice—he was the most well-read among them.
Huo Yuhao spoke up. "Sister Shui'er, I recommend choosing the mutant water spirit. Although its age is lower, the quality of its soul ring won't be inferior to that of a 40,000-year beast. Plus, it may grant a valuable domain-type soul skill."
"Though the seventh soul ring only grants the Martial Soul True Body, it also enhances and transforms your martial soul. During the ring absorption, there's a chance your martial soul may gain the mutant's domain ability."
Shui'er and the other girls, lacking deep soul master knowledge, didn't immediately catch the significance of his words.
Zhang Lexuan then spoke up. "Domain-type abilities are second only to Ultimate Attributes in rarity. Even Titled Douluo might never acquire them. Generally, only 100,000-year soul rings have about a 10% chance of bestowing a domain skill. A suitable domain can fundamentally transform a soul master's abilities."
Huo Yuhao nodded lightly, agreeing. Even he only had a little over ten domains.
Only now did Shui'er and the others realize the value of a domain. Their eyes lit up as they gazed at the mutant water spirit. Shui'er made her choice without needing further convincing.
"I'll choose the mutant water spirit!" Shui'er declared seriously.
"A wise choice," Zhang Lexuan commented.
After all, domains were always worth betting on. Even without one, the soul ring quality of the mutant beast was still on par with a 40,000-year soul ring.
Soon after, the group left the lake and moved to a safe area. Shui'er killed the mutant water spirit and began absorbing its soul ring.
The 40,000-year-old water spirit wasn't spared either—Zhang Lexuan killed it with a single palm. Unfortunately, it didn't drop a soul bone.
None of the water spirits did. The group was relatively small and not a top-tier beast race, so drop rates were low.
Encountering a mutant water spirit with a possible domain already counted as being under the blessing of Huo Yuhao's "Destiny." Domains were even rarer than soul bones.
Naturally, the corpses and souls of the water spirits weren't wasted either. Centipede-leg clones took care of their remains.
Too bad the numbers were small—there weren't enough materials to forge external soul bones.
Three hours later, Shui'er finally completed her soul ring absorption. The time she spent far exceeded the other three girls.
But the gain was immense.
Her martial soul, the Clearwater Turtle, manifested on its own. A wave of cool blue ripples spread from beneath it, reaching everyone nearby. Their minds cleared, and their soul power became more active.
"This is…" the three girls exclaimed in shock.
"It's a domain," Huo Yuhao said.
"A domain?!"
The three were overjoyed, brimming with anticipation and curiosity—what kind of effects would the domain have?
Zhang Lexuan nodded, clearly satisfied, though her expression didn't show much emotion.
Finally, Shui'er opened her eyes, delight on her face. Her first words were: "I've obtained a domain!"
"Sister Shui'er, tell us about it!" Jin'er asked curiously.
Shui'er nodded. "It's called the Azure Wave Domain. It's a support-type domain that increases allies' attack speed, speeds up soul power recovery, and reduces soul skill cooldowns. The cost is rapid soul power consumption. Right now, I can maintain it for up to three minutes."
Huo Yuhao's expression twitched slightly. "This domain's effect is basically..."
"Shui'er, let me test your depth~" Huo'er interrupted impatiently.
Shui'er immediately activated the domain, letting the other three maids experience what true Unlimited Firepower felt like.
Yes—Unlimited Firepower, albeit a nerfed version.
"No wonder that water spirit swarm was firing like crazy!" Huo Yuhao thought silently.
Having experienced the domain, the other three girls secretly began dreaming of one day acquiring a domain of their own.
Of course, they knew it wouldn't be easy.
With that, all four maids had obtained their seventh soul rings—plus a domain or soul bone as bonus gains.
Next, it was time to return to Mingdu.
Completing the soul hunt in just three days—they were impressively fast.
After traveling at full speed—
By midnight, Huo Yuhao and the group had returned to their base in Mingdu.
Even though the hunt had gone smoothly and without much danger, the four maids were still somewhat exhausted and went straight to sleep in their rooms.
Huo Yuhao enjoyed a rare peaceful night.
Counting the days, in just a few months, the Shrek Academy exchange program would begin.
Time was running out.
For both him—and for Zhang Lexuan and Tang Ya.
He lay low during the day and moved about at night.
This had become the norm for Huo Yuhao.
It was nighttime again.
