Chapter 5: Huo Yuhao Arrives at His Loyal Capital – Mingdu
Just think about it—a monstrously talented young soul master with twin martial souls, a harmless-looking, innocent face, and a tragic background. He came from the hostile Douluo Three Kingdoms and harbors deep resentment toward the Star Luo Empire due to the abuse he suffered as a child.
Now, this very boy has crossed mountains and rivers to defect to the Sun Moon Empire in search of civilization, freedom, and hope. Honestly, the Sun Moon Empire must be grinning ear to ear—this is the perfect boost.
("Great! It's freedom! I, Huo Yuhao, am finally saved!")
What does this say? It says that the Sun Moon Empire is the true beacon of people's hearts. At the very least, they wouldn't rashly decide a soul master's fate with a single dismissive sentence like a certain Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult did.
Let's not forget, the Sun Moon Empire is far wealthier than the Douluo Three Kingdoms and generations ahead in soul guidance technology. Only by fully showcasing his talents could Huo Yuhao grow at the fastest rate possible.
A one-in-a-million genius like him deserves the greatest allocation of resources. Why hide it? Does he want to slow his growth? Come on, don't be ridiculous.
Even if the empire were a den of evil soul masters, he'd still take the risk. Compared to the possible threat of encountering an evil soul master, he was more terrified of that suffocating, ever-haunting Blue Silver Entanglement.
Besides, who says Shrek Academy is all that safe?
An evil Fire Phoenix, the Shrek student who died in a Soul King-level evil Soul Master's corpse explosion, and let's not forget the god-level mother hidden inside the Golden Tree—one thing after another...
Huo Yuhao quickly reined in his thoughts.
The theory was solid, the success rate high. All that was left was action.
After finishing his grilled fish, Huo Yuhao's plan was crystal clear. Tang Ya, who had been waiting for him to invite her to eat, pouted in frustration when he didn't. As she watched him prepare to leave, she finally couldn't hold it in.
"Yuhao, do you have any siblings back home?"
"No comment." Still the same response—he was in a hurry to leave.
But for some reason, Tang Ya didn't give up and kept pestering him.
"Then your first soul ring—how old was it? Was it from that Wind Baboon?"
"No comment."
Eventually, Bei Bei couldn't take it anymore. He sighed and got straight to the point.
"Yuhao, what Teacher Xiao Ya is trying to say is… you're hunting soul beasts alone, right? If you have nowhere to go and no direction, why not join our sect?"
Only then did Huo Yuhao stop in his tracks. Don't get it wrong—it wasn't because he was moved, but simply because he found them annoying.
"Not interested."
Tang Ya didn't get discouraged:
"Yuhao, don't be so quick to say no. Our sect used to be the number one on the continent—the Tang Sect. You know about Ancestor Tang San, right? The one who ascended to godhood and single-handedly reshaped the continent's power structure and soul master system? He was our founder."
"If you join the Tang Sect, you'll learn all of our secret techniques and hidden weapons. Plus, if you want to study at the academy, I even have a guaranteed admission token to Shrek Academy."
Reshaped the foundation of the continent? What foundation? The kind where evil soul masters run rampant, and low-level soul masters have no chance of advancement?
Truth be told, these two weren't bad people. But Huo Yuhao felt he'd made his stance clear, and he had no affection for them. He felt that if he didn't refuse in a different way, these two would continue to pester him.
"The number one sect on the continent… used to be. What about now?"
Tang Ya hesitated:
"Well, now it's just me and Bei Bei…"
Her face darkened, and her eyes were filled with unresolved hatred.
"Well then, that's just wonderful!"
Saying that, Huo Yuhao felt a rush of clarity and satisfaction. Before they could react, he swiftly turned and ran off.
"He—he's so rude!"
Tang Ya stamped her foot in anger, watching his departing figure.
Bei Bei quickly came over to comfort her. Truthfully, he had sensed from the beginning that Huo Yuhao was keeping his distance. He didn't know why such a drastic change had happened to the boy in such a short time, but deep down, he felt a little relieved.
Why? Because, compared to his previously average appearance and simple nature, Huo Yuhao now had dangerously high charisma. Bei Bei worried that if Tang Ya kept paying attention to him, she might start to develop feelings…
"Alright, alright, I'm still here. When we rebuild the Tang Sect, I'll be by your side. And if there's a chance, I'll ask Grandmaster Xuan for help too."
Tang Ya crossed her arms angrily.
"Hmph! I'll rebuild the Tang Sect with my strength! I don't need you, stinky Bei Bei!"
"Okay, okay. Teacher Xiao Ya is the best!"
By now, Huo Yuhao was long gone and obviously couldn't hear any of that.
He didn't head straight to Mingdu, of course. After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, he entered a city within the Star Luo Empire. After gathering information, he found a caravan heading to Mingdu.
After dealing with some local thugs and taking their money, he earned a place in the merchant convoy.
Once they learned he was a soul master, they didn't even take his two gold soul coins for the fare. Instead, they paid him to travel with them—just in case they ran into danger and needed his protection.
What more could he say?
Just this: in this world, earning money as a soul master is so much easier than as an ordinary person. As long as you're powerful and have no moral boundaries, wealthy targets become your personal ATM.
Of course, Huo Yuhao wasn't the type to do that. Acting as a guard for fair compensation? Totally reasonable. His wallet, once again, was feeling pleasantly full.
There were even two Soul Elders in the group, so chances were, he wouldn't need to lift a finger.
And so, aside from a couple of small scuffles with troublemakers, the caravan's journey was smooth. Half a month later, they finally reached the Star Luo Empire's border city—Tianming City.
After parting ways with the caravan and receiving his payment, Huo Yuhao stocked up on several days' worth of food. His next step was to head west—through the Mingdou Mountains and across the border into the Sun Moon Empire. Whether his plan succeeded or failed hinged on this.
Once he was fully prepared, Huo Yuhao used his Spiritual Interference Domain to change identities and slipped out of Tianming City under the cover of night, entering the treacherous Mingdou Mountains.
This was the most dangerous and critical part—he had to avoid both the Star Luo Empire's border patrols and the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineer legions stationed along their side.
As for inspection? He dealt with it by knocking out a lone Sun Moon Empire civilian, stealing his identification, and then using the Spiritual Interference domain to mimic the man's appearance.
It could be said that the Spiritual Interference Domain, bestowed by the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, had been crucial in his journey to become a defector.
And so, with some luck and great effort, Huo Yuhao finally reached his destined destination one month later—his beloved Mingdu.
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End of Chapter