The first floor of the Spirit Pagoda's hall was bustling with noise and activity.
Under the towering dome, crystal chandeliers cast a soft glow, illuminating the bustling crowd.
Soul masters, dressed in various uniforms, conversed in low voices, occasionally glancing up at the massive soul screen embedded in the wall, which was broadcasting the latest announcements from the Spirit Pagoda.
Amidst this clamor, Na Nali stood beside a carved pillar, her gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao not far away. She tilted her head slightly, a look of surprise on her face as she said:
"So, you figured it out last time, which I can chalk up to my oversight, but how did you recognize me this time?"
Huo Yuhao smiled without answering.
Na Nali stared at him for a moment, then suddenly waved her hand. "Fine, fine, since you don't want to say, I won't press you."
She lowered her voice, placing a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. "But about my identity as a council member… Please keep it a secret, alright? In certain special situations, this could be very useful."
She winked meaningfully, as if already envisioning some clueless attackers running into a brick wall.
Seeing Huo Yuhao nod slightly in agreement, Na Nali's face lit up with a smile, and she continued:
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. I came to find you because there's something I want to discuss. Today, I'm here as a representative of the Federal Council."
Huo Yuhao looked surprised. "Aside from the memorial ceremony for the Spirit Ice Douluo, is there something else important?"
When the topic of the Spirit Ice Douluo's memorial ceremony came up, his expression remained unchanged, earning the admiration of Gu Yuena, who stood nearby.
If she were in such a bizarre situation, she doubted she could remain so calm.
"It's important, but also not important. Let's call it… an informal survey? With your opinion as the next Pagoda Master, I can report back and avoid dealing with those old foxes. Consider how I protected you before, help me out this once, okay?"
Na Nali cracked a joke, then her tone turned serious. "Do you think the Spirit Pagoda's current technology could allow spirit souls to be circulated among ordinary people?"
Huo Yuhao frowned. "Your Excellency means, allowing non-soul masters to obtain spirit souls?"
Really… like Pokémon?
Does the Federation have such an idea?
Are you trying to form a Pokémon League? Will Team Rocket show up someday?
As Huo Yuhao silently, Na Nali explained:
"Exactly. Right now, spirit souls are cooperating with soul masters, serving as crucial companions for their advancement. It's rare for spirit souls to be held by ordinary people."
"But as times change, other voices have begun to emerge among the common folk."
In Na Nali's understanding, spirit souls were originally designed by the Spirit Ice Douluo as a means to bring peace between soul beasts and humans. Over the course of ten thousand years, spirit souls have fulfilled their historical mission.
They now play roles as companions, elders, and heirs within soul master families. On the streets, one can see them walking alongside soul masters. In families, spirit soul ancestors scold their disappointed descendants. In spirit soul tournaments, young soul masters and their spirit soul partners sweat together on the battlefield.
These small moments paint a picture of symbiosis between humans and spirit souls. They may no longer be substitutes for soul rings, but they have become family members closer than blood.
As one spirit soul ancestor often said, "Contracts can be signed, and they can be dissolved, but the years we've spent together, no one can erase."
Yet, precisely because of the success of spirit souls, their existence has begun to captivate another vast group.
When ordinary children see soul masters and spirit souls fighting together in tournaments, or playing around in the streets, how could they not feel envy? Wouldn't their parents wish for a long-lived being to join their family, offering protection?
Of course they would!
Now, more and more ordinary people are beginning to question, why can such miraculous beings only be bound to soul masters? Isn't there a way for ordinary people to obtain spirit souls too?
Of course, there are also opponents who argue that spirit souls are safer with soul masters, and that separating them might not be wise. But after ten thousand years, spirit souls have become deeply integrated into human life, and these opposing voices have little presence, far outweighed by those advocating for spirit souls to enter ordinary household tasks.
This has led to the Federal Council debating whether to open up the purchase channels for spirit souls, allowing ordinary people to possess them.
Events like the Spirit Ice Ceremony have amplified these voices, which is why Na Nali is now asking Huo Yuhao for his opinion.
After explaining the situation in detail, Na Nali smiled. "Tell me your thoughts, speak freely. I was just joking earlier. I'll consider your opinion, but I'll also seek the views of Pagoda Masters like Snow Empress."