After spending the day resting and restoring his energy, Huo Yuhao reappeared on Ghost Street. As usual, he wore no disguise—still clad in his signature icy armor and cold mask.
As such, the moment he showed up, someone took notice and relayed word of his whereabouts to those who were interested.
However, Huo Yuhao didn't care about any of that.
In the three days since he'd left Mingdu, the talk surrounding him hadn't completely died down. Some factions were still thinking about trying to recruit him. And any force bold enough to snatch prey from the mouth of the Evening Water Alliance was certainly no ordinary one.
Of course, most of these forces simply saw value in him and were unwilling to give up so easily. They wanted to take one last shot. But none of them would go to war with the Evening Water Alliance over him.
They were just taking a gamble—just in case they got lucky.
It all depended on how easy Huo Yuhao was to persuade.
As usual, Huo Yuhao wandered through the Ghost Street market, buying some materials for daily use.
These resources no longer held much value to him. They'd lost their novelty. The truly rare items that caught his eye had long since been secured.
Moreover, when he left the Jingyang Mountains, he had left a few of his centipede-foot clones behind to mine for him. They transported the ores back to be devoured and refined by his Mutated Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
With a resource hub as vast as the Jingyang Mountains, Ghost Street no longer had much appeal for Huo Yuhao.
Only exceptionally rare items could still catch his attention—but such things didn't appear every day.
Afterward, Huo Yuhao made his way to a hidden part of Ghost Street.
He could no longer farm win streaks in the Evil Dragon Arena, but that didn't mean there was nowhere to go. In fact, after joining the Evening Water Alliance, some of their secret facilities had now become accessible to him.
One of these was a place called the Elegant Pavilion.
The name might sound refined, but what went on inside was anything but.
This was where the Evening Water Alliance conducted its dirty business. It functioned as a hybrid of an assassin's guild, an intelligence organization, and an underground auction house—hidden beneath a coffin shop.
The Elegant Pavilion had a total of five underground levels.
The first underground floor was a main hall, complete with a tavern. It served as a meeting ground for guests to converse. It appeared calm, but everyone present harbored their own schemes and purposes.
Combat was forbidden here. With the Evening Water Alliance's backing, almost no one in the underworld dared defy that rule. As such, it was also a decent refuge. However, staying beyond a certain time limit incurred a fee—and a steep one.
The bartender here also served as the gatekeeper, guide, and receptionist for the lower floors. Any requests could be directed to him, and he could almost always provide a satisfying answer.
Once one's identity was verified by the bartender, one could proceed to the second basement level—after that, no further verification was needed.
The identity verified here wasn't that of a member of the Evening Water Alliance, but of a member of the Elegant Pavilion.
After joining the Evening Water Alliance, Huo Yuhao was granted Elegant Pavilion membership directly—because he was worth it. Normally, only cadre-level members of the Alliance could become Elegant Pavilion members.
Otherwise, one had to go through a screening process or pay a hefty "membership fee." Outsiders needed a referral from an existing member.
The second basement level was the Intelligence Floor. Here, one could buy or sell all kinds of intel—even information relating to royalty or other empires.
The third floor was the Commission Floor, where various assignments could be posted or accepted—typically involving assassination, theft, or kidnapping. The rewards here were much higher.
The fourth floor was the Auction Floor, not open every day. It only operated on specific dates each month. Even humans could be auctioned off here.
Finally, the fifth underground floor was the true core of the Elegant Pavilion. It was said that the Pavilion Master resided there.
Only those who met specific conditions could enter the fifth floor and meet the Pavilion Master—who would then grant one unconditional help with a single request. That could be locating something or assassinating someone.
Legend had it that even if one asked the Pavilion Master to assassinate the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, they would agree without hesitation.
Of course, that claim was clearly exaggerated. The point was to highlight how powerful and resourceful the Pavilion Master was.
Huo Yuhao pondered—if he entered the fifth floor and asked Tang Ya to return Beibei to him, would she agree?
That's right. The Pavilion Master of the Elegant Pavilion… was Tang Ya.
Her name alone made that clear. And Huo Yuhao's Aura Vision Technique wasn't for nothing—he could clearly see the projection of dark Blue Silver Grass entwined throughout the Elegant Pavilion.
"Compared to the original story and the impression she left me when we met back then, Little Ya-jie has become quite the powerhouse," Huo Yuhao couldn't help but marvel.
