"As a member of the Spirit Transmission Tower, you must always remember: do not be love-brained. We must bear in mind the reason for the Spirit Hall's downfall. The Spirit Hall was not destroyed because of a lack of strength, but because many of its members were absurdly love-brained."
"If a younger disciple becomes love-brained loving someone from another power to the point of losing themselves and the elders are unable to cure them, it is recommended to hand them over to the spirit beast side for physical therapy! At the same time, such individuals are prohibited from becoming high-ranking members of the Spirit Transmission Tower!"
Hua Yichen stood at the podium, mechanically reading the contents of the book before putting down the volume titled The First Generation Tower Master's Admonitions and looking at Huo Yuhao, who was seated below.
"Yuhao, do you understand? In a few days, you will be entering the academy. If you develop feelings for a girl, you must still maintain your rationality. Do not bare your soul to her or better yet, directly recruit her into the Spirit Transmission Tower. Otherwise, no matter how high your talent, you will have no chance of rising swiftly."
"You may not understand this, but for the Spirit Transmission Tower, the spirit beast side is more concerned about this than many people. They are terrified that we will follow in the footsteps of the Spirit Hall. They will genuinely rely on physical therapy to keep the younger generation of the Spirit Transmission Tower sober and rational. Some may resent them for it, but as long as it does not harm the fundamentals, the majority still supports it."
At this point, Hua Yichen switched to compressed sound transmission and continued:
"One of the current Vice Tower Masters, Tianfeng Douluo, and her younger sister both liked Atlas Douluo when they were young. Her younger sister nearly fell and became an evil spirit master because of it."
"Fortunately, due to the First Generation Tower Master's admonitions, the Spirit Transmission Tower has always paid close attention to this aspect. The head of the Leng Clan detected the signs early, directly detained Tianfeng Douluo's younger sister, and in a fit of rage handed her over to Snow Empress, who kept her in the Extreme North for ten years. No one knows what happened during that time."
"After she came out, she and Tianfeng Douluo embraced each other and wept bitterly. She seemed to have become normal. She never spoke of liking Atlas Douluo again. Even so, she was still not qualified to become a high-ranking member of the Spirit Transmission Tower. Tianfeng Douluo, on the other hand, was not as extreme and became Vice Tower Master."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
If the original storyline still held, it was probably just a misunderstanding being cleared up that was why they wept.
And were you really sure Tianfeng Douluo had truly become normal? She was the one who had said she wanted to be Atlas Douluo's secret lover a true love-brain. Perhaps she had simply restrained herself because of the high-pressure policy...
Huo Yuhao's thoughts wandered for a moment before settling on the most important point.
That aside, he understood all these principles. But who could tell him what was the deal with that book's title? Those were his admonitions?
He had never left behind such a book, nor had he ever said anything about handing people over to spirit beasts for punishment...
"Skydream, Ice Empress I didn't actually write any admonitions, did I?"
Ice Empress: "Yuhao, have you forgotten? This is a modified and improved version or rather, an upgraded version of the things you taught Su Tong. The part about the Spirit Hall's downfall was your exact words."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Sorry, he remembered now.
Because he was worried about the Spirit Transmission Tower falling in its second generation, he had made quite demanding requests of Su Tong properly educating and correcting some of her thoughts. Looking back at the major powers in the original Douluo story, how many of their high-ranking members weren't love-brained? This was, after all, the Continent of Love...
He just hadn't expected Su Tong to turn his words into admonitions, have them passed down, and eventually become something he had to study.
This was... karma truly had a sense of humor.
How absurd.
Skydream said somewhat uncertainly: "As for handing them over to spirit beasts... that was probably something later generations of the Spirit Transmission Tower made up to scare people, right? When would Snow Empress or Emperor Tian have the time to deal with a bunch of juniors? It's just that Tianfeng Douluo's younger sister was too extreme and happened to be made an example of?"
With ancestral teachings in place, yet someone still loved another to the point of nearly becoming an evil spirit master if it were him, he would hand her over to the spirit beasts for a good training session too!
Huo Yuhao felt strange inside, but did not show it on his face. He merely looked at Hua Yichen. "Teacher Hua, could I see that book?"
"I was planning to give it to you anyway. Only core disciples of the Spirit Transmission Tower are allowed to read this, as some of its ideas are considered quite heretical by ordinary standards."
Hua Yichen handed it to Huo Yuhao. The latter opened it and looked through it, finding that it was indeed all adaptations of things he himself had said. He felt both speechless and a little nostalgic.
That Su Tong... if he had the chance, he would have a proper talk with her again.
After instilling in Huo Yuhao the terrors of becoming love-brained, Hua Yichen intended to take him to the training ground to teach him practical combat.
Over the past three years, he had also discovered that when it came to cultivate and absorbing knowledge, Huo Yuhao gave him no cause for concern. He learned very quickly.
Strictly speaking, he didn't need practical combat training either. But if he didn't demonstrate something, Hua Yichen felt that as a teacher, he would lose face.
Watching Huo Yuhao calmly shifting and dodging under his suppressed-strength attacks, Hua Yichen marveled inwardly.
