Chatting

Huo Yuhao saw that the one speaking behind him was Evil Lord and asked, "Have you finished absorbing it? How long have I been at this?"

"I didn't need much to begin with, and I wasn't in a hurry, so I finished after absorbing only a little. I came out to get some air, while you, Yuhao, have been working here for nearly ten hours."

"Making advanced Soul Tools requires a lot of spiritual power. And my spiritual power hasn't returned to its previous level yet, so I have to recover it while carving. That's why it's taken a little longer." Huo Yuhao set down what he was holding.

"You were like this in the Divine Realm, and you're still like this now. Can I ask why you like Soul Tools so much?"

"Sure. Evil Lord, I really enjoy the feeling of being completely focused while carving a Soul Guidance Array. When I'm making Soul Tools, I don't get distracted by other things, and I don't think about who I used to be. Besides, I saw something even more important in Soul Tools. Do you know what it is, Evil Lord?"

"Is it power?" Evil Lord asked uncertainly.

Huo Yuhao shook his head, then said, "It's a spirit that embraces innovation. Back then, at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, I used a little mechanical trinket to trick Jing Hongchen out of a large amount of Rare Metal. At the time, I thought Jing Hongchen was a little too easy to fool. Only later did I realize I was the fool. Rare Metal and a Soul Master's spiritual power aren't the most crucial things in making Soul Tools; both can be replaced by other methods. Some metals can be forged and refined as substitutes, and a Soul Master's spiritual power can also be enhanced with certain Soul Tools. What matters most is this willingness to embrace innovation. Jing Hongchen was willing to invest in a technology that might be new. It might fail or succeed, but they were still willing to try. The Original Douluo Three Kingdoms and Shrek, on the other hand, treated Soul Tools as nothing more than tools. They were even unwilling to use them. They thought it was enough just to know how to make Soul Tools, and that they only needed to do whatever the Sun Moon Empire did. They could only ever trail behind the Sun Moon Empire."

Huo Yuhao looked at Evil Lord seriously and continued, "They were like people lying in coffins, clutching their 'past glory and truths.' Even when they saw the world outside changing with each passing day, they refused to admit it. Everything I did for the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms back then was like shouting at a coffin while it remained utterly still. I used to think this was because the Sun Moon Empire kept its technology secret and locked it down. But do you know how it feels to live in this world ten thousand years in the past? It's no different from the Douluo Three Kingdoms ten thousand years later. In fact, life in the future is even worse than it is now. In ten thousand years, things didn't develop for the better; they even regressed. I know full well that the blueprints I stole for Shrek back then couldn't change anything. Though I've said so much, there's no denying that I'm just making excuses. I'm a weak, useless person, hiding in a corner making Soul Tools to escape reality."

"Back in the Divine Realm, whenever you were wronged or bullied outside, you'd keep it bottled up, then come back with a smile on your face. At least now you're willing to talk about it. You called me to the Far North and brought Snow Empress here just to save that big bug. Don't you know how dangerous it is for someone to come to the Far North? What if I'd arrived too late, or Snow Empress had killed you outright? Why were you willing to risk so much for that big bug? You have experience attaining Godhood, so that bug isn't much use to you anymore. And I remember Ice Empress telling me that the Sea God attacked you at Qiankun Asking Love Valley. Ice Empress wanted to intervene, but the big bug stopped her. Don't say you didn't know. Once you learned about it, didn't you hate him? Or what would you do if the big bug had forgotten you, like Snow Empress did?"

"No one could have done anything about the situation back then. You only know that Brother Sky Dream stopped Ice Empress that time, but Brother Sky Dream has helped me ever since I became a Soul Master. I've never hated him. Even if none of you were willing to come, at most twenty or thirty years from now I'd go alone to the Star Dou Great Forest and rescue Brother Sky Dream. I owe him that. If Brother Sky Dream didn't remember me and wasn't willing to be with us, I'd still teach him the Soul Core Condensation Method, then ask Snow Empress to find him a place in the Far North where he wouldn't have to live in fear anymore. I don't want him to suffer another ten thousand years of imprisonment. Speaking of which, the one who should hate me most here is you, Evil Lord. I killed you back then and absorbed your Soul Ring and Soul Bone. Don't you hate me?" Huo Yuhao asked Evil Lord in return.

