Holy Spirit, Soul Suppressing (Four Thousand)

The worship ceremony began with Huo Yuhao and unfolded slowly.

Huo Yuhao himself stepped down from in front of the memorial tablet, silently observing everything, but deep within his eyes surged a turbulent emotion that no one else could see.

The chants of eulogies rose and fell, echoing throughout the solemn mourning hall. They echoed in the solemn mourning hall until—

The Holy Spirit Douluo took over the place of worship and walked past Huo Yuhao.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and the Holy Spirit Douluo gave Huo Yuhao a gentle, warm smile and nodded slightly. A hint of confusion lingered in her smile, but it didn't affect her subsequent actions.

Holy Spirit Douluo stepped forward to the memorial tablet and bowed respectfully. Then, instead of reciting the prepared eulogy as others did, she softly recounted her experiences.

"I was born in a village that was neither rich nor poor. When I was a child, I heard the old people in the village say that it used to be a slum, and the living conditions and environment were very bad. But with the arrival of certain people, things changed."

Everyone in the mourning hall was taken aback, clearly having never heard of this part of her past.

Meanwhile, some quick-thinking representatives of various factions began to scrutinize the high-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda with strange looks.

They already knew who those people were.

The Spirit Pagoda's methods are truly all-encompassing; they even managed to gain the Holy Spirit Douluo's favor from a young age...

Sure enough, the Holy Spirit Douluo's next words confirmed their guess.

"They are Spirit Master... or rather, External Personnel of the Spirit Pagoda."

Soul Masters from impoverished families can receive assistance from the Spirit Pagoda. Through the two-way selection feature between Soul Spirit and Soul Masters, the Soul Spirit can choose the Soul Master, thus obtaining their first Soul Spirit without having to immediately pay the Federal Coin to purchase Soul Spirit.

However, as a price to pay, Soul Masters must gradually repay this money after graduating from the Intermediate Division, or accept arrangements made by the Spirit Pagoda and the Federation to go to certain places to perform work within their capabilities.

The group of people who came to the village where the Holy Spirit Douluo lived were just like this, and their work in the slums was naturally... poverty alleviation.

Holy Spirit Douluo continued gently:

"These Spirit Master have stayed in the village for over a decade. Their work is ordinary yet crucial—building infrastructure, teaching children to read, do arithmetic, and about Martial Soul spirits, and helping eligible children awaken their Martial Soul for free..."

"The power of role models is immense; their arrival has injected new vitality into villages and towns that were still slums. After all, in the eyes of the townspeople, they are noble Soul Masters. Even they are helping the village and town develop, so what reason do we have not to work hard? Perhaps those Spirit Master are just fulfilling their duties, but no one can take their efforts for granted."

Gradually, the muddy dirt roads became stone-paved roads, the leaky thatched huts were replaced by brick and tile houses, and the village even built its first formal academy for initiating spirit masters. During this process, some Spirit Master left, while others fell in love with the people in the town and stayed. Of course, there were also newcomers who filled the vacancies left by those who left.

"Some lucky children became Soul Masters after their Martial Soul Awakening, studying and growing in the academy. They grew up to become the next generation of Spirit Master... and so the town gradually developed, transforming from a slum into a well-established village."

Those present knew that Holy Spirit Douluo omitted the hardships and darkness of the story, retaining only the most beautiful parts.

However, at this moment, no one will disturb the Holy Spirit Douluo's memories.

"I've heard you once say, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' That must be the most accurate description of that, right?"

The Holy Spirit Douluo looked at the spirit tablet, "Hearing such a story, I couldn't help but stay and help the people in the village heal. However, as my strength gradually increased, I found that my Soul Power was becoming stronger and stronger, and limiting myself to one village was not the best choice."

"My hands are small, and no matter how hard I try, Life will slip through my fingers, but I still want to hold as much as I can. So, I embarked on a journey, beginning my travels throughout the Federation. And from that moment on, my horizons broadened continuously."

"Ten Thousand Years Ago, Evil Spirit Master ran rampant, and the massacre of cities and the destruction of kingdoms were not uncommon; such records no longer exist. Fifty years ago, Plague ravaged the land, plunging countless people into crisis, and the Emerald Swan Clan came to their aid... This was a scene that could not have occurred Ten Thousand Years Ago."

"The development of villages and towns thanks to Spirit Master, the disappearance of the era of Evil Spirit Master, and the peaceful coexistence of Soul Beast and humans are the result of the efforts of countless people Soul Beast. But that initial glory was undoubtedly left behind by you."

