Recultivation in Human Form?

Ten thousand years had passed since the Sun Moon Empire unified the continent and founded the federation. Over those ten thousand years, the Douluo Federation's Soul Tool Technology advanced by leaps and bounds. Some hidebound factions could not keep pace with the times and gradually declined, but others took to such an environment like fish to water, growing stronger by the day. Among them was the Spirit Pagoda, which held the technology for manufacturing Soul Spirits. … East Sea City. The Spirit Pagoda. East Sea City was one of the few great cities of the Douluo Federation, and its Spirit Pagoda branch was known as one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars, a landmark of the city. Today, a good number of adults and children had gathered here. Because today was the annual Awakening Day. The Spirit Pagoda Masters would travel to every region and awaken martial souls for children free of charge. Commoner families who lived close to the Spirit Pagoda and could not afford an awakening would also bring their children here to have their martial souls awakened. Outside the dome-shaped awakening chamber, the clerk in charge of registration looked at the small boy standing there all alone, and felt somewhat puzzled. "Little one, where are your parents?" With especially bright eyes, the boy calmly produced his identity papers and answered: "I don't have parents. I came by myself today." The clerk was momentarily at a loss for words. "Ahem—it's just that I saw you were alone, and I was a little worried. East Sea City is very safe, but a child on his own can still run into danger." With an awkward smile, the clerk took the papers from the boy's hand, let his eyes linger on the name for a moment, then turned and walked toward the awakening chamber. "All right then, Huo Yuhao, come along with me. I'll take you to have your martial soul awakened." 'Su Tong did well. All the information about me has been erased. Apart from the soul beasts and the White Tiger Duke's Estate's line, I doubt anyone knows who I am.' Seeing that the clerk showed no reaction at all to his name, Huo Yuhao was satisfied. While observing his surroundings, he asked inwardly: "Back then, when I sensed the heavenly tribulation, I thought it was something else. I never imagined I really had become something like a soul beast… Elder Yi, can your undead magic really accomplish such a thing?" The plan had gone smoothly. Ten thousand years ago, he had used undead magic to rise from death, becoming a rational undead creature. He had successfully shed his identity as the continent's Child of Destiny, gained a long lifespan, and thereby obtained the ability to live until now. But one thing had defied his expectations. The undead creature he had transformed into was not quite what he had envisioned. For reasons he did not understand, its form of life was extremely close to that of a soul beast. His long lifespan had not been discounted, but he had to face the heavenly tribulation — and if he wanted to regain a human body, he would have to transform and recultivate. The latter did not trouble Huo Yuhao much. After all, it was called recultivation in human form only because that concept came closest to his situation. His case was far too peculiar. He could not produce spirit rings of his own, so it differed greatly from a soul beast's recultivation; and if he could make good use of this opportunity, he might instead make up for his accumulated foundation. After all, ten thousand years ago his main cultivation had been the Ice Empress Martial Soul, and his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul had never evolved. The problem was the tribulation. What he had to face was not the tribulation of a few hundred thousand years, but a million-year tribulation! At that moment, Huo Yuhao went numb all over. With the identity of Child of Destiny gone, and with Tang San's attention no longer on him, it was the perfect time for him to keep acting and laying out his plans. Instead, a million-year tribulation hung over his head like a sword of Damocles, forcing him to seal himself and sleep in the Undead Half-Plane, lest he trigger it. Over ten thousand years, all he could do was study martial souls, soul tools, and the various branches of magic Electrolux had taught him in his Sea of Spirit. He had gritted his teeth and gone out to act only a handful of times, wasting a great deal of time in vain. "Hahaha, I really never thought I'd get to see what Yuhao looked like as a kid." In the Sea of Spirit, Tianmeng Iceworm laughed with glee at his misfortune. Beside him, Electrolux — his divine sense fully repaired after ten thousand years — frowned in thought for a moment, then answered: "The rules of this continent are exceedingly strange. Cultivation should be a personal matter, yet the Soul Masters of Douluo Continent can plunder the power of soul beasts through spirit rings to advance, while soul beasts who break through their limits must face a heavenly tribulation. I suspect someone arranged it deliberately. "I suspect it was the work of a god — a god whose power far surpasses mine. That