Huo Yuhao thus chose his path without any hesitation. He had to take part in the tournament. The only way to do that was to ensure the upper half of his body would not suffer any interference from the origin energy of Ultimate Ice. Only then could he make a swift recovery and take part in the tournament. So what if he could not walk? He believed that with his abilities, he could still play a part!
What shocked Elder Xuan and Elder Zhuang was the fact that w.a.n.g Dong"er did not try to stop him. She said that she would not go against any of his decisions. Her mindset was simple. After this incident, Huo Yuhao and her were one. If Huo Yuhao was fine, then she would be fine. Whatever happened to him, she would accompany him. Furthermore, she understood his personality too well. If he did not take part in this tournament, he would regret it for the rest of his life. This was not something that w.a.n.g Dong"er wanted to see. Huo Yuhao also promised her that after the tournament, he would retrieve the origin energy of heaven and earth from his legs and let it dissipate through his body. There should be no problem with just storing it there for a few months.
At last, Elder Xuan agreed.
The origin energy of Ultimate Ice flowed continually into his legs. As the soul power from Huo Yuhao"s dantian rose, it soon spread throughout his body, and he could move the origin energy even more quickly. After all, the origin energy was an object without consciousness. Coupled with the fact that Huo Yuhao"s second martial soul was Ultimate Ice, it was still possible for him to manipulate it.
After a few minutes pa.s.sed, Huo Yuhao"s legs became stranger and stranger. Initially, they were pale-white. Then, they turned light blue. This shade of blue darkened continuously, until finally, they turned dark blue.
However, at this moment, Huo Yuhao frowned.
“Yuhao, what"s wrong?” Elder Xuan asked in a low voice.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “I can"t insert anymore. The pa.s.sageways in my legs cannot take anymore. There would be complications.”
“There"s more?” Elder Xuan asked in shock.
Huo Yuhao said, “Not much, our estimate was correct. Initially, my legs should have been able to take the compressed origin energy of heaven and earth. However, here"s the problem. As I move the origin energy of heaven and earth toward my legs, the part that is in my torso has started to spill out as well. Originally, it was suppressed within my soul bones, but now, some of it has flowed out. My legs can"t take this extra soul power. Furthermore, this origin energy has been dissipated into my most important pa.s.sageways, and it"ll severely affect my recovery.”
Elder Xuan said, “What can we do? If you can"t take it anymore, you should stop. Take your time to recover, and don"t fret so much about the compet.i.tion.”
“No, I have to represent the Tang Sect.” Huo Yuhao said with certainty. Then, he closed his eyes once more, and he could clearly see that underneath his skin, strands of blue energy were flowing toward his left arm. Since my legs can"t take anymore, I shall give up an arm. The reason why he chose his left arm over his right was because the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone was in his left arm. It would help in compressing and absorbing the origin energy of heaven and earth.
w.a.n.g Dong"er covered her face with her hands. She clearly knew that like this, Huo Yuhao could only move his head, his right arm, and his torso! He was like a cripple who had lost three of his limbs. All of this was because of her!
This time, there was no problem. As all the blue energy flowed into Huo Yuhao"s left arm, his left arm turned light blue. While it was not as terrifying as his legs, it lay flat on the bed, unmoving. It looked like it was dead.
He exhaled and tiredly opened his eyes. He looked at Elder Xuan, Elder Zhuang, and w.a.n.g Dong"er, whose tears clouded her eyes. He forced a smile and said, “See, I succeeded. Soon, I"ll make a complete recovery.”
As his soul power flowed through his body, it was able to complete a minor circulation. While he could not make a major circulation without his legs and left arm, this minor circulation allowed him to recover 70% of his cultivation. His chest, where Elder Zhuang had healed his pa.s.sageways with his soul power and which was nourished by the life energy from the Life Gold, was recovering at an astonishing pace. What he needed to do next was open up all the blocked pa.s.sageways in his body. This would allow him to regain even more of his cultivation, and feel better.
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao pressed down on the bed with his right hand and struggled to get up. w.a.n.g Dong"er rushed over to help him. He shook his head, insisting that he could get up by himself.
This action, which was nothing to him in the past, now became exceedingly difficult. As he forced his body up bit-by-bit, the huge wound on his chest remained. There was now a layer of blood on its surface.
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “I"ll represent the Tang Sect in the tournament!”
Elder Xuan huffed and said angrily, “You little b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” He sighed and turned away.
