Mingde Hall.
Inside the detention chamber.
Huo Yuhao sat on a metal chair. A blazing-white soul-guided lamp shone down on his face. His body was not restrained, but his hands were cuffed with a pair of golden shackles.
"Student Xiao Huo, tell us—who instructed you to do all this?"
Jing Hongchen sat opposite Huo Yuhao. Smiling amiably, he took several soul tool blueprints out of Huo Yuhao's storage ring and laid them on the table in front of him. Lin Jiayi stood at Jing Hongchen's side.
"Hall Master Hongchen, I have no excuse for these. I did them all myself. No one instructed me—I was simply too obsessed with soul tool technology."
"But those two level-nine soul tool manufacturing blueprints were planted there by someone who wanted to harm me. They were deliberately put in."
Huo Yuhao rubbed his temple, which Lin Jiayi had struck with his elbow earlier. The golden shackles on his hands clinked as he spoke calmly, though there was a faint sense of grievance in his tone.
"Damn evil soul masters—how dare they frame me! Stealing the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo and the soul-guided metal humanoid wasn't enough, they even left me with such a massive black pot to carry!"
Huo Yuhao ground his teeth inwardly. The level-nine soul tool blueprints were good, but he clearly had no fortune to enjoy them.
"Hmph! Whether you were framed or not, I don't know. But on that day, the only force that entered our Mingde Hall was the Body Sect. Now I'm beginning to suspect that you're their accomplice."
Lin Jiayi snorted coldly, scrutinizing Huo Yuhao with his gaze.
"And if I remember correctly, your martial soul is eyes, isn't it?"
"Ah, Jiayi, you can't put it that way. Student Xiao Huo is from Shrek Academy—upright in character, pure as ice and jade. How could he possibly be from the Body Sect?"
Jing Hongchen waved his hand, interrupting Lin Jiayi with a tone that sounded rather earnest.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's face flushed red. How could he not understand that Jing Hongchen was being sarcastic?
"Leaving aside those two level-nine soul tool blueprints, just those several hundred soul tool blueprints alone already put this Hall Master in a very difficult position. Student Xiao Huo, what do you think we should do about this?"
"This is extremely unfriendly to the exchange between our two academies. How are we supposed to be open and honest with each other in the future? I've already sent word to Dean Yan Shaozhe of your Shrek Academy—until this matter is resolved, the exchange between our two sides will be suspended."
A sharp glint flashed through Jing Hongchen's eyes as he spoke with a hint of regret.
A rare trace of tension appeared on Huo Yuhao's face, and he spoke hurriedly.
"Hall Master Hongchen, I'll take responsibility for my own actions. The other Shrek Academy students should continue the exchange as normal."
Huo Yuhao was anxious. Among this group from Shrek Academy was his teacher Fan Yu. He did not want this incident to ruin the impression he had built in Fan Yu's eyes.
After all, it had been Fan Yu's wife, Zhou Yi, who had given him the opportunity to embark on the path of a soul engineer. In Fan Yu's eyes, he had always played the role of a diligent and studious student.
If that image were shattered, he wouldn't know how to face Fan Yu and Zhou Yi. At the same time, Huo Yuhao felt a sense of shame and panic, as if a mask he wore was about to be torn off.
"Student Xiao Huo, continuing the exchange wouldn't benefit our Mingde Hall at all. I hear you're Senior Mu En's last disciple—though whether…"
Jing Hongchen said meaningfully, leaving his words unfinished.
On the day Mu En ascended, that enormous dragon above Shrek Academy had spread news across the entire continent. After some investigation, Jing Hongchen had already gained an understanding of Huo Yuhao's identity.
Huo Yuhao's face darkened. How could he not understand the implication behind Jing Hongchen's words?
He had always been the one to extort others—who would have thought that today he'd be the one being extorted by Jing Hongchen instead?
"Hall Master Hongchen, there's something inside my soul tool. I believe it can make up for my mistake."
A trace of cunning flashed through Huo Yuhao's eyes, though his expression looked resigned as he spoke.
"Oh?"
Behind his glasses, Jing Hongchen's gaze shifted slightly. He hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to actually have something of value.
