Gu Yuena caught the direction of Yu Longheng's gaze. Her brows drew together, just slightly.
"Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao gave a small shake of his head and sent through a transmission: "He's just reacting to the bloodline resonance."
With the pulse of blood and energy radiating through the air, there was no concealing the aura clinging to his body. For Mu Ye, it was cause for excitement. For someone carrying a dragon-type martial soul, it was anything but — the one suffering here was Yu Longheng, not him. A few long looks were the least of his concerns.
Still... Shrek Academy.
Huo Yuhao glanced between Ning Yue and Yu Longheng, then retreated into his Sea of Spirit.
"Shrek currently has four Limit Douluos, correct?"
"That's right." Snow Empress nodded from within the Sea of Spirit. "Light and Dark, Atlas, Emotionless, and Romantic — four in total. The first three all came from Shrek Academy. Light and Dark served as deputy master of the Sea God Pavilion a century ago. Atlas and Emotionless were from the same generation of Shrek's Seven Devils — and Emotionless was their captain."
"As for Romantic... he has no ties to Shrek. He spent years in the Federation military before wandering the continent, where he crossed paths with Emotionless Douluo — and discovered they could perform a Combination Martial Soul Technique. After that, he simply refused to leave her side."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
In this life, brothers. In the next, husband and wife.
Recalling the words that had passed between those two, he found he couldn't be surprised at all. Combination Martial Soul Techniques in Douluo... those who knew, knew.
Snow Empress continued: "At present, Shrek Academy leverages the immortal herbs of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to draw in students and allied family powers. Its influence is genuinely flourishing. Take the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect — if they could obtain a Qiluo Tulip Inherited Spirit Soul from the Well, they could pass the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul down through generations. The pull Shrek holds over a clan like that is not difficult to imagine... even if they haven't succeeded yet."
Four Limit Douluos. One of them Atlas Douluo, the current strongest in the world. Another Romantic Douluo, the foremost control-type of the age — and Emotionless and Romantic even shared a Combination Martial Soul Technique between them.
In raw individual power, neither Mingde Hall nor the War Temple came close to Shrek. Add to that the lure of immortal herb Spirit Souls from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and certain families had begun placing their bets accordingly. Shrek had every right to carry itself with pride.
Inherited Spirit Souls, after all, were not the Spirit Transmission Tower's monopoly. The draw of immortal herb Spirit Souls ran just as deep.
"That said — for all its strength, Shrek's conduct has become rather... forceful. The number of those quietly dissatisfied with it is likely no small figure."
Snow Empress's brows shifted. "Within the Spirit Transmission Tower itself, there are those who would prefer a higher profile. It's only because Emperor Tian and I have been keeping them in check that they haven't dared to surface."
Huo Yuhao took it all in, then narrowed his eyes and let himself think.
At Tianhun City, Yu Longheng and Ning Yue stepped off the train. Before turning to go, Yu Longheng looked back — a long, quiet look at the soul-powered train as it sat at the platform.
If that blue-eyed boy could suppress his own martial soul... he could suppress their entire Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Rex clan.
No one liked being suppressed. He was no different. And to be suppressed by someone who could bring the whole clan to heel — that was another matter entirely.
Come to think of it, though — that face. It felt familiar.
Yu Longheng walked on, frowning, turning the thought over without finding purchase. He glanced once more in the direction the train was headed.
"Eastsea City?"
A spirit master from Eastsea City.
Interesting. They would likely meet again.
As it turned out, evil spirit masters across the Douluo Continent were keeping a relatively low profile at this time. Luck, for once, was on their side — the soul-powered train completed its journey without incident, no terrorist attack to speak of.
Beyond the brief encounter with Shrek, the trip passed without event.
Day gave way to night, then day again. On the third afternoon, the soul-powered train rolled into Eastsea Station. The three disembarked, boarded a soul-powered car arranged by the Spirit Transmission Tower, and rode straight for the Eastsea branch.
"The Spirit Transmission Tower's reach is truly something." As the massive structure came into view ahead of them, Mu Ye exhaled slowly, a weight behind the words. "Finding the heavenly treasures to support your cultivation should be considerably more straightforward here. If the Spirit Transmission Tower had risen ten thousand years earlier... the outcome of that war might have been written very differently—"
He stopped himself. Glancing at the two beside him — children, both of them — he cleared his throat quietly and let the thought go, turning instead to a different subject.
