The memorial ceremony began with Huo Yuhao, unfolding slowly.
Huo Yuhao himself stepped back from the spirit tablet, silently observing everything, though deep in his eyes, there were waves of emotion that no one else could see.
The recitation of the eulogy echoed solemnly within the hall, reverberating until—
The Holy Spirit Douluo took over the position for the memorial, passing by Huo Yuhao.
Their eyes met for a brief moment, and the Holy Spirit Douluo gave a gentle, spring-like smile, nodding slightly to Huo Yuhao. Her smile still carried a hint of confusion, but it didn't affect her next actions.
The Holy Spirit Douluo walked up to the spirit tablet and bowed respectfully. After that, unlike others who recited their prepared eulogies, she softly began to recount her own experiences.
"I was born in a village that was neither rich nor poor. As a child, I heard the elders in the village say that it used to be a slum long ago, with very poor living conditions and environment. But with the arrival of certain people, things changed."
Everyone in the hall was momentarily stunned, clearly having never heard this part of her past.
Some quick-thinking representatives of various factions had already begun to cast strange glances at the higher-ups of the Spirit Pagoda.
They had guessed who those people were.
The methods of the Spirit Pagoda were truly pervasive, managing to win the Holy Spirit Douluo's favor from a young age...
Sure enough, the Holy Spirit Douluo's next sentence confirms their suspicions.
"They were Spirit Masters... or rather, external members of the Spirit Pagoda."
Spirit Masters from less affluent families will receive support from the Spirit Pagoda. Through the mutual selection feature between spirit souls and Spirit Masters, spirit souls can choose their masters, allowing these Spirit Masters to obtain their first spirit soul without immediately paying the federal currency required to purchase one.
However, as a price, these Spirit Masters will need to gradually repay the academy the debt after graduating from intermediate.
Additionally, they could accept arrangements negotiated between the Spirit Pagoda and the federation, going to certain places to perform tasks within their capabilities.
The people who came to the village where the Holy Spirit Douluo lived were such individuals, and their work in the slums was naturally... poverty alleviation.
The Holy Spirit Douluo continued in a gentle tone:
"These Spirit Masters stayed in the village for over a decade. The work they did was ordinary yet crucial, building infrastructure, teaching children to read, write, and understand martial souls, helping children of the right age awaken their martial souls for free..."
"The power of role models is immense. Their arrival injected new vitality into what was once a slum. After all, in the eyes of the villagers, they were noble Spirit Masters. If even they were helping the village develop, what reason did the villagers have not to strive? Perhaps those Spirit Masters were merely fulfilling their duties, but no one could take their contributions for granted."
"Gradually, the muddy dirt roads turned into stone-paved paths, the leaky thatched huts were replaced with brick and tile houses, and the village even built its first formal martial soul enlightenment school. During this process, some Spirit Masters left, some grew fond of the villagers and stayed. Of course, there were also newcomers who filled the vacancies left by those who departed."
"Some fortunate children became Spirit Masters after awakening their martial souls, studying and growing in the school. As they grew up, they became the next generation of Spirit Masters... And so, the village gradually developed, transforming from a former slum into a proper town."
Those present knew that the Holy Spirit Douluo had omitted the hardships and darkness from the story, leaving only the most beautiful parts.
However, at this moment, no one would disturb her reminiscence.
"I heard that you once said, 'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.' This should be the most accurate portrayal, right?"
The Holy Spirit Douluo looked at the spirit tablet, "Hearing such a story, I couldn't help but stay and help the villagers with healing. But as my strength gradually increased, I found that my spirit power was becoming stronger and stronger, and staying confined to a village was not the best choice."
"My hands are small, and no matter how hard I try, lives slip through them. But I still want to do my best to hold onto more. So, I embarked on a journey, traveling across the entire federation. From that moment on, my horizons continued to expand."
"Ten thousand years ago, evil Spirit Masters ran rampant, and incidents of cities being slaughtered and nations destroyed were not uncommon. Such records no longer exist today. Fifty years ago, a plague swept through, putting millions of people in crisis. The Emerald Swan tribe came to aid... This was a scene that would have been impossible ten thousand years ago."
"The Spirit Masters helping villages develop, the disappearance of the era of evil Spirit Masters, and the peaceful coexistence between spirit beasts and humans are the results of the efforts of millions of people and spirit beasts. But the initial light was undoubtedly left by you."
The Holy Spirit Douluo's clear, spring-like voice flowed past Huo Yuhao's ears. His eyelashes trembled slightly as he saw the woman in the aqua-green dress clasp her hands together, her fingertips glowing with a soft light of spirit power, and bow deeply.
