I've recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Name: 'Pokémon But Stardew Valley'
----------------------
Inside the chamber, the air hung thick with the coppery tang of blood and the salty reek of sweat, pressing down on the lungs like a suffocating weight.
Huo Yuhao lay sprawled on the bed, drenched as if fished from a crimson sea. His right leg and arm hung limp, the agony of soul bone extraction having drained him to the core. His consciousness hovered on the brink of dissolution.
Only the shallow rise of his chest and the occasional twitch from residual pain proved he clung stubbornly to awareness.
Niu Tian's gaze flickered with something unreadable as he studied Huo Yuhao's state—then hardened with resolve.
'No pause. If we stop now, he may never find the courage to endure again. And Dong'er has no time.'
"Yuhao!" Niu Tian's voice cut through the haze in Huo Yuhao's mind, clear and anchoring. "Hold on! Only the left leg bone remains. Dong'er's energy is stabilizing—this final step will seal it!"
At the name "Dong'er," a faint spark flickered in Huo Yuhao's glazed eyes.
With immense effort, he turned his head toward the adjacent bed. Wang Dong'er's face did seem rosier, a whisper of vitality returning. A surge of strength rose from his soul's depths.
He tried to speak, but no sound emerged. Instead, he managed the faintest nod.
Tai Tan winced at the sight. Even the burly man muttered under his breath: "Brother, this kid… is truly unbreakable."
Niu Tian gave no reply. He took a deep breath and lifted the final hundred-thousand-year left leg bone—a primal aura radiating from its depths, its energy denser, heavier than the others.
"Endure this last one—it decides everything!"
Niu Tian pressed the bone against Huo Yuhao's mangled left leg.
Ugh—!
A deeper agony crashed over Huo Yuhao—less like tearing, more like the weight of mountains crushing his leg, grinding bones, meridians, and will into dust.
The soul beast's lingering malice became avalanches within his mind.
His body convulsed violently. Teeth ground until blood seeped from his bitten lips.
His consciousness felt like a leaf in a typhoon, seconds from shattering.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, Ice Empress, and the Snow Empress spirit poured power into his spiritual sea, but the physical torment threatened to overflow his limits.
"Guide it! Use your Ultimate Ice to freeze the pain—refine it!" Niu Tian's voice was a lifeline.
Huo Yuhao clawed at his willpower. The Xuantian Technique surged alongside his Ultimate Ice soul power.
Azure light flickered on his leg, struggling to encase the rampaging energy. Ice formed, shattered, reformed—a cycle of fresh torment with each fracture.
His skin split like dry earth, bleeding until the cold sealed it—a ghastly mosaic of frost and crimson.
Elder Xuan's fists clenched until nails bit into his palms. Twice he nearly shouted to stop—but Wang Dong'er's strengthening breaths held his tongue.
This fusion lasted longer than the others.
Huo Yuhao's screams had devolved to ragged gasps, his body writhing in wordless agony. Only the thought 'Don't abandon Dong'er' kept him anchored.
Finally, as his mind teetered on oblivion, the left leg bone's glow stabilized—preliminarily fused.
A surge of power flooded him, tangled with profound exhaustion.
But it wasn't over.
"The last step! Extract the left leg bone's essence—channel it to Dong'er!" Niu Tian's voice rasped with fatigue.
The cruelest act began anew.
Hands pressed to both left legs, Niu Tian rebuilt the soul power bridge. Tai Tan rushed to shield Wang Dong'er.
When the reverse-extraction tore into Huo Yuhao's freshly wounded limb, words failed to capture the horror.
It was like flaying a half-healed wound—not just flesh, but soul.
Huo Yuhao's head snapped back, throat cords straining. No scream came—only a wet, broken rasp like a torn bellows.
His body arched rigidly, then collapsed. Eyes lost focus. Tears mixed with blood streamed down his temples.
Niu Tian and Tai Tan dripped sweat, movements precise as surgeons'. 'Extract. Guide. Infuse.' One misstep meant ruin.
Minutes stretched like hours. When the last thread of the left leg bone's essence flowed into Wang Dong'er—wreathing her in a soft, golden glow, her breaths deepening, steadier than before—Niu Tian finally released the connection.
His hands trembled as he withdrew. "Success… all… complete…" Exhaustion bowed his shoulders.
The instant the extraction ended, Huo Yuhao's taut will snapped. His head lolled sideways, plunging into deep unconsciousness.
His limbs lay twisted and scarred, skin crusted with frozen blood. His breathing was a threadbare whisper.
Tai Tan checked Huo Yuhao's pulse, exhaling sharply: "Alive… but he's hollowed out. Recovery will take years. These legs and arm…" He trailed off grimly.
Elder Xuan stepped closer. He stared at Huo Yuhao's ravaged form, then at Wang Dong'er's serene face—her cultivation now leaping to Level 70. His ancient eyes clouded with unspoken thoughts before settling into a heavy sigh.
Outside, the oppressive energy dissipated. The waiting crowd held their breath.
Gu La leaned against the wall, stealing glances inside. His senses mapped the energy shifts, the fading echoes of screams. He pieced together the ordeal Huo Yuhao had withstood.
'Three hundred-thousand-year soul bones… fused then ripped out… This wasn't healing—it was torture perfected. Huo Yuhao truly gave everything for Wang Dong'er,' He shook his head, inwardly musing.
'And Tang San's handiwork… tsk. Only a "father-in-law" who'd do this to his own daughter could design such a "test." Brutal.'
He'd never comprehend this Douluo Continent belief—that love must be proven through suffering.
