When Huo Yuhao donned the Frost Centipede Armored Transformation, it functioned like a regular armor-type martial soul, bringing a tremendous boost to his overall strength.
Currently, the Frost Centipede Armored Transformation increased Huo Yuhao's overall power by 40%, corresponding to the 40,000-year level of the first soul ring of his variant Frost Centipede martial soul. For every 10,000-year increase in the soul ring's age, the power boost would rise by another 10%.
Additionally, the armor provided considerable defensive power.
As Huo Yuhao's own strength continued to grow, fighting in armor with combat techniques inflicted more damage and was more rewarding than using soul skills.
This allowed Huo Yuhao to easily crush the Wolf King.
Of course, that was a poisoned Wolf King.
Why bother with poison if you're just going to fight with skills? How else would you become a Peerless Douluo?
Even so, it was still impressive.
If Huo Yuhao were to activate the Demonic Eye Enhancement Mode, his combat strength would become even more terrifying. The Demonic Eye enhancement doubled his power with every soul ring he had.
That's right — the two enhancements could be stacked.
As long as Huo Yuhao's body could withstand it.
This was why Huo Yuhao had never stopped honing his physical strength.
After taking down the lead Wolf King and ten ten-thousand-year-old Snowfield Wolves, the collapse of the wolf pack was inevitable.
With no strong leaders left in the pack, the remaining Snowfield Wolves tried to flee. But Huo Yuhao's group didn't let any escape — even the wolf pups in the pack were wiped out.
The northern front was about to face a beast tide — if they didn't kill these wolves now, were they supposed to let them charge south in the future and hit the frontlines?
Unfortunately, no soul bones dropped.
The battle between Bei Bei, Vena, and that five-thousand-year-old Snowfield Wolf lasted several minutes, and they emerged victorious.
It was obvious Bei Bei had enjoyed the fight.
Vena immediately came over to check on Huo Yuhao's condition, even though he appeared unscathed — in fact, he hadn't even been hit once.
Well, this was exactly why Vena was there.
"Huo Yuhao, are you going to absorb the Wolf King's soul ring?" Bei Bei stepped forward and asked curiously.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "Brother Bei Bei, I plan to absorb a soul ring with a poison attribute. Ice-type rings don't offer much benefit to my attributes."
Bei Bei had no objection.
The Imperial Guard soldiers began cleaning up the battlefield, and the group prepared to return to the frontline camp to submit their mission.
The fact that Huo Yuhao had single-handedly defeated the Wolf King and ten ten-thousand-year-old Snowfield Wolves shocked the guards.
The commander of the Imperial Guard began to look at Huo Yuhao in a new light.
But Bei Bei and Vena weren't too surprised.
Because they knew Huo Yuhao's true strength far exceeded his level.
And Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice ability greatly suppressed the Wolf King, who also had an ice attribute. Add in the poison attribute, and his enemies couldn't guard against him at all.
According to Mu En and Yan Shaozhe's evaluations, Huo Yuhao already had the strength to contend with high-tier Soul Emperors.
As long as he could poison a Soul Emperor, and the target had no antidote capabilities, Huo Yuhao could grind them to death.
They no longer referred to Huo Yuhao as a "monster" — he had graduated to "freak."
After wiping out the Snowfield Wolves, Huo Yuhao quietly gathered all their souls. These were absorbed into his Ghost Banner, transformed into ghost spirits, and became his minions.
However, these ghosts didn't boost the Ghost Banner as much as expected.
The banner had already been upgraded once by absorbing the souls of a hundred thousand-year-old soul beasts.
Its sensitivity to new souls had dropped.
To trigger the next evolution, it would now require the souls of at least a hundred ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts — or the souls of soul masters at the Soul King level or higher.
Ghosts were seriously depreciating in value.
As for souls below the thousand-year level — most were only good as "dog food" to be fed to his main spirit for power-ups.
Still, the Ghost Banner's evolution required not just quantity but quality. If Huo Yuhao could truly nurture the Ghost Banner to its full potential, even he couldn't predict how powerful it might eventually become.
Returning to the Frontline.
Submitting the Mission.
Claiming the Reward.
The 10,000 gold soul coins were secondary.
The main prize was the military merit.
Merits were split among Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and Vena.
The Imperial Guards didn't need front-line military credits. Their role was to protect Huo Yuhao and Vena, which was a merit in itself.
As long as they handled this job well, promotions and important assignments were bound to follow.
Bei Bei and Vena each took a symbolic 10% share of the military merit.
The remaining 90% went entirely to Huo Yuhao.
He now had over 200 merit points — enough to exchange for the position of Centurion in the army.
But Huo Yuhao didn't plan to join the military.