is why my undead magic was affected by the continent's rules, turning you into something akin to a soul beast. "Of course, this also has to do with Big Bug." Tianmeng Iceworm's laughter froze. He could not see how this had anything to do with him. Electrolux went on explaining: "You never fully absorbed Big Bug's Origin. The moment you became an undead creature, that portion of Origin fused with you, which made the tribulation judge you to be a million-year soul beast." "So that's how it is." Huo Yuhao mused it over. He had never reached the step of becoming a god, so Tianmeng had naturally never released his Origin to raise the age of all his spirit rings. That portion of Origin had remained inside his body all along. And Douluo Continent's definition of a soul beast was very broad. Animals, plants — even something like the Snow Empress, a snow spirit born of heaven and earth — were all classified as soul beasts. It seemed that anything not human was classified as a soul beast, and those of great age also had to endure a heavenly tribulation. So for a non-human being that possessed the Origin of a million-year soul beast, was it human or a soul beast in the tribulation's eyes? Hmm. Judging by the outcome… the tribulation isn't all that clever, is it? If he had become an undead creature with the Origin of a million-year soul beast as its source, then facing a million-year tribulation was not so hard to accept… like hell it wasn't! Tianmeng never got so much as a lightning strike, yet the moment it was someone else, a tribulation was required. That was blatant favoritism! "Brother Tianmeng, the way Elder Yi tells it, the tribulation is mocking you for not being worthy of a million-year lightning tribulation," Huo Yuhao said quietly. Tianmeng Iceworm: "…" So he could see it now — the tribulation picked its targets too. You really did see everything if you lived long enough. Electrolux: "Still, fortune and misfortune come together. This has also made Big Bug's Origin a part of you — you can control it completely, and as your cultivation recovers, that Origin will become your strength. Together with the cultivation you sealed away, when you reach the peak once more, you will possess a foundation comparable to a god's." Unlike an ordinary soul beast's recultivation, before his recultivation Huo Yuhao had sealed his cultivation inside several Soul Spirits. That was also why his Sea of Spirit was so empty; having absorbed a vast amount of Origin, those Soul Spirits were still asleep. And ten thousand years ago, Huo Yuhao's cultivation had already reached the peak of a Quasi-God. With another recultivation, aided by Tianmeng's Origin, once the foundations of his two lives merged into one in the future, it was not impossible for him to wield power comparable to a god's while remaining human. The exchange in the Sea of Spirit took almost no time at all. By the time they finished, the clerk had only just led Huo Yuhao to the center of the awakening chamber and positioned him there. And there, a Spirit Pagoda Master had long been waiting. "Calm your mind and focus your spirit. I'm about to begin." After warning Huo Yuhao, the master channeled the gentle soul power in his hands into the awakening chamber. Instantly, the strange patterns on the walls and floor resonated with the soul power, and a warm current of soul power began flowing along the patterns beneath Huo Yuhao's feet and into his body. Watching Huo Yuhao undergo martial soul awakening a second time, Tianmeng set aside his gloom and asked, somewhat puzzled: "Yuhao, why go to the Spirit Pagoda to awaken your martial soul? You obviously don't need the process." "Registering as a Soul Master with the Spirit Pagoda will gild my identity and spare me all sorts of trouble. After all, I'm no longer the Ice Spirit Douluo, but a little Soul Master with no means of protecting himself. Naturally I should give up the pride of a powerhouse." Huo Yuhao, thoroughly practiced at martial soul awakening, split his attention, cooperating with the Spirit Pagoda Master's manipulations while answering: "This era is different from the past after all, and I don't want to shut myself away to cultivate any longer. Better to be safe." Obtaining a suitable identity was easy for Huo Yuhao, but building one up was not the work of a single day. And the present age was not the same as ten thousand years ago; without a proper identity, a person could not move a single step. Tianmeng Iceworm was startled. He fell silent for a long while, then asked in a low voice: "Yuhao, do you regret it?" To endure ten thousand years of hardship only to end up recultivating — did he regret it? "Never!" Huo Yuhao's eyes shone brightly. "It's just starting over, so why would I regret it? With you, Brother Tianmeng, and Elder Yi, and the Ice Empress and the others lending me their help, my conditions are hundreds of times better than those of a soul beast recultivating in human form!" Most important of all, in this life there was no Godking lording it above him! This was an era in which he could roam free! "Huo Yuhao — martial soul, Spirit Eyes. Innate soul power, level ten!"