The Holy Spirit Douluo -like voice flowed past Huo Yuhao's ears. Huo Yuhao's eyelashes trembled slightly as he saw the woman in the light green dress clasp her hands together, her fingertips glowing with a faint, shimmering Soul Power, and bow deeply.

"Your Spirit Ice Crown, thank you for lighting the way forward for us..."

No one left during the ceremony; everyone left together only after the last person finished their prayers.

As the crowd began to disperse, Gu Yuena was about to ask Huo Yuhao to go home together when she discovered that he was already accompanied by two other people.

One of them was Zhao Chengyuan, and the other was the Holy Spirit Douluo.

Seeing Zhao Chengyuan approach, Holy Spirit Douluo smiled slightly, "You two talk, I'll go and chat with Snow Empress first."

Zhao Chengyuan watched the Holy Spirit Douluo leave before turning to Huo Yuhao. His short, silver-gray hair gleamed with a cool sheen under the dim light of the mourning hall, but his eyes sparkled with interest.

"At such a young age, your cultivation has already reached the Soul Emperor stage. You are truly a force to be reckoned with. It seems that your cultivation speed is even faster than that of the Heaven Supporting Douluo. No wonder the Tower Master are so confident that you will become the next Tower Master."

Huo Yuhao was somewhat surprised that Zhao Chengyuan had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation. He raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "Senior Zhao, you flatter me. If we're really talking about the speed of Soul Power cultivation, you're far superior to me. There are rumors that you broke through to Super Douluo before you were even twenty years old."

Zhao Chengyuan smiled and said telepathically, "In the end, he used special methods, which are no match for a true genius like you. Moreover, once you reach a certain level of cultivation, you still have to rely on your own comprehension; external aids are not omnipotent."

"..."

Although he was being modest, there was a subtle, almost imperceptible smile in his words, making Huo Yuhao feel as if he were in Versailles.

He ascended to demigod status Demigod after taking the elixir; what more could he ask for?

Even Ten Thousand Years Ago ago, Soul Engineer wouldn't have had the ability or the means to consume such pills with minimal side effects.

Rolling his eyes inwardly, Huo Yuhao transmitted his voice, "I heard that His Soul Suppressing Crown once said that he ate so many pills that he vomited in order to become Limit Douluo. I wonder if that's true?"

That's right, the Spirit Envoy Zhao in front of us is the Soul Suppressing Douluo, who is also the original Dark Blood Demon.

As Soul Suppressing Limit Douluo, even if the Spirit Pagoda wanted to preserve this trump card, it couldn't just let Zhenhun lie there doing nothing. If they waited until he needed it to use it, wouldn't all the resources they'd provided have been wasted?

The truly wise hide in plain sight. Giving him the identity of a Spirit Envoy serves as a legitimate cover, allowing him to participate in affairs openly and honestly. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

In any case, a Super Douluo with exceptional talent but exhausted potential and unable to break through to the Limit... is acceptable to all parties.

Zhao Chengyuan's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at Huo Yuhao with some surprise. Then, a smile appeared on his lips. "I didn't expect that the Snow Empress Pagoda Master and the others had already told you about the Execution Department and what happened to me... Yes, I did say that. But it was just a joke. If it happened again, I would definitely still eat it."

"After all, when it comes to pure Soul Power cultivation, my talent is really not that great, far inferior to freaks like you and Heaven Supporting Douluo. If I hadn't joined the Spirit Pagoda, I wouldn't have a future."

In the current Federation, a Soul Master like him would find it difficult to achieve anything without the support of the Spirit Pagoda, let alone surpass the Heaven Supporting Douluo at the age required to advance to Titled Douluo.

In fact, without the opportunity provided by the Spirit Pagoda, he might have become Evil Spirit Master long ago.

So the talk of getting tired of the food or feeling nauseous is just a joke.

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered slightly.

In his memory, if this era had proceeded as originally planned, there would have been two individuals who had been promoted to Titled Douluo before the age of twenty.

One was Underworld King Douluo, and the other was Dark Blood Demon. The former was nineteen years old, while the latter's progress was even faster; he was not yet sixty when he fought his final battle, but he had already become Super Douluo more than forty years ago. In other words, he became Super Douluo in just over a decade...

However, both of them are in rather special circumstances. The Dark Blood Demon cultivates by absorbing the souls of other creatures, while the Underworld King cultivates through killing and death, which cannot be considered a normal method of cultivation.

Huo Yuhao wasn't entirely clear on how much bloodshed the Dark Blood Demon's advancement had caused in the original development, but he did have relevant memories of the Underworld King's advancement.

Hades wasn't Innate Full Soul Power; he only achieved Innate Full Soul Power transformation after slaughtering an orphanage. When he advanced to Super Douluo at the age of twenty-five, he had killed 100,000 people. Later, he continued to kill Soul Beast in the ocean, and by the time he reached Limit Douluo, probably a million Life had already perished at his hands.

