Chapter 217: Huo Wu Pays a Visit — The Temptation of a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire-Attribute Spirit Bone
Under Xiao Wu's guidance, Ye Yu hunted down many draconic and plant-type spirit beasts in the inner region of Star Dou Forest.
Using the external Spirit Bone, Demon Willow Fluff, he drained their Spirit Power, life force, and bloodline essence.
Once he felt it was sufficient, Ye Yu took Xiao Wu and soared into the sky like a streak of lightning.
In just half a day, they returned to the Dugu Residence in Heaven Dou Imperial City.
After arriving, Ye Yu left Xiao Wu in Zhu Zhuqing's care and secluded himself in a private chamber.
There, he began refining the Spirit Power, life force, and bloodline essence harvested from draconic spirit beasts through Demon Willow Fluff to repair the shattered True Dragon Nine Crowns. At the same time, he would use the rest of the stored energy to cultivate and strive for a breakthrough into the Spirit Douluo realm.
Inside the secluded chamber, Ye Yu took out several strands of Demon Willow Fluff that had consumed draconic spirit beasts. He implanted them into his body.
He then activated the Spirit Bone Ability, Demon Willow Fluff, prompting it to feed the purified Spirit Power, life force, and bloodline essence back into his body.
As this energy surged back into him, Ye Yu could sense that the True Dragon Nine Crowns had begun absorbing it.
However, it didn't consume everything—only about ten percent of each source from the six slain draconic beasts.
But that ten percent was enough.
With the energy from six different dragon-type beasts, the shattered nine fragments of the True Dragon Nine Crowns Spirit Bone finally fused two of its pieces into one!
As for the remaining energy from Demon Willow Fluff, Ye Yu absorbed and refined it himself, further enhancing his cultivation.
After compressing his Spirit Power and forming a Spirit Core, his previous Rank 74 power surged, reaching at least Rank 77, and possibly close to Rank 78!
After concluding his seclusion, Ye Yu resumed his regular training routine:
Morning: Cultivate Inner Core Technique and undergo Heavenly Thunder Tempering.
Afternoon: Research Mysterious Jade Body and the advanced version of Dominating Heaven, improving control over his blood essence.
Daily: Use the Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul to devour Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao, advancing its physical manifestation and emergent intelligence.
Evening: Investigate how life force and Spirit Power contribute to Martial Soul materialization, drawing inspiration from the Martial Soul Fusion Technique: Charm Demon Form.
Although he had been granted the title of Blue Silver Earl, as a noble, he wasn't obligated to reside on his fief. Nobles could hold territory in absentia, collecting yearly taxes without needing to govern directly.
...
One morning, after cultivating outside the city and completing Heavenly Lightning Tempering, Ye Yu returned to the Dugu Residence.
There, in the guest hall, he saw three familiar figures.
One was a tall, slender girl in a crimson long dress, with long fiery red hair, fair skin, and strikingly refined features—brimming with bold, heroic energy.
Another was a young man with short golden hair in a red outfit—handsome and composed.
They were Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang.
And seated beside them was a tall, muscular middle-aged man with a fiery mane of hair and a short beard—radiating a dignified, martial aura.
He was none other than Huo Tian, Headmaster of Blazing Academy and father to Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang.
"You're back, Xiao Yu," said Dugu Bo, seated nearby. He stroked his white beard and stood up to greet him.
Huo Tian, along with his children, rose with polite smiles.
"Lord Ye Yu—no, I should say, Lord Blue Silver Earl," Huo Tian said warmly. "Congratulations on winning the championship and bringing such honor to the Empire!"
Ye Yu politely nodded but furrowed his brow slightly. "Principal Huo flatters me. I'm still a junior—you can just call me Ye Yu."
Though courteous, his tone carried a hint of distance.
After all, he and the Dugu family had no real ties with Blazing Academy or the Blazing Battle Team.
So why had Huo Tian brought his children here?
"Unsolicited kindness often hides ulterior motives."
While that might be an exaggeration in Huo Tian's case, from the look on Dugu Bo's face and Huo Tian's tone, Ye Yu could tell: they were here for something troublesome.
Keeping his distance was the wise approach.
"In that case, I'll call you Xiao Yu," Huo Tian chuckled.
"I must apologize for dropping in uninvited, but I do have an urgent request."
"In this tournament, one of the championship rewards was three ten-thousand-year Spirit Bones. Among them was a fire-attribute Spirit Bone."
"For you and the Heaven Dou Royal Team, that fire-attribute Spirit Bone may not be ideal…"
"But for my daughter Huo Wu, or my son Huo Wushuang, it's a perfect match."
"So, I've come today to ask if you'd be willing to part with it."
"I'm prepared to offer ten million gold spirit coins for it!"
Ten million gold spirit coins?
Ye Yu chuckled inwardly.
On the Douluo Continent, some things are priceless, and others are worthless even if priced.
Spirit Bones—especially ten-thousand-year ones—clearly fell into the priceless category.
While such items occasionally appeared at auction, the prices for ten-thousand-year Spirit Bones generally ranged between five million and thirty million gold coins, depending on the type, age, and ability of the bone.
The Immolation Flame Right Arm offered by the Spirit Hall for this tournament was a fire-type arm bone with a lifespan of 30,000 years—ranking as mid-to-lower tier in quality among Spirit Bones.
Its estimated auction value would be between seven and ten million gold spirit coins.
But items like this were rarely sold publicly unless the seller had no choice.
They were powerful enough to serve as a clan's foundational treasure.
Auctioning them usually meant disaster was looming.
Given the dangers, people preferred to keep them rather than sell—no matter the price.
And Ye Yu? He wasn't hurting for money.
His partnership with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan in selling snowflake candy, snowflake salt, soap, and advanced scented soaps brought him astronomical profits.
The balance on Ye Yu's account at the Seven Treasure Glazed Bank was counted in billions.
In fact, after returning from the tournament, Ye Yu had already withdrawn ten million gold spirit coins—splitting them among the team members as a reward, excluding himself and Zhu Zhuqing (who had fused the Swift Gale Left Leg Bone).
Now, Huo Tian wanted to buy the Immolation Flame Right Arm for just ten million?
Ye Yu hadn't even considered selling it—but even if he were, that price was insultingly low.