"Hmhm~" Huo Yuhao left the Imperial Consecration Hall with a gleeful stride, unashamedly whistling as he went his merry way back to the academy.
This visit was both unexpected and fruitful. Not only did he manage to threaten—...ahem, peacefully recruited the Sun Moon Empire's best soul engineer. He also absorbed many knowledge and skills of soul engineering to peak Class 9, and massively increased his cultivation to rank 70!
Truly, the Sun Moon Empire is a land filled with opportunities.
Unlike in Shrek Academy and the Great Star Dou Forest that he would be watched almost everyday and every minute, with the consequences of being punished by old monsters when using certain "methods", the Sun Moon Empire was different.
Here, he was an outsider.
He was widely known as a monstrous genius that many higher-ups would like to either recruit or to eliminate. That was what many thought of him to be as; either as a future asset or a future enemy.
That was the thing, they only thought about the future. Almost all of them have no idea of what he's truly capable of.
Well, except for the people he had "recruited" of course.
Huo Yuhao let out a sigh, 'In all things considered, the Sun Moon Empire seems more likable than Shrek Academy and the other Empires. Technologically and socially, they're superior.
While I recently introduced the rice cooker, washing machine, and other appliances to the Three Douluo Empires, here? They've had it for more than a thousand years. Heck, their washing machine looks so futuristic that it looks like a class 3 soul cannon!'
Ever since he absorbed the memories of his past lives, Huo Yuhao had wizened up and saw through many things.
First of all, Shrek Academy wasn't really worth "studying" for so long. Everything he needed to learn, was quickly learned in mere weeks if he disregarded all pretense and becomes a full-blown Shinobi — sneaking into the libraries and reading everything that they had.
Of course, he was so weak at the time but he was confident he would've had the means to sneak into their library.
There would be the matter about Mu En, but something like explosive tags somewhere far away from his objectives would be enough to keep him and the others occupied.
As for their so-called training? Besides Mu En, everyone else had taught him almost nothing! As for the so-called benefits they'd given him? Like cultivating under the Golden Tree and being taught by Mu En? Please, that was the least they could do for him since he won the championship for the academy!
Heck, Yan Shaozhe didn't even fullfil his promise of hunting a suitable soul beast and soul bone for him.
Of course, right now, hunting a soul beast for its soul rings is unavailable—but a soul bone shouldn't! With Shrek Academy's rich history, how could they not have some soul bones?
The only reason he hadn't just packed his stuff and moved, not simply because be was tied by his friends(he can easily convince them to follow him), was because he didn't have anywhere else to go!
Both the forest and the school simply had the best training and cultivation area that the continent could offer!
As for his Akatsuki headquarters and the company he started? It was boring as hell! It was to the point that some of the clones he conjured would immediately offed themselves than handle another gruelling several months of paperwork.
....Yeah, that one was on him. Being the 'Hokage'(sect leader) was not worth it.
He had gained everything that he had with his own efforts. What's the point of going anywhere else if he already had anything he wanted at a moment's notice?
That was, until he realized the sophistication of soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire.
Their innovation lit a fire within him, a light bulb shining above his head as well.
Huo Yuhao's greatest ambition in life was to become a God. And there were two known ways to become one according to Di Tian.
Through faith, having people or soul beasts worship him—which could take centuries or even millennia for the faith energy to be sufficient to form a God Position for him.
The second method is by inheriting an already existing God Position.
These conditions are extremely harsh, but not impossible.
If there's a will, there's a way.
Huo Yuhao's interest in soul tools was always personal. They were the tools for humanity's advancement and growth!
They were also a tool for his ascension. After all, if he promotes them as a commodity amongst the commoners, wouldn't they try to worship him? It might take a while, but it could also serve as an excellent experiment to see how faith energy works.
Huo Yuhao paused in his steps, his eyes narrowing.
The shadow clones he sent to find traces of a divine inheritance site had poofed, weirdly, all around the same time.
"Oh? I've actually found three leads in Jing Yang Mountain, the vast desert, and a mysterious lake. Hmm. Should I head to the lake first? It's closest—' Huo Yuhao's eyes widened, a strange sensation washed over his body. As if a bolt of lightning had struck him.
It came from his forehead! No, to be specific, it came from his Eye of Destiny!
'It's acting erratic? No, it's warning me!' Huo Yuhao was shocked and a bit fearful.
Ever since he obtained this Eye of Destiny with the assistance of Qiu'er, it provided him an increase in quality of spiritual power, enhancement of his Rinnegan techniques, and some measure of control of Destiny—which he wasn't quite sure about at the last bit.
Destiny is a mysterious force that exists beyond logic or measurable laws. It wasn't something you could quantify like soul power or even spiritual energy. It was a hidden current that flowed through the world, guiding outcomes in ways unseen.
Until now that is.
It was only a vague feeling, but Huo Yuhao quickly realized the "intent" of what his third eye was feeding him—an ominous premonition!
Whatever he must do, he should never go to that place!
For destined death awaits him...
'The only people who could even threaten me are either Transcendent Douluos, Limit Douluos, a Monarch, or...a God!' His face turned a bit strange.
His luck couldn't be this horrible, could it?
"Of course it is." Huo Yuhao sighed deeply before shaking his head. According to his clone, that place was called the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley.
He then concentrated on the other memories in his head.
