Leng Yaozhu's gaze slowly withdrew from the raised hands and finally landed on Qiangu Dongfeng's livid face.
She calmly announced the result: "More than half agree, the proposal is passed."
From this moment on, the direction of this Spirit Pagoda meeting had completely shifted to Leng Yaozhu's side.
The subsequent agenda proceeded exceptionally smoothly; Leng Yaozhu took the opportunity to propose several follow-up resolutions supporting the two new technologies, including establishing a new special research group, expanding the scale of artificial Spirit Soul experiments, and adjusting relevant resource allocation plans.
Even when she finally proposed officially handing over the number one Unyielding Soul Spirit, the Heart Demon devil spider, to Huo Yuhao for Fusion, Qiangu Dongfeng did not open his mouth to object.
He sat in the main seat, his expression tense, saying nothing, as if he had suppressed all his words beneath his throat.
He knew that under the current general trend, his opposition no longer had any meaning.
No matter what he said or did, he could not reverse the established result.
In the end, the Spirit Pagoda was not the Qian Gu Family's dictatorship.
From then until the meeting ended, Qiangu Dongfeng almost never spoke another word.
The attendees left one after another, and finally, only Qiangu Dongfeng and Leng Yaozhu remained in the large conference room.
Leng Yaozhu sat in her seat, not rushing to get up.
Qiangu Dongfeng did not move either; he leaned back in his chair, eyes cast down, remaining silent for a long time, as if digesting this complete defeat today.
It was not until his originally livid face had somehow softened a few degrees.
He finally raised his head, looked at Leng Yaozhu, and said earnestly: "Yaozhu, the matter of Yuhao being attacked in Star Luo has absolutely nothing to do with me; you don't need to go against me in everything."
Leng Yaozhu did not believe his explanation at all, and said coldly: "Whether it has to do with you or not, you know clearly in your heart. As for me going against you?"
"The position of Spirit Envoy is something Yuhao deserves; with or without you, I would have proposed him to become the Spirit Envoy at today's meeting."
She had originally thought Qiangu Dongfeng might have some "high-minded theory," but she didn't expect him to say such unrefined words.
So after saying this, Leng Yaozhu stood up, not giving Qiangu Dongfeng any more chance to respond.
She walked along the long conference table, then pushed open the heavy wooden door, and walked out without looking back.
The air in the corridor was much fresher than in the conference room; Leng Yaozhu walked in the empty hallway, her steps much lighter than when she arrived, and even her shoulders and back relaxed significantly.
She knew in her heart that after today, Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue's status would no longer be just "Spirit Pagoda's Genius Spirit Master," they were now senior researchers who had pushed for the leapfrog progress of Spirit Soul technology, and core contributors who had brought two epoch-making achievements to the Spirit Pagoda.
From now on, even if it were Qiangu Dongfeng, if he wanted to make a move against these two children again, he would have to weigh it carefully.
...
The next morning, the Spirit Soul storage area beneath the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters became busy.
The heavy alloy doors were opened one by one, various identity verification procedures were passed step by step, and finally, the specialized storage device labeled "Number One Unyielding Soul Spirit" was carefully retrieved and eventually sent into the prepared Spirit Soul Fusion room.
Separated by the thick glass curtain wall, Huo Yuhao watched as that storage device was placed onto the platform in the center of the Fusion room.
Counting the experiences from both Worlds together, he had been waiting for this day for nearly a year.
He took a deep breath, slowly suppressing the slightly surging excitement in his chest.
Immediately, he turned his head, looked at Leng Yaozhu standing beside him, curled the corners of his mouth, and smiled: "Aunt Leng is still the best; you solved the problem as soon as you took action."
Leng Yaozhu also smiled: "If it weren't for you and Gu Yue researching those two new technologies, even if I had the heart to help, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
As she spoke, her gaze also fell on the storage device in the center of the Fusion room, her smile slightly retracted, replaced by a solemn expression: "A three-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Soul wanting to achieve Fusion is not an easy matter; this time, I will personally preside over the Fusion ceremony for you."
Huo Yuhao heard this, his tone carrying a relaxed confidence: "Aunt Leng, don't worry, don't you know my situation?"
Leng Yaozhu was indeed very reassured in her heart; she understood Huo Yuhao's background better than anyone else.
If even he could not achieve Fusion with this three-hundred-thousand-year Heart Demon devil spider, then I'm afraid no one else on the entire Douluo Continent could do it.
Leng Yaozhu and Huo Yuhao walked into the Spirit Soul Fusion room one after the other, the heavy metal door closing silently behind them.
The light in the Fusion room was soft and calm, with several circles of ring-shaped soul guidance patterns embedded in the surrounding walls, emitting a slight humming sound.
The two walked to the center of the Fusion room, where a spherical metal object with a diameter of a full meter was placed on the platform.
It was entirely dark silver-gray, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the cold white light from the ceiling.
The moment Huo Yuhao's gaze landed on it, he noticed a very faint luster flowing across the surface of the sphere; that was the unique texture of Sky-Forged metal, steady and restrained, carrying a sense of breathing as if it had life.
Leng Yaozhu walked two steps to the left and stopped in front of the console.
Her hands moved rapidly across the console, pressing a dazzling series of buttons.
As her last finger fell, the metal sphere on the central platform began to change.
Huo Yuhao lowered his gaze, watching the silver-gray surface begin to tremble slightly.
Immediately after, a gap slowly cracked open on top of the sphere, the gap extending to both sides along a precise arc, unfolding like a blooming flower.
The unique "living" nature of Sky-Forged metal was displayed vividly at this moment; the solid metal now slid to both sides like liquid fluid.
That originally complete spherical metal had now turned into a semi-circular metal shell.
The inner wall of the shell was covered with dense soul guidance patterns, emitting a faint, deep blue glow, with flowing Spirit Power slowly circling within them, like rivers in slumber.
And in the very center of the shell, a spider was quietly lying prone.
Its body size was not large, from head to tail no more than the length of an adult's forearm.
Its entire body presented a crystalline and transparent texture, as if meticulously carved from the finest quality crystal, refracting tiny specks of light under the deep blue illumination.
Its eight legs were elegantly tucked at its sides, with exquisite patterns at the joints, every part rounded and smooth, without the slightest sense of crudeness.
Huo Yuhao looked at it, finding it difficult for a moment to connect this small creature before him, which was as exquisite as a work of art, with the words "three-hundred-thousand-year cultivation Unyielding Soul Spirit."
It looked too quiet, too beautiful, without any of the ugliness and ferocity of other spider Spirit Beasts.
Leng Yaozhu stood by the console, watching Huo Yuhao's expression, the corners of her mouth curling slightly: "Don't be deceived by its appearance; the terrifying aspect of the Heart Demon Devil Spider has never been in its size."
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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.