Xie Xie broadened his eyes, looking at Yuan En Yehui, who had just revealed herself as a woman, still finding it hard to believe.
A girl who looks so much like a boy?
Huo Yuhao could tell at a glance that Xie Xie had misunderstood and exclaimed, "This isn't Yuan En's original appearance; it's how she looks after makeup."
Tang Wulin, Wang Jinxi, and Zhang Yangzi also looked at Xie Xie speechlessly.
This guy was definitely about to make a sarcastic comment.
Hearing this, Xie Xie snapped back to reality and suddenly laughed awkwardly, "Sorry, anyone would be surprised to hear such news."
Huo Yuhao shook his head with a smile and turned to Yuan En Yehui.
"Is this okay?"
"You've seen my true face; there's no need to hide it."
Yuan En Yehui said, "And I might have to revert to my original appearance soon."
Seeing that Yuan En Yehui was getting to the main point, Tang Wulin and the others turned their shining eyes to Huo Yuhao.
"It seems there's another purpose for calling me here."
Huo Yuhao commented at everyone and smiled slightly.
A moment later.
In the training ground, everyone was lying on the floor, panting heavily. The air was filled with the mingling scents of sweat and soul power, and there were still a few scorch marks on the floor.
Huo Yuhao stood in the center of the field, seemingly unaffected, "Not bad, everyone's coordination has improved a lot compared to last time."
Tang Wulin struggled to sit up, smiling bitterly, "I just feel the gap has grown even wider." He rubbed his numb arm, still a bit dazed from Huo Yuhao's mental shock earlier.
"Exactly," Xie Xie lay sprawled on the ground, not wanting to move a finger, "Boss, go easy on us, let us see if we've improved."
Yuan En Yehui leaned against the wall, having removed her disguise. Now, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, and though her eyes still held a fierce spirit, there was also a touch of feminine softness.
Her purpose in seeking out Huo Yuhao was not just to apologize but also to seek guidance!
This top-ranked prodigy on the youth genius list was their generation's goal. Not fighting him once to feel the gap between themselves and the pinnacle would be a pity.
However, the result was clear, she had lost.
Even with Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Wang Jinxi, and Zhang Yangzi by her side, they had still been defeated decisively.
Yuan En Yehui's gaze at Huo Yuhao was complex, mixed with genuine admiration.
Such strength, ranked first, was well-deserved.
"I told you, we're no match for Yuhao. Why did they insist on seeking punishment?"
On the side, watching the battle end, Xu Xiaoyan complained to Gu Yuena, "Just lying down would be fine…"
Halfway through her sentence, Xu Xiaoyan stopped.
Nana seemed to be in a bad mood.
Gu Yuena's face was dark, and she suddenly placed her hand on Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder, her tone was cold.
"Xiaoyan, your mindset needs correction."
She was her disciple, after all. How could she just lie flat?
Join me in the grind.
Xu Xiaoyan was startled by Gu Yuena's sudden seriousness, shrinking her neck and whispering, "Nana, I was just kidding… No, no, no!"
The carefree days of the number one slacker at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy were over.
Huo Yuhao stepped off the field, watching as Xu Xiaoyan was dragged away by Gu Yuena for training, and smiled helplessly.
They had all spoiled Xiaoyan too much, leading her to almost completely lie flat. It was indeed time to correct that.
"…"
Shen Xing saw Huo Yuhao step off the stage, hesitant for a moment, and then walked over to him, "Yuhao, may I ask if you have any plans to join the military? Your strength far surpasses your peers, and if you want to gain experience, the military is a good option."
Huo Yuhao looked at her in surprise. Xu Xiaoyan had already introduced them earlier, and upon hearing Shen Xing's name, he quickly recalled her identity.
Shen Xing from the Shen family, who had some entanglements with Tang Wulin during his time on Devil Island in the original story.
It was something like… a hostage falling for her captor?
But that wasn't the point.
The important thing is that Devil Island, with the powers of the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction, was near the North Sea Corps' base. Moreover, Shen Xing's family held a significant position in the military and was a representative of the dovish faction.
Thinking this, Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes, guessing her intentions, "I don't have such plans for now…"
He paused and asked, "Miss Shen, when you befriended Xiaoyan, there weren't any ulterior motives, right?"
Shen Xing was taken aback, revised at Xu Xiaoyan on the stage, and shook her head seriously, "Of course not, I truly wanted to be friends with Xiaoyan."
Huo Yuhao met her gaze, confirmed her sincerity, and nodded, "That's good. Miss Shen, considering your family at such a young age is admirable. But always calculating for it is too much."
