Just as Huo Yuhao's feet touched the ground, Prime Minister Du Qian, Jing Hongchen, and Ma Zhong stepped forward to welcome him.
Among the three, Ma Zhong was walking at the very front, because only he could be considered familiar with Huo Yuhao. He smiled and nodded to Huo Yuhao from a distance.
His smile carried a hint of warmth, knowing what Huo Yuhao's visit to Sun Moon meant for the Sun Moon Empire.
Once both sides drew close, Ma Zhong took the initiative to introduce them to each other.
After the introductions were finished, Prime Minister Du Qian spoke first: "I have long heard that the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda is young and promising. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation."
Huo Yuhao's tone was humble: "The Prime Minister flatters me."
Jing Hongchen chimed in from the side, "That is by no means flattery. At Pagoda Master Huo's age, we were still cooped up in laboratories researching Spirit Tools."
Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head, not dwelling on the topic.
The atmosphere of this first meeting's pleasantries was actually very harmonious.
Prime Minister Du Qian's words carried the usual sense of propriety of an important court official, neither overly warm nor noticeably distant.
Jing Hongchen, on the other hand, displayed a straightforward demeanor, speaking crisply and decisively, which naturally won people's favor.
Among the teachers and Students standing on both sides of the academy gates, quite a few witnessed this scene.
Looking at Huo Yuhao's excessively young face, and then seeing Prime Minister Du Qian and Jing Hongchen welcoming him with such smiles, some of them couldn't help but frown.
They all felt that these two high-ranking officials of the Sun Moon Empire seemed somewhat "fawning" when facing a young man like Huo Yuhao.
However, this was only because they did not yet understand what a Spirit Soul meant. Once the Spirit Pagoda was officially completed and they witnessed the benefits of a Spirit Soul, they would probably be the very first to cry and beg to fuse with one.
As the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Du Qian's personal presence today had already demonstrated the attitude of the Sun Moon Imperial Family, but he did not intend to participate in the specific matters.
Afterward, Jing Hongchen personally led the way, guiding Huo Yuhao and his party into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Walking in front with fast and steady steps, he gestured with his hand to point out the buildings on both sides of the road to Huo Yuhao as they walked.
From teaching buildings to laboratories, from the Spirit Tool exhibition hall to the Student training grounds...
The group traversed more than half of the academy, finally coming to a halt in front of a grayish-white building.
Everyone went straight up to the third floor and walked into a small conference room.
The furnishings inside the conference room were simple. A dark long table in the center occupied most of the space, its surface smooth and shiny, with a dozen high-backed chairs arranged on each side.
The curtains were half-drawn, and the afternoon light filtered in from outside the window, spreading a layer of soft halo across the tabletop.
The two sides sat facing each other across the long table. Jing Hongchen folded his hands on the tabletop, his gaze landing squarely on Huo Yuhao's face.
The kindness on his face from their first meeting receded slightly, replaced by a serious and steady expression.
The talks officially began.
As the "host", Jing Hongchen was the first to speak.
"Thank you for your trust, Pagoda Master Huo, in being willing to establish a Branch Pagoda of the Spirit Pagoda in our Sun Moon Empire."
Jing Hongchen said these words with genuine sincerity.
Huo Yuhao came from Star Luo and was tutored at Shrek.
He held the core technology of the Spirit Soul. If it were anyone else, keeping a strict guard against the Sun Moon Empire would only be reasonable.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire's blockade on Spirit Tool technology had persisted for so many years, and the secrets of soul tool cores were never leaked. For Soul Engineers belonging to the original three nations of the Douluo Continent, wanting to gain access to Sun Moon's top-tier Spirit Tool technology was almost as difficult as ascending to heaven. If Huo Yuhao had treated Sun Moon with the same attitude, no one could find fault with him.
But he didn't. He had come of his own accord, bringing personnel, technology, and sincere cooperation, crossing the border that many Spirit Masters never crossed in their entire lives, and standing on the soil of the Sun Moon Empire.
For this breadth of mind alone, Jing Hongchen could not help but admire him.
Huo Yuhao's reasons for choosing Sun Moon were partly because of rare metals, and partly because he truly wanted to promote Spirit Soul technology across the entire continent.
And another very important point was that Huo Yuhao did not harbor that much hatred toward the Sun Moon Empire.
