At the summit of Mount Vulcan!
The Inheritance Throne and the Companion Throne had disappeared, and
the little Vermilion Bird and the other Vermilion Bird had respectively obtained the identities of Inheritor and Envoy.
The gathered soul beasts began to leave; the outcome of the competition here was over, and it was no longer their concern.
Only the little Vermilion Bird and the Vermilion Bird Envoy remained at the summit.
The little Vermilion Bird stared blankly at the Heavenly Fire Pool. The long silence proved that its parents had failed their second Nirvana.
Suddenly, a fiery shadow burst forth from the Heavenly Fire Pool.
Ma Hongjun flapped his fiery wings and instantly appeared in the air.
"Eeya eeya!"
the little Vermilion Bird cried excitedly.
The Vermilion Bird Envoy also looked at Ma Hongjun in surprise.
However, their gazes quickly fell upon Ma Hongjun's soul rings.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun was possessed by the Fire Phoenix Martial Soul; his fourth and fifth soul rings had four and seven golden patterns respectively.
The little Vermilion Bird and the Vermilion Bird Envoy immediately sensed the familiar aura emanating from those two soul rings.
"Little Vermilion Bird!"
Ma Hongjun greeted first.
Although it had obtained the identity of the Fire God's inheritor, the little Vermilion Bird hadn't actually changed.
Now, like Huo Wu, it had only obtained the qualification for the Fire God's assessment.
It still needed to slowly improve its strength and
wait for the Fire God's assessment.
"Awoo!"
the little Vermilion Bird roared at Ma Hongjun.
It was fierce.
The little Vermilion Bird had now regained its previous memories and was no longer the ignorant little Vermilion Bird, but its voice remained unchanged.
Seeing its parents' spirit rings appear on Ma Hongjun, it certainly knew what this meant.
The other Vermilion Bird envoy also looked at Ma Hongjun warily.
For a moment, the atmosphere froze.
Looking at the little Vermilion Bird's bright eyes, filled with questions, anger, and self-blame towards Ma Hongjun,
it saw that its loyal friend had taken away its parents' spirit rings.
The little Vermilion Bird was heartbroken, and tears were already streaming down its face.
"Why~!"
The childish but clear, slightly awkward human voice was
difficult for the little Vermilion Bird to speak.
Ma Hongjun couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
"Little Vermilion Bird, listen to me."
Ma Hongjun quickly summoned the Martial God Spear, truly hoping the Dragon Soul would preserve the souls of the Vermilion Bird King and his wife.
"Dragon Soul, don't betray me!"
Ma Hongjun cried out in his heart, hoping the Dragon Soul would reveal the souls of Little Vermilion Bird's parents.
To be honest, facing the innocent Little Vermilion Bird, Ma Hongjun didn't want to hurt it.
This pure interaction, this budding friendship, shouldn't be marred by misunderstandings or destroyed.
It had nothing to do with anything else.
Just friends!
Actually, at first, Ma Hongjun's interactions with Little Vermilion Bird were tinged with playfulness and scheming.
But he was gradually infected by Little Vermilion Bird's pure heart; its innocent soul, like that of a child, deeply touched Ma Hongjun's heart.
Among soul beasts, soul beasts with spirit like Little Vermilion Bird are extremely rare.
Perhaps this was why the God of Fire chose it.
The Martial God Spear was summoned, and the golden Dragon Soul followed.
Sure enough, the Dragon Soul possessed a spirit; it could still sense Ma Hongjun's thoughts.
After the golden Dragon Soul appeared, its eyes opened.
The once golden eyes changed color,
like two flames,
one pale white and
the other pink.
The eyes resembled two crystal spheres, each containing a miniature Vermilion Bird.
The Dragon Soul deliberately magnified the eyes.
Both the little Vermilion Bird and the Vermilion Bird Messenger saw the miniature Vermilion Birds within.
They were undoubtedly the spirits of the Vermilion Bird King and Queen.
As the little Vermilion Bird looked over, the miniature Vermilion Birds slowly opened their eyes and met the little Vermilion Bird's gaze.
