Lost in thought, Gu Yuena walked out of the manufacturing workshop.
Forging Masters extracted the metal source through forging.
The Federation extracted the source through its own technological methods.
Huo Yuhao extracted the metal source using soul tool arrays.
From the very beginning, Huo Yuhao had been conveying a single truth to her in a roundabout way.
There was never only one path!
Gu Yuena had benefited immensely from his words, and he had laid out all the pros and cons with utter clarity. Considering whether to learn forging was no longer an impulsive whim, but a deliberate decision born from clearly seeing the road ahead.
Still, when she recalled his proposal to perform forging through the power of Heaven Refinement, she could not help but marvel in amazement.
Yuhao's ideas were always so extraordinary.
Was this the breadth of vision possessed by a Godking strolling leisurely through the mortal world?
Yes, she would learn it!
Come to think of it, what should this new forging method be called?
Elemental Forging?
No, this was something conceived jointly by two deities. It should be called—Divine Forging!
A gentle smile touched the corners of Gu Yuena's lips. Just as she was thinking this, she looked up and saw Teacher Cheng Yixuan standing outside the design studio, looking at her with a beaming smile.
"..."
She had been so engrossed in speaking with Yuhao that she had completely forgotten to let her teacher know.
Gu Yuena walked into the design studio obediently, bracing herself for a reprimand. But once Cheng Yixuan closed the door, she merely smiled and asked, "How are you and Yuhao getting along?"
Taken aback, Gu Yuena felt a bit puzzled, but still answered, "All right."
"All right?" Cheng Yixuan murmured, shaking her head with a helpless smile. "It seems you really have no self-awareness."
A young girl studying design picking up a forging hammer for a boy... No matter how one looked at it, something was going on.
Cheng Yixuan walked over, knelt down before Gu Yuena, and looked at her tenderly. "You went to find Yuhao with a forging hammer just now, didn't you? What did he say?"
Gu Yuena felt slightly bewildered. Considering their teacher-disciple relationship, however, she carefully weighed her words and gave a brief account, keeping all the critical secrets concealed.
After listening, Cheng Yixuan fell into contemplation.
"...He is a bit polite with you, but you two are still young, so that's actually fine."
It was a relief. Anyone held in high regard by the former president would certainly have good character and wouldn't be the sort of person who merely took advantage of someone else's devotion. That set her mind at ease.
It wasn't easy to find a genius disciple—or at least half of one—and she cared deeply for Gu Yuena, by no means wishing to see her hurt.
Seeing Cheng Yixuan's relieved expression, Gu Yuena wondered if the woman had completely misunderstood the situation.
"All right, let's not dwell on that. Time for me to test your coursework." Cheng Yixuan stood up and looked down at Gu Yuena with a warm smile.
'Who on earth taught this child? She usually seems so aloof and cool, yet at times she's oddly dazed. She really is endearing.'
...
When the time was right, Huo Yuhao bade farewell to President Li Yucheng and set off on the journey back to the academy with Gu Yuena.
Li Yucheng had already stepped down from his position as president, which left him ample time to study soul tools alongside Huo Yuhao. The two had conducted extensive research on the Soul Power Amplifier, and Li Yucheng was gradually getting the hang of it; the rank-7 Soul Power Amplifier was nearing completion.
Both Huo Yuhao and Li Yucheng were immensely satisfied with this progress.
The only one who voiced any dissatisfaction was a certain President Xia, who had inherited the presidency—though no one paid him any mind. After all, his wife's attention was now entirely focused on Gu Yuena...
As Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena walked along the street amidst the bustling crowds, Huo Yuhao suddenly contacted her through Spiritual Sharing: "Head down the alley to the right."
"All right."
Gu Yuena gave a slight nod. She cast a subtle glance at a spot behind them and another toward a point in the sky, then followed Huo Yuhao into an alley to the right, slipping away from the crowd.
Inside the deep alley, high, closed walls flanked both sides. The clamor of the street gradually faded into the distance, leaving only the echo of their footsteps in the quiet.
"Heheheh, little ones, how about coming along with me?"
A sinister voice echoed down the alley, sending a chill through the air. Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena turned around to find a sinister-looking man clad in black robes eyeing them with keen interest, four Spirit Rings swirling around his body.