So he decided to save his merit points for future item exchanges.
He also asked the exchange office for a full reward catalog.
The catalog had two sections:
Exchange items for military merit.
Exchange items for military merit points.
Naturally, exchanging items for merits involved some loss. But some trades had bonus rewards — for instance, trading a soul bone would earn not only merit points but also a baronial title for a hundred-year soul bone.
Still, unless it was a special case, few people would trade soul bones for merit.
There were many valuable items that could be redeemed with merits.
Besides military ranks, even noble titles were available — though even the lowest, a baron, required at least 500 merit points.
Among the catalog entries, Huo Yuhao spotted rare pills like Xuan Shui Dan and Soul Ascension Dan — all starting at 5,000 merit points.
Clearly, these were not meant for ordinary soul masters.
But to Huo Yuhao, these pills weren't very useful.
After scanning the list, he found only certain herbs and soul bones to be of any real value to him.
It wasn't that Douluo Continent lacked good items —
It's just that their utility was too limited.
There were also pills suitable for Soul Kings and Soul Emperors, but according to Huo Yuhao's understanding, they all came with side effects.
One misstep could result in a years-long cultivation block, making it impossible to increase soul power.
So Huo Yuhao decided to buy herbs at lower costs and refine pills himself.
There were also some rare metals available.
But Huo Yuhao wasn't a soul engineer.
And since his Ghost Banner had already fused with Essence Gold of Living Beings, it didn't need to incorporate ordinary metals.
Compared to that divine metal, most rare materials seemed downright mundane.
With the Ghost Banner as his life-bound artifact, Huo Yuhao didn't feel the need to craft more — unless he encountered some truly exceptional materials.
Finally, there were soul bones.
"The Soul of Secret Arts soul bones are the cheapest," Huo Yuhao muttered. "But even a hundred-year one costs 1,000 merit points. Feels like a scam."
You could get 300 merit points by hunting a Snowfield Wolf pack. If you hunted hundred-year beasts, the military gave even fewer merit points.
Kill a hundred hundred-year soul beasts, craft them into Secret Arts soul bones, and you could sell each one for 1,000 merit points.
That sounded like an outrageous profit margin.
"If I'd known earlier, I would've asked Yan Shaozhe to teach me how to make Secret Arts soul bones back at the academy. I'd be rich by now." Huo Yuhao looked regretful.
Selling those bones to soul masters might've been more profitable.
But some things — like noble titles or restricted items — could only be acquired through military merit.
And now, with so many soul beasts roaming outside, mass-producing Secret Arts soul bones was basically a free lunch.
As long as you didn't care about the whole "violating the laws of heaven" thing.
At the time, Huo Yuhao had dismissed the crafting method for being too crude — so he never studied it seriously.
Now he regretted it.
The reason he wanted Yan Shaozhe's help was because, even if the man didn't know how to make the bones himself, as a high-ranking academy elder, he could definitely get the method for Huo Yuhao.
If Huo Yuhao could refine Secret Arts soul bones, trade them for merit, and then use the merit to exchange for rare materials — that would be perfect.
He might even save up enough to trade for a ten-thousand-year soul bone before long.
While Huo Yuhao was muttering to himself, a disturbance broke out at the exchange office.
The trio turned to look curiously.
A man in black robes had slammed down three items at the counter.
"I'm here to trade for military merit," the black-robed man rasped.
Not only the crowd stirred.
Even the officer in charge of the exchange widened his eyes and breathed heavily.
Because what the black-robed man brought out — was three hundred-year Secret Arts soul bones!
Huo Yuhao: Oh no, there's another smart one!
The man in the black robe took out three soul bones forged from Secret Law Souls, causing quite a stir.
After redeeming his military merits, the black-robed man then exchanged some of them for rare medicinal herbs before departing directly, declining the officer's invitation to stay.
Huo Yuhao keenly noticed that someone secretly followed after the man once he left—clearly, greed had been stirred, and someone was plotting mischief.
However, Huo Yuhao chose not to follow.
For now, he had no intention of engaging in unnecessary matters—he had more important things to focus on.
To him, mere soul bones and a few military merits weren't worth taking risks over.
"Brother Huo, let's head back too," said Bei Bei.
"Mm-hmm, sure, Brother Bei Bei," Huo Yuhao nodded.
"Yuhao, why don't we stroll around the city for a bit? Even though most of the civilians have evacuated, a lot of soul masters are still gathered here. I heard they've even set up a market selling soul beast materials. Who knows? Maybe we'll find something interesting," Wei Na suggested shyly, her ears turning slightly red.
Huo Yuhao frowned. "But... Brother Bei Bei..."
Bei Bei narrowed his eyes and grinned suggestively, cutting him off.
