Huo Yuhao walked out of his room. Just as he reached the corner of the corridor, the elevator doors slid open silently, and Dai Yuner stepped out with a light bounce in her step.
Today, she wore a lake-blue dress, her long golden hair braided into a loose fishtail braid draped over her shoulder, making her look less like a regal imperial princess and more like a fresh and playful girl next door.
The moment she saw Huo Yuhao, her deep blue eyes visibly lit up. She raised her hand, waved to him cheerfully, and called out in a crisp voice, "Yuhao!"
Huo Yuhao looked at her, giving a slight nod in response, and asked, "What brings you here?"
Dai Yuner walked up to him in a few quick steps, tilting her head up with a sweet smile. "There's a newly rehearsed play at the Star Luo Grand Theater today about the story of the Spirit Ice Douluo from Ten Thousand Years ago. Do you want to go watch it together?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly and declined straightforwardly, "I won't be going to see the play."
The smile on Dai Yuner's face stiffened slightly, and a flash of disappointment quickly crossed her deep blue eyes.
But before she could fully process her disappointment, Huo Yuhao continued, "However, I happen to have some business and want to go see His Majesty today. If Princess Yuner is not busy, why don't you come with me?"
"Sure! Of course I'm not busy. We can take my car!"
Dai Yuner agreed almost without hesitation, bouncing with joy, before turning around and jogging over to press the elevator button.
The two of them went downstairs together and got into the soul tool automobile bearing the imperial crest that Dai Yuner had arrived in.
The interior of the car was spacious and quiet, with soft and comfortable leather seats. The two sat side-by-side in the back row.
Dai Yuner sat with her hands folded over her knees, her eyes seemingly focused properly ahead, but she couldn't help stealing glances at Huo Yuhao beside her out of the corner of her eye.
Huo Yuhao's previous judgment was entirely correct. Dai Yuner approaching him was indeed at Dai Tianling's behest.
Ever since learning from Saint Dragon that Huo Yuhao had comprehended a Spirit Domain, Dai Tianling's "desire" for this youth had soared to a new height.
Although Huo Yuhao shared a common Bloodline with the Star Luo Imperial Family, Ten Thousand Years was a long time, and this trace of shared ancestry could hardly be considered close.
Thus, the Star Luo Emperor had come up with this idea of cementing their relationship through marriage, encouraging Dai Yuner to spend more time with Huo Yuhao.
The two were of similar age, and if any sparks could fly between them, it would naturally be for the best.
Even if nothing came of it, getting acquainted and narrowing the distance between them would do no harm.
As for her imperial father's proposal, which carried clear political motives, Dai Yuner had initially resisted it from the bottom of her heart.
She had been pampered and raised like a treasure by her parents and older brothers since childhood. Though her personality seemed easygoing, she was highly independent, and she detested political marriages arranged solely for benefit.
But later, Dai Tianling patiently detailed Huo Yuhao's various achievements and solemnly promised that he was only asking her to get to know him first and would never force her to do anything she didn't want to. Only then did she reluctantly agree.
In this World where strength was respected above all else, admiring the strong was an instinct engraved in everyone's bones, and members of the imperial family were no exception.
Although Huo Yuhao could not yet be considered a truly peerless powerhouse, he was already invincible among his peers. Becoming a true powerhouse was only a matter of time.
Without realizing it, Dai Yuner had also fallen for him. She began to look forward to every encounter, pay attention to every word he said, and feel that if they could really end up together, it seemed like it would be a rather wonderful thing.
Dai Yuner turned her head, her deep blue eyes curiously studying his profile, which remained as calm as still water. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Yuhao, why are you suddenly going to see my imperial father? What is it about?"
Huo Yuhao glanced at Dai Yuner, weighing his words in his mind.
He thought to himself that he couldn't just bluntly say, "I'm going to make my stance clear to your imperial father and tell him to stop pushing you toward me."
So, he could only smile and reply, "It's a secret for now. You'll find out when we get there."
Hearing this, Dai Yuner couldn't help but pout, clearly very dissatisfied with this perfunctory answer, but she didn't press further.
