Wise Freeloading

By the roadside in town.

Huo Yuhao exchanged his subsidy for Copper Soul Coins and bought a few steamed buns and a flatbread.

He found a step in a corner and sat down, eating to fill his stomach.

He had learned in history class at Shrek Academy that the main funding pool behind Spirit Hall's subsidy policy was actually supplied by the Two Great Empires. Spirit Hall merely reaped the reputation.

Of course, there was another view: the nobles of the Two Great Empires were corrupt, so they could not possibly hand over money for no reason to subsidize commoner Soul Masters. It was clearly the result of high-level power struggles, divided interests, and compromise. The leaders of the Two Great Empires were not fools; they would not spend money just to boost Spirit Hall's reputation.

Although Spirit Hall had been portrayed as the evil villainous force ten thousand years later, its early groundwork and policies had indeed benefited commoner Soul Masters, opening paths for advancement and offering generous treatment. That was one reason so many Soul Masters had been willing to pledge loyalty to Spirit Hall.

Why had Spirit Hall been branded as an evil villain?

Huo Yuhao was no longer the greenhorn he had once been. He understood perfectly well that history was written by the victors, glossing over the important and playing up the trivial. Those who knew, knew.

Recorded history was not necessarily the truth.

If he wanted to uncover the truth, he had to dig into it and see for himself, rather than listen to what others "said."

This was the Douluo Continent of ten thousand years ago, so he had not met Brother Sky Dream, Senior Brother, or Sister Xiaoya.

No one knew of Shrek Academy, because it had not yet risen to prominence.

The White Tiger Duke's Mansion he hated was still the Star Luo imperial family at this time.

And he was merely an outsider, drifting alone.

Only after eating his fill did Huo Yuhao rise and look out over the bustling pedestrians on the street.

His thoughts were very clear now.

Help Old Yi find spiritual herbs that could nourish the Divine Soul.

In this era, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well naturally did not have immortal herbs guarded by 100,000-year-level beings, greatly increasing their chances of picking them.

The only thing he needed to confirm now was whether Tang San had already taken those immortal herbs.

If Tang San had taken them, he would go to Shrek Academy and seize them. Even if the other side had the Clear Sky Douluo protecting them in secret, Old Yi's methods would naturally allow them to accomplish it without anyone noticing.

If not, then he would need to time his trip to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to pick them.

Right now, he needed to determine the timeline—exactly how old Tang San was in this era.

He had no way to rush to Shrek Academy immediately to confirm it, but he could verify it indirectly.

"Hello, may I ask when the most recent Continental Advanced Soul Master Competition was held?" Huo Yuhao asked with a modest smile.

"About three years ago, I think. Why?" The passerby found the question rather strange.

Ordinary residents naturally remembered a continent-wide event held once every five years.

"Which team won that time?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"Seems like it was the Star Luo Royal Family Team," the passerby replied.

Huo Yuhao: ???

Shouldn't it have been Spirit Hall?

"Alright, thank you." Huo Yuhao thanked him politely.

After watching the passerby leave, he stroked his chin in thought.

Shrek Academy was still unknown, which meant they had not yet won the championship.

The Advanced Soul Master Competition was held once every five years, and there were roughly two years until the next one.

Tang San seemed to have participated in the Advanced Soul Master Competition at fourteen.

Two years before the competition, Tang San had gone to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

For now, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was still the territory of Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.

"Two years..." Huo Yuhao clenched his hand.

His current condition:

Martial Soul: Spiritual Eye

Age: Eleven

Soul Power: Level Ten

Innate Soul Power: Level One

The gap truly was enormous.

Brother Sky Dream should still be sleeping in the Far North Land, so naturally he could not come over and grant him a Soul Ring. Besides, it was not as if he could not live without that million-year Soul Ring.

The Spiritual Eye Martial Soul belonged to the spiritual type, so Spirit-type Soul Beasts were naturally the most suitable.

Soul Beasts of that type were rare to begin with, making it difficult to find a suitable one.

The shackles of Innate Soul Power meant this was not something that could be raised through time alone.

Old Yi needed to obtain spiritual herbs to nourish the Divine Soul as soon as possible.

The first stop of this journey—the Sunset Forest Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Old Yi, are you still there?" Huo Yuhao asked in his mind.

"Yes." A weak voice echoed in his mind.

"We are going somewhere now. Immortal herbs that nourish the Divine Soul grow there, but there is a certain degree of danger," Huo Yuhao said seriously.

"At most, I can act three more times before passively falling into slumber..."

"That will be enough." Huo Yuhao's gaze was exceptionally resolute.

Back to the main issue.

How was he supposed to get to Sunset Forest?

He could not possibly walk there, could he?

The subsidy from Spirit Hall was only enough to cover a month's meals, with the occasional bit of meat.

He needed money—enough money—so that he could reach Sunset Forest as quickly as possible.

Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment at a street corner. Then his eyes lit up, and he immediately began asking around the city.

Blacksmith Shop.

A burly middle-aged man swung a black hammer, striking iron with loud clangs as sparks scattered everywhere.

He looked up, glancing at the simply dressed youth standing outside the stall.

"Young man, looking to commission a weapon?"

"I need some Hundred Refinements refined iron," Huo Yuhao said.

"Hm?" The blacksmith froze mid-swing, then slowly lowered his hammer. He raised his head and properly examined the handsome youth in plain clothes before him, whose eyes were clear as water.

"Heh, are you messing with me?" The blacksmith grinned.

"Right now, the highest we can manage is thirteen forgings. That's already the finest iron available."

"Hundred Refinements refined iron could be used to forge divine weapons. In the entire continent today, I'm afraid only those three Divine Blacksmiths can do it."

I can.

Huo Yuhao silently said to himself.

"I can help you produce Twenty-Forged Refined Iron," Huo Yuhao said seriously.

"What kind of joke is that? You?" The blacksmith looked him up and down, sizing up his slender frame.

"It is guidance. Applying force requires skill. There are subtle differences in a person's control over their muscles and their ability to maintain posture, preventing them from achieving perfect force and control," Huo Yuhao said.

Only then did the blacksmith become somewhat serious. "You're a Soul Master?"

"Yes. My Martial Soul is this." Huo Yuhao raised a hand and pointed to the corner of his eye.

"I can see details you cannot."

"If you don't believe me, you can give it a try. You will not lose anything anyway," Huo Yuhao said.

Half believing and half doubting, the blacksmith followed Huo Yuhao's instructions, adjusting his forging stance, heat control, and handling of force.

In the end, the blacksmith actually forged Twenty-Forged Refined Iron.

Looking at the snowflake-like steel patterns, even he was stunned.

"You... what do you want?" the blacksmith asked, looking at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao searched through the blacksmith's iron materials and found that none of them possessed any spirituality, making them unsuitable for forging Soul Tools.

"Give me three pieces of Twenty-Forged Refined Iron. How about it?" Huo Yuhao said.

The blacksmith was just about to say something.

"I imagine you would not want other Blacksmith Shops to acquire such techniques, would you?" Huo Yuhao asked with a smile.

"Alright, I agree." The blacksmith agreed without hesitation. "But you have to..."

"Don't worry. I'm not that idle." Huo Yuhao smiled.

Thus.

Without spending a single coin, Huo Yuhao freeloaded three pieces of Twenty-Forged Refined Iron.

"What do you want this iron for?" the blacksmith asked.

"Let me borrow your forge and tools." Huo Yuhao took the twenty-jin hammer from the blacksmith's hand.