"Aiya, I just remembered I have something to do. I'll be off for a bit. You two go ahead and enjoy yourselves."
Before leaving, he even gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up for encouragement.
It was obvious Bei Bei was trying to help.
In the end, Huo Yuhao, Wei Na, and the Imperial Guard captain went to explore the market together.
…
That night, Huo Yuhao returned to his tent.
The market earlier had been full of curious items, even some baby soul beasts for sale.
Wei Na bought herself a snow fox cub—a mental-type soul beast known more for its beauty than its combat ability.
She'd also wanted to buy something nice for Huo Yuhao.
But most of what was available didn't interest him much.
He did notice Bei Bei sneak into the market too, purchasing some ice-attribute herbs—clearly not for himself. His thoughts were still on Tang Ya.
Seated cross-legged in his tent, Huo Yuhao didn't cultivate.
Instead, he drew strange symbols onto a sheet of paper using his own blood.
This wasn't a spell—it was a tracker.
"Brother Tianmeng, sorry to trouble you."
"Don't worry, Brother Hao! Primordial Spirit No. 1, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm—ready to deploy!"
The spirit form of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm emerged, wrapping the blood-smeared paper in spiritual power before quietly slipping out.
The target: Dai Yaoheng.
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm carefully hid the paper in Dai Yaoheng's clothing, allowing Huo Yuhao to track him at any time.
In the dim tent, Huo Yuhao opened his Evil Eye.
The eerie red and blue dual pupils glowed with a cold light.
"Can't rush it... the time isn't right yet..." he muttered softly.
…
In the following days, Huo Yuhao entered mission mode.
He took on at least two missions a day, packing his schedule from morning to night.
He specifically targeted ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, adding more powerful souls to his Ghost Banner Martial Soul with every mission.
Bei Bei and Wei Na began to grow alarmed.
Bei Bei: Oh no, Little Brother Huo is grinding hard again!
Wei Na: There's not even time for a date anymore!
But seeing how happy Huo Yuhao was each day, neither of them could bring themselves to ask him to slow down.
They had no choice but to follow along.
Huo Yuhao: I just want to farm ghosts!
Three-person squad—but only one was enjoying himself.
Even the imperial guards felt Huo Yuhao was too hardworking.
He wasn't just hunting during the day—at night, he was still preparing to hunt Dai Yaoheng.
He monitored Dai Yaoheng's movements every day.
Dai Yaoheng went out to train once a day but always returned to camp before dark. If he came back early, he'd only stroll through the city, never going out alone.
His strict routine left Huo Yuhao with no opening.
All he could do was wait patiently.
…
Another mission day concluded.
Huo Yuhao returned with a big smile and high spirits.
Bei Bei and Wei Na, in contrast, looked exhausted.
Even the guards behind them had blank, lifeless expressions.
The results were rewarding and the training was real—but it was just too frequent.
Even with enjoyable activities, if done too much, they could become monotonous.
Not to mention, Bei Bei and Wei Na were training, the guards were working—and only Huo Yuhao was happily reaping rewards.
Everyone looked at Huo Yuhao with a mix of envy and bitterness.
Seeing his glowing smile, they could tell—Huo Yuhao genuinely enjoyed doing missions.
When they arrived at the military merit exchange station, they noticed it was unusually lively.
"What's going on?" Bei Bei asked curiously, a spark of light finally returning to his dead eyes.
At last! Something exciting to break this dull routine!
"Go find out what's happening!" Wei Na ordered one of the guards.
The guard nodded and spoke with the officer in charge before returning quickly to report.
"Many sects and academies requested it, so the exchange center has posted a Military Merit Ranking Board. The crowd ahead is checking out the rankings."
"A ranking board?" Bei Bei's interest was piqued.
Wei Na's eyes sparkled—she instantly saw the potential.
Sects and academies could use the board for publicity. Independent soul masters with high ranks could be recruited, and the military could use it to motivate others.
Bei Bei, however, focused only on the rankings.
"We've done quite a few missions lately, and most of the merit points are credited to Little Brother Huo. He's definitely made the list! Let's go check it out!" he said excitedly.
Wei Na nodded—she was curious about Huo Yuhao's rank as well.
Huo Yuhao blinked.
"Isn't this just like a contribution leaderboard in a video game?"
Wei Na didn't have the guards clear a path.
Most of the people checking the board were soul masters from various factions—there was no need for conflict.
The three squeezed into the crowd themselves.
Bei Bei led the way, carving out a path through the mass so Huo Yuhao and Wei Na could reach the front.
"Found him! Little Brother Huo's right there!" Bei Bei pointed.
Wei Na looked.
