Chapter Twenty: The Elixir

“Awake?”

An elderly man dressed in white appeared in Huo Yuhao’s sight, seven soul rings rhythmically floating behind him. At his side stood a translucent sapling brimming with life.

As he activated his soul skill, glowing leaves gently drifted down, merging into Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s bodies, healing their wounds and even restoring some of their soul power.

“Ugh…”

Huo Yuhao shook his groggy head. As he sat up, his hand bumped against a wooden stick beside him.

What was this?

The plain wooden stick was etched with three intricate patterns, emitting a familiar aura.

‘Exactly like that gray energy cluster!’

Huo Yuhao paused in surprise.

‘Was it him who saved us?’

Lost in thought, he was interrupted by the old man beside him, who asked, “How do you feel? Is there any discomfort left in your body?”

“I’m fine now.”

Snapping back to reality, Huo Yuhao moved his shoulders and glanced at Wang Dong. “Why hasn’t he woken up yet? By the way, who exactly was that guy on the lake just now—”

“Ahem!”

The Soul Saint coughed heavily. “It’s better not to ask about things you shouldn’t. Remember, tonight you two saw nothing. As for him, he should wake up soon.”

“But that person—”

Huo Yuhao’s expression darkened.

The attacker was clearly from the inner academy and had tried to kill them both. Without the mysterious elder from the Spiritual Sea, they might really have perished here.

“Expelled.”

The Soul Saint’s cold gaze locked with Huo Yuhao’s for a few seconds, then suddenly softened. “Or rather, just forget about it.”

He then flipped his hand and pulled out two green items. Seeing Huo Yuhao’s displeased expression, he sighed and replaced them with two small bottles. “This is compensation from the academy. You should accept it—don’t make things difficult for an old man like me.”

He usually dreaded stubborn young people who refused to bend or understand. Neither threats nor rewards worked well.

“Hmm.”

Huo Yuhao was silent for a few seconds but eventually took the bottles.

After all, he was still studying at Shrek Academy. If he clashed with the higher-ups, the next few years would be difficult.

No matter how much resentment he felt, under the circumstances, he could only bow his head and accept defeat.

“What about him?”

The old man glanced at Wang Dong.

“I’ll try to persuade him,” Huo Yuhao immediately understood and nodded.

“That’s good.”

The old man smiled with satisfaction, then swiftly skimmed across the lake and disappeared into the night.

When Wang Dong woke up, he saw Huo Yuhao sitting by the lake holding the wooden stick, gazing at the scenery.

“Huo Yuhao? What about the guy who attacked us just now?”

Wang Dong was startled, then quickly scanned the surroundings.

“He was from the inner academy. Naturally, the inner academy teachers took him away,” Huo Yuhao said in a low voice, his mood somewhat downcast. After speaking, he tossed a small bottle into Wang Dong’s lap. “This is the compensation they gave, but I don’t know what’s inside.”

Compensation?

Wang Dong raised his eyebrows, opened the bottle to peek inside, and his expression suddenly froze, as if he couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“Xuan Water Pills? And so many of them!”

“What are those? Oh, there’s another bottle here—take a look.”

“Soul Ascension Pills!”

Wang Dong exclaimed again, holding the bottle with trembling hands. “These… are all compensation?”

Five Xuan Water Pills and two Soul Ascension Pills—these were rare on the entire continent, with annual production barely over a hundred.

Just these two bottles alone were worth more than a hundred thousand gold soul coins.

“Shrek really is flush with cash.”

Wang Dong couldn’t help but sigh.

“Is the compensation that generous?”

Huo Yuhao leaned on the wooden stick, wondering where this excitement came from. “By the way, they also said to keep everything from tonight a secret. Don’t spread it around.”

“Of course… the compensation has to be generous.”

Wang Dong murmured, “These Xuan Water Pills can boost innate soul power by one level! They also help open meridians and improve physique.”

Boosting innate soul power and improving physique.

Huo Yuhao blinked but couldn’t get excited, only mustering a polite, “Wow.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about these items, but the blessing from that deity earlier was far more powerful than these pills.

With that blessing as a foundation, the impact of the Xuan Water Pills naturally paled in comparison.

“What kind of attitude is that!”

Wang Dong’s face darkened as he shook the other bottle. “And this one—the Soul Ascension Pill! It can increase soul power equivalent to a thirty-level soul master advancing by one level. Even a first-ring soul master can jump up three levels on the spot!”

Interesting.

Huo Yuhao estimated silently that this pill could raise him to level nineteen instantly, and with one more step, he could add a second soul ring.

“Got it. Give me one Soul Ascension Pill first, and you keep the rest.”

?

Wang Dong was momentarily stunned, then widened his eyes and raised his voice, “Didn’t you hear? It raises innate soul power! You don’t want it?”

“I heard…”

Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly, covering one ear. “But this probably won’t do much for me. You should keep it.”

“Hmph!”

Wang Dong snorted coldly. “Do you think I’m some freeloader? Just because your soul power is low, I’ll split the Xuan Water Pills three to two with you. That’s final. No arguments.”

…

Three hours later.

Huo Yuhao sat on the bed, helplessly opening his eyes and exhaling a mist-like breath. His soul power had barely increased half a level, and his cultivation speed showed no improvement.

‘I told you it wouldn’t help much.’

Huo Yuhao looked somewhat resigned.

Perhaps the blessing had already cleansed him thoroughly, so the meridian-opening and marrow-cleansing effects of the pill didn’t manifest; it only caused him to sweat lightly.

As for cultivation talent, there was no noticeable change either.

But that made sense.

Expecting a pill to match a divine blessing was too much.

The reason he wasn’t instantly granted level twenty innate soul power was that Qian Renxue was about to vanish, leaving no energy to help him, otherwise they might have even prepared his soul rings.

“One Xuan Water Pill can at most raise half a level. Taking more will have diminishing returns.”

Staring at the two remaining pills in his hand, Huo Yuhao planned to find a way to exchange them for other resources, or at worst, convert them directly into gold soul coins to avoid future financial strain.

“Next, I’ll try the Soul Ascension Pill.”

He swallowed the green pill and closed his eyes again.

The Soul Ascension Pill was produced by high-level plant-type soul masters. It contained soul power without any additional attributes but carried a faint trace of life energy. It didn’t require any refining; the soul power simply needed to be integrated directly into the user.