Even after hearing so many favorable offers from the old Emperor, Huo Yuhao's expression did not change in the slightest; no sign of being tempted could be seen on his face.
Huo Yuhao bowed slightly and spoke, neither servile nor overbearing.
"Thank you for the Emperor's kindness."
"However… after I graduate, I will still remain at Shrek Academy to make contributions to Shrek Academy."
Upon hearing this response, the old Emperor's smile did not change in the slightest. The meaning in his eyes was unreadable, but he continued to speak slowly with a smile.
"Knowing how to repay kindness—you are a good child. I truly did not misjudge you. Since that is the case, I will not force you. However… since you are now within the Sun Moon Empire, even if you do not join our Sun Moon Empire, resources will still be provided as usual. Hall Master Hongchen, if Huo Yuhao wants anything, no matter what it is, give it to him."
The old Emperor had essentially offered the best possible conditions, all in an attempt to make Huo Yuhao fall into the gentle trap of the Sun Moon Empire.
Jing Hongchen nodded, a smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, your subject understands."
Watching this scene, Huo Yuhao was very clear in his heart: the old Emperor was trying to win him over, or rather… win over the Shrek Academy in the sky behind him.
Jing Hongchen also understood. After all, the things that Shrek Academy in the sky had done could be called quite extraordinary. One had to know that being able to sweep across all the Sea God Pavilion elders of the Shrek Academy on the ground with the power of a single person, and within two moves at that—looking across the entire Douluo Continent, it was estimated that no one could achieve this.
Especially since the current Sun Moon Empire, despite having decent development in Spirit Tools, had too few powerful Spirit Masters. This was the reason for the alliance between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult. Although the Holy Spirit Cult did not have many Spirit Tool experts, they had quite a few powerful Spirit Masters.
They had originally intended to combine their strengths to unify the entire Douluo Continent, but now that this Shrek Academy had appeared out of thin air in the sky, the old Emperor had no choice but to temporarily abandon his previous plans.
Of course, what needed to be done now was not to offend that Shrek Academy in the sky. At least… before the truth was uncovered, one could not offend Huo Yuhao, could not offend that Shrek Academy in the sky.
"Thank you."
Huo Yuhao accepted it calmly. Of course, Huo Yuhao did not intend to give up on further investigating the old Emperor or Jing Hongchen to find out if they were colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult.
One had to know that the things the Holy Spirit Cult did were basically against the laws of nature, especially what Huo Yuhao had seen and felt in that cave and that courtyard.
The proliferation of Evil Soul Masters was a disaster for the entire Douluo Continent.
Especially for defenseless civilians. Huo Yuhao thought to himself, if only all Evil Soul Masters could be like the Holy Spirit Execution Department of the Academy—they all possessed malevolent Spirits, but the things they did were not harmful to the Douluo Continent.
The old Emperor waved his hand and said with a smile.
"No need to thank me."
"I just want you to know that the doors of the Sun Moon Empire are always open to you."
He paused and added another sentence.
"You are young and promising; keep working hard."
As his voice fell, the old Emperor turned around, took his attendants, and left the entrance of the Academy.
Jing Hongchen watched the old Emperor leave, then turned his head and said to Huo Yuhao with a smile.
"According to His Majesty's instructions, all the Spirit Tool blueprints of Mingde Hall are fully open to you."
"Whatever you want to see, you can come to Mingde Hall to find me at any time."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
"Thank you, Dean Jing Hongchen."
Jing Hongchen waved his hand, said nothing more, turned around, and walked into the Academy.
Xiao Hongchen stood to the side, looking at Huo Yuhao, his face full of emotion.
"Huo Yuhao, I really didn't expect…"
He shook his head.
"His Majesty actually values you so much."
Huo Yuhao glanced at him.
"How so?"
Xiao Hongchen smiled and patted his shoulder.
"However, with your talent, this is natural."
"Not only is your talent as a Soul Engineer so formidable, but your combat power as a Spirit Master is not weak either."
"I acknowledge you."
Meng Hongchen stood to the side, and upon hearing this, could not help but roll her eyes.
"You acknowledge him? Does he need your acknowledgment?"
Xiao Hongchen was retorted by his sister, but he didn't get angry; he just chuckled.
"I'm just telling the truth."
Huo Yuhao looked at this pair of siblings and couldn't help but smile.
Jing Hongchen walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back at Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
"Xiao, Meng, you two are the same age as Huo Yuhao, so treat Huo Yuhao well and do not be negligent."
Xiao Hongchen nodded quickly.
"Grandfather, rest assured, leave it to us."
Jing Hongchen nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.
Once Jing Hongchen had walked far away, Xiao Hongchen finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaned over to Huo Yuhao, and lowered his voice to say.
"Huo Yuhao, do you know how generous the conditions His Majesty just gave you are?"
"A hereditary dukedom, all resources provided… this has never happened in the history of the Sun Moon Empire."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
"I know."
Xiao Hongchen looked at him, his eyes full of complexity.
"Yet you still refused."
Huo Yuhao said indifferently.
"I am a person of Shrek Academy."
Xiao Hongchen was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.
"Fine, you're impressive."
At this moment, in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, the voice of Skydream Ice Worm rang out.
"Yuhao, these guys are actually this good?"
His tone carried a hint of excitement.
"All Spirit Tool blueprints are open to you; this is a great opportunity!"
"You must seize it well, get all those Spirit Tool blueprints, study them thoroughly, and promote to a Level 5 Soul Engineer as soon as possible!"
Huo Yuhao nodded in his heart.
"I know."
He naturally understood that this was a rare opportunity.
Listening to the favorable treatment the old Emperor gave him, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh. The Sun Moon Empire was truly quite generous. The Sun Moon Empire was treating him so well because of the Shrek Academy in the sky standing behind him, and also because he had value.
If he had no abilities and did not have that Shrek Academy as a backing… the Sun Moon Empire wouldn't even glance at him.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao's recognition of Shrek Academy in his heart increased by a few points.
It was the Academy that gave him confidence, and it was the Academy that gave him the capital to stand here and face the monarch of a country without being servile or overbearing.
Thinking of this, the sense of belonging to Shrek Academy in Huo Yuhao's heart became even stronger.
Now, no matter what, the thing he should do was to continuously improve himself during these four months; he could not waste time. He also wondered how Tang Wulin and the others were doing after so many days.
How strong had their strength become? Had the distance between him and them narrowed, or had he been left even further behind?
…
Meanwhile, in the Deans Office.
[Ding!]
[Detected that the Child of Destiny Huo Yuhao's recognition of Shrek Academy is a Monster Academy has greatly increased!]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the reward: Special Teacher Template — Halosa (Level 99 Limit Douluo, version with evil deeds removed)!]
…
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A/N:
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