đ CHAPTER 8: The Watched and The Watching
Huo Yuhao felt the gaze like a physical weightâa prickle at the back of his neck that had nothing to do with his Spirit Eyes. He didn't look up toward the elite dormitory window. He didn't quicken his pace. He walked back to his own dorm with the measured, weary steps of a first-year who'd spent too long in the library.
But inside, his mind was racing.
"Advisor Tianmeng, did you feel that?"
"A scanning array," Tianmeng's voice was tense. "Low-grade spiritual detection mixed with thermal imaging. Crude, but effective for mortal realms. They were watching your heat signature in that cellar."
The Black Book system chimed.
[Passive Detection Alert: Host has been under surveillance for 72 hours.]
[Scan Analysis: Monitoring devices detected in Sector 4 (abandoned cellar), Sector 7 (workshop corridor), and Sector 9 (your dormitory window).]
[Technology Level: Sun Moon Empire Class-3 Surveillance Soul Tools.]
[Probable Source: Academy Elite Students (Meng Hongchen/Xiao Hongchen faction).]
Huo Yuhao entered his dorm room. Ke Ni was already asleep, exhausted from a day of intensive circuitry practice. Huo Yuhao moved to the window, his Spirit Eyes activating at minimal powerâjust enough to see what shouldn't be there.
There, nestled in the window frame's weathering seal, was a speck of spirit silver smaller than a grain of rice. A microscopic lens, connected by hair-thin spirit energy threads to a relay somewhere in the building.
"A Class-2 'Whispering Lens,'" Tianmeng identified. "Audio and visual surveillance. Can be remotely activated. The relay is probably in the elite dormitory's security room."
Huo Yuhao didn't remove it. Removing it would confirm he knew. Instead, he yawned, stretched, and changed into sleep clothes, making sure his movements were natural, tired. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The live-stream chat was active, though he'd learned to keep it minimized during critical moments to avoid distraction. He opened it mentally.
[Viewer_SurveillanceExpert]: "They're testing you. Seeing if you notice."
[Viewer_CounterIntel]:"Play dumb for now. But start planning countermeasures."
[Viewer_Question]:"Who exactly are the Meng siblings in this timeline?"
Huo Yuhao thought back to the original story. Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchenâthe "Hongchen" twins. In Soul Land 2, they were prodigies of the Sun Moon Empire, powerful fire and soul tool users who eventually became enemies of Huo Yuhao. But that was years from now, when they were adults.
Here, they were teenagers, already establishing their power base in the academy.
"They're predators," Tianmeng said quietly. "The kind who recognize other predators. Your act as a 'quiet genius' isn't fooling them. They smell something different about you."
"What do they want?" Huo Yuhao asked mentally.
"Either to recruit you or eliminate you as competition. In an empire built on soul tools, a genius engineer is a strategic asset. And a rogue genius is a threat."
[New Mission: Establish Controlled Identity]
Objective: Create a believable "persona" that explains your abilities without revealing your secrets.
Time Limit: 7 days
Reward: 500 Rebellion Points, Skill "Acting Proficiency Lv.1"
Failure Penalty: Increased scrutiny from multiple factions
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes. A persona. He needed a cover story.
He thought about what he'd revealed so far:
1. Excellent soul tool crafting skills â Could be explained by natural talent and intense study.
2. Unusually high spirit power for his age â Could be a "late bloomer" with strong innate power.
3. The bracer that blocked Zhang Kai's attack â Could be a prototype soul tool he invented.
What he needed to hide:
1. The million-year spirit ring.
2. The Primordial Ice Seed (his second spirit).
3. The Black Book and system.
4. His knowledge of future events.
5. His connection to Tang San.
A plan began to form.
---
The next morning, in Theoretical Spirit Mechanics class, Huo Yuhao raised his hand.
"Teacher, I have a question about energy conversion efficiency in multi-circuit arrays."
The teacher, an elderly man with a kind face, nodded. "Go ahead, Huo Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao stood. "The textbook says maximum efficiency for a dual-circuit array is 68%. But in my experiments, I've achieved 71% by adding a tertiary stabilizing circuit that modulates phase variance."
The room went silent. First-years didn't talk about tertiary circuits. That was advanced third-year material.
"Show me your calculations," the teacher said, intrigued.
Huo Yuhao went to the board and began writing complex equations. He made one deliberate, subtle errorâthe kind a brilliant but inexperienced student might make.
The teacher caught it. "Ah, I see! You've reversed the polarity here. But the concept is sound! Class, this is innovative thinking!"
