Doulo Dalu 2: The Quincy King

The Spirit Energy in the vicinity was noticeably denser than the areas outside Star Dou Forest. Closing his eyes, Huo Yuhao took a slow breath, allowing the energy to seep into his body. He could feel its structure—the raw constituents that made up Spirit Energy—as he began converting it into Reishi.

The refined Reishi coursed through his body like flowing currents, strengthening his psyche with each pulse. Yet, the process was sluggish. This world lacked a natural source of Reishi, making absorption and conversion inefficient—nothing like the feat he once achieved in TYBW, where Reishi to him was like air.

"It'll take a few hours to finish this."

Just as he was about to settle into meditation to expedite the process, a sharp burst of light tore through the darkness.

Instinct took over.

He turned to the left, narrowly evading a searing blast that struck the ground where he once stood. A small crater hissed as dust and smoke curled upward.

Huo Yuhao's red eyes snapped open, locking onto the source of the attack.

A wind baboon. It was a meter and a half tall. Its entire body was covered with long brown hair. It has brown eyes and two abnormally long arms with sharp nails on its paws. Its mouth shows sharp canines, and its eyes shined fiercely.

"A baboon?" His voice was laced with mild irritation.

The beast bared its fangs and let out a piercing howl.

"OO-OOO-OOO-AA-AAA!"

Huo Yuhao frowned.

"Noisy."

With a flick of his finger, a condensed Reishi bullet tore through the air like a streak of blue light, aimed straight at the creature's forehead.

Impact.

A burn mark sizzled on its fur, but that was all.

Instead of retreating, the baboon's fury only intensified. With a blur of motion, it vanished—then reappeared an instant later, lunging at him like a starving predator.

Huo Yuhao clicked his tongue, eyes flickering with annoyance.

"Tsk. Even a mere baboon dares to challenge me now?"

His breath steadied, his expression unreadable as he unsheathed the White Tiger Dagger in one smooth motion. A faint blue glow pulsed along the blade's edge, making it gleam like moonlight.

The baboon's mouth opened, gathering energy for another blast.

Too slow.

Huo Yuhao sidestepped, the heat of the attack barely brushing past him. In the same breath, his dagger sliced through the air.

Swoosh—Slash—

Flesh parted effortlessly from the baboon's neck. A scarlet arc followed, and the baboon's eyes widened in shock before its body collapsed like a lifeless ragdoll.

Huo Yuhao exhaled, flicking the blood from his blade before sliding it back into its sheath.

Then, he turned his gaze toward the corpse.

As expected, a white halo began to rise from the body. It pulsed faintly, exuding an unfamiliar energy.

"Interesting."

The ring shimmered, its glow tinged with something beyond mere spirit energy. Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes, sensing the subtle law embedded within.

"So this is… the soul of that baboon?"

Unlike Spirit Masters, he didn't conventionally absorb the ring. Instead, he reached out with his right hand, allowing the spirit ring to dissolve into luminous threads of energy that coiled into his palm.

Seconds passed. Then minutes.

Huo Yuhao's eyes remained shut as his body processed the influx of power. He could feel the change. His vessel was full—unable to absorb more Spirit Energy.

Yet something else had awakened within him.

The Schrift of Wind.

The baboon's affinity must have triggered it. Though weaker than its original form due to the lack of Reishi.

Before he could explore it further, a voice echoed in his mind.

"I finally meet a human with the mental attribute! If Ge could shed tears, I'd be crying a river right now!"

Huo Yuhao's eyes snapped open.

A massive silkworm loomed before him, its presence distorting the air with an eerie chill. Frost crept along the ground, fractures forming where it emerged.

A Spirit Beast. And it spoke telepathically.

Huo Yuhao observed it silently.

Mental-type Spirit Masters existed in this world, but this creature… its energy felt vast. If he absorbed it, his strength would undoubtedly grow.

Yet something about this world imposed an unnatural limit. No matter how much Reishi he accumulated, he couldn't break through to the next stage. There was a wall—an unseen law shackling his progression.

Unaware of his thoughts, the silkworm continued in a cheerful tone.

"Ge is surprised you aren't afraid of me!"

Huo Yuhao remained motionless, watching as the creature's massive form pulsed with latent power.

"..."

He waited.

Finally, the silkworm's voice chimed again.