"Spirit Ice Douluo, thank you for lighting the way for us..."
...
No one left during the memorial ceremony until the last person had completed their tribute, and only then did everyone leave together.
As the crowd began to disperse, Gu Yuena wanted to find Huo Yuhao to go home together, but she noticed that two people were already standing beside him.
One was Zhao Chengyuan, and the other was the Holy Spirit Douluo.
Seeing Zhao Chengyuan approach, the Holy Spirit Douluo smiled slightly, "You two talk, I'll go find Snow Empress for a chat."
Zhao Chengyuan watched the Holy Spirit Douluo leave before turning to Huo Yuhao. His silver-gray short hair shimmered with a cool hue under the dim light of the hall, but his eyes sparkled with interest.
"At your age, you've already reached the Soul Emperor level. Truly remarkable. It seems your cultivation speed even surpasses that of the Atlas Douluo. No wonder the various tower masters are so confident in your ability to become the next tower master."
Huo Yuhao was slightly surprised that Zhao Chengyuan had approached him to speak, and raised an eyebrow at his words, "Senior Zhao, you flatter me. If we're talking about spirit power cultivation speed, you're far ahead of me. There are rumors that you broke through to the Super Douluo level before the age of twenty."
Zhao Chengyuan smiled and transmitted his voice with a sigh, "In the end, I used some special methods. It's not comparable to a true genius like you. Moreover, once you reach a certain level of cultivation, it depends on your own comprehension. External aids aren't omnipotent."
"..."
Although he was being modest, there was a hint of a smile in his words that Huo Yuhao couldn't quite place, making him feel like Zhao Chengyuan was just showing off.
Taking pills to ascend to demi-godhood, what was there to be dissatisfied about?
Ten thousand years ago, spirit tool masters who wanted to take such pills with minimal side effects didn't have the ability or means to do so.
Secretly rolling his eyes, Huo Yuhao transmitted his voice, "I heard that the Soul Suppressing Douluo once said,'To become a Limit Douluo, I ate so many pills I voted.' Is that true?"
That's right, the Spirit Master before him was the Soul Suppressing Douluo, also known as the former Dark Blood Demon.
As a Limit Douluo, even if the Spirit Pagoda wanted to keep him as a hidden trump card, they couldn't just let him lie around doing nothing. If they only used him when the time came, wouldn't the resources provided to him be wasted?
Hiding in plain sight, giving him the identity of a Spirit Master as a cover, allowing him to openly participate in some affairs, wasn't that perfect?
After all, a super genius with exhausted potential, unable to break through to the Limit Douluo level... was something all parties could accept.
Zhao Chengyuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he looked at Huo Yuhao with some surprise, then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, "I didn't expect the Pagoda Master Snow Empress and the others to have already told you about the Execution Department and my affairs... That's right, I did say that. But it was just a joke. If I had to do it again, I'd still take the pills."
"After all, when it comes to pure spirit power cultivation, my talent really isn't that great, far inferior to freaks like you and Atlas Douluo. If I hadn't joined the Spirit Pagoda, I wouldn't have a future."
In the current federation, a Spirit Master like him, without the support of the Spirit Pagoda, would find it difficult to achieve anything. Let alone surpassing the Atlas Douluo in the age of becoming a Titled Douluo.
In fact, without the opportunities provided by the Spirit Pagoda, he might have become an evil Spirit Master long ago.
So, getting tired of eating pills, vomiting, that was naturally just a joke.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered.
In his memory, according to the original development of this era, there were two individuals who became Titled Douluos before the age of twenty.
One was naturally the Underworld Monarch, and the other was the Dark Blood Demon. The former was nineteen, and the latter was even faster.
He hadn't even reached sixty by the final battle, but he had already become a Super Douluo over forty years ago. In other words, it took him only a little over a decade to become a Super Douluo...
However, both of their situations were quite special. The Dark Blood Demon relies on absorbing the souls of other creatures to cultivate, while the Underworld Monarch uses killing and death, hardly normal cultivation methods.
In the original development, Huo Yuhao wasn't entirely clear on how much slaughter the Dark Blood Demon's ascension had caused, but he did have some memories related to the Underworld Monarch's rise.
The Underworld Monarch wasn't born with full spirit power. He achieved the transformation to full spirit power by slaughtering an orphanage.
By the time he became a Super Douluo at the age of twenty-five, he had killed a hundred thousand people.