Relying solely on Huo Yuhao's opinion was naturally impossible. His current talent was enough to astonish anyone, but when it came to spirit soul research and politics, it was a different matter.
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Not now. There are too many issues involved. Putting aside other issues, Your Excellency should know why spirit souls continuously form contracts with soul masters, right?"
Na Nali nodded. "Yes, because spirit souls have lost their physical bodies. Without a body to nourish them, their souls are like rootless duckweed, requiring soul masters to nurture them."
Although becoming a spirit soul is less harmful to soul beasts compared to directly becoming a soul ring, they retain more of their essence, but spirit souls still sacrifice something, their physical form.
"After becoming a spirit soul, without the support of a flesh-and-blood body, their souls will gradually weaken over time and eventually dissolve."
Na Nali replied: "So, spirit souls need to form contracts with soul masters, relying on their spiritual seas to nourish themselves. Otherwise, their consciousness will gradually fade, eventually returning to nothingness."
Items and places that can nourish souls are extremely rare, but in the absence of these, forming a contract with a human becomes an alternative.
Even the divine consciousness of gods will dissolve if not replenished, let alone spirit souls.
This is also why legendary spirit souls must form contracts with humans occasionally. If becoming a spirit soul meant eternal life, then high-intelligence spirit souls wouldn't need to form contracts with humans.
However, the Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Ascension Platform can nourish spirit souls, which is an exception.
"Exactly, that's the biggest issue. Ordinary people can't nourish a spirit soul's soul. Spirit soul orbs can preserve spirit souls, delaying their demise to some extent, but we can't have spirit souls trapped inside them forever."
Moreover, ordinary people aren't "super trainers." If any safety incidents occur, it can tarnish the reputation of spirit souls.
After all, spiritual souls and Pokémon are quite different. Directly copying the Pokémon world's system will cause problems.
And how people would use spiritual souls is another issue. Currently, when soul masters cause trouble, mecha units are occasionally needed to resolve the situation. If everyone suddenly had spirit souls and supernatural abilities, without proper regulatory bodies, chaos would ensue.
"That's what I thought," Na Nali said, her expression calm. "I also feel this proposal isn't feasible now, but to list out all the issues, we'll need experts like you from the Spirit Pagoda."
What she needed was a report that outlined the technical challenges in a way ordinary people could understand, preferred by the Spirit Pagoda itself. This would help silence those voices for the time being.
Bringing spiritual souls into every household… that's not possible yet.
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow slightly. "I've heard that some people are smuggling spirit souls through various channels. If we further open up access, more spirit souls could be harmed. Isn't that reason enough?"
Na Nali: "…"
Seeing Na Nali suddenly fall silent, Huo Yuhao's eyes gradually narrowed.
It seems the issue of spirit soul smuggling involves many people.
"Knowing about this isn't surprising, given your position," Na Nali exclaimed. "But the world isn't black and white. This involves too many people, too many complexities."
There are quite a few people smuggling spirit souls, some for profit, some to "prevent" wars, and others aiming to place spies on the other two continents using spirit souls.
This kind of thing can't be exposed.
…
While Huo Yuhao and Na Nali were conversing, on the other side, Snow Empress was invited by the Holy Spirit Douluo to step away from the crowd.
Snow Empress followed the Holy Spirit Douluo to a relatively quiet area, where she heard the Holy Spirit Douluo's voice through a transmission, "Your Excellency Snow Empress, may I ask if your disciple, Huo Yuhao, is similar to me? I can feel a trace of faith power on him."
Even for a Limit Douluo, understanding faith power is difficult. Otherwise, those Limit Douluos wouldn't struggle to find opportunities for advancement.
Yet, she sensed a trace of faith power on Huo Yuhao, a child, which was clearly unusual.
Many Limit Douluo don't possess such a thing, so how did a child manage it? Mere admiration for a strong or talented individual can't grant faith power. The Holy Spirit Douluo could only think that Huo Yuhao was similar to her, or that he had accomplished some great feat.
Hearing this, Snow Empress smiled faintly. "Since Your Excellency already has a guess, why ask me?"