"Go, Jiayi. Take off Student Xiao Huo's handcuffs."
"Yes!"
Lin Jiayi nodded, stepped forward, removed the golden handcuffs from Huo Yuhao's wrists, and placed Huo Yuhao's Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Bright Moon Night on the table.
Huo Yuhao rotated his slightly sore wrists. His eyes lowered, flickering with light and shadow. Picking up the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Bright Moon Night, he took out a black metal box and placed it in front of Jing Hongchen.
"Let you take a good look at the advanced mechanism techniques of our Tang Sect. Who knows—you might even be able to turn around and extort a sum yourself."
As Huo Yuhao watched Jing Hongchen pick up the metal box, he thought inwardly. This was precisely the product of combining Tang Sect hidden weapons with soul tool technology.
Originally, he had planned to keep it and use it to extort Jing Hongchen just before leaving Mingde Hall. He hadn't expected to have to take it out now.
But he was very confident—this product that fused hidden weapons and soul tool technology would definitely shock Jing Hongchen.
Because this was exactly the research direction of Mingde Hall: soul tools that even ordinary people could use!
Jing Hongchen took the metal box and examined it in his hands. The soul tool was rather crudely made, with no sense of texture at all. He slightly activated his soul power to sense it, and quickly discovered that it only contained a simple energy-gathering core array—one that didn't even qualify as a level-two soul tool.
A barely perceptible trace of disappointment flashed through Jing Hongchen's eyes. But that made sense—Huo Yuhao was only a Soul Ancestor after all. What good things could he possibly carry?
"Hall Master Hongchen, you can press the button and try the effect."
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao instead raised the corners of his mouth and spoke confidently.
Jing Hongchen raised an eyebrow. Following Huo Yuhao's instructions, he operated it briefly and then pressed the button, aiming it at the wall in front of him.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…"
A series of piercing sounds rang out, followed by a rapid succession of thud thud sounds from the opposite wall.
Uncertainty and surprise appeared in Jing Hongchen's eyes. He suddenly realized something. He carefully examined the metal box in his hands, then looked deeply at Huo Yuhao.
"Hall Master Hongchen, are you satisfied with this?"
"This is a new type of soul tool I developed—one that can be used without soul power. As long as you revoke my charges and help clear my name, restoring my innocence, this item will be yours."
Confidence surfaced in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
He believed Jing Hongchen would definitely agree.
"Huo Yuhao, what are you talking about? Wasn't this originally something belonging to our Mingde Hall?"
Jing Hongchen glanced at Lin Jiayi beside him. Lin Jiayi instantly understood and stepped in front of Huo Yuhao, speaking in a deep voice. With a sharp click, the dazzling golden handcuffs reappeared on Huo Yuhao's wrists.
"How can you do this?!"
"There's clearly the mark of our Tang Sect on it!"
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impudent! You dare to mark our Mingde Hall's property with your Tang Sect's insignia—your crime is increased by another count!"
Lin Jiayi snorted coldly and casually took the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Bright Moon Night from Huo Yuhao's hands.
"Student Xiao Huo, this world is dangerous. Some things are beyond your ability to hold onto—better let this Hall Master take care of them."
As Jing Hongchen spoke, he probed the metal box with his soul power.
As the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, he understood very well the significance of this kind of soul tool. Soul masters made up only a small proportion of the continent's population; the majority were ordinary people without soul power.
If armies composed of ordinary people were equipped with such soul tools, the military strength of the Sun Moon Empire would increase severalfold.
"Hall Master Hongchen, there's a self-destruct mechanism inside it. I hope you won't act rashly!"
Huo Yuhao said coldly. Fortunately, he had kept a backup plan.
Hearing this, Jing Hongchen narrowed his eyes slightly, a sharp glint flashing through them.
"Hall Master Hongchen, isn't it just a soul tool that can be activated without soul power? This prince happens to have one as well."
At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded from outside the detention chamber.
The Crown Prince, Xu Tiannan, had arrived.
"Creak!"
The door slowly opened. Xu Tiannan sat in a wheelchair, being gently pushed into the room by Elder Xue.
(End of Chapter)