Huo Yuhao solemnly accepted it with both hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Princess."
Xue Heng smiled and waved a hand. "We're not discussing official business now. No need to stand on ceremony. Since you're Vina's junior brother, just call me Uncle Heng in private."
"And," he added, looking at Vina with smiling eyes, "ever since Vina came back, she's been urging me to prepare some nice things for you. I've put them all inside the necklace. Take a look and see if you're satisfied."
Huo Yuhao sank his spiritual power into the Starlight Sapphire Necklace.
In an instant, his gaze was drawn to the piles of Gold Soul Coins.
By his rough count, there were at least one and a half million of them.
"Once you've truly grown strong, you'll discover that Gold Soul Coins are actually the least valuable things, but you absolutely cannot do without them."
Xue Heng noticed Huo Yuhao's expression. "There's more inside."
Huo Yuhao continued looking.
This time, in a corner of the necklace's storage space, he saw a spiritual treasure emanating an aura of extreme cold.
"Ice Empress, Tian Meng, this..." Huo Yuhao was stunned.
The thing in that corner was actually exceptionally rare ice marrow!
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress spoke, telling Huo Yuhao that although this piece was not ten-thousand-year cold ice marrow, it was still exceedingly rare.
For Huo Yuhao at his current stage, this piece of ice marrow might prove even more useful than ten-thousand-year cold ice marrow.
The cold contained in this Ice Marrow was at the quasi-ultimate level. With it, Huo Yuhao could let his meridians adapt to the stimulation of extreme cold ahead of time, laying a solid foundation for his future cultivation of "ultimate ice as firewood, martial arts as the furnace."
Xue Heng pushed his own portion of refreshments toward Huo Yuhao.
His voice was gentle, like flowing spring water. "This piece of ice marrow was originally meant for Vina. But the Snow Lotus Martial Soul is ultimately only a support-type Martial Soul. It would take at least another three or four years before she could smoothly absorb all the energy within it."
"I've always believed that a thing's value lies in its timeliness. Whatever has a use should be put to use at the right time, so this piece of ice marrow is yours."
Huo Yuhao pressed his lips together.
"Uncle Heng, I will certainly engrave Heaven Dou's kindness in my heart." He put the Starlight Sapphire Necklace around his neck. It felt cool against his skin.
Vina's eyes curved into crescents, her clear gaze full of smiles.
She walked slowly up to Huo Yuhao and said, "Junior brother, you're treating us like outsiders."
"Father values you because you are a genius worth nurturing. Besides, we belong to the same sect. Supporting each other is only right."
Xue Heng smiled and nodded. "Vina is right. I'm not asking you to swear any vows. I only hope you can go further."
"All right, all right. Official business is over. It's time to relax."
"These are all new desserts the imperial chefs developed recently. Go on, try them."
Huo Yuhao did not stand on ceremony either. He picked up a small, exquisitely shaped pastry and took a bite.
A delicate sweetness melted on his tongue, and an elegant jasmine fragrance lingered between his teeth, as though he held a soft cloud in his mouth.
A satisfied smile involuntarily appeared on Huo Yuhao's face.
A silver disc hung high above, its clear moonlight spilling down like silver gauze.
Huo Yuhao and Du Busi walked along the white jade path, talking.
"Teacher," Huo Yuhao asked, unable to hold back his puzzlement, "how was that matter with Shrek handled?"
Du Busi curled his lip. "What else could we do? We couldn't actually drive them out of Heaven Dou."
"First, Xuan Zi has to hold a public apology assembly for Di'ao Academy and cover all related losses."
"Oh, right," Du Busi added. "Remember the Principal's Tower I knocked down while holding your arm? That's going on Shrek's bill too. Make them pay."
"As for what Mu En promised you, you can rest easy now. His Majesty has already used the Heaven Dou Imperial Seal to reach an agreement with Shrek. Unless they dig up Shrek City and take it away, they can forget about reneging."
Huo Yuhao fell silent for a long while before saying, "I've learned a lesson, Teacher."
Du Busi nodded in considerable satisfaction.
Then he continued, "Second, Shrek Academy must restrain its staff and students and regulate all their conduct within the Heaven Dou Empire. If another incident offending Heaven Dou like this happens again, the empire will punish them severely, without leniency."
"Oh," Huo Yuhao said. "Fair and reasonable. That's perfectly normal."
"The last part is the important one."
Du Busi said, "His Majesty believes this incident arose from the two academies competing over a student, so he demanded that Shrek issue a public statement declaring that they will no longer interfere by any means with students' right to choose within Heaven Dou."
"At the same time, the two academies will conduct a six-month Exchange Program before the Soul Master Tournament in the Star Luo Empire begins."
"One thing worth mentioning is that after Xuan Zi and the others left, His Majesty specifically requested that Ao Tian join Di'ao Academy and take part in the Exchange Program as Di'ao's representative."
"His Majesty said that Mu En opening access to their records meant Shrek was showing weakness to the Heaven Dou Empire. It was a message asking Heaven Dou not to join forces with the Soul Master sects within its borders and cut off their supply of students completely."
"His Majesty only proposed the Exchange Program to go along with Mu En's intentions."
Huo Yuhao looked thoughtful.
