Chapter 34: I Shall Never Coexist with Evil!
"Yuhao, your talent, aptitude, and even the luck that seems blessed by the heavens themselves are truly unmatched. Now, it's time for you to make a choice. From this point forward, will your main path be that of a Soul Master or a Soul Engineer?"
Although he had already laid out everything for his disciple in advance, he still wanted to hear Huo Yuhao's thoughts.
With a slight smile, Huo Yuhao replied calmly:
"Teacher, my answer remains the same. I refuse to abandon either path. Whether as a Soul Master or a Soul Engineer, I have the confidence to walk both roads to the peak."
Kong Deming's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
"Good. If anyone else dared to say such arrogant words, I'd smash their head into a stinking gutter with a brick. But coming from you, it sounds pleasant to my ears."
Then, his expression turned serious.
"By the way, your second soul skill—Spiritual Puppet. Since it can be recalled and possesses learning ability, it will greatly shorten the time you'll need to study soul guidance devices."
"And as your strength increases and your puppets grow stronger, this speed will only accelerate further."
"You should know, Soul Masters are divided into types—Attack, Control, Agility, and so on. Soul Engineers are no different. To study every branch means spreading yourself thin, and most eventually drown in the endless ocean of soul guidance device knowledge. That's why the majority of Soul Engineers, upon reaching the bottleneck of Level 5 Soul Engineer, choose a clear specialization."
"My original plan was to take advantage of your Spirit Eyes' characteristics and let you develop along a battle-oriented route—close combat as your foundation, with mid-to-long-range soul guidance devices as support. But now… it seems that idea needs to be adjusted."
Kong Deming continued speaking at length. Huo Yuhao's two soul skills truly shocked him.
Yes, the duration of the puppets was limited. But since they could be recalled, they could assist in absorbing knowledge of soul guidance devices. This meant Yuhao could study vast amounts of information without being overwhelmed. The so-called 'burden of knowledge' simply didn't apply to him.
In this case, restricting himself to a single branch of Soul Engineering would be nothing short of a waste of his heaven-defying talent.
Of course, he still needed a main specialty, but in research and manufacturing, there was no harm in grasping more. After all, knowledge is never a loss.
Huo Yuhao shrugged with a small smile. "Teacher, isn't it too early to be talking about this? I'm only a Level 2 Soul Engineer right now, and my soul power is just at Rank 27."
Kong Deming slapped his forehead, realizing he had gotten carried away.
"You're right. I was too excited and nearly forgot you've only just become a Level 2 Soul Engineer. Very well, we'll put this matter aside for now."
Then, his eyes narrowed mischievously.
"However, Yuhao, while your second soul skill is indeed astonishing, controlling multiple puppets simultaneously won't be easy, will it?"
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, giving his teacher a sly fox-like grin.
"Oh? Then, according to the teacher, what brilliant solution do you propose?"
"Hahaha!" Kong Deming finally burst into laughter. At last, he had managed to stump this cunning brat. Finally, the little fox didn't know everything.
"Humph, brat. Have you ever heard of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
"Teacher, are you talking about their Heart Separation Control technique?"
Huo Yuhao hadn't expected his teacher to make that connection so quickly.
Well, that killed the fun. This kid even knew that much—where was the joy of being a teacher anymore?
"Yes, Heart Separation Control. To truly master your second soul skill, learning this technique is necessary!"
Huo Yuhao raised his hands helplessly.
"Teacher, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is located in Jiucai City in the southeast of the Heavenly Soul Empire. They are dependent on the Empire, which makes them our enemy to a degree. Besides, Heart Separation Control is their inherited core technique. Why would they possibly share it with us?"
Kong Deming waved dismissively, a sly smile spreading across his face.
"Don't concern yourself with that. Your teacher has his ways."
"…Teacher, you're not planning on stealing it, are you?"
"Hmph! How could the matters of Soul Engineers ever be called theft? At most, I'll leave them some form of compensation. I'm retrieving it for you, not spreading it around."
"Teacher, you sound a lot like someone from Shrek…"
Smack!
A lump instantly rose on Huo Yuhao's head. That shut him up quickly. Considering the relationship between Shrek and the Sun Moon Empire, that remark was no different from calling someone a traitor to their face.
"Brat, repeat what you just said."
Huo Yuhao immediately raised his right hand, tilting it forty-five degrees upward. "I shall never coexist with evil!"
"Now that's more like it."
The flavor was right—it was just a little too strong!
Leaving the Worship Hall, Huo Yuhao walked back toward the dorms, deep in thought about the future.
As his teacher had reminded him, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament was only half a year away. Chances were, he'd be chosen as a reserve member. But what identity should he adopt when participating?
The competition would be held in the Star Luo Empire. Without a doubt, Shrek Academy would be there. Should he take this chance to make a grand move?
Truthfully, he felt nothing toward Shrek itself, but their so-called "ten thousand years of glory" was something he was very eager to shatter.
After all, if nothing unexpected happened, that Evil Soul Master—under the leadership of the Holy Spirit Sect's Grand Elder—would wipe out most of Shrek's main team. That would be the perfect opportunity.
The problem was, it would also likely draw the attention of the Body Sect. And what then? With Kong Deming as his teacher now, going to the Body Sect was out of the question. But since he possessed a Body Martial Soul, they were bound to target him eventually.
More headaches… And then there was Wang Dong. His so-called partner, supposedly the "daughter of God-King Tang." If Tang God-King was still monitoring the mortal realm, wouldn't Yuhao immediately be exposed again?
Not to mention, within Wang Dong's body also lay the divine consciousness of God King Tang. He had to find a way to ensure his safety, lest the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder, after losing the competition this time, go crazy and play dirty. He also needed to hide himself so as not to be bound by that terrifying God King again.
As for [Destiny] Echo, he couldn't afford to shut it down. Once the competition began, he would use it to interfere with destiny itself. With Duke White Tiger present as well, appearing as a Sun Moon Empire participant despite being born in Douluo would serve as a heavy blow to the morale of the original Douluo three kingdoms.
And after the tournament, he also had to find a way to get the Immortal Herb from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The Jade Phosphor Seven Absolutes Flower there was not problem. The divine sense imprint was different from divine consciousness and could be destroyed then. He would use the resources there to greatly strengthen himself.
Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Delicate Apricot, Beautiful Silk Tulip, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew… How could these treasures be locked away forever under the excuse of "those with affinity will obtain them"? What nonsense! Who gave God-King Tang the right to hoard them?
Damn it all.
He had even sealed off the Sunset Forest with a poisonous array, turning a vast soul beast gathering ground into a forbidden death zone. And then he had the audacity to claim it was a "trial for the fated one." That wasn't protection—that was outright privatization!
A so-called God-King, yet no different from an Evil Soul Master!
I shall never coexist with evil!!
As for the Dragon Valley, it remains elusive for now. But if the opportunity arose, scheming for the Mountain Dragon King's torso soul bone and other fortunes there was worth it.
On the other hand, the Qiankun Wenqing Valley was better avoided. That place was nothing but a "Three-View Shattering Valley." Women turning into men, God-King personally chaining people down under the guise of trials… Huo Yuhao shivered. No, he had no interest in those twisted games.
"It's tough… Time is short, the mission is heavy, and the road ahead is long!"
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End of Chapter