Upon hearing the three words "Clear Sky Sect", Huo Yuhao visibly paused.
The smile on his face froze for a split second, though he regained his composure in the blink of an eye.
His expression was off; it wasn't simple surprise or nervousness, but something deeper and more complicated.
He still remembered what Elder Jin had once told him: among the few locations on the Douluo Continent where the Sea God Tang San could descend, the Clear Sky Sect was the most likely one.
In the current Huo Yuhao's heart, that Sea God Tang San was no longer the pure and unsullied hero he had read about in legends during his youth.
The more he learned and the more he knew, the clearer it became to him just how far that God King would go to achieve his goals.
Facing such an existence, he had to tread carefully and remain vigilant at every turn.
Therefore, he avoided the Clear Sky Sect whenever he could.
These thoughts raced through his mind, manifesting on his face only as a momentary hesitation, yet this brief hesitation did not escape Wang Donger's eyes.
Seeing that Huo Yuhao's expression was off, she quickly explained: "We've already confirmed our relationship, haven't we? I've been to your home and met your mother, but you still haven't been to my home. My Big Dad and Second Dad have been talking about wanting to meet you."
As she reached the end, her voice grew quieter unconsciously, causing Huo Yuhao's heart to be gently tugged by something.
He looked down at Wang Donger's slightly lowered eyelashes and her somewhat anxious expression, a pang of heartache crossing his heart.
She was right; the two of them had reached this point, and meeting each other's parents was only natural.
But Huo Yuhao's reason told him that now was not the time.
He tried to keep his tone gentle and natural as he said: "Donger, the Spirit Pagoda has just been established, and there are simply too many things to do."
"The promotion of the soul spirit system, the preparations for the Branch Pagodas, and the cooperation with the Sun and Moon Empire have only just begun... Everything needs to be watched over, and I really can't be in two places at once."
He paused, looked into Wang Donger's eyes, and added: "Can you wait a little longer? Once I've straightened these things out, I will definitely go with you."
In fact, ever since he truly learned of Tang San's true colors, he had been avoiding a question he dared not think about in detail—what exactly should he do about his relationship with Wang Donger?
All the little moments they had shared over the years they had known each other were real.
His feelings for her were real, and her feelings for him were also real.
But if one day he truly had to face the Sea God Tang San, if he had to stand in opposition to that God King, where would that leave him and Wang Donger?
He had never been able to come up with an answer, so he had been avoiding this question all along.
This wasn't because he lacked the courage to face the issue, but because without sufficient strength, this question was unsolvable.
Therefore, facing Wang Donger's invitation at this moment, Huo Yuhao could only use a delaying tactic.
Upon hearing his words, the light in Wang Donger's eyes dimmed noticeably for a moment.
Then she forced a smile onto her face: "Alright then, we'll talk about it after you're done with your work. I'll take you to the Clear Sky Sect then."
"Mm."
Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile and reached out to gently stroke her soft hair.
He took the opportunity to pull Wang Donger into his arms, resting his chin on her hair, and caught the faint, fresh scent of her locks.
Wang Donger's body stiffened slightly in his embrace for a moment, then gradually relaxed, burying her face in his chest.
Huo Yuhao said nothing more, simply holding her quietly while watching the sky over Radiant City gradually darken, silently calculating how much longer he would need to have the confidence to truly face all of this.
...
The evening sky darkened inch by inch. Outside the window, on the streets of Radiant City, rows of Spirit Tool streetlights lit up one after another, their warm white light spreading along the wide streets, slowly lifting the entire city out of the twilight.
However, in the top-floor room of the hotel, Huo Yuhao had no interest in the night view outside the window.
After dinner, he returned to his room and instructed his entourage not to disturb him tonight.
After closing the door, Huo Yuhao busied himself in the room for quite a while, setting up several defensive Formations.
Only after confirming everything was correct did he set his mind at ease and sit cross-legged on the floor in the center of the room.
He took a deep breath, and with a slight movement of his mind, a circular tray appeared out of thin air in his hands—it was the god-sealing platform.
Huo Yuhao carefully placed the god-sealing platform on the floor in front of him, adjusted his breathing, and then closed his eyes, immersing his consciousness into his Spiritual Sea.
The five great Spirit Souls were now gathered together, preparing to witness the coming moment.
The one most concerned was Ice Empress; usually cold and proud, she was visibly nervous at this moment.
Seeing her like this, Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before saying: "A Spirit Tool like the god-sealing platform has never appeared before. No one knows what the situation is with the Snow Empress inside, so..."
He paused, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid.
But everyone knew what his unfinished sentence meant: no one could be sure what the condition of the Snow Empress would be once the god-sealing platform was opened.
Ice Empress looked up, meeting Huo Yuhao's gaze.
Her voice was lower than usual, but carried an unshakable resolve: "I know the Snow Empress. Whether she is alive or dead, she would absolutely not want to be sealed inside this damn thing like this."
Huo Yuhao nodded: "Rest assured, I will do my best."
Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on the god-sealing platform in front of him. He did not hesitate for long; he slowly raised his hand and tapped his fingertips in the air several times.
The golden sealing runes he had previously applied to the outer wall rose one by one from the surface of the god-sealing platform under his guidance, drifting in the air like fallen leaves caught in the wind, before turning into tiny specks of light and dissolving silently.
That faint, almost imperceptible chill seeped out once again from the tiny crack at the bottom of the god-sealing platform.
It was very faint, almost impossible for an ordinary person to detect, but it was incomparably clear under Huo Yuhao's spiritual perception.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, raised his right hand, pressed his index finger together, and tapped directly at the crack on the outer wall of the god-sealing platform.
The moment his fingertip touched the surface of the god-sealing platform, a slight, crisp "crack" sound rang out, like the sound of the first fissure bursting on an icy surface.
Immediately following, that once nearly invisible crack spread rapidly in all directions, and spiderweb-like patterns instantly crawled all over the entire outer wall of the god-sealing platform, dense and fine as hair.
As the cracks spread, the chill leaking from inside the god-sealing platform intensified sharply.
It turned from barely visible into a visible white cold current, gushing out in wisps from the cracks, dyeing the air into a hazy white mist.
Then... with a "crash".
The entire god-sealing platform shattered completely. The transparent outer walls crumbled into countless tiny fragments, scattering like bursting ice crystals, and landed on the floor with a crisp clatter.
At the same time, a cold female voice filled with endless rage suddenly exploded in the small space.
"Despicable human, die! All of you, die!"
The voice was so cold it felt as though it could freeze one's blood; every word was laden with heartbreaking hatred and fury.
With the eruption of that voice, an extremely powerful force of extreme cold exploded violently from the center of the shattered god-sealing platform, sweeping through the entire room in an instant like a silent blizzard.
Huo Yuhao's pupils constricted; that cold force was far more violent than he had anticipated.
If he didn't have the Ice Empress Spirit, he probably wouldn't have been able to safely withstand that impact just now.
The moisture in the air froze instantly. The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in a thick, hard layer of ice crystals at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the room's temperature plummeted to a degree that made one's teeth chatter.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao had set up layers of Formations in the room beforehand. An invisible barrier firmly locked the raging force of extreme cold within the confines of the room, preventing even a fraction from leaking out.
But even so, the interior of the room had completely changed in an instant.
The layer of ice on the walls was a foot thick, emitting a deep blue cold light under the illumination.
The tables, chairs, and sofa were all frozen in place. The floor was covered with frost and ice shards, as if someone had conjured fragments of a glacier from the Far North out of thin air.
The entire room had now turned into a World of ice.
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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.