At the East Sea Spirit Pagoda Airport, the spacious, brightly lit waiting hall resembled a modern palace. The marble floor was polished mirror-bright, reflecting the hurried footsteps and shadows of travelers dragging their suitcases.
Hua Yichen and Huo Yuhao stood near the edge. Seeing a Soul Airplane touch down, the former remarked, "Let's go. Time to welcome the young lady from headquarters."
Hearing that, Huo Yuhao watched the silver-haired figure stepping off the aircraft and walked over.
He had not expected her to come to East Sea City for school… which saved him a great deal of trouble.
As Gu Yuena descended from the plane, she immediately noticed two figures approaching her. Her gaze met Huo Yuhao's, and her steps paused slightly. Thinking back on her life in recent years, a subtle glint flashed in her eyes.
All of this had been brought about by him.
***
"Miss Gu Yuena, welcome to the East Sea Branch. I am the Pagoda Master of the East Sea Branch—Hua Yichen."
When they met, Hua Yichen smiled and nodded to Gu Yuena.
"Long have I heard your renowned name, Your Excellency Xiaoyao."
Gu Yuena offered a slight, polite bow, greeted him cordially, and then turned toward Huo Yuhao beside him. Extending her right hand without any trace of abnormality, she said, "Hello, I am Gu Yuena."
"Huo Yuhao."
A flicker crossed Huo Yuhao's eyes. He smiled, reached out, and briefly shook that fair, unblemished hand.
In that single instant, Huo Yuhao felt his soul power forcibly stirred, and the surrounding air seemed to turn frigid.
Ice element control!
*What a direct probe. Coming to East Sea Academy was just to confirm my identity, wasn't it?* Huo Yuhao showed no outward reaction whatsoever.
Soul Masters with Twin Martial Souls were distinctly different from ordinary Soul Masters. The key lay in switching between Martial Souls, during which their soul power rapidly fused with the new Martial Soul and altered its elemental attribute.
Recently, in order to attempt a Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Huo Yuhao had been constantly alternating between his two Martial Souls. At this moment, his active one was the Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul, making his soul power attribute ice.
And what was the Silver Dragon King?
She was a god! What "Elementalist" Martial Soul? By human reckoning, every single element under her control was at or above the ultimate tier!
Even if she no longer possessed her peak strength, an Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul meant nothing before her and could only be suppressed.
Even the soul power infused with his Ultimate Ice had been influenced the very moment their hands met. The person before him could well be called the natural nemesis of all elemental Soul Masters.
The Sea of Spirit was already in an uproar. Tianmeng cried in disbelief, "What is with her? Why can she suppress Yuhao's Ultimate Ice? How could such a Soul Master possibly appear among humans?!"
The Ice Empress could not remain calm either. Fortunately, she retained her composure and looked toward the only person present who might know the truth. "Elder Yi, what is she?"
Electrolux said solemnly, "She is no human—she is a god! Yuhao, you…"
Huo Yuhao's tone remained exceptionally calm. "Elder Yi, do not worry. After taking human form, her divine power is gone; this is merely elemental suppression. I already have a contingency for her."
In this era, without the God Realm presiding above, god-level entities were exceedingly rare. Most of them were bound by constraints, unable to unleash their full power.
Only the Silver Dragon King, despite sealing her strength upon taking human form, remained the one with the fewest restrictions on intervening. If necessary, she could seemingly bring forth quite formidable might.
How to deal with her was naturally a matter of top priority. Placing hope in the idea that she would refrain from striking him merely because he had granted Soul Beasts a chance at survival was the height of foolishness.
Ten thousand years had passed, giving Huo Yuhao plenty of time to ponder. Even by sheer exhaustive reasoning, he had devised contingencies for every conceivable crisis.
Such as the situation right now.
*Divine Throne, it is time for you to pay a little rent!*
Through their physical contact, Gu Yuena detected that Huo Yuhao possessed soul power of the Ultimate Ice attribute. Confirming his identity, she instead furrowed her brows.
Humans could not possibly live for ten thousand years, much less achieve something akin to re-cultivation. What was really going on with Huo Yuhao? What was his purpose in surviving ten thousand years to arrive in this era?
She considered probing further, but recalling Huo Yuhao's monumental grace in offering Soul Beasts a second chance at life, Gu Yuena chose not to pursue it.