They looked at the little Vermilion Bird tenderly.
"Tell the bird not to worry about us. The Golden Dragon God has protected our spirits.
As you said, our fate is bound to yours,"
the Vermilion Bird King's voice echoed in Ma Hongjun's mind.
Their souls were preserved, and their future fates would be closely tied to Ma Hongjun.
"Little Vermilion Bird, don't worry, your parents..."
Ma Hongjun slowly recounted the story, explaining the sacrifice and the Martial God's inheritance to the little Vermilion Bird.
The misunderstanding cleared up, and the little Vermilion Bird looked at Ma Hongjun apologetically.
Then it rushed into his arms.
Now it was even more affectionate towards Ma Hongjun.
The matter at Mount Vulcan was temporarily resolved, and Ma Hongjun needed to return to rest.
Now that he had reached level eighty, his Fire Phoenix Martial Soul could still be equipped with three more soul rings.
However, Ma Hongjun didn't plan to add them now. His fire-attribute soul power was almost exploding; if he added more fire-attribute soul rings and refined fire-attribute soul bones, his entire body would inevitably become fire-attribute.
His first Martial Soul, the Martial God Spear, possessed multiple attributes; an overly strong fire attribute would cause his body to lose balance, and other attribute soul power would be devoured.
This would be detrimental to his development.
The little Vermilion Bird's current task was the same as Huo Wu's; it needed to grow slowly, and only when its strength reached a certain level could it begin the Vulcan Trial.
However, the cultivation of soul beasts is much slower, often measured in hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years.
This means the little Vermilion Bird's assessment will be postponed, and it won't be competing with Huo Wu.
In this sense, it doesn't conflict with Huo Wu.
Ma Hongjun brought the little Vermilion Bird to the forest and found Huo Wu.
Then he introduced their relationship.
"I need to leave the Fire Domain temporarily. You two should cultivate here.
Since your paths are aligned, it's good to have company."
Ma Hongjun was leaving the Fire Domain.
He had no choice; his fiery temper was too strong. Accepting the sacrifice of the Vermilion Bird King and Queen, and greedily absorbing five Vermilion Bird Feather Soul Bones, had filled his small body with fire-type energy.
Ma Hongjun took out the soul bones he obtained from the Heavenly Fire Pool.
These soul bones were almost all over 200,000 years old, and Huo Wu was still having some difficulty absorbing them.
However, with Ma Hongjun's help, she should be able to absorb one.
Of all these fire-type soul bones, Ma Hongjun didn't know many fire-type soul masters. Huo Wu was the closest to him.
Besides that, there were Liu Erlong and Qin Ming, his two teachers.
However, with so many fire-type soul bones, he worried they wouldn't be able to absorb them all.
"Huo Wu, this torso soul bone is only 100,000 years old. You should be able to barely absorb it now."
Ma Hongjun took out one of the few 100,000-year-old soul bones he had.
There were only three 100,000-year-old soul bones; the others were all over 200,000 years old.
Of the six soul bone positions, the torso was the least risky to fuse with and could withstand the most energy.
Huo Wu was only a Soul Emperor at the moment, and fusing with a 100,000-year-old soul bone was still a bit of a stretch.
"If I fuse with a 100,000-year-old soul bone now, will my physique be able to..."
Huo Wu was a little excited, but also a little worried.
Knowing that Ma Hongjun had obtained many soul bones in the Heavenly Fire Pool, Huo Wu naturally wanted to share them, but she felt she couldn't handle them all.
"Don't worry, I'll help you!"
Ma Hongjun comforted her.
Back in the tranquil Fire God's Inheritance Small World, Ma Hongjun led Huo Wu into the small pavilion.
There was only one way to help Huo Wu absorb the soul ring:
to fuse into one!
This was the safest method Ma Hongjun could think of.
While Huo Wu refined the soul bone, Ma Hongjun helped her channel the fire energy.
In this way, he helped Huo Wu avoid the risks.
Moreover, refining soul bones in this way is also an enjoyable process.
(End of Chapter)