Douluo Dalu II—Chapter 89: Xu Tianran's Invitation
After a while, Di Qiu'er put down the book, her breathing a little rapid, and a blush appeared on her usually fair face.
The content of the book was very simple, describing the love story between the protagonist and various female soul beasts that had transformed into human form. However, the author detailed some of the plots excessively.
Those stories might not hold much significance for an old soul beast like Di Tian, but for a soul beast like Di Qiu'er, who had only cultivated for 15,000 years and yearned for the human world, they certainly caused quite a shock.
Although soul beasts are different from humans, Di Qiu'er could still understand the intricate plots in the "Soul Beast Girl Evaluation Guide" because she was a soul beast capable of transforming into human form and possessed high intelligence.
Take Tianmeng and Bingdi from the original novel, for example. When Huo Yuhao questioned how scorpions and silkworms could sleep together, Tianmeng simply responded that they could just transform into human forms.
"Humans wrote this kind of book! It's no wonder Di Tian and his team have to conduct internal reviews of some books."
Di Qiu'er was a sentient being, and since she had once received some of Huo Yuhao's memories, she was naturally influenced as well.
Of course, at that moment, she was not manipulated by Tang San or affected by Wang Dong's consciousness as in the original novel. Therefore, her temperament was somewhat different from Wang Qiuer's in the original story.
"Little girl, would you like to buy some books?" the bookstore owner asked cheerfully from his chair.
Di Qiu'er shook her head, placed the book down, and walked out. She had no money to buy books.
However, as Di Qiu'er continued shopping, she encountered some troubles. Some people were following her simply because she was too beautiful.
Di Qiu'er thought, "This face seems a bit too attractive for humans. I should cover it with a veil in the future. But I need to rush to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as soon as possible to experience the academy life in Huo Yuhao's memory."
Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy
Huo Yuhao was walking on campus, heading to the cafeteria for a meal. Although he could indeed make delicious grilled fish, the nutrition of grilled fish was not as comprehensive as the special meals provided by the cafeteria.
At that moment, some students saw Huo Yuhao and stopped to look at him. Surprise lit up their faces, and they began talking among themselves.
"That's Junior Yuhao! He contributed greatly to helping the Sun Moon Empire win the championship of the Soul Fighting Competition. Truly, heroes emerge from youth."
"Junior Brother Yuhao is the hero of the Sun Moon Empire!"
This was a normal occurrence; since the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition had been held, the Sun-Moon Empire's team had never won the championship. Huo Yuhao and his team securing the championship was undoubtedly a point of pride for every Sun-Moon citizen.
Huo Yuhao was indifferent to the praise. He continued walking toward his destination, tired of hearing these compliments.
When he returned to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy from Star Luo City, Jing Hongchen used a loudspeaker soul guidance device to announce the good news of their victory to the entire academy.
The result was an uproar; a large number of students rushed out enthusiastically to congratulate all the participating teams. Naturally, news of the championship victory spread quickly, and he estimated it wouldn't be long before everyone in the Sun-Moon Empire knew his name.
By then, he would be a celebrity in the Sun Moon Empire. As for the champion rewards of the Soul Fighting Contest, to be honest, Huo Yuhao looked down on the so-called high-level soul bones awarded by the Star Luo Empire because he knew he had ways to obtain better soul bones elsewhere.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him: "Mr. Huo, can you please stay?"
Huo Yuhao halted and turned to see a dark-skinned man behind him. Without a doubt, he was a noble. In the Sun-Moon Empire, not all nobles had dark skin, but those with such complexion were typically nobles.
He Caitou was a prime example of this.
"Who are you?" Huo Yuhao asked, a little confused. He had no recollection of the man before him.
The man smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Xu Feng, and I am considered a subordinate of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness was very pleased to hear that you won the championship and brought glory to the Sun Moon Empire, so he asked me to invite you to attend his private banquet tonight."
Huo Yuhao was stunned, realizing Xu Tianran had taken an interest in his talent and background, wanting him to support his claim to the throne. He concluded that if he agreed to attend the banquet, then the drug-addicted Douluo Xu Tianran would undoubtedly offer him some benefits and make certain promises.
However, Xu Tianran was a very self-serving person. He saw outsiders as mere tools. Even Ju Zi, who had saved his life, was just a reliable tool in his eyes. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let her borrow seeds from him to secure his power.
If Huo Yuhao attended Xu Tianran's banquet, he would be perceived as supporting Xu Tianran's ascension to the throne. He might gain some advantages initially, but once he lost his usefulness, Xu Tianran's attitude toward him would certainly undergo a drastic change.
Xu Tianran was that pragmatic.
For instance, in the original novel, Jing Hongchen had given significant support to Xu Tianran to help him ascend the throne. Later, however, when restructuring Illustrious Virtue Hall, Xu Tianran excluded Jing Hongchen, its hall master, and sent him to Heaven Dou City as its City Lord.
Even though Xu Tianran did this to elevate his people, it nonetheless chilled Jing Hongchen's heart. After all, even if the Sun Moon Empire took control of Heaven Dou City, how could the position of a lord there compare to that of the Illustrious Virtue Hall Master?
With these thoughts in mind, Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied firmly, "I appreciate the Crown Prince's kindness, but I need to focus on studying soul guidance devices during this period and truly cannot spare the time to attend the banquet. So, please convey my regrets."
He wasn't worried about offending Xu Tianran over this matter because Kong Deming was behind him.
As long as Kong Deming was present, Xu Tianran wouldn't dare to stir up trouble.
After all, judging from Kong Deming's performance in the original novel, even before he created a tenth-level soul guidance device, he was the most esteemed soul engineer in the Sun-Moon Empire. Even other ninth-level soul engineers would respectfully refer to Kong Deming as Master Kong when they saw him.
As for the benefits Xu Tianran might offer, they held no interest for him. After all, whatever Xu Tianran could provide, Kong Deming could offer as well.
Xu Feng's expression shifted slightly upon hearing Huo Yuhao's refusal. Normally, when he invited someone to a banquet on behalf of Xu Tianran, few dared to decline, as Xu Tianran was the strongest contender for the next Sun Moon Emperor. Even if some didn't personally like him, they would still show respect.
However, failing to invite Huo Yuhao made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
Despite his discomfort, he did not dare to mock Huo Yuhao, as Xu Tianran had instructed him to treat the genius with the utmost courtesy.
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(End of this chapter)