Elder Zhuang smiled slightly and said, “Rest well. If you want to take part in the tournament, you must recover. Remember to ma.s.sage your legs every day. Even though they can"t move, you have to make the origin energy inside them move. This will keep your body supple. Fortunately, it was Ultimate Ice, and not Ultimate Fire. If not, your pa.s.sageways would have been long gone. Ultimate Ice has preservative properties. A conservative estimate states that your legs will be fine for the next half year. After half a year, no one knows what will happen. Whatever happens, remember that you can"t let it drag on for more than a year. If not, there"ll be huge problems, understand?”
“Yes,” Huo Yuhao replied respectfully.
Elder Zhuang reminded him a few more times before leaving. This treatment had given him much inspiration. For such a special case like Huo Yuhao, he had to quickly record it so that he could come up with better treatment plans in the future. While three of Huo Yuhao"s limbs could not move, this treatment could still be said to be perfect. At the very least, Huo Yuhao"s life was no longer in danger.
As she sent Elder Zhuang out, w.a.n.g Dong"er asked carefully if there was anything she had to take note of while caring for him. Only then did she return to the room. The moment she entered, she could not help but dash to the side of the bed and jump into his embrace.
Huo Yuhao used his only movable hand, which was still trembling, to hold her by her slim waist.
“Silly girl, can"t you see that I"m better now? You should be happy! Don"t cry, this is all thanks to your meticulous care. However, you"ve gotten skinnier. Look at you, you"re a bag of bones. You must stay healthy so that you can care for me.”
“Yes, yes!” w.a.n.g Dong"er agreed non-stop. However, tears flowed down her cheeks like a broken necklace of pearls.
“Dong"er, can I explain something about Qiu"er to you?” Huo Yuhao asked. He felt that he should tell Dong"er some things. For example, the fact that they could fuse their martial souls. This would prevent a future misunderstanding from arising.
w.a.n.g Dong"er shook her head vigorously. From his embrace, she sat up and looked at him. They were only inches apart. She said tearfully, “Yuhao, I don"t want to or need to hear any explanation. After today, no matter what happens, I"ll trust you completely. You"ve already proven to me that you are the one who loves me more than anyone else in the world.”
Huo Yuhao could not help but laugh. “Saying that will make your parents sad.”
w.a.n.g Dong"er said, “It"s different, how can parental love compare with how you treat me…? Furthermore, after so many years, they have never visited me once.”
Huo Yuhao quickly changed the topic as he said, “Alright, alright, don"t cry. Help me lay down to rest.” The entire treatment had been a test of his will. Had it been anyone else, they would have gone crazy from the pain. However, Huo Yuhao endured it all. Still, he was drained from the whole ordeal.
“Yes,” w.a.n.g Dong"er helped him lay down.
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From that day on, Huo Yuhao"s recovery was well on-track. With w.a.n.g Dong"er"s help, he spent another three days opening all the blocked pa.s.sageways in his body. Then, he started to regain his bodily functions. Once the other five of Shrek"s Seven Monsters learned that he could take part in the compet.i.tion, they were all overjoyed. With Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong"er back, they were truly the Shrek"s Seven Monsters!
A wooden wheelchair, made entirely from the Golden Tree, was delivered to Huo Yuhao by Elder Xuan. While Elder Xuan still wore an unpleasant face on his face, and he showed no sign of forgiveness toward Huo Yuhao, the latter still remembered his care and concern for him.
The Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament drew closer…
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The Tang Sect Conference Hall...
Led by Bei Bei, the other members of Shrek"s Seven Monsters reached the place. Other than the seven of them, Xuan Ziwen, who was now the Vice Sect Leader and in charge of soul tool research, Mo Xuan, and Na Na, who was a close-combat soul engineer who possessed the Netherworld martial soul, were there too, along with Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and the higher echelons of the Tang Sect.
The entry of Xuan Ziwen allowed the Tang Sect to develop rapidly, particularly since the Sect was supported by Shrek Academy. Every week, the Soul Tool Department students of Shrek had three days of lessons with the Tang Sect. In the Tang Sect, they were led and supervised by Xuan Ziwen. The underground factory of the Tang Sect had commenced construction. It was huge, and modeled after the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall.
The rapid development of the Tang Sect meant that many of its facilities could not keep up, particularly since it was small. Xuan Ziwen proposed an idea, and the Shrek"s Seven Monsters and Shrek Academy discussed it before they finally agreed to build a huge underground soul tool factory.
While Shrek Academy"s Soul Tool Department was expanding, their priority was still teaching. Hence, there was no way they could keep everything secret. Some high-level soul tools could not be manufactured there.