Dusk
When dusk fell, Huo Yuhao arrived at Wuhun Hall once again.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
The front-desk receptionist asked with a gentle and professional smile.
She naturally remembered the commoner boy who had come to register his martial soul in the morning. Although he looked young and somewhat immature, there was a unique aura about him—calm, steady, and strangely reassuring—that made people unconsciously lower their guard and feel closer to him.
"Hello. I have some items here. Could you help me find an appraiser?"
Huo Yuhao took out a cloth bag from behind him, placed it neatly on the counter, and asked politely.
"Of course. Please wait a moment."
Huo Yuhao waited quietly in the front hall. Before long, Wuhun Hall sent over a middle-aged man wearing the yellow robe of an official Wuhun Hall appraiser. Judging by the faint fluctuations of soul power around him, he was a three-ring Soul Elder.
Huo Yuhao greeted him respectfully.
As an appraiser, the man in yellow naturally possessed sharp eyesight and long experience. He had developed the habit of observing people the moment they appeared in front of him.
And the instant he laid eyes on Huo Yuhao, he inexplicably felt a sense of pressure.
This boy was young—far too young. His face still carried traces of immaturity. Yet his posture was composed, his gaze calm and steady, without the slightest hint of nervousness or fear. This was not the look of a child raised in an ordinary household.
"Hello. What would you like to have appraised?"
The man in yellow asked politely, his attitude noticeably respectful.
In this era, the status of soul masters was extremely high. No one could guarantee that the youth standing before them today would not become a powerful soul master tomorrow—or even a superior the day after.
Huo Yuhao opened the cloth bag, revealing several dark, metallic objects.
"Crossbow arrows?"
The man in yellow examined the black metal bolts, each pierced with three parallel grooves. His tone carried a hint of surprise.
"This type of crossbow is quite powerful. You may test it."
Huo Yuhao casually raised his hand and rubbed the tip of his nose.
The man in yellow immediately ordered attendants to prepare testing equipment.
While waiting, Huo Yuhao remained seated in the hall, calmly eating a few desserts prepared by Wuhun Hall.
The final test result left even the appraiser himself stunned.
These crossbow bolts could penetrate steel plates.
That meant that at close range, even the armor worn by elite imperial knights could be effectively pierced.
The man in yellow returned to the front hall. Just as he entered, he saw the boy in plain clothes set down the mung bean cake in his hand. The appraiser smiled knowingly at this sight.
"At what price do you intend to sell this crossbow?"
The man in yellow sat down on the sofa, spread his hands slightly, and asked with a smile.
"One hundred gold soul coins."
Huo Yuhao replied calmly.
He needed money—money for travel.
He had no intention of walking all the way to the Sunset Forest. Hiring a carriage would already be preferable, and if possible, he hoped to travel alongside a team of soul masters for protection.
The man in yellow weighed the price in his mind. A single unit at that price was indeed expensive. However, if the structure were disassembled and studied, or if the design were replicated and modified, its value would far exceed the cost.
"The price is acceptable,"
the man in yellow nodded.
"Kid, are you interested in joining Wuhun Hall?"
At that moment, three figures walked in from outside Wuhun Hall.
Huo Yuhao instinctively glanced up—and froze slightly.
So it's them… What a coincidence.
The moment the man in yellow saw the three newcomers, he immediately stood up and stepped forward respectfully.
Huo Yuhao also rose and moved aside, his gaze unconsciously landing on the girl dressed in a black skirt.
The girl noticed him as well. Her eyes paused briefly on the boy standing behind the appraiser, and a hint of surprise flashed across her face.
"Hello."
She smiled gently.
Huo Yuhao smiled back and nodded.
The man in yellow stiffened slightly.
This boy… actually knows them?
Yan, standing beside her, let out a cold snort when he saw this scene.
"Why are you here again, kid?"
He clearly remembered this boy—the same one who had asked Na'er for directions earlier that morning. Even if he had business to attend to, there was no way someone could linger in Wuhun Hall from morning until dusk.