[Rank 69: Huo Yuhao – 1024 Military Merit Points. Affiliation: Shrek Academy Student.]
"Top 100! And over a thousand merit points!" Bei Bei said excitedly.
"Congratulations, Yuhao," Wei Na smiled warmly.
"But... there's no reward for being on the board," Huo Yuhao said helplessly. "What's there to celebrate?"
"That's not it, Yuhao. You've gained reputation through this ranking," Wei Na explained.
"And what good is reputation for me?"
"Ah... well..."
Wei Na suddenly realized the conversation couldn't continue.
In truth, making the top 100 was already quite impressive.
After all, Huo Yuhao's team hadn't been here long. If he hadn't consistently chosen missions involving ten-thousand-year soul beasts, he'd never have broken the 1,000-point mark.
Many soul masters who had arrived earlier didn't even have as much merit.
Like Dai Yaoheng, for example.
Huo Yuhao immediately spotted his name.
[Rank 87: Dai Yaoheng – 943 Military Merit Points. Affiliation: Shrek Academy Student.]
Among those ranked near Dai Yueheng were several familiar names:
Chen Zifeng, Xixi, Ling Luocheng, Yao Haoxuan, and Gongyang Mo.
All of them were the main contestants in this year's Soul Master Tournament.
Counting in Dai Yueheng, aside from Ma Xiaotao, every member of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils had shown up.
They had all made it into the top hundred, trailing just behind Dai Yueheng in merit points. It seemed likely that they had split the points evenly.
However, none of them were currently nearby—they were still out on missions.
Someone took notice of the group from Shrek Academy and couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of Shrek Academy's elite disciples. Even as students, they all made it into the top hundred."
Upon hearing the crowd's chatter, Bei Bei puffed out his chest with pride, clearly basking in the shared glory.
Wei Na, on the other hand, remained unaffected.
After all, it wasn't just Shrek Academy—other academies and sects had also made it into the top hundred.
However, most of those listed were sect leaders, elders, or instructors.
The lowest-ranking ones were at least deacons.
Very few students or disciples had made it into the top hundred, and all of them were ranked below Dai Yueheng.
Shrek Academy not only had the most students in the top hundred, but their rankings were also the highest.
Just then, someone spotted something interesting.
"Wait a second, look at Rank 69! There's another Shrek Academy student there! And his merit points are over a thousand!"
In an instant, the name "Huo Yuhao" caught everyone's attention.
"For real?!"
"That impressive?"
"Huo Yuhao? Never heard of him! Could he be Shrek Academy's hidden genius?"
Everyone was puzzled.
Why was Huo Yuhao standing out so much?
While Dai Yueheng wasn't present among the crowd, Long Aotian was.
Long Aotian's merit points, like Bei Bei and Wei Na's, hadn't made it into the top hundred.
After all, he was only a four-ring Soul Ancestor—his strength had limits, and his sect couldn't artificially inflate his merit score.
But among those ranked outside the top hundred, Long Aotian held the highest position among sect disciples and academy students!
When Long Aotian saw Huo Yuhao's name on the list, his eyes widened.
Huo Yuhao, a Shrek Academy student?!
"No way! Absolutely not!" Long Aotian suddenly shouted, drawing attention.
With a deep tone, Long Aotian said, "That Huo Yuhao can't possibly have that many merit points!"
Wei Na frowned slightly.
Truthfully, Long Aotian's skepticism wasn't baseless.
But it still left Wei Na feeling uncomfortable—after all, her current goal was to win over Huo Yuhao.
"Oh? Brother Aotian, you know this Huo Yuhao from Shrek Academy?" asked a youth from a nearby sect team.
The youth was tall—already 1.8 meters at just fifteen or sixteen years old. He was burly with spiky deep-blue hair. Despite the cold weather, he wore a sleeveless top, exposing muscular arms like sculpted granite. His presence radiated fierce intensity.
Both Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei looked at the youth with surprise.
They sensed something similar about his aura—something that resonated with Bei Bei's.
It was the aura of a similar martial soul!
Wei Na whispered in Huo Yuhao's ear, "That's Yu Tianlong, heir to the Heavenly Dragon Sect. He's a Soul Sect."
Her breath carried a faint floral scent, but it couldn't shake Huo Yuhao's firm resolve.
Wei Na's explanation made things click for Huo Yuhao.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect was one of the inheritors of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon lineage. The sect master's bloodline martial soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!
No wonder his aura resembled Bei Bei's.
Hearing the question, Long Aotian replied directly, "That's right. I've seen him before—he's just a three-ring Soul Elder! That's why I say it's impossible for him to have so many merit points! Unless…"
"Unless someone helped him fake them!" a young man interjected with a grin.
