The night raid began smoothly. Although Huo Yuhao had said he would lead them, Dai Hao certainly would not let him personally enter the front lines. His role was mostly to command them remotely through his spiritual power.
That night also amply demonstrated the overwhelming power of the soul skill Spiritual Empathy Detection on the battlefield.
Under Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sharing Detection, they not only gained a considerable advantage in their field of vision, but could also communicate silently through spiritual power.
Even ordinary soul masters who had never developed any foundation in spiritual power could communicate with one another through it while within the range of Spiritual Sharing Detection.
There was naturally no need to explain how profoundly this could influence the course of a large-scale battle.
In this era, with so few means of detection, it was easy to imagine how terrifying an opponent capable of complete silence would be.
The White Tiger Guards quietly dispatched the outermost sentries with almost no trouble. With the help of Spiritual Sharing Detection, they did not alert the patrolling guards.
But as Huo Yuhao directed the White Tiger Guards to gradually converge on their designated strategic location, he suddenly ordered them to halt.
The White Tiger Guards had no idea what had happened, but their trust in Huo Yuhao was extremely high by this point. Even though his order came abruptly, none of them objected.
After ordering them to take cover where they were, Huo Yuhao withdrew Spiritual Sharing Detection from some of their minds, then concentrated all his spiritual power on probing in one direction.
Soon, he spotted a figure at the edge of that area.
It was a fully armed Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire. Behind him, at the edge of Spiritual Sharing Detection's range, more figures were faintly visible.
A counter-ambush? The thought immediately flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind, and he promptly ordered the White Tiger Guards to withdraw quietly.
Despite the puzzled spiritual signals from the White Tiger Guards, the operation was ultimately canceled at Huo Yuhao's insistence.
Only after they returned to the White Tiger Military Camp did Huo Yuhao explain what had just happened.
The White Tiger Guards finally understood the gravity of the situation.
Dai Hao, meanwhile, broke into a cold sweat. Clearly, he was thinking of more than just the danger to the White Tiger Guards. What would have happened if Huo Yuhao had refused to listen to him and insisted on leading the charge himself?
Still, although nothing had gone wrong this time, they now had a confirmed problem to deal with. What were they supposed to do next? Huo Yuhao would stay here for a month at most. They could hardly have him use Spiritual Detection every time to check whether the enemy had laid an ambush.
Huo Yuhao, however, did not seem concerned. He then instructed the soldier responsible for reconnaissance.
"Pay particular attention to the movements of the Sun Moon Empire's army tomorrow morning. Whether last night's operation succeeded or not will depend on their reaction tomorrow. It's a little early to start singing a dirge."
The soldier acknowledged the order and left. By noon the following day, the news that came back was fairly good.
After that, Huo Yuhao arranged for the White Tiger Legion's troops to take turns conducting small-scale military operations, primarily harassment, denying the enemy any peace.
Under Huo Yuhao's arrangements, the two sides gradually entered a stalemate. Each side's large-scale surprise attacks were stopped by the other's ambushes.
For a time, neither could do anything to the other. Huo Yuhao stayed at the White Tiger camp for a few more days, then counted the days and prepared to leave for the Far North.
Compared with the original story, Huo Yuhao would have many advantages on this trip. Although he had been delayed by several days, the Flying Soul Tool supplied by the White Tiger Duke would let him travel much faster than in the original.
On top of that, Huo Yuhao had spun Dai Hao a tale about finding information in the Shrek Academy Outer Court's library on a spiritual treasure in the Far North that was suitable for tiger-type soul beasts to cultivate with.
Dai Hao was also willing to send someone to Shrek Academy to arrange Huo Yuhao's leave of absence. With Dai Yueheng, an Inner Court disciple, helping smooth things over, even returning a month or so late would not be much of a problem for Huo Yuhao.
The most excited one on the journey was undoubtedly the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. To him, the bitterness had finally given way to sweetness. After all that waiting, the chance to travel to the Far North had at last arrived.
Huo Yuhao said irritably,
"Listen, Tian Meng, don't get too excited. You should have felt how powerful my martial soul is by now. I'm afraid that when the time comes, whatever soul beast you find might not even qualify to coexist with it inside my body."
Only after Huo Yuhao poured that cold water on him did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's enthusiasm finally dim a little.
After a moment of silence, he spoke to Huo Yuhao in earnest.
"The boat will straighten itself out when it reaches the bridge. Don't worry. We aren't awakening twin martial souls innately—we're helping you piece them together through acquired means."
"The rules involved are different to begin with. Besides, what I'm going to find for you certainly won't be anything ordinary. Let me tell you the truth: it's the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North—an ultimate ice martial soul."
Huo Yuhao shrugged, then said to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm,
"The Ice Empress is certainly good, but why do I feel like she isn't the best possible choice, and that you've picked her for some ulterior motive instead?"
Caught off guard by Huo Yuhao's probing remark, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm trembled slightly. Then, feigning composure within Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, he said,
"Yuhao, how can you distrust me like this? Our partnership is precisely the kind that needs trust most!"
Huo Yuhao immediately gave him a dead-fish stare and said,
"I'll give you until the count of three. If you don't tell me the truth, I'm turning around and flying back to Shrek right now."
"Don't, don't, please! I—I'll tell you, all right?"
In the end, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's longing for the Ice Empress was too strong. Left with no choice, he finally decided to tell Huo Yuhao the truth.
"Actually, it's because I... my feelings for the Ice Empress..."
Speechless, Huo Yuhao exposed him outright.
"Don't tell me you've gone against your biological instincts and fallen for your own natural predator?"
Once Huo Yuhao laid it bare, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could no longer keep up the act. Like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, he spilled the whole story of his one-sided, self-imposed romance with the Ice Empress.
Huo Yuhao shook his head, then said to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm,
"Sorry, Tian Meng, but I think we need to reconsider this."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately said to Huo Yuhao, sounding dejected,
"You aren't thinking of going after the Snow Empress, are you? I'd advise against it. Her importance to the Far North isn't nearly as slight as you imagine... Besides, I'm confident I can persuade the Ice Empress, but I have no confidence in persuading the Snow Empress. Those two aren't even on the same level."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm with complete confidence...
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