Murmurs spread. Huo Yuhao bowed his head modestly. "I just read a lot, teacher."
After class, three students from his study group surrounded him. "How did you figure that out?" asked Lin Feng, the boy with the "Memory Paper" spirit.
"I found an old journal in the library's restricted section," Huo Yuhao lied smoothly. "It had notes from a soul engineer from fifty years ago. I've been trying to recreate his work."
That was his persona: The Autodidact Prodigy. A boy obsessed with old texts, teaching himself advanced concepts through trial and error. It explained his knowledge. It explained his occasional "breakthroughs." And it made him valuable but not threateningâjust a lucky bookworm.
The story spread through the first-year dorms. By afternoon, even some second-years had heard of "that kid who reads restricted journals."
That evening, Huo Yuhao went to the library's front desk. "I'd like to request access to the restricted engineering journals from fifty years ago," he told the librarian.
The librarian, a stern woman, looked at him over her glasses. "Those require instructor approval."
Huo Yuhao produced a note from his Theoretical Mechanics teacher, praising his "innovative thinking." The librarian raised an eyebrow but stamped the request.
Now his cover had paper trails.
While in the restricted section, he did actually read. The Black Book's Analysis Module recorded every page, but more importantly, he found something useful: blueprints for a "Spiritual Interference Field Generator"âa soul tool designed to create localized disruptions in spiritual detection.
[Blueprint Acquired: Class-4 "Spiritual Interference Field Generator" (Partial)]
[Analysis: Can be miniaturized to personal scale with current host capabilities. Would require: 2 mid-grade spirit crystals, 30g of phantom silver, 1 stabilization core.]
He couldn't build it yetâthe materials were too expensiveâbut he filed the knowledge away.
As he left the library, a girl stepped into his path. Not Meng Hongchen. This girl had silver hair and cool grey eyes, and she wore the uniform of the Combat Department with purple trimâthe rare "Dual Cultivation" track for those who excelled at both spirit mastery and soul tools.
"You're Huo Yuhao," she stated.
"Yes, senior."
"I'm Jing Ziyan. I head the Practical Applications Research Group. We test new soul tool designs in combat simulations." She looked him up and down. "I hear you understand tertiary circuits."
"Only theoretically, senior."
"Prove it." She handed him a data slate with a complex circuit diagram. "This is a mobility-enhancing leg attachment. It keeps overheating. Find the flaw."
Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes activated automatically. He saw it immediatelyâa phase conflict in the energy distribution nodes. But he couldn't reveal that. So he stared at the diagram, pretending to think, before pointing to a section. "Here, the spirit silver density is inconsistent. Probably a manufacturing defect."
Jing Ziyan's eyes narrowed. "That's what our fourth-years concluded after three days of testing. You saw it in ten seconds."
"I got lucky, senior."
"Luck doesn't exist in engineering." She took back the slate. "My group meets every third evening. Be there." It wasn't an invitation; it was an order.
She walked away before he could respond.
[Faction Alert: Jing Ziyan's Practical Applications Research Group has taken interest in host.]
[Analysis: Group is independent of Meng Hongchen faction. Moderate influence within academy.]
[Recommendation: Attend meeting. Provides additional cover and potential allies.]
Huo Yuhao returned to his dorm, his mind whirling. Multiple factions were now interested in him. He needed to navigate this carefully.
That night, in the cellar, he worked on a new project: a "decoy" soul tool. Using scrap materials, he built what looked like a failed energy converterâsomething that would produce the thermal signatures and spiritual fluctuations the surveillance was detecting, but was actually harmless.
He left it running in the corner of the cellar. Now, when the Meng siblings monitored this place, they'd see exactly what he wanted them to see: a talented but struggling student working on ambitious but flawed projects.
Meanwhile, his real work happened under a "Spiritual Silence Cloak"âa technique Tianmeng taught him that used his million-year spirit ring's energy to create a bubble of spiritual invisibility. Within that bubble, he worked on his Ocular Enhancer.
Four days later, he finished it: a pair of thin, nearly transparent lenses that rested over his eyes. When powered by a sliver of spirit crystal, they could magnify his Spirit Eyes' visual acuity by 300% for short bursts.
[Soul Tool Created: "Spirit Sight Lenses" (Class-2)]
[Function: Enhances visual perception, allows microscopic viewing, can temporarily see through low-grade illusions.]
[Flaw: High energy consumption (1 low-grade spirit crystal per hour of use).]
