The Eye of Destiny Evolves

The Eye of Destiny Evolves

At the same time, Huo Yuhao had just finished demonstrating Spiritual Detection Sharing for Xuan Ziwen.

"You have a skill like this?" Xuan Ziwen asked, his voice tinged with surprise. He had read the student's file beforehand. Although Jing Hongchen had strongly recommended Huo Yuhao, Xuan Ziwen was very particular about who he took on.

He had also noticed that Huo Yuhao's file said he came from the Heaven Dou Empire.

"I think the Hall Master should be glad you're not a Heavenly Soul spy," Xuan Ziwen said with a laugh. "Otherwise, you might have seen all the academy's Soul Tool technology and handed it over to the Soul Engineer Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire."

"As far as I know, the Heaven Dou Empire doesn't have a decent Soul Engineer Academy," Huo Yuhao replied with a knowing smile.

"My ancestral home is actually in the Heaven Dou Empire." Having recognized Huo Yuhao's abilities, Xuan Ziwen naturally opened up. As he continued working, he said, "There are many reasons people immigrate to Sun Moon. For me, being able to freely develop Soul Tools was an important one. What brought you here?"

"I'll be honest with you, Teacher. I'm not actually from the Heaven Dou Empire. I only got an exit permit from there with Wang Dong's help." Huo Yuhao decided to reveal part of the truth. "I was born in the Star Luo Empire, but unfortunately, I had an irresponsible father. I left home after my mother passed away. Because of my family situation, I don't really belong anywhere, and I couldn't stay in any of the Douluo Three Kingdoms. I happened to meet friends like Chi Qiu and Wang Dong, so I came here with them to study."

"Seems it was fate," Xuan Ziwen sighed. "At least the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy doesn't really care about your background. It only cares about your abilities. Though I've heard some rumors lately. I don't know the details."

"What happened?" Huo Yuhao had a vague idea that it was related to Wang Dong being provoked the other day. Xiao Hongchen hadn't looked happy about it.

"I heard Zimu and the others mention that they're rechecking the backgrounds of some students." Xuan Ziwen didn't seem particularly interested in the topic. "The students probably know more than I do. I haven't left the lab building in ages."

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched slightly. Teacher Xuan really was a research fanatic. Still, he was glad to have a teacher like that guiding him. Then again, he was a study and cultivation fanatic himself.

At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to notice Ju Zi stiffen slightly when she heard them talking about it.

Normally, he would never have noticed such a subtle detail that no one else could detect. But someone had warned him not to get too close to Ju Zi, so he was constantly on his guard around her. He felt bad about it, but he was more inclined to trust the voice in his mind.

But now that he had noticed, Huo Yuhao's thoughts shifted ever so slightly. Maybe there really was something wrong.

Wang Shaojie cut into their conversation. "Hmph. It's one thing for Xiao Hongchen to act so high and mighty all the time, but now he's involved in this, too? Does he think he's somebody? How old is he?"

Zimu chimed in. "If we didn't know he was related to Dean Hongchen, he'd probably get a beating from those fifth- and sixth-ring students. He's only at the fourth ring himself."

"Anyway, if he comes after me, I won't cooperate," said a young woman named Keke. "I'll only answer questions if a teacher investigates me."

Ju Zi remained silent.

Huo Yuhao hesitated before speaking. "Uh... It seems like everyone has a pretty poor impression of Brother Xiao?"

"Even his own little sister can't stand him." After saying that, Wang Shaojie spat into the trash can.

"Keep things clean," Xuan Ziwen scolded, but he didn't stop them from talking about Jing Hongchen's grandson.

"You still call him 'Brother'?" Keke turned and leaned over the back of her chair. "He's only fourteen, right? And you're almost twelve, Junior Brother Huo? You're not that far apart. You're both kids. He's just more of a show-off."

"He is a bit of a show-off..." Huo Yuhao touched his ear. He thought Xiao Hongchen was actually a pretty nice person.

