Huo Yuhao: How Long Has It Been Since You Returned to Star Dou?
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, half a year has slipped through our fingers.
On the open space east of the Star Luo City Imperial Palace, the main building of the Spirit Pagoda has risen from the ground. The majestic tower has now reached the seventh floor, and only the top floor is left to complete the construction.
This tower's design is unlike any traditional architectural style on the Douluo Continent. It is made entirely of silver-white stone, and its octagonal shape tapers upwards layer by layer. The eaves of each layer are slightly upturned, gleaming with a sharp yet elegant luster in the sunlight.
From afar, the unfinished tower resembles a sharp sword drawn from the earth, pointing straight to the sky. Even the citizens who are used to the prosperity of Star Luo City cannot help but stop and look up whenever they pass by the east side of the palace.
Of course, although the tower has been built up to the seventh floor, the internal Soul Guidance Array, the functional partitions of each floor, and the detailed decorations still need a lot of time to be carefully refined.
The Star Luo Blacksmith Association has long since changed its name and become the first Blacksmith Association on this continent.
The progress made by the Blacksmith Association in the past six months is also evident to all.
Thanks to Huo Yuhao's tireless and generous teaching, the number of Forgemaster in the association who can reliably master the Thousand Refinement Technique has increased from just Zhu Wen at the beginning to a full eight. This also means that the cooperation between the Blacksmith Association and the Spirit Hall can finally be fully promoted.
The scale of the Spirit Hall is also continuously expanding. With the support of the Soul Guidance Department of the Shrek Academy, the number of Soul Engineer in the Spirit Hall has increased from the initial seventy to one hundred and twenty.
As the Soul Tool produced by the Spirit Hall repeatedly broke records at the Starlight Auction House, Spirit Hall's reputation spread far and wide throughout the Star Luo Empire and even the entire continent.
Although most of the Soul Tool, as long as they are produced by the Spirit Hall, their energy conversion efficiency, array precision, and overall stability are significantly superior to those of the Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire.
Overall, during those six months ten thousand years ago, everything proceeded smoothly according to Huo Yuhao's plan.
In the office on the third floor of the Spirit Hall, the afternoon sun slanted in through the half-drawn curtains, casting warm spots of light on the desk.
Huo Yuhao sat behind the large mahogany desk, flipping through a progress report that had just been delivered from the construction site.
His gaze swept across the dense text, while he silently calculated the deadlines and milestones for each plan.
He now truly understands why Aunt Leng has so many things to deal with every day.
Ten thousand years ago, when everything was still in its infancy, he was already so busy that things were taking off.
Ten thousand years later, the Spirit Pagoda are spread throughout the entire continent. As the Vice Tower Master, Leng Yaozhu has to deal with requests and reports from various Branch Tower, the open and covert struggles between different factions within the tower, and the power struggles with the Federation and various sects every day. Her workload is no less than what she has now.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Once things stabilized a bit more here, he would definitely recruit and train a group of management talents who could stand on their own.
His primary task is ultimately to improve his cultivation and Soul Power as quickly as possible. Managing these myriad mundane affairs is best left to trusted individuals; otherwise, even if he had three heads and six arms, it wouldn't be enough.
"Squeak!"
With a soft sound, the wooden door was gently pushed open from the outside.
Jin Li walked in with light steps, her signature long, golden-red hair shimmering like a dancing flame in the afternoon sunlight, swaying gently over her shoulders with each step.
Her large, golden eyes swept around the room as usual, then she casually walked over and sat down in the chair opposite Huo Yuhao.
She rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head to look at Huo Yuhao, who was still engrossed in flipping through files, and asked, "Is there anything going on tomorrow? I'd like to go and prepare in advance."
Clearly, after six months, Jin Li has adapted to the novel position of secretary.
Despite her carefree and easygoing nature, this Miss Jin is surprisingly reliable when it comes to work.
She sat opposite Huo Yuhao, her golden eyes filled with seriousness and anticipation, clearly having developed the professional habit of checking the next day's schedule in advance every day.
Huo Yuhao put down the file in his hand, raised his eyes to look at Jin Li's serious face, and did not rush to answer.