Indeed, choosing the right platform was more important than sheer effort. Only in the right environment could one's brilliance truly shine.
No matter how capable Tang Ya was, Shrek Academy would never let her interfere with its businesses—unless all the old guard were gone, she got back together with Beibei, and Beibei became the Sea God Pavilion Master and could make decisions independently.
But that kind of future was no longer possible.
Huo Yuhao had come to the Elegant Pavilion partly for fun. After all, Tang Ya had smacked him in the street with a surprise "Golden Lotus Staff Drop." He wasn't about to let her have the last laugh.
He headed to the second floor first.
The Intelligence Floor was dimly lit, with rows of intel booths lining the sides. Everyone inside kept silent, communicating only by paper and pen.
Curious, Huo Yuhao approached one of the intel windows, wrote down the information he wanted, and passed it through a narrow slot.
The inside and outside of the booth couldn't see each other. Soul tools blocked certain detection techniques to maintain secrecy.
But that didn't stop Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection. To block him, one would need at least a specialized Grade 9 soul tool focused on spirit defense to even sense his mental presence.
Extending his Spiritual Detection into the booth, he saw a small room inside, with a lone figure seated there.
After reading Huo Yuhao's request, the person quickly wrote down a quote and passed it back out.
Requested Intel: Information related to Shrek Academy.
Price: 10,000 gold soul coins for general info; 100,000 for detailed intel.
That piqued Huo Yuhao's curiosity.
So he handed over 10,000 gold soul coins to test the waters.
The person inside communicated with someone via soul tool. After a short while, a stack of documents was delivered to the room and passed out sheet by sheet to Huo Yuhao.
Taking the intel, he left the booth and walked toward the next floor, skimming through the papers as he went.
Though the second floor was dim, it was no problem for Huo Yuhao with his night vision. He could read the documents clearly.
The general intel on Shrek Academy spanned several pages. Whether or not it was worth 10,000 gold soul coins was debatable.
But who cared? Huo Yuhao was happy, and to him, gold soul coins were just a meaningless number. They had no use in cultivation or purchases. What else could they be but useless digits?
The contents of the intel came as something of a surprise to Huo Yuhao.
It included the distribution of most of Shrek Academy's industries across Shrek City, the Academy's main teaching staff and the identities of both the headmaster and vice-headmasters, even lists of outstanding students—and more strikingly, details regarding the Inner Court and the Sea God's Pavilion.
It was a complete fusion of intel regarding Shrek City, Shrek Academy, and the Sea God's Pavilion.
By rights, the Sea God's Pavilion and Shrek Academy weren't one and the same—they could've easily been sold as separate pieces of intel. Yet, in this file, they were compiled together.
That in itself was quite intriguing.
And Huo Yuhao was certain: under normal circumstances, the Sun Moon Empire should not have had this much information on Shrek Academy. Even if it was considered "general intel," it was far too detailed.
If even the "general" intel was like this, then the "detailed" version would be unimaginable.
Which meant there was only one explanation—
Someone had sold out Shrek Academy.
"Beibei probably wouldn't do something like this... Could it be Tang Ya? But how could she know so much about Shrek Academy? Did she send someone to investigate it specifically? But if it were that easy to investigate, the Sun Moon Empire would've done it long ago..." Huo Yuhao pondered inwardly.
Still, Tang Ya was no longer alone. With the twisted means of the Holy Spirit Cult's evil soul masters, it wasn't impossible for them to have pulled it off.
As for her motivation, that was obvious—she bore a grudge against Shrek Academy. Selling off their intel so publicly could very well be her form of revenge.
No faction would be pleased to see their confidential information sold at a public intelligence center.
Still, this intel came in handy for Huo Yuhao—it gave him insight into the current state of Shrek Academy.
The most important part? The lists of outstanding students from the outer and inner courtyards.
Everyone knew:
A list of talents = A menu of resources!
At the top of the outer courtyard list was a group called the "Seven Fairies of the Outer Court"—members of the current generation's Shrek Academy preparatory team.
And their origin?
From the Sea God Pavilion Young Master's Fan Club.
Yes, that fan club. The one devoted to Huo Yuhao himself.
Seeing that the "crops" he had planted made it to the top of the list—and ranked first at that—Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction, a little smug over his own farming skills.