He was tall and muscular, dressed in the uniform of the Di'ao Academy. His tone carried a trace of contempt.
He had recently broken through to the Soul Emperor level.
"He's Jiang Peng from Di'ao Academy," Wei Na explained to Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei. "He's their team captain this year and the first student in Di'ao's history to reach Rank 60 before age twenty. He's arrogant and his martial soul is the Thundercrash Axe—very powerful."
Jiang Peng, arrogant by nature, didn't believe Shrek Academy's students were any better than him. He assumed his lower ranking was due to bad luck.
So when the idea of Huo Yuhao cheating came up, he couldn't resist mocking him.
Though the merit point rankings had no formal regulations, cheating was frowned upon and scorned by the rest of the list.
Not only would the individual be disgraced—the reputation of their affiliated force would also suffer.
Jiang Peng's suggestion caused an uproar.
"No way!"
"Would Shrek Academy really do something like that?"
"It must be a personal act—don't blame the academy!"
Long Aotian's face was twisted with anger. He saw Huo Yuhao as utterly shameless.
Yu Tianlong remained contemplative. He didn't fully trust Long Aotian, but he wasn't ready to believe Huo Yuhao cheated either.
Bei Bei's expression darkened, and fury flickered in his eyes. "Ignorant!"
Wei Na's face was grim. "I'll go warn him."
"No need," Huo Yuhao stopped both Bei Bei and Wei Na. "Reputation means nothing to me. Rather than argue with him, let's go find a task that suits us."
Bei Bei & Wei Na: "..."
Honestly, they'd rather battle Jiang Peng in a soul duel than go back to grinding through missions.
But Huo Yuhao, as if oblivious to their reluctance, put one arm around Bei Bei and the other around Wei Na, grinning, "Come on, time to pick up a new mission~"
Bei Bei & Wei Na: (ΩДΩ)!
They immediately forgot all about Jiang Peng.
Bei Bei: "Little Bro Huo, you gotta balance work and rest, y'know!"
Huo Yuhao: "Then let's pick something light—consider it a break."
Bei Bei fell silent.
Wei Na: "Yuhao dear, how about big sis takes you to try something exciting?"
Huo Yuhao: "Oh? What kind of fun?"
Wei Na: "Even more thrilling than a soul duel…"
Huo Yuhao: "No! I must train hard and grow stronger—only then can I protect Big Sis Wei Na. As long as I'm here, I won't let anything hurt you!"
Wei Na blushed bright red.
In the end, the two could only let Huo Yuhao drag them away from the crowd.
As for Jiang Peng… Huo Yuhao decided to leave a spot for him—kneeling before the Ghost Banner.
As they left, they brushed past a group from the Earth Dragon Sect just returning.
Among them, Nan Qiuqiu curiously glanced at the trio.
"Weren't they the ones being escorted by soldiers? They're doing missions too?"
But Nan Qiuqiu didn't approach them.
…
At the military merit exchange center, they handed in their task tokens to redeem merit points.
Then Huo Yuhao skillfully browsed the remaining mission list.
Bei Bei and Wei Na slumped on a bench nearby, looking like salted fish who had lost all motivation.
"Hmm?" Huo Yuhao's eyes landed on a few intriguing missions.
Special Mission: Apprehend soul beast corpse thief…
Guard Mission: Watch over the soul beast corpse storage facility…
"Someone's stealing soul beast corpses?"
Aha, a dark soul master is causing trouble!
Not only did Huo Yuhao think so, but the frontline commander Duke Xueyu and the two Titled Douluo with him thought the same.
Because this sort of thing was not rare.
In previous large-scale wars, dark soul masters would swarm to the battlefield like sharks smelling blood.
The bloodshed, corpses, and even resentment generated on the battlefield were all excellent resources for their cultivation. In fact, battlefields were considered a training paradise for dark soul masters.
But that also came with huge risks.
No military would allow dark soul masters to act recklessly.
If a dark soul master tried to cultivate amidst the chaos, chances were they'd end up with a thousand holes poked in them.
"I'll handle this myself," Ice Phoenix Douluo said angrily. "I'll catch that dark soul master within three days and tear them limb from limb! How dare they steal from us! Don't they know I'm stationed here? They're blatantly disrespecting me!"
Stealing was one thing—but showing no respect? That was intolerable.
Duke Xueyu quickly tried to calm her down. "Elder sister, please don't be angry. We don't need you to personally deal with this dark soul master." He wiped away cold sweat. This generation's Ice Phoenix Douluo clearly didn't inherit her ancestor's cold temperament. On the contrary, she was hot-headed—perhaps even... lively?
