The moon waxed and waned, a silent silver pendulum marking the passage of time. A month had bled into the forest floor, a month of sweat, fire, and focus. For Huo Yuhao, it was a period of transformation as profound as any Soul Ring advancement.
The workshop was no longer a makeshift experiment; it was the heart of a new industry. The rhythmic clang of his hammer was a familiar heartbeat in the Core Region, a sound of creation that had replaced the silence of ages.
His training in Spiritual Compression had been a brutal, internal war, but he was winning. Each morning, as he sat in meditation, he could feel the change. His Soul Power, now inching steadily towards the precipice of level 16, no longer felt like a gentle, flowing river. It felt like mercury—dense, heavy, and potent.
When he focused his will, he could compress it into a brilliant, needle-thin stream of azure light, a focused power that held a hint of the might his teacher had described. The daily headaches had subsided, replaced by a feeling of deep, centered control.
With this newfound power came a surge in his craftsmanship. He had moved beyond the simple, generic designs of the book. He had mastered Class 1, and now he was iterating, customizing, becoming a true quartermaster for the kings and queens of the forest.
He stood before the Scarlet King, Chi Yan, whose fiery red hair seemed to smolder even in the shade of the cave. In his hands, Huo Yuhao held a pair of masterfully forged gauntlets, crafted from a dark, crimson-veined iron.
"Lord Chi Yan," he said, his voice steady and confident. "I call these the Ember-Focus Gauntlets."
Chi Yan snatched them, his expression one of deep skepticism. "More toys, boy? Will these puff out smoke too?"
Huo Yuhao didn't flinch at the gruff remark. "No. The arrays inside are not for repulsion. They are designed to resonate with your own fire-attribute Soul Power. When you channel your energy through them, they should help you focus it, to make your flames burn hotter and with more precision, even if only by a small amount."
Intrigued despite himself, the Scarlet King slipped the gauntlets on. They were a perfect fit. He raised a hand, and a jet of crimson flame erupted from his palm. It was a casual, uncontrolled burst of power.
Then, he focused, channeling his energy through the gauntlets as the boy had instructed.
He felt it instantly. The array inside the gauntlets lit up, and the flow of his own power felt… smoother. The roaring, chaotic jet of flame coalesced, tightening into a focused, spear-like lance of fire. It was visibly smaller, yet it radiated an intensity that was noticeably, undeniably hotter. The air around it warped with a ferocity that made even him raise an eyebrow in surprise.
He extinguished the flame and stared at the gauntlets on his hands, then at the small boy. The skepticism in his fiery eyes was replaced by a look of sheer, calculating astonishment. It was a minor enhancement, a paltry one or two percent increase, but the principle… the principle was revolutionary.
"Hmph," he grunted, which from Chi Yan was the equivalent of a flowery speech of praise. He turned and stalked away, already imagining how he could apply this new focus to his most powerful attacks.
Next was Zi Ji. The beautiful, terrifying Abyssal Demon Dragon stood in her human form, her expression a mask of cold, regal indifference. Presenting a gift to her was more intimidating than facing a charging beast.
Huo Yuhao held out a simple, elegant amulet strung on a cord of woven spirit silk. The amulet itself was a disc of polished obsidian, engraved with an impossibly complex, spiraling array.
"Lady Zi Ji," he said respectfully. "This is a Spirit-Convergence Amulet. I know your spiritual power is immense and far beyond what this tool can truly affect. But I hoped… it might offer a marginal benefit. It is designed to slightly converge and focus ambient spiritual energy towards you when you unleash your own spiritual attacks."
She did not speak. She simply took the amulet, her long, graceful fingers brushing his for a fraction of a second. A jolt, cold and profound, shot up his arm. He felt as if his soul had just touched a frozen shard of the abyss.
She examined the array, her purple eyes narrowed in deep analysis. She could see the genius in the design, the way the lines were meant to create a subtle vortex, a spiritual siphon. The effect would be negligible for her, a drop in an endless ocean of power, but the ingenuity… the sheer, audacious intelligence of it… that was what impressed her.
Her thoughts, as always, were a silent, internal stream. 'This child is not just a craftsman. He is an architect of power. He does not simply copy what he knows; he understands the principles and adapts them. He saw the nature of my power and designed something specifically for it. He is becoming… indispensable.'
She gave a single, almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgement and fastened the amulet around her neck, the dark obsidian disappearing against the purple-black of her dress. For Zi Ji, this was an act of profound acceptance.
But the deepest bond, the truest partnership, was forged in the heart of the workshop's fire. His connection with the Auspicious Beast had transcended mere cooperation. It was a silent, perfect symphony of creation.
She no longer needed his words. She could read his intent in the way he held his hammer, sense his needs in the subtle shift of his Soul Power. She would see him select a piece of metal, and her golden flames would erupt at the precise temperature needed, turning from a gentle orange-gold for annealing to a blinding, purifying white for purification without a single command.
Their shared focus allowed them to attempt the impossible. The book mentioned a theory—a purely hypothetical one—of forging an alloy from two fundamentally incompatible metals. Huo Yuhao found a vein of Frost-Vein Iron, a metal that naturally radiated a chilling cold, and a piece of Flame-Essence Copper.
Their first attempt was a disaster. The moment the two metals reached a molten state, they violently repelled each other, sending sparks and molten globules flying.
Instead of giving up, they shared a look. A silent communication passed between them. A look of shared, stubborn determination.
They tried again. This time, as Huo Yuhao brought his hammer down, the Auspicious Beast focused her Ultimate Fire not just on the metals, but on the very point of impact. Simultaneously, Huo Yuhao poured his newly densified Soul Power into the hammer itself.
