With Wang Hongchen's permission, the three entered the secret chamber and began looking through the soul tool books and finished pieces.
Lan Fozi stood beside Huo Yuhao, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the intricate soul tools.
She had already glimpsed a corner of the Spirit Transmission Tower's foundation and had even seen two deities. Now, the foundation Mingde Hall was revealing also made her inwardly uneasy.
There were four such powers in the Federation. That was not counting the Dark Department and the various legions. Did the Holy Spirit Cult really have a chance of winning?
She didn't care much about the Holy Spirit Cult's outcome, but her mother was a different matter.
The key was the true position of these two.
Lan Fozi secretly observed Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena.
Two deities were enough to disrupt the entire situation. If they moved against her mother, what would she do?
Other issues could be ignored, but not this one.
Unlike the distracted Lan Fozi, Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena were both immersed in the sea of books.
If Lan Fozi had been arranged to come, then Gu Yuena had decided to come of her own accord.
In Ice Empress's words, this Lord of Spirit Beasts had picked up Huo Yuhao's habits. Many of her habits were aligning with his. She had indeed come to learn.
After looking around the outer area, Huo Yuhao walked deeper and quietly used his spiritual power to begin searching for the books he needed.
Principles and Advanced Applications of Soul Tool Core Arrays
Theory and Practice of Spatial Folding Soul Tools
Soul Tool Mecha and Human Nerve Connection Technology
After roughly browsing the titles, Huo Yuhao remembered that Nanaly was still waiting outside. He checked out some books and reminded Gu Yuena and Lan Fozi.
"Hall Master, I would like to borrow these books."
"Alright."
Wang Hongchen glanced at the books the three had placed on the table and nodded. Then he took out three pass cards.
"Take these. They grant access to this place and to Mingde Hall. If you want to enter Mingde Hall or come here to look for books, just use them."
Huo Yuhao accepted the shimmering access card. A warm sensation met his fingertips. Complex soul-tool patterns were engraved across its surface, and he could faintly sense fluctuations of spatial power emanating from it.
"Thank you, Hall Master."
Huo Yuhao expressed his thanks and took his leave.
Just as he was about to walk out the door, Wang Hongchen said without warning, "Yi said you reminded him of Spirit-Ice Douluo. I have the same feeling now."
Huo Yuhao's footsteps halted, almost imperceptibly. He turned his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wang Hongchen lowering his head to sort some books. The cold light reflecting off his glasses obscured his eyes.
"You flatter me, Senior."
He replied softly and led the way out the door.
The door closed. Seeing that the three had left the room, Wang Hongchen began to communicate with a consciousness within him.
"He didn't deny his connection to Spirit-Ice Douluo."
"Perhaps he's just used to being evaluated that way by others and didn't bother to rebut."
"So, Ancestor, you think I'm overthinking?"
Silence spread through the room. The light cast dappled shadows on the floor. Those shadows suddenly began to twist and twist eerily, as if stirred by some invisible force.
"..."
After a long silence, a huge huge shadow slowly emerged from behind Wang Hongchen.
At first, the shadow was just a blurry blob, like mist scattered by the wind, twisting and changing in the dim light. But soon, the shadow began to condense, its outline gradually becoming clear and distinct.
It was a behemoth, five meters tall, with a mountain-like presence that was immensely oppressive. Its shell flowed with a metallic luster, as if cast from molten gold. Its jagged-shaped jaws opened and closed with a metallic scraping sound.
This was the Hongchen Clan's foundation, the hundred-thousand-year Inherited Spirit Soul, the Gold-Eating Ant Emperor.
"His talent in soul tools is truly incredible."
The Gold-Eating Ant Emperor's tone was low. "In ten thousand years, aside from that one, I have not seen anyone who can compare to him in this regard."
"Indeed, you think so too."
Wang Hongchen smiled. "There is news that Snow Empress has taken Huo Yuhao as her disciple and treats him specially. But Snow Empress has never taken a disciple at the Spirit Transmission Tower in ten thousand years. That is also puzzling."
"The only humans with whom Snow Empress had a close personal relationship were Spirit-Ice Douluo and the Second Generation Tower Master, Su Tong. Your suspicion is not unfounded."
The Gold-Eating Ant Emperor said thoughtfully, "But besides that, what really made you suspicious were his martial soul and spirit abilities, weren't they?"
"Spirit Eyes and Spiritual Detection..."
A flicker of something passed through Wang Hongchen's eyes. He nodded slightly. "After Yi told me about his martial soul and spirit abilities, I connected Spirit Eyes with the title 'Spirit-Ice.' After all, you have told me the stories of Ancestor Xiao Hongchen."
Most people believed that the "Spirit" in Spirit-Ice Douluo came from the "Spirit" in Spirit Transmission Tower, a symbol. But some had always harbored doubts.
