Explosion (Four Thousand)

Xie Xie stared wide-eyed at Yuanen Yehui, who had suddenly confessed that she was a woman, still finding it hard to believe.

Why does this girl look so much like a boy?

Huo Yuhao immediately saw that Xie Xie had misunderstood, and said with amusement:

"This isn't what Yuanen looks like normally; it's what she looks like after putting on makeup."

Tang Wulin, Wang Jinxi, and Zhang Yangzi stared at Xie Xie speechlessly.

This guy was definitely about to say something sarcastic.

Upon hearing this, Xie Xie snapped out of his daze and chuckled, "Sorry, anyone would be surprised to hear such news."

Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head, then looked at Yuanen Yehui.

Is this okay?

"You've seen my true face; there's no need to hide it anymore."

Yuanen Yehui said, "And who knows, I might have to revert to my original form later."

Seeing that Yuanen Yehui had gotten down to business, Tang Wulin and the others looked at Huo Yuhao with shining eyes.

"It seems there's another reason why they called me here."

Huo Yuhao glanced at everyone and smiled slightly.

A moment later.

Inside the training ground, everyone lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and Soul Power, and several charred marks remained on the floor.

Huo Yuhao stood in the center of the field, seemingly unaffected by the exertion. "Not bad, everyone's teamwork has improved significantly since last time."

Tang Wulin struggled to sit up, and said with a wry smile, "I just feel the gap has widened even further." He rubbed his numb arm; Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock had left him still somewhat dazed.

"Exactly, exactly!" Xie Xie collapsed to the ground, not even wanting to move a finger. "Boss, go easy on us! Let us see if we've improved."

Yuanen Yehui leaned against the wall, having shed her disguise. At this moment, her long hair cascaded down her back, and while her heroic spirit remained, she possessed a touch more feminine grace.

Her purpose in approaching Huo Yuhao, besides apologizing, was also... to seek his advice!

This top- Young Genius List is the goal of their generation. It would be such a pity not to fight him and experience the gap between themselves and the peak.

However, the result was obvious—she lost.

Even when he was with Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Wang Jinxi, and Zhang Yangzi, he still lost decisively.

Yuanen Yehui looked at Huo Yuhao with a complex expression mixed with sincere admiration.

With such strength, ranking first is well-deserved.

"I knew it! We're no match for Yuhao, why did they have to go looking for a beating?"

Watching the battle end, Xu Xiaoyan remarked to Gu Yuena, "Just lie down..."

Xu Xiaoyan stopped mid-sentence.

Na'er seems to be in a bad mood.

Gu Yuena's face was grim. Suddenly, she placed her hand on Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder, her tone slightly cold.

"Xu Xiaoyan, you need to adjust your mindset."

He's her disciple, how can you just lie down like that?

Roll it up with me.

Xu Xiaoyan was startled by Gu Yuena's sudden seriousness, shrank back, and whispered, "Na'er, I was just kidding... Noooooo!"

The good days of being the number one lazybones at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy are over.

Huo Yuhao walked off the field, looked at Xu Xiaoyan who had been taken away by Gu Yuena for training, and smiled helplessly.

They all spoil Xu Xiaoyan too much, to the point that she's almost completely given up. They really need to be disciplined.

"..."

After watching Huo Yuhao step down from the stage, Shen Xing remained silent for a moment before walking to his side. "Yuhao, if I may ask, do you have any plans to join the army? Your abilities far surpass those of your peers; if you want to gain experience, joining the army would be a good choice."

Huo Yuhao looked at her in surprise. Xu Xiaoyan had already introduced them, and when he heard Shen Xing's name, he quickly recalled her identity.

Shen Xing of the Shen Family, with whom Tang Wulin had some entanglements during his trip to Devil Island in the original novel.

It's probably something like... a hostage falling in love with the kidnapper?

But that's not the point.

Importantly, Devil Island, possessing the power of the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction, is located near the Northern Sea Legion's base. Furthermore, Shen Xing's family holds an important position within the military and is considered a representative of the Dove Faction.

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes, guessing what the other party was thinking, "I don't have that idea for now..."

He paused, then asked, "Miss Shen, your friendship with Xu Xiaoyan wasn't tainted by anything else, was it?"

Shen Xing was taken aback upon hearing this, glanced at Xu Xiaoyan on the stage, and shook his head solemnly. "Of course not, I genuinely want to be friends with Xu Xiaoyan."

Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance with her, confirmed her expression, and nodded. "That's good. It's admirable that Miss Shen is considering the family at such a young age. But to calculate everything for this reason is going too far."

"..."

No, why are you being so direct? I really didn't have those kinds of thoughts.

Shen Xing's face flushed red.

