But Long Xiaoyao frowned. He didn't want to see Shrek Academy destroyed, much less his old friend buried along with it.
But as the Holy Spirit Cult's chief enshrined, he couldn't very well stop this from happening.
"I need to go to the Star Luo Empire and investigate this child's parents and older brother."
The child's hatred stemmed from the brutal deaths of his parents and older brother. Long Xiaoyao needed to start there and see if he could find a way to ease the boy's hatred of Shrek Academy.
"Come with me, little Holy Son. I'm very interested in how you make those explosives.
Oh, and bring that girl along."
Feng Ling's smile grew brighter. She had thought the girl was their greatest prize, but she'd been mistaken. This little one was the real treasure.
"Of course, pretty big sister."
Yang Hao obediently followed, grabbing the girl by the ankle and dragging her along.
Hearing something amiss, Feng Ling turned around. Her eyelids twitched.
This child really had no idea how to treat a young lady gently!
"Long Xiaoyao, according to the intelligence we've received, Dragon God Douluo isn't in good health. He doesn't have many years left.
It's time for the continent to be unified and for these endless wars to finally end."
After the three had left, Zhongli Wu spoke.
He knew the chief enshrined was close to Dragon God Douluo of Shrek Academy. That was why Long Xiaoyao had spoken up earlier.
He didn't want Long Xiaoyao to stand in the way of their development and the unification that would come in the future.
This was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity for the Holy Spirit Cult. They couldn't afford to let it slip away.
"Don't make a move before Mu En is gone. Besides, these things all take time to build up. If we expose ourselves too soon, the Holy Spirit Cult will become the target of everyone's hostility. Then we'll have to face a united assault from the four great empires and Shrek Academy."
Long Xiaoyao stated his bottom line. For now, all he could do was stall.
"I understand."
Relieved, Zhongli Wu nodded, promising not to rush things. There was no sense in rushing, anyway.
Developing and perfecting the explosives and weapons would take time. Training the legions would take time, as would gathering and stockpiling materials. None of it could be hurried.
After receiving an urgent summons from the headquarters, all the Holy Spirit Cult elders within the Sun Moon Empire rushed back.
"Cult Master, did you call us back in such a hurry because you're planning some major move?"
An elder asked. The others looked equally grave.
They hadn't held an emergency meeting like this in a long time. Something serious must have happened.
"We are planning some major moves. Our development strategy needs to change, starting now. Here's the plan. Take a look."
As Zhongli Wu spoke, he used Soul Power to float a thick plan in front of each elder. They would be the ones carrying it out.
"Large-Scale Pig-Raising Plan?"
"Postpartum Care for Sows?"
"The Best Diet for Fattening Pigs?"
The elders opened the plans. But when they saw the first plan and the table of contents that followed, they were dumbfounded.
They'd assumed the Cult Master planned to attack one of the four great empires or Shrek Academy. Who could have guessed he wanted them to raise pigs?
They were the greatest organization of Evil Soul Masters in the world. Why were they raising pigs now?
Something was seriously off!
Everyone stared blankly, then turned toward the Cult Master at the head of the table. Some even wondered if an impostor had taken his place.
Under their gazes, Zhongli Wu felt awkward and helpless.
The child had provided several types of explosives. One of them, Gelatin Dynamite, required grease as a raw material. Zhongli Wu had even gone to see the manufacturing process himself.
He didn't understand the principles behind it, but it really was made from grease.
After several days of discussion and research, they had determined that pigs yielded the most grease of all the animals they could raise—and were the easiest to keep.
They'd even brought in a few pig farmers to collect and record their experience. The section on postpartum care for sows was one of the results.
From now on, the Holy Spirit Cult would have to reinvent itself.
They were going to become pig-raising big shots!
### The New Persona
Leaving aside Zhongli Wu, who had resolved to become a pig-raising big shot, Yang Hao was devoting himself to research—or, more accurately, to copying the modern weapons he'd seen in his previous life.
He only knew the basic ideas behind many of them, but that wasn't a problem. The weapons in his previous life had all been developed and refined bit by bit, too.
The Douluo Continent had plenty of talented people, especially in the Sun Moon Empire, where the Soul Engineer system was highly developed. They could bring his ideas to life.
He had also refined the few powerful weapons he'd made earlier, greatly improving their accuracy and power. He'd even painstakingly built a machine tool and a sniper rifle scope.
He had to admit, this world's Soul Tool system was quite impressive.
With Soul Tools to help, copying some modern weapons was much easier.
They already had explosives. Now they only needed to work out how to launch the shells faster and more accurately. They could simply copy the existing Soul Guidance Cannon shells for that.
Then there was how Storage Soul Tools could support modern weapons. In his previous life, transportation had been a serious constraint on their use.