The main issue was that if Ice Phoenix Douluo unleashed her Phoenix Dance of the Nine Heavens, even he and Tyrant Dragon Douluo combined might not be able to stop her.
In this icy northern land, Ice Phoenix Douluo's power was especially overwhelming. Having her go after a dark soul master would be overkill—a cannon used to swat a mosquito.
No doubt, the result would be chaos. Even the field mice would be dragged out and decapitated.
"I've already posted this as a formal mission," Duke Xueyu said, "and someone will naturally take care of the dark soul master for us."
Tyrant Dragon Douluo nodded in understanding, seeing Duke Xueyu's intent.
"To catch a rat, use a cat. Just so happens that Shrek Academy's inner court students are training here. If we post the mission, they won't ignore it."
"Haha, I thought the same. While the mission doesn't explicitly say it's related to a dark soul master, I've had people quietly spread the rumor. The Shrek inner court students will definitely hear about it," Duke Xueyu added with a smile.
Compared to Ice Phoenix Douluo, Tyrant Dragon Douluo was far more composed than his predecessors. If not for their martial spirits, you might suspect they were switched at birth.
The military merit exchange missions were designed for Shrek's inner court students to see.
Shrek Academy claims to supervise the entire continent?
Well then, here's your mission~
If they can't catch the dark soul master, it's Shrek Academy that'll lose face.
And if Shrek students do take action, the Heavenly Soul Empire's army doesn't have to take any risks or waste resources.
Ice Phoenix Douluo calmed slightly upon hearing this but frowned. "Won't this alert the dark soul master and cause them to escape early?"
"No worries, elder sister. Whether we catch them or they flee, it doesn't affect us much, does it?" Duke Xueyu replied, still smiling.
They only lost a few purchased soul beast corpses—it wasn't a critical issue.
As long as the dark soul master didn't interfere with frontline operations, there was no need to fight them head-on.
Besides, keeping Shrek's inner court students occupied might slow their progress in other missions, saving the Heavenly Soul Empire from giving out too many rewards.
It might also let other sects and academies shine more on the military merit rankings—dampening Shrek Academy's reputation.
Sure, these were petty tactics, and probably not too effective.
But if there were better ways to target Shrek Academy, Duke Xueyu wouldn't resort to this.
Unlike the Star Luo Empire's emperor—who was pro-Shrek and had even secretly studied there—the Heavenly Soul Empire's royal family remained vigilant of Shrek's development.
They couldn't directly suppress Shrek, but they could certainly annoy them.
Who knows, maybe they'd get lucky.
Shrek Academy might be strong, but as long as no red lines were crossed, they wouldn't retaliate unnecessarily.
That way, the Heavenly Soul Empire had nothing to fear.
"Going forward, I'll ensure stricter protection over the soul beast corpses. We won't give that dark soul master another chance. The rest is up to Shrek's inner court students," Duke Xueyu concluded with a smile.
Ice Phoenix Douluo finally nodded.
"Xueyu, reports say there's someone in Shrek's team from the Star Luo Empire—Duke White Tiger Dai Hao's eldest son. Should we..." Tyrant Dragon Douluo trailed off, narrowing his eyes.
The implication was clear.
Ice Phoenix Douluo looked eager.
But Duke Xueyu shook his head. "Not the time. We shouldn't provoke a conflict with the Star Luo Empire. Besides, he's here as a Shrek student to help—we can't touch him. But we can pass this information on to Dai Hao. I'm sure he'll know what to do. Perhaps this will ease tension on our southern border."
Right now, Star Luo's army was still stationed at the Heavenly Soul Empire's southern frontier.
Though Dai Hao wasn't commanding them personally, his influence in the military was immense. One word from him, and Star Luo's forces would likely back off.
If war broke out and there weren't enough powerful teachers present, Shrek's student status wouldn't protect Dai Yueheng's life.
"We still need to focus on our main task—preparing for the beast tide. From the intelligence we've gathered, the outbreak is likely imminent. Maybe within the next few days," Duke Xueyu said seriously.
Ice Phoenix and Tyrant Dragon Douluo nodded solemnly.
The beast tide was the real threat.
Huo Yuhao didn't take the mission to eliminate the suspected dark soul master. Instead, he continued with extermination tasks.
But, perhaps due to Beibei's advice, the mission he chose this time was significantly easier—it only required killing a single 10,000-year soul beast.
But that beast was a 10,000-year Phantom Chameleon!
It could turn invisible and escape easily—very hard to kill.
They chased it for an entire afternoon before finally managing to kill it.
By dusk, Huo Yuhao returned to camp with an exhausted Beibei and Wei Na. After dinner, the two went straight to rest.
