Upon seeing Huo Yuhao approach, the two stopped talking.
Huo Yuhao didn't beat around the bush and directly said to Xiao Dingyuan,
"President Xiao, we've arrived at Xuanfeng City, and I should be leaving now."
Xiao Dingyuan paused for a moment and said, "I understand. Doesn't Lord Tuanzang really intend to join us for a celebratory meal?"
Huo Yuhao waved his hand, unconcerned, and said, "No, I appreciate President Xiao's kindness, but I have some personal matters to attend to, so I won't stay any longer."
Seeing Huo Yuhao's resolute attitude, he didn't try to persuade him to stay further. After adjusting his glasses, he took out a large bag of money from his storage soul tool and said with a smile,
"Sir, here are one thousand gold soul coins as payment for this escort."
Huo Yuhao didn't immediately accept the gold soul coins; he couldn't accept something for nothing. After all, the agreed price was fifty gold soul coins, which far exceeded his expected reward.
"President Xiao, this far exceeds the agreed-upon reward."
Xiao Dingyuan replied, "You've helped Xiao Xiao so much along the way, and you put in so much effort when the evil soul masters attacked. If you don't accept it, I'll be a little worried."
"If it weren't for your timely warning, it's questionable how many of us would have survived."
"Compared to our lives, this money is already considered stingy."
After a moment of silence, Huo Yuhao accepted the bag of money; its heavy weight spoke of its value.
Huo Yuhao said, "Then, we'll meet again someday."
Putting the money into his backpack, Huo Yuhao turned and headed towards the main entrance of Xuanfeng City.
He planned to find a place to stay, and later see if he could open a temporary clinic to practice his reversal techniques.
Most importantly, he wanted to find out information about pills like the Xuan Shui Dan, since his main purpose in coming to the Heavenly Soul Empire was to find a way to improve his disordered meridians and innate soul power.
Just a few steps later, a clear female voice came from behind him.
"Wait a minute, Uncle Danzo."
Huo Yuhao stopped and turned around. Xiao Xiao had caught up with him sometime earlier.
She stood gracefully a short distance away, her hands clasped lightly in front of her abdomen, her slender fingers fidgeting nervously like butterfly wings.
After a while, her exquisite eyes, like green agate, looked earnestly at Huo Yuhao, and she said, word by word,
"Uncle Danzo, next time we meet, I will definitely become a strong person, and then raise my sword against even stronger people!"
Looking at her earnest expression, Huo Yuhao's lips involuntarily curved upwards, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
"Yes, I believe you."
Huo Yuhao turned back and slowly walked towards the main path, leaving only his words echoing in the bright sun, ruffling the girl's hair like the wind.
Xiao Xiao nodded heavily at Huo Yuhao's back, her eyes burning with an unprecedented determination, like a sword being sharpened. After leaving the Chamber of
Commerce
, Huo Yuhao first strolled around Xuanfeng City. Having spent so much time in the wilderness, he deeply missed the bustling atmosphere of the city.
A quick glance around the streets revealed that Xuanfeng City was a truly large metropolis.
While it certainly couldn't compare to cities like Shrek City or Star Luo City, it was definitely one of the most prosperous cities in the Heavenly Soul Empire. Every
few steps Huo Yuhao took, he could see elegantly dressed nobles followed by entourages pointing and gesturing at the shops.
The surrounding shops sprang up like a jungle, their colorful signs vying to reach for the sky, squeezing out dappled sunlight.
In many places, soul tools were in use, and some streets even had soul-guided streetlights.
Huo Yuhao had only walked one street when his spiritual power detected numerous individuals with soul power nearby.
Most possessed extremely weak soul power, barely reaching a few levels, but a few had soul power levels Huo Yuhao couldn't estimate, suggesting they were quite high.
Realizing this, Huo Yuhao dared not extend his perception too far, lest he anger a powerful individual and be forced into a pointless battle.
However, what surprised Huo Yuhao most was that almost every shop in Xuanfeng City had turtle-like creatures carved on their facades.
These turtles weren't strictly limited to any particular species; there were land turtles, sea turtles—any turtle would do.
As the sun cast its last rays on the horizon, Huo Yuhao unknowingly arrived at a large plaza in the center of Xuanfeng City.
After some inquiries, he learned that this was the site for six-year-old children's martial soul awakening.
Every year, Soul Masters come here to guard the area and awaken Martial Souls for the public. The price is three Gold Soul Coins; once you pay, you can awaken your Martial Soul.
Huo Yuhao was initially puzzled about which faction the Soul Masters stationed here belonged to, but after seeing the statue in the center of the area, he understood.
The statue was a majestic tortoise, its shell menacing, its head resembling a dragon but not quite, with a giant snake coiled around its shell, its forked tongue flicking and its eyes gleaming fiercely.
"Xuanming Sect."
The words slowly surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind.
He didn't linger here; he planned to find a place to stay while there was still some light in the sky.
With a thousand Gold Soul Coins on him, he didn't need to worry about money for the time being. In fact, as long as he didn't get involved with Soul Masters, one Gold Soul Coin was enough for an ordinary person to live on for several months. However,
once involved with Soul Masters, millions of Gold Soul Coins were like a stream in the ocean, unable to make a ripple.
All these phenomena made Huo Yuhao feel that society in this world was extremely divided, with a huge class gap.
Especially since the extraordinary powers in this world are linked to bloodlines, ordinary people have almost no chance of rising above their circumstances.
While pondering this, Huo Yuhao entered a small alley and changed the appearance of the Faceless Man mask.
Shimura Danzo's mission was over; it was time for a new identity.
Soon, a handsome young man with short, black hair emerged from the dark alley, bearing a striking resemblance to Huo Yuhao.
After confirming the transformation was correct, Huo Yuhao headed to a nearby inn.
This inn wasn't cheap; a standard room cost five silver soul coins per night, beyond the reach of ordinary people.
However, the environment was quiet and peaceful, close to the core area of Xuanfeng City, allowing him to receive news immediately.
This amount of money was nothing to Huo Yuhao now, and he readily paid for half a month's stay.
Guided by the receptionist, he quickly found his room. As he was about to close the door, she asked, "Guest, would you like daily breakfast?"
Huo Yuhao waved his hand, indicating he didn't need it, then closed the door and hung his luggage on the wall opposite the bed.
After checking the room and confirming it was safe, I sat on the bed and began to meditate.
(End of Chapter)