"Yuhao, I know that in your eyes I've never been a good person. Whether it was when I fought Di Tian over the big bug to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, or when I later let the Holy Spirit Cult stay in the Evil Demon Forest and provide me with cultivation resources, I know what I've done. But I want you to know that I, the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, can accept defeat. I could accept being killed by you and becoming a Soul Ring after I'd used every means at my disposal. I could accept being killed by another Soul Beast. I could even accept dying because I failed to survive the Heavenly Tribulation, and I'd have no regrets-at most, I'd lament that I wasn't capable enough. But I can't accept this rule of the Divine Realm that keeps Soul Beasts from attaining Godhood. I can't understand the point of the Dragon God making Soul Beasts endure the Heavenly Tribulation. I worked no less hard than those seven. What did all my efforts amount to? What about every Heavenly Tribulation I endured? Huo Yuhao, do you know what it's like to one day learn that all your efforts and the road you've taken have been negated by a single word from someone else? The road ahead isn't a dead end, but it feels worse than one. I don't hate you for killing me. I saw what you did in the Divine Realm. You didn't treat us as outcasts alongside those gods in the heavens. You kept your promise to the big bug. You may have many flaws, but I know what you did for us. That's why I came all the way from the Sun Moon Continent to find you."

Listening to Evil Lord, Huo Yuhao understood the anger in his heart, but he didn't know how to answer.

"Is what you said true? The Divine Realm doesn't allow Soul Beasts to attain Godhood?" Snow Empress's cool voice sounded from behind them. She stood there with Ice Empress beside her. They all looked at Evil Lord, hoping he would deny it.

"It's true." Evil Lord's voice was as calm as still water, without the slightest ripple. He didn't sound excited like he had when answering Huo Yuhao.

After hearing Evil Lord's answer, disappointment was plainly visible on their faces.

"Did I disturb you?" Evil Lord asked calmly.

Snow Empress nodded. Ice Empress beside her added, "Your voice was pretty loud. I could hear you even though I'd barely started absorbing."

A while later, Snow Empress composed herself and asked Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, can you tell us properly what happened to us in the future?"

"Do you really believe me?"

"Xiao Bai told me some strange things before. At the time, I thought he was talking nonsense, but that Li Ya also knew you. Then you came and gave me the Yin-Yang Reversal Soul Core Condensation Method, gave Bing'er the Ice Explosion Technique, and gave us your Soul Spirit Contract. You've kept your word about everything so far, and I'm willing to believe you." Ice Empress beside Snow Empress nodded as well.

"All right. I'll tell you." Huo Yuhao sat on the ground and began with how he met Brother Sky Dream, then told them about attaining Godhood and his life in the Divine Realm. Finally, he told them how he had been swept into the Space-Time Turbulence and ended up like this. Evil Lord, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress sat nearby and listened.

"I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, none of you would have ended up like this." Huo Yuhao felt that it was all because of him that everyone had been sent back to the beginning.

"There's nothing to apologize for. If Ice Empress and the others had faced that kind of danger, I would have saved them too. Besides, you were trying to save your mother." Snow Empress answered calmly.

"Don't say such depressing things. We can just start over. I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?" Ice Empress encouraged Huo Yuhao.

"Thank you."

"So this is why Xiao Bai called you Grandpa. No, you're a girl now, so the way he addresses you should change too. Xiao Bai should call you Grandma. Isn't that right, Mom?" Snow Empress teased.

"Just call me Yuhao. That's fine." Huo Yuhao smiled.

"All right, now I know what happened. Yuhao, I'm reserving one of your Soul Ring slots." Snow Empress looked at Huo Yuhao seriously.

"Me too," Ice Empress chimed in.

Huo Yuhao had so many things he could say, but a thousand words and ten thousand phrases all came down to four words: "Thank you."

"Okay, we should get back to absorbing the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. You two, keep it down this time," Ice Empress said with a smile.

"Mm." Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded.