The group soon arrived at Heaven Dou City.
It was already dusk. The last rays of the setting sun spilled over the ancient, weathered city walls, gilding them with a golden-red halo.
Xuan Zi raised his head and gazed at the imposing city with over ten thousand years of history, his heart awash with emotion.
In the past, whenever he came here, he had invariably been an honored guest of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Today, however, he had arrived as a prisoner. For a moment, the tangled emotions in his heart were difficult to put into words.
"Xuan Zi..." Ma Xiaotao noticed something amiss and called to him softly.
Xuan Zi withdrew his gaze and shook his head slightly. "I'm fine."
Du Busi stood beside him, grinning broadly. "Old ox, how does it feel to revisit familiar ground today?"
Xuan Zi snorted coldly and did not answer.
Huo Yuhao swept his gaze over the pedestrians passing through the city gates, his heart also stirred with emotion.
"Teacher, a troop of knights is coming over there. They seem to be headed for us."
He saw a troop of knights riding tall, powerful horses approaching from nearby.
Clad in silver armor, their faces covered by visors and gleaming longswords hanging at their waists, the knights clustered around a banner embroidered with the Heavenly Soul Royal Family's emblem as they advanced in a grand procession toward Huo Yuhao's group.
The knight at their head swung down from his horse in one crisp, fluid motion.
He removed his helmet and visor, revealing a resolute face with sharply defined features.
"Poison Sect Master."
The knight placed his right hand over his chest and bowed respectfully to Du Busi. "By His Majesty's command, the Royal Knights have come to welcome the Body Sect into the city. His Majesty has prepared a banquet in the palace to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."
Du Busi seemed to have expected this. "Commander Mo, your Royal Knights certainly get their news quickly. We've barely arrived, and you've already caught us."
Mo Feng said, "You jest, Poison Sect Master. His Majesty instructed us long ago to keep a close watch on the area around Heaven Dou City and be sure to welcome you at the earliest opportunity."
Standing to one side, Huo Yuhao quietly observed these Heaven Dou Royal Knights.
He could sense the grim, murderous aura emanating from them. They were probably all elite soldiers who had truly seen battle, their presence no weaker than that of Ma Xiaotao, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
As for Commander Mo at their head, his Soul Power fluctuations were restrained and steady. If Huo Yuhao's guess was correct, he should be a Soul Douluo-level expert.
Mo Feng now noticed Huo Yuhao as well and said with a slight smile, "You must be young Huo Yuhao. Having met you today, I can truly say that heroes emerge from the young."
Huo Yuhao cupped his hands. "You flatter me, Commander Mo. I don't deserve such praise."
At that moment, Du Busi gave a dissatisfied snort.
Then his booming voice rang out. "Why don't you deserve it? Yuhao, you're my disciple. When someone praises you, accept it!"
Mo Feng's expression remained unchanged, his respectful smile still in place.
He stepped aside and gestured invitingly. "Please board the carriages, everyone. We'll set off immediately."
Under the knights' escort, Huo Yuhao and the others boarded the carriage prepared in advance. Its interior was exquisitely and lavishly decorated, its seats comfortable and soft. It had clearly been prepared for honored guests.
Xuan Zi and his companions, however, clearly received no such treatment.
Although they still had a carriage to ride in, it was plainly far inferior to the Body Sect's.
After all, their current status was unusual. The Heavenly Soul Royal Family was already showing Shrek Academy considerable respect by being willing to arrange a carriage for them.
The carriage rolled slowly along the broad street. Its wheels passed over the bluestone paving without making the slightest sound.
Huo Yuhao examined the carriage's construction curiously.
Du Busi had no interest in any of this, but he still explained to Huo Yuhao, "This is a transportation-type Soul Tool developed by the Heaven Dou Empire. All show and no substance, utterly useless."
"Remember, a Soul Master's foundation lies in their own cultivation. If you rely on external power like Soul Tools, one day it will turn around and bite you."
After a moment's thought, Huo Yuhao replied, "Teacher, I believe that knowing yourself and your enemy lets you win a hundred battles. Since the Sun Moon Empire managed to sweep across almost the entire Douluo Continent using Soul Tools over four thousand years ago, Soul Tools must have their merits."
Du Busi raised an eyebrow, seemingly not having expected Huo Yuhao to contradict him.
But he did not grow angry.
For he had to admit that Soul Tools did indeed have their merits.
For instance, the Invincible Shield, developed from the Invincible Golden Body Soul Skill, provided tremendous protection for Soul Masters who had yet to mature.
Du Busi stared at Huo Yuhao, his tone betraying no emotion. "But back then, the Sun Moon Empire was beaten until its flowers fell and its waters scattered, and it ultimately retreated to the original Sun Moon Continent. Doesn't that also prove that Soul Masters are far superior to Soul Engineers?"
Huo Yuhao said, "Back then, all the Soul Master sects of the three great empires joined forces with Shrek Academy. If they had fought alone, I'm afraid not a single empire could have withstood their Soul Engineer legions."
At those words, displeasure appeared on Du Busi's face.
"Teacher, you told me yourself earlier that Sun Moon is currently sleeping with its weapons at the ready on the Heaven Dou border."
Huo Yuhao continued, "Their greatest reliance is their Soul Tool technology. After over four thousand years of development, I believe it must have undergone earth-shaking changes. Perhaps they no longer even fear Titled Douluo-level experts."
A sharp gleam flashed through Du Busi's eyes, and then he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Interesting. You dare stick to your views even when I'm angry. You really do have guts, brat."
Then he took a perfectly round metal sphere from his Storage Soul Tool and lightly tossed it in his hand.
The metal sphere's surface was covered in intricate patterns, and it glimmered with a dangerous aura.
Du Busi said, "See this? This is the Sun Moon Empire's newest Soul Cannon shell. Three months ago, I seized it myself from their frontline battlefield."
"It may be small, but the force of its explosion is enough to kill a Soul Ancestor."
Then Du Busi abruptly spread his five fingers, and a layer of dark green light appeared in his palm.
Crack.
Du Busi crushed the small Soul Guidance bomb with his bare hand.
The anticipated explosion did not occur. Only a few wisps of smoke drifted out between Du Busi's fingers.
Du Busi opened his hand, and metal fragments pattered down. "I may be stubborn, but I don't fence myself into old ways. I understand the threat of Soul Tools better than anyone."
"But the reason our Body Sect has stood tall on this continent for thousands of years is that we constantly break through our limits."
"Even the most ingenious Soul Tool is a lifeless object. True power will always come from the human body itself."
Huo Yuhao nodded, but in his mind, he was continually working out whether he could take inspiration from Soul Tools to construct Talisman Arrays from the Talisman Master system, or even Talisman Puppets.
If I really could refine Talisman Puppets by combining Talisman Master methods with Soul Tools, would they be called humanoid Soul Tools, or Soul Beast Soul Tools? Huo Yuhao pondered.
Talisman Masters could refine items in the first place. It was simply that the Martial Ancestor had borne too many burdens back then and had no energy to explore this field.
Just then, the carriage gradually slowed until it came to a stop.
Mo Feng's voice came from outside. "Everyone, we have reached the imperial palace grounds. Please disembark."