The Body Sect's surprise attack on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy resulted in losses that were mainly concentrated in the architectural structure of Mingde Hall and several damaged stationary Spirit Tool arrays.
With core secrets intact and casualties controlled, cleaning up such a mess did not take too long for Jing Hongchen, who had been in charge of the academy for many years.
Just two days later, Jing Hongchen delegated all aftermath affairs to the Director of Instruction, Lin Jiayi, while he redirected his energy toward advancing the cooperation with the Spirit Pagoda.
The contract had been officially signed two days ago, and both parties had reached a consensus on paper, making the subsequent matters much simpler.
Huo Yuhao toured the surrounding area of the academy with Jing Hongchen, ultimately deciding on a vacant street-facing plot in the southeast corner as the site for the Spirit Pagoda.
Once everything was settled, Huo Yuhao and his group did not stay in Radiant City any longer.
Escorted by designated personnel from the Sun Moon Empire, they began their return journey along the path they had come, heading north toward the Star Luo Empire.
Just like on their way there, official personnel from the Sun Moon Empire received and saw them off at various cities along the route, allowing the convoy to pass through more than half of the Sun Moon Empire's territory without any obstacles.
After passing through Yaori City, crossing the Mingdou Mountain Range further ahead would bring them into the territory of the Star Luo Empire.
The escorts from the Sun Moon Empire stopped here; crossing the border further ahead might instead cause unnecessary tension due to their sensitive identities.
The Mingdou Mountain Range lay stretched between the two nations, with continuous rolling peaks and a main summit towering into the clouds, serving as a natural boundary barrier.
Ordinary merchants and travelers crossing the mountains had to detour along the official road through the mountain pass, which would take an extra three to four days of travel.
However, equipped with flying Spirit Tools, it would take Huo Yuhao and his group less than half a day to fly directly over the ridge.
Flying at the very front and facing the howling mountain wind, Huo Yuhao's gaze fell upon the approaching deep green ridgeline, yet his thoughts drifted to the other side of the mountain range.
Duke White Tiger Dai Hao—he should be somewhere in the Mingdou Mountain Range right now, shouldn't he?
The White Tiger Legion was stationed year-round on the border between Star Luo and Sun Moon; this was something he had known since he was very young.
Just as Huo Yuhao's mind was wandering, his figure suddenly halted without any warning.
He hovered in mid-air, and the faint trail of flame dragging behind his flying Spirit Tool was instantly retracted.
Seeing him suddenly stop, the others around him also halted their movements one after another.
They looked at each other, none of them understanding what had happened.
Wang Donger flew a bit closer, looked at Huo Yuhao's slightly tensed profile, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Huo Yuhao did not answer immediately. His gaze remained locked on a certain point in the distance, but the curve of his lips shifted subtly.
He slightly turned his head, glanced at Wang Donger, and said, "It seems someone doesn't want us to return to Star Luo safely."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone around them changed in unison.
Senior Brother He reacted the fastest. He immediately scanned the surroundings, his palm already pressed against the Spirit Tool at his waist, and asked in a low voice, "Are there enemies?"
He did not sense any presence; the airspace for miles around looked perfectly peaceful to him.
But he knew Huo Yuhao's mental force far exceeded theirs; if Huo Yuhao said something was wrong, then something was definitely wrong.
Huo Yuhao did not directly answer Senior Brother He's question. He slightly raised his chin and looked toward a certain direction in the distance.
He then spoke, his voice not loud but carrying with absolute clarity, "There is no need to hide anymore. Since you are here, please show yourselves."
His voice spread through the empty sky of the mountains, carried by the valley's echoes to a very, very far distance.
Everyone looked in the direction of his gaze, but there was nothing ahead.
There was still only the continuous ridgeline and the azure sky, with barely a single cloud in sight.
They couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled, but no one voiced any doubts.
However, right after that brief moment of silence, the distant sky suddenly changed.
The previously cloudless sky abruptly darkened at the edge of their vision, and a massive, heavy dark cloud surged out from an unknown place, spreading toward them at an extremely rapid pace.
The cloud was so thick it looked as if a whole vat of ink had been poured from the sky. Gloomy currents of air surged along its edges, completely swallowing the sunlight wherever it passed, leaving behind a dark and oppressive sensation.
As the dark cloud continued to approach, the pressure in the air grew heavier and heavier.
The ink-like cloud churned and condensed in mid-air, ultimately outlining a massive and ferocious tiger head atop the cloud.
Its eyes burned like torches and its maw was wide open, as if it wanted to swallow everything between heaven and earth.
Immediately after, a deafening tiger roar erupted from the tiger head.
The roar felt almost tangible, carrying an overwhelming pressure that poured down toward Huo Yuhao and the others.
The air vibrated violently from the tiger roar, and even the mountain forests below rustled loudly, sending leaves fluttering down.