The Holy Spirit Douluo spoke gently, "It's nothing, just that today's special occasion has led me to some incredible speculations, so I wanted to seek your insight."
"Just as you've guessed, he's similar to your situation."
"Is that so? I understand."
The Holy Spirit Douluo and Snow Empress exchanged a glance, then the Holy Spirit Douluo nodded silently, her expression unreadable as she thanked Snow Empress politely.
"To have such an outstanding disciple, Your Excellency Snow Empress must be very pleased."
"Naturally."
The two exchanged a few more words, and the Holy Spirit Douluo gracefully bowed, a gentle smile on her lips as she took her leave.
She still wanted to speak with Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao, who was in the midst of his conversation with Na Nali, suddenly felt a gentle gaze upon him. He looked up to see the Holy Spirit Douluo approaching, her demeanor serene.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Your Excellency Holy Spirit Douluo!" Na Nali bowed respectfully. "Of course not, please go ahead."
The Holy Spirit Douluo nodded slightly, her gaze shifted to Huo Yuhao as she spoke softly:
"May I have a word with you?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Of course."
Na Nali tactfully stepped back. "I'll go visit the other Pagoda Masters. Take your time."
Once Na Nali had left, the Holy Spirit Douluo used her soul power to create a barrier. She looked at Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena with a light smile. "Do you know my story?"
"Didn't Your Excellency just recount it before the spirit tablet?"
"I'm referring to my soul power advancement."
The Holy Spirit Douluo gently tapped her chest, and a faint golden light began to swirl in her palm.
"My innate talent for cultivation isn't as impressive as some soul master prodigies, but my martial soul can absorb faith power to enhance my soul power."
Huo Yuhao: "…"
Your words have a similar ring to what Zhenhun said before.
I'm sure many so-called genius soul masters would love to trade lives with you.
"However, even though I knew I could use faith power to improve myself, my soul power cultivation speed wasn't as fast as one might expect. By the time I was thirty, I was still a Soul Emperor, not particularly fast compared to many soul masters. I didn't become a Titled Douluo until my forties."
The Holy Spirit Douluo's voice was soft. "But personally, I'm quite happy, because my slow cultivation speed indirectly reflects that there isn't as much suffering in this world."
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered.
He remembered that the original Holy Spirit Douluo was a Soul Sage around thirty and became a Titled Douluo in her thirties.
This is much slower…
But upon reflection, Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised.
The Holy Spirit Douluo was originally born in the slums, but now she was born in an ordinary village. The slums of the past had tremendous changes due to the efforts of generations.
And between slums and ordinary villages, which place had more suffering? The answer was obviously the former.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit Douluo went from Soul Sage to Titled Douluo in just a year, but that was because she had exhausted herself traveling to treat patients during a plague fifty years ago, nearly dying in the process. It was then that she gained a massive amount of faith power, directly advancing from Soul Sage to Titled Douluo.
But this time, the Emerald Jade Swan and Bi Ji had interfered during that plague. The Holy Spirit Douluo didn't need to burn herself out, nor was it her turn to do so.
By the time she finished treating patients in one town, the plague had already been contained.
As the saying goes, "Seeing a leopard through a tube," just as the Holy Spirit Douluo said, the world had improved, and her cultivation speed had naturally slowed as a result…
Thinking this, Huo Yuhao's expression turned odd.
Is she treating me as someone like her, here to impart life lessons?
Indeed, the Holy Spirit Douluo continued, "I've heard that your situation is similar to mine. If things continue as they are, the path of advancing through faith power isn't as simple as it seems. I hope you're mentally prepared."
Finally, the Holy Spirit Douluo thought for a moment, then took out a soul communicator and a soul screen, smiling as she said, "Regarding the use of faith power, I might be able to offer some guidance. If you encounter any confusion, you can ask me."
Although Snow Empress had said as much, the Holy Spirit Douluo still had some doubts.
As someone who had participated in the Spirit Ice Ceremony, the Holy Spirit Douluo had long sensed that something here seemed to be collecting faith power. But since she wasn't part of the Spirit Pagoda, it wasn't her concern, so she hadn't dwelled on it.
Yet, during today's memorial, some of the faith power that should have been collected by an unknown entity… seemed to drift toward Huo Yuhao?
Why was that?