God Sealing Platform, Snow Empress?
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy responded much faster than Huo Yuhao had anticipated. From the moment the first explosion rang out, the academy's defense system was fully activated.
The Soul Defense Turret, which were originally hidden in various places, raised their cannons one after another, and beams of blazing white energy shot towards the black-clad men on the ground, cutting their charging formation into pieces.
Meanwhile, the Soul Engineer were initially clueless in their respective laboratories quickly reacted after hearing Jing Hongchen's roar, wielding various Soul Tool and pouring out from all directions to join the battle.
Dean Jing Hongchen was now facing off against the Sect Du Busi of the Body Sect, Du Busi, and reinforcements soon arrived from the Mingde Hall, significantly easing Xuan Ziwen's pressure.
He was locked in a fierce battle with a black-clad man from the Body Sect, but now that two Soul Engineer were by his side to share the flank attacks, he was able to catch his breath.
Huo Yuhao watched all of this unfold; the situation inside the Mingde Hall had been initially stabilized.
Although the Body Sect came with great force, they were fighting on someone else's home turf.
Once the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's layered soul-guided defense system is fully operational, even a Body Sect won't gain much advantage.
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly. While observing the battle, his Divine Power had inadvertently extended downwards, and he keenly detected a faint aura in a passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
Extreme cold—that's the aura of Ultimate Attribute.
Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat. He withdrew his gaze, turned his head to look at He Caitou not far away, and sent a telepathic message to him.
"Senior Martial Brother, protect Xuan Ziwen. I'll be right back."
He Caitou glanced in Huo Yuhao's direction, didn't ask any questions, and simply nodded slightly.
Although he has only just entered the Level 7 Soul Engineer, and is not as good as Xuan Ziwen, he has a protective Soul Tool given to him by Huo Yuhao, which is enough for him to hold on for a while when facing Titled Douluo- level powerhouse.
Having received his response, Huo Yuhao no longer hesitated.
Amidst the chaotic sounds of fighting and the buzzing of Soul Tool charging, he flashed and arrived at the edge of the hole.
Without pausing, he leaped down towards the cave entrance.
The surrounding light was rapidly dimming, and the sounds of fighting and the beams of soul guidance light coming from the hall above were quickly fading away, replaced by a deep and silent darkness.
Huo Yuhao adjusted his posture during the fall, enveloping his entire body in Soul Power, ready to deal with any situation that might arise.
After walking more than a hundred meters into the narrow passage, Huo Yuhao clearly felt that the surrounding air had suddenly become much fresher.
The extreme cold he had sensed earlier had become even clearer here.
Huo Yuhao quickened his pace and saw a huge metal door at the end of the passage.
The door was over ten meters tall, with a smooth and even surface, and several dark blue soul-guided patterns embedded along its edges. At this moment, it was faintly emitting execution indicator lights.
The door wasn't completely closed, leaving a gap large enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. Huo Yuhao slipped inside.
Behind the door was a laboratory that appeared to be over a hundred square meters in size. The walls were covered with various soul-guided devices. Judging from the precision and complexity of those devices, this was clearly the true core of the Mingde Hall.
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept quickly around the room, finally settling on the enormous object in the very center of the laboratory.
It was a humanoid metal construct, fifteen meters tall, with thousands of Core Array on it. It stood quietly on the experimental table, and even without any power, the oppressive feeling of heavy metal was still overwhelming.
Huo Yuhao silently sighed in his heart, "The Sun Moon Empire of this era is indeed at the forefront of Soul Tool Technology."
The metal giant before us should be the prototype of the Mecha of later generations.
This is perhaps a truly astounding discovery for the people of this world.
But for someone who had witnessed the Soul Tool Technology of ten thousand years in the future, it was nothing special.
He suppressed his emotions and did not linger there. The extremely cold aura emanated from deeper within the laboratory.
Huo Yuhao stepped through the laboratory, exited through the other door, and continued along a similarly narrow and long corridor.
The deeper he went, the stronger the chill became; he was almost at his target.
"Who?!"
A low growl suddenly came from ahead, the voice rough and alert, clearly indicating that Huo Yuhao was approaching.
Huo Yuhao didn't stop, but instead accelerated instantly, hugging the wall as he rounded the corner ahead.
The moment you round the bend, your view suddenly opens up, and the area becomes noticeably more spacious.
The person in front of me was also dressed in black, with a burly build, and most striking were his exceptionally thick arms.
Eight Soul Ring shone beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, and four black, arranged neatly.
Clearly, this is a Soul Douluo from the Body Sect.
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over him only briefly before fixing on the white tray he was holding.
Huo Yuhao recognized it at a glance. It was the Conferred God Platform, the final item at the Star Emperor Auction House four years ago, which was sold to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy for an God Sealing Platform price!
In an instant, Huo Yuhao understood what was going on.
He couldn't help but blurt out, "So the Body Sect came here for the God Sealing Platform."
Upon recognizing the newcomer, the Soul Douluo of the Body Sect instantly relaxed considerably.
He only saw a teenager, an opponent who posed almost no threat.
His gaze sharpened, and a ferocious smile appeared on his rugged face.
"Kid, since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, don't blame me for being impolite."
As soon as he finished speaking, his fourth Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
A deep purple light burst forth in the dark passage, casting an eerie purple hue over his entire face.
He clearly didn't intend to waste any more words with Huo Yuhao; he wanted to completely annihilate the boy here.
However, just as his Soul Ring lit up, before he could even unleash his Soul Skill, he suddenly froze.
Huo Yuhao stood still, without moving an inch, and his Spirit Domain silently expanded.
In an instant, the Purple Soul Ring that had been lit at the feet of the person opposite him went out like a candle flame blown out by the wind.
The man's eyes instantly became unfocused and vacant, his pupils lost their focus, as if all his consciousness and will had been drained away, leaving only an empty shell standing there.
Huo Yuhao stepped forward slowly and took the Conferred God Sealing Platform from the man's outstretched palm.
His movements were very gentle; when the tray fell into his palm, his fingertips touched something icy cold.
Huo Yuhao lowered his head and carefully examined the God Sealing Platform in his hand.
He discovered an extremely fine crack on the outer wall of the God Sealing Platform near the bottom, almost invisible without close inspection.
And that Sisi cold aura was seeping out from this crack in wisps.
Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that an Ice Attribute Soul Beast was sealed inside?
Just as he thought of this, a sharp and excited voice suddenly exploded in his mind.
"It's Snow Empress! It's Snow Empress!"
Ice Empress's voice was almost a shout, completely devoid of his usual feigned composure.
Her voice carried an emotion that Huo Yuhao rarely heard from her: excitement, disbelief, and a barely perceptible hint of panic.
"No wonder I couldn't sense the Snow Empress's presence back in the Extreme North! She was captured by humans?!"
"How is this possible? With the Snow Empress's cultivation level, how could a human possibly be her match?"
She seemed to suddenly remember something, her voice abruptly halting, then becoming even more indignant. "That's right! During the auction, they said they made their move while the Soul Beast Transformation! Despicable! Utterly despicable!"
Huo Yuhao listened to the series of shouts from the Ice Empress in his mind, silently digesting the information.
His fingers tightened slightly around the God Sealing Platform, his gaze lingering on the crack for a moment before he asked himself, "Can I be sure it's the Snow Empress?"
Ice Empress managed to suppress her incoherent excitement within a few short moments.
Her voice steadied again, and she said earnestly, "It's definitely her. I've known the Snow Empress for tens of thousands of years in the Extreme North. I can recognize her aura even with my eyes closed. There's absolutely no mistake!"