After all, Huo Yuhao knew that in the era Ten Thousand Years later, the Douluo Continent would be unified under the governance of a federation, and the one that ultimately accomplished the grand feat of unifying the continent was precisely the Sun Moon Empire.
Of course, this was also the contribution of his "son". Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in his heart.
However, those emotions only flashed across his face before being quickly concealed.
He responded in a steady tone, "Dean Hongchen is too polite. The Spirit Pagoda is dedicated to promoting the Spirit Soul, which is both to reform the continent's Spirit Master system and to ease the conflict between humans and Spirit Beasts."
"Otherwise, with fewer and fewer Spirit Beasts, I fear that Ten Thousand Years from now, without enough spirit rings available, the profession of Spirit Master will disappear altogether."
When his last words fell, the conference room fell silent for a moment.
The high-ranking officials of the Sun Moon Academy present had varying expressions. Some raised their eyebrows in disapproval, while others looked thoughtful, as if they were truly and seriously pondering the logic in Huo Yuhao's words.
Jing Hongchen, however, felt that Huo Yuhao's claim of the "disappearance of the Spirit Master profession" was somewhat alarmist.
But since he was currently in a position of asking for a favor, he did not show his inner thoughts, merely saying with a smile, "Pagoda Master Huo cares for the continent, and your breadth of mind is far beyond my own."
After the two exchanged a few more pleasantries, the topic at the table finally got onto the right track, and they began discussing issues related to the construction of the Spirit Pagoda.
Jing Hongchen acted straightforwardly, and Huo Yuhao's side had also come prepared.
The entire process was unexpectedly smooth. After a brief back-and-forth for about half an hour, both sides finally reached a consensus on the cooperation.
On the side of the Sun Moon Empire, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was authorized as the representative institution to enter into formal cooperation with the Spirit Pagoda.
On a designated plot of empty land next to the academy, the academy would fund the construction of the Sun Moon Branch Pagoda of the Spirit Pagoda. The land would be allocated by the imperial family free of charge, with the right of use belonging to the Spirit Pagoda.
Once the Branch Pagoda was completed, the Spirit Pagoda would station professional personnel permanently in Sun Moon to handle Spirit Soul-related matters.
Jing Hongchen had expected this long ago. He had even privately deduced with several senior academy officials before the meeting that the core technology of the Spirit Pagoda must be in the hands of a very few people and could not be easily taught.
However, Jing Hongchen had his own calculations in mind. He was already pondering how to "borrow" the Spirit Transmitting technology for use.
Once the Sun Moon Branch Pagoda of the Spirit Pagoda was completed, the Sun Moon Empire could recommend one person to enter the Spirit Pagoda's Supreme Council to serve as a councilor.
This meant that the Sun Moon Empire would have a seat at the decision-making level of the Spirit Pagoda. Although it would not sway the overall situation, it still counted as having an official say.
As a reciprocal condition, the Sun Moon Empire had to open up purchasing permissions for rare metals to the Spirit Pagoda.
Once these clauses were settled, both sides were considered satisfied.
Huo Yuhao obtained the rare metal channels he wanted and access to the Sun Moon market, while Jing Hongchen obtained the opportunity for the implementation of Spirit Soul technology and the possibility of deeper contact in the future.
As for who got the better end of the deal, that would depend on their respective methods in the future.
However, Jing Hongchen clearly did not intend to limit this talk only to the construction of the Spirit Pagoda.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the signed agreement on the table, and then he looked up at Huo Yuhao.
"Pagoda Master Huo, I also witnessed the Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Tools a few days ago."
As he spoke, he leaned back slightly, the back of the chair making a faint sound.
"To be honest, it made us feel quite ashamed."
These words were indeed from the heart. He had indeed researched the various Spirit Tools of the Spirit Transmission Hall, which also made him, a Class 9 Soul Engineer of the Sun Moon Empire, feel a threat from the field of Spirit Tools for the first time.
One must know that he had never taken the Spirit Tools belonging to the original three nations of the Douluo Continent seriously, but the Spirit Tools of the Spirit Transmission Hall indeed brightened his eyes, and he even found some of them incomprehensible!
Jing Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao, his tone carrying a hint of probing: "I wonder if we could exchange some pointers this time?"
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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.