A nighttime talk

On the way back, Gu Yuena seemed rather quiet. Although she had already heard from Di Tian about the rapid development of human Soul Tools, hearing about it could hardly compare to the shock of seeing it with her own eyes.

Huo Yuhao was equally silent, though he seemed to be considering something else.

Only Gu Qiu'er remained as carefree as ever.

In the end, Gu Yuena spoke first. "Yuhao, could you teach me about Soul Tools?"

Huo Yuhao glanced at her and replied, "Why learn from me? This is my first time encountering Soul Tools too, isn't it?"

"I trust you. You must have something hidden." Then a pleading note entered Gu Yuena's voice. "I don't ask you to bare everything to me, but I hope you can help me."

"My lord." Gu Qiu'er could hardly believe the expression on Gu Yuena's face.

Huo Yuhao surveyed their surroundings, fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Come with me."

The three soon slipped into a small grove, and the sky darkened.

Huo Yuhao told Gu Yuena what he knew about Soul Tools. After listening, Gu Yuena let out a long sigh.

"Humans really are blessed by nature, to think of developing Soul Tools by imitating Soul Skills."

"If I'm not mistaken, the next step will be to let ordinary people without Soul Power wield Soul Tools.

"After that, ordinary people will be able to put up a fight against Soul Masters.

"And those powerful Soul Tools will only become stronger when equipped by Soul Masters.

"This is the tide of the times. No one can stop it. Those who fail to keep pace with this trend will only be left behind."

"And after that..." Huo Yuhao looked at Gu Yuena and continued, "Soul Beasts will be confined and raised in captivity completely, because Soul Masters will still need Soul Rings."

Of course, there was another possibility Huo Yuhao did not mention: humans might invent a technique to strip Soul Rings from dead Soul Masters. But if that day truly came, there would be no need for Soul Beasts to exist at all.

Hearing Huo Yuhao's analysis, Gu Yuena sank weakly to her knees, and Gu Qiu'er was dejected too. After a moment of silence, Gu Yuena suddenly raised her head and looked at Huo Yuhao through tear-filled eyes, one hand braced against the ground and the other clutching her collar. "Yuhao, can you help me? I'll agree to any condition you set!"

Huo Yuhao considered it for a while. He bore no particular hostility toward Soul Beasts; especially after spending these two days with the two women, he only felt that they were no different from other humans.

In the Imperium, humans and other Xenos could not establish trust, so the two sides could only be locked in a struggle where one must die for the other to live. But Gu Yuena's trust just now had come from the heart; they could rely on each other.

And Soul Beasts were clearly part of Planet Douluo's natural ecology. Once they gained intelligence, they even had the right to choose to become human.

Huo Yuhao did not wish to see these "human" subjects disappear either.

So he helped Gu Yuena up and said solemnly:

"You don't need to do this. As a ruler, your willingness to take the initiative and humbly learn from your enemies is already enough to earn my respect. There's no need to make such a sacrifice."

Gu Yuena wiped away her tears and said, somewhat unwilling to accept it, "Don't you have any interest in me at all? My looks are top-tier even among humans, aren't they?"

Huo Yuhao replied with some anger, "Don't bring this up again. I don't know what you're thinking, but in my eyes, if our bond is built on that sort of relationship, I could betray you at any time."

"I want my allies to walk alongside me, striving for the same ideal. We are comrades-in-arms, brothers as close as our own hands and feet."

Gu Yuena stared blankly at Huo Yuhao. In that instant, beneath the moonlight, his figure seemed immeasurably tall to her.

Something seemed to stir in her heart, and she smiled and nodded.

"Yes!"

Beside them, Gu Qiu'er also let out a long breath of relief. But before she could relax, Gu Yuena suddenly turned an exceedingly cold gaze on her.

"Forget what just happened!"

"Just now? What happened just now?" Gu Qiu'er put on a completely bewildered expression.

Seeing that Gu Qiu'er knew how to take a hint, Gu Yuena withdrew her gaze and continued talking with Huo Yuhao.

"You're probably not from this plane, are you?" Gu Yuena had suspected as much when she first spoke with Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"I was indeed born on Planet Douluo, but my soul has been to another world."

"Another world? Something that amazing can happen?"

"Quiet, Qiu'er! Don't interrupt Yuhao."

"There, humanity is the strongest race. We occupy a million worlds across the galaxy.

"Each world consists of a star and the planets orbiting it. Usually, humans live on those planets, serving the Imperium and supplying all sorts of resources.

"And the Imperium is ruled by my father. He is the Emperor, the Master of Mankind. He existed even before the first city was built on Terra, humanity's birthplace."

"Is he a god?" Gu Qiu'er asked again. This time, Gu Yuena did not scold her; she wanted to know too.

"No, he isn't a god. He is merely a Perpetual."

"A Perpetual?"

"Yes, but Perpetuals simply don't die of old age. If killed, they still die."

After this interlude, Huo Yuhao continued, "Father created us brothers to wage war across the galaxy for him. He once told us that dominion over the galaxy was humanity's birthright.

"We traveled through the sea of stars, conquering planet after planet, spreading the Imperial Truth throughout the galaxy, making reason and science the eternal truth.

"We tore down temples, overthrew false gods, and freed the people from religious ignorance."

After listening to Huo Yuhao, the two women could not help exclaiming, "So the world is this vast!"

"Is that also why you want to overthrow the Divine Realm?" Gu Yuena asked.

"I cannot tolerate those self-proclaimed gods sitting high above humanity and manipulating its fate."

"I understand." Gu Yuena smiled. She had never been as happy as she was tonight; she had found the direction her life would take from here on.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you the knowledge I've learned. Of course, we can't neglect studying Soul Tools either."

Although the development of Soul Tools seemed crude to Huo Yuhao, combining them with the Imperial Truth might yield unexpected surprises.

The three soon returned to the dormitory building, prompting Mu En, who was still downstairs, to give Huo Yuhao a deeply teasing look. After all, the three had emerged from the grove, and Gu Yuena looked as though she had been crying, her clothes somewhat disheveled. Young people these days.

Upstairs, Xu Yang, who watched this scene from a distance, burned with such jealousy that even the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his spiritual world was startled.

"Brother Xu..."

"Shut up!"

After taking two deep breaths, Xu Yang returned to bed, and it took him a long time to fall asleep.

Late that night.

"Big bug."

"Who?!" the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm cried out in surprise.

"Stop shouting."

Only then did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm notice the little gray sphere nearby.

"Oh, you're that one from the other day. Who are you, fighting me for a host?"

"I am the Holy Necromancer, Electrolux."

"You're a god!"

"Do you think this person is a suitable host?"

Xu Yang's negative emotions had been far too numerous and intense these past few days, and Electrolux had actually noticed long ago. Once someone like this grew powerful, he could very well become a disaster!

"Uh, he's talented and strong. With my help, his chances of becoming a god in the future are very high!"

"Really? Is that truly what you think?"

"His personality isn't very good, admittedly, but that isn't much of a problem, is it?"

In fact, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm only felt that he had entered another Soul Beast's lair, but this person was his hope, so he endured it.

"Do me a favor. Help me observe what this person does over the next few days."

"Why?"

"Consider it my assessment of him. After all, I'm very interested in your plan too."

"All right!" Hearing a deity say this, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suspected nothing at all and immediately agreed.

What a naive bug, Electrolux thought. "Oh, and remember to keep it secret from him."

"Hehe, I understand."