Although the list didn't note their martial souls or exact power levels, he knew their martial souls were of high quality and they had all reached at least Soul King or Soul Emperor rank.
Among the Seven Fairies, Huo Yuhao recognized two familiar names: Hu Yanxue and Jin Yu.
Both were his juniors—he had personally welcomed them into the Academy. What caught his eye back then were their rare martial souls: one had a Pink Diamond Mammoth, the other a Golden Crocodile. Both extremely gifted.
On their first day of enrollment, he had already marked them—and joining the fan club was only natural.
Now, they were senior students of the outer court. After the next Soul Master Tournament, they would be eligible to take the Inner Court assessment.
Actually, they weren't the first generation of the Seven Fairies. The original seven were Huo Yuhao's contemporaries: Lan Luoluo, Lan Susu, Nanmen Yuner, Cui Yajie, and others. They were the first batch to cultivate the Jade Nourishing Art (养玉功).
But now they had all entered the Inner Court, and their strength had reached at least Soul Sage level. They were all considered top-tier geniuses, not inferior to Ma Xiaotao. The elders of the Sea God Pavilion were overjoyed, praising the ancestors for their blessings.
"With this trip back, I'll finally be able to harvest them. Using these Jade-Nourishing-cultivated cauldrons should allow my cultivation to improve just a little more," Huo Yuhao thought to himself.
Even the slightest improvement in cultivation could make the difference in a battle—it was not to be underestimated.
There was no need to wait for them to become Titled Douluo. They didn't have any unique bloodlines, no rare physiques or fates worth preserving. Soul Sage level was enough to extract the full potential of their martial souls—it was time to reap the benefits.
Moreover, the Jade Nourishing Art wasn't some top-tier cauldron cultivation technique. The higher the user's level, the more jade resources it consumed, and without massive investment, progress would slow dramatically. Expecting these cauldrons to reach Titled Douluo rank? Who knew how long that would take.
Outside of the Seven Fairies, half the other outstanding outer court students were also members of Huo Yuhao's fan club. Several from the inner court were as well. And at the end of the roster? Huo Yuhao himself, the Sea God Pavilion's young master.
Reading over the list, one got the impression that Shrek Academy had more women than men.
But more importantly, it showed that Huo Yuhao had already amassed a following of young prodigies within Shrek Academy. His fan club had become a force to be reckoned with.
Once these members grew strong—even if only some stayed within Shrek—it would give Huo Yuhao overwhelming influence. And through those who left, his reach could extend to other factions across the continent.
Shrek Academy had clearly realized this problem.
But since Huo Yuhao was the Sea God Pavilion's young master, and the fan club members were simply his supporters—and he himself never directly controlled them—the Academy couldn't openly disband the fan club. These girls had acted on their own.
So Shrek could only try to foster other student factions to counterbalance him. For example, Wang Dong had established his own group, the "Dong Alliance."
But even so, Huo Yuhao's fan club remained the strongest faction.
Why? Because his fan club was made up entirely of female students—beautiful ones—and all top-tier in talent. Their strength grew rapidly.
Other students didn't dare to openly go against them either. After all, the world was never short on bootlickers. Even if the fan club didn't fight back, these simps would jump to their defense.
None had ever succeeded in winning them over, though. Not only had that failed to dampen their enthusiasm—it only made them more determined.
…
As Huo Yuhao descended to the next level with the intel in hand, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Because he had kept his spiritual detection active, he noticed that the person who had previously traded intel with him was now compiling information about him, and sending it to the back.
This intel hub really wasn't subtle at all—on the contrary, it was collecting data on its customers. And Huo Yuhao was clearly a subject of special interest.
He took a soul tool elevator to the third floor—the commission floor.
This floor was noticeably brighter.
Most commissions were openly posted, categorized by bounty amount and task type. Even assassination contracts were compiled into books, available for browsing at designated windows.
As soon as Huo Yuhao stepped onto the floor, a man in attendant garb approached him, smiling respectfully. "You seem unfamiliar, sir—is this your first time here?"
"It is," Huo Yuhao replied with a small nod.
"May I ask if you're here to issue a commission, or to take one?" the attendant inquired.
"What's the difference?"
"If you're here to issue a commission, you simply leave a reward and the mission details. Once approved, the job will be posted on the commission board—we won't ask about anything else.