There was plenty of time ahead; she would come to understand eventually. Confirming Huo Yuhao's identity was enough for now.
With that thought, Gu Yuena withdrew her hand, only to suddenly sense a wave of spiritual fluctuation.
*Was he provoked by my probing? Given Huo Yuhao's temperament, he shouldn't act like this just because he found out I could suppress an ultimate Martial Soul… Wait, this isn't an attack?*
Gu Yuena had assumed Huo Yuhao was outraged that his soul power had slipped from his control, but she soon realized it was not a spiritual attack at all, but… Spiritual Sharing?
Ripples stirred within Gu Yuena's amethyst eyes. Confident in her own strength, she did not obstruct it.
Even with her power sealed and her outward spiritual power lower than Huo Yuhao's at present, her fundamental nature remained unchanged. Harming her severely would not be an easy feat for him.
The spiritual link was established in an instant, and then… the relaxed, natural composure on Miss Gu Yuena's face vanished entirely, freezing her on the spot.
Huo Yuhao had already pulled back his hand and turned to Hua Yichen with a smile. "Teacher Hua, Senior Luo should have lunch ready by now. Let's take Miss Gu Yuena over."
Hua Yichen cast a contemplative glance at Gu Yuena, who stood rooted in place, then glanced in Huo Yuhao's direction, secretly smiling and shaking his head.
How rare it was to see Yuhao strike back against someone's provocation.
Just now, there had been traces of the ice element and spiritual fluctuations in the air, which he had naturally noticed. The ice element was presumably Gu Yuena's Martial Soul, and the spiritual power was naturally Huo Yuhao's.
Was it the pride of young geniuses? Having lost a rank on the ranking list, did she want to reclaim some face? Only, judging by the look of it, things had not gone the young lady's way.
Not paying it much mind, Hua Yichen turned to leave. "This way, please, Miss Gu Yuena."
Huo Yuhao also nodded toward Gu Yuena and turned toward the Spirit Pagoda.
Gu Yuena hesitated for a moment before catching up with the two, her violet eyes gazing at Huo Yuhao's retreating back with faint shock and horror.
*Was that the imprint of a Super Divine Tool?!*
*And that origin aura was absolutely no ordinary Super Divine Tool!*
Even as she was now, she merely possessed clues to a Super Divine Tool, without possessing one herself.
Huo Yuhao possessed a Super Divine Tool? Had he already attained godhood ten thousand years ago? And was he an extraordinarily powerful god? Had he arrived in the Douluo Plane only because the God Realm met with disaster?
No, that was not right.
The moment that possibility came to mind, Gu Yuena dismissed the conjecture.
Ascending to godhood was an earth-shattering event. Even if she had been in slumber, with her power, it was impossible for her to have remained completely unaware.
And if that was not the case, recalling all the bizarre anomalies about Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena's gaze turned solemn.
*To survive from ten thousand years ago until now, and to have researched Soul Spirits and Soul Spirit Contracts—he cannot possibly be a pure mortal. Furthermore, some of the arrays involved in the Soul Spirit Contract shouldn't exist in the Douluo Plane at all. Could he be… the reincarnation of a god? With a Super Divine Tool by his side, is he a first-class god, or… a true Godking?*
Possessing the memories of the Dragon God, Gu Yuena pieced together details in her mind and arrived at an unbelievable conclusion.
If someone possessed unmistakable otherworldly knowledge and carried a Super Divine Tool, could you claim he was an ordinary mortal? That was utterly impossible!
Moreover, given Huo Yuhao's foundation ten thousand years ago, whether he forged his own divine seat or inherited an existing one, he should have become at least a first-class god.
For him to have had such an opportunity yet fail to seize it, refusing godhood and choosing instead to remain on the Douluo Continent, could only mean he harbored even greater ambitions… or perhaps the God Realm had forbidden him from ascending!
The former would mean Huo Yuhao was the reincarnation of a god at or above the rank of a first-class god, disdaining ordinary divine seats.
As for the latter… would the God Realm deliberately make things difficult for a mortal? No matter how flawed the God Realm was, it wouldn't have degenerated to such a pathetic degree, would it?
That could only mean there was something inherently extraordinary about Huo Yuhao himself: from the very beginning, he was simply not human!
*(Huo Yuhao: Who are you calling not human?!)*
Chapter 23