But Huo Yuhao had survived. Wang Dong'er was saved.
What debts lay beneath this "favor," only the Sea God himself knew.
—
With the procedure done, Elder Xuan summoned Shrek's elite healing-team soul masters without delay.
Gentle, life-infused light enveloped the comatose Huo Yuhao. Pure vitality poured into his shattered body, sealing wounds and steadying his faltering life signs.
The meridian tears and bone fractures from soul bone removal knit partially under potent healing skills.
Yet the deeper wounds—the life essence drained, the soul-deep depletion—defied quick repair. Only time and Huo Yuhao's own resilience could mend them.
As one healer put it: 'We've patched the gaping holes in a leaking bucket. The slow seepage… only time can refill.'
Still, Huo Yuhao wasn't left empty-handed.
Channeling three hundred-thousand-year soul bones—even as their core power flowed to Wang Dong'er—had forged his body like a blade in a storm. The energy had scoured his meridians, bones, and flesh, leaving indelible imprints and traces of that primordial essence.
More crucially, his soul power had been compressed, refined, and hammered through extremes. Though diminished in quantity, its quality had leaped forward.
The healers predicted that once fully recovered, Huo Yuhao's cultivation to Soul Emperor would accelerate beyond ordinary limits—a blessing born of catastrophe.
Then again, few could survive such ruinous trials. Only Huo Yuhao—bearing great fate, housing Life Gold within, the so-called "Huo Cheat"—could endure and extract even a shred of gain.
—
When Elder Xuan finally emerged from the quiet chamber, the waiting crowd surged forward.
He waved them off, weariness etched into his features yet relief softening his eyes. "Both are out of danger. Yuhao needs long rest. Dong'er… has awakened."
A collective breath released. Even Elder Xuan, merely a guardian, showed profound depletion—but the outcome justified it.
They entered softly. Wang Dong'er sat propped on pillows, cheeks flushed, eyes clear, breaths even. Her cultivation had surged to Level 70, vitality radiating from her like dawn light.
She hadn't noticed her own recovery. Her gaze was fixed on Huo Yuhao's still form, brimming with heartache, gratitude, and guilt.
Hearing footsteps, she lifted her head with effort, offering a fragile smile in greeting.
Seeing them stable, the group whispered well-wishes and slipped away, sensing this moment belonged solely to the two who'd weathered hell together.
—
Sunset painted the sky in molten gold as Gu La and Xiao Xiao walked Shrek's garden paths.
Xiao Xiao's voice was hushed, haunted by what she'd seen: "I can't imagine what Yuhao and Dong'er endured… Even unconscious, Yuhao's brow was furrowed like he still felt the pain."
Gu La nodded, his tone calm, edged with detached clarity.
"The result matters. Both survived. With Huo Yuhao's strong foundation, rest will mend him."
Xiao Xiao stopped abruptly. She turned to him, eyes wide with worry and fierce resolve.
"Gu La—if… I mean if—I ever fell into a coma like Dong'er, you must promise me you'd never do something so reckless for me. I'd rather sleep forever than watch you suffer like that!"
Gu La met her anxious gaze, then slowly shook his head. A deep, confident smile curved his lips.
"Worry not. That day will never come." His certainty was unshakable. "With me here, I'll never let harm touch you."
Since breaking through to Soul Saint and mastering Celebi's True Body, he could now traverse this universe's timelines.
Words like "regret" and "irreversible" were fading from his lexicon. He had the power to avert the worst.
Xiao Xiao took his words as loving comfort, warmed but missing their depth. She didn't press further. Instead, she looped her arm through his, chattering brightly about Tang Sect gossip and academy antics—her new duties there giving her much to share.
Gu La listened with polite attention, nodding or murmuring responses though such trivialities held little interest for him.
Their silhouettes stretched long in the dying light, intertwined—a quiet, ordinary tableau starkly removed from the chamber where life and agony had recently wrestled.
—
Huo Yuhao slept five days and nights.
Gu La found him later by Sea God Lake, seated in a wooden wheelchair. His face remained pale, most of his body swaddled in thin blankets. Only his right hand could move slightly.
Wang Dong'er pushed the chair with feather-light care, pausing often to murmur to him. Her eyes held tenderness that could melt stone.
Gu La approached, his voice easy. "Yuhao. You look cheerful."
Huo Yuhao lifted his head, a genuine if weary smile spreading. He glanced back at Wang Dong'er, his gaze tender with relief. "Dong'er is safe. That's all that matters."
Three simple words—holding the weight of sacrifice and devotion.
Wang Dong'er blushed, ducking her head. Her fingers tightened on the wheelchair handles, heart aching with gratitude and sorrow.
Gu La excused himself tactfully. These two deserved solitude after their trial. The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament loomed; his own preparations awaited.
In truth, Gu La had planned something momentous—to awaken his third martial soul.
His crimson mecha—forged wholly from soul-refined metals—rested in his demiplane, ready to become his ultimate weapon.
But the coming tournament was pivotal. It wove threads of faith-power research, the looming "Great Explosion" in Mingdu that would claim a million souls, and the enigmatic Qiankun Love Valley…
Such complex, future-altering events demanded his full focus.
Awakening a third martial soul was no small feat—fraught with uncertainty. He'd devised new approaches requiring deeper consideration.
After weighing it all, Gu La chose patience. He would resolve these intricate matters first. Only then would he seek the power of his third martial soul.
For now, preserving his peak condition to weather the coming storm was paramount.
------------------------------------------------------
Join my Patreon to read an exclusive novel – 'Douluo: Rebuilding Hao Tian Sect'
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)