The Brightmoon Mountain Range

"Father, this doesn't look like the road back to Star Luo City. Has the carriage taken a wrong turn?"

Huo Yuhao suppressed his discomfort at calling Dai Hao Father and asked with an innocent, bewildered look.

Dai Hao smiled faintly and said to Huo Yuhao, "No, we haven't taken a wrong turn. There's still a long way to go. You can rest for a while, or meditate using the Meditation Method I taught you."

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment, then looked at Dai Hao and asked suspiciously, "Father, where exactly are you taking me?"

Dai Hao stopped playing guessing games with him. He simply smiled and said calmly, "You're my son. If we aren't going to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, where do you think we're going?"

A chill swept through Huo Yuhao. He looked at Dai Hao and asked, "You aren't taking me to the army camp, are you?"

Dai Hao nodded, then said to Huo Yuhao, "You're different from Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin. You have innate full soul power and the potential to become a Titled Douluo. Naturally, you'll be taking over my position. For someone like you, of course I need to keep you at my side and give you proper training."

Huo Yuhao cursed inwardly. Even in this old feudal society, what sane person sends his heir straight to the front lines to lead the charge in person? At this rate, I probably will inherit his position—but not the title of White Tiger Duke. Instead, I'll inherit the job of fighting to the death on the battlefield.

After taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao asked Dai Hao, "Father, I'm only six. Isn't it a little too early to send me to an army camp?"

Dai Hao snorted coldly, then said to Huo Yuhao, "So what if you're six? You aren't just a six-year-old child. You're also a rank-thirteen Soul Master. In terms of fighting ability alone, you can already easily defeat an adult without soul power. At least half the people in my camp are no match for you, and aren't they all doing just fine?"

Being a Soul Master is exactly what makes it hard for me to survive, Huo Yuhao thought. Adults without soul power blend into the crowd, so of course nobody singles them out. Put a six-year-old Soul Master out there, and I might as well wander around holding a sign that says, "Come kill me!"

Forget the people from the Sun Moon Empire. Even the people in the Star Luo Empire who want to squeeze a little power out of your hands will find ways to kill me, lest a more promising White Tiger Duke take over and beat them down until they can't even lift their heads.

Even Huo Yuhao, a little flower raised in a greenhouse during the peaceful days of his previous life, could see through such a simple chain of interests. He truly could not believe that Dai Hao, a man who had walked out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, failed to understand it.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and was just about to speak when Dai Hao raised a hand and said, "If you don't want to meditate and cultivate, and you have energy to spare, I'll rest first. Keep an eye on the carriage. Don't let the driver sell us both off."

Huo Yuhao cursed inwardly again. You really are trying to compete with Tang Hao over which of you is the bigger beast.

Before Dai Hao could close his eyes, Huo Yuhao hurriedly shut his own, pretending to take a nap.

Dai Hao chuckled, then leaned against the other side.

The carriage continued toward the Star Luo Empire's border. Huo Yuhao leaned against the side of the carriage, looking as though he were napping, but his thoughts were actually racing like lightning.

He was considering his chances of using this opportunity to flee to the Sun Moon Empire. After thinking it over carefully, however, he rejected the plan.

His martial soul in this life was not Spirit Eyes, but the Qiongqi martial soul, which looked like a winged tiger.

There was also a deranged woman in the Sun Moon Empire who had most likely already wormed her way to Xu Tianran's side by now. If she decided to make him the first victim of her blade, he would have nowhere even to cry.

In a place where martial souls were used to judge a person's origins, if Huo Yuhao walked out through the Star Luo Empire's defensive lines, the moment he revealed his martial soul, he would be taken for someone on the level of a personal retainer of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.

Unless he thought he had lived long enough, even if he wanted to go to the Sun Moon Empire, he absolutely could not go by way of the Brightmoon Mountain Range. At the very least, he would have to wrap himself in a new identity first.

All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind, but Huo Yuhao ultimately had far too little room to maneuver. After thinking for ages, he still could not come up with a way out of this predicament.

Two days later, the carriage returned to the vicinity of the Brightmoon Mountain Range, and the White Tiger Duke's Mansion brought Huo Yuhao into the army camp.

Only here did Huo Yuhao finally understand Dai Hao's arrangements. Dai Hao had placed him in the central section of the Star Luo Empire's defensive line and assigned him a large tent of his own.

Although he was on the battlefront, he suffered no disturbances. Someone was even specifically assigned to look after his daily meals and needs. With the cultivation method taught by the White Tiger Duke, Huo Yuhao settled into a steady cultivation routine.

Trouble came one night a month later. After cultivating all afternoon, Huo Yuhao decided to sleep and give his mind a rest. After all, he was not burdened with such bitter suffering and deep hatred as in the original story, so there was no need to cultivate through the night.

In the middle of the night, Huo Yuhao suddenly heard rustling noises around him and jolted awake.

His hand immediately went to the short saber at his side. This was the Battle Saber the White Tiger Duke had given him on the day he entered the camp, and it was also a soul tool. Although Huo Yuhao could not determine its grade, judging by its edge, it was even sharper than the White Tiger Dagger.

After confirming that he had not imagined the sound, Huo Yuhao quietly got up, slipped the White Tiger Dagger into his boot, and crept outside with the Battle Saber in hand.

The night was pitch-black. Dark clouds hid the moon, making it the perfect time to strike from the shadows.

The instant Huo Yuhao stepped out of the tent, he heard something slicing through the air behind his head. Almost instinctively, he rolled forward, and a chill brushed his scalp.

A lock of hair was sliced clean off. Clearly, the weapon his attacker wielded was no ordinary blade either.

Almost immediately, he let out a thunderous shout and released his Qiongqi martial soul.

Following a beast's roar, his qiongqi power erupted, condensing black soul power around him. Huo Yuhao took a step back and unleashed his first soul skill. His night vision immediately sharpened, finally allowing him to make out the figures in the darkness.

Someone much taller than him stood before him, while two more people crouched atop the tent, aiming objects resembling crossbows at him.

Almost the instant Huo Yuhao saw his targets clearly, two crossbow bolts whizzed toward him. He raised the Battle Saber and slashed at one of them. As the bolt was knocked away, the Battle Saber gave a clear, ringing hum.

Every swing of Huo Yuhao's saber came with a fierce shout. This was not to bolster his courage, but to draw Dai Hao's attention as much as possible.

After all, to show that he led from the front, Dai Hao had pitched his own tent toward the army's outer perimeter. Getting his attention would not be easy. Huo Yuhao had to make enough noise...