Fortunately, Huo Yuhao spoke up at this moment:

"Please speak frankly. I've heard some news from my elders about things within the Federation, but I don't know the specifics. Could you let me hear what your family's thoughts are, Miss Shen?"

Shen Xing calmed herself down. Seeing that Huo Yuhao had already guessed her thoughts, she frowned. After a moment of thought, she decided to explain some of her and her family's ideas.

Since things have come to this point, there's no other way but to speak frankly.

Why isn't this guy playing by the rules?

Shen Xing sighed inwardly and said:

"All wars are fought for profit, and it is the ordinary people who suffer..."

The Federation is increasingly struggling to develop resources and has reached a technological bottleneck, so it has turned its attention to outer space exploration. Both Hawk Faction and Dove Faction support this, but their ideologies are completely different.

The Hawk Faction believe that the universe is not a peaceful paradise, but Dark Forest full of threats. They advocate for the use of force to expand the star path and believe that the resources of the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou should be controlled to create a more powerful Soul Tool Weapons system to ensure the Federation's foothold in the vast Star Sea.

The Dove Faction hold a completely different view. They oppose war and believe that excessive development of Soul Tool Weapons will accelerate resource consumption, potentially dragging down the entire civilization before it even enters interstellar society. In their view, this endless arms race will only plunge the Federation into internal strife.

Both sides offered their own justifications and had their own reasons. In parliament, the Hawk Faction prevailed, while among ordinary citizens, more people desired a stable life, Dove Faction gained the upper hand.

However, after hearing the core viewpoints of both sides, Huo Yuhao thought of the matter of restarting the Source Core the Qian Gu Dong Feng.

So that's how it is. One of the purposes of restarting the Source Core the Qian Gu Dong Feng" was to shut up the Dove Faction.

The Source Research is prohibited by the Federation, after all, it involves dangerous weapons such as Godslayer-level Soul Cannon Shell, and the resources required are indeed too enormous, but if it can be completed, the Federation's technological bottleneck can be broken.

After all, based on the information he obtained from the Ming De Hall, they had actually already researched spaceships, but they lacked a suitable energy source to support their operation. What they were lacking now was energy.

If the core technologies for exploring Starry Sky are in the hands of the Hawk Faction, the Dove Faction will naturally be put on the defensive...

Shen Xing continued, "Moreover, Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Continent don't have Spirit Pagoda. Their Soul Beast resources will disappear sooner or later. As long as we continue to accumulate our strength, we will eventually win without a fight."

One of the fundamental differences between the Star Luo Empire, Heaven Dou, and Douluo Continent is the Soul Spirit.

Without Soul Spirit, the gap between them and the Federation will only widen year by year.

Shen Xing looked at Huo Yuhao, wanting to see his reaction.

But Huo Yuhao simply shifted his gaze calmly to Tang Wulin and the others who had recovered and were walking over.

Well, the Spirit Pagoda didn't establish branches in the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou as in the original story, and the Soul Spirit were used as a Dove Faction card by the dove faction, which makes me feel inexplicably complicated.

Seeing Huo Yuhao look away, Shen Xing frowned.

It seems we won't get an answer for now.

With that in mind, Shen Xing offered, "If you have any further ideas, you can contact me."

Huo Yuhao nodded without saying anything more.

"..."

The group of people who had come over paused.

Huh? What's going on? They just met and they've already arranged to contact each other privately?

Yuanen Yehui's eyes darted subtly between Huo Yuhao and Shen Xing, then glanced at Gu Yuena, who had also stopped training and was walking towards them.

She remembered, wasn't this Huo Yuhao's girlfriend?

Is it really okay to do this in front of your girlfriend?

"Won't something bad happen later?" Xie Xie nudged Tang Wulin's arm.

"Probably not." Tang Wulin shook his head.

Xie Xie wanted to say something, but seeing Gu Yuena slowly walking over, he subconsciously shut his mouth.

The silver-haired girl appeared normal, except that her purple eyes were slightly narrowed, and to everyone else, she seemed to exude a chilling aura.

But when she walked up to Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena had a natural smile on her face, showing no sign of anger at all.

What a joke! Shen Xing and Yuhao are from different generations, and she doesn't seem to have anything special about her. She's not even as useful to Yuhao as that whale. They're definitely discussing business. How could she possibly be angry?

"It's getting late, let's call it a day."

Huo Yuhao smiled slightly at Gu Yuena, then looked at the others, "We'll be leaving now."

Xie Xie nodded blankly, then realized what he meant, "Boss, could you give us some pointers sometime? We're playing against the Shrek Academy at the end of this semester."

Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, nodded slightly, and agreed.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuena nodded to the crowd, then took Huo Yuhao's arm and turned to leave.

In the Ming De Hall, Lan Fozi, having finished her homework, returned to her room. Seeing that Huo Yuhao and the other person were not there, she breathed a sigh of relief and had time to organize the information she had gathered during this period.