Nine years old. After taking the Soul Ascension Pill, his spirit power had reached the peak of Level 32. His spiritual power had even reached the Spirit Sea realm. He didn't even know how to report this anymore.
And regarding the Junior Genius Rankings he had mentioned before where should he place Huo Yuhao?
The child was still young, and some spirit masters had been known to advance a thousand li a day in their early cultivation only to find every step difficult later on. Although he was confident Huo Yuhao would not have such problems, he still could not place him too high.
He would choose a position within the top ten.
"Tower Master, President Li has come to visit!"
Just then, the sound of knocking and a staff member's report came in succession.
"What is he doing here?" Hua Yichen was first startled, then realized and looked at Huo Yuhao.
That made sense. With two Grade Three secondary professions, it was no wonder Li Yucheng could not sit still.
The top-floor reception room of the Spirit Transmission Tower was simple and comfortable. A dark brown wooden meeting table sat in the center, with off-white two-seater sofas on either side. Li Yucheng was seated on one of them.
"Tower Master Hua, where is Huo Yuhao's secondary profession teacher?"
Seeing Hua Yichen enter the reception room, Li Yucheng stood up and said somewhat urgently: "I want to meet him. How has he been teaching Huo Yuhao? How could he..."
Huo Yuhao stepped out from behind Hua Yichen, causing Li Yucheng's words to stop. His expression became somewhat awkward, and his gaze began to wander.
Speaking ill of someone's teacher in front of them that would probably leave a bad first impression.
Hua Yichen smiled, dispelling the awkward atmosphere, and sat down with Huo Yuhao across from Li Yucheng.
"Yuhao is self-taught. He has no secondary profession teacher... If one must be named, then every Mecha Manufacturer and Mecha Designer in this Spirit Transmission Tower is his teacher."
Li Yucheng raised an eyebrow, feeling that he had expected as much.
He had said so who wouldn't hold a genius of this caliber in the palm of their hand and let them waste their talent?
But if that was the case, then it was Huo Yuhao's own decision...
Li Yucheng's eyes grew somewhat complex as he looked at Huo Yuhao. He said solemnly: "I am the president of the Eastsea Mecha Designer Association Li Yucheng, a Grade Eight Mecha Manufacturer. Huo Yuhao, I have seen your work many times. I must remind you too much is as bad as too little. Focus on one point if you want to reach the pinnacle!"
"Thank you for your concern. But I am precisely digging deep into the fields I am good at. I am not wasting my talent." Huo Yuhao shook his head.
He had always known very clearly what he was good at.
"You want to walk the path of a Soul Engineer from ten thousand years ago, don't you? But you must understand times have changed."
Li Yucheng sighed upon hearing this. "In the past, Soul Engineers could take care of forging, design, manufacturing, repair, and even combat. But now, the body of knowledge in each system is too vast. For you to walk that path... it is too difficult."
In the eyes of people today, the Soul Engineers of ten thousand years ago were a bunch of beasts horrific and terrifying beings with an insane level of internal competition.
Didn't they get tired, doing so many things alone?
A bunch of Douluo kings no wonder they could suppress the three Douluo kingdoms and Shrek and beat them...
"I only want to complete a soul tool of my own."
Huo Yuhao spoke a name that surprised both Hua Yichen and Li Yucheng.
"Silver Moon Douluo — President, have you heard of him?"
"I never expected that in the end, it would be Lord Spirit-Ice who came to see me. As the Tower Master of the Spirit Transmission Tower, without saying you are as busy as juggling many things every day, you still don't have that much free time, do you? Why would you come to see a person's final days?"
The aged voice carried a hint of self-mockery from the wide sickbed. The once-aspiring Silver Moon Douluo had now reached his twilight years.
Huo Yuhao, standing in the shadows of the corner, had somewhat complicated eyes.
"Elder Kong, won't you pass down your Lifebound Soul Tool?"
"My descendants do not have Lord Spirit-Ice's talent. They cannot do it."
Kong Deming shook his head. His already cloudy eyes looked at Huo Yuhao.
If this person had devoted the time he spent on martial soul cultivation to soul tools, he might have gone further than him.
But even though he had wasted his energy on other aspects, he was still the only Soul Engineer in this era with whom he could discuss the Way. If only he had joined the Sun Moon Empire back then... what a pity.
Kong Deming sighed. "Besides, the war is over. The Empire has won. The Soul Engineers of the future will have no enemies. They will only delve into their preferred fields, indulge in research."
"In the end, the Soul Engineer profession will probably become synonymous with 'researcher.' Everyone will have their own area of expertise, but no one will be as comprehensive as in the past."
"And for a Lifebound Soul Tool to truly suit oneself, it cannot be made by another's hand at the very least, the design and manufacturing must be done by oneself. I can already foresee the day this type of soul tool declines. On the contrary, the Battle Armor Prototype you developed is more likely to flourish."
Huo Yuhao looked at Kong Deming and said in a low voice: "Then, what if I inherit it?"
Kong Deming was stunned.
Huo Yuhao then smiled and said: "In the name of... the Spirit Transmission Tower!"
Kong Deming was silent for a moment, then laughed heartily: "Alright! I leave it to you!"