"…"
No, why are you so direct? I really didn't have such intentions.
Shen Xing's face turned red.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao spoke up:
"Let's be straightforward. I've heard some internal news from the elders, but I don't know the details. Could you share your family's thoughts, Miss Shen?"
Shen Xing calmed herself, seeing that Huo Yuhao had guessed her intentions, frowned, and after some thought, decided to explain some of her and her family's ideas.
Since it had come to this, it was better to lay it all out.
Why isn't this guy following the script?
Sighing inwardly, Shen Xing said:
"All wars are for profit, and the ones who suffer are the common people…"
Both the hawkish and dovish factions supported this, but their philosophies were completely different.
The hawks believed that the universe was not a peaceful haven but a dark forest full of threats.
They advocated for using force to expand into the stars, believing that controlling the resources of Star Luo and Heaven Dou to build a more powerful soul tool weapon system would ensure the Federation's place in the vast cosmos.
The doves, on the other hand, held a completely different view. They oppose war, believing that excessive development of soul tool weapons would accelerate resource depletion, potentially crippling the entire civilization before it could enter the interstellar society. In their view, this endless arms race would only lead to internal strife.
Both sides make their cases, each with their own logic. In the parliament, the hawks held the upper hand, while among the common people, those who longed for a stable life were more numerous, giving the doves the advantage.
But when Huo Yuhao heard the core arguments of both sides, he thought of Qiangu Dongfeng's reopening of the Source Core research.
So that's it. One of Qiangu Dongfeng's purposes in reopening the Source Core research was to silence the doves.
Source research was banned by the Federation, as it involved dangerous weapons like the God-Slaying Soul Tool Shells and consumed vast resources. But if completed, it could break through the Federation's technological bottleneck.
After all, from the information he had obtained from the Illustrious Virtue Hall, they had already developed things like spaceships, but negligently the appropriate energy source to power them. What they needed now was energy.
If the core technology for space exploration was in the hands of the hawks, the doves would naturally be at a disadvantage…
Shen Xing continued, "Moreover, Star Luo and Heaven Dou don't have the Spirit Pagoda. Their soul beast resources will eventually disappear. As long as we continue to accumulate our foundation, we will eventually win without a fight."
One of the fundamental differences between Star Luo, Heaven Dou, and Douluo Continent is the spiritual soul.
Without spirit souls, their gap with the Federation would only widen year by year.
Shen Xing looked at Huo Yuhao, wanting to see his reaction.
But Huo Yuhao simply shifted his gaze calmly, looking at Tang Wulin and the others who had recovered and were walking over.
Somehow, the fact that the Spirit Pagoda hadn't established branches in Star Luo and Heaven Dou as in the original story, and that spirit souls were being used as the doves' trump card, made him feel somewhat complicated.
Seeing Huo Yuhao shift his gaze, Shen Xing frowned.
It seemed she wouldn't get an answer for now.
Thinking this, Shen Xing took the initiative to suggest, "If you have any thoughts later, you can contact me."
Huo Yuhao nodded, saying nothing more.
"…"
The approaching group paused.
Huh? What's going on? They've only just met and already arranged to contact each other privately?
Yuan En Yehui's gaze shifted between Huo Yuhao and Shen Xing, her peripheral vision caught Gu Yuena, who had also stopped training and was walking over.
She remembered, wasn't this Huo Yuhao's girlfriend?
Was it really okay to do this in front of his girlfriend?
"Will something happen later?" Xie Xie nudged Tang Wulin's arm.
"It shouldn't," Tang Wulin shook his head.
Xie Xie was about to say more when he saw Gu Yuena walking over slowly and instinctively shutting his mouth.
The silver-haired girl seemed normal, but her purple eyes were slightly narrowed, and to everyone, she seemed to exude a chilling aura.
But when she reached Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena's face showed a natural smile, not a hint of anger.
A joke, Shen Xing and Yuhao were of different generations, and she didn't seem to have anything special about her. She wasn't even as useful to Yuhao as that whale. They must be discussing official matters. How could she be angry?
"Well, it's getting late. Let's call it a day."
Huo Yuhao smiled at Gu Yuena and looked at the others, "We'll be leaving first."
Xie Xie nodded blankly, then realized, "Boss, when you have time, please continue to guide us. We're going to fight Shrek Academy at the end of the semester."
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, nodded slightly, and agreed.
On the side, Gu Yuena also nodded to everyone, took Huo Yuhao's arm, and turned to leave.
…
In the Illustrious Virtue Hall, Lan Fuzi, having finished her homework, returned to her room. Seeing that Huo Yuhao and the others weren't there, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and had time to organize the information she had gathered recently.