The soul tool automobile drove smoothly along the wide and clean streets of Star Luo City. The rows of shops and bustling pedestrians on both sides slowly drifted backward past the car windows.
However, at a certain moment without any warning, the soul tool automobile felt as if it had been violently yanked from behind by an invisible giant hand. The tires screeched sharply and piercingly against the road, and the entire vehicle came to an abrupt halt right in the middle of the street.
Jerked forward by the sudden inertia, Huo Yuhao and Dai Yuner were thrown forward before being firmly pulled back against their backrests by their seatbelts.
Frowning, Dai Yuner raised her voice and asked toward the driver's seat, "What's going on? Why did you stop so suddenly?"
The imperial driver sitting in the front row was also completely bewildered. He frantically tapped away at the control panel, but the car refused to budge an inch.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he turned around and explained apologetically, "Princess, it seems the car has broken down."
"Don't get out of the car!"
Huo Yuhao suddenly spoke, his voice low and solemn.
His muscles tensed instantly as he went into a state of high alert.
Seeing the unprecedented gravity on his face, Dai Yuner's heart skipped a beat as she asked, "What's wrong?"
Huo Yuhao didn't offer much explanation. Pushing the car door open, he stepped one foot outside.
Before bending down to close the door, he leaned in slightly and locked eyes with Dai Yuner through the window for a brief moment.
"The car isn't broken. An enemy is coming. Stay inside and don't come out."
Hearing this, Dai Yuner was startled at first, and then an instinctive wave of disbelief washed over her.
This was Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire. The imperial palace was only a few kilometers away, garrisoned by the Empire's most elite Imperial Guard and several Titled Douluo-level enshrined guardians.
In broad daylight, who would dare attack the carriage of an imperial princess?
Yet, the very instant this thought crossed her mind, she saw through the car window that the surrounding scenery was beginning to blur in a bizarre fashion.
The familiar buildings and sidewalks on both sides of the street, and even the bright sun in the sky, seemed like an ink wash painting soaked in water—their outlines bleeding, fading, and blurring bit by bit.
Then, a touch of deathly and icy gray appeared out of air, rapidly spreading in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the entire heaven and earth were enveloped in a dark, gloomy World.
Only at this moment did Dai Yuner finally believe Huo Yuhao's words. Someone actually dared to make a move here.
Beside Huo Yuhao, a tall figure suddenly appeared without any warning.
Without even needing to turn around, Huo Yuhao identified the newcomer instantly just from that familiar aura. It was indeed his teacher, Han Tianyi.
This elder, who had lived in seclusion at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters for many years, had traveled thousands of miles with the Federation Delegation to the Star Luo Continent with the sole purpose of protecting Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao called out in a low voice, "Teacher."
Han Tianyi only gave a slight nod. A rare look of gravity now appeared on his usually stern, unsmiling face.
With his cultivation at the Super Douluo level, he could naturally sense that the gray mist before them was by no means an ordinary method.
Enveloped by the gray mist, the entire space seemed to have been peeled away from Star Luo City, forming an isolated World of dead silence. Such a method was definitely not something an ordinary Titled Douluo could pull off.
Within the churning gray fog ahead, figures began to emerge silently.
However, they were not human. Devoid of any life force, with hollow, lifeless eye sockets and stiff, mechanical movements, they were all Undead creatures patched together from bones, rotting flesh, and tattered armor.
skeleton soldiers dragged rusted long sabers, zombies shambled forward in staggering numbers, and several massive abominations let out low growls.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao actually breathed a slight sigh of relief. It turned out to be Evil Soul Masters, and specifically the kind that toyed with Undead creatures.
Since they were dealing with the undead, things would be much easier.
The Electrolux in his Spiritual Sea was, after all, the Scourge of the Undead. Toying with the undead in front of this ancestor was simply courting death.
Yet, the very instant this thought arose in his mind, Electrolux's old and solemn voice rang out in his brain, "Do not let your guard down. The person who has come this time is not simple. Even if I were to act personally, I might not be able to do anything to them."
Hearing this, the tension in Huo Yuhao's heart, which had just loosened slightly, snapped tight again.
If even Electrolux, this former demigod, said he might not be able to do anything to the opponent, just who on earth was coming?
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.