The Dark Blood Demon's ascension rate was even faster than that of Hades, so it's clear that many humans and Soul Beast had perished at his hands.

His situation was too extreme; ordinary cultivation methods were almost ineffective in increasing his Soul Power, and he could only improve it by absorbing soul energy. If he hadn't joined the Spirit Pagoda this time, the possibility of him becoming Evil Spirit Master would have been extremely high...

"Senior, you've come to see me now because you have some advice for me?"

"I wouldn't call it giving you guidance, I'm just a little curious about you. After all, I've been away from headquarters for many years, so it's only right that I take this opportunity to meet the successor that all the Tower Master have their eyes on."

Zhao Chengyuan said, "But now it seems you're even more interesting than the rumors suggest. After I learned about your situation before, I noticed your rapid advancement made me suspect you might have used some special methods. But after getting to know you up close, I can only sigh that there are many extraordinary talents and geniuses in the world..."

Zhao Chengyuan and Huo Yuhao chatted for a long time, from the road to the mourning hall all the way to the first floor of the Spirit Pagoda, before he said goodbye and left at Zhao Yao's call.

Before leaving, his last words surprised Huo Yuhao slightly. "I need this Spirit Envoy identity as a cover, also for my daughter's sake. She doesn't know I'm the head of the Spirit Pagoda's Execution Department. So please keep everything about me a secret."

Has the Dark Blood Demon finally settled into a life of domestic bliss with a wife, daughter, and a warm bed?

Before this era awakened, I could never have imagined such a scene.

Thinking it over, Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement and watched the two leave.

"Yuhao, this guy's personality is a bit unexpected; he's surprisingly serious. I thought someone who could say something like 'I've been taking so many pills to reach the Limit ' would be an interesting and quirky person."

Upon seeing this, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had been shocked by Soul Suppressing's awe-inspiring speech, retorted from the Spiritual Sea.

Ice Empress rolled his eyes. "When meeting with juniors as an elder, it's natural to put on a certain air. Do you think everyone is like you?"

Anyone who can say something like that can't seem very serious, even in the Soul Suppressing Douluo.

Moreover, a child's personality sometimes reflects that of their parents. Ice Empress also knows what kind of personality Zhao Yao, the daughter of the Soul Suppressing Douluo, has.

All I can say is... they truly are father and daughter.

After the Soul Suppressing Douluo left, Gu Yuena walked up to Huo Yuhao and asked curiously, "Yuhao, what's wrong? What did he say to you telepathically just now?"

"Nothing much, just some casual conversation about cultivation."

Huo Yuhao shook his head and looked at the figures walking towards them.

"However, now that he's set this precedent, it'll probably take some effort from here on out."

Before the worship ceremony, even if the high-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda and representatives of various forces were interested in him, they couldn't easily approach him for a chat. But things were different after the ceremony.

Similarly, Snow Empress, Xiong Jun, Qian Gu Dong Feng, and others were gradually surrounded by many guests who wanted to strike up a conversation.

Social interactions and interpersonal relationships are always unavoidable.

"Then I'll go with you," Gu Yuena said with a light laugh. "If you don't want to talk to them, I'll just give them a cold shoulder and make them back down."

Na'er had a cold face...

That could indeed create an awkward atmosphere, after all, it was a skill honed through countless trials to deal with Gu Ruiqiu.

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao suddenly glanced around. "Speaking of which, where's Ruiqiu? She's disappeared again. Her recent behavior has been strange, like she's avoiding me."

"I don't know, she just finished participating in the worship ceremony and then disappeared..."

As she said this, a look of confusion appeared on Gu Yuena's face.

This grand celebration was the Gu Ruiqiu to assert her identity and call her "sister," so why would she leave without a reason?

And it's strange that Gu Ruiqiu didn't bother her all day, even though she wasn't one of the people in charge of managing the celebration. Add to that her previous unusual behavior...

A sense of worry rose in Gu Yuena's heart. "Could she have encountered some serious trouble? If so, why didn't she discuss it with us?"

Huo Yuhao became increasingly certain of one of his conjectures and said Youyou, "Is it possible that the trouble she's encountering is related to us?"

Gu Yuena was taken aback.

"Don't worry, she can't hide. Her home is right here; we can find her and get to the bottom of things later."

Huo Yuhao saw that the female congresswoman from the Federation had walked up to him, so he temporarily ended the conversation.

"I didn't expect you to be the one to greet me first... Miss Nanalie, is this your public identity?"

(End of this chapter)