If you're here to take on a commission, we'll need to register your identity first," the attendant explained.
"Then I'm here to take a commission," Huo Yuhao said.
"Please come with me, sir. I'll help you with the identity registration." The identity registration process wasn't complicated and went smoothly. From then on, Huo Yuhao could take on missions in the third basement level of the Elegant Pavilion under the name "Frost Armored Emperor."
"Frost Armored Emperor" was also the alias he used while operating in Ghost Street—everyone outside respectfully referred to him as "Emperor."
After registering, Huo Yuhao began browsing suitable missions.
Coming to the Elegant Pavilion to take on missions wasn't a whimsical decision—it was based on three well-considered reasons.
First, he needed to make some achievements visible to the Xishui Alliance to get closer to Beibei. It was also something for Zhang Lexuan and Xian Liner to see—something that could move them. Second, he wanted to scout the mission list for any talented individuals. Third, it was to give Tang Ya a chance to approach him—after all, it was obvious she had already set her sights on him.
As for training and making money, those were nonsense.
Training?
Only if Huo Yuhao soloed the Clear Sky Sect dungeon could it be called actual training.
As for making money—what a joke. For Huo Yuhao, money was only for buying things he didn't really care about. Anything he truly wanted? He never paid for it.
Brother Hao had always operated under the rule: If I want it, I take it—no money involved. He preferred to walk away with both the goods and the person.
The Elegant Pavilion offered many missions, all quite high-level. Simply put, none of them were easy. Many were dangerous, especially assassination missions—the targets were never ordinary.
They ranged from royal family members to powerful nobles and officials, and at the very least, heads of underground organizations. Some targets might only be low-ranked Soul Masters, but they often had backing from the royal court.
Huo Yuhao even spotted a mission to assassinate the exchange students from Shrek Academy. The reward? One million gold soul coins per head—regardless of identity. That was definitely a high bounty.
Whether anyone would actually dare take it, though, was another matter.
If anyone did succeed, never mind what Xian Liner would do—the Sun Moon Empire would be the first to retaliate. Jing Hongchen himself would charge in at the front lines. After all, Shrek Academy also had Sun Moon's prized students in its hands.
There was even a mission to assassinate the Sixth Prince.
At present, among the six adult princes of the Sun Moon Empire, only the Third Prince, Xu Tiannan, and the Sixth Prince remained alive. However, the Sixth Prince had little chance of claiming the throne—he had once merely been a follower of the Fourth Prince and had no notable strengths.
His only chance of becoming crown prince would be if both Xu Tiannan and the Third Prince died.
Naturally, assassination missions targeting Xu Tiannan and the Third Prince existed as well—with even higher payouts. But even fewer dared to take them.
One was a cunning old fox; the other held military power. Who would be stupid enough to make a move?
Eventually, Huo Yuhao chose a mission.
An assassination mission.
Target: Wang Dagang, leader of the Steel Alliance, an underground faction.
Reward: 100,000 gold soul coins.
That was quite a substantial sum—equivalent to the starting bid for a low-grade soul bone.
After roaming around Ghost Street for days, Huo Yuhao had a decent grasp of the Steel Alliance. It was a small organization with only a few dozen members. Like most minor factions, it barely survived in the shadows of the two major underground forces. They had no fixed territory, merely occupying a few shops. They had no main trade—anything that made money, they did: human trafficking, robbery, murder—you name it.
The leader, Wang Dagang, was a Soul Sage, and the only one in the Steel Alliance with that level of cultivation.
Huo Yuhao had chosen this mission because the task sheet included a profile of Wang Dagang. His Martial Soul was called Iron Tyranno-Dragon, and several of his soul skill effects were listed—surprisingly, they were all fire-elemental. This piqued Huo Yuhao's curiosity: What kind of dragon is this Iron Tyranno-Dragon? The kind with a horn on its nose?
Mission accepted—Huo Yuhao headed to Ghost Street to find the target.
The Steel Alliance's turf was easy enough to locate. The only problem was tracking down Wang Dagang himself. Since the alliance had no central headquarters, he could be at any of several shops, somewhere else on Ghost Street, or even off-site entirely.
Fortunately, when in doubt, trust in metaphysics.
Huo Yuhao did a quick mental divination.
Then he arrived at a venue within the territory of the Plain Alliance, where he found Wang Dagang having a grand old time.