But even Xuan Ziwen wasn't stopping them from talking about Jing Hongchen's grandson. It seemed Xiao Hongchen's reputation around the academy really wasn't very good.

While everyone worked and chatted, someone knocked on the lab door again. A familiar voice came from outside.

"Teacher Xuan, it's Teacher Yu. One of my students needs to see Huo Yuhao. Right now."

"Got it. Yuhao, go see your classmate." In the short time they'd known each other, Xuan Ziwen had already grown more familiar with Huo Yuhao.

"All right." Huo Yuhao gave a quick bow and hurried to the door. The only person who would be in such a rush to see him was probably Chi Qiu.

Sure enough, when he opened the door, he saw that familiar head of beautiful blond hair. But something seemed different about Chi Qiu.

"Yuhao, come with me." Chi Qiu grabbed him and pulled him out.

"Qiu'er?" Huo Yuhao was dragged a few steps, bewildered. He hurriedly glanced back at Yu Rufeng. "Teacher Yu, um, I'll be going!"

"Go ahead," Yu Rufeng said with a nod.

Though he didn't know why Chi Qiu was in such a hurry to call Huo Yuhao over, Yu Rufeng didn't ask for now. He guessed his Soul Skill might have stirred some power within Chi Qiu. Perhaps she was in such a rush to get Huo Yuhao alone because they were going to use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill...

What he didn't know was that Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu already had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"Back to the woods?" Huo Yuhao glanced at the surrounding pines and cypresses. "Qiu'er, what secret power are you going to share with me this time?"

"Why would you put it like that?" Chi Qiu gave him a displeased look. "What do you mean, 'secret power'?"

"I mean exactly what I said." Huo Yuhao smiled. "You can't let anyone know who you are, after all. Wang Dong isn't coming?"

"I'm not bringing her this time. She has special training with Teacher Yu later."

"Special training? Teacher Yu called you in for special training?" Huo Yuhao was a little surprised, but he quickly realized it made sense.

"You're included, too," Chi Qiu said. "You're going to be busy now: second-year classes, Teacher Xuan's training, and Teacher Yu's training."

"That's fine. Learning something is what matters." Huo Yuhao didn't seem to mind the heavier workload.

"So, Qiu'er, what power are you going to share with me?"

Chi Qiu placed her hands on his shoulders and stepped back until there was an arm's length between them. "Look at this," she said.

A golden light shimmered on her forehead as she released her Martial Soul. Huo Yuhao immediately froze. The aura emanating from the Vertical Eye atop Chi Qiu's head was vastly different from before.

Before, the Power of Destiny had been domineering, but still carried a hint of gentleness. Now, the third eye released nothing but overwhelming pressure, and it had turned completely blood-red.

"Qiu'er, what is this...?" Huo Yuhao exclaimed.

Faced with that pressure, Huo Yuhao didn't feel threatened. Instead, he was deeply moved by the evolution of Chi Qiu's power. That was because he couldn't sense even the slightest hostility in it.

"The result of special training," Chi Qiu said vaguely. "I'm upgrading the Eye of Destiny I gave you, too."

Huo Yuhao understood immediately and opened his own jade-green third eye. The moment the two colors met, dazzling radiance blossomed between them like a flower.

A huge surge was already churning through Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness. Thanks to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm standing guard, the waves didn't grow too wild. But Tian Meng didn't resist them, either. He could tell they would do Huo Yuhao good and no harm.

Above the Sea of Consciousness, the jade-green sun had more than doubled in size.

Huo Yuhao carefully sensed the power flowing between him and Chi Qiu. He didn't know where it came from, but its ancient aura still left him shaken.

"Qiu'er, was this from special training? It feels more like a fortuitous encounter!" Huo Yuhao couldn't help saying.

"Do I need fortuitous encounters? I'm the Emperor Lucky Beast."

"Then I'll be counting on you to let me share more of your good fortune, Qiu'er," Huo Yuhao joked.

***