"Are you interested in becoming my Spirit Master?"

Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow.

Is a Spirit Beast willingly offering itself as a Spirit Ring? That was rare. Once a beast became a ring, it lost control over its fate. If its master perished, so did it.

A curious proposal.

And one he intended to consider carefully.

"Who are you, and what can you do?" Huo Yuhao asked in an inquisitive tone.

The spirit beast before him had to be at least over 100,000 years old—it could talk, after all. Yet, he couldn't fathom how a mere spirit scholar could absorb such a vast amount of spirit energy.

"No hurry," the silkworm stated. "Let me introduce myself first. I am the embodiment of heroism and chivalry, the most intelligent and beautiful spirit beast of all time! I have trained for one million years! I am the Daydream Iceworm—the longest-living recorded spirit beast on the Douluo Continent! Ah, and you may call me Daydream Ge!"

Huo Yuhao listened in silence, his expression unchanging.

"Eh? Why aren't you surprised?!" Tian Meng uttered in disbelief, baffled by Huo Yuhao's cold reaction.

"Enough nonsense. If you're a million-year-old spirit beast, then you should have some extraordinary abilities. Tell me what they are."

"So rude! Alright!" Tian Meng huffed, then proceeded to explain his abilities while Huo Yuhao analyzed them carefully.

He needed a mental-type spirit ring, one that was compatible with him. Tian Meng was an ideal choice—his abilities were not only useful but also well-suited to his needs.

Tian Meng glanced at the dense forest around them before turning back to Huo Yuhao. "There isn't much time. Have you decided?" He had noticed Huo Yuhao's composed demeanor, void of fear. Although he could have simply forced the bond, an odd sense of danger emanated from the boy. Something instinctual urged him to ask for consent rather than acting on his own.

Huo Yuhao nodded. He extended his hand toward the silkworm, and Tian Meng accepted it. Instantly, a swirl of frosty air enveloped them, transporting them into Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness.

Golden halos shimmered across the silkworm's vast body, its form appearing as an ethereal white cloud. As Huo Yuhao stood within the boundless void, the ten golden halos surged forward, circling his thin frame. The mist-like body of the silkworm condensed, rushing toward him in waves.

"Strange, so strange… How is his mental consciousness able to absorb so much spirit energy?" Tian Meng muttered in disbelief. This boy was merely a spirit scholar at the tenth Soulforce level—he had assumed he was at least a spirit grandmaster.

Formless mental energy radiated outward from the Daydream Iceworm, its power spanning an astonishing one-hundred-sixty-kilometer diameter.

At that moment, Beibei and Tang Ya, who were racing toward Huo Yuhao, suddenly experienced a brief moment of disorientation. The mental wave was not destructive, yet it was potent enough to momentarily cloud the minds of all creatures within its reach.

The entire southern region of the Star Dou Forest fell into an eerie, terrifying silence.

Then, the once-clear sky abruptly darkened. A thunderous roar reverberated through the heavens, drowning the world in oppressive darkness. The sunlight vanished behind ominous clouds, and an overwhelming pressure descended upon the land.

Tian Meng's golden eyes flickered with intense fear as he glanced at the sky. Something unknown loomed above, its presence beyond his comprehension. The pressure was foreign—entirely outside his realm of understanding.

Without warning, a stream of grey air materialized in the sky, descending with terrifying speed before forcefully entering the back of Huo Yuhao's head.

"Who dares to take this human from Ge?!" Tian Meng roared, his fury erupting like a tidal wave. An overwhelming surge of mental power burst forth, attempting to expel the grey energy. Yet, to his horror, he had no control over Huo Yuhao's body.

"What is going on?" he muttered, bewildered. The fusion had been completed, yet something was amiss. Determined to uncover the truth, Tian Meng delved deeper into Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness.

"Wahaha! No matter what, I'm finally free! Those bastards who wanted to eat Ge will never get another chance! Wahaha!" The Daydream Iceworm's laughter rang out, triumphant and relieved. His vast mental power, which had enveloped the hundred-sixty-kilometer range, gradually dissipated.

Deep within the Star Dou Forest, multiple fearsome auras flared violently, sensing their loss. Yet, they could do nothing. Their hunt had failed.

As the Daydream Iceworm's presence faded, a white ring of light appeared beneath Huo Yuhao, circling him three times before merging into his body.