Everyone felt a sharp pain in their eardrums, and their chests felt as if they had been struck heavily, making even their breathing a bit sluggish.
Everyone's expression changed drastically at this moment, for this was pressure at the level of a Titled Douluo.
Senior Brother He's expression tensed up visibly. He turned to look at Huo Yuhao and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Pagoda Master... our Spirit Pagoda's Titled Douluo should have followed us as well, right?"
In his understanding, with two Limit Douluos presiding over the Spirit Pagoda, and such an important core figure as the Pagoda Master traveling all the way to the Sun Moon Empire to negotiate cooperation, there should at least be a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse secretly accompanying and protecting him.
However, Huo Yuhao's reply caused his heart to sink abruptly.
"Only we came on this trip," Huo Yuhao's tone was unusually calm. "There is no one protecting us in secret."
Senior Brother He was stunned, failing to react for a moment.
After looking at Huo Yuhao and repeatedly confirming that he was not joking, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
Without a Titled Douluo accompanying them, how could they possibly contend with a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse with just their group?
However, as Senior Brother He's gaze fell upon Huo Yuhao's face and saw how calm he was, without the slightest trace of panic, his suspended heart settled back down a bit.
Based on his understanding of Huo Yuhao, though this Pagoda Master was young, he was never one to fight unprepared.
Since he dared to step into Sun Moon without bringing a Titled Douluo, he must have his trump cards.
...Probably.
Wang Donger did not ask further. She simply shifted her body slightly, silently reached out, and held Huo Yuhao's right hand.
Her palm felt warm to the touch, and her Spirit Power slowly flowed into Huo Yuhao's body through their joined hands.
Clearly, Wang Dong was prepared to unleash a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Huo Yuhao to face the enemy.
But Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at Wang Donger and smiled, saying, "Don't worry, I have a way to handle this."
Having said that, he let go of Wang Donger's hand.
Wang Donger's fingers curled slightly in the air, as if she wanted to grab onto something but was too late. She then watched Huo Yuhao's back as he turned and walked away.
That figure showed not a hint of hesitation, flying straight toward the massive, approaching dark cloud.
The oncoming pressure of a Titled Douluo seemed like nothing more than a breeze brushing past Huo Yuhao's cheek.
His speed did not slow down. He charged straight into the churning dark cloud, his figure quickly swallowed by the dense darkness, vanishing from everyone's sight.
Behind him, the people from the Spirit Pagoda hovered in mid-air, their gazes tightly following his vanishing figure, their faces showing undisguised worry.
In their hearts, Huo Yuhao was the founder of the Spirit Pagoda; they were thoroughly convinced by both his Spirit Soul methods and his Forging skills.
He was a Genius, without a doubt.
However, he was not yet a powerhouse. No matter how Genius a youth was, they would still appear fragile before absolute power. None of them believed that the current Huo Yuhao could contend with a Titled Douluo-level existence on his own.
At this moment, Wang Donger spoke. Meeting everyone's anxious gazes with a serious expression, she said, "Trust Yuhao. He is someone who can constantly create miracles. Since he chose to go face the enemy, he must have a way to handle it."
Her voice was not loud, yet it carried a firm conviction that made people involuntarily willing to believe her.
The members of the Spirit Pagoda looked at one another, and their suspended hearts settled down somewhat upon hearing these words.
Someone recalled the All-Continent High-Rank Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament four years ago; back then, Huo Yuhao was already able to go head-to-head with Spirit Douluo-level opponents.
Now that four years had passed, his strength was no longer what it used to be. Perhaps... he truly had the confidence to battle a Titled Douluo?
Meanwhile, deep within the dark cloud.
The moment Huo Yuhao broke into the cloud layer, he felt the surrounding light abruptly dim. The air was filled with a thick, cold aura, mixed with an unpleasant, metallic, sweet scent.
Hovering inside the cloud mass, his gaze quickly swept across the surroundings, soon locking onto a hunched, thin, and small figure not far ahead.
It was an old man dressed in black. His skin was also dark in color, and his thin, dry frame looked as if all moisture had been drained from it.
Most eye-catching of all was his face; his eyebrows were uneven, with one higher than the other, looking indescribably eerie.
And right in the center of his forehead, a massive and clear pattern of the character "king" (King) was strikingly visible.
Historical records he had read in the past quickly surged through Huo Yuhao's mind.
Ten Thousand Years ago, the destruction of the Holy Spirit Cult could be said to have been single-handedly orchestrated by "himself."
Therefore, in the history of "him" passed down to later generations, descriptions of the Holy Spirit Cult were naturally indispensable.
Thus, he quickly matched the characteristics of the person before him with a certain name in the history books.
Hovering several Zhang in front of the old man, his gaze calmly fixed on the opponent, he slowly spoke, "So, it is the Scorpion Tiger Douluo."
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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.