Two geniuses prized by the Mecha Master Association—at most, a pair of Great Spirit Masters. They were no match for him whatsoever. Bringing them back would make for a fine bounty, and even if the operation on the other side fell through, they could be used to lay a trap for a secondary ambush.
What a stroke of luck!
Inside the Sea of Spirit, the Tianmeng Iceworm looked at this four-ring Soul Ancestor and let out an emotional sigh.
"My good sir... what terrible misfortune you have!"
With mere Soul Ancestor cultivation, to single-handedly confront two re-cultivating powerhouses, one of whom was a genuine deity—I, Emperor Tianmeng, would proclaim you the greatest of all Evil Soul Masters!
Well, the greatest in rotten luck!
Unlike Tianmeng's lighthearted amusement, the Soul Douluo guarding Huo Yuhao from the shadows, Luo Ziyang, knitted his brows.
He had been assigned by Hua Yichen years ago to protect Huo Yuhao, accompanying him whenever he went out. He rarely had any reason to intervene, but today might just call for his hand.
Evil Soul Masters wielded bizarre and insidious methods. Even though he had confidence in Huo Yuhao, he could not afford to drop his guard.
After all, Shrek Academy had already provided a tragic precedent!
Ten thousand years ago, an Evil Soul Master known as the Death God's Emissary had achieved the most terrifying record in Evil Soul Master history!
The Death God's Emissary, merely a Soul King, had faced two generations of the Shrek Seven Monsters and managed to outright kill two Soul Kings with his Corpse Explosion Technique, while crippling a Soul Emperor and another Soul King, and inflicting severe or light injuries on the rest of the Seven Monsters. In the end, he had even used a hostage to escape from a rank-98 Super Douluo—a truly heaven-defying feat!
When he surfaced once more, it was on the battlefield between the Sun Moon Empire and Shrek Academy. At the time, the Sun Moon Empire was allied with the Holy Spirit Cult, and standing on the empire's side, he had brazenly mocked Shrek Academy using his past achievements. He had enraged the other side to no end, yet the chaos of war made it impossible to settle scores.
However, because the Death God's Emissary's record was so monstrously dangerous, when the Sun Moon Empire eventually turned on the Holy Spirit Cult, they designated him as a prime target and executed the fiend.
Even so, his past feats were preserved within the records of several major factions for various reasons, serving as a cautionary tale reminding future generations never to lower their guard when confronting an Evil Soul Master.
Naturally, the Spirit Pagoda was among the factions that kept such records... after all, the Spirit Pagoda loved nothing more than "using history as a mirror."
'I hope Yuhao won't be careless...'
With that thought, Luo Ziyang considered drawing closer so he could strike swiftly and avoid becoming a second Taotie Douluo. Yet before he could move, Huo Yuhao's figure flickered, reappearing right before the Evil Soul Master—while the man was still grinning at empty air.
"..."
All right then, it seemed he had worried for nothing. Yuhao had opened with his Spiritual Interference Domain.
Meanwhile, standing right in front of the Evil Soul Master, Huo Yuhao's blue eyes flashed with a glimmer of gold as he mobilized his vast spiritual power.
Spiritual Shock!
At the same time, his Spirit Rings appeared and Simulation unfolded, subtly altering the visual reality of the fight.
The Evil Soul Master was still sneering at thin air when a piercing agony tore through his Sea of Spirit. The insurmountable disparity in spiritual realm left him utterly defenseless. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into unconsciousness on the spot.
Just before blacking out, he seemed to glimpse three purple Spirit Rings swirling around Huo Yuhao, finally grasping the true situation.
This didn't seem to be an ordinary genius of the Mecha Master Association...
Having done this, Huo Yuhao cast a profound glance at the unconscious Evil Soul Master, made no further move, and whispered toward the empty air:
"Senior, I'll leave him to you."
Luo Ziyang appeared before Huo Yuhao with an emotional sigh. He nodded politely to Gu Yuena by way of greeting, then smiled at Huo Yuhao.
"Well done. You didn't let your guard down."
Without lingering, he seized the Evil Soul Master and vanished. Even so, he stayed close to the pair, escorting them safely back to the academy before taking the Evil Soul Master to the Spirit Pagoda.
Chapter 46