Later, he continued to kill spirit beasts in the ocean, and by the time he reached the Limit Douluo level, it's likely that a million lives had fallen by his hand.
And the Dark Blood Demon's ascension speed was even faster than the Underworld Monarch's, so it's clear that the number of humans and spirit beasts that fell by his hand wouldn't be small.
After all, his situation was too extreme. Ordinary cultivation methods were almost useless for increasing his spirit power; he could only improve by absorbing soul energy. If he hadn't joined the Spirit Pagoda this time, the likelihood of him becoming an evil Spirit Master would have been extremely high...
"Senior, why have you come to find me? Do you have any advice to offer?"
"Advice isn't the right word. I'm just a bit curious about you. After all, I'm rarely at headquarters, and since I have the opportunity this time, it's only right to meet the heir that the various tower masters have such high hopes for."
Zhao Chengyuan said, "But now it seems, you're even more interesting than the rumors. After I learned about your situation, I was a bit suspicious that you might have used some special methods to achieve such rapid advancement. But after meeting you up close, I can only marvel at the fact that the world is full of extraordinary talents..."
Zhao Chengyuan and Huo Yuhao chatted for a long time, from the path to the memorial hall all the way to the first floor of the Spirit Pagoda. It wasn't until Zhao Yao called out to him that he bid farewell and left.
Before leaving, his final words left Huo Yuhao slightly surprised, "Using this Spirit Master identity as a cover is also for my daughter. She doesn't know that I'm the head of the Execution Department of the Spirit Pagoda. So, please keep my affairs confidential."
The Dark Blood Demon is living a life with a wife and daughter by his side?
Before awakening in this era, I never would have imagined such a scene.
Thinking this, Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement and watched the two leave.
"Yuhao, this guy's personality is a bit unexpected. He's surprisingly serious. I thought someone who could say 'I ate so many pills to become a Limit Douluo that I voted' would be an interesting character."
In the mental sea, Tianmeng, who had been shocked by Soul Suppressing's bold statement, commented.
Ice Empress rolled her eyes, "When meeting a junior in the capacity of a senior, of course he'd put on some airs. Did you think everyone was like you?"
Someone who could say such things, the Soul Suppressing Douluo couldn't possibly be too serious.
Moreover, a child's personality sometimes reflects their parents'. Ice Empress also knew what kind of personality Zhao Yao, the Soul Suppressing Douluo's daughter, had.
It could only be said... like father, like daughter.
After the Soul Suppressing Douluo left, Gu Yuena walked over to Huo Yuhao and asked curiously, "Yuhao, what's wrong? What did he just say to you through voice transmission?"
"Nothing much, just some casual talk about cultivation."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and looked towards the figures approaching them.
"But now that he's started this, I'm afraid I'll have to put in some more effort."
Earlier, during the memorial ceremony, even if these higher-ups of the Spirit Pagoda and representatives of various factions were interested in him, it wouldn't have been appropriate to approach him for a chat. But now that the ceremony was over, things were different.
Similarly, Snow Empress, Bear Lord, Qiangu Dongfeng, and others were gradually surrounded by guests seeking to strike up a conversation.
Social niceties were unavoidable.
"Then I'll stay with you." Gu Yuena smiled slightly, "If you don't want to talk to them, I'll just give them a cold look and make them back off."
Na'er giving a cold look...
That would indeed cool the atmosphere, a skill honed through countless trials to deal with Gu Ruiqiu.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao suddenly suddenly around, "Speaking of which, where's Ruiqiu? Why has she disappeared again? Her movements have been a bit strange lately, as if she's avoiding me."
"I don't know. She just finished participating in the memorial ceremony and then disappeared..."
As she said this, a look of confusion also appeared on Gu Yuena's face.
Such a large celebration was a perfect opportunity for Gu Ruiqiu to fulfill her role and call her 'little sister.' Why would she leave the scene without reason?
Moreover, even though she wasn't in charge of managing the celebration, Gu Ruiqiu hadn't come to bother her all day, which was also strange. Combined with her previous unusual behavior...
A hint of worry arose in Gu Yuena's heart, "Could she have encountered some troublesome problem? If that's the case, why didn't she discuss it with us?"
Huo Yuhao became even more certain of a certain conjecture, saying quietly, "Is it possible that the trouble she encountered is related to us?"
Gu Yuena was stunned.
"Don't worry, the monk can run, but the temple can't. Her home is here. We'll find her later and figure it out."
Seeing the female federal representatives approaching, Huo Yuhao temporarily ended the conversation.
"I didn't expect you to come greet me first... Miss Na Nali, is this your public identity?"