Without a word, he shattered a window and entered—followed by a sneak attack.
Wang Dagang disappeared in a flash. The girls in the room saw only a shadow pass through, and then—nothing.
And thus, the legend of Ghost Street's Black Rat was born.
Ignoring the chaos behind him, Huo Yuhao had already taken Wang Dagang to a safehouse within the Plain Alliance—completely vacant and specially prepared for Huo Yuhao by Shangguan Wei'er.
He extracted Wang Dagang's soul, dismembered him neatly, and left only the head intact for mission verification.
"Let me take a closer look at this Iron Tyranno-Dragon Martial Soul~"
Manipulating Wang Dagang's soul, Huo Yuhao examined the Martial Soul.
Though it did have a horn on its nose, it bore no relation to the Iron Tyranno-Dragon Beast. It was merely a sub-dragon-type Martial Soul, its body covered in tough metal scales, providing strong defense.
Its ability to breathe fire came purely from fire-element soul rings. Since the Martial Soul had no innate elemental attribute, it didn't conflict with the fire attribute and could fully integrate that power.
The sub-dragon lineage was a bit disappointing to Huo Yuhao—but at least it was meat. He absorbed its life essence and packed up the severed head.
"Maybe… I could use this to take out a few more targets," Huo Yuhao thought boldly.
With the first mission complete, Huo Yuhao had two choices: visit the Sun Moon Imperial Harem, or return for another mission.
As a man with great professional ambition, Huo Yuhao naturally chose the latter—especially since he had just come up with a daring new idea.
But just as he was about to leave, Shangguan Wei'er arrived—to provide her services to Huo Yuhao.
Most importantly, she didn't come empty-handed. She brought a gift—
A steel cage covered in red cloth!
With a flourish, she pulled off the cloth, revealing three trembling figures huddled together inside—they looked like human girls but were clearly not human.
All three had stunningly beautiful female forms, but their bodies were covered in scales—only their faces resembled those of humans. They were strange, half-human, half-beast creatures.
In the Douluo Continent, only one species fit this description—Dragon Girls!
Shangguan Wei'er bowed respectfully and introduced,
"Master, these three are the legendary Dragon Girls! They're a special type of furnace."
"Once a human merges with them, they can absorb the essence of dragon blood within their bodies, fundamentally altering their own constitution. Their bloodline will gain a trace of dragon essence, which will in turn catalyze the evolution of their Martial Soul—positively and without fail."
"I know that," Huo Yuhao said, showing he wasn't ignorant. Still, he praised her, "Bringing me three of these rare Dragon Girls? You've really gone the extra mile."
Dragon Girls were incredibly rare, and capturing one often invoked terrifying curses—one had to sacrifice a life to catch a single Dragon Girl. Finding and capturing even one required massive effort and cost.
To bring back three in one go—Shangguan Wei'er had truly spared no effort to please him.
In the original novel, Shangguan Wei'er, at an underground soul engineer competition, offered three dragon maidens as a prize to the champion, proving the Ordinary Alliance possessed such beings.
These three dragon maidens before Huo Yuhao were likely those very ones.
Each dragon maiden could fetch over a hundred million gold soul coins at auction, a rare commodity even pricier than soul bones. Successfully using a dragon maiden to enhance and pass down a martial soul's evolution could significantly strengthen a family.
The benefits and profits far exceeded a hundred million gold soul coins.
Dragon maidens weren't commonplace in the underworld. These three were a rare acquisition for the Ordinary Alliance, something even the Xishui Alliance lacked.
Each was worthy of a grand auction.
"Master, these are the three dragon maidens recently acquired by the Ordinary Alliance. Before they could be cataloged, I intercepted them. All involved parties have been dealt with. I present them to you for your enjoyment," Shangguan Wei'er said, her tone laced with flattery.
Had these dragon maidens been saved for the upcoming soul master tournament, they could have earned the Ordinary Alliance immense prestige.
Yet Shangguan Wei'er brought them to Huo Yuhao, their existence unknown to the Ordinary Alliance.
There might be traitors within the alliance, but none would suspect Shangguan Wei'er as the greatest betrayer.
Huo Yuhao glanced at her, inwardly impressed. Shangguan Wei'er's rise to alliance leader showcased her cunning.
She was sacrificing everything the Ordinary Alliance had to curry favor with Huo Yuhao, betting on a brighter future.