An Extreme Ice martial soul provided no bonus bonus to the study of soul tools. The Spirit Transmission Tower's Second Generation Tower Master, Su Tong, had not inherited the essence of Spirit-Ice Douluo in her soul tool research.
So how had Spirit-Ice Douluo, who specialized in the Extreme Ice martial soul, achieved such success in both spirit master and soul engineer cultivation? Was it purely exceptional talent, or was there another secret?
For instance, Spirit-Ice Douluo might actually have had Twin Martial Souls.
Yes, this doubt had originally come from Ancestor Xiao Hongchen.
A guy who played with ice achieved such success in soul tools, "barely" able to stand on par with me. He must have a secret! Xiao Hongchen.
Although Ancestor Xiao Hongchen's suspicion had some merit, it was ultimately tinged with some "personal emotion" and remained unverified. (Xiao Hongchen: "...")
But recently, Wang Hongchen had seen someone with otherworldly talent in soul tools, taken as a disciple by Snow Empress, and with the Spirit Eyes martial soul. He couldn't help but think in that direction.
It could be said that these three pieces of information were all guiding Wang Hongchen to think of a connection between Huo Yuhao and Spirit-Ice Douluo.
"If my guess is correct, the 'Spirit' in Spirit-Ice Douluo indeed came from another martial soul. Then Huo Yuhao is very likely Spirit-Ice Douluo..."
The Gold-Eating Ant Emperor and Wang Hongchen simultaneously reached a conclusion: "... descendant!"
At most, a descendant. As for the possibility that he was Spirit-Ice Douluo himself?
How could that be?
As a hundred-thousand-year Inherited Spirit Soul passed down for ten thousand years, the Gold-Eating Ant Emperor had seen Spirit-Ice Douluo. He didn't look like that. His temperament was also very cool and aloof, his entire being radiating an otherworldly aura, very different from Huo Yuhao.
Moreover, after the battle two years ago, some of Huo Yuhao's information had been dug up. The spatial power he had used came from a second martial soul. That meant his second martial soul had the space attribute. If he were Spirit-Ice Douluo, where had his Extreme Ice gone?
Did he have three martial souls? Or had his Extreme Ice evolved to have a space attribute?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Either scenario collided with common knowledge about Douluo.
Even if someone could explain these questions, there were other issues.
If Huo Yuhao were Spirit-Ice Douluo and had survived ten thousand years, that would mean he had successfully become a god ten thousand years ago. Then how could the commotion of his supposed failed godhood be explained?
If becoming a god was a good thing, why pretend to have failed?
Pretending to have failed at becoming a god would only make those who cherished his memory sad and those who hated him happy. What other purpose could it serve?
As for the scenario where Spirit-Ice Douluo had indeed failed to become a god but hadn't died... then he could simply return to the Spirit Transmission Tower to recover and try again to become a god. Why wait ten thousand years to return?
And how he had survived ten thousand years was also a problem.
In short, if Huo Yuhao truly was Spirit-Ice Douluo, there were too many questions. The man and the spirit soul indicated they couldn't make sense of it.
"However, if Huo Yuhao truly is a descendant of Spirit-Ice Douluo, then there's one question that really puzzles me. Back then, who exactly did that person end up with? After all, no clear record of his marriage was ever left behind."
The Gold-Eating Ant Emperor appeared extremely interested in gossip surrounding Spirit-Ice Douluo. "Who do you think it was? Personally, I think those founding members are all pretty likely candidates."
Having lived for so long, this sort of gossip had become one of his few remaining interests. After all, watching the younger generation tinker with soul tools all day was genuinely dull.
Hearing this, Wang Hongchen's eyelids twitched slightly. He shook his head and said, "It's better not to speak carelessly about such things. These are only our speculations, nothing has been confirmed."
However, the Gold-Eating Ant Emperor was clearly in high spirits, his tentacles trembling faintly.
"What's the issue? You humans are far more fond of gossip than us spirit beasts. Back then, whether in the Spirit Transmission Tower or within Mingde Hall, people would chat about all sorts of things whenever they had free time. Some even compiled quite a lot of related historical records. They're stored in Mingde Hall's archives…"
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped, seemingly realizing he had revealed too much. The Gold-Eating Ant Emperor immediately withdrew back into Wang Hongchen's body and said nothing further.
"..."
At this, the corner of Wang Hongchen's mouth twitched. "Ancestor, what did you just mean?"
He seemed to have heard something not good.
Ancestor, what were you saying? What books had been stored in the secret chamber?
Ancestor, answer quickly! This was important!
Wang Hongchen asked several times before finaly getting an answer from his Spirit Soul.
"There are too few records about Spirit-Ice Douluo. So someone specifically found out about Spirit-Ice Douluo and had known people and spirit souls to organize and complete some records and history. However, records relayed through others... you can imagine the result."
