Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 9 Target: Star Dou Great Forest

Huo Yuhao straightened his back. He usually didn't want to invest too much emotion in consumables. He had two spare samurai swords like this one. One was about the same length as this samurai sword, and the other was only sixty centimeters long, which he used as a wakizashi to handle some special situations.

The traditional forging method in Douluo Continent is very similar to the Tamahagane forging method in Ashina. Steel forged in a single instance is completely unusable as a weapon. It must be repeatedly forged, impurities removed, and refined. Only the steel with less luster and impurities is selected and forged again to obtain a satisfactory material. In Douluo Continent, this material is called Hundred-Refined Steel, while in Ashina, it is usually called Tamahagane. In fact, the methods used are almost identical.

In Ashina, owning a katana forged from tamahagane is a great honor, indicating that the person can at least be called a true samurai. Ordinary Ashina savages who are converted from mountain bandits use katanas made of rough iron with many impurities. They don't even need to engage in direct combat with others during the clash of weapons. Even when they are just killing enemies without armor, they may break several cuts when they hit the enemy's bones.

As for the katana forged from tamahagane, only the samurai of the castle tower and the generals of the Ashina clan were qualified to use it. From this point of view, the Douluo Continent's production capacity for Hundred-Refined Steel is far greater than that of the remote and impoverished Ashina Castle.

Logically speaking, a samurai sword made of steel forged hundreds of times should at least be called a good sword. Even if the owners of this sword did not do anything famous with it, it is not worthy of being called a famous sword. In any case, it has nothing to do with a purely consumable item.

Unfortunately, this is the Douluo Continent. The swords and blades will no longer face enemy weapons and armor, but also relentless wind and fire, frigid ice, and all sorts of other strange elemental attacks. In this extremely harsh environment, even a fine sword forged from a hundred times of steel will find it difficult to withstand the ravages of a few intense battles.

Huo Yuhao knew very well that to possess a truly fine sword, it had to be forged from rare metals of considerable value.

"First, go to the Soul Beast Forest to hunt soul beasts. If you want to make and use a more powerful katana, you need to have enough soul power level. The strength and sharpness of a good katana forged from jade steel are enough to cut through the tough skin of most soul beasts. Even if you encounter a few troublesome ones, you can deal with them in other ways."

Huo Yuhao pondered silently as he walked to the kitchen to pack the food he would need for the journey. However, when he arrived at the kitchen, he saw a busy figure.

"Yuhao, are you going out to hunt soul beasts?"

Huo Yun'er's gentle voice made Huo Yuhao's body stiffen. His lips moved, and he lowered his head, unable to bear looking at Huo Yun'er's gentle and tender face. He had promised before that after finishing this deal, he would stay at home and spend a few days with his mother. However, his subconscious actions had completely betrayed Huo Yuhao.

He could wait, but Huo Yun'er's illness, which had been accumulating for ten years, couldn't wait that long. He could only speed things up and take his mother to Shrek Academy as quickly as possible. Only in Shrek City could he access the top medical resources in the entire Douluo Continent, and only there could Huo Yun'er's illness be completely cured.

How could Huo Yun'er not know what Huo Yuhao was thinking? Ever since the day before Yuhao's martial soul awakened, Huo Yun'er had vaguely sensed the changes that had occurred in Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao was still the same Huo Yuhao, but he had grown and changed overnight. Although every time Huo Yuhao went out, he would tell her that he was going out to do business with some friends, how could he possibly have moved into such a magnificent mansion in just two years by doing small business?

Although Huo Yuhao would treat all his wounds, big and small, every time he returned, Huo Yun'er would personally wash and mend his clothes. How could Huo Yun'er not know that Huo Yuhao was hiding something from her?

Every time she wanted to tell Huo Yuhao, she felt that her illness was not serious and that there was no need for him to rush around for her. She felt that all the grievances she had suffered in the first half of her life were insignificant, as she could see her son becoming successful in the last few years of her life and cooking her a table full of delicious meals every time he came home. However, the determination in Huo Yuhao's worried yet anxious eyes made it impossible for Huo Yun'er to say the words.

Huo Yun'er reached out and patted Huo Yuhao's head, then stuffed a heavy bag of food into Huo Yuhao's arms.

"Making wheat cakes takes a lot of time, so Mom baked them for you in advance. If you're not in a hurry to eat them on the road, remember to tear them into small pieces and boil them in hot water. Eating them dry is too dry."

As soon as he got his hands on the package, Huo Yuhao already had a good idea of ​​what to expect.

Making these barley cakes, weighing over ten pounds, is no easy task. The barley grains must be stewed into a paste, then dried in the sun. Sometimes, a stove is even placed underneath to ensure thorough drying. The process involves steaming, boiling, and drying the cakes again, repeating this process ten times. The original weight of the hundred-pound barley can be reduced to less than ten pounds before it is considered fully prepared.

When it's time to eat, take out a small piece, put it in hot water and cook it to make a pot of rice. Huo Yun'er didn't know that Huo Yuhao had a storage soul tool, so she went to great lengths to prepare enough food for Huo Yuhao to eat for more than a month.

Despite his deep reluctance, Huo Yuhao made up his mind after resting at home for a night and left home before dawn. Huo Yuhao didn't carry much with him, only two katana, a wakizashi, a dozen or so shuriken made from scraps, less than a hundred gold soul coins, and some daily necessities.

During these three years, Huo Yuhao had kept most of his accumulated wealth on his bed in his room. If he really died in the Soul Beast Forest, Huo Yun'er would definitely find it when she went into his room to clean. His savings of nearly a thousand gold soul coins would be enough for Huo Yun'er to live the rest of her life alone.

Although Huo Yuhao was very confident in his strength, if given time to prepare and ambush, he was even confident that he could kill a thousand-year-old soul beast. After all, the strength of a thousand-year-old soul beast was only between Soul Venerable and Soul Sect Master. He had killed both types of soul masters. Although he killed them by ambush, ninjas were not warriors. Unless the situation was urgent, Huo Yuhao had no interest in confronting an enemy who was far stronger than himself head-on.

(End of this chapter)