Huo Yuhao truly didn't believe in rulers. Even a God King was just a powerful person.
Why should anyone feel afraid of someone powerful?
If someone was stronger than me, all I had to do was respect them. Why cower before them?
If they arbitrarily decided someone's life or death for no reason, wouldn't it be better to fight them to the death rather than fear them?
Huo Yuhao didn't consider himself unyielding, but he still had some backbone. If someone casually decided another person's life or death without reason, whether they were human or god, he wouldn't accept it.
Huo Yuhao's rule for living could be summed up in eight words: repay kindness with kindness, and vengeance with vengeance.
Whether they were a God King or an ordinary person, if they treated me well, I'd help them; if they treated me badly, I'd hit back. It was that simple.
As Huo Yuhao rejected Reign Over the World from the bottom of his heart, a powerful aura burst forth from within him.
The two auras clashed violently in an instant, and the entire sky changed color from their collision.
Huo Yuhao's spiritual power took this opportunity to reach the threshold of the Divine Origin Realm, gaining some of the characteristics of divine power.
"Heaven and Earth Level." Huo Yuhao softly recited the aura he had comprehended, meeting Mu En's Reign Over the World in one final clash.
If Mu En's Reign Over the World could be described as "I alone reign supreme," then Huo Yuhao's aura was Equality of All Living Beings.
As a streak of green light from the Eye of Life merged into Huo Yuhao's spiritual power, his aura gradually gained the upper hand over Mu En's Reign Over the World.
"The younger generation is truly impressive. With you in its future, I can finally answer to the generations before me." Seeing this, Mu En withdrew his aura.
"Elder Mu, if you'd gone all out, how could I have gained the upper hand? You were just going easy on me." Huo Yuhao replied politely.
If they had been at the same level, it might have been hard to say which of their auras was stronger. But the gap in Soul Power between Huo Yuhao and Mu En was enormous, so Huo Yuhao certainly wouldn't have won.
It was only because Mu En had no intention of clashing that Reign Over the World had naturally lost its momentum. That was how Huo Yuhao had managed to gain the upper hand for the moment.
"All right, child. Now that you've awakened your aura, I won't keep you any longer. Don't neglect your Soul Power cultivation; advance to Soul Ancestor as soon as you can."
"Understood. I won't disturb you while you're enjoying the sun. I'll head back and cultivate."
Huo Yuhao said goodbye, then returned to the Soul Guidance laboratory to cultivate his Soul Power.
Huo Yuhao's Soul Power had already reached the peak of level 37. Reaching level 38 was only a matter of days.
Over the next few days, Huo Yuhao continued crafting Battle Armor while cultivating his Soul Power.
Thanks to his experience with his first successful piece, the subsequent work was much easier. In just a week, Huo Yuhao had crafted the remaining ten pieces of Battle Armor.
Together with the right-arm armor he had made first, he had finally completed a full set of First-Class Battle Armor.
Once Huo Yuhao put on the First-Class Battle Armor, the fluctuations of his Soul Power instantly rose to the Soul Emperor level—a boost of more than twenty levels.
His combat strength could probably now match that of a Soul Saint with a top-tier Martial Soul in a head-on fight.
The boost also gave Huo Yuhao the chance to break through to level 38. He was now only two levels away from obtaining his fourth Soul Ring.
Two days later, Yan Shaozhe finally came to find Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, come with me to attend our Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion Meeting. You should already know about the Sea God Pavilion, so I won't go into detail."
As he spoke, Yan Shaozhe took Huo Yuhao by the hand and flew toward Sea God Lake.
"The Sea God Pavilion is inside the inner courtyard, so we'll have to cross Sea God Lake to get there."
Before he had even finished speaking, Yan Shaozhe had brought Huo Yuhao to the island in the middle of Sea God Lake.
The two arrived before a three-story pavilion.
Seeing the three characters "Sea God Pavilion" above the entrance, Huo Yuhao knew they had reached their destination.
"Shao Zhe, bring Yuhao inside."
As soon as they set foot on Sea God Island, Mu En sensed Yan Shaozhe and Huo Yuhao's presence and immediately called them in for the meeting.
"Yes, Teacher."
Yan Shaozhe replied, then led Huo Yuhao into the Sea God Pavilion.
Inside the hall, Mu En sat at the head of the table, with Xuan Zi to his left and the other elders seated in order. Only the seat to Mu En's right was empty.
Huo Yuhao didn't think much of it. He found a place to wait, ready for Mu En to explain the Battle Armor to the elders.
Huo Yuhao had barely come to a stop when Elder Mu's voice reached him.
"Yuhao, come sit over here." As he spoke, Mu En pointed to the seat on his right.
Huo Yuhao paused in surprise, then walked over to Mu En and sat down.
As he took his seat, several elders looked as though they wanted to object. But under Mu En's stern gaze, they all fell silent.
Huo Yuhao muttered under his breath, "You've really put me in the hot seat this time, Elder Mu. If I don't do well in a moment, you'll be in a tough spot."
"You're the star of today's meeting. You'll be the star of meetings for quite some time to come, so you might as well get used to it early."
After Elder Mu's words, which seemed to carry a hint of something more, the other elders all studied Huo Yuhao with curiosity.
"All right. I've called everyone here to announce something important."
"I hereby announce that from the day I pass away, Huo Yuhao will immediately succeed me as Sea God Pavilion Master, regardless of whether his Soul Power Level is sufficient at that time. Xuan Zi will assist him in leading Shrek Academy."
Hearing Mu En's declaration, even the elders, who had always respected him, couldn't help but speak up.
"Elder Mu, I'm afraid that's not appropriate. Although you could hold on for many more years without any problem, Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice already makes cultivation slow. What if he's only a Soul Saint by then? How could he lead Shrek Academy?"
"That's true, Elder Mu. Besides, this child is only twelve years old. Isn't he too young? For a decision like this, he'd surely need a seat in the Sea God Pavilion starting now."
"Yes, Elder Mu. Please think it over."
Even Xuan Zi tried to dissuade him. "Elder Mu, that decision really was too hasty. In a few more years, this child will certainly be qualified to succeed as Sea God Pavilion Master. Isn't it a bit too soon now?"
Yan Shaozhe, on the other hand, stayed silent. For one thing, he knew Mu En well. Given what he knew of his teacher, Mu En wouldn't make such a decision without reason.
For another, Yan Shaozhe still couldn't fathom the ability behind Huo Yuhao's Second Awakening of his Body Martial Soul.
"You're still underestimating the younger generation. Yuhao, show the elders what you can do."
"Xuan Zi, once Yuhao conceals himself, if you can find him, I'll drop the matter."
"Then, Elder Mu, I'll see what this young man can do." Hearing Mu En's words, Xuan Zi grew curious and prepared to test Huo Yuhao's strength.
"Then please forgive this junior." As he spoke, Huo Yuhao activated his second Soul Skill. His figure vanished from before everyone's eyes, leaving no trace.
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