Recruitment and Experiment

"Twenty-two years old. Truly remarkable."

Mu En did not hold back his praise.

After Huo Yuhao "removed his disguise," Mu En could see the young man more clearly and, to some extent, sense his emotions as well.

Hmm. No hostility, only a little wariness—but that was normal.

Mu En looked at Huo Yuhao, growing more satisfied the longer he looked. After a long while, he spoke:

"Child, may I ask you two questions?" His voice was calm and carried no hint of coercion. Instead, it was exceptionally kind.

A perfectly timed trace of astonishment appeared on Huo Yuhao's face, as though he had never expected the legendary Dragon God Douluo to be so amiable.

After a moment of silence, Huo Yuhao nodded.

"First question, child: what is your purpose in coming to Shrek?"

"To find someone to rely on and continue my research."

"Second question: will you harm Shrek?"

"As long as Shrek does not obstruct my research, I will not."

"Is that so?" A faint smile appeared in Mu En's eyes.

His Rank 99 cultivation made him confident that he could tell Huo Yuhao was speaking sincerely, and he found not the slightest trace of falsehood in Huo Yuhao's answers.

Unless this child's spiritual cultivation vastly surpassed his own, he could not possibly have misjudged him. But how could that be possible?

"In that case, child, Shrek's gates will forever stand open for you."

Mu En opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Huo Yuhao. It was like a promise, his eyes filled with sincerity.

An hour later, Mu En personally convened a Sea God Pavilion meeting. Before all the elders, he directly promised Huo Yuhao that "once he became a Titled Douluo, he would become an elder of the Sea God Pavilion."

The elders were puzzled, but faced with Mu En's authority and their trust in him, they ultimately accepted this promise.

After the meeting ended, Mu En directly arranged for Qian Duoduo to serve as Huo Yuhao's guide.

Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er, meanwhile, were kept behind by Mu En.

"Pfft—damn! Is that for real?!"

After hearing Mu En confirm it personally, Yan Shaozhe let out a shrill cry.

"Damn, twenty-two years old, Rank 69, and fucking Ultimate Ice! What kind of genius is this?!" For the first time, Yan Shaozhe clearly understood what true talent meant.

That was Ultimate Ice!

Cultivation from Soul Elder to Soul Saint was absurdly slow. Reaching Rank 69 Soul Power at twenty-two practically meant he could become a Titled Douluo before the age of thirty-five!

A Titled Douluo with the Ultimate Ice attribute was simply outrageous!

"And he's a Rank 8 Soul Guide Master too. I knew his Soul Power Storage Core had a more advanced version."

Xian Lin'er held her forehead and quietly added a sentence.

Becoming a Rank 8 Soul Guide Master with the cultivation of a Soul Emperor was utterly fantastical, yet someone had actually done it!

This person did not merely possess terrifying talent in soul guidance devices; his talent in Martial Souls was equally terrifying!

What kind of fucking monster was this?!

"This child is still wary of Shrek, but he is kind by nature. Treat him well," Mu En said.

With only twenty or thirty years of life left at most, he did not have many thoughts of his own. He merely hoped that after he was gone, Shrek would remain prosperous.

But the world was unpredictable. Who could be one hundred percent certain of the future? Mu En had once thought that way.

Yet Huo Yuhao's appearance was like a shot in the arm, allowing him to see a clear future.

Twenty-two years old, Rank 69 Ultimate Ice, and also a Rank 8 Soul Guide Master.

If that child was willing to remain at Shrek Academy, then Shrek would have a worthy successor.

Mu En steadied himself slightly, looked toward the two people beside him who were still deep in thought, and spoke directly:

"Starting next year, one-tenth of Shrek City's revenue will be allocated to that child as independent research funding. In addition, agree to every condition that child previously proposed.

"And do not reveal that child's true circumstances to anyone. Understood?"

Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er exchanged glances, then spoke in unison. "Yes, Elder Mu."

"Shaozhe, after that child has settled into the academy in a few days, take Xiaotao to see him. He agreed to help Xiaotao suppress her Evil Fire."

Yan Shaozhe's gaze narrowed. He could not help considering the deeper meaning behind Elder Mu's words. After a brief pause, he nodded.

"Yes, Elder Mu."

"Alright, you may leave."

Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er paused slightly, then bowed together and departed.

Only Mu En remained in the Meeting Room.

The elderly man gave a faint sigh, but his eyes remained bright.

I hope this is the right choice.

Why had Huo Yuhao gone to such great lengths to create a new identity and enter Shrek?

Was it not because the emotions gained by his new identity were counted separately from those gained by his true self?

Now, Master Tianmeng, who would lead Shrek's development, had successfully joined Shrek.

And now, he should consider going to the Sun Moon Empire.

With two Silver Radiance Soul Rings carrying Spiritual Soul Cores, combined with Tian Meng and the Ice Empress, even if Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao attacked together, he was confident he could escape successfully.

"Teacher, are you sure this can allow rapid travel between Shrek City and Mingdu?"

"In theory, there should be no problem."

In a hidden location outside Shrek City, Huo Yuhao was speaking with Elder Yi.

After Qian Duoduo had taken him around Shrek, Huo Yuhao left Shrek directly. But rather than returning home, he came here.

"This Undead Demigod Plane can be opened anywhere in this world with a specific Magic Array. If you reverse the Magic Array slightly, you can use this demigod plane as a transit station and freely appear anywhere in this world—of course, you need coordinates."

As Electrolux spoke, he handed the reversed Magic Array to Huo Yuhao.

"This is simple." Huo Yuhao answered, then began studying the Reversal Array.

In his previous life, Elder Yi had only given him the Undead Demigod Plane after he had passed on. Not long afterward, Huo Yuhao had focused on cultivating his Martial Soul and had barely developed the Undead Demigod Plane at all.

But in this life, Huo Yuhao placed great importance on developing the Undead Demigod Plane.

After all, although this plane was relatively monotonous and small, it was indeed a world independent of the Douluo Continent!

To Huo Yuhao, this plane might become a trump card in the future, or perhaps an excellent backup plan. Naturally, he had to take it seriously.

And so, with Elder Yi's help, Huo Yuhao had now obtained a method of spatial teleportation through the Undead Demigod Plane.

"Mm, let's test the results for now."

Recalling the coordinates of his home that Elder Yi had provided, Huo Yuhao first operated the Magic Array normally and stepped into the Undead Demigod Plane. Then he entered the coordinates into the Reversal Array and activated it.

A Light Gate, emitting faint gray mist and speckled with starlight, opened before him. Huo Yuhao stepped through without hesitation. His vision blurred slightly, and the next moment, he had returned to the basement of his home.

"Whew, looks like there's no problem."

Huo Yuhao let out a breath and turned to leave the basement and head upstairs. Yet the moment he entered the first floor, his sharp Spiritual Power sensed the nearly frozen atmosphere in the living room.

Huo Yuhao sensed something with his Spiritual Power. His body stiffened as he looked toward the living room.

There, Tian Meng and the Ice Empress sat on one side of the sofa.

And on the other side sat an expressionless Gu Yuena!