Taking Control

Skysoul Royal Hotel.

As Tang Ya looked at the grand building before her, her expression grew increasingly tense.

"Anyone capable of arranging a meeting here at this time probably holds quite a high position in the royal family, right?"

With the upcoming Soul Master Competition, participating teams from every academy would be staying here. The hotel had cleared out all unrelated guests several days ago. Being able to reserve a room in the hotel to receive them at a time like this was certainly a sign of great importance.

"Doesn't that just show how much they value what we have?"

Huo Yuhao curled his lips. "Let's go. I'm watching over you. Do as I taught you—be bolder."

Only after Tang Ya stepped forward did he follow her into the hotel, half a step behind.

The moment they entered, a rather attractive maid dressed somewhat revealingly approached them and smiled at Tang Ya, who was walking in front.

"Hello. How may I help you?"

"I have an appointment. Room 207."

Perhaps Huo Yuhao's words had taken effect. Once inside the hotel, Tang Ya seemed like a different person, merely giving the maid a faint nod.

"Miss Tang Ya, correct? Please follow me."

The maid had clearly been notified beforehand. She hurriedly bowed, then led the two of them all the way to Room 207.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Come in."

A calm voice sounded from within. Only then did the maid open the door, stepping aside and gesturing for them to enter.

Upon entering, Huo Yuhao discovered that it was a suite. There were three people in the living room. One was a middle-aged man seated upright on a separate sofa, his arms crossed over his chest as he rested with his eyes closed. His burly frame and the Soul Power fluctuations restrained to the utmost made Huo Yuhao's gaze flicker. While he guessed the man's identity, he could not help feeling somewhat surprised.

Including Shrek Academy, there were currently no Ninth Level Soul Guidance Device Masters in the Douluo Three Kingdoms. This man had already reached the realm of a Titled Douluo, so he was likely the Skysoul Empire's only half-step eighth-level Soul Guidance Device Master.

As for why Huo Yuhao could guess it—because this man was built just as solidly as Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu.

Honestly, Huo Yuhao found this quite puzzling as well. It practically seemed to be a shared trait among top-tier Soul Guidance Device Masters outside the Sun Moon Empire. Their muscle mass clearly surpassed that of most Soul Masters who fought using Martial Souls. Did these people work out every day by lifting the Soul Guidance Devices they made?

The remaining two people in the room were both women. One was a Beautiful Woman who looked to be around thirty. Beside her sat a cool-looking girl with a ponytail, who appeared to be even younger than Tang Ya.

Huo Yuhao recognized her at a glance. She was Mu Xue, whom he had dealt with several times in his previous life. As for the other Princess, Wei Na, she was probably at the Body Sect right now.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wei Lina. Please, have a seat."

The Beautiful Woman who spoke was clearly in charge of this meeting. With the surname Wei, she was likely one of the current emperor's sisters. She gestured toward the unoccupied sofa opposite them, and only after the two sat down did she begin the conversation.

"Miss Tang Ya, we have already tested the sample you gave us. Its effectiveness is indeed quite good."

From her form of address, it was clear that she did not look down on Tang Ya because of her age. That alone showed how seriously she took this cooperation.

"One reason we invited you here is because I personally have long admired your sect. However, I have always been tied up with affairs and never had the opportunity to interact with you."

Listening to Wei Lina's casual nonsense, Tang Ya's hand unconsciously clenched tighter. Huo Yuhao, sitting beside her, was equally speechless. This was why he disliked dealing with members of the royal family. When you were useless, they would not spare you a single thought even if your sect was wiped out. But the moment you displayed value, they began putting on airs.

After making small talk for quite a while, Wei Lina finally got to the point. Her beautiful eyes looked directly at Tang Ya as she asked gently.

"From what I know of your sect, your main business should be hidden weapons. May I ask where these Soul Guidance Devices came from?"

"I didn't expect Your Highness Princess to be so interested in the origins of these Soul Guidance Devices. If they were produced by the Sun Moon Empire, would Your Highness Princess no longer intend to cooperate with us?"

Tang Ya did not rush to answer. Instead, she asked a question in return as though she were joking.

Wei Lina pursed her lips in a smile. "Not at all. Your Soul Guidance Devices are exquisitely made, and our intention to cooperate this time is quite sincere. My interest in their origins is merely personal curiosity. I was hoping to make the acquaintance of their creator. If it is inconvenient, then never mind."

"It's nothing much. During Tang Sect's decline, we did conduct some research into Soul Guidance Devices and wanted to make certain changes. These Soul Guidance Devices were purchased through various channels back then. It is simply that we have now reached the point where we have no choice but to sell them off. As for information on their creator, we do not know anything either."

You think I'd believe that?

Wei Lina nearly failed to maintain the smile on her face. The traces of production were practically as fresh as could be. Could they really not tell whether they were old or not?

And if you had something like this, why didn't you bring it out earlier? Why wait until your sect was destroyed?

A few days ago, this matter had directly alerted the empire's strongest Soul Guidance Device Master sitting beside her. After examining the Soul Guidance Device, he had immediately determined that its creator's level was definitely not low. Although they were all low-level Soul Guidance Devices, many of the techniques used were things even he could not understand at all.

Unfortunately, the Soul Guidance Device had a self-destruction mechanism. Once it was dismantled, it was ruined. Its remains were still lying in the Soul Guidance Device research room of their royal academy.

Unable to discover anything, the empire's strongest Soul Guidance Device Master had simply come to her and said that he wanted to join today's negotiations.

Perhaps that creator would come here with Tang Ya?

At that thought, her gaze instinctively fell on Huo Yuhao. But in the next second, she was amused by her own thoughts.

What am I thinking? How could I possibly believe that a child is the creator? Hahaha.

However, since Tang Ya had said as much, she did not expose the lie. From Tang Ya's reaction, she could determine that these things had not been made by the Tang Sect. That was enough.

After all, at a time like this, aside from an academy that had been associated with the Tang Sect since ten thousand years ago, who else could still be helping them?

With that thought, her intention of controlling Tang Ya vanished completely. The two before her were obviously not the people who made the Soul Guidance Devices. If she did anything to them, not only would it be pointless, but she might also make enemies of the force behind them.

Watching the changes in her expression, Huo Yuhao knew that he had achieved his goal.

Just as he had told Tang Ya before entering the hotel, they only needed to tell a lie that could be seen through at a glance, and the other side would begin imagining that there was a powerful backer behind them.

As for whether they would cooperate?

What if they refused, and Tang Ya found someone else?

The people opposite them had no way of knowing whether identical discussions were taking place at the same time in meeting rooms in Star Luo and the Douling Empire. Unwilling to fall behind, they would certainly choose to purchase a batch, then seek an opportunity to dismantle them and study the techniques within.

Of course, whether they could learn anything despite the self-destruction mechanism Huo Yuhao had designed would depend on their luck.

A moment later, Wei Lina spoke again, just as Huo Yuhao had expected.

"Since that is the case, let us discuss the specific details of our cooperation."