"Speaking of which — what's the matter with Na'er?"
He studied Gu Yuena, who had grown notably quiet.
Was she nervous about something?
Huo Yuhao smiled. "I made off with Her Majesty Tianfeng Douluo's precious little charge. She's come to collect. Na'er's a bit on edge about it."
Mu Ye raised an eyebrow, filing that away.
So Her Majesty Tianfeng Douluo was here as well...
Gu Yuena turned sharply to look at Huo Yuhao.
Made off with... Did that mean...
A faint flush crept in at the edges — something unguarded flickering behind her eyes. She caught herself almost immediately, sitting up straighter and pulling on the composed expression she wore like armor in front of outsiders.
Huo Yuhao, who had long since seen past that armor, shook his head with quiet amusement.
"Don't worry," he said, his voice easy and unhurried. "Your Reverse Scale — I've already accepted it."
He knew this Gu Yuena well enough. She genuinely cared for Tianfeng Douluo. Facing Leng Yaozhu wouldn't unsettle her. What she was bracing herself for was something else entirely — his answer.
"The Reverse Scale..." Gu Yuena's color deepened. "That shouldn't count. I didn't fully understand my own feelings at the time."
"Whether it counts or not doesn't change the fact that I've already received it. You can't take that back." Huo Yuhao's gaze drifted to the bracelet resting on her wrist. "...Just as I can't take back Star's Favor."
Gu Yuena followed his gaze to Star's Favor. Something in her slowly settled. Her dark eyes softened.
That's right. Yuhao can't take it back. And she won't return it.
The thought came quietly, and with it, a kind of peace. She reached up, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and said in a low voice:
"Yuhao... I'm sorry for worrying you. I just — I couldn't find my footing for a while."
"It's nothing. As long as you're alright." He shook his head slightly.
Gu Yuena looked at him for a moment. The last of the tension in her chest eased away. She noticed Mu Ye watching the two of them with a quiet smile as they transmitted back and forth — and shifted gears.
"Yuhao — your plan seems to be moving along well. Do you need my help with anything?"
"..." A pause. His tone came out slightly odd. "I have to ask — what exactly do you think my plan is?"
I keep feeling like I'm two steps behind you, Great Yayoi-sensei.
Gu Yuena blinked. Then she explained, measured and unhurried:
"The relationship between humans and spirit beasts is fairly stable right now. But with artificial Spirit Soul technology taking hold, the era of Emperor Tian and the others is winding down — and what follows may not be kind to either side. My original intention was to walk the human path from the ground up, climb to its peak, ascend to godhood, and then lead both humans and spirit beasts together against the Abyss Plane. With prestige that could stand above yours, I would guide both peoples into the next age. Humans and spirit beasts are too intertwined now. Unless it becomes unavoidable, I have no desire to take the extreme road."
"When you appeared in Eastsea, I worried that your influence might cut across my plan. So I came to take stock of things. What I've found is that your plan is likely very similar to mine — perhaps even more complete. So I've decided to support yours instead. The return of the First Generation Tower Master is a cleaner outcome than anything I'd mapped out."
From where she stood, Yuhao's path was plain enough: rise through the Spirit Transmission Tower, reach the apex within the Douluo system, ascend to true godhood, and then stand against the Abyss. Similar to what she'd intended — except where she would have only pretended at godhood, Yuhao was aiming for the genuine article. And his groundwork was far more thorough. He'd already drawn in the Body Sect and Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua. More would follow in time, his influence compounding with each addition.
Huo Yuhao: "...Not exactly. But there are similarities."
So Great Yayoi-sensei was on a career path the whole time — and only changed course because of him?
Something in his mood turned complicated.
They walked into the Spirit Transmission Tower lobby. Before Huo Yuhao and the others could move toward the stairs, the elevator opened — and out stepped a tall woman with vivid red hair.
The Tower staff rose at once, bowing. "Vice Tower Master."
Mu Ye inclined his head. "Greetings, Your Majesty Tianfeng Douluo."
"Body Douluo." A smile, warm and measured. "It's been a long time."
Leng Yaozhu's gaze shifted to Huo Yuhao. Something quiet and assessing moved behind her eyes.
"First time meeting. I am Gu Yuena's teacher — Leng Yaozhu."
***
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