Though enslaved by him, the technique Huo Yuhao provided opened her eyes to a grander world. Believing his future was extraordinary, she was willing to take the gamble.
At the very least, she refused to be a disposable toy in his eyes.
"I'm very pleased with this gift," Huo Yuhao said, approaching the cage, praising her further.
Shangguan Wei'er showed no pride, only a submissive smile, as if her actions were only natural.
Her psychology was firmly under his control.
Huo Yuhao didn't mind. To him, everyone was useful—merely a matter of life or death.
At the cage, he examined the three dragon maidens, noting their exceptional qualities.
They bore unique destinies and luck, explaining why their initial captors suffered curses.
But observation alone wasn't enough.
Huo Yuhao opened the cage, stepped inside, and began a hands-on inspection of their conditions.
The dragon maidens trembled, instinctively wanting to resist, but under Huo Yuhao's oppressive aura, they could only submit to his probing.
In Pudu Cihang's cultivation world, dragon maidens were legendary, true dragon kin, even if their blood wasn't pure. Sadly, Pudu Cihang never encountered a real one.
In his memories, so-called dragon maidens in that era were often transformed female demons, dubbed dragon maidens for prestige—fake ones, mostly scaly fish demons.
Could any aquatic creature compare to a true dragon?
These three dragon maidens differed from those legends but possessed genuine, pure dragon blood and unique constitutions, making them prime cauldron candidates.
Huo Yuhao didn't care how they were created, only how to utilize them.
Extracting their primordial yin to boost his dragon blood purity was possible, but his blood was already highly concentrated and pure. Such a crude method would yield minimal benefits.
For Huo Yuhao, anything exploitable should be used sustainably, especially three dragon maidens with such potential.
"You three, want to live?" he asked abruptly.
Unfortunately, the dragon maidens couldn't understand human speech, huddling together, trembling.
Huo Yuhao wasn't seeking their consent.
"From today, you three are my dragon maidens, my new cauldrons!"
With that, he unleashed his power, seizing the three and heading to the room.
Shangguan Wei'er, about to bow and leave, was stopped.
"What are you standing there for? Come help me hold them down!"
Stunned, Shangguan Wei'er's face lit up with delight, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
As she shed her outer robe, eagerly following, Huo Yuhao, having just crafted three ice barrels with Extreme Ice, turned to see her in provocative lingerie. Without any prompting, Shangguan Wei'er was already "in the mood."
Huo Yuhao fell silent.
When Shangguan Wei'er saw the room's setup, she too went quiet, shivering from the Extreme Ice's chill, her "mood" freezing into ice particles.
Clearly, she'd misunderstood.
After some bustle, the three dragon maidens were sealed in the ice barrels, entering dormancy.
Huo Yuhao had added various herbs and materials to the barrels, creating an eerie hue, as if stewing the maidens.
Finally, he slit his palm.
"Join the dragon clan's evolution!"
He sprinkled his dragon blood onto the three dragon maidens.
Instantly, the barrels' contents took on a golden sheen.
Shangguan Wei'er, witnessing golden blood for the first time, felt even greater awe for Huo Yuhao.
*Infuse~~*
The golden blood merged into the dragon maidens. Initially, they showed pleasure, their auras rapidly rising. But soon, pain contorted their faces. Bound and unconscious, they could only emit instinctive screams.
Shangguan Wei'er, wanting to flatter, hesitated under Huo Yuhao's glance and stayed silent.
But he beckoned her over.
"Their transformation will take time. Come entertain me."
Her eyes sparkled with joy. Licking her red lips, she eagerly approached.
Huo Yuhao lounged in a chair, shielding her from the cold, allowing her to perform.
"Mmm~~"
"Quiet."
Shangguan Wei'er struggled to suppress her sounds.
The dragon maidens' transformation took two hours. Shangguan Wei'er, eyes rolled back, fainted, while the maidens completed their evolution.
*Roar! Roar! Roar!*
Three dragon roars erupted from within them. The Extreme Ice barrels shattered under their surging auras, and the maidens floated upward.
Huo Yuhao had cloaked the room, containing all sound and disturbance. Only sensitive soul beasts in Ghost Street grew restless.
He admired the three dragon maidens.
"Having absorbed my Heavenly Dragon bloodline, you're now my kin—the only three in the Douluo Continent besides me to bear it!"