He wanted to say that he had no plans for tomorrow, but he suddenly stopped himself from saying it.
The construction progress report he had just reviewed stated that, at the current construction speed, the main structure of the Spirit Pagoda should be completed within three months.
Gradually, an idea quietly surfaced in my mind.
Huo Yuhao leaned back, sinking into the wide leather chair back, his shoulders, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed a little.
He raised his eyes to look at Jin Li opposite him, and suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question, "How long has it been since you returned to Star Dou?"
Jin Li was visibly taken aback by the question, blinking her large golden eyes repeatedly, clearly not expecting Huo Yuhao's topic to suddenly turn to her.
She subconsciously started counting on her fingers, one by one, and her originally spirited face looked strangely cute because of this action.
After counting, she looked up and replied, "It's been more than half a year, to be precise, it should be seven months and thirteen days."
After saying that, she couldn't help but silently calculate it in her mind to make sure she hadn't miscounted, and then nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing her like this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile, and then said directly, "Then make preparations, we'll leave Star Luo City tomorrow and go to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Upon hearing this, Jin Li's large golden eyes suddenly lit up, as if two small flames had been ignited.
After entering human society, countless novel and interesting things constantly attracted her attention.
But in the end, the Star Dou Great Forest is her true home.
She hadn't been back for seven months and thirteen days, hadn't smelled the familiar fragrance of grass and trees in the forest, and hadn't heard the rustling of leaves in the ancient treetops.
After Huo Yuhao said that, she really did feel homesick.
She leaned forward slightly, her golden eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement, and asked, "Us? You want to come with me to the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Seeing her surprised and delighted expression, Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded.
A Spirit Pagoda cannot simply have a magnificent exterior and top-notch facilities. What truly attracts Soul Master is that the pagoda must have genuine Spirit Soul to choose from.
In other words, with the Spirit Pagoda about to officially open, he should start preparing his "supplies".
The next morning, before the sky was fully bright and the first hint of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, the heavy north gate of Star Luo City was slowly pushed open amidst the deep shouts of the city guards.
Shortly after the city gates opened, an inconspicuous carriage, bathed in the first rays of dawn, slowly made its way out of the city along the official road.
Inside the carriage, Huo Yuhao and Jin Li sat facing each other.
Although the carriage had a simple exterior, the interior was quite comfortable, with thick cushions and a small Soul Guidance Warming Lamp hanging on the wall, emitting a soft, pale yellow glow.
Today, Jin Li changed into a dark-colored outfit that was easy to travel in. Her long, golden-red hair was casually tied into a high ponytail and hung down her back. She looked less lazy and charming than usual, and more dashing and capable.
She lifted a corner of the car window curtain and peeked out at the rural scenery.
A fresh morning breeze, carrying the fragrance of earth and grass, wafted towards her. She took a deep breath, then looked away, her large golden eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao opposite her.
She then tilted her head and asked the question that had been bothering her, "Aren't we going to the Star Dou Great Forest? Isn't it a roundabout route from Heaven Dou City?"
Although Jin Li had never been to the Heavenly Soul Empire in the north since she took human form, she was still very familiar with the geographical distribution of the continent.
The Star Dou Great Forest spans the border between the Star Luo Empire and Heavenly Soul Empire kingdoms. If you go to Heaven Dou City first and then to the Star Dou Great Forest, it's like taking a long detour and it will take several more days to get there.
Huo Yuhao looked at her earnestly checking the route and shook his head with a smile.
He leaned against the carriage wall and said in a calm and unhurried tone, "The final destination is indeed the Star Dou Great Forest, but let's go to the Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City first."
A hint of curiosity flashed in Jin Li's eyes. She had heard of the name Sunset Forest before. Although it was not as famous as the Star Dou Great Forest, it was still a fairly large gathering place for Soul Beast.
But she really couldn't understand why Huo Yuhao would go through such a long detour to Sunset Forest, and pressed, "Sunset Forest? What are you going there for? If you want to catch Soul Beast, wouldn't it be more convenient to go directly to Star Dou Great Forest?"
Huo Yuhao's lips curled slightly upward, and he lowered his voice mysteriously, saying, "Let's go find the treasure."