Wang Hongchen frowned slightly. "You mean those records... have been embellished?"
"Embellished? Some stories are so outrageous that even Spirit-Ice Douluo himself would be stunned for three seconds if he heard them. For example, some say he had a romantic relationship with that one in the Extreme North. There are even more exaggerated ones, saying that he also had one with that one in the Star Dou Great Forest... well, you get the idea.
After all, the fact that Spirit-Ice Douluo had managed to cooperate with the two great savage-beast gathering grounds was simply too unbelievable. Because of that, in order to reasonably explain the origins of Spirit-Ice Douluo's many accomplishments, people came up with countless theories and speculations.
The result was an abundance of outrageous guesses. Some were later confirmed by people involved and subsequently recorded, while others remained nothing more than rumors."
"..."
Wang Hongchen was silent for a moment, sighed, and rubbed his temples. "Ancestor, you just said that Mingde Hall's collection also has these? Does that mean Mingde Hall privately collected unofficial histories of Spirit-Ice Douluo?"
That was a bit over the top. If the Spirit Transmission Tower found out, who knows what might happen.
The Gold-Eating Ant Emperor explained, "You are attached to form. In the absence of official history, unofficial history naturally becomes official history. And with the incident of the Death God Emissary being in the official history, what unofficial history seems outrageous compared to that?"
Some official history was already that outrageous. Who could be certain that less bizarre unofficial histories were false?
Perhaps they were the truth?
Wang Hongchen: "..."
He had no words to rebut.
Two generations of Shrek's Seven Devils had been soloed by a Soul King-level evil spirit master, and that evil spirit master had escaped from a Super Douluo. That was all true. What else was impossible?
"Furthermore, the reason Mingde Hall collected these materials was precisely because they were closely related to the history of soul tool development. As a key figure in the history of soul tool development, records of Spirit-Ice Douluo were indispensable."
"Although parts of the content contain the subjective understanding of those who recorded and relayed them, for the most part, they are presented in an obscure manner. Some past Hall Masters have also noticed this content. But after consideration, they ultimately chose to retain it rather than clear it."
"Moreover, the arrangement of Spirit-Ice Douluo's history was led by the then Tower Master of the Spirit Transmission Tower. You need not worry so much."
As far as it knew, the Spirit Transmission Tower had also done it. It had been led by Spirit-Ice Douluo's disciple, Su Tong. There was no need to worry.
Walking out of the room, Gu Yuena looked back at the lounge and transmitted, "Yuhao, did he..."
"It's nothing. At most, he has some guesswork. But he cannot be sure."
Huo Yuhao transmitted back. He looked toward Nanaly, who was waiting at the door.
She smiled at them. "Thank you again for your help last time. I've brought the gifts and compensation I promised."
At this, she glanced at Lan Fozi, as if considering whether to take out the items in front of her.
"Lan Fozi is our companion, Your Majesty. You need not worry." Huo Yuhao smiled.
Lan Fozi looked at Huo Yuhao with a momentary confusion.
A deity called her a companion... frightening.
Nanaly nodded agreeably. A pained expression flickered across her face. She took two boxes from her storage ring and handed them to Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena.
"These two portions of Ten-Thousand-Year Kongming Sea Reishi are rare heavenly treasures that can enhance spiritual power. They are my apology gifts to you."
If not for the fact that she had already broken through to the Spirit Domain realm and no longer needed such spiritual items, she would have been reluctant to give them.
Heavenly treasures that could enhance spiritual power were very, very precious.
"Next are the thank-you gifts. It took me quite some effort to obtain these."
Nanaly took out another long, narrow sandalwood box and solemnly handed it to Huo Yuhao. "This is a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone."
Huo Yuhao paused, but did not refuse. He accepted the gift.
Lan Fozi: "..."
Giving spirit bones... she felt it would be better if she weren't here.
Gu Yuena frowned, puzzled. "Isn't this too precious?"
The value of a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone went without saying. Even though their Spirit Transmission Tower had helped her capture the evil spirit master, offering a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone as a thank-you gift seemed excessive.
Nanaly shook her head. "It's not excessive. The Super Douluo you helped me capture, along with Tower Master Snow Empress, had a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone on her. Moreover, that evil spirit master told us a piece of important intelligence."
Otherwise, she could not have given a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone as a thank-you gift.
Gu Yuena looked at Huo Yuhao with some surprise upon hearing this.
An evil spirit master would reveal secrets to the Dark Department? Hadn't Yuhao said she was under the influence of a curse and couldn't reveal important intelligence?
Remembering that the only person who had contact with the evil spirit master was Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena looked away thoughtfully.
Unless... the intelligence Nanaly spoke of was information Yuhao had relayed to the Dark Department through the evil spirit master's mouth.
***
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