Shells were heavy and had to be handled carefully. A bump could damage the guidance components inside, and some could even explode. They could also be spotted, intercepted, and destroyed by the enemy.
With Storage Soul Tools, none of that was a problem anymore.
Even the lowest-grade Storage Soul Tool could carry a large quantity of bullets and shells, greatly boosting a force's firepower and endurance.
A combat squad needed only one person with a Storage Soul Tool to unleash overwhelming firepower against the enemy and claim victory.
Without the limitations of ammunition resupply, the squad would also become far more mobile, giving it a considerable advantage on the battlefield.
"Fire!"
Inside a vast cavern a hundred meters wide and a thousand meters long, Yang Hao stood behind cover wearing soundproof earmuffs. He gave the order to launch the newly developed Cluster Bomb at over a hundred heavily armored pigs.
A five-meter-long missile launched, its casing quickly splitting apart to scatter more than a hundred fist-sized bombs. Inertia carried them downward, and they slammed into the ground.
They exploded the instant they hit. The flames from more than a hundred simultaneous blasts swallowed everything, while shrapnel whipped through the area in a storm of metal.
The pigs were devastated. Their heavy armor shattered, and the blast waves grievously damaged their internal organs. They died in an instant.
"Dissect those pigs and collect precise data. Then we can make targeted improvements."
Yang Hao took off his earmuffs and gestured for them to inspect the results. They could even dissect the poor pigs and have them for an extra meal afterward.
"Judging by the sound of the explosions, it seems some of them failed to detonate. The contact triggers might not be sensitive enough. We can improve that. Next time, we'll make sure every single one explodes."
The assistant beside him, who was taking notes, looked feverish with excitement. This was the true art of war!
"Why improve them?"
Yang Hao asked. Then he turned and walked toward Long Xiaoyao, who was watching from nearby.
The assistant froze. It took him a good while to understand, and then he shuddered.
No wonder he'd become the Holy Son. He was too ruthless, too terrifying!
"Great Enshrined, you wanted to see me?"
When Yang Hao reached Long Xiaoyao, he glanced at Tai Jingang, whom Long Xiaoyao had tossed aside, and guessed why he'd been summoned.
"Child, you've sunk too deeply into hatred."
Long Xiaoyao sighed as he looked at the pigs lying dead and mangled in the distance.
Hatred had consumed the child, driving him to develop all these vicious weapons. Who knew what terrifying weapons he might create in the future?
Yang Hao said nothing, quietly waiting to hear what Long Xiaoyao had to say.
"I went to the Star Luo Empire and investigated the matter myself. I also captured this man and interrogated him. Your parents were indeed framed by him back then. But the Shrek Inspectorate only received word of it afterward, and then carried out the mission to pursue your parents. They were used by him..."
Long Xiaoyao didn't want the child to remain so hostile toward Shrek, much less see Shrek Academy destroyed.
That was why he'd captured Tai Jingang and brought him here, hoping to ease the hatred in the child's heart.
"Did you come from Shrek Academy, Great Enshrined?"
After Long Xiaoyao finished, Yang Hao looked puzzled.
"I just have a friend at Shrek Academy. Besides, the continent needs Shrek Academy to maintain order. Without it, the entire continent would descend into chaos, and many people would die."
Long Xiaoyao understood the current state of the continent all too well. Shrek Academy couldn't be allowed to disappear.
Yang Hao gave a look of understanding, then asked, "Great Enshrined, do you think I'm doing this just for revenge?"
Long Xiaoyao was taken aback. Wasn't he?
"Our Yang family has fought on the battlefield for generations. My grandfathers on both sides died in battle. My second uncle and aunt were killed before they even married. My great-grandfather's generation also died young."
After recounting the sacrifices his family had made, Yang Hao took out a history book of the continent.
"From this history book, I learned that during the continent's ten-thousand-year history, all kinds of wars have raged without end. On average, tens of thousands of people have died each year, directly or indirectly, because of war.
"There are many causes of war. Some I don't understand, but they all stem from disputes between nations.
"As long as there's more than one nation, there will be disputes and wars. So why not destroy every nation and leave just one? Then there won't be any more wars, and the bloodshed and loss of life will finally stop."
He laid out his principles in a simple, direct way, fitting the mindset of someone his age.
It was also part of the persona he was building: a pure, extremist avenger was dangerous and would naturally put people on guard.
Take Bibi Dong a millennium ago, for example. She'd been mentally unstable, so he needed to show that he was rational and had a clear set of principles.
Long Xiaoyao was stunned. He wanted to argue, but couldn't think of what to say.
War had indeed continued without end.
Before the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent, the two great empires on the Douluo Continent had been at war constantly. The Heaven Dou Empire had even split in two.
After the Sun Moon Continent collided with and merged into the Douluo Continent, the fighting moved here, and its intensity increased dramatically. Countless people had died over the millennia.
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