In the blink of an eye, three days had passed, seemingly in the blink of an eye.
Deep within the Sunset Forest, in the clearing in front of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan, Gu Yuena, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, Ice Emperor, and the Ice and Fire Dragon King formed a circle, their gazes fixed on the busy figure in the center—Huo Yuhao.
Their eyes were filled with anticipation and longing.
Beside Huo Yuhao, food was piled up like a mountain, a dazzling array of seafood, including bluefish, crabs, and lobsters, as well as many wild game such as rabbits and pheasants.
Huo Yuhao was currently concentrating intently on skewering these ingredients one by one, skillfully placing them on the campfire to roast.
His hands moved so fast they almost created afterimages, dazzling the eyes.
The Fire Dragon King stared intently at the campfire, wholeheartedly controlling the temperature of the flames.
It occasionally spewed out bursts of blazing dragonfire, ensuring the campfire's temperature was just right, allowing the food to be heated evenly and roasted to its most delicious flavor.
Dugu Yan carefully picked up a skewer of golden-brown roasted shrimp and eagerly put it in her mouth.
However, the moment it entered her mouth, she couldn't help but hiss, clearly burned.
"Hiss...it's so hot!"
Dugu Yan pouted pitifully, her eyes filled with tears, looking at Huo Yuhao with a slight mist.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao immediately released ice element to cool Dugu Yan's mouth.
Then, he carefully peeled the shrimp shells and handed the roasted shrimp to Dugu Yan.
Only then did Dugu Yan take a satisfied bite, a happy smile spreading across her face.
Gu Yuena, standing nearby, blinked her bright eyes and also offered a crab from her hand.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
No, sis, the crab and shrimp in your hand are different! Shrimp shells are easy to peel, but this is a crab!
However, faced with Gu Yuena's expectant gaze, Huo Yuhao could only helplessly continue dismantling the crab for her.
He carefully removed all the crab meat and roe into the shell, then used the shell as a bowl to hand it to Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena accepted this carefully prepared "bowl," and a satisfied smile finally appeared on her face.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's obsequious appearance, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's face revealed an undisguised pity.
Its deep eyes were filled with sympathy.
Poor Yuhao, he's already been manipulated by two girls; his position as a younger brother in the family is truly worrying...
Just then, Bingdi's cold voice rang out from the side.
"Tianmeng, come here and pick out the seeds from this dragon fruit for me.
I don't eat dragon fruit with seeds."
"Yes, yes, okay!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm immediately responded.
It took out a pair of delicate tweezers and trotted over to Bingdi, carefully picking out the seeds from the dragon fruit one by one.
Its fawning appearance was enough to make even a dog weep.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Dugu Bo: "..."
Bah! What a disgrace to men.
The campfire continued to burn, and in no time, the mountain of stones piled up next to Huo Yuhao had all been eaten.
"Yuhao, are you really leaving?"
Dugu Yan's voice was full of reluctance.
Her clear eyes glistened with tears as she stared intently at Huo Yuhao.
"Yes, I've been out for too long. I should go back..."
"Are you going back to Tianshui City?"
Dugu Yan pressed, her heart filled with doubt and reluctance.
"No, I'm going back to the Spirit Hall. That's my home."
Huo Yuhao's answer startled Dugu Yan slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"The Spirit Hall? Yuhao, you're actually from the Spirit Hall!
How come I've never heard you mention it before?"
Dugu Yan's voice was filled with disbelief.
She naturally knew about the grudges and entanglements between her grandfather and the Spirit Hall, and she subconsciously looked at Dugu Bo.
Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Dugu Bo's face didn't change much, but his heart was in turmoil.
He slowly said, "Actually, I should have thought of it long ago.
A genius like Yuhao, who is ahead of his time, can probably only come from the Spirit Hall.
However, after confirming it again, I still feel a little... sigh."
Dugu Bo's voice carried a sigh.
"Senior Dugu, do you really have such a strong aversion to the Spirit Hall?"
Huo Yuhao asked with a hint of doubt.
Dugu Bo sighed, a complex look flashing in his eyes, and slowly replied, "Alas, the whole world knows the ambitions of the Spirit Hall.
Putting aside my personal grudges with the Spirit Hall, even considering the national conflict, the Spirit Hall is growing stronger and stronger; sooner or later they will launch a war.
Once war breaks out, it will be a catastrophe!"
Huo Yuhao interrupted Dugu Bo, continuing, "If the Spirit Hall doesn't wage war, can the people of the two empires live in peace and prosperity?
Senior Dugu, do you really believe that without war, the people's lives will be happy?"
Huo Yuhao's voice carried a heavy tone as he continued, "I have traveled across the continent and witnessed too many heartbreaking scenes, and I have also seen the cruel exploitation of ordinary people by nobles.
In the eyes of those nobles, are the people really human?
Ordinary people, in their eyes, are probably not even as good as their livestock."
Dugu Bo opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found himself speechless.
Huo Yuhao's words made him fall into deep thought; he began to realize that he might have previously underestimated the suffering of the people.
Huo Yuhao didn't stop. He continued, "Furthermore, the Spirit Hall provides subsidies to lower-level spirit masters every year and helps commoners awaken their spirits for free.
It also has branch spirit halls in every region to protect those oppressed by nobles.
Guess what this world would be like without the Spirit Hall?"
Dugu Bo fell silent. He could imagine that without the Spirit Hall, the lives of ordinary people would be even worse.
However, he had subconsciously overlooked this.
After all, as a Title Douluo, he belonged to the imperial class in the Heaven Dou Empire; why would he care about the lives of ordinary people?
Huo Yuhao looked at the silent Dugu Bo, a resolute light flashing in his eyes.
He continued, "Senior Dugu, this is not the world I want.
I don't like nobles, nor do I like emperors.
You think the Spirit Hall has great ambitions, but after I become Pope, my ambitions will only grow greater."
"Yuhao, you…"
Dugu Bo's eyes widened, staring at Huo Yuhao in disbelief.
He finally realized that he had never truly understood Huo Yuhao.
"Senior Dugu, I want to completely end the era of empires, so that there will never be another emperor in this world."
"I want to make it so that no one in this world will ever again shout 'Long live the Emperor,' but instead everyone will shout 'Long live the people!'"