Unlike Huo Yuhao, they only had four soul rings—the level of a Soul Sect. Doing two missions in one day left them utterly drained.
Honestly, just seeing Huo Yuhao made their backs ache.
Even the imperial guards looked exhausted.
Chasing the Phantom Chameleon had been mentally exhausting.
Technically, Huo Yuhao could have easily locked onto it using Spiritual Detection. But he didn't.
Where's the fun in that?
Night fell quietly.
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged in his tent, cultivating calmly.
Suddenly, he stopped and opened his eyes sharply, looking in a certain direction.
"So late at night... what's he doing sneaking out?"
Heading out instead of sleeping—off to fool around?
"But... maybe this is a good opportunity."
Huo Yuhao's eyes gleamed.
"Brother Tianmeng, let's go!"
Skydream Iceworm: "Roger that~"
Huo Yuhao left behind a clone to simulate him meditating, then had his variant Frost Centipede martial spirit help him tunnel quietly out of his tent.
A few cloaked, masked figures moved silently in the darkness.
Huo Yuhao poked his head out from underground and looked toward them.
"Dark green?"
That was the classic Shrek color!
"That outfit... don't tell me they're from the Shrek Surveillance Corps?" Huo Yuhao murmured in surprise.
Cloaks and masks—textbook Surveillance Corps gear.
The original novel had a detailed description of their equipment.
Each wore a Surveillance Ring. Beneath their cloaks, dark green tight suits. Beneath those, internal armor offering decent protection. At their waists—three signal flares.
And that was it.
Just slightly better than regular soldiers. The Heavenly Soul Empire at least gave their officers two defensive soul tools.
Huo Yuhao's eyes locked onto one particular figure—because he had planted a tracker on them earlier.
That confirmed their identity.
Shrek Surveillance Corps. Combined with the earlier mission, Huo Yuhao understood their goal.
As the group set off, Huo Yuhao also changed into a black robe and followed silently.
Huo Yuhao: Oniichan~ Walking alone at night? Let little bro take you to see the big goldfish!
"Based on the intel we've gathered so far, the enemy's primary target is the corpses of soul beasts. The mission only labels them as thieves, but it's highly likely that these are evil soul masters stealing soul beast corpses for their cultivation."
"Today he dares to use soul beast corpses for cultivation—tomorrow, he'll use the corpses of soul masters!"
"We must not let a single evil soul master go unpunished!"
At the front of the Shrek Academy Surveillance Team, a tall man spoke with a grim tone.
He was none other than Dai Yueheng—Huo Yuhao's "good big brother" in terms of bloodline.
With Ma Xiaotao absent, the position of team captain naturally fell to Dai Yueheng.
Everyone else nodded in agreement upon hearing his words.
They all felt it made perfect sense.
"Our mission tonight is to lie in ambush and monitor for evil soul masters. If the target is confirmed to be one of them—we kill on sight!"
"I'll handle the team assignments. Ling Luocheng and Xixi, one group. Yao Haoxuan and Gongyang Mo, another group. Chen Zifeng and I will operate solo. We'll cover all four directions around the warehouse. If combat breaks out in any direction, release the signal immediately—everyone else must support with all speed. Any objections?"
"No objections!"
Everyone responded in unison.
Dai Yueheng nodded.
"Good. Move out!"
In the next moment, everyone scattered and melted into the shadows of the night.
However, no one noticed the tiny tail quietly following behind Dai Yueheng.
Dai Yueheng was searching for a suitable hiding spot, muttering under his breath.
"Can't believe I'm actually working for the Heaven Dou Empire one day..."
To be honest, as the eldest son of the prestigious White Tiger Duke's House of the Star Luo Empire, helping the Heaven Dou Empire resist the beast tide and earn military merits felt... absurd to him.
What use were Heaven Dou Empire's military merits to him? He could only trade them for some useful items.
If the emperor of the Star Luo Empire got wind of this, he might even accuse Dai Yueheng of treason!
Yet, Dai Yueheng had no choice but to come.
He'd even hidden the truth from his family.
Because everyone else came—he, as the team leader, had to show up too.
That was the surface reason.
The deeper motive was that Dai Yueheng needed to solidify his claim to the inheritance of the White Tiger Duke's House.
With Ma Xiaotao absent, Dai Yueheng intended to follow the example of his ancestors and firmly establish himself as this generation's leader of the Shrek Seven Devils. That meant staying close to his teammates and racking up accomplishments.
As for Ma Xiaotao's whereabouts, no one, including Dai Yueheng, knew for sure. Yan Shaozhe had only said she'd gone into seclusion for training.
That placed a great deal of pressure on Dai Yueheng—he feared that by the time Ma Xiaotao returned, she would have advanced to Soul Sage. Then he would be forced to give up the team leader spot again.