Huo Yuhao turned his head slightly, glanced at the crossbow bolts on the table, then shrugged with a faint smile.
Hu Liena's attention was immediately drawn to the dark metal crossbow bolts resting on the tabletop.
...
"One hundred gold soul coins?"
Yan exploded the moment he heard the explanation.
"Why don't you just rob someone instead?!"
The man in yellow looked awkward, but he didn't dare refute him.
Xie Yue, who stood quietly at the side, picked up one of the pitch-black crossbows and examined it carefully. He frowned slightly when he realized there was no visible bowstring.
He quickly grasped the core issue.
Those one hundred gold soul coins likely didn't just cover a single finished product—it included the design principles, dismantling value, and the potential for replication and improvement.
"Can you explain what makes this crossbow special?"
Xie Yue asked calmly, his tone steady as he looked at Huo Yuhao.
Hu Liena took the crossbow from her brother's hand and studied it closely, her dark eyes shimmering with curiosity.
"This crossbow is far more powerful than ordinary ones."
Huo Yuhao replied simply.
"That's it?"
Yan scoffed, clearly irritated.
To be honest, he already disliked this kid—especially since Na'er seemed unusually attentive toward him.
"This crossbow can penetrate three inches of steel plate within a hundred steps."
The man in yellow spoke cautiously, carefully observing the expressions of the three youths.
Yan's mocking expression froze instantly.
Xie Yue and Hu Liena were also visibly surprised.
That powerful?
Huo Yuhao remained calm.
The first-generation version of this weapon could kill an unguarded four-ring Soul Elder at close range. Compared to that, this result was nothing extraordinary.
"May I ask,"
Hu Liena said gently,
"what do you intend to do with so many gold soul coins?"
She noticed that the boy before her was stuck at a bottleneck in soul power. In her mind, he was likely planning to hire soul masters to help him hunt his first soul ring.
She could think this way because she and her brother had experienced similar difficulties when they were young.
That assumption happened to align with Huo Yuhao's actual plan.
Judging from their behavior and the appraiser's attitude, it was easy to tell that these three were elites among the younger generation of Wuhun Hall—at the very least, core disciples. They held authority, and their presence could be useful.
"I plan to go to the Sunset Forest,"
Huo Yuhao answered honestly.
"To hunt a soul ring?"
Hu Liena asked.
Xie Yue raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The Sunset Forest is one of the three greatest soul beast gathering areas on the continent, on par with the Star Dou Forest and the Far North. Are you certain you want to hunt your first soul ring there?"
Huo Yuhao raised his hand and tapped the center of his brow.
A faint spiritual fluctuation spread outward as his Spirit Eyes martial soul manifested.
"My martial soul is special,"
he said calmly.
"It's an original martial spirit—Spirit Eyes. Only spiritual-type soul beasts are compatible."
"Original martial spirit?"
Yan repeated in surprise.
"It's a martial soul that originates from the body itself,"
Huo Yuhao explained.
"Not a weapon, not a beast, and not an external object."
In this era, body-based martial souls were still rare, and the concept had not yet been fully developed.
When Hu Liena heard this, an image of a certain elder from Wuhun Hall surfaced in her mind.
A martial soul that was one's own body… not possession, not control.
A completely different path.
"So,"
Hu Liena said thoughtfully,
"you intend to pay someone to escort you to the Sunset Forest to hunt your first soul ring?"
"That's correct."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
At the same time, Xie Yue and Yan noticed something—and both turned their gazes toward Hu Liena.
"It just so happens that we also need to hunt soul rings,"
Hu Liena said after a brief pause.
"Would you like to join us? As compensation, you'll need to pay one hundred gold soul coins."
Xie Yue felt slightly conflicted and glanced sideways.
"Hey—hey!"
Yan could no longer hold back.
"What's going on here?!"
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
At this moment in time—
Hu Liena had not yet become the Saintess of Wuhun Hall.