Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 18 Too far from the ground, too close to the sky

With his left hand supporting the scabbard and his thumb pressing against the guard, Huo Yuhao slowly pushed the katana out of the scabbard a few centimeters. As he cautiously turned around, he slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of the katana. The bright moonlight gave Huo Yuhao excellent vision, and a faint breeze flowed around the corner of his eyes. The enormous creature hidden in the shadows had nowhere to hide.

It was a creature that looked like a fine horse, with jet-black fur that looked glossy and smooth. A long tail hung down in neat, silky strands, like the finest satin. The rustling sound continued. Huo Yuhao slowly approached the creature while gripping the hilt of his katana tightly, the sharp blade seeming ready to devour him at any moment.

"Hissing sound—"

As if the killing intent that Huo Yuhao was about to unleash had been caught by the other party, the black horse let out a long neigh and suddenly raised its head, which had been lowered to graze on fresh grass. Only then did Huo Yuhao realize that this was not a black horse at all; it had a single horn on its head that looked like white jade.

A pair of enormous black wings spread out, and as they parted the nearby bushes, the bright moonlight and dazzling starlight finally fell freely upon the unicorn. Its originally black wings and skin shone with starlight under the reflection of the stars, making it look beautiful and breathtaking.

"What a nice view."

When Huo Yuhao saw the unicorn, he was stunned for a moment by its appearance, which resembled the night sky. But then, an even stronger look of excitement appeared in Huo Yuhao's eyes.

Although he didn't know what the Starlight Unicorn looked like, even a fool could tell that the unicorn bathed in starlight and shining brightly was most likely the so-called "legendary soul beast"—the Starlight Unicorn.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao couldn't care less about judging the age of the spirit beast. If the starlight unicorn was only ten years old, he would happily absorb its spirit ring. If the starlight unicorn was older than the absorption limit of four hundred years, as long as the spirit ring wasn't particularly dark yellow, Huo Yuhao would grit his teeth and try to absorb this hard-won spirit-type spirit beast.

Although he knew that the recommended absorption period for the first spirit ring was about 420 years, Huo Yuhao was confident that his physical abilities could exceed that recommended period by one or two hundred years.

After all, in terms of physical prowess during long-distance runs, he once made a Soul Master and two Soul Venerables following behind him feel despair. He ran two hundred miles in one go, causing the three of them to give up their pursuit. Although he had a bloody taste in his mouth for three days after that run, Huo Yuhao was certain that for the next three days, those three guys chasing him didn't just have a bloody taste in their mouths; they were spewing out bloody spittle every time they spoke.

The starlight unicorn sprinted away, forcing Huo Yuhao to give chase. Pursuing a beast rashly in the Star Dou Forest was dangerous, especially at night, but Huo Yuhao couldn't worry about that now. If he didn't catch up, the spirit-type soul beast he was about to devour would disappear without a trace.

Huo Yuhao lowered his upper body slightly, his legs moved like lightning, and he sprinted with his center of gravity low. Although the momentary daze caused the Starlight Unicorn to suddenly leave Huo Yuhao with a distance of nearly twenty meters, as time went by, Huo Yuhao and the Starlight Unicorn were getting closer and closer.

How can a four-legged creature outrun a two-legged one?

Fifteen meters, thirteen meters, eleven meters, nine meters!

Huo Yuhao gently slashed his left hand towards his waist, and several shuriken made of refined iron appeared in his palm. Huo Yuhao was highly focused at this moment. The distance between him and the Starlight Unicorn was no more than ten meters. As long as his shuriken could hit the opponent's calf, the opponent would definitely stagger and fall heavily to the ground!

All Huo Yuhao could hear was the whistling wind, and the scenery on both sides was constantly changing. Just as the sword in Huo Yuhao's hand was about to be shot out, Huo Yuhao seemed to see something incredible and suddenly braked the car. Because the braking speed was too fast, he even staggered and almost fell over.

But Huo Yuhao had no time to pay attention to those things. At this moment, there was no land beneath his feet; he was already suspended in mid-air!

Looking incredulously at the starlight unicorn that had also stopped in its tracks, Huo Yuhao's eyes flashed with a hint of fear of the unknown. Even though there was nothing under his feet, he could still feel a real, tangible sensation.

Huo Yuhao took a few stiff steps forward. With each step forward, he felt as if he were getting further away from the ground, and the trees beneath his feet had become tiny black dots.

Huo Yuhao was stunned, gripping his katana tightly, staring intently at the starlight unicorn in front of him. His inexplicable ability to walk on air must have been the work of this starlight unicorn, but now he was truly helpless. The other party didn't even need to do anything; it only needed to cancel his inexplicable airborne state to ensure his utter death.

But to Huo Yuhao's surprise, the Starlight Unicorn did not do that. Instead, it slowly walked up to Huo Yuhao, its hooves making a crisp and bright sound that was very pleasant to hear.

Slowly lowering its head, the Starlight Unicorn rubbed its cheek against Huo Yuhao's, its eyes gleaming with excitement, like a child receiving a reward from its father. Then, something even more unexpected happened: the Starlight Unicorn slowly knelt on all fours beside Huo Yuhao, tilting its head as if waiting for him to mount it.

Huo Yuhao stared at his opponent in a daze. At this moment, the distance between them was enough for him to unleash a powerful Iai Slash, the most powerful slash he could currently unleash. A single strike could cut through gold and jade. However, looking at the Starlight Unicorn's unfathomable and adoring eyes, Huo Yuhao hesitated.

Slowly sheathing his sword, Huo Yuhao tentatively mounted the Starlight Unicorn. To his surprise, the Starlight Unicorn snorted excitedly as soon as he got on, then started trotting along, carrying Huo Yuhao forward.

forward?

But where is the front?

Huo Yuhao looked down at his feet and felt himself getting further and further away from the ground. A sense of melancholy rose from the bottom of his heart. For a moment, Huo Yuhao did not know whether the other party was going to take him to heaven or hell.

(End of this chapter)