Shrek's influence was deeply rooted in the three great empires. Every year, large numbers of outstanding Soul Masters chose to study there. The three imperial families had probably wanted to weaken its influence for a long time.
Mu En had indeed shown weakness, but they still had to rap Shrek's knuckles where necessary.
Otherwise, they would never learn.
Thus, on the surface, this Exchange Program was an academic exchange, but underneath, Heaven Dou was using the opportunity to demonstrate its strength to Shrek's students, both to compete for future students and to give Shrek a warning.
Why else would Xue Heng have specifically requested Long Aotian's participation?
Through their conversation that night, Huo Yuhao knew that with Long Aotian's talent, he could definitely become a high-ranking Soul Emperor before twenty, and might very well become a Soul Saint.
"But Teacher, if Senior Brother Long takes part in the Exchange Program, won't Shrek play dirty?"
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment. "If they say Senior Brother Long was trained by the Body Sect rather than Di'ao, won't it backfire?"
Du Busi said indifferently, "Do you think Shrek trained all its outstanding students itself?"
"The White Tiger Family, the Netherworld Family, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the Xuanming Sect, and so on-their students have practically monopolized the ranks of Shrek's outstanding graduates over the years. Which of them doesn't possess Soul Skills passed down through their families?"
"Their so-called policy of only accepting monsters is ultimately nothing more than gathering the various major powers' geniuses together to train. When it comes to training commoner Soul Masters, I doubt Shrek can even match some of our small academies."
"Look at that Zhou Yi of theirs. She actually wanted to expel even the student with the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. You can imagine how hard life there must be for those with truly commoner Martial Souls," Du Busi said at length.
Huo Yuhao nodded, indicating that he understood what Du Busi had said.
Then Huo Yuhao suddenly frowned, as though something had occurred to him.
He asked hesitantly, "Shrek's representative... won't be Ma Xiaotao, will it?"
Du Busi grinned. "Correct, but there's no prize. Song Yunzhi demanded that Ma Xiaotao, that Scruffy Phoenix, stay at Di'ao."
Huo Yuhao's frown deepened. "Her evil fire could go out of control at any time. By leaving her at Di'ao, isn't Shrek disregarding the lives of the Di'ao students?"
"That's why His Majesty wants you to join Di'ao too."
"That way, we won't completely offend Shrek and expend the empire's reserves fighting them. And we'll also keep control over the progress of purifying Ma Xiaotao's evil fire."
Du Busi said, "Besides, you'll only be joining Di'ao in name. Go when you have time. If you don't, don't bother."
"All you need to do is compete in next year's Soul Master Tournament and defeat the Shrek Team alongside Ao Tian as Di'ao's representatives. That will let us properly knock Shrek's prestige down within Heaven Dou."
"As for her evil fire," Du Busi said thoughtfully, "His Majesty feared she might fall and become an Evil Soul Master, which is why he agreed to treat it. But you must be careful. You can't let her soar into the heavens before you've grown strong."
"That isn't His Majesty's demand. It's mine. I'm just petty like that. I can't stand seeing Shrek do well."
Huo Yuhao considered it.
Representing Di'ao Academy in next year's Soul Master Tournament was not out of the question.
For one, he could face the finest geniuses on the entire continent. For another, it could count as meritorious service and build his reputation, making it easier to rise through the noble ranks in the future.
With that thought, Huo Yuhao replied, "All right, Teacher, but I want to join the Soul Tool Department."
Displeasure appeared on Du Busi's face, and he was about to open his mouth to reprimand him.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly said, "Because I want to draw inspiration from Soul Tools' Core Arrays and see whether I can treat the body as rare metal and spiritual power as a carving knife, achieving a path that unites spirit and flesh."
Du Busi froze.
He stroked his chin and mused, "That idea of yours... is rather interesting."
"The body as a tool, the spirit as a blade. There might be something to that."
"How about this?" Du Busi clapped his hands. "I'll have Lang Ya and Gu Tong study with you."
"They also have spiritual Martial Souls. That way, you can look out for each other and discuss things together, instead of researching alone and making mistakes without realizing it."
"And if this path really is viable, they can explore an entirely new road as well. That would greatly benefit both them and the Body Sect."
"But you must show your final plan to Hong Yue and me before you can put it into practice."
Even after finishing, Du Busi still felt uneasy.
He cautioned him again, "No one has walked this path before. You must be careful and never act recklessly. The Body Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire will be your staunchest backing. Don't bury your heads and blunder along on your own. If you need anything, you must speak up."
"Do you understand?"
Huo Yuhao replied with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Teacher. I understand."
Du Busi nodded. "Good. It's getting late now. Hurry off and rest. Tomorrow, I'll take you back to the Body Sect."
"After such a long delay, it's time you officially began your training in the Body Sect."
"You're the Heavenly Body Ring Deputy Commander and a battalion commander of the Azure Dragon Guard, after all. Soul Grandmaster cultivation just won't do. You're embarrassing me."
"And," Du Busi added with a grin, "this time, I led the Body Sect in grinding Shrek's dignity into the dirt."
"If you can't drag Shrek off the champion's throne in next year's Soul Master Tournament, go to His Majesty yourself and relinquish your Azure Dragon Noble Title and your position as Heavenly Body Ring Deputy Commander."
"Likewise, if you can lead Di'ao to the championship, I can consider giving you the position of Young Sect Master."