The Birth of an Acting Genius

"Huo Yuhao? Are you still there? What exactly happened inside?"

Outside the passageway, the anxious calls of the Light of Truth members came through intermittently via their mental link.

The devastating power within Huo Yuhao's newly steadied body was still surging and roaring, not yet fully tamed.

He had to deal with the scene immediately. Otherwise, Sky Dream Iceworm's existence would be exposed without a doubt!

"Sky Dream, is there a way to completely conceal your aura? And this temple—the energy fluctuations are too strong." Huo Yuhao quickly asked within his sea of consciousness.

"Tch, what a trivial matter!"

Within the [Thought Palace], the chibi silkworm baby yawned, wearing an expression that said, You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

"My spiritual origin is now deeply bound to yours. As long as you don't deliberately expose it, no one will be able to detect the slightest clue from you! As for this lousy temple..."

Sky Dream Iceworm chuckled. "Easy! Pull the rug out from under it, then throw in a little misdirection. I guarantee they'll think this place is nothing but ruins!"

"How?"

"Your spiritual power is strong enough now. Control the core of that formation! Drain all its remaining energy, then reverse its operation and make part of its structure collapse on itself. Make it look like it decayed after its energy ran dry! Hurry, I'll teach you!"

Huo Yuhao did not hesitate. His immense spiritual power shot into the complex formation beneath his feet like invisible tentacles!

Bzzzz—!

The mysterious lines across the temple floor lit up once again, but this time, their glow was wildly unstable, flickering between bright and dim.

"Right there! That core node! Yes, drain it dry!"

Under Sky Dream Iceworm's guidance, Huo Yuhao precisely located the formation's energy hub.

With a thought, a massive suction force erupted from the hub!

The radiance flowing across the temple walls and floor rushed toward the core like rivers converging on the sea. In the end, all of it was devoured by Huo Yuhao, becoming nourishment for his sea of consciousness.

Crack... crack-crack...

Without energy to support them, the formation lines built from ten-thousand-year black ice began to fracture, releasing groans of unbearable strain.

The once-dazzling temple rapidly dimmed. Only remnants of energy remained, drifting through the air like fireflies before swiftly going dark.

The entire space became silent and desolate, as though it had been abandoned by time for countless millennia.

"Perfect!" Sky Dream Iceworm whistled. "Now, even if they come in with magnifying glasses, they'll only think someone got here first and drained this place clean!"

But that was not enough.

Huo Yuhao considered the matter calmly.

He could not return empty-handed. He needed to bring back a "result"—one sufficient to silence everyone while buying him time.

"[Thought Palace], begin deduction."

"Task: Based on the Ancient Elven Star Vein Resonance Formation and Sky Dream's memory bank, create a batch of 'pseudo-runes' that appear profound and impossible to decipher, while still possessing research value."

[Command received... Constructing model...]

[Filtering data... Removing structures that can be analyzed using existing soul tool theory...]

[Introducing "Chaos Algorithm" encryption...]

[Generating three sets of "pseudo-rune" fragments, corresponding to energy conduction, spatial positioning, and spiritual resonance...]

[Generation complete!]

It took less than three seconds!

Three design blueprints for rune stone tablets appeared in Huo Yuhao's mind, their structures incomparably complex and suffused with an ancient, primordial aura.

He extended a hand, using his vast spiritual power to manipulate the lingering ice elements in the air.

Chunks of shattered black ice flew before him. Under the carving blade of his spiritual power, those immensely intricate runes were precisely replicated onto them!

After finishing, he casually tossed the three "freshly minted antiques" into different corners of the temple, then used residual energy ripples to bury them slightly, making them look completely authentic.

"Fuck..." Sky Dream Iceworm watched the entire process and was utterly dumbfounded.

"Kid, that brain of yours... it would be a waste not to use it to scam people! The Oscars owe you a little golden statue!"

"That's called professionalism," Huo Yuhao replied calmly.

He had already devised a flawless explanation.

After straightening his slightly disheveled clothes, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and walked toward the passageway exit.

When he reappeared before Tu Feng and the others, everyone was startled by his appearance.

He looked exhausted, his face pale as if every last drop of strength had been drained from him.

Yet his eyes shone with a frightening brilliance, deep as the starry sky, making people afraid to meet his gaze.

"Huo Yuhao! You're finally out! Inside..." one team member hurried forward.

Huo Yuhao raised a hand, then spoke in a hoarse voice:

"The divine inheritance... has been exhausted."

"What?!"

Everyone looked as if they had been struck by lightning, their faces filled with disappointment and disbelief.

"That 'living key,' in order to activate the legacy core, had already burned away all of its own origin power and fallen into eternal slumber." Huo Yuhao's tone carried a hint of "grief."

As he spoke, he casually kicked aside a chunk of broken ice by his feet, revealing the corner of a stone slab covered in mysterious runes beneath it.

"This is...?"

The squad leader had sharp eyes. He immediately rushed over, carefully dug away the ice shards, and cradled the "rune slate" in his hands.

Ancient, profound patterns covered the slab, giving off a lingering aura of energy that made one's heart palpitate.

"This was the only information transmitted by the legacy core at the final moment." Huo Yuhao pointed at the slab, then toward two other directions. "There should be more over there."

The team members immediately rushed over and quickly found the other two "rune slates."

With all three slabs in their hands, they could not understand them, but that desolate, ancient aura could not possibly be faked!

Everyone's breathing quickened!

Though the divine legacy was gone, these runes were undoubtedly priceless treasures! They were keys to unraveling the mysteries of antiquity!

The squad leader excitedly held the slabs, and his attitude toward Huo Yuhao instantly became one of utmost reverence.

"Th-that key, really...?"

"It's asleep." Huo Yuhao's answer was concise and certain. "It cannot be awakened again anytime soon."

Though everyone was incomparably disappointed, looking at the three weighty "results," then at Huo Yuhao's "weakened" state and the completely ruined temple within, they could find no reason to doubt him.

The squad leader immediately reported to Xu Qingsong through a soul tool communicator.

"...That is the situation, Elder Xu. The core energy has been exhausted, the living key has fallen into slumber, but we obtained three rune slates recording the core's information!"

The other end of the communicator remained silent for a long time.

Xu Qingsong's voice finally came through, carrying a trace of gravity and doubt. "Bring Huo Yuhao and the stone slabs back immediately. Remember, this matter is to be classified as top secret!"

"Yes!"

The mission was over.

Huo Yuhao had successfully pulled off a sleight of hand, turning a million-year soul beast into his greatest trump card.

Bearing this power and secret, enough to overturn the world, he prepared to return to Shrek Academy under the "escort" of the Light of Truth members.

The chessboard was no longer controlled solely by the gods.

Because he, this virus, had quietly entered the game.

Huo Yuhao turned back and gave the dark underground temple entrance one final look.

Then he stepped forward, walking into the howling snowstorm of the Far North.