Recently, through her relationship with the Holy Spirit Cult and her mother, she learned some information about deities.

In the Divine Realm, there are quite a few powerful divine couples.

The Sea God Tang San and his wife Xiao Wu, the God King of Life and the Destruction God King, the God King of Goodness and the God King of Evil, the Fire God and the Water God, and so on...

Which couple are Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena?

"Among these gods, Life and Destruction are confirmed as dead in the Holy Spirit Cult's intelligence."

Lan Fozi swallowed hard.

Are they them? Are those two the Supreme God of the Divine Realm?

It wasn't that she was overthinking things; the current situation was just too coincidental.

It is known that two beings who stood at the pinnacle of the Divine Realm are in a state similar to undergoing a period of Re-Cultivation, and indeed, there are such deities in the Divine Realm who have died, and just as she imagined, they were a married couple...

Anyone... or even a beast would overthink it, right?

"We can see then; if they display authority related to Life and Destruction, then... perhaps it can be confirmed."

Lan Fozi looked dazed and somewhat confused.

If they really are God King, what will become of her in the future?

"Have you contacted the Holy Spirit Cult?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind Lan Fozi, startling her.

Lan Fozi turned around abruptly and saw Huo Yuhao standing behind her, his eyes gleaming with an unfathomable light. Her heart skipped a beat, and her palms broke out in a fine sweat.

"My lord, I haven't revealed any information related to you, I just..."

"I just want to investigate your identities," Lan Fozi's azure eyes flickered slightly as she dared not look Huo Yuhao in the eye.

"It doesn't matter if some information is revealed."

Huo Yuhao, noticing Lan Fozi's increased nervousness, smiled faintly and said, "You can tell the Holy Spirit Cult about your infiltration of the Spirit Pagoda and your becoming my assistant."

Lan Fozi widened immediately.

Huo Yuhao's life in Mingdu gradually stabilized, and time passed Tenten.

That day, Huo Yuhao arrived at Ling Zichen's research institute as agreed, intending to check on their experimental projects.

Huo Yuhao stepped into the research institute, a faint metallic scent, characteristic of Soul Tool, wafted towards him. Inside the spacious hall, several Soul Engineer dressed in white lab coats were busily moving between various experimental tables.

You've come!

Ling Zichen strode quickly through the crowd, an excited smile on his face.

However, her smile wasn't because of Huo Yuhao's arrival, but because of the experimental data she had just completed.

"You've come at the right time. That project has just made a breakthrough and is currently conducting the next stage of experiments. I'll take you there for a visit."

Huo Yuhao nodded and followed Ling Zichen through several spatial doors that flashed with Soul Tool Runes, arriving at the base of the Spirit Pagoda. The walls on both sides of the corridor were inlaid with complex soul guide devices, and the faint sound of energy flow could be heard from time to time.

"Our project is Source Research, called the Single Positive Circulation Source Core. Oh, you might not know this concept. A source is..."

"The substance extracted from Rare Metal is the material used to manufacture Godslayer-level Soul Cannon Shell."

Ling Zichen raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "... You know quite a lot, but our project is slightly different from the technology of the Godslayer-level Soul Cannon Shell."

"Amplify the power of the Metal essence for energy recycling." Huo Yuhao glanced at Ling Zichen. "The project name is so obvious, anyone can figure it out."

"..."

Ling Zichen stopped and squinted at Huo Yuhao.

Who are you complaining about?

And even if one could think of it, the reaction shouldn't be this fast.

"Did you get this information from higher-ups? Or...?"

Ling Zichen stopped halfway through his sentence.

Impossible. If Huo Yuhao didn't join the project, she wouldn't have told him. For her to tell Huo Yuhao now without his consent is technically against the rules, but she doesn't care.

Was it someone else who, like her, violated regulations and told Huo Yuhao this information?

Looking at his expression, Ling Zichen had a feeling that the truth wasn't so simple, and subconsciously showed an expression of interest.

However, she didn't ask any further questions, but continued to lead the way.

She pushed open the last metal door, and the sight before her made Huo Yuhao squint.

In the center of the laboratory, a dark red liquid metal floated in a transparent container three meters in diameter. It constantly twisted and deformed, sometimes expanding and sometimes contracting, its surface shimmering with a dangerous light. A dozen researchers around it were nervously operating the soul-guided instruments to stabilize its state.

Two other researchers were directing the operation.

They were none other than Ling Zichen's parents.

Ling Zichen: "We have successfully obtained the source from the Spirit-Forged Metal. Now it's time to make it fuse and control it..."

It's going to explode.

Huo Yuhao's words interrupted Ling Zichen, leaving her stunned.

The next moment, a blinding white light shone from the source of the spring.

Boom!