This really was a headache. Whether to tell anyone or not was a huge problem. Keeping something this valuable to himself would eat at him, but telling anyone meant a whole pile of problems waiting for him. How to say it and whom to tell were both issues, and a whole string of other problems would follow. That clashed with the plan to focus on steady growth. Huo Yuhao shouldn't be dragged into complications right now. Wang Yi's plan was for him to cultivate properly and build a solid foundation. Everything else could wait until he reached five rings.
But the situation clearly couldn't wait. They had to come up with a solution, and that meant those who depended on Huo Yuhao would have to play the bad guys. Huo Yuhao had finally started a new life, and whether or not it was built on a volcano's edge, they wouldn't let anyone ruin it. He had made his first friend, and everything was moving in a good direction.
Anyone who touched him would die. After all, none of these great families were any good. By that, they didn't mean that no one among them was a good person in the moral sense. It wasn't that not a single person was kind. Everyone had both kindness and cruelty in them; it was simply a matter of which side took the lead. The person shaped by the two was what we called human.
But the kindness of those at the very top was all fake. Anyone who was truly kind would gravitate toward the working masses and betray their own class. You could give students the benefit of the doubt, but if you'd been part of the ruling class for years and still claimed to be a good person, who were you trying to fool, a child? So Wang Yi could convince himself and explain it all to Huo Yuhao in the future. Then Huo Yuhao could choose his own path—that would be up to him. A master could show you the door, but your cultivation depended on you. What you learned and what you did would be your choice, though in the end, you'd still be limited by the era you lived in.
"Tian Meng, let's go back the way we came and pay that old man a visit."
Tian Meng, who had looked completely baffled, snapped to attention, and his bright, lively eyes filled with visible alarm. "Why should I go? You're special, so nothing will happen to you. I still have a useful body and ambitions to pursue. Why would I throw my life away?" Tian Meng still hadn't learned the essence of humanity. If Wang Yi had said it, he would have made it sound righteous and impassioned. He just wasn't shameless enough.
So Tian Meng went to find Huo Yuhao, who was in class, while Wang Yi went to negotiate with the unfathomable old man. Tian Meng gave up thinking altogether and handed the job of speaking with humans over to Wang Yi. After all, he was just a bug; it was asking too much of him.
Wang Yi drifted back into the academy. He'd talked a big game, saying he could handle it himself, but now that the moment had come, he was a little nervous. Even if the highest authority in the land wasn't afraid, reason was the only thing telling him not to be. All those years of emotion and uncertainty told him there was still something to fear. He could either stick his neck out and get cut down or pull it back and get cut down anyway. He took the plunge!
Wang Yi suddenly teleported to the old man's recliner. They found themselves face-to-face, and both were startled. He'd put in so much force that even Wang Yi hadn't expected himself to be capable of it. Still, the teleportation left him noticeably tired. He'd better use it less in the future. At least it might help intimidate the old man.
"Ahem. I have some news. Would you like to hear it?"
"I'm old. I'm not all that interested in hearing secrets anymore. Knowing some things is just a nuisance. Worry wears you out and is bad for your health; it can shorten your life. But I'd still like to hear your secret."
Neither man knew who the other was, yet they started talking all the same. Wang Yi pretended not to notice the old man's probing and went straight into the matter of treason. As far as Shrek was concerned, the matter could be big or small. There was no need to make a fuss over it. Wang Yi hadn't expected Shrek to take care of it for him, either. In the end, you had to handle your own problems. You'd meet a miserable end if you expected others to take pity on you.
Wang Yi only wanted Shrek to turn a blind eye. The assassination itself wasn't the problem; what came after was. So many people would die, and someone would have to answer for it. The White Tiger Family, as the party behind the assassination, would certainly be in the wrong, but they would still negotiate with Shrek Academy. That was when the academy needed to remain silent. It didn't need to condemn the other side; there was nothing to be gained from that. But silence itself was a stance. Shrek had always stayed out of such vendettas, so remaining silent this time would amount to condemning the side that had suffered the loss.
It was a simple case of the bully-tiger principle. The bully-tiger might seem to have lots of ways to handle things, but in reality, there were only two: help the bully-tiger or fight back against it. There was no third option. Silence was the strongest form of support. Huo Yuhao had the honor of being the bully-tiger this time, though he didn't know it himself. It hadn't happened yet, but the best solution was to talk in advance and agree on how to handle it. Until you'd overturned the established order, it was best to play by its rules.
Wang Yi wanted to give Huo Yuhao an environment where he could grow, and this was the best place for that. The only other place on the continent with opportunities was the Sun Moon Empire, but that was a world of Soul Tools. Huo Yuhao's goal was to become a god, so his own strength had to be paramount. This left only Shrek. No matter the cost, as long as they could afford it, he had to study here. A good learning environment was important. That meant negotiation and compromise were unavoidable.