Deep within Jing Yang Mountain Range, hidden within a small space, he saw a mysterious altar with idols that depicted two dragons: golden and silver in colors.
Just as his shadow clone was about to analyze the space further, he soon found himself teleported high up in the sky just close to outer space!
In the vast desert, hidden within a small pocket dimension that he managed to enter with his Absolute Domain, Huo Yuhao saw a massive triangle-shaped structure that was so tall that it seemed to reach the heavens.
He didn't get to observe more when he saw the huge flaming ball in the sky, the sun! Falling down on him! He quickly teleported himself out of that small space. He analyzed the surroundings before poofing himself.
Huo Yuhao smirked.
"Bingo."
He calmed down. Finding about clues to divine inheritance sites made him think of an old friend of his, Tang Ya.
'I wonder how she's doing right now... I heard from Di Tian that she's undergoing divine trials from the God of Blood. Is she alright?'
....
Somewhere, in a land full of red and decay.
The sky was crimson, the air toxic, the ground withered and cracked. Ruins of ancient buildings clawed at the horizon like broken teeth.
Yet, despite the ruin, the land pulsed with life — twisted, feral life. Rivers of blood slithered through the ravines, thick and steaming, feeding the roots of flesh-covered trees. Bone-white vines curled around shattered spires, and eyeless creatures scurried beneath them, hissing and blind.
Here, death wasn't an end. It was currency. It was fuel.
And something deep beneath the scorched earth was always hungry.
"Die!"
Tang Ya yelled as she thrusted her Dark-Blue Devouring Spear; created with the use of her martial soul, towards the massive beast straight to its head. At the same time, dozens of dark-blue thorned vines began wrapping around the beast and tightening with a vice.
It thrashed and shrieked — a high-pitched, unnatural sound that rattled her bones. It resembled a boar, barely. Its hide was blistered and sagging like flesh boiled too long. Ten tusks jutted from its warped jaw, each twisted in a different direction, stained with old blood.
Its eyes — if they were eyes — were just hollow pits, leaking steam.
It was unlike anything she'd seen and heard from her home dimension.
The beast jerked its head, but the spear still pierced through its neck and the dark-blue devouring vines on its body tightened. Tang Ya began to used her martial soul's innate ability—
Devouring
The vines pulsed, turning darker, hungrier. A low hum rippled through the ground as life energy began to drain from the beast.
"Gsjdhkrhejeke!!!"
The nightmarish massive beast let out howled in a garbled alien tongue that clawed at her mind — no language, just raw noise, like a curse spat from the mouth of a demon god.
She'd hunted plenty of these things in the two years she'd been trapped in this hellscape. The first time, she'd hesitated. The second, she'd nearly died.
Now?
Now she was used to the stink of burning blood, the sound of bones cracking under pressure, the way the ground groaned when something wrong crawled too close.
It didn't take long before the massive beast collapsed to the ground, gradually becoming a husk—drained of all its life energy, before gradually turning into bones and ashes.
"Hmm..." Tang Ya let out a long breath, taking in the pure raw life energy circulating throughout her body. She could feel the immense crimson energy swirling within her dantian gradually compressing itself into a ball.
She was shockingly forming a Blood Core! However, the forming core slowed down into a liquid state similar to mercury—it only became an embryo of a core.
It was unsurprising. Her spiritual power and soul power are still somewhat lacking in order to create a Blood Core.
"So even when the quality of my soul power has reached a Soul Sage's, it still isn't enough to complete this stage?" Tang Ya muttered to herself as she inspected the embryo.
She had long reached rank 50, just two months into this realm to be exact, but because of the lack of soul rings in this land she hasn't officially become a Soul King.
But she was sure, that if she gets her fifth soul ring, she would likely need a sixth soul ring in a short time amount of time!
More than a couple of years had passed since she stepped into this crazy bloodthirsty realm. Living in this realm for so long would naturally make one disheveled and ugly, but astoundingly Tang Ya had grown more beautifully and mature.
(Image)
At that moment, a emotionless voice sounded within her mind. She wasn't surprised to hear it, she had heard it ever since she arrived in this realm.
A realm that had once been Slaughter City, but now taken over by another God to be their divine inheritance site.
"•Blood for the Blood God•"
"Objective: Hunt down 10,000 creatures of the night and consume their essences."
"God of Blood's 3rd trial complete, God of Blood's affinity raised 10% percent, presently at 30% overall. Creating an embryo of a blood core and finishing 1 month early than estimated, extra rewards will be generated: all soul rings' ages will be raised by 300 years and the inheritor will be provided with a God Bestowed Soul Ring."
Tang Ya's eyes widened in shock as she felt the soul rings attached to her martial soul grow stronger. But it didn't compare to the mysterious red orb with a creepy face on it appearing in her hands.
"The 4th trial will be given out when you are done absorbing the God Bestowed Soul Ring Orb."
'Of course, no rest for the wicked.' Tang Ya took a deep breath and clenched the red orb.
For almost her entire life, she had been driven for vengeance. And after eradicating the Iron Blood Sect, she had thought that she would take things slowly.
But who would've thought, that after stepping into this Blood Realm, Tang Ya would caught the attention of a God and learned from him about the true story and nature of Tang Sect's Ancestor and the original Douluo Continent's greatest hero—Tang San.
The fire of vengeance within her had blazed brilliantly once more.
'I will kill you, Tang San!'