Fire, steel, spirit, and will all met in a single, explosive moment.
CLANG!
The sound was different, a deep, resonant chime that echoed with a strange harmony. When they pulled back, they saw it. The glowing, silvery iron and the shimmering, reddish copper were no longer separate. They had fused, swirling together in a beautiful, unprecedented pattern of silver and rose-gold.
When the new alloy cooled, it possessed the most bizarre property. It felt cool to the touch, radiating a faint chill, but when Soul Power was channeled into it, it became searingly hot. It held both ice and fire within its very structure.
The Auspicious Beast stared at their creation, her three golden eyes wide with a feeling that went far beyond fascination. It was pride. This was not his creation, nor hers. It was theirs. They had taken the impossible and, together, had made it real. The threads of destiny that bound them felt less like a predestined path and more like a bond of true friendship, forged in fire and will.
His integration into the forest continued outside the workshop. Bi Ji, seeing his insatiable curiosity, began to take him on long walks through the vibrant, dangerous jungles of the Core Region.
"This is Sun-Tear Vine," she explained one afternoon, pointing to a plant with bright, tear-drop shaped leaves. "If you crush the leaves into a poultice, it can draw the heat from a burn and soothe the skin. But if you chew the root, it releases a mild neurotoxin that can cause paralysis. One plant, two very different uses. The forest provides both the sickness and the cure, Yuhao. You must learn to see both."
She taught him how to identify healing herbs, poisonous fungi, and their antidotes. He learned to make salves, balms, and tinctures, his hands growing as skilled with a mortar and pestle as they were with a forging hammer. He was learning the practical, ancient knowledge of a people who had lived in harmony and conflict with this land for hundreds of thousands of years. He wasn't just their technician anymore; he was becoming one of them, a child of the forest, learning its deepest secrets.
The net, woven from divine will and mortal diligence, was tightening across the continent. In the grand capital of the Star Luo Empire, Bai Shuiling stood in the opulent hall of the empire's most prestigious cultivation academy, the Sea God Pearl held delicately in her hand.
Before her stood the academy's greatest prodigy, a twelve-year-old boy from a ducal house, his chest puffed out with pride. He placed his hand on the orb, channeling his impressive Soul Power.
The orb remained dark.
A collective sigh of disappointment rippled through the Seven Sacred Pillar Guardians standing behind her. It had been the same story for weeks. They had scoured the Star Luo Empire, from its gleaming cities to its remote mountain sects, testing every child of note. The result was always the same. Nothing.
The frustration was beginning to boil over. As they took to the skies, leaving the Star Luo capital behind, the Sea Spear Douluo's patience finally shattered.
"This is a fool's errand, High Priestess!" he burst out, his voice sharp with irritation. "We have searched three empires from top to bottom. The star is not here. I refuse to believe it would choose to hide in the Sun Moon Empire. It is a land of heretics, obsessed with their metal toys and forsaking the true path of Martial Soul cultivation. It is a complete and utter waste of our time!"
The Sea Ghost Douluo, a man whose form seemed to flicker at the edges of perception, added his own quiet doubt. "The Sea Spear has a point, High Priestess. The spiritual energy in the Sun Moon Empire is thin, tainted by their industrial forges. It is not fertile ground for a destiny of this magnitude. Perhaps the child is simply hidden in a more remote part of the other three empires, away from the cities."
Bai Shuiling turned to face them, her flight slowing to a hover. Her serene expression was, for the first time, tinged with a cold fire.
"Have you all forgotten yourselves?" she asked, her voice quiet but ringing with an authority that silenced them instantly. "Do you question the wisdom of a God? He did not command us to search where it was convenient. He did not command us to search where we thought the star might be. His command was to search everywhere."
Her gaze, as vast and deep as the ocean, swept over her guardians. "His wisdom is absolute. We will not fail him because of our own shortsighted assumptions. Perhaps it is because of the Sun Moon Empire's focus on Soul Tools that a prodigy would be drawn there. We do not know the shape of this destiny. We only know that we must find it."
Her faith was a tangible force, shaming them into silence.
She looked out at the vast continent before them, her mind processing the situation with divine clarity. "However," she continued, her tone shifting to that of a strategist, "the Sea Ghost is not wrong about the size of the task. Continuing as a single group is inefficient."
A decision formed in her mind, swift and clear. "We will split our forces."
The guardians looked at her, their full attention captured.
"The Sun Moon Empire is vast, but Shrek Academy remains the single most prestigious institution on the entire continent. It draws talent from the three empires on Douluo Continent. It is a logical focal point."
She turned to the most powerful and level-headed of her guardians. "Sea Dragon, you and Sea Woman will accompany me. We are a smaller, more diplomatic contingent. We will proceed to Shrek Academy and conduct our search there."
Then, she fixed her gaze on the grumbling Sea Spear Douluo. "Sea Spear, you will take the Sea Ghost, Sea Star, and Sea Fantasy Douluo. Your five will proceed to the Sun Moon Empire. Your task is to be thorough. Start with their grandest academies, like the Illustrious Virtue Hall. Be discreet, but be swift."
The hunt now had two fronts. The net was not just tightening; it was doubling.
With their orders given, the two groups separated in mid-air. One, a small, regal trio, turned eastward, flying towards the hallowed grounds of Shrek.
The other, a larger, more aggressive group led by a reluctant but obedient Sea Spear Douluo, turned their trajectory towards the smoky, industrious skies of the Sun Moon Empire. The search for the lost star was accelerating, its paths unknowingly converging on the two disparate lives that were at the center of it all.