Unless... he could earn the unwavering loyalty of all the members. That way, even if Ma Xiaotao returned, she would have no choice but to remain a regular team member.
If he could get the others to return to the Star Luo Empire with him after graduation, that would be even better. It would greatly enhance his chances at inheriting the title of Duke and rising through the military ranks.
Although the White Tiger Duke's House no longer had a throne to compete for—since the imperial succession struggles had been abolished—the title of the Duke still needed to be contested.
The rivals? Naturally, himself and Dai Huabin—two inheritors of the White Tiger Martial Soul.
What vexed Dai Yueheng was that Dai Huabin had greater talent than him—and the support of the Zhu family's daughter.
Don't let his young age fool you—Dai Hao was still in his prime and would give Dai Huabin all the time he needed to grow.
Once Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu matured and caught up to Dai Yueheng in strength, they would have the power to dethrone him and claim the inheritance.
Dai Yueheng couldn't accept that.
To secure his place, he had to rally more strong allies to his side—he couldn't afford to miss a single opportunity.
That's why he often acted kind and considerate toward others, even showing care for his younger brother Dai Huabin—to present himself as approachable. At the same time, he worked tirelessly to earn more achievements.
So, the leadership of the Shrek Seven Devils—he had to win it.
This mission? He absolutely had to attend!
With the name of Shrek Academy backing him, the Heaven Dou Empire wouldn't dare lay a finger on him.
As for the strategic plans of the Star Luo Empire?
Dai Yueheng was aware of them—but they weren't part of his considerations. No matter how many advantages the Star Luo Empire gained, it wouldn't affect who became heir of the Duke's House. Dai Yueheng wasn't one for selfless devotion.
But—if he could cement his role as the team leader of the Shrek Seven Devils, and thus gain the support of Shrek Academy, then the Duke's title would be as good as his.
It was just like college students vying for student council president.
You think it's pointless?
That's only because your school isn't prestigious enough.
Even if it's just a student role, once you graduate, paired with the school's name, it's enough to make companies look at you with new eyes—even bend the rules to hire you.
Now imagine it's Shrek Academy—the best in all of Douluo Continent.
But Dai Yueheng wanted even more. He believed that if he became strong and dazzling enough, he might even have a chance to marry Ma Xiaotao someday!
In his eyes, Ma Xiaotao's talent, looks, and background made her the perfect wife. She could even help him counter Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's martial soul fusion.
As for Ma Xiaotao's personality?
That wasn't part of Dai Yueheng's criteria.
His official wife needed to bring him enough benefits. As for other desires? Those could be satisfied with concubines.
That was how all previous White Tiger Dukes had done it.
"But all of that depends on me securing the leadership of the Shrek Seven Devils. This beast tide... is my opportunity!" A glint of ambition flashed in Dai Yueheng's eyes.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao was watching Dai Yueheng—unsure what he was muttering about.
But...
"Nobody around? Hehehe..."
"Spiritual Freeze!"
Huo Yuhao activated his Evil Eye martial soul, using his Eye of Ice and Snow.
This was the first time he used the full version of Spiritual Freeze.
Unlike Zero Degree Freeze, which freezes the body...
This was an ultra-cold burst of spiritual power that directly invaded Dai Yueheng's mind.
The instant he sensed the spiritual attack, Dai Yueheng became aware of the assault.
But before his expression could even change, Huo Yuhao had already forcefully invaded his body.
In a flash, Dai Yueheng's brain lost consciousness.
The true effect of Spiritual Freeze—was to freeze the mind.
To take down Dai Yueheng, Huo Yuhao had to use methods not recorded by Shrek Academy.
And if you can ambush someone, why fight head-on?
Stealing someone's bloodline was best done clean and smooth.
With Dai Yueheng's mind frozen, Huo Yuhao quickly rushed to catch his falling body before it hit the ground.
"Spiritual Freeze doesn't last forever—I have to hurry!"
Huo Yuhao placed his left hand directly on the unprotected back of Dai Yueheng's neck.
The veins on Huo Yuhao's wrist began to pulse as though they had come alive.
Then, tendrils burst through Huo Yuhao's skin—roots of the 100,000-year Snow Lotus—piercing Dai Yueheng's skin, trailing along his spine and arteries, beginning to devour his bloodline power.
Dai Yueheng's body trembled instinctively in pain.
Huo Yuhao let out a soft, pleased groan.
The Snow Lotus roots weren't just absorbing Dai Yueheng's bloodline—they were also consuming his soul power!
"Same bloodline origin... and I can even absorb his soul power?" Huo Yuhao was stunned.
This "good big brother" just got a lot more valuable!