Human Emperor Banner, Complete!

"I want to teach Huo Yuhao."

Zhao Ze set down his teacup, his tone flat yet carrying an unquestionable certainty.

The smile on Jing Hongchen's face stiffened abruptly, his eyes filled with astonishment:

"Huo Yuhao? Are you talking about that exchange student from Shrek, Huo Yuhao?"

He never expected that this mysterious Level 8 Soul Master would bypass the academy's own core disciples to specifically request to teach a student from a rival academy.

"That is correct."

Zhao Ze nodded.

"I had heard of his exploits before I arrived; he swept through the Shrek outer courtyard single-handedly and possesses extraordinary talent in Soul Tools. Such a promising seedling—if taught by me, his future achievements will be limitless."

Jing Hongchen furrowed his brows, his fingers tapping the tabletop unconsciously as he fell into deep thought.

Letting a powerhouse from an unknown reclusive sect teach a genius from Shrek? This sounded rather risky indeed.

Yet, upon second thought, he felt this might not be a bad thing. He knew the Soul Tool circles of the three great empires of the Douluo Continent like the back of his hand, and the spies he had planted in the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul empires had never reported the existence of such a young Level 8 Soul Master.

The three empires combined had fewer than five Level 8 Soul Masters, and every one of them was an elder who had been famous for years; it was impossible for them to be this young man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Viewed in this light, the probability of Zhao Ze coming from a reclusive sect was extremely high.

Letting him teach Huo Yuhao would kill two birds with one stone. He could verify the true capabilities of this mysterious Level 8 Soul Master while simultaneously using his hands to probe Huo Yuhao's background and potential. If he could incidentally make both of them develop a sense of belonging to the Sun Moon Empire, that would be an even greater boon.

"Very well."

Jing Hongchen made his decision quickly and said with a smile.

"Since Mr. Zhao Ze has taken a liking to Huo Yuhao, I will assign him to your class. Starting tomorrow, he is your student."

Jing Hongchen turned his head and instructed Lin Jiayi, who was standing to the side:

"Jiayi, take Mr. Zhao Ze to Laboratory No. 3 of the Soul Guidance Department; Huo Yuhao should be there familiarizing himself with the equipment."

"Yes, Hall Master."

Lin Jiayi replied respectfully, then gestured for Zhao Ze to follow.

"Mr. Zhao Ze, please come with me."

The two walked through the long corridor and arrived at the experimental zone of the Soul Guidance Department.

From a distance, they saw the door to Laboratory No. 3 standing open. A figure was hunched over an experimental bench, focused on tinkering with a pile of Soul Tool components, not even noticing as people approached.

"Student Huo Yuhao."

Lin Jiayi called out softly.

Huo Yuhao jerked his head up. When he saw Zhao Ze beside Lin Jiayi, a flash of imperceptible surprise crossed his eyes, but he immediately composed himself, stood up, and bowed respectfully:

"Director Lin."

Lin Jiayi introduced them with a smile:

"Yuhao, this is Mr. Zhao Ze. Starting today, he will be your exclusive mentor. Mr. Zhao Ze is a top-tier Level 8 Soul Master on the continent; it is your good fortune to receive his guidance."

"Greetings, Teacher."

Huo Yuhao bowed again, his tone filled with utmost respect.

Zhao Ze looked at him, a gentle smile curling at the corners of his mouth:

"Huo Yuhao, from today on, I will teach you about Soul Tools. What I teach will be very difficult; you must be mentally prepared."

"Please rest assured, Teacher, I will certainly not let you down."

Huo Yuhao said earnestly.

Seeing that the two had met, Lin Jiayi smiled and said:

"I'll leave you two to talk, then; I won't disturb you further. Mr. Zhao Ze, feel free to find me if you need anything."

Lin Jiayi turned and left, closing the laboratory door behind him.

The moment the door shut, the seriousness on Huo Yuhao's face vanished instantly, replaced by an excited grin:

"Master, you are too incredible! You actually managed to sneak in as a teacher, and you even became my exclusive mentor! Does Jing Hongchen really trust you that much?"

Zhao Ze walked over to the sofa and sat down, picking up a Soul Tool component from the table to toy with it, and shook his head:

"It is merely a preliminary trust.

That old fox is incredibly shrewd; while he is enthusiastic toward me on the surface, he has undoubtedly already dispatched people to investigate me behind my back. It won't be long before we find ourselves surrounded by many prying eyes."

This was also part of Zhao Ze's plan.

The body he currently inhabited had been reconstructed from the remains of a hundred-thousand-year-old undead creature.

By utilizing necromancy to reshape its flesh, blood, and meridians, he had made it appear identical to a living person, even perfectly simulating the fluctuations of soul power.

Unless a Limit Douluo were to personally investigate, no one would be able to discover the flaw.

In this way, he could openly and legitimately gain access to the core technologies of Mingde Hall.

"Pack up, and come with me to Mingde Hall."

Zhao Ze stood up.

"The rare metals and core materials I requested should be ready by now. It is time to initiate one of my trump card inventions."

Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up, and he blurted out:

"Master, is it the Human Emperor Banner you mentioned before?"

"That's right." Zhao Ze nodded, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

The two locked the laboratory and headed straight toward Mingde Hall.

As the heart of the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology, Mingde Hall was heavily guarded, and the air was thick with heavy energy fluctuations.

However, holding the highest-level authorization token personally signed by Jing Hongchen, Zhao Ze passed through without obstruction, even entering and exiting the most restricted material vaults at will.

Zhao Ze's fingers traced the material list, and the disciples guarding the vault dared not show the slightest negligence, hurriedly packing up all the requested items.

Passing by the Mingde Hall library, Zhao Ze paused and turned to say to Huo Yuhao:

"Wait for me outside."

He pushed open the door and walked into the library, heading straight for the deepest section dedicated to Level 9 Soul Tools.

The books here were sealed by soul tool barriers, which no one could open except for Jing Hongchen and a few other Level 9 Soul Masters.

But with a mere wave of his hand, Zhao Ze's invisible spiritual power silently cracked the barriers.

He tucked a dozen ancient texts recording the core principles of Level 9 Soul Tools into his storage soul tool.

The entire process took no more than three seconds, triggering no alarms whatsoever.

"Let's go."

Zhao Ze walked out of the library as if nothing had happened.

Huo Yuhao looked at the light storage bag in his hand and understood immediately.

Master had taken the opportunity to empty out the very best technology Mingde Hall had to offer.

Back in the laboratory, Electrolux had been waiting for a long time within the Sea of Consciousness.

He looked at the mountain of rare materials piled on the table, stroked his beard, and smiled:

"We can finally begin. This Human Emperor Banner will surely shock the entire continent."

In the days that followed, the two immersed themselves completely in the laboratory.

Zhao Ze personally crafted the main body of the Human Emperor Banner while teaching Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao's soul master rank improved at a visible rate; in just three months, he broke through from the peak of Level 4 to Level 6, becoming the youngest Level 6 Soul Master in the history of the continent.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Early one morning, as the first rays of sunlight spilled through the window into the laboratory, Huo Yuhao suddenly opened his eyes.

"Level 45! Finally, a breakthrough!"

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, his face full of excitement.

This half-year of arduous training had not only caused his soul tool skills to advance by leaps and bounds, but his soul power had also steadily climbed from Level 40 to Level 45.

"Congratulations, Yuhao."

Zhao Ze's voice drifted over.

Huo Yuhao looked up to see Zhao Ze holding a long banner, pitch-black in its entirety.

The shaft was forged from a mixture of Star Iron and Nether Crystal, covered in dense, golden runes.

A terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble slowly emanated from the banner.