The radiant glow slowly dimmed, giving way to a pale, ice-blue hue that emerged beneath Huo Yuhao's skin. It lingered for a brief ten seconds before vanishing, his body returning to its natural state.

Suddenly, Huo Yuhao coursed in an intense blue light, forming into veins, his body was absorbing the spirit energy from the Skydream Iceworm, strengthening his body and altering it to an optimal degree where the spirit energy is converted into denser Reishi Particles, allowing Huo Yuhao to hold more spirit energy than any ordinary Spirit Master, and making it also purer.

This slightly altered his appearance, making his hair darker, his skin paler, and his eyes glowing red. His organs, skeletal system, and everything down to his cells transformed due to the blut veins. This allowed Huo Yuhao, who lacked nutrition, to reach his highest state.

A thin layer of golden film silently rose from the ground, swiftly shrinking before merging into Huo Yuhao's being. In that instant, every trace of the Daydream Iceworm vanished.

Huo Yuhao stood motionless before the ancient tree, his expression unreadable.

***

The hole in the ground had silently closed at some point, leaving no trace of the battle. Only Huo Yuhao and the lifeless body of the baboon remained. Everything seemed to have returned to normal.

Not long after, two figures rushed toward him.

"Ah!" Tang Ya gasped, darting to Huo Yuhao's side.

"We were too late. Brother Yuhao was attacked… This Spirit Beast is too bold, straying so far from Star Dou Forest!" She carefully helped him sit up, her face filled with worry.

Beibei walked over to the baboon's corpse and flipped it over. A long, slanting wound ran across its neck—a clean, fatal strike.

"This is a Wind Baboon," Beibei observed. "Judging by its size and muscle strength, it was likely a ten-year Spirit Beast. But it's already dead." He knelt beside Tang Ya to examine Huo Yuhao.

To their surprise, he had no visible injuries.

Beibei gently pressed Huo Yuhao's wrist, and the White Tiger Dagger slipped from his grip. As it landed in Beibei's palm, a faint blue glow flickered and vanished. Then, the dagger itself pulsed with the same pale blue light.

"A spirit guide weapon," Beibei noted. "He must have used this to kill the Wind Baboon. Even for a ten-year Spirit Beast, its speed and strength are decent. It even has an innate attack skill. For Yuhao to defeat it alone… He's stronger than we thought. He must already be a one-ring Spirit Master."

Tang Ya anxiously checked Huo Yuhao's body again. "It doesn't matter how strong he is. This was my fault. I took too long washing up… If anything had happened to him, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Her expression hardened with determination. "No matter what, I'm going to convince him to join the Tang Clan."

Beibei's gaze softened as he watched her fret over Yuhao. Tang Ya's kindness was what he loved most about her.

"Relax. He's fine," Beibei reassured her. "Look at his breathing—it's steady. He doesn't have a single wound. Judging by his position, he was probably absorbing the Wind Baboon's spirit ring. He just needs some rest."

Tang Ya froze for a second before glaring at him. "Why didn't you say that earlier?! You made me worry for nothing!"

Beibei raised his hands in surrender. "How was I supposed to know you wouldn't notice something so obvious?"

"Hmph!" Tang Ya pulled Huo Yuhao closer, letting him lean against her. After confirming he was unharmed, she finally exhaled in relief.

Beibei stood up and scanned their surroundings, silently keeping watch.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, had fallen into a deep, dreamlike trance.

Before him stretched an endless ocean, vast and primordial, in its depths stood the Wandenreich, an imposing presence amidst the boundless waters.

Above him, ten golden rings began to spin. As they turned, a milky-white glow emerged within each, growing brighter until they transformed into massive golden spheres. The space around them expanded, stretching infinitely in all directions.

Then, a small, insignificant cluster of gray light appeared near one of the golden spheres. It was tiny in comparison, a mere speck. The golden orbs flared as if trying to drive it away, but the gray light remained unmoving, unaffected by their brilliance.

Eventually, the golden spheres ceased their resistance and stabilized, pulsating with a steady glow.

As Huo Yuhao's awareness sharpened, golden specks of light drifted down, merging into a vast sea of radiant energy beneath him. The ten enormous golden orbs floated above, their power coalescing into a single presence.