章 58: Chapter 58: The World Is Not Beautiful
The stark contrast of two lights—one orange-gold and the other blood-red—filled Uncle Jiang's vision.
The ceiling light was destroyed by the Eternal Freeze Domain, casting a captivating, brilliant glow in the dimly lit room. Yet, Uncle Jiang's heart was filled with coldness.
A two-ring Soul Master—how could they possess a hundred-thousand-year soul ring!?
And what was that orange-gold soul ring!?
Fine scales spread across Huo Yuhao's shoulder and stopped there. Under the moonlight shining in from the window, the white and blue colors intertwined, emitting a dreamlike glow.
His pair of silver-white vertical pupils gazed down upon everything on earth, like a god observing from on high.
There was no gentleness, no mercy.
There was only a chilling indifference that sent shivers down one's spine.
In an instant, the scaled hand grasped Uncle Jiang's right wrist, preventing the red light in his hand from advancing even a fraction further.
Feeling the immense strength, disbelief once again flashed through Uncle Jiang's eyes. Although his martial soul wasn't strength-oriented, it shouldn't have been something a mere two-ring Soul Master could rival.
What kind of martial soul is this!?
A dragon?
Huo Yuhao clearly had no intention of answering his questions. As the orange-gold soul ring lit up, his forearms seemed to be coated with a layer of shimmering ice crystal.
His first soul skill—Ice Emperor's Claw.
Before Uncle Jiang could react, Huo Yuhao's strength surged again as he forcefully twisted his arms. The sound of bones cracking rang out, followed by Uncle Jiang's pained groan.
Watching Uncle Jiang, who could no longer maintain control over the red light due to the agony, Huo Yuhao remained expressionless. With his left hand still gripping Uncle Jiang's wrist, he yanked downward.
Caught off guard, Uncle Jiang stumbled forward, colliding with Huo Yuhao's sharply rising knee.
Bang—
Uncle Jiang's face took the full impact. His nasal bone collapsed, and two blood-streaked teeth flew out, while his body involuntarily fell backward.
Whether from the pain or something else, tears began to stream uncontrollably from Uncle Jiang's eyes, mixing with the blood from his nose, and trickling down his distorted face. The ferocity in his expression was gone.
Hearing footsteps approaching once again, his whole body trembled as he stammered, enduring the immense pain.
"Please… let me go."
But his plea was met only with Huo Yuhao's indifferent silver-white eyes.
"Those words... you've probably heard them plenty of times while torturing others, right?"
Huo Yuhao asked in a calm tone. "And what did you do?"
Uncle Jiang opened his mouth, trembling for a long while, but couldn't muster a response.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao let out a light sigh. The hundred-thousand-year soul ring beneath him emitted an eerie crimson glow.
A beautiful, ice-blue lotus flower appeared in his hand, surrounded by a faint mist of cold air.
As he observed the snow lotus carefully, it was the first time Huo Yuhao had used this soul skill. He pulled off a petal and placed it into his mouth.
The petal was cold and slippery as it entered, carrying an invigorating fragrance, but it had no particular taste—just like holding a piece of ice in his mouth.
As the petal slowly melted into a fine liquid in his mouth, Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before swallowing it.
Instantly, he felt a noticeable boost in his ice attribute, and his eyes lit up.
Though the enhancement wasn't enormous due to the high quality of his martial soul, it seemed the effect would last for about twenty minutes, judging by how quickly the lotus petal melted.
Not only did it strengthen his ice attribute, but even his mind felt clearer, likely granting some resistance to dizziness and control-based effects.
It was known that Ning Tian, the wielder of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda—the top support martial soul in the previous era—had a soul skill to negate control effects.
However, Ning Tian's skill could only be used once, while Huo Yuhao's skill could continuously negate control as long as the petal was held in his mouth. Even for a non-ice attribute Soul Master, it was an extremely powerful ability.
His gaze returned to Uncle Jiang as Huo Yuhao softly spoke.
"To be honest, I've encountered many evil soul masters, and I understand your plight, but some things..."
Huo Yuhao paused, his voice cold and stern.
"Once done, you must be prepared to pay the price."
As the crimson soul ring flared up again, the snow lotus in Huo Yuhao's hand began to shift from a crystalline blue to a pure, flawless white.
Releasing the lotus from his hand, it floated downward like a leaf in the autumn breeze.
During this descent, the previously half-opened flower bloomed completely, its petals spreading layer by layer.
Finally, the petals shot out in all directions.
Those soft petals, now sharp as blades, ruthlessly sliced through every person present, excluding Huo Yuhao—including that shady man.
Even after passing through their bodies, the blood-soaked petals embedded themselves halfway into the walls, like knives through tofu.
As the petals slowly dissipated, the once-clean room was now covered in frost and riddled with holes, stained with blood. It looked like a scene straight out of hell.
Glancing around at the now silent room, Huo Yuhao exhaled lightly, withdrew his martial soul, and slowly approached the door of the room where the young man had been.
He pushed the door open, finding five trembling civilians and the young man inside. Calmly, he stepped aside.
"You can go home now."
After a brief silence, the civilians' eyes lit up with joy, and they rushed out one after another. The young man at the rear trembled at the gruesome sight in the room.
This was the work of a mere two-ring Soul Master!?
Instinctively, he looked at Huo Yuhao, unable to reconcile the scene with the harmless-looking youth beside him.
"What's wrong? Not leaving? Or are you thinking about avenging them?"
"I…"
Seeing the young man hesitate, Huo Yuhao glanced downward and lightly kicked the corpse at his feet.
"Actually, what he said wasn't wrong. Sometimes, being weak is a sin. When faced with certain situations, you really have no choice."
"Everyone loves a hero's story. Everyone wants to be that hero. But most people can only be the background saved by the hero—or tools that die to incite the hero's rage."
"Beyond that, there's no other option."
Huo Yuhao paused, his tone calm as he stated the harsh reality.
"Because this world is not beautiful."
The young man trembled as he looked down.
"But I think—"
Breaking the silence, Huo Yuhao turned toward the moonlight outside the window, speaking softly.
"—If you deny everything you've held on to because of this, then all the meaning of your past will be lost."
"I've seen everything you've done. Until the end, you never gave in to despair."
At this, Huo Yuhao smiled slightly, patted the young man on the shoulder, and turned to walk out.
"You're really strong."
Creaaak—bang.
The iron door closed.
Not long after leaving, Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks and spoke with a hint of exasperation.
"Following a boy around in the dead of night—isn't that a bad habit?"
"You agree, don't you, Sister Lexuan?"
(End of Chapter)
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