Recently, through the Holy Spirit Cult and her mother's connections, she had learned some information about the gods.
In the Divine Realm, there were many powerful godly couples.
Sea God Tang San and his wife Xiao Wu, the Life God King and the Destruction God King, the Kindness God King and the Evil God King, the Fire God and the Water God, and so on…
Which couple were Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena?
'Among these gods, Life and Destruction have been confirmed dead in the Holy Spirit Cult's intelligence.'
Lan Fuzi swallowed hard.
Were they them? Those two were the supreme gods of the Divine Realm?
It wasn't that she was overthinking, but the current situation was just too coincidental.
It was known that the two supreme beings of the Divine Realm were in a state similar to reincarnation, and if such gods had died in the Divine Realm, and they were a couple as she imagined…
Anyone… or beast would think too much, right?
'Later, I can observe. If they display powers related to Life and Destruction, then… perhaps it can be confirmed.'
Lan Fuzi's expression was dazed, somewhat lost.
If they were really God Kings, what should she do in the future?
"You've contacted the Holy Spirit Cult?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded behind Lan Fuzi, starting her.
Lan Fuzi turned around suddenly to see Huo Yuhao standing behind her, his eyes glinting with an inscrutable light. Her heart raced, and her palms become sweaty.
"My lord, I didn't reveal any information about you, I just…"
She couldn't bring herself to say that she was just trying to investigate their identities. Lan Fuzi's blue eyes flickered, not daring to meet Huo Yuhao's gaze.
"Revealing some information is fine."
Huo Yuhao looked at Lan Fuzi, who was even more nervous than before, and smiled faintly, "You can tell the Holy Spirit Cult about infiltrating the Spirit Pagoda and becoming my assistant."
Lan Fuzi's eyes widened.
…
Huo Yuhao's life in Mingdu gradually stabilized, and days passed.
One day, Huo Yuhao arrived at Ling Zichen's research institute as promised, ready to check out their experimental project.
Huo Yuhao stepped through the institute's doors, and a faint metallic and soul tool scent greeted him. In the spacious hall, several soul engineers in white lab coats were busily moving between various workstations.
"You're here!"
Ling Zichen quickly walked over from the crowd, her face beaming with excitement.
However, her smile wasn't because of Huo Yuhao's arrival but because of the experimental data she had just completed.
"You came at the right time. That project just had a breakthrough, and we're moving on to the next experiment. I'll take you to see it."
Huo Yuhao nodded and followed Ling Zichen through several spatial doors flickering with soul tool runes, arriving underground at the Spirit Pagoda. The corridor walls were embedded with complex soul tool devices, and the faint sound of energy flow could be heard occasionally.
"Our project is Source research, called the Single Positive Loop Source Core. Oh, you might not know this concept, but the Source is…"
"A substance extracted from rare metals, used to make God-Slaying Soul Tool Shells."
Ling Zichen raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, "…You quite know a lot. But our project is slightly different from the technology of God-Slaying Soul Tool Shells."
"Amplifying the power of metal Sources for energy recycling." Huo Yuhao revised at Ling Zichen, "With such an obvious project name, anyone could figure it out."
"…"
Ling Zichen stopped in her tracks, squinting at Huo Yuhao.
Who are you mocking??
And even if one could guess, the reaction shouldn't be this quick.
"Did you get the information from the higher-ups? Or…"
Halfway through, Ling Zichen stopped herself.
Impossible, Huo Yuhao isn't part of this project, and that person wouldn't tell him. Telling Huo Yuhao this now was technically a violation of the rules, but she didn't care.
Did someone else, like her, break the rules and tell Huo Yuhao this information?
Looking at his expression, Ling Zichen felt the truth wasn't that simple and subconsciously showed interest.
But she didn't press further and continued to lead the way.
She pushed open the last metal door, and the scene before Huo Yuhao made him narrow his eyes.
In the center of the laboratory, a transparent container three meters in diameter held a dark red liquid metal. It twisted and deformed continuously, sometimes expanding, sometimes contracting, its surface flickering with dangerous light. Around it, a dozen researchers were nervously operating soul tool instruments to stabilize its state.
Two other researchers were directing.
They were Ling Zichen's parents.
Ling Zichen: "We've successfully obtained the Source from spirit-forged metal. Now, we're making it undergo fusion and control…"
"It's going to explode."
Huo Yuhao's words interrupted Ling Zichen, making her freeze.
And the next moment, a blinding white light burst from the Source's location.
Boom!