The old man was powerful—powerful enough to be one of the continent's top Soul Masters. That was both a danger and an opportunity. It was crucial to establish a solid channel of communication with him. Plenty of people would pay any price for the chance to say even one word to someone of his standing, and still never get the opportunity. So as long as it didn't affect their core interests, they could give him everything else.
But to Wang Yi's surprise, the old man showed no sign of surprise when he heard about the treason. He was completely calm.
Then again, that made sense. He had told Wang Yi and Tian Meng where they ought to go, which revealed his inclinations. He had to know something. But at his level, he couldn't simply do whatever he wanted. He was already old. He couldn't be as vigorous as he'd been when young, full of ambition and ready to defy the established order. He surely had plenty of younger generations beneath him.
Besides, the news of a rebellion wasn't important. What mattered was the specific plan and timing. You could get as much news like that as you wanted. The important thing was getting people to believe it and making sure your own interests were served as much as possible.
"Thank you for the news. I'll tell them to be on their guard. As long as things don't get too out of hand, the academy won't concern itself with them. These are troubled times."
And with that, the conversation was over. Wang Yi didn't get the chance to say anything else. At first, he hadn't understood. A moment later, he realized what the old man meant. What a roundabout way of putting it. He'd stated so tactfully that the academy wouldn't get involved in the dispute between Huo Yuhao and the White Tiger Family. Any further communication would depend on Huo Yuhao's performance—and even more on those who lived in his Sea of Spirit.
"Ugh, Tian Meng still has tasks to handle later. He shouldn't push himself too hard at this stage. That leaves Electrolux. I hope he'll honor his promise," Wang Yi muttered helplessly to himself.
Time flew by, and before long, the week of classes was over. Huo Yuhao had felt busy these past few days, but he had no idea what he'd been busy doing. He seemed to have studied both combat and theory, yet it also felt as though he'd learned nothing at all. His mind was in a fog, and he had no sense of direction.
But that was all behind him now. The weekly break had arrived, and a feeling of deep relaxation spread from within him until he couldn't bring himself to move. It was as if the ocean of knowledge had filled him to the brim. But he only needed to take it easy for a little while; he still had a promise to keep.
He and Bei Bei and Tang Ya had agreed to meet once a week, and it was time to keep that promise. This time, the ultimate big spender would be paying for the meal again. It was about time they let him see the results of his investment. They couldn't let him put up the money without getting to see anything, could they? Better yet, they should let him experience it for himself. That was what Bei Bei had told Huo Yuhao.
As Huo Yuhao left Shrek Academy and headed for the restaurant, he reached a sparsely populated area. The moment he stepped into a narrow alley, he felt that something was wrong. The feeling came out of nowhere. His view of the world shifted from flat to three-dimensional, and the scene he perceived with his mind seemed utterly devoid of emotion.
All that remained was a warning from deep within his spirit: danger. Huo Yuhao couldn't see anything that might harm him, but he still followed his instincts and tensed up, slowly bringing himself into a state of readiness. His long-dormant Spirit Eye began to reveal its power. Spiritual Detection activated silently and clearly. All the while, Huo Yuhao kept walking as if nothing was wrong, not letting anything show on his face.
Spiritual Detection soon reached its maximum range. Sure enough, he sensed an intermittent trace of killing intent. Without Huo Yuhao's extraordinary perception, it would have been almost impossible to detect. These were the most elite assassins. Any assassin of a higher level wouldn't enter Shrek Academy; that would cross the academy's bottom line. Assassins of that caliber could threaten important figures. Huo Yuhao wasn't important enough to warrant one of them. A job like that cost a great deal, and mere money wouldn't be enough to tempt one. Only a rare treasure could do that.
The bad news was that a number of mid-level assassins had come—six in all. By rule, Titled Douluo who hadn't been invited weren't allowed into Shrek City. Someone would stop such powerful figures from entering. So the Sun Moon Empire hadn't made a major move. This time, they wanted to kill Huo Yuhao before anyone could react and complete the mission. As for their relationship with Shrek, it couldn't get any worse anyway. Shrek knew the Sun Moon Empire was only a front, with someone else behind it. They'd worked together several times before.
Huo Yuhao's palms grew sweaty. He couldn't decide whether to go forward or turn back. This was his first time being targeted for assassination. Reason told him to turn around and run, but he had a promise to keep. As he hesitated, Spiritual Detection picked out the assassins' figures. Five of them showed no reaction to it, but one frowned immediately, sensing that something was wrong.
This was the first time Spiritual Detection had run into trouble. Normally, no one could detect it while it was in use, but something seemed to have gone wrong this time. Someone had noticed something, which greatly weakened its ability to catch people off guard. Still, most people wouldn't have the chance to notice the anomaly. Anyone who could spot it was sure to have a talent for spiritual power.
"Attack." The assassin who'd noticed the anomaly didn't wait any longer. He immediately ordered them to kill Huo Yuhao before anything could go wrong.
Before you continue