He tested them that night, looking at the surveillance device in his window frame. Through the lenses, he could see not just the device, but the spirit energy threads connecting it, tracing them through walls to their sourceâa relay station in the elite dormitory's sub-basement.
He also saw something else: a second set of threads, finer and almost invisible, connecting to a different location entirelyâthe academy's central administrative tower.
"Two watchers," Tianmeng whispered. "The Meng siblings... and someone in administration."
Huo Yuhao's blood ran cold. The academy itself was watching him.
---
The night of Jing Ziyan's research group meeting arrived. The meeting room was in the Advanced Engineering Wing, a place first-years normally couldn't access. Jing Ziyan had left a pass for him at the door.
The room held about twenty students, all third-years or higher. They were examining a large, complex deviceâa portable shield generator the size of a door.
"...overheats after twelve minutes of continuous use," a senior was saying. "We've tried everythingâheat sinks, cooling arrays, even ice-attribute spirit stones."
Jing Ziyan saw Huo Yuhao enter. "First-year. Look at this. Tell me what you see."
The seniors stared, some with amusement, some with annoyance. A first-year in their sanctum?
Huo Yuhao activated his Spirit Eyes at minimal power, enhanced by his new lenses. He saw the problem immediately: the cooling array was fighting the shield's own energy resonance, creating harmonic feedback that generated more heat.
"The cooling array is out of phase with the shield matrix," he said quietly. "You're not cooling it; you're cooking it."
Silence.
Then one senior laughed. "Out of phase? That's impossible with this design!"
Jing Ziyan held up a hand. "Explain."
Huo Yuhao approached, pointing to sections of the device. "The shield uses a sinusoidal energy wave. Your cooling array uses a square wave. They're creating interference here, here, and here." He pointed to three convergence points only his enhanced eyes could see.
A fourth-year student, a tall boy with a scar across his cheek, stepped forward. He hooked up a diagnostic tool to the points Huo Yuhao indicated. The screen showed exactly what Huo Yuhao had describedâharmonic interference spikes at those three locations.
"Spirits above," the fourth-year breathed. "He's right."
Jing Ziyan looked at Huo Yuhao with new respect. "Can you fix it?"
Huo Yuhao thought. The solution required realigning the cooling array's wave pattern. That meant redesigning its core spirit circuitâa task for a Class-3 soul engineer at least.
"I can try," he said. "But I'll need phantom silver and a wave modulator."
"Give him what he needs," Jing Ziyan ordered.
For the next two hours, under the watchful eyes of the seniors, Huo Yuhao worked. He didn't use any of his special abilitiesâjust the skills he'd genuinely learned, combined with the insights from the Black Book's analysis of countless blueprints.
Slowly, carefully, he recalibrated the cooling array. When he finished, the fourth-year tested it again.
"Temperature stable. Running for fifteen minutes... twenty... thirty. No overheating."
The room erupted in murmurs. A first-year had solved a problem that had stumped fourth-years for weeks.
Jing Ziyan placed a hand on Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "From now on, you're part of this group. You'll have access to our workshop and resources."
It was a victory. But as Huo Yuhao accepted the congratulations, he noticed something: one of the seniors wasn't celebrating. A slender boy with cold eyes was watching him too intently, then slipped out of the room.
"That one reports to the Meng faction," Tianmeng warned.
Huo Yuhao had gained an ally in Jing Ziyan. But he'd also made himself a more visible target.
---
The next morning, a formal invitation arrived at his dorm: a summons to the office of Vice-Principal Xu, head of academy admissions and student evaluation.
Ke Ni looked terrified. "The vice-principal only summons students for two reasons: expulsion or special advancement."
Huo Yuhao smoothed his uniform. "Then let's hope it's the latter."
The vice-principal's office was all dark wood and glass cabinets displaying intricate soul tools. Vice-Principal Xu was a middle-aged woman with sharp features and sharper eyes.
"Huo Yuhao. Sit."
He sat.
"I've been reviewing your file. Or rather, the lack of it. Orphan. No known lineage. Appeared at our border with Star Luo Empire with basic survival skills and exceptional theoretical knowledge." She leaned forward. "Who are you really?"
"I am who I say I am, Vice-Principal."
"We've detected unusual spiritual signatures around you. Fluctuations that don't match a normal spirit master. And your progress in soul tool engineering is... unprecedented."
Huo Yuhao kept his face calm. "I study hard, ma'am."
"Hard study doesn't explain this." She slid a data slate across the desk. It showed thermal images from the cellar surveillanceâimages of him working under the Spiritual Silence Cloak, where his figure appeared as a blurry, indistinct shape.
