The next morning, Huo Yuhao woke up early.
Unidentified birds chirped and chattered outside the window, searching for food. Huo Yuhao opened the inn's window, and the morning breeze, carrying the scent of dew and earth, caressed his face.
This instantly cleared his mind after a night of deep sleep.
Huo Yuhao quickly washed up and then checked out of the inn. He
had spent one silver soul coin in just one night, making his already meager finances even worse.
However, there was no time to mourn the lost silver soul coin; he needed to set off immediately for the city's east gate.
Having learned yesterday that a mercenary group was offering quests at the city's east gate, he planned to check it out.
However, Huo Yuhao didn't go directly there. He first went to a deserted alley, brought up his interface, and took out the Faceless Man mask he had won in the last lottery.
Huo Yuhao had mastered the essence of fantasy web novels from his previous life—an alias.
When traveling, one's identity is self-given; who would use their real name to roam the world? The
last person to accomplish great things using their real name was Song Jiang.
The faceless mask appeared directly in Huo Yuhao's hands.
The mask's features were extremely blurry, like a mosaic.
Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate and put it on. The mask automatically connected to Huo Yuhao's mental energy.
He automatically learned how to use the mask; he only needed to imagine the person he wanted to become, and the mask would automatically adjust the user's body.
Huo Yuhao thought for a while and quickly materialized the image of the person he wanted to transform into in his mind.
The mask, which had previously been indistinct in terms of features, immediately began to change after receiving the information.
A cross-shaped scar appeared on the chin. The originally clear eyes became slightly elongated, with a cold and cunning gaze.
Huo Yuhao's short black hair turned brown, and his originally thin body slightly bulged, revealing solid muscles, increasing his overall height by ten centimeters beyond the mask's limit.
If bandages were wrapped around his right eye and right arm at this moment, it would probably cause some guy with colored contact lenses to have PTSD on the spot.
That's right, Huo Yuhao had transformed into Danzo, the Dark Lord of Konoha, the scapegoat of this world, the 5.5th Hokage, whose cause of death was sealing a bridge—"I did everything!"
After confirming that the transformation was truly perfect, Huo Yuhao walked out of the alley and headed straight for the East Gate along the main road.
Before even reaching the East Gate, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power clearly sensed that there were more and more Soul Masters around him. Many of these Soul Masters were in groups of three or five, with only a few lone like Huo Yuhao. Upon
arriving at the East Gate, he discovered that it was not only a place where mercenary groups accepted missions, but also a large Soul Master market. Everywhere, there
were many people selling precious body parts from Soul Beasts:
scales of a hundred-year-old Mandragora Snake, meat of a ten-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit, the horn of a hundred-year-old True Horned Horse, and the bullwhip of a hundred-year-old Blazing Fire Bull.
Most stalls were nearly deserted, except for the one selling the whip of a century-old Fiery Bull, which was packed with customers.
Apparently, the whip of the Fiery Bull possessed pure Yang energy, effectively enhancing a man's virility.
Huo Yuhao shook his head; he wasn't interested in these soul beast parts, and it certainly wasn't because he lacked money.
He walked along the street, his disguised, cold eyes searching for any mercenary groups heading to the Heavenly Soul Empire.
He quickly spotted his target.
A middle-aged man in an expensive silk robe and wearing a gold-rimmed monocle was surrounded by several mercenaries, one of whom, presumably the mercenary leader, was talking to him.
Huo Yuhao noticed someone holding up a sign that read "Escort to Xuanfeng City, Heavenly Soul Empire."
Huo Yuhao walked straight over.
The two men who had been talking stopped when they saw Huo Yuhao.
The man, clearly the mercenary leader, flashed a burly smile and asked Huo Yuhao,
"Hello, I'm the leader of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group. Are you here to join this escort mission?"
"Yes," Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, his eyes narrowed, maintaining his persona as Shimura Danzo.
The burly, hairy mercenary leader didn't seem to care about Huo Yuhao's attitude; it was perfectly normal for a Soul Master to have their own personality.
He waved his hand and said, "Brother, I won't beat around the bush. Show us your strength. If you have a second Soul Ring, then join us on this mission."
Huo Yuhao didn't say anything, opened his narrowed eyes, exchanged a glance with everyone present, and successfully cast an illusion.
Then, in the eyes of the mercenary leader and the employer, two Soul Rings appeared on Huo Yuhao's body—one white, one yellow.
"My name is Shimura Danzo."
"My Martial Soul is the Vacuum Jade, which allows me to manipulate wind."
"A Battle Soul Master."
The wealthy employer pushed up his glasses with his finger and said,
"My name is Xiao Dingyuan, the president of the Dingyi Merchant Guild. I'm going to Xuanfeng City on business. The reward for this mission is thirty gold soul coins. If you accept, you can travel with us."
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, "A reasonable price, I accept."
The leader of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group laughed and scratched his head, saying,
"Since you've joined us, let me introduce myself."
"Brother Danzo, my name is Langshan. My Martial Soul is the Blood Wolf, and I'm a level 37 Battle Soul Master. Please take care of me on the road."
Huo Yuhao looked at the leader and thought to himself, "A Soul Master? He seems to have no resistance to illusions. Is it because he hasn't had a Martial Soul attached yet?"
On the surface, he nodded and said, "Not at all. Leader Langshan is quite strong. I'll have to rely on you to look after me."
This seemed to please him, and he laughed even louder.
"Brother Danzo, go and talk to the other members first. Xiao and I need to discuss the route and departure time."
Huo Yuhao nodded and went to the back to talk to the people who would be traveling with him. There weren't many people traveling together for this mission, only ten in total.
During the conversation, he learned that there were seven Great Soul Masters and three Soul Venerables among the participants. The strongest one was a level 35 named Wolf Rock, whose martial soul was the same as Wolf Mountain's—the Blood Wolf. He was Wolf Mountain's younger brother.
Huo Yuhao had a better grasp of their strength. Then, he mentally calculated his chances of winning if he were to fight them.
"30/70."
"Using my eye power, I could cut them all into seven pieces in three minutes."
So, it was highly likely that he wouldn't need to be overly vigilant against them on this journey. He needed to focus his attention on the enemies they might encounter.
So, Huo Yuhao, disguised as Shimura Danzo, chatted casually with the mercenary group, inquiring about the threats they might face on this journey.
"Brother Danzo, no need to worry so much. We've been traveling this road for over a decade. We occasionally encounter some bandits, but they're not very strong. We just show our spirit rings, and they'll retreat on their own."
Before Huo Yuhao could ask any further questions, a member of a mercenary group interjected, resting his chin on his hand.
"I recently heard that wolf bandits have reappeared in the Heaven Dou
Plain, and people say their appearance is very strange, like a hybrid of various spirit beasts." His companion waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Shrek Academy is right next to the Heaven Dou Plain. These wolf bandits won't live much longer. Besides, we're not crossing the Heaven Dou Plain; we're just passing by. There's nothing to worry about."
Huo Yuhao memorized all the information they gave him, but he was somewhat concerned about the strangely dressed wolf bandits. In the original story, there were evil spirit masters who experimented on spirit beasts; he wondered if this was related.
Just as he was lost in thought, he felt his clothes being tugged. He turned around but saw nothing.
"?"
Huo Yuhao looked around warily, trying to find the target.
"Where are you looking?!"
Huo Yuhao suddenly heard a clear female voice beside him. Realizing something, he mechanically lowered his head and saw a petite girl with a side ponytail and light green eyes pouting at him.
(End of Chapter)