"I can explainâ" he began.
"Don't." She stood, walking to the window. "The Sun Moon Empire is at war. We need talent. But we also need loyalty. There are rumors you might be a Star Luo spy. Or worse, a plant from the Body Sect."
"I'm neither, Vice-Principal."
"I want to believe you." She turned back. "So I'm giving you a chance. In one month, the academy is holding its annual Freshman Exhibition. All first-years present an original soul tool. The top three winners receive substantial rewards and... official protection."
She met his eyes. "Win. Prove your value. And the surveillance stops. Fail or refuse... and we'll have to investigate you more thoroughly."
It was an ultimatum. But also an opportunity.
"I'll participate, Vice-Principal."
"Good. Dismissed."
As Huo Yuhao left, he felt the weight of multiple gazes: from the vice-principal's hidden cameras, from the Meng faction's informants, from Jing Ziyan's group who were undoubtedly watching to see how he'd fare.
He returned to his dorm, mind racing. The Freshman Exhibition. He needed to build something impressive but not too advanced. Something that would secure his position without revealing his secrets.
That night, in the cellar under his silence cloak, he began designing. He combined principles from three different blueprints: an energy stabilizer, a multi-function scanner, and his own ocular enhancer.
The concept: a "Combat Diagnostics Visor." A helmet-mounted device that could analyze an opponent's spirit, detect weak points in their defense, and predict their movements. Useful for combat soul engineers. Advanced but plausible for a prodigy.
As he worked, the Black Book system chimed.
[New Mission: Win the Freshman Exhibition]
Objective: Place in top 3 of the academy's Freshman Exhibition.
Time Limit: 30 days
Reward: 1000 Rebellion Points, Academy Favor (Sun Moon Empire), "Rising Star" Title
Failure Penalty: Increased surveillance, possible expulsion or detention
Huo Yuhao looked at the partially assembled visor on his workbench. Then he looked inward, at the stolen treasures orbiting the Black Bookâthe Dragon God soul shard, the Ice Lotus, the Frozen Marrow.
He couldn't use those. Not directly.
But maybe... he could use their principles.
An idea began to form. A dangerous, brilliant idea that would either secure his future or expose him completely.
He smiled, a sharp, determined expression that didn't belong on an eleven-year-old's face.
"Alright," he whispered to the empty cellar. "Let's give them a show."
End of Chapter 8
---
đ CHAPTER 9: The Ghost's First Performance
The next thirty days were a blur of controlled frenzy. Huo Yuhao attended classes, met with Jing Ziyan's research group twice a week, maintained his study group, and spent every other waking moment in the cellar working on the Combat Diagnostics Visor.
But he wasn't building just one device.
He was building three.
"The first is the 'public' version," he explained to Tianmeng and the live-stream viewers as he worked. "What I'll show at the exhibition. Impressive but within the bounds of a first-year prodigy."
On his main workbench lay the visor's skeleton: a lightweight alloy frame, spirit crystal lenses, and a compact processing unit. It could analyze spirit power levels, detect elemental affinities, and identify obvious combat weaknesses. A solid Class-2 soul tool.
"The second is the 'real' version," he said, gesturing to a hidden compartment under the floorboards. Here, using higher-grade materials purchased with his and Ke Ni's Stabilizer profits, he was building something more advanced. This version incorporated principles from the Black Book's analysis of the Spirit Energy Condenser blueprint, allowing it to temporarily store and analyze an opponent's spirit energy patterns during combat.
"And the third..." He opened the Black Book's treasury interface in his mind. "...is the 'impossible' version."
Floating in his spiritual sea were the two thumb-sized crystals from the Dragon God soul shardâone gold, one silver. The "divine codes" of the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings, weakened but still containing traces of draconic authority.
"You can't be serious," Tianmeng gasped. "Those are divine fragments! Using them in a mortal soul tool..."
"Not using them directly," Huo Yuhao corrected. "But studying their energy signatures. Their resonance patterns."
With the Black Book's Analysis Module working at full capacity (costing him 50 Rebellion Points per hour), he began decoding the crystals' energy structures. Not to replicate themâthat was far beyond himâbut to understand a single principle: predictive resonance.
Dragons, according to the fragments' memories, could sense the flow of battle instinctually. They didn't analyze; they knew. That was the golden crystal's signature. The silver crystal complemented it with spatial awarenessâknowing where everything was in relation to oneself.
If he could translate even 0.1% of that principle into his visor...